“So, you’re actually a lolicon?”

I felt as though my heart would stop. Pretending I hadn’t heard, I walked even faster.

Misaki continued, “It’s fine if you are a lolicon. In fact, it might even be more convenient for you. If you say you’re a lolicon hikikomori, it’d be the absolute best. You’d be at the very lowest rank of human society, after all.”

I stopped walking and turned around.

Misaki wore her habitual smile. “Yeah. Thinking about it, lolicon is better. That way, I think you’re even more perfect for my project.” She jumped lightly, excited. It seemed, once again, to be somewhat forced.

In the calmest voice I could possibly manage, I stated, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Anyway, I’m not a lolicon hikikomori, you know. I’m a creator! I was just taking reference pictures.”

“Hm…”

“It’s true.”

“Well, let’s meet again. Don’t do anything that would put you on the news, okay?” With that, Misaki marched away.

It was a May afternoon.

Chapter 06.
Fond Memories,
Followed by an Oath

Part One

The second Golden Week[21] had arrived, I recognized that the rainy season had ended in a flash.[22] The days passed and passed and passed at an amazing speed.

However, over the course of a month, all sorts of events had occurred.

For example, one night recently, I happened to run into Misaki at the convenience store. She handed me a piece of printer paper. It appeared to be a contract. “Contract” was written on the paper in black ballpoint pen.

Just a week before that, I’d made plans to meet the girl I’d known from my high school literary club. We went to a cafe in Shibuya and had a little chat. I was a bit nervous, but nothing of note happened.

On top of that, my father was laid off during a “restructuring.” My allowance would stop the following month.

Likewise, my next door neighbor, Yamazaki, also seemed to be facing all sorts of unexpected hardships recently. “My father, who works in the primary sector, has been hospitalized with liver trouble,” he explained. “I’m the eldest son. Should I take over the family business?”

In reality, it seemed like he had no choice. I thought his best decision would be to go home right away and run his family’s dairy farm and winery. Apparently, he had some deep issues with his parents.

“Even though they have money, they wouldn’t help me continue my education. They sent an application to a dairy school without even asking me. And so I worked part time for a year at convenience stores and as a security guard to earn my tuition for Yoyogi Animation Institute. They’ve got to be kidding, coming to me with this now!”