April 1 — Enrollment. Wrote a diary.
April 2 — Caused trouble. Wrote a diary.
April 3 — Made friends. Wrote a diary.
April 4 — Had a "friendly exchange" with Amazawa Ichika in the White Gym. Trained under the membership buff, improved myself, casually touched her leg. Wrote a diary.
April 5 — Swimming class. Got dragged by Shibata to Keyaki Mall for half a day. Didn't spend a cent. Plot Index: D. Wrote something random, got a D rating.
April 6 — First weekend. Was debating between staying in the White Gym or distributing voice recorders. Ichinose came to invite me to the movies. The film was average—only Hoshino Ai was worth watching. Plot Index dropped back to E. Wrote a diary.
April 7 — Sunday. Went to the library. Found a regularly spawning NPC. Also discovered that the school library had my trash light novel. Secretly hid it in a corner. Wrote a diary.
April 8 — Monday. Went back to the library. Found that the NPC had dug my novel out. Unforgivable. Tearfully wrote a diary.
April 9 — Tuesday. Waited in the library for her to finish reading it so I could hide it again. She still hadn't finished. Wrote a diary.
April 10 — Wednesday. She finished it. Then suddenly came over to talk to me.
(Note: The above is fast-forwarded record, not diary content.)
Library
"Good afternoon."
The silver-gray-haired NPC suddenly stood up from her seat and casually sat beside Asakusa Tetsu.
Asakusa Tetsu: "?"
He thought she would say something.
But after sitting down, she said nothing.
She simply resumed reading the light novel in her hands.
…That was the worst one he had ever written.
"RE: Reincarnated as a Simp"
A complete mess written based on vague memories, borrowed names and settings, and emotional venting.
An isekai story full of flaws.
It didn't inherit the strengths of the original at all—instead, it exaggerated every weakness.
A true… garbage work.
If not for his past résumé and stubborn insistence on publishing, the editor wouldn't have let it pass.
And reality proved it:
Trash was trash.
No matter how good the base setting was, bad writing couldn't save it.
It got axed cleanly after the Sanctuary arc.
Yet somehow, this lousy school library had collected it.
And now Shiina Hiyori was calmly reading it.
Even though he had hidden it.
Why did she still find it?!
Rustle…
The sound of turning pages echoed beside him.
Asakusa Tetsu felt increasingly uncomfortable.
What would she think?
How would she evaluate it?
Would she even finish it?
As a content creator, even though he copied ideas from masterpieces of his past life, perfectly reproducing them was impossible without perfect memory.
Someone like him—just a reader—could only remake inferior versions based on others' frameworks.
Still…
He cared.
Did what he wrote convey even half of the original's charm?
Would readers accept it?
Even this emotional mess.
Time passed slowly.
He couldn't focus on the detective novel in his hands.
Every time he tried, his eyes drifted back to check her progress.
Weren't you supposed to like mystery novels? Why are you reading my trash?!
Maybe I should just borrow it and never return it.
Worst case, pay compensation.
Or just tear it up.
Why keep black history?
I never should've written this.
Messy thoughts tangled in his mind.
Finally, the girl let out a long breath.
"Phew…"
She had reached the end.
Closing the book gently, Shiina Hiyori showed a satisfied smile.
He thought she would finally say something.
But she didn't.
She stood up, returned the book to its shelf, placed it neatly and visibly…
Then walked back to him.
And took out her terminal.
She showed him her contact information.
"..."
Asakusa Tetsu looked up at her gentle smile.
After hesitating, he took out his terminal and added her.
…Why aren't you talking?
Looking at "Asakusa Tetsu" appearing in her friend list, Shiina Hiyori looked satisfied.
She put away her terminal and began packing her things.
"..."
Looks like she's leaving.
Guess I'll go too.
He still didn't understand her intentions, but she seemed done with his trash novel.
…No, she had already finished it.
Sighing silently, he put away the novel he couldn't concentrate on, returned it to the shelf…
Then walked to where she had just placed his book.
He took it out again.
And stuffed it back into the corner.
No one look at this.
After confirming it was well hidden, he turned to leave.
But the NPC followed him out.
"Good afternoon, Asakusa-kun."
Shiina Hiyori walked behind him, hands behind her back, smiling softly.
He paused briefly, then kept walking toward the dorms.
"You already said that once."
"But you didn't reply," she said.
"…Then, good afternoon, Shiina-san."
He gave her the greeting she wanted.
Leaving the library made him feel much better.
"Why did you sit next to me?" he asked casually, glancing at her.
So far, their only connection was that he had given her a recorder on the first day.
He didn't understand why she approached him.
Shiina Hiyori tilted her head and replied gently,
"Because… I want to understand you, Asakusa-kun."
"I'm curious why you cared so much about that book."
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