Volume 1: Epilogue

Epilogue

"Here, I’ve got a wet handkerchief for you."

"Oh, thanks."

We were in a park partway up the hill, not far from the scene of my knockout. I was currently lying on a bench, receiving first aid from Kato.

"Also, I bought some coffee. Do you want any?"

"I’d rather have a Red Bull, if possible."

"The convenience store is all the way at the bottom of the hill, so you’ll just have to deal with it."

My condition was mostly due to sleep deprivation rather than any actual damage from the lariat.

"Heave-ho... Hey, move over a bit, Aki-kun."

"Ugh, my knees are hanging off."

"It’s just a little bit, it’s fine."

Kato pushed me aside slightly and sat down in the cramped space next to me. Normally, the standard procedure for constructing a galge event here would be to give me a lap pillow because it was "too cramped," but with me back to my senses and Kato’s performance over, that obviously wasn't going to happen.

Yes, Kato’s performance had ended—though it left behind a massive amount of confusion and moe in its wake.

"Hey, Kato."

"Yeah?"

"So, why did you do all that?"

"The one doing stuff was Tomoya-ku... I mean, Aki-kun."

"I’m talking about the process that led up to it, not the punchline at the end!"

That said, Kato still being slightly in character was actually a bit moe.

"That wasn't the 'me' that I came up with, you know."

"I know that. Your actual personality was nowhere to be found."

"...Well, hearing it put so bluntly makes me feel a bit conflicted. I was the one performing it, after all."

Kato’s acting had been so over-the-top that you could tell it was strange from the start—or rather, it was performed on the premise that I would notice. Furthermore, it was a performance with a different goal than simple deception; she wanted me to get dragged into it even after I realized what was happening.

Yes, it was like a presentation, or an audition, or something of that nature...

"Sawamura-san did the character design... Well, obviously she couldn't change my actual face, so she only messed with my clothes and hair."

"That dress..."

"Yeah, I pulled the one from back then out of the closet."

"Kato..."

"But that's not all, you know? Sawamura-san actually reworked the design to fit your tastes perfectly. The concept was: 'Shorter skirt, more frills, more 2D-like!' or so she said."

"Oh, for heaven’s sake, Eriri..."

Setting aside that otaku-targeted calculation for a moment, looking at Kato’s current coordination up close, I couldn't help but marvel at Eriri's skill as a character designer. The skirt of the dress was even shorter, and she’d added white knee-highs, which Kato hadn't been wearing back then.

Moreover, if you looked closely at the white knee-highs, they had a lace pattern around the thighs and even a black ribbon tied as an accent, overwhelmingly boosting the visual density of the absolute territory.

As expected of Eriri Spencer Sawamura... a woman born to exploit the moe industry.

"And then, Kasumigaoka-senpai did the script and acting coaching... Can you believe it? The actual light novel author, Utako Kasumi."

"Well, that figures."

I knew she wrote guest scripts for the drama club, but I didn't know she could write something like an improv play.

"Senpai is amazing. She wrote a script that branched out immensely, with multiple choices for every line of dialogue, and she did it all in a single day. It was over fifty pages long."

"Is that so..."

Will someone please say something to the guy who took a whole week just to finish a ten-page proposal?

"What’s more, she told me to memorize the whole thing in one day... and she got really scary if I messed up."

I’d watched a drama club rehearsal once... I can't believe this girl survived that treatment. Even three of the regular drama club members couldn't handle it.

"But today, I realized something even more incredible... Aki-kun, you followed almost exactly along the paths of the choices Senpai prepared... Well, except for that last bit."

I’m literally dancing in the palm of her hand...

That’s not just an author; that’s the terrifying power of a psychologist...

"So, those two were the ones who planned everything today. They said it was like a trial version of the work we’re going to make from now on. I didn't really get what they meant, though."

"A-A trial version...?"

In other words, this live-action version starring the real Kato came with a disclaimer like: The footage shown is from a version currently in development. Specifications are subject to change without notice.

"They said if even Aki-kun fell for it, then ordinary otaku would be hooked for sure."

"Oh, I see."

So that's how much trust they have in me as a marketing sample...

"Well, that’s the gist of it. Isn't it great, Aki-kun? Those two joined the circle."

"No, don't just say 'isn't it great' like that..."

"Eh? Why not? You were trying so hard to recruit them until now."

"Because you haven't told me yet... what Megumi Kato herself did."

"Eh? Me?"

"Yeah... Just what kind of magic did you use to get those two to join so easily, let alone suddenly make a trial version?"

I know both Eriri and Senpai are seriously busy. I also know that if they took a commercial job, their fees would be in the hundreds of thousands of yen. And yet, just because a girl with as little presence as Kato asked, they did it for free...

Well, her lack of presence is beside the point right now.

"Hmm, I don't really know. I just asked them normally and they cooperatively joined in?"

What is this? Is it just gender discrimination at its core?

"I mean, when, where, and how did you even ask them?"

If I were to put it in terms of an old-school mystery adventure galge, Kato’s actions have a seriously strange alibi. Though a modern suspense drama works too.

"You were in Hokkaido, weren't you? Until yesterday."

"Ah, oh, that?"

Don't "oh that" me. You said it was the last trip where the whole family would be together. That’s why I told myself I didn't need to worry even if you weren't here.

"Actually, the talk was pretty much settled about five days ago."

"Five days ago? But at that time, you were... Huh?"

That was right around the time I resolved to try my best alone. Which means...

"When I called you, I was actually already at Haneda."

"...What?"

Come to think of it, the noise in the background of that call... There was no way a place that bustling could exist in Hokkaido.

...No, that’s probably rude to the people living there.

"It was after we got back from the autograph session... Aki-kun, you seemed like you were at a dead end."

"That was..."

Because Kasumigaoka-senpai had pointed out the flaws in our circle.

"So I thought it would be bad to just go into the long weekend like that. I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help, even if I’m not very useful."

When the biggest problem was supposed to be that Kato wasn't serious about it...

"But when I got back, you seemed really focused, Aki-kun. So I thought I’d leave the proposal to you and try moving on my own for a bit."

"And that led to those two?"

"Yeah, I tried asking them one more time. In the end, I suddenly got roped into helping with the production side on this end, though."

"I see..."

"Well, besides the acting, I mostly just did odd jobs... Oh, but I did help with brainstorming the ideas—or rather, suggesting situations that Aki-kun might like. You know, like that dress, the hat, the top of the hill..."

So that's where her question of "What did you like about me?" had come into play.

I’ll admit it—I’d totally fallen for that setup.

But if that’s the case, then when did those two...?

“Oh, that’s right. My phone was actually still in the middle of a call with Sawamura-san just now. They heard that entire conversation...”

“...”

I’m guessing the moment Kato appeared before them, they realized the problem they’d been worried about had been solved with ease.

“That’s why Sawamura-san was... Wait, Aki-kun?”

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong? You’re spacing out. Are you still half-asleep?”

“No...”

So that’s why they decided to help.

It wasn’t because I was finally getting serious; it was because they’d acknowledged Kato’s effort to do the same.

And as a result, they produced something that fit my concept perfectly while far exceeding my own level of quality.

...Well, I guess that just means my choice of staff was spot on.

“Well, anyway, we can finally get things moving now.”

“We’ve only just begun, though.”

“Besides, I still don’t really get what I’m supposed to be doing,” Kato added.

“To be fair, I’ve only decided on the broad strokes.”

“When you say I’m the ‘person inside’ the character, do you mean I’m the voice actress? Or the model for her? Or... am I going to do motion capture or something?”

“It’ll be fine. If it’s you, Kato...”

“The motion capture will?”

“Let me speak seriously for once.”

“You say that, but it’s hard to have confidence when the person who’s spent all this time making fun of me for having no presence is the one giving the guarantee.”

“No, this whole thing made me realize... I... about you... about your...”

“Eh...?”

“I can totally find your character moe!”

“...Huh?”

“I’d want to collect every single piece of your character merch I could get my hands on!”

“...”

“I’d want to sleep while hugging your character body pillow every single night!”

“...Um, why are you jumping straight to merchandise?”

“Well, they’re more three-dimensional than a screen, right?”

“Ah, well, I suppose so.”

There she is. The “flat” Kato I know and love. It’s been a while.

Yeah, seeing her like this again is actually a relief. Her sense of stability is second to none.

“Well, I’m a bit more awake now. Shall we head to school?”

“Oh, that’s right, Aki-kun. Here’s a souvenir from Hokkaido.”

Kato pulled a box of Marusei Butter Sand—a famous Hokkaido confection—out of her bag.

And just as I’d requested, there were two boxes.

“So, the thing is, I bought these last Wednesday, so the expiration date is actually today...”

Last Wednesday was the final day of Kato’s Hokkaido trip, four whole days ago. In other words, it was painfully obvious whose fault it was that the expiration date was so close.

“I definitely can’t eat two whole boxes by myself in one day...”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right. Sorry...”

“So, Kato. Let’s ditch school and go eat these at my place. While we veg out and play games.”

“Whaat!? No way, we can’t do that! That’s a one-way ticket to metabolic syndrome!”

“...Your biggest concern is getting fat?”

Honestly, her “heroine value” is just too cheap.

* * *

“...”

“...Stop looking back over your shoulder like a lingering ghost, Sawamura-san.”

“Do you think those two are actually going to show up at school today?”

“Who knows? After all, halfway through that little scene, they completely drifted off-script and lost themselves in their own little world.”

“...!”

“If it bothers you that much, you shouldn’t have helped.”

“Huh? What are you— It doesn’t bother me... and that’s not even the point. It has nothing to do with me in the first place.”

“If you don’t do something about being stubborn even when it matters most, you might end up regretting it one day, you know?”

“I already regret it... of all things, being in the same circle as Utaha Kasumigaoka.”

“Now that you mention it, I heard you turned down the illustration work for my new project the other day?”

“Why did you even try to toss that job to me in the first place?”

“Because you’re riding the current trends, you have no commercial experience yet, and you’re a burgeoning illustrator who’s a perfect target for exploitation. I didn’t take your personality or our compatibility into account at all.”

“Ugh... I keep telling you, that’s exactly what I hate about you.”

“Anyway, setting that aside, I wonder what’ll become of this circle.”

“My vote’s on it collapsing because everyone’s schedules, goals, and motivation are out of sync.”

“And my vote’s on it imploding because the leader gets himself into a messy web of relationships with all the members.”

“I told you, I’m not part of that! I have zero interest in a mere consumer-type otaku like him.”

“And yet, now that he’s transformed into a producer-type, he was quite dazzling...”

“Look, I’m only interested in a guy who can make it to the shutter-front, okay?”

“The fact that otaku aren’t off-limits—or rather, that normies weren’t even candidates to begin with—is the great dilemma of a girl named Eriri Sawamura, isn't it?”

“Quit analyzing my personality and stalking me!”

“I can’t help it; that side of you is just too much fun. You’re far easier to understand—and write—than Kato-san.”

“Hey! Don’t go using me as a model!”

“Oh? But I’ve already cast you as the rival to the heroine in my next book.”

“And as the losing heroine?! You should just use yourself as the model for that! You’re the one who got dumped in real life!”

“Ah, but in my stories, even I don’t know who the protagonist will end up with until the end...”

“I’m done with you! Bye, I’m going on ahead!”

“Wait, Sawamura-san. Give me a lift to the station on the back of your bike.”

“No way. It’ll make my legs thick.”