I didn’t really understand Yamazaki’s anger, but becoming furious allowed him to put off thinking about these problems. He acted as though he would simply not commit to anything, even if everything caved in around him. I decided to follow his example and just avoid reality for the time being.

Speaking of avoiding reality, there was still the issue of the erotic game we’d been planning. We were trying to push forward, even now, at a time when our project was almost utterly meaningless.

Truthfully, I should escape from my hikikomori life as quickly as possible and focus on trying to get a legitimate job; but for some reason, I put on a smile and told Yamazaki, “I’d like you to just leave me alone about the Lolita stuff, okay?”

“Sure. We can work with your tastes, Satou. I honestly thought we would be arrested at our little elementary school picture-taking event the other day.”

I don’t care about anything like that; I have to find a job now or I’m finished! I wanted to scream, but once again, I smiled and went along With him. “I’ll write the scenarios today.”

“I’m counting on you. The quality of the game all depends on your scenarios, Satou.”

“I know. I’ll do my best when writing them. I’ll put all my energy into making this erotic game!”

Yeah, this is the peak. Bravo! Or rather, that’s awful!

Nothing is better suited for escaping from reality than making an erotic game. After all, the genre itself aspires toward limitless escapism.

Yamazaki, seated at his two huge computer towers, started another speech. “That’s right. Escapism is the very essence of the erotic game. As creators, we have to offer the player an enjoyable escape from reality. The real world is overflowing with painful things: girls who make asses out of guys like us, girls who make fun of guys like us, that bitch who cheated on me with the manager of the convenience store, the community college student who toyed with my adolescence… all those painful things make this world a difficult place.”

The second half of his speech had described pretty concrete situations specific only to him, but I let him continue. Pausing briefly to drink his oolong tea, Yamazaki raised his voice even higher, intoning, “In short, real women are worthless. They are incredibly close to monsters. And so…”

“So?”

“So, as erotic game creators, we have to create perfectly convenient female characters, the kind that don’t exist in reality.”

Convenient female characters…

“I mean, characters who start liking the protagonist without any real reason, ones who get close to the protagonist out of pure good will, those kinds of characters,” Yamazaki explained. “Characters without any hidden motives whatsoever, who would absolutely never betray the protagonist. The kinds of characters who could never exist in the real world.”