Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko. Volume 13 Chapter 2

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Since this chapter switches heavily and abruptly between Tsukiko first-person and third-person narrator, it was pretty hard to tell who was who at times. I tried to make it as clear as possible, but be warned.

Internet War

Morning starts early for the Tsutsukakushi Household. At 5am during this cold winter, when the rest of the world is still enjoying a few more hours of slumber, Tsukiko is busy brewing some hot water in the kitchen. After warming up the water inside the kitty-themed teapot, she puts in her favorite tea. After preparing everything, she waits for three minutes, letting her gaze run along the faint smoke coming from the teapot.

The windows were still frozen, only showing darkness outside. There were no signs of the day beginning anytime soon.

“…Yawn…”

From this side of the window, Tsukiko let out a defenseless yawn. The voice she let out by accident was entertaining to her, so she let out another one. She was in a good mood, looking forward to what the day had in store. She put a padded kimono on top of her pink pajamas, as well as the long and puffy trousers she borrowed from her older sister. It wasn’t a sigh she was comfortable showing others, but nobody was there to watch her anyway.

The electric heater at her feet gave off a comfortable buzzing sound as it filled the room with warmth. Tsukiko loved getting up early in the morning. Not just to take care of her older sister, or talk with friends, or go capture some dangerous individual. She had all this time all to herself. It was her own secret, and the most precious time of the day.

This is my own freedom. It’s not tied down by anybody, it’s only to be used for me and myself. Since I am… A woman!

“Hehe…” Tsukiko struck a charming pose to her reflection in the window glass.

Oh my oh my? I think I might be getting closer to my ideal nice body? Wonderful. What a wonderful day this is.

The girl imagined her future body wearing at least two layers of clothes and let out a satisfied sigh. This is a very Tsukiko-like daily Tsukiko practice. If she were spotted by a certain Prince while doing this, she would immediately sue him. However, he was not here. This time was hers alone, a reward for all the hardships she had to go through each day.

After satisfying herself with her own little model show, Tsukiko sat down at the kitchen table. Of course, she added no sugar to her black tea. At the very least, she could hold back for the first sip. So that she could become even more of an adult. After this, she booted up her new tablet. This was also part of her daily practice. She would check ‘Moonlit White Cat Pavilion’—a site managed by Tsukiko herself.

*

There is a manga series that crosses generations that is known as the ‘Gamera’ series. Entries in this series include ‘Princess Gamera’ and ‘Mermaid Princess Gamera’. The series follows the reckless and unconventional protagonist Gamera who fights against bullies, which eventually leads to her battling space aliens. The over-the-top story developments are part of what makes this work so charming.

It garnered astonishingly good reception, especially from the female reader base, causing countless fanarts and user-created short stories to crop up online. For any other series, you can find such works on Pixiv, Twitter, or other writing sites, but since the Gamera series has such a high following, they have their own homepage. Even on this site, there is one sub-site that absolutely reigns over the others—Moonlit White Cat Pavilion.

Last night, the site owner had uploaded the newest short story plus illustrations. It had the title ‘The Prince and I’. It told the story of two important side characters, a tragic love story revolving around Youto and Seika. The depiction of their feelings was one of Tsukiko’s favorite parts of the source material.

After checking the site, she found countless comments filling the comments section.

‘I was moved to tears!’

‘Seriously, the owner of this site is a genius…’

‘I read it with my older sis, and she liked it as well!’

‘I might like this as much as the original~’

‘Just become a pro.’

‘It’s the best!’

‘Please become my friend’.

‘I can’t wait to read the continuation.’

‘Show me your panties.’

And so on.

…Fufu. It seems like I did some great work this time as well.

After reading all of these overwhelmingly positive comments, Tsukiko swung her kitty teacup around for joy, her slippers going up and down below the table. At the children’s welfare club, she always enjoyed drawing art for the small children, but she also enjoyed writing stories involving a certain someone just as much. It never felt bad to be praised.

…If anything, I love it. I want to keep being praised like this forever.

Tsukiko’s third most favorite thing was being praised. Her second most favorite thing was imagining herself as a grown woman, and her most favorite thing was eating delicious food. However, there’s one more thing that wins against all of these three, and that is observing the profile of a certain someone, feeling the gaze of a certain someone, looking at a certain someone—

—Awawa, what am I thinking about this early in the morning? …Sheesh, am I really this indecent?

But suddenly, her good mood vanished, and the teacup slammed against the table. She saw something she would rather not have—namely, a comment on the website.

‘I didn’t really get it this time, either… Maybe you’re not made out to write a story like this? One star.
By Little Beans.’

Normally, such low reviews were washed away by a wave of positive comments, but this one reached Tsukiko’s eyes just fine. Her good mood was ruined in a matter of seconds.

…That person again?

She thought. This ‘Little Beans’ person would always leave behind cynical comments. Whenever Tsukiko uploaded a new chapter or story, they would comment at the exact same time, on the exact same moment, with the exact same user name. It almost felt like they wanted to stand out from the ocean of positive comments.

…If you don’t want to read it, then go visit some other website. I am writing this in order to make someone else happy, not to please you in particular. This isn’t some business where I need to please as many people as possible, nor do I want crazy reviews on this. Someone grown-up like me will overlook this, so you’d better be thankful I let you go.

Tsukiko raised herself off her chair. It was time for her to prepare breakfast. For this particular breakfast, she had planned natto rice with tofu hamburger and lots of grilled soy beans. You stupid beans. I’ll eat you all up, she thought to herself.

“…And I have to wake up Nee-san.”

Although Tsukiko’s older sister didn’t have many problems getting up in the morning, she was always a bit dazed, relying on her younger sister to get her up fully. Every morning, strategic warfare was required to steal the blanket.

As if to announce the beginning of the new day, the frozen windows started to clear, and the sky started to change color. While getting out the pot for breakfast, Tsukiko couldn’t help but ponder to herself.

Little beans—just who are they?

*

“Over here! Come here!”

Azusa-san from the Azuki Household beckoned her over and managed to secure a seat for Tsukiko. It was Sunday during lunch break. The cafeteria inside the sixth building was filled with ravenously-hungry students, making it quite hard to find a seat. For someone like Tsukiko, who basically could eat all day, making her wait was not exactly an option, but it was also hard to actually find an open seat most of the time.

…Not to mention that today most of the lunch boxes offered at the school were sold out after the third period, possibly because of the harsh PE class. That’s our school chefs for you. When I decided to make my way to the cafeteria with my classmates, a one-year-older childhood friend of mine happened to have an open seat. I headed to the seats with my friends, securing the seats, and they left to order the food.

“So Tsukiko-chan wasn’t alone after all…”

When I told my friends what I wanted to order, A-chan-senpai drooped her shoulders in defeat. She then quickly raised her head and waved her hand.

“I-I’m not alone either! This seat was previously occupied.”

“Hm.”

“But since that friend had class duty, they had to leave early! That’s why this seat just happened to be open today!”

“Is that so?”

“D-Don’t get the wrong idea! I have friends besides Ma-chan and Tsuu-chan! Lots of them!”

“I know.” Tsukiko nodded with a warm gaze.

There was no need to make up excuses like that. Whenever she looked at A-chan, Tsukiki could become kinder than ever. It must be the charm of her Senpai. A-chan-senpai just so happened to be sitting here, with her shoujo manga at the ready.

“A-chan, is that…?”

“Ah, you could tell? It’s the new release! I’ll let you borrow it after I’m done reading!”

“Thank you very much.”

‘Happy Prince Gamera’—that was the new release in the Gamera series. It came out just recently. Tsukiko wasn’t even aware of it, but some side-stories and anthologies had been released lately, something that only faithful readers like A-chan would know about.

“Didn’t that come out today?”

“I took off during first period and bought it at the bookstore nearby. Apparently, this volume has a time leap in it! Gamera goes back to centuries in the past and uses her time-space alteration plasma to blow away future earth and the evil boss altogether!”

“You really like the gamera series, A-chan.”

“Ehehe, a bit. Just reading it gives me courage, and I like all of the characters…”

“Are you even up to date on secondary works?”

“I am! There’s a lot of good things I find while browsing around! Do you have a favorite author yourself?”

“Right…” A sense of doubt filled Tsukiko’s heart.

She took a deep breath as she looked at her reference-material-maniac friend A-chan.

“—For example, ‘Moonlit White Cat Pavilion’?”

“Ah, I know that one! It’s pretty popular, right?”

Not even aware of how closely Tsukiko was watching her, the girl just clapped her hands together and narrowed her eyes.

“…At first it was great, but mid-way through it just… you know?”

“Oh, what exactly?”

“I don’t know, the shipping of the characters doesn’t feel too real, I guess.” Suspect Azuki rested her chin on her palm and played with the straw in her hand.

A drop of water came out, creating a black dot on the tray. Tsukiko listened to her words in silence, and then spoke up.

“What do you mean that the shipping doesn’t feel very real? Weren’t Youto and Seika a popular ship in the source material?”

“I mean, Seika is just Youto’s pet cat, right? Even if she can speak the human language, clinging to her owner like that… I don’t know, it feels too convenient, personally.” Oblivious to the fact that she was under trial, Azuki spoke with a wry smile.

“C-Convenient…?” Tsukiko felt the top of her head growing hot.

Of course, this didn’t show on the outside.

What’s wrong with her being a cat? The bonds of these two, connected by fate, cross race, age, and even social standing. Everyone who disagrees with this deserves to be executed!

“…So, A-chan, what pairing would you enjoy more?”

“If it’s Youto, then maybe Azuri Touett…”

“I see. So it’s come down to that…”

Azuri Touett is Youto’s childhood friend who was separated from him at birth. She managed to gather immeasurable popularity, but in Tsukiko’s eyes, she was nothing but a pet dog. The true heroine, without a doubt, was Seika.

I am an adult, which is why I will not argue here!

“…I personally think that Azuri is not a good match for Youto.” Or so Tsukiko said, but she still said it out loud.

“You think so? Well, it’s just that Seika is probably no good. I think that cats are cute, and I really want to have one for myself, but I can’t see a lover’s quarrel happening between the two of them. It just lacks realism, you know?”

“Realism…”

“But that’s just my own opinions about it! I still like all the fanmade works, honestly. I hope Moonlit White Cat Pavilion becomes even more popular!” Confirmed criminal Azuki winked and stood up from her seat. “Anyway, I have to prepare for the next class, so I’ll be going on ahead. Lend me some more movies soon. I like your tastes, Tsuu-chan!”

“…Yes, I understand.” Tsukiko watched her walk off, and formed a fist beneath the table.

—Too convenient and unrealistic? I see, I see. I have my own thoughts then. I’ll put in plenty of ‘realism’ just for you.

A strong flame was burning inside Tsukiko’s otherwise blue eyes.

“Awawawa, Tsuu-chan, what happened! Your aura is scaring me!”

Tsukiko stole a tea cup from the tray her friend brought and gulped it down in one go.

*

That evening, as she waited on the way home, she quickly spotted the Senpai she waited for.

“Oh, what a coincidence running into you here. Or were you waiting for me?” Yokodera Youto showed a calm smile.

He had a scarf wrapped around his neck, matching the color of his shirt. Tsukiko thought it looked very charming. Since he was still sweaty, he must have just finished his club practice. From him came an adolescent youthful scent, making him seem like a real man. Tsukiko took a deep breath, sucking in all of the boy’s scent.

This caused a comfortable warmth to fill her body, making her feel all fuzzy inside. With this, she had finished recharging her energy. Now she could live another three days without suffering from a lack of Yokodera Youto. However, today’s battle had only just begun.

“Senpai, I have a request. Could I have a bit of your time?”

“Sure, yeah. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind running away with you for the rest of our lives.”

“Thank you. Talking while standing is not the best idea, so come with me.”

“…You know, if you don’t retort at all, I feel like an idiot…”

“Don’t worry. When the time comes for you to be arrested, I’ll use paralytic medicine to make sure you can’t run away.”

“Scary! Why?! I just wanted a normal reply!”

“You really are a pervert who makes a lot of requests.”

“Huh? Am I in the wrong now…?”

Tsukiko grabbed the sleeve of Yokodera-senpai’s winter uniform and entered the nearby children’s park.

In the midst of the faint darkness burned a lonely streetlight. A breeze cold enough to make you shiver blew against the swings, making them creak. Tsukiko sat on an empty bench with no one else around. He joined her, leaving barely any distance between them.

“It sure has gotten cold as of late. It makes me wanna warm myself up with a girl’s warm body.”

“Spring is still far away, after all.”

“Why don’t you respond to anything? …Well, whatever.”

“Whenever you want to warm yourself up, Senpai, why not lock yourself in a sauna and slowly boil your body until you’re crispy?”

“I said whatever! And for some reason I already figured you’d say something like that.”

“You’re a pervert with good intuition, I see.”

“…Anyway, what did you want to ask me, Tsukiko-chan?” Yokodera-senpai gave me a grin.

He’s the kind of person who smiles a lot. That was often a good thing, but in a few rare cases, he used it to hide things. Especially his way of addressing Tsukiko was something that made her heart boil. A long time ago, he had actually called her ‘Tsukiko’, but that quickly broke down to him calling her by her family name again. This might be a token of his kindness in a certain way, but it made Tsukiko feel like she wasn’t even being treated properly.

—Almost like Seika from the Gamera series.

…As I thought, Youto-kun and I—and Seika—need to become equals by overcoming race and age!

Another fire started to burn in Tsukiko’s eyes. She felt like the invincible hero of the Gamera series, breaking down this imposing wall with her Miracle Plasma.

“The thing is—I want to try having a lover’s quarrel right here.”

“…Huh? Where did that come from?” Yokodera-senpai’s eyes were blinking in confusion, so Tsukiko tried her best to explain.

She was currently working on a new picture story for the children’s welfare club. It was a fiery romance, but she was having problems coming up with good dialogue, so she wanted some references. That was the explanation she decided on. And, since this would also be a good reference for her own novel, she wasn’t entirely lying.

“Hmm… I’m not sure how well I can handle that…” Yokodera-senpai scratched his cheek with one finger.

“Anything is fine. You can act like you’re trying to woo me. ‘Air-wooing,’ as they say. You can just ad-lib it here. Isn’t that what you’re good at, Senpai?”

“Not at all! Who do you take me for!?”

“That’s not important. If anything, a girl who is already interested will fall in love with the simplest of words. So just give it a try.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to say that. If anything, I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and if you don’t tell the other person your honest feelings based on who they are as a person, then it’ll just make them feel empty, right?” Yokodera-senpai furrowed his eyebrows and gave a long explanation.

Why is he so serious about this? He says the weirdest things when he doesn’t have to.

Tsukiko grew slightly annoyed, and kicked the ground with the heel of her shoe. She felt a small pebble down there. She kicked it away and closed her eyes, steeling her resolve.

“…So then, what would you say about me?” She spoke up.

“Hm? About you?”

“If you were to try and woo me, what would you say, Senpai?”

“—From the first moment I met you, your large and beautiful eyes stole my heart. They’re even prettier than the endless universe above us. They have a pull stronger than a black hole, and I can never manage to look away.”

“Huh?”

“I know that what I’m saying sounds pretty cliche, but I can’t help it, since it’s the truth. Whenever I look at your eyes, I end up feeling happy.”

“Um.”

“Even if I were to vanish from this world today, the fact that I can see myself reflected in your eyes is enough for me. Knowing that I can live forever in the gemstones of your eyes, I wouldn’t be afraid of death.”

“That’s, um…”

“I can’t directly touch your eyes, but I would at least like to try feeling the softness of your long eyelashes. I want to whisper an adult’s love to your eyes and kiss them a hundred times every time you blink. Even if it’s just a bit, I want to be even closer to you.”

“That’s enough. Please, stop. Forgive me…”

Hardly a minute passed since she had steeled her resolve, and she was already defeated. Tsukiko covered her beet red face with her quivering right hand, using her left hand to hit Yokodera-senpai on the lap. If she didn’t stop him right there, she would probably give in and listen to this pervert’s shameless words forever and ever.

“As I thought, saying my honest feelings feels much better than making something up.”

“Ugh…”

Tsukiko didn’t expect him to keep blabbering on like that. It was outside of her range of expectations. This wasn’t just some weak attempt at wooing her, it was strategical murder of her heart. It was too effective. Tsukiko felt like every part of her body was burning up. The embarrassment dulled her thinking. So instead—

“…T-Tsukiko-chan!?”

Atop the bench, she slowly approached her Senpai, thinking about the NTT Project. Shoulder to shoulder, side to side, hip bone to hip bone, thigh rubbing against thigh. She felt the warmth of her Senpai and felt his beating heart. At a distance where they felt every part of each other’s body, they looked at each other.

Senpai swallowed his saliva, loudly enough for Tsukiko to notice. She started to feel weird. Both inside and outside of her head felt warm, making her feel like she was going crazy.

“Tsukiko—”

“…Y-Youto… kun…”

One of them started entangling their fingers with the other.

—La~ La la la~!

Suddenly, a phone started ringing. Immediately after, the two of them took a bit of distance from each other, sitting in silence as the atmosphere slowly changed from pink back to normal. Tsukiko took out her phone with quivering fingers, only to see that the call was from her older sister. Apparently, it was to remind her about dinner.

…What kind of timing is that? I guess she’ll survive without dinner tonight.

Tsukiko observed her surroundings and noticed that the sun had already started to set, revealing a red moon and scattered stars behind the clouds.

“Haha… ha… W-Well, let’s go home.” Yokodera-senpai gave a troubled smile and Tsukiko nodded silently in agreement.

*

…I feel like I can write something good with this.

While Tsukiko’s older sister entered the bath while sobbing and complaining about her empty stomach, Tsukiko sat in her private room facing her laptop. She didn’t even need to think about anything. Her fingers moved automatically, creating a new story.

…The story doesn’t just exist in my head. I’m using the fingers on both my hands to bring it into this world using words and sentences. I didn’t force it into existence, I just drew it out. That is what it’s like to write, Tsukiko thought.

Of course, she wrote about Seika and Youto as always. However, this story might become a groundbreaking story of Moonlit White Cat Pavilion, at least that’s how she felt. Only a few minutes after she started writing, she had already created twenty pages, and the story had reached its climax.

“Seika.” Youto made a cool and handsome gaze as he looked at me.

Having been close with Youto for such a long time, I could most always guess what he was going to say. If anything, Youto is always trying to woo me, since he’s head over heels for me.

However, since I am a grown woman, I patiently wait for Youto to speak. It’s not like I hate Youto’s handsome face, or his voice, so if he’s really going to go all the way today, then I guess I might as well hear him out. Something like that?

“Seika. The moment I met you, your face stole my whole heart. Your lips are the most charming thing I have seen in the entire universe. Thanks to their immeasurable power of suction, I feel all of my important parts being sucked already.”

“‘Zat so.”

While writing this, Tsukiko’s body quivered. She felt embarrassed just from remembering it. Because her head had turned into such a mushy mess back then, she was a bit unsure about the source material, but she felt like Yokodera-senpai said something along those lines. She felt embarrassed while writing this, so that had to be it. There was no doubt.

“…It’s fine, it’s fine,” She told herself, and focused on her work again.

“I know that what I’m about to say just sounds cliche, but I need to say it. When your eyes alone are looking at my certain something, I feel satisfied and joyous.”

“That’s all?”

“Even if I were to leave the world today, I’d be satisfied being reflected in your eyes. Living in your cute charming eyes is a pleasure for all of eternity, and it makes me want to jump into space right now.”

“Are you done yet?”

“I can’t touch them directly, but I want to feel your eyelashes at least. I want to do this and that to them. I want to kiss your lips a hundred million times, build a family together, and live in happiness until the day we die.”

“Not half bad.” I gave him a grin. Although it wasn’t a perfect 100, I might at least give you some service, you know?

“Seika…”

I approached Youto. Even though other people could see us here in the park, Youto loves me so much, so I might as well respond to his feelings a little bit. Since I’m a good woman and all, so I offered my cat stomach to Youto’s hand, and he started rubbing it like crazy, like hey now aren’t you going a bit too far with that?

I wanted to complain, but Youto’s phone suddenly rang, forcing him to jump away from me in shock. Come on now. What kind of timing was that? Then again, I guess that was enough for now?

“Haha… ha… W-Well, let’s go home.” Youto gave me a troubled smile, and…

There Tsukiko disengaged her automatic writing mode. Something felt off. She felt like this wasn’t what she wanted to write. Even if such a story really existed in this world.

…Maybe I don’t hope for a development like this?

Her own desires were putting a stop to her fingers that were typing. To someone who had kept writing over and over without ever stopping, this was a first. After thinking about it, she rewrote the last section.

I wanted to complain, but then Youto’s phone suddenly rang, but I had previously put it on silent mode, so he didn’t even notice. Not a bad idea on my part, huh?

“Seika… I can’t hold back any longer…” Youto’s eyes turned into those of a beast as he moved his hand towards all of my sensitive places, and…

“—Ahh…” A warm breath left Tsukiko’s lips.

Her heart was beating so fast that it started to hurt. Subconsciously, she hid her eyes with both her hands, her head shaking left and right. This was territory she had never reached before, something she had kept unwritten. It felt a bit too fast for her, especially since she had no experience. However—

Tsukiko swallowed her breath and slowly lowered her hands. If she went any further than this, she felt like she might reach a new world.

…You can do it, me! Aim for the next step! Reach a new level!

Her tail-hair shook, as if it were responding to her passion. Tsukiko faced the laptop again. It appeared as if she wouldn’t get much sleep that night.

*

Morning begins early for the Tsutsukakushi Household. It was barely 5am during this cold winter morning. Tsukiko took a sip of her favorite darjeeling tea and opened her tablet. With excited fingers, she tapped on the page for the Moonlit White Cat Pavilion. Even if she didn’t want to look, she subconsciously found herself doing so. It was about time that the comments of her new work would come in.

Last night, after taking almost all night, she managed to upload ‘The Prince and I ~ EX-18 Version’ to the site. To Tsukiko, it felt like she had poured everything into it.

Youto-kun was cool, manly, and aggressive. Almost too cool, even. Tsukiko had to take a shower at least 2 or 3 times in order to cool off her otherwise burning body. This time it had a lot of ‘realism’ for sure. However, since she didn’t try to please a certain someone, she didn’t even know how it would be received, and she felt slightly terrified. What if these people who had praised her all this time now suddenly turned their backs to her?

She lightly closed her eyes, prayed, and then slowly opened them again. She prepared herself, and read the first comment—

‘Amaziiiiiing!’

That was the first one, out of many more.

‘I’m so moved!’

‘I was bawling my eyes out.’

‘Just when I think of their feelings…’

‘You’re a genius, seriously.’

‘My Onee-chan who read it with me started foaming out of her mouth and collapsed!’

‘I might like this more than the original~’

‘You’re a professional, right?’

‘So exciting!’

‘Please become my teacher.’

‘I can’t wait to read the next part.’

‘The comment about showing your panties was a joke btw.’

—It was met with great reception as always.

The reception with the readers hadn’t changed at all. On the contrary, it became even more positive. Tsukiko kept scrolling down and found a familiar username.

‘Something like this… well, amazing, but… I don’t know…
By Little Beans.’

That was all it said.

“…Heh.” With a calm expression, Tsukiko drank some more tea.

However, her legs wearing the slippers were kicking up and down below the table. She was in a good mood. She looked in the mirror and observed herself.

—No, I cannot get too excited about this.

She clapped her palms on her cheeks. More. Even more. She had to prepare for the next attack, and the one after that, as well as the one after those two.

…My war does not know the word ‘peace.’ I will trample them, excessively and one-sidedly. Leaving no stone unturned, I will emerge victorious from this Internet War.

For starters, she wrote Yokodera-senpai a message, asking him to meet up at the park after school today. This would be used as reference again, so it couldn’t be helped, of course.

“Phew…”

She felt her cheeks growing hot again. Rubbing them with her palms, Tsukiko let out a warm sigh.

*

Around half a month had passed since this new update for Moonlit White Cat Pavilion. ‘The Prince and I’ continued in a daily fashion, filled with various ideas from Tsukiko.

Youto tried to woo Seika many times, even faked a proposal, and asked her to make three children. There was even a scene where they went to a fort, did some crazy things inside a Ferris Wheel, rode on a boat together at a nearby park, and did some crazy things under a bridge. They climbed a mountain and did some crazy things inside a cabin.

All of these things were written from Tsukiko’s experiences. It’s all the pervert Yokodera-senpai’s fault. The instant she showed an opening, he would attempt something weird. However, since Tsukiko didn’t do anything, she could write the story with a clear conscience. Of course, the same couldn’t be said about the way she was actually gathering her ideas. That being said—

“…It’s weird.” Tsukiko pondered to herself as she prepared breakfast.

Recently, she had stopped checking the site’s comment section. Of course, she was still top-ranking on the homepage. If anything, she was getting even more attention. Her fingers hadn’t even stopped these past few days. However, she didn’t even feel like checking the responses. She didn’t really care about Little Beans-san, or even the readers in general. Her tablet hadn’t been booted up for a while, either. Was this something advisable since she was the caretaker of the series?

“…Maybe it’s a good idea to check them later.”

She looked at the tofu breaking apart inside the miso soup and let out a yawn.

*

Tsukiko was taking a walk on the second-years’ hallway between first and second period when Azuki Azusa stepped out of her classroom.

“Ah, Tsukiko-chan! I was talking with my friends, but we just finished our conversation, so I was headed to the toilet. How are you doing?”

The moment A-chan-senpai saw Tsukiko, she waved her hand inside the classroom at nobody in particular and smiled at her. Since it would probably be only her and Maimaki Mai together on the field trip, Tsukiko even considered going with them.

“Hello.” Tsukiko gave a smile with kind feelings and walked to the corner of the hallway with her.

After they exchanged their favorite manga and books, Tsukiko spoke up.

“About the fan works for Gamera-san again…”

“Yep?”

“It feels as if White Cat Pavilion has changed as of late, don’t you think?”

“White cat…? Ah, the Moonlit thing, right?” A-chan-senpai thought about it for a second, and then clapped her hands together. “Did I forget to tell you? I didn’t like the direction it’s been going, so I haven’t been checking it as of late. Sorry.” She smiled innocently.

“You haven’t checked it…?”

“It’s been like a few months, or even half of a year? It’s been at least as long as a turtle hibernates, for sure. What about it? Did they change their direction as of late?”

“…No, it’s nothing.” Tsukiko blinked and shook her head.

The inside of her head was filled with question marks. Weird. The time when Little Beans-san wrote the last comment she had seen and A-chan’s statement just now didn’t match up. That should be impossible.

“Um…?” Suddenly-innocent Azuki gave her a dubious gaze.

A long silence was born between the two, and A-chan-senpai spoke up again.

“B-But I guess I might take a look at it again!”

“…You’re better off not doing that. The owner of the site has just been writing whatever they wanted, not caring about the readers at all. I don’t think it’ll be to your taste anymore, either.”

“Then even more so. It’s great how they’re not being influenced by other people to change their writing.”

“Not influenced…”

“That’s right. They write because they want to, in order to have fun. They don’t care about other people. It’s just for them. They start it, and finish it themselves.”

I see. That’s what it was.

“J-Just kidding! I don’t want to sound like some arrogant lion acting tough… hee hee!”

“………”

“Um, Tsukiko-chan. Could you not stare at me like that?”

Tsukiko stood still, like she had been struck by lightning. She could only look up at the wise upperclassmen’s smile. That’s probably why she never cared about other people’s reviews. She wasn’t writing it for someone else. She just wrote the story for her own sake. She didn’t write it to receive reviews and comments, she just wrote it because she enjoyed it. When she came to this realization, the strength left her shoulders.

“Um… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so ignorant. I apologize, so please say something…” Azuki Azusa said.

Tsukiko, however, ignored her and just looked at the blue sky outside the window. It was a cold winter day, but the sunlight was still comfortable.

*

Afterwards, she checked the website, and she realized that the number of views had increased even more. Countless comments filled the website’s comment section.

‘That was great!’

‘Something came out.’

‘Think of the people reading this…’

‘I knew it. You’re a genius.’

‘Onee-chan requested an emergency family feeling!’

‘I don’t even care about the source material anymore~’

‘Tell me about your previous works as a pro.’

‘Hooray!’

‘Please become a god already.’

‘I can’t wait to go back and read the previous stuff as well.’

‘I will never ask you to show me your panties again, so please forgive me.’

And so on. Quite a lot of varied comments. However, that wasn’t that much of a surprise. That’s just what writing is about. Tsukiko didn’t even bother searching for Little Beans-san’s comments. That person isn’t her enemy or anything. They’re both just fans of the Gamera series. If it were someone close to her, she might have bothered a bit more, but that was impossible. The Internet was way too wide for that to happen.

…I am free. In the truest sense, I am free. Nobody is restricting me, nobody is holding me down, I can just write whatever I want. That’s right, I am—an adult creator!

“…Heh.”

Tsukiko reflexively posed like an adult woman, but then shook her head. This wasn’t the time to be doing that. She had to hurry and put on some proper clothes. Today was Sunday, an important day to gather data, since someone was visiting her home.

*

Upon running into an oddly-dressed Tsukiko, Yokodera-senpai made a slightly bewildered expression. Even while he was passing through the banquet hall, he was observing his surroundings like he was searching for something. Tsukiko told him that her older sister was out right now, and he finally spoke.

“…I have something important to talk about. It’s very important, and involves both of us.”

“Huh…?” Tsukiko was busy sniffing her Senpai’s scent in order to recharge her energy, and his words came out of nowhere.

Upon thinking about it, she felt like her Senpai had said something important right now.

Something very important that involves both of us?

It was true that we’ve been together pretty often as of late, and we’ve been going out almost daily. I can say confidently that our distance has shrunk drastically after I started working on my ‘The Prince and I’ series, so it wouldn’t surprise me if some large kind of progress happened. He might even have the documents ready so we can head to the public office later.

But that can’t be it. Did this wonderful day finally arrive? Will I be climbing the stairs to adulthood? Was I always this easy of a woman? Do I have to come to his house tomorrow to introduce myself? To be fair, Yokodera Tsukiko and Tsutsukakushi Youto-kun both sound great to me. Hooray! Once we start living together, I can recharge my energy as much as I want. How many children are we going to have? If we have a girl, I’d love to name her Seika.

Inside her head, a committee meeting with a hundred Tsukikos was held, and they started exchanging opinions. She had to calm down and not sell herself too easily. For now, she had to reassure herself and confirm Yokodera-senpai’s intentions.

“…And what is that?”

“How should I even start…? Has there been someone weird loitering around you?”

“Someone weird?” Tsukiko tilted her head in confusion.

Weird, that conversation took an odd turn.

“Are you talking about yourself, Senpai?”

“How cruel! I’m not some kind of weirdo!”

“Is that so? Well, you’re not weird. You’re a pervert.”

“Again, that’s not it… Then was there something stolen from you?”

“You’d probably be able to, Senpai.”

“I did not! I haven’t succeeded yet, so I’m innocent!”

“You’re not innocent if you have made attempts.”

“I mean, if you don’t realize it yourself, then I guess the problem is me after all…”

“Senpai, I’m lost. What have you been talking about?”

“Well, it’s a bit of a longer story.”

Yokodera-senpai took out his smartphone and started fiddling with it. He didn’t have the expression of someone who was going to take out marriage papers the next moment. This wasn’t the flow of events that Tsukiko had expected.

Where did my rosy atmosphere from before go?

“Haaa…” Tsukiko let out a sigh and gave up on her dream.

That was also the reason why she didn’t concentrate on listening for a brief moment.

“—I know that you say I’m thinking too deeply into it. But I don’t like how the situation has progressed. After all, we went to a movie theatre, watched a movie, and then the next day there’s a short story online using that exact setting and even dialogue. Of course, the ending is a bit off, but it looks like it’s a straight copy otherwise.”

“Haaaah…”

“Of course, I was the one at fault for writing ‘Show me your panties’ in the first place. I felt like it was cute writing, so that was meant as the highest form of praise. But I don’t think that the owner of the site had to go that far for revenge and basically follow us around, don’t you agree?”

“Haah… Huh?” When Tsukiko took a random intermission, Yokodera-senpai’s story had taken an odd turn.

Senpai’s phone was in front of her eyes. To prove his point, he was showing her a certain site on the Internet, one with a familiar design.

…Wait. Wait just a moment. I have a really bad feeling about this.

“This is the site in question. It’s called Moonlit White Cat Pavillion.”

“Ohh is that so? I have never seen such a site before. How scary. Really.”

“Hm? Well, yeah. It’s scary. How should we fight back against this stalker? Maybe the owner of this site is someone really close to us… Tsukiko-chan? Your face looks awfully pale.”

“I’m totally fine. I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“…If you say so? Anyway, this site owner must be a real crazy one. Only thinking about some weird stuff, grinning in the mirror. I really think we need to have a proper talk with them—Tsukiko-chan? Your body is quivering. Are you okay?”

“I am merely dancing in happiness. Do not mind me.”

“Ah, alright… Anyway, about that site owner. We have to be careful of them. They’re definitely some kind of pervert. No, more like a pervert among perverts, a master of perverts. Yet they’re not even aware of it… Tsukiko-chan!? Why’d you suddenly collapse like that!? Foam is coming from your mouth!”

*

The nights at the Tsutsukakushi Household are long.

“Awawawa…” With eyes devoid of any life, Tsukiko kept tapping the keys on her keyboard.

She was busy erasing all traces of her site from the internet, because otherwise she would not be able to sleep at night.

You can do it, Tsukiko. Don’t lose! One day you’ll surely become an adult!

Intermission 2

“Ahahaha!” My friend clapped her hands together, bursting out laughing.

Normally, she would always remain calm, merely snickering with a calm voice. She wasn’t one to start laughing like this.

“People do the weirdest things, I swear…” She held her stomach, like she was trying to deal with the pain in her muscles, and gasped for air.

I looked around me, feeling the sharp gazes of the examinees studying, burning with hatred.

“…Let’s take a break.” I grabbed my friend and left the room.

This building had a central library and self-study rooms, as well as a broadcasting studio, conference rooms for city-related meetings, a small theatre, a lot of spaces used for personal reasons, small restaurants, and a cafe. All of this was scattered across several floors, making it a fairly modern and multi-use building.

Standing in the corner of the large room used as an elevator hall were metallic small benches. We sat down there together, and my friend finally stopped laughing.

“Sorry, sorry, that just hit an odd spot.” She wiped the traces of her tears away using her long sleeves. “But now that I’ve heard that, I can tell that you two really are close.”

“Probably.” I tilted my head slightly as I thought about it.

I didn’t want to brag about it, but that was probably it. We really are close after all.

“Let me know whenever you hear something as interesting as that again.”

“Not happening.”

“But why?”

“Cause there are none.”

What was she expecting? Funny and myself couldn’t be further apart. I have my life planned out for me after all.

“You sure are obstinate, huh…?”

When I shook my head, my friend gave me a stern look. She was moving her hands in a grotesque way, almost as if to threaten me. This is a public space. Can you not stuff your hands inside my clothes?

“…Then, I have one story.”

Reluctantly, I recalled some random story. This one is related to marriage—