"...Because it's a bad book?"
"I actually think it's a good one," Shiina Hiyori said. "You can feel very strong emotions in it."
"It's just a pity that there probably won't be a continuation."
Asakusa Tetsu: "..."
There is a continuation. Of course there is.
It's just that the continuation is no longer something I wrote—it's the story acted out by some guy who keeps returning from death in another world.
To begin with, the reason he wrote that trash novel was because last year, after tearing down missing-person posters, yelling at someone's parents in front of their faces, then sitting in a police station watching the Natsuki couple's complicated, speechless expressions—still unable to fully move on—he felt extremely uncomfortable.
So he went back and vented it all by writing that book.
Unfortunately, books written in emotional outbursts don't necessarily become masterpieces.
Sometimes, they just become trash.
"...There's nothing to regret, anyway." Asakusa Tetsu looked away. "More importantly, why didn't you talk earlier?"
Shiina Hiyori blinked and replied matter-of-factly,
"Because it was the library."
"You have to stay quiet in the library."
That was common sense.
Sadly, not everyone followed it.
Her tone was gentle.
Her thinking was normal.
In this Advanced Nurturing High School filled with weirdos, Shiina Hiyori gave off an unexpectedly comforting presence.
"Even if you get close to me, I'm not going to lend you money, you know."
For some reason, Asakusa Tetsu suddenly felt that he wasn't very good at dealing with "normal people" like her.
With weirdos, he could provoke them freely.
He could talk nonsense without restraint.
He could watch them jump around for fun.
But with normal people…
Forget it. Why overthink it?
What, are you being melodramatic now, you idiot?
Can't you be freer? More unrestrained?
A cute girl is proactive getting close to you and you're unhappy?
After scolding himself internally, Asakusa Tetsu quickly shook off his pointless mood.
He figured it was just the influence of that black history.
Thinking about the emotions he had when writing that thing made him uncomfortable.
It made him want to rush into another world and slap Natsuki Subaru twice.
Sigh… When will the diary give me Magnetic Field Rotation already?
With messy thoughts drifting around, he walked back to the dorm with Shiina Hiyori.
Yes.
Advanced Nurturing High School's dorms were co-ed.
Not on the same floors, but in the same building.
Impressive, right? He thought so too.
They're really not afraid of accidents in a vocational school, huh?
What, is Japan's birth rate so low that even high schoolers have to work harder now?
"Ding—"
The elevator arrived.
Asakusa Tetsu pressed the button for the fifth floor, then watched Shiina press hers.
Although boys and girls lived in the same building, there was still separation.
Boys were on lower floors.
Girls were on higher ones.
So he would get off first.
"Ding—"
The doors opened.
He stepped out.
Behind him, Shiina Hiyori waved lightly.
"See you tomorrow, Asakusa-kun."
"Ah, see you." He replied reflexively.
The doors closed.
"...Wait, we're not even in the same class, are we?"
Only then did he realize.
So she meant… tomorrow in the library again?
Damn it. I got tricked.
April 11 — Received a long-term daily quest from the library NPC. Water diary.
April 12 — Heard Ryūen's complaints via NPC. He suspected I leaked info to Class D and demanded his money back. He guessed right. No reward. Continued water diary.
April 13 — Plot Index stuck at E. Unhappy. Went to White Gym to touch legs. Amazawa's legs. Healthy and strong. Very relieving. Wrote about thigh texture. Got D rating for some reason.
April 14 — Touch legs.
April 15 — Touch legs.
April 16 — Can't waste more time touching legs. Membership only lasts one year. Must train more. Otherwise can't graduate!
April 17 — Touch legs.
April 18 — Enough touching. Focus on training. Stronger body = more possibilities. Train!
April 20 — Heard "Masterpiece" skipped class to harass Class A. Probably took Ryūen's money. Targeted end of month. Real money > vague "evaluation." Hope he won't regret it.
April 21 — Quiz. Masterpiece started hanging out with Class C.
April 22 — Went to movies with Ichinose. Found Ibuki Mio in same screening. Yep. Trash movie.
April 23 — Yesterday's movie was trash. Why does this school show so many bad films?
April 24 — Starting to get used to E-rank days. Maybe someday…
April 25 — I feel it. High-rank day is coming. The 30th!
April 26 — Can touch waist now.
April 27 — Can go higher.
April 28 — Touched it.
April 29 — One more day.
April 30 — Today's Plot Index: A.
"Revival!"
He rushed back to his dorm, slammed the door shut, dragged out his chair, and sat down comfortably.
These days had been suffocating.
E-rank items weren't completely useless…
But they were nothing compared to the recorder and the membership card.
He was still hoping for something like Magnetic Field Rotation someday.
If only he could create some plot to raise the index.
Unfortunately, this damn diary was stubborn.
He thought Yamauchi messing up class points was important plot.
Yet the index didn't move at all.
It seemed the evaluation was based on the original story timeline.
Taking a deep breath, Asakusa Tetsu waved his hand and began writing today's diary.
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