Lonely Otaku – Chapter 24

TLN: Almost done with this arc! You may have noticed, but I don’t translate on the weekend generally unless it’s a special occasion. I’m also still looking for translators because the amount of projects I’m working on is quite a lot right now.

BEST GIRL ALICE HAS APPEARED!

Arc 1 – Changing Everyday

Chapter 24 – Mysterious Girl

Uuu….my head feels heavy….

Yesterday…or rather, because I was playing eroge with Momoi until the morning, I went to bed at around 7am.

No, we stopped playing at about 6am…but since I had a cold sweat, I felt uncomfortable and went to take a shower.

Eh….why did I have a cold sweat?

Try playing eroge with a girl one time…

That’s all….

—If I had written that on the net, I would surely blow up.

But I can say one thing, don’t play eroge with girls.

It’s not like how you imagine it.

It’s awkward when it switches to a H-scene, then when you look at the girl next to you—she’s watching the scene with her cheeks dyed red from embarrassment….seriously, it will be fight against yourself.

Maa, that’s why I had a cold sweat…

Then I went to sleep and it comes to now…

….I want to go back to bed….

Currently it was 11am—I had slept for 4 hours….

But today is a Saturday.

Normally since there’s no school, I could sleep as much as I want….

I have a meeting at 1pm today….

Eh, then why I was playing eroge until late?

…..it can’t be helped, I couldn’t stop it….

When she shows me that expression, I’m reluctant to stop.

So—

「—Seriously, Momoi is too cute….」(Kaito)　

As I went down the stairs, I muttered that.

So this is what they call gap moe…? (TLN: Gap Moe, is literally where there is a gap between how a character acts and how they usually act or how you expect them to act)

Momoi was a different person until now…

I don’t why Momoi, who is popular at school, is so popular, but I can somewhat understand it.

Seriously, what did Momoi’s middle-school classmates do….?

If those guys didn’t stick to Momoi so much, I would have gotten an angelic sister, a womanly beauty and a cute stepsister. …

….maybe she has returned to her usual self when she woke up….?

For some reason I’m scared…

Can I not speak back to Momoi anymore?

Will I end up being teased one-sidedly?

Entering the living room, I was having this discussion in my head.

「Morning…」(Kaito)

「Go–good morning Onii-chan…..rather than that, it’s already afternoon」(Sakura)

When I greeted her, Sakura greeted me with a smile that seemed to say『Itt can’t be helped~』

I’m glad….I’m in a good mood now.

Sakura-chan had returned back to an angelic like sister, I stroked my chest.

「What happened? You usually get up well even on your days off? Did you stay up late reading light novels?」(Sakura)

「Ah—un, that’s right」(Kaito)

I answer Sakura-chan’s question with a smile.

As expected, I can’t say that I was playing eroge with Momoi until morning…

Or rather, I don’t want the pure Sakura-chan to learn the word “eroge”.

….eroge is not just a H-game alright?

In fact, there are many good OP’s, songs and god-like songs, the scenarios are also better than anything!

…..what the hell am I talking about….

「—Onee-chan hasn’t woken up either….should I wake her up?」(Sakura)

Ah—

「Wait」(Kaito)

Saying that, I grabbed Sakura-chan’s arm to hold her back as she was trying to go and wake Momoi up.

「Momoi was creating reports for the student council until late, so let her sleep a little longer」(Kaito)

「Ah….un」(Sakura)

Sakura smiled and nodded to my words.

「—Fufu…」(Sakura)

「Eh? What is it?」(Kaito)

Suddenly Sakura-chan put her hand to her mouth and laughed happily.

「Etto ne, I was happy because Onii-chan and Onee-chan have become friends before I knew it」(Sakura)

Sakura-chan said that with a smile.

By the way, this girl did say that she wanted me to get along with Momoi…

She’s a really good girl to be happy with that…

「Yesterday, I thought I heard fighting on the second floor~」(Sakura)

「….eh!? You noticed!?」(Kaito)

I was surprised at Sakura-chan’s words…

Eh….since she knew we had a fight, did she inevitably hear the conversation we had about eroge…?

A cold sweat flowed down my back….

「Eh? if you speak with such a loud voice with the door open, it’s natural to hear it from the ground floor right?」(Sakura)

Sakura-chan said and looked at me in confusion.

Ah…I see….

I was impatient…

「O, Onii-chan…..you’re a boy after all…..so it can’t be helped….」(Sakura)

「—-!?」(Kaito)　

Eh, Sakura-chan!?

What can’t be helped!?

I mean, why are you glancing at me whilst blushing!?

…..Isn’t this girl worried about my fight with Momoi…..?

If we were fighting, wouldn’t she come and see what was wrong…?

Probably, she was watching us fighting whilst hiding….

…..Eh, then how much does this girl know!?

Does she know we were playing eroge together!?

….What should I do–I’m afraid to hear the answer….

I continue to look at the back of Sakura-chan who was making lunch with a smile on her face—

–Eh, why am I not cooking with her?

…..After Momoi’s complaint, Sakura-chan has been in charge of the cooking…..

２

「—-Don’t joke with me!」(Kaito)　

I say so, yelling at a man in his late forties sitting in front of me in a business suit.

I’m in the middle of a face-to-face meeting—I was currently arguing with this person.

….Usually I don’t talk this way to people I have met for the first time, but there are things I can’t accept.

If I back away here, it will be a problem.

Or rather I’m already used to this type of response.

That’s why I’m able to speak normally when conducting business.

…..But people aren’t good with things they aren’t good at. Even if I say that I can speak normally, it doesn’t change my bad feelings…

「Please, do something about it!」(Business Man)

The man sitting in front of me says and bows his head.

Honestly I think it’s amazing that he was able to bow to me, who is a lot younger than him.

I was not originally someone worthy of this respect…

「It’s a breach of contract! If you force me to do this, I will not undertake the project!」(Kaito)

I shout and got up from my chair, walking towards the door.

「W, wait! It’s waste to leave your talent as is!」(Business Man)

I heard such a voice from my back, but I opened the door without caring about it.

They only know the part of me called『KAI』…seriously what a waste of time….

DON–!

「「—!」」

The moment when I opened the door to leave, I bumped into something.

However the impact was rather light.

「Uuuu….it hurts….」(???)

「Eh….?」(Kaito)

I look towards my feet where I heard the voice.

There was a blonde girl who had fallen over and landed on her butt.

….Eh?

Why is this girl—

—No, before that I have to apologize!

「Excuse me, are you okay?」(Kaito)

I say so and extend my right hand.

「I’m okay…」(???)

She said so in a quiet voice as I lifted her up with my hand.

….She was very light….

The girl stood up and looked at me.

「–!」(???)

I was astonished after looking at the girl’s face.

Byodoin Aria….

The blonde girl in front of me had fluffy, beautiful, natural straight golden hair.

Her hairstyle was different than the Byodoin Aria I had seen on TV–but it’s not uncommon for someone to change their hairstyle.

Above all, this Byodoin Aria….

This company was under her jurisdiction….

But….why?

Her facial features are perfect, but the impression I receive from her is different.

The eyes of the girl in front of me were a beautiful blue colour, yet at the same time somehow transparent–the eyes were big as if they could swallow me, giving the illusion that she could see everything.

She seems to be a little dazed.

The Byodoin Aria who I saw on TV had bullish eyes and was talking confidently.

…Is she a different person?

「Please think it through–Alice-sama!?」(Business Man)

I was in front of the door when I bumped into her, the man behind me seems to have misunderstood something and came to me–but when he noticed the girl he was surprised.

Alice is it….?

Just as I thought, she’s a different person….

Is she part of Byodoin Aria’s family?

「Wh, why is Alice-sama…..?」(Business Man)

The business man ran up to Byodoin-san and said so.

For him, her appearance seems unexpected.

「Bumped….I fell….」(Alice)

「Who bumped into you!? Could it be—!?」(Business Man)　

Saying that, the man looked at me.

I guess it was obvious.

This is annoying.

Just as I was about to give this man an excuse…

「What have you done!? This person is the daughter of the Byodoin Conglomerate!! How will you take responsibility!?」(Business Man)

…..I thought so….

This guy really wants me to accept the condition.

Fortunately for him, he could take advantage of this situation.

….I used to think this was a person I could respect but….maa, it’s like this I suppose….

When your position is lower, it’s bad for you, but when your position suddenly becomes higher, everything is in the palm of your hand/

Really….I feel sick….

「I’m okay…stop…」(Alice)

「Eh?」(Business Man)

Byodoin-san pulled the man’s clothes and shook her head.

「But–」(Business Man)

「Do you know Aria….?」(Alice)

「「…..?」」　

To Byodoin-san’s words, me and the business man tilt out necks.

Alice looked dissatisfied with that reaction.

What does she mean?

Does he know Byodoin Aria?

Doesn’t she know that I bumped into her?

But even if that’s the case, she would tell me to take responsibility for it right here, didn’t she say that it was alright?

「I don’t have to explain, right?」(Alice)

「—!」(Kaito)

Do you mean….that—!

「What do you mean?」(Business Man)

The business man moves closer to Byodoin-san, saying that he doesn’t understand the meaning.

….Does this guy not know….?

Byodoin-san looked tired and sighed.

「Mou…it’s not good right….?」(Alice)

Byodoin-san talked to me this time.

When I nodded in response, she smiled satisfactorily.

「But….I’m not convinced by this person….because….」(Alice)

「Ah…yes….」(Kaito)

I understand what Byodoin-san wants to say, so I turn to the man.

It was caused by my carelessness, so it couldn’t be helped this time around…

「I apologize for bumping into this girl and making her fall over. I’m sorry. However, it was not intentional, it was an accident, so I can’t accept the previous condition」(Kaito)

「But—」(Business Man)

The man was dissatisfied with my words.

But I continued.

「However, apologising with words is not enough, therefore I will do the project I declined earlier」(Kaito)

I say so and bow my head.

「No, that is—」(Business Man)

The man was still trying to push me to accept the other condition.

Maa, from this man’s point of view, it can’t be helped—he doesn’t even know that he’s tightening his own noose….

「That’s enough」(Alice)

Byodoin-san spoke as if to block the man’s voice.

「No, but Alice-sama—」(Business Man)

「Wait」(Alice)

Byodoin-san ignored the man’s words and hinted at me to leave.

「If you’ll excuse me」

「Ah, wait–!」(Business Man)

When I bowed down and turned my back, I heard the man calling out.

When I looked back, I saw Byodoin-san stopping him, so I continued walking.

The man was still saying something, but he was talking to the daughter of the Byodoin Conglomerate.

He can’t insist on anything too strongly.

But—I’m done…..

That girl Alice, was facing her body to me when I bumped into her….

Normally, it might not seem like a big issue, but if you’re hit right after you leave a door, you’ll end up in a weird position.

If you’re hit and fall when walking in the hallway, you would usually fall sideways.

In other words, the fact that she was facing the front meant that she was about to enter the door.

But if the small conference room is used by employees, it would be strange for her, who is the same age as me, to come in by herself.

That means, she had a reason to stand in front of the door.

Well I wonder why she was standing there….I don’t know the exact reason.

Even if she listened to the meeting inside, I didn’t know why she would do that.

However because I bumped into her, it was best to undertake the project I had previously declined.

I had refused because the other side had violated the contract, but I originally came over to get the other side to pay me properly.

So undertaking this project is a plus, not a minus, for both me and the company.

In other words, it’s likely that she made me undertake this project.

Since this project was originally one submitted to me, it should have been approved by the upper echelons in the company. They will naturally know what has happened today.

However what the man was trying to demand, was not planned in advance.

The mystery remains of how much Byodoin-san knows–but proper approval from the higher-ups is required.

That means I’d have to explain myself—even if the man lies and reports me to the upper echelons, I would be dissatisfied because I’d be forced to report『I take full responsibility for causing your daughter to fall this time』

But if he reports it, a detailed description of the situation would be required.

In other words–that man would have to explain how he breached the contract and I in return got angry and walked out the door, causing the collision with his daughter.

That’s right—the man would have to tell his boss about his blunder『I broke the terms of the contract and failed to negotiate for the project』

So Byodoin-san stopped him.

She likely didn’t want the project to go bankrupt and she also didn’t want the man to be held accountable for an incident she caused.

—But all this is just my hypothesis.

Only one girl knows everything—Byodoin Alice.

….Yet–

Byodoin Aria is famous, but I’ve never heard of Byodoin Alice?

Why is Aria’s name so widespread, but Alice is unknown?

Is the girl named Aria so great that Alice is hidden in her shadow?

Or—after all, perhaps I’m thinking too much….?

…..Anyway, when this project is completed, it’s best not to get involved with the Byodoin Conglomerate anymore…

I don’t want to be noticed by Byodoin Aria….

I was thinking that as I headed home–

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Lonely Otaku – Chapter 23

TLN: Sorry for the delay, was celebrating my birthday yesterday. Ironically I have turned the same age as this current chapter.

Arc 1 – Changing Everyday

Chapter 23 – The limit of patience

—Currently, cold sweat was flowing down my body…

Because–

『Haa……Haa……Fe…..Feels good…..ood…..』

『Stop…..but…..the library…..in this room…..somewhere like this…..』

—The voice flowing out of my monitor, was of a heroine doing something to herself alone in the library.

However if I was watching this alone, it wouldn’t be a problem.

That’s right, if I was watching it alone…

Although I was feeling awkward, I glance at Momoi who is looking at the same screen as me from a very close distance.

「….」(Kaito)

….The light has gone from her eyes….

But Momoi was still looking at the screen.

I thought it was amazing…

Because even I can’t directly look at the screen anymore…

Seriously, it’s so awkward…

Ah—why did I choose this game!?

It was after a strange thing had happened–

２

「Fuu….it’s over」(Kaito)

When I finish cleaning my room, I call out to Momoi who is facing the computer screen.

….Why is Momoi, the person who spilled the juice not cleaning it?

That’s not to say that Momoi wouldn’t clean it up–but I sent her, who tried to take the initiative to clean, to my computer instead.

It’s a stupid reason why I didn’t want her to help with the cleaning, I didn’t want her beautiful hands to get dirty.

I also wanted her to finish her work quickly and go back.

My heart has already reached it’s limit.

I’m not confident that I can bear the burden anymore.

That’s why I wanted her to finish her work quickly and return to her room.

…..mou, please don’t let anything happen today, Kami-sama….

「Hey?」(Momoi)

「Eh? What is it?」(Kaito)

—-As I was sincerely praying to Kami-sama, Momoi called out to me.

「Can you come over here….?」(Momoi)

「A, ah….」(Kaito)

…..it’s strange….

Until now, she was angry whenever I tried to approach, now she was asking me to come closer….

Perhaps my evaluation had gone up because I helped her with that computer issue yesterday?

I approached Momoi with those expectations.

Momoi then opened her mouth, pointing towards the screen.

「What is….this?」(Momoi)

「Eh? That is……? Haa….!?」(Kaito)

Eh, what’s going on!?

Why is this on the screen!?

Momoi was pointing to the eroge icon I had hidden.

Am I an idiot!?

Wasn’t this a hidden file!?

I had hidden it within a few folders in order to make it hidden!

At least if Momoi was working normally, she would never have found it.

I check the URL in the file explorer (which shows the location of the folder, file, etc…) and saw it…

Ah–!

This girl was looking for it!

She was searching for the folder where I hid the eroge and managed to find it!

「Y, you, did you look for it…?」(Kaito)

「Yes. I thought if it was you, an Otaku, you would definitely have something like this…..really, despite being a high school student, you have a gross personality….」(Momoi)

…..I don’t know what you mean!

Did she come all the way to another person’s room to look for eroge, rather than working!?

Ah, so that’s why she was asking if I was playing eroge at that time!?

But why would she do this!?

Is she taking a note from Saijo’s book!?

「Hey, isn’t this game gross? how perverted are you?」(Momoi)

With that said, Momoi turned to me with a proud smile on her face.

—I had already reached my limit, and seeing her expression like that exceeded the limit of my patience.

「You….are the worst….」(Kaito)

「Eh….?」(Momoi)

「I’ll tell you this clearly—I hate you」(Kaito)

I say so and stand up, preparing to leave the room.

Then–

「Wa, wait!」(Momoi)

—Momoi grabbed my arm with an expression like she was about to cry.

「….What is it?」(Kaito)

I stare at Momoi.

Momoi was looking at me as if she was holding back her tears.

「Please wait….」(Momoi)

「Would someone usually stay after being called gross?」(Kaito)

I say so and try to remove Momoi’s arm.

However, Momoi stubbornly refused to let go.

「I, it can’t be helped! There was no other way but to do it this way!」(Momoi)

「….What?」(Kaito)

I asked Momoi, but I didn’t intend to forgive here regardless of what she said.

To trample on a man’s dignity….honestly I didn’t think Momoi was like that.

「B, because….」(Momoi)

I stare at Momoi who begins explaining.

She sank to the floor and opened her mouth weakly.

「Because I had to do this…..I don’t know how to get along with you…」(Momoi)

「….eh?」(Kaito)

…..What did she mean?

How to get along?

If she does it this way, it would look like harassment no matter what you think right?

「That boy….when the girl asked to play eroge together….it was written that he was happy about it…..so I tried to make fun of it….so you would recommend it to me like before….」(Momoi)

Ah…..I’m sure that was written in the light novel I lent her…

But so what?

When a H-scene appears, it will definitely be awkward right…?

However eroge has a lot of different scenarios, there are also some quite moving moments that are interesting. Quite a few of them are even animated or made into movies.

A lot of them have had an anime made for them….

So she thought it would be fun to do them together.

Besides, I’d prefer a girl who understands eroge too….is that what she was trying to do for me?

Eh, does that mean she really wants to get along with me like a family?

I recall Momoi’s recent actions—

….Really, I didn’t see anything pointing to that at all….?

Is she lying so I won’t get angry?

I think so and look towards Momoi.

Momoi had a crying expression on her face–or rather, she was crying.

Eh…..

Something like that made her cry…?

…Ah, no, is it because I said that..

『I hate you』

But is she crying because of that?

Maa, it seems that she’s not faking it….?

In other words, it must be her true feelings….

There are various problems with the way she went about it but….

Sometimes Momoi really acts like Sakura-chan.

I had tried to wipe it from my memory because it didn’t fit Momoi’s image at all…

I mean…..uwaa….she’s crying, but right now she’s so cute…..

At the same time, my feelings of guilt rise.

I wanted to make her cry someday, but when she cries like this, my heart hurts,

Because now it’s like I’m shaking off the girl who walked up to me trying to become my family, causing her to cry….?

….No, Momoi’s approach was wrong in the first place, that’s why this happened….

But, I can’t leave her like this….?

「Then….shall we play it together….?」(Kaito)

I bent my knees so that I was at the height of Momoi’s face and called out to her.

「Is, is that alright?」(Momoi)　　

「Y, yeah….」(Kaito)

「Thanks」(Momoi)

When I nodded to Momoi’s question, her expression brightened up.

…..Stop….if you show me such an expression….don’t you think I’d misunderstand you….?

I started preparing the eroge as my heart was pounding from Momoi’s smile.

When I sat down in front of my computer, Momoi walked to me and sat next to me.

However our distance was quite close.

That’s right, it feels like Sakura-chan is sitting next to me….　

……Maa, Momoi said that she wanted to do it.

This eroge is a moving masterpiece.

If that’s the case, Momoi will surely like it too—

３

—That’s what I was thinking at that time.

No, to be fair the first part was good.

Momoi also watched the opening and said『I want to see the anime!』which surprised me, she then went on『Waa, the facial expressions of the characters change and the pictures are so cute! The voice of the VA is also cute!』

…..who even is this girl

I was thinking a lot about that….

I’m sure this is Momoi’s true nature…

Otherwise the story of Momoi who was crying earlier wouldn’t make sense.

As such, it’s clearly my fault that Momoi has the eyes of a dead fish….

The eroge plot is that a witch girl contracts a person who becomes her familiar. They go around collecting heart fragments so that their wishes can come true.

In order to collect people’s heart pieces, they have to get rid of that person’s troubles, it’s a very good story in every route.

Especially the route of the main heroine which was particularly tear-wrenching.

That’s why I recommended it to Momoi.

I was sure Momoi would enjoy it too.

But–there was a pitfall within such a masterpiece.

The price of being the best girl, was that her libido was unusually high.

She will eventually become involved with the protagonist, but right now she was doing the act to herself alone….

In other words, 20 minutes after this scene starts, “that” scene comes…

In normal eroge, such a scene would come after entering a route. So depending on the route, you would have to play for about four hours–the tagline of this game is 『Love begins with the act of doing it alone!』what….

Ah….I’m sorry, I failed….

This will probably decrease my favourability….

「Mo, Momoi…shall we stop here….?」(Kaito)

I call out to Momoi, who probably wouldn’t want to stop because she said she wanted to play together.

However Momoi shook her head.

Seriously….we’re going to continue….

But if Momoi says so, then it can’t be helped…

Maa…tomorrow is Saturday so school is closed and I’ll be going to work in the afternoon.

I decided so, but I eventually regretted the fact that I didn’t stop at that time…

４

「Mo, Momoi?」(Kaito)

「What?」(Momoi)

When I call out to Momoi, she stops clicking the mouse and looks at me in confusion.

Momoi couldn’t be said to be normal anymore—-but I could at least talk to her as usual now.

….That’s right….

Currently it was 04:00–I’ve been standing for 6 hours since I started the eroge with Momoi at 22:00.

「Isn’t it time to go to bed….?」(Kaito)

「What are you talking about!? It’s just reached a moving scene where the heroine is reunited with the main character! We can’t stop now!」(Momoi)

「I, I see….」(Kaito)

….Like this, Momoi isn’t stopping….

I had asked her previously about stopping as it would be bad if we didn’t sleep soon–

『Eh, the protagonist has confessed to the heroine, but she’s still confirming her feelings!? If I stop here, how could I get to sleep!?』

『Ah, ah…is that right…?』

I could only think『Maa, I’m off tomorrow, so it’s okay if I go to bed a little late』

So at that time I backed off—

『Momoi, it’s time to go to bed…..』

『Eh–? It’s just reached an important scene where the main characters are saying their farewells!? It may be okay for Kanzaki-kun because you’ve played it once, but if I stop here, I won’t be able to sleep from worry!』

『A, ah, that’s true….』

I was pushed away by Momoi’s power and withdrew again at that time.

So–

『Mo, Momoi, this might be a good place to stop–』

『Where is it!? Where is it good!? It’s a scene where the main characters have separated right now!? Well, the protagonist might be okay, but the heroine isn’t at all!?』

I really wanted to sleep, but the heroine had time slipped into the past, and the protagonist had lost his memory and hard to start over with a newly appeared heroine–so when she reached the home screen, I urged Momoi to finish.

Momoi didn’t miss the restart button on the home screen, so immediately restarted it.

…no way, this girl is going to play it until the end….

In fact, Momoi who was watching the H-scenes with dead fish eyes at first, could barely look at the screen now, with red cheeks as she glanced back and forth.

….Does she finally get it…?

That was the feelings of the man who had been next to such a girl…

Is this the first time my reasoning has been tested so much….?

What’s more, Momoi is so cute right now, completely different to the usual Momoi…

I feel like I’m dying….

—-Momoi continued playing the eroge until the heroine’s route was over, finishing at 6 in the morning.

「U~n, it was fun! A very good story!」(Momoi)

「Ah….is that right?」(Kaito)

To Momoi who seemed satisfied after finishing, I returned a tired voice.

「Why aren’t you energetic?」(Momoi)

With that said, she tilted her head in confusion.

Compared to her thorniness until now, she seemed more like an ordinary girl.

….hahaha, is this girl actually an idiot!?

「I didn’t expect you to stay up all night!」(Kaito)

「Waa!? Why are you angry!?」(Momoi)

「Isn’t it normal!」(Kaito)

I say so and get angry at Momoi.

…..Maa, its true, I should have forcibly stopped her….

I was reluctant to force Momoi to stop, as she was having such fun playing eroge.

Besides, it can’t be helped as it’s already happened.

So let’s hit the nail on the head now, so we won’t be playing all night next time.

…Will we be playing next time?

I haven’t made such a promise, but seeing Momoi’s expression, I feel like it would happen.

「E, etto, sorry….」(Momoi)

I was shocked by Momoi’s words…

…..who even are you….?

No, this is Momoi….

I’ve been going along with her so far.

Let’s get her to spit out everything.

「So, are you really you now?」(Kaito)

I asked Momoi.

….eh?

I feel like I’ve heard these words recently….?

「U….un….」(Momoi)

Momoi nodded to my question as I was wondering where I had heard it.

Un, she nodded—-why!?

Why does she look so cute just by nodding!?

「Etto, why did you have a cold personality until now?」(Kaito)

「That is…boys were obsessed with me since middle school…so in high school I adopted this personality so it wouldn’t turn out the same way….」(Momoi)

I see…so that’s why….

Doesn’t she have a great acting ability?

Was she pretending to verbally abuse me?

……Un, eh, that was really acting!?

「Hey, does that mean you were acting coldly forcibly? You know, you said bad things to me」(Kaito)

「Ah, no! from the second half of the first grade, everything was true you know?」(Momoi)

….that’s not acting!

「Momoi…」(Kaito)

「Nn?」(Momoi)　

「…..Why don’t you use your cold personality anymore? If that was your intention, isn’t it strange to change now?」(Kaito)

When I was about to complain, I suddenly said something else as Momoi looked too cute.

….I wonder if both me and Momoi have gone crazy due to the all-nighter….

「Why do you think that is….?」(Momoi)

「Eh….?」(Kaito)

Momoi didn’t answer my question and just puffed her cheeks up, but I seriously couldn’t understand it.

「Nothing! Is that all you want to hear!?」(Momoi)

Momoi turned red and shouted at me.

「Ah, wait. One last thing, you actually love light novels and anime right?」(Kaito)

「Ugh–」(Momoi)

Momoi’s face drops at my words.

If she’s come this far, it’s impossible that I’m mistaken.

「Th, that’s right? Is it wrong that I like them?」(Momoi)

With that said, she turned away from me.

Eh…the real Momoi has come back a little right?

Well, I don’t care about that now…

「Isn’t it fine?」(Kaito)

「Eh?」(Momoi)

Momoi stared curiously at me.

「What is it?」(Kaito)

「That’s because, it’s funny isn’t it? For an honour student to have the hobbies of an otaku?」(Momoi)

「Why? Being fond of light novels and anime has nothing to do with honour students」(Kaito)

「—!」(Momoi)

She looked at me in surprise.

Eh…why is she so surprised?

I guess she tried to hide her hobby.

But from my perspective, I want a friend who I can talk about my favourite works with.

So for now, let’s just say–

「I don’t know what other people think, but at least I don’t think it’s weird. If Momoi likes light novels and anime, then why don’t we talk about them again in the future?」(Kaito)

「Ah–un!」(Momoi)

She replied with a lovely smile to my words.

To that, I return a smile.

In the beginning we fought with each other–or rather, I thought I was seriously out of luck today, but in the end we got to know each other better.

This was a big step forward for us.

…or rather, it would have been more odd to get along immediately with her like Sakura-chan.

I didn’t realize at that time, that I was jumping into a sea of misfortune–

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Lonely Otaku – Chapter 22

TLN: Just so you know, it seems like he’s making up names for this anime. Even the anime itself isn’t actually classroom of the elite, but it’s pretty clear it’s what he’s talking about.

Arc 1 – Changing Everyday

Chapter 22 – Careless remarks are fatal

Currently I was watching my favorite anime on blu-ray『Classroom of the Elite』

This anime—because it was quite different to the original, it got a lot of fans angry….but honestly I really like it.

Certainly, the story is so different even I said『Haa!?』in the middle of it.

In particular, my favorite character『Karasawa Megumi』started out as a mob character, who seemed understandable from the eyes of the viewer, but eventually became popular with girls.

However in the original, she became the only friend of the main character.

Because she had worked with the protagonist from the start, she was torn down by a classmate looking for the protagonist’s identity, but I liked the preciousness of trying to protect the protagonist without betraying him.

The story of where she eventually got closer to the protagonist was stolen by another heroine, I was quite shocked—but it didn’t negatively affect my enjoyment of the work.

The opening of the anime was very good, and they had selected voice actors that matched their character’s image perfectly. The story has changed, but I still found it interesting.

A strategic battle that revolves around the intelligence of the students.

The protagonist who hates to stand out and tries to work behind the scenes.

The animation of the strategic battles was extremely addictive.

Therefore it was well received by the people who had only watched the anime, without knowing of the light novel.

That aside….I also liked the Chinese girl who didn’t come out much.

I also liked this character—the girl on the TV’s voice at dinner was very similar to hers.

The voice actor who plays the Chinese girl is a newcomer to the field, Akigatana Uoharu.

…..I have a lot to say about her name….but she was popular with newcomers due to her cute voice. (TLN: Her name is 秋刀魚春, 秋刀 literally means “Autumn” then “Sword” whereas 魚春 means “Fish” then the season “Spring”)

That person’s voice—was similar to Haruka’s.

…..did I think she sounded feminine?

Do I like the wavering voice of a woman….?

It can’t be helped, I like what I like.

So why am I talking about anime by myself…?

Leave me alone….sometimes I also want to escape reality….

That’s right—my heart has been exhausted these last two days.

Mainly because of the unspeakable allegations made by the blonde gal that was chasing after me so persistently….

GONGONGON–!!

「—-!」(Kaito)

Whilst I was meddling in my depression alone, the door to my room was knocked on.

…..is it Sakura-chan….?

Eh…..maybe she only forgave me because she was in front of Momoi, but was actually still angry…?　　

That said, I can’t ignore it…

「Who is it…?」(Kaito)

After pausing the anime, I said so and opened the door.

「Good Eve—」(???)

BAN–!

—I immediately closed the door.

「Wait–!? Why did you close the door!? Open it, hey!!」(???)

I thought Sakura had come, but it was Momoi instead….

「No way! You complained so much earlier, but you still want to complain even now!」(Kaito)

「That’s not it! I have something I need to do!」(Momoi)

「What do you need to do!?」(Kaito)

「For the time being, open the door! Then I’ll explain everything!」(Momoi)　

With that said, Momoi pulled the door hard.

Opposite of Momoi, I kept pulling the door from the inside.

Damn–!

Why are there no locks inside this house!?

Until now I didn’t care because it was only me and my dad, but if Momoi and her friends come here, won’t it become a problem if I can’t lock it!?

「Wait, why won’t it open!?」(Momoi)

「For the time being, I’ll open it after listening to your requirements!」(Kaito)

「Why!? Is it a problem if I see it!?」(Momoi)

「Wh, what do you mean see it!?」(Kaito)

「For example, that’s right Eroge! ……~~~~~~~! Why did you make me say that!?」(Momoi)

「You should know! I didn’t think you would say that, I don’t even have such a thing!」(Kaito)

……wait a minute….

Why is this girl focusing on eroge?

Usually, wouldn’t you think of AV or erotic books? (TLN: AV means Adult Video AKA porn)

No that’s not the problem, I don’t have any of those two!

Or rather it would be difficult to find my eroge, I’ve used a hidden file properly.

Therefore there is no problem.

But–!

「Then, open it quickly!」(Momoi)

「If I open it, will a storm of rants fly towards me!?」(Kaito)

「Do you think I would do that!?」(Momoi)

「You, look back at your previous actions for once!」(Kaito)

「…..」(Momoi)

Momoi fell silent and stopped pulling the door.

Apparently she was really looking back on her previous actions.

Really, this girl is so serious…

「—it’s fine isn’t it, open it!!」(Momoi)

「Y—you, I thought you were seriously looking back just now, but you cheated!!」(Kaito)

「It’s your imagination! Ah, Sakura it’s fine!」(Momoi)

「Eh—-!?」(Kaito)

Hearing Sakura-chan’s name, I reflexively stiffen.

In that gap, Momoi managed to open the door.

I seem to have been traumatized by Sakura-chan….

「Finally….haa…it’s open….seriously….haa….haa….what…bad things from the past are you even talking about…」(Momoi)

Momoi said that whilst out of breath.

….she got me….!

「You, Sakura-chan isn’t even there!」(Kaito)

「Ara, I see, it must have been in my mind right?」(Momoi)

To my words, Momoi tilted her head to the side in confusion.

「Oi, honor student. Why use such dirty methods….?」(Kaito)

「You don’t need me to tell you right? Would you have let me in earlier?」(Momoi)

「….Why do you need to come inside? I just have to listen to the matter right?」(Kaito)

I say so with a frown and turn to Momoi.

Actually, when Momoi tried to enter, I knew she had something to do on my computer, but I wasn’t convinced so resisted.

Besides, she had brought two PET bottles….

Will one be given to me….?

Because of her personality, I feel like she would dare to drink both in front of me….

「Haa….I don’t know….can you lend me your computer? I need to prepare the necessary materials for the student council」(Momoi)

「Guu—-!」(Kaito)

Despite expecting Momoi’s action, I still complained.

Why does this girl have this attitude when she came to borrow something?

I mean, how is the student council even managed…?

If you have to take it home to work on it, then reschedule it properly…

Well it can’t be helped as she’s already brought it back.

If I don’t lend her my computer here, she’ll be in trouble in school…

「Got it, come in….」(Kaito)

「Thanks」(Momoi)

Following my words, Momoi enters my room.

…..eh?

Did she think I wouldn’t let her borrow my computer and get her in trouble?

…..No I’m afraid to hear the rest, so let’s stop that line of thinking….

「…..」(Momoi)

Momoi who came inside, stopped for some reason.

What happened?

When I followed Momoi’s gaze—she was looking at the TV screen, where the anime was currently paused.

….come to think of it, was this girl happy with the light novels from last time…?

What’s more, it was a light novel with the title『Eroge』in it’s name.

Perhaps that’s why she answered with Eroge when she was fighting to get into the room.

Well, this is interesting.

「What’s wrong Momoi? Are you interested in this anime?」(Kaito)

To my question, Momoi glared at me.

I’m sure she’s interested….

So let’s provoke her and see.

This anime is interesting, what’s more it’s a battle of strategy. So the smart Momoi should enjoy it.

「Mhm, that’s right. Do you like this anime too?」(Momoi)

「I see I see, if you make that stupid……eh? You like it?」(Kaito)

「Is something wrong?」(Momoi)

「No….」(Kaito)

Eh….?

Do I not know this girl?

The story is very interesting, but the only people who know of it are otakus right?

…..ah, I see.

Maybe she liked the light novel I lent her and read the light novel Sakura-chan had borrowed from a friend.

After that she probably started watching the anime.

…..eh?

But doesn’t that mean that Momoi liked the light novel with『Eroge』in the title…?

No, that novel is certainly interesting.

All the heroines are cute and unique, even though one of the heroines is a perfect honor student like Momoi, she tries to do things to the protagonist like from an eroge, annoying him and causing embarrassment. The guy’s sister is also an airhead, so the protagonist’s life is like a typhoon.

But that novel is a harem that only boys would like, right?

Some girls might like it, but not Momoi right….?

Momoi is actually aloof and an honor student like the heroine from the light novel, could she actually be gentle?

…..no way.

That’s not possible.

If Momoi had such a personality, I don’t know what I’d look like anymore.

…..I wonder if I can change her personality like the heroine and start our family life all over again?

Whilst I was thinking that, I saw Momoi staring at me.

Damn…

Did it show on my face…?

「Hey by the way, which character do you like most in the anime?」(Momoi)

Momoi asked.

I thought『Eh?』but remembered the rant I received last time I reacted like that, so quickly swallowed my words.

Then, I casually answered the name of my favorite character.

「『Karasawa Megumi』is it?」(Momoi)

When I answered like that, the light disappeared from Momoi’s eyes.

….eh!?

Why those eyes!?

I just answered the name of my favorite character!?

「….you said the name of a character from the anime right…?」(Momoi)

「Eh….ah, that’s right…」(Kaito)

I nod with a bitter smile to Momoi’s words.

…..『Karasawa Megumi』even though she only comes out once in the first episode!?

Is that it?

Should I choose someone who appears properly after the first episode….?

So–

「I meant『Ichinose Nami』」(Kaito)

—-I said. She was a heroine from another class, her smile is cute and she’s an excellent friend to her friends.

It should be fine as she has a firm role in the anime.

Guju–!　

….eh, what kind of sound was that?

I look at the person who made that sound.

Then–

「Aaaaaah! What are you doing!」(Kaito)

—Momoi was squeezing the bottle she was holding in her right hand.

Eh, what’s up with this girl’s grip strength that she can squeeze a PET bottle with a closed lid!?

Thanks to that, juice has sprinkled all over my bedroom floor.

「…..What is it?」(Momoi)

「No, nothing….」(Kaito)

Momoi, who had lost the light from her eyes, glared at me.

What do you mean!?

What’s wrong with this girl!?

「I see….then what about『Horiyama Suzu』…..?」(Momoi)

Dangerous…with this pattern, will this girl act crazy if I get the answer wrong?

Why are you smiling at me with your eyes devoid of life!?

You, you never usually smile at me!?

……no, there was one time….but I don’t feel that sense of kindness now….!

My brain works at full capacity to derive an answer.

Certainly『Horiyama Suzu』is good at studying and exercising like Momoi, but she’s a character who gradually shows here compassion!?

Eh, but in the anime she hasn’t grown to that extent yet!?

……Yosh, let’s answer like this.

「She’s certainly a beautiful character, but she’s lonely because of her bad mouth and aloofness, however in reality she’s a girl who works hard to get closer to her brother, and I like girls who work hard on something like that」(Kaito)

—By saying both the good and the bad about the character, I had lost the feeling like I was smoothing it over, but I just gave my honest impressions.

Then–

「I see….you thought about that character a lot. She’s lonely, but really kind」(Momoi)　　

–Momoi smiled.

I feel relief at that.

I’m glad…apparently my answer was the right one.

…the kind part of her doesn’t appear in the anime, but I’ll stop that tsukkomi.

If I said that, Momoi might fight back again…

Perhaps that girl is her favorite character.

Maybe she was watching it by herself.

….Isn’t is amazing how similar Momoi is to the character that appeared in the anime?

It’s easy to forget recently, but she’s still a high-spec character…

Will her personality get better like『Horiyama Suzu』?

The chance of that is probably 1%….

It’s been a while since this girl has shown any compassion…

….Oh, that reminds me.

「—Recently the original has been overshadowed….」(Kaito)

—-ah!

Did I say that out loud!?

Perhaps I was too relieved, I said something I was thinking.

I look at Momoi nervously.

There–

「Fufu, right? I wonder why the girl who was the main character is getting a thinner presence?」(Momoi)

—Momoi looked at me and laughed.　

Of course, she lost the light from her eyes…

In Momoi’s left hand, there was only an empty PET bottle that had been crushed and it’s contents spilled everywhere.

….It’s unnecessary to explain why this is happening anymore…

—-Un, you’re in the most danger when you begin to relax…

I didn’t care that my room was dirty anymore, I just regretted my careless remarks–

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Lonely Otaku – Chapter 21

Arc 1 – Changing Everyday

Chapter 21 – I don’t know where the landmines are, so many landmines…

「「「…….」」」

….Aw, awkward….

We are currently silently eating at the table, all 3 of us.

Although we are being silent, it’s not quiet as the TV is on in the background.

As always, Sakura-chan who is eating in front of me is smiling.

It’s supposed to be the smile of my cute imouto, but for some reason I keep feeling a cold sweat on my back.

Speaking of Momoi, she was looking at me as if saying『You broke your promise again didn’t you?』

No no, certainly that happened….but the cause of this is different…..

No matter how much I think about it, the cause is likely my interactions with Saijo…?

But I can’t say that in front of Momoi…

Even yesterday, she was probably angry that I was caught『Playing with the girl who cornered her』so I was scared of what type of gaze I’d be subjected to if she knew what happened today…

Above all, I want to do something about the girl who keeps smiling at me.

It was usually a healing smile, but this one made me feel uncomfortable…

「—-That person….looks like Onii-chan’s girlfriend…」(Sakura)

「「—-!?」」(Momoi & Kaito)

The cold sweat running down my back doubled at the words of Sakura-chan, who was watching TV.

「Heh—is that right?」(Momoi)

Momoi, who saw the person on TV, turned cold eyes towards me.

I pretended not to notice and looked towards the TV.

What was projected there, was a blonde girl with her hair tied into a pigtail.

At first glance, it certainly looked like Saijo.

Maa, in comparison Saijo only ties her hair to one side in a pigtail.

However, unlike Saijo who dyes her hair blonde. For the girl on TV–whose name seems to be Byodoin Aria, it was likely her natural hair colour.

Her hair was a pretty shade of gold and her eyes were a deep beautiful blue color.

She was the daughter of the Byodoin Conglomerate, one of the 3 major conglomerates in Japan, similar to Saijo.

The reason why such a girl is on TV is that she is a talented president in an elite high school that had become a hot topic recently.

This girl was currently running four companies whilst studying in an all-girls school. One of them seems to be the TV company that is currently interviewing her.

Perhaps she inherited the companies from her parents, regardless she was a hot topic because she was running these companies whilst still at school.

I wonder if one day she’ll appear on her own TV show…she seems to be half-American and her appearance is cute. Because of that she seems to be attracting a lot of attention.

That’s probably why she was appearing right now, to boost the TV shows ratings.

I knew about her for a while.

But you couldn’t call us acquaintances.

This girl has been the subject of rumors online for a long time.

Apparently, she has a very strong personality with an aggressive negotiation style where she grasps and exploits the weaknesses of the other party.

Despite never diving in too deeply, she has never failed in a transaction before using this style.

I wondered if it was possible to have an aggressive negotiation style without diving in too deeply, but it’s what she’s known for.

But….Byodoin Conglomerate…?

To tell the truth, on Saturday I’m supposed to visit a branch company of the Byodoin Conglomerate.

It was a meeting to discuss a new programming project…

To be honest, I feel like not going…

For me who is not good at talking to people, a face-to-face meeting is not something I’m good at.

That’s why, I’m hoping we only have to meet in the beginning, then exchange everything through email.

As expected, the face-to-face meeting seems a little useless…

By the way, I use the handle KAI to communicate with companies without using my real name.

When I first started, I was using my full name, but later on I changed it to my current handle. I never gave my home address, just my email address.

Well usually it would be impossible to hide my name as I receive the money after the project is completed, but there are exceptions as well…

Eventually I understood why special cases were allowed and why companies accepted them…

Regardless, the reason why I take these jobs is because it’s my hobby.

No at first it was just about the money.

However, I enjoyed the feeling of exhilaration when the program I wrote from scratch started working.

If I was going to write programs anyway, so it would be better if I got money for doing it as well. That way I can buy a lot of light novels and eroge, so I kept taking jobs from these companies.

Maa…I was making a lot of money extremely quickly….but alot of it was spent on the incident with Momoi…

「—-It seems that way….」(Momoi)

「Ha….?」(Kaito)

Whilst I was concerning myself with this weekend’s plans, Momoi said something that didn’t make sense.

Momoi was staring at me with eyes that had lost their light.

….I had forgotten…

Because I was lost in my thoughts, I had been staring at the girl on the TV for a while….

「You were staring at her so much, do you really like blonde girls…?」(Momoi)

「No, it’s a misunderstanding…」(Kaito)

「Misunderstanding? Then are you leading that girl on?」(Sakura)

Sakura-chan responded instinctively to my words.

Ah—her smile is finally gone, but her cheeks are puffed up.

Why!? I’m not scared or anything!

But it’s clear she’s angry from her facial expression!

「Um, Sakura-chan. I’ve said it many times, but I’m not dating Saijo okay?」(Kaito)　

「But didn’t the blonde Onee-san say she was?」(Sakura)

How many times are we going to do this exchange…

「That’s why I’m saying….Saijo said it without permission」(Kaito)

「I thought I saw you with a loose-face when you were Saijo, but maybe I was wrong?」(Momoi)

When I responded to Sakura-chan for the umpteenth time, Momoi responded instead.

Wait what’s with this situation!?

The Momoi sisters are ganging up on me!?

「Momoi, what are you saying?」(Kaito)

I ask Momoi to find out what she’s talking about.

「Who knows? All I know is that you gave Saijo a Kabedon and an Agokui」(Momoi)

「Heh….?」(Sakura)

Aaaaaaaah!

I stepped on a land mine!

Momoi, what are you talking about!?

I don’t know why, but Momoi’s words made Sakura-chan start smiling again!

I can see the letters『Gogogogogogo』in the background!

—I spent an hour after this trying to convince the Momoi sisters–

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Lonely Otaku – Chapter 20

TLN: Sorry for the delay, I had half translated last night and then encountered RL issues that delayed it.

Just to give you guys a heads up, there’s a slight chance (in case it improves) that I may be in hospital tomorrow as I’ve been experiencing chest pain when breathing out for the last 2 days.

Arc 1 – Changing Everyday

Chapter 20 – Stepsister, like a naughty kitten

「Than- Be carefu- See y–」

「「「Thank you very much!」」」

Homeroom ended with a greeting from the chairman

Immediately after that, I took my school bag that I had packed in advance and tried to quickly sneak out–aiming at the door.

「Kaito~ Let’s go home together, eh?」(Saijo)

As soon as I leave the classroom, I hear a voice.

—Yes, for some reason it was the voice of a blonde gal who had been following me since yesterday.

Saijo followed me during lunch break again today.

Thanks to that, I couldn’t eat lunch with Sakura-chan and I was exposed to the curious gazes of the other students.

Really…it’s so stressful…

That’s why I left the classroom immediately to avoid getting caught by Saijo when I left school, just like yesterday.

My aim was to reach the classroom of Sakura-chan, who was probably angry.

Why is that kid angry…?

Was It because I broke the promise to eat lunch together today…?

This was the exchange we had over SNS at that time.

『Sorry, I can’t eat lunch together with you for some reason. I’m really sorry』

—In response, she replied with this.

『Un, it’s okay (^_^) Nico』(TLN: Nico means smile)

….eh, then why is she angry?

Un, it doesn’t seem like she’s angry.

….however, Sakura-chan doesn’t usually use emoticons.

Also, next to the smiling face, there’s a『Nico』right?

This reminds me of something.

That’s right–Sakura-chan’s smile that she showed me yesterday when she was truly angry.

Why am I breaking my promise with Sakura-chan the day after promising never to break another promise with her!?

I mean, yesterday I should have known this would happen and declined to make a promise with Sakura-chan in the first place!

….I was too scared of Sakura-chan’s smile from back then and couldn’t afford to think about it.

For the time being, when I arrive at the meeting place I should immediately apologize and ask for forgiveness…

２

But–it seems like reality was out of my expectations.

「O—onii-chan, I made you wait!」(Sakura)

With that said, Sakura-chan tottered over to me with a smile on her face.

That smile was an ordinary cute smile, without the sound effects from yesterday.

E, eh…?

Is she not angry?

That’s right….this kid is very kind.

She must have been angry yesterday because she was made to wait a long time and thought I was playing around with other girls.

But then, what’s with that emoticon?

W, well, there’s no need to care about that anymore.

If I think about it any further, I feel like I’ll sink into a bottomless swamp…

I firmly decide that and return a smile to Sakura-chan.

「No, I just arrived」(Kaito)

「I see, shall we go home?」(Sakura)

I started walking with Sakura-chan who answered my words with a smile–

「……..e, etto….Sakura-chan….?」(Kaito)

「What is it, onii-chan?」(Sakura)

Sakura-chan looks up at me with a smile, in contrast to my voice of bewilderment.

I ask Sakura-chan whilst looking at her right arm.

「Why are you hugging my arm….?」(Kaito)

That’s right, Sakura-chan was currently hugging my right arm. I was getting deja vu from yesterday.

Though it was slightly different compared to Saijo, the appearance of the small Sakura-chan hugging me can only been seen as a child being spoiled.

Also the feeling of my arm was–amazing….

No, I had the same feeling with Saijo.

However, Sakura-chan had an incomparable softness with a large surface area.

…..this is bad, I feel guilty.

Besides, if Momoi finds us like this, it could get dangerous…..

However I can’t unravel myself from Sakura-chan’s arm.

But it was for a different reason than the unreasonable blonde gal yesterday.

…….doesn’t that mean it’s because of my ulterior motives……?

Well it certainly feels great right?

Still there is strong sense of guilt, this must be the reason.

But–

I look towards Sakura-chan who was starting to answer my question.

Her reply was–

「Is it….not okay…..?」(Sakura)

—With a slightly shy smile, she responded in a way that was far out of my expectations.

——-Seriously so cute!!!!!!

「Not at all, keep going until your satisfied!」(Kaito)

I replied to Sakura-chan with a smile.

「Yatta~! Thank you, Onii-chan!」(Sakura)

Sakura-chan was all smiles as she rubbed her cheek on my arm.

I can’t do it, I can’t peel off my cute imouto who is clinging to me like this…

Or rather, whenever I’m around this kid she seems to destroy my reasoning.

She was too cute…

Because of that I was becoming the center of attention…..I have no choice but to give up…..

When I thought like this, my current situation almost seemed like a manga–

「Ah—Kaito! I finally found you!」(Saijo)

「—–!」(Kaito)

I look back at the person who had called out to me.

「Mou so cruel~ I was looking..for you…..」(Saijo)

When I looked back, it was Saijo in front of me.

Speaking of Saijo, when she saw Sakura-chan clinging to my arm, the light disappeared from her eyes.

「Cheating….?」(Saijo)

「How is it cheating!?」(Kaito)

I instinctively respond to Saijo’s words.

In what way was it cheating!?

No from our interactions before it’s normal for her to think that way.

I know already–I know it’s strange!

「That’s because, you have your arms linked with Momoi’s imouto」(Saijo)

With that said, Saijo points to Sakura-chan.

「No, aren’t you getting ahead of yourself!? First of all, what you said isn’t true! I’m not in a relationship with you! and I don’t feel that way with Sakura-chan either!」(Kaito)

To my words Saijo and for some reason Sakura as well, puffed up their cheeks.

….eh, Saijo aside, why Sakura-chan!?

I don’t understand why she’s acting like that, so I look towards her.

I noticed something.

Sakura-chan was currently acting extremely vigilant.

『….eh, what are you saying?』is that what she’s thinking?

Bad, I can’t think of any other words to describe this kid’s situation anymore…

Saying that, she looks like a kitten who’s trying to look intimidating by standing all the hair on her body upright.

I mean, who is this kid?

Where did the usual, friendly Sakura-chan go?

「Sa, Sakura-chan…?」(Kaito)

When I hesitantly called out to her, Sakura-chan asked me a question whilst looking at Saijo.

「Who is this person? A friend of Onii-chan?」(Sakura)

Her voice was nervous.

Eh….?

Is this different than being angry…?

Really, it seems like she’s wary of Saijo…..

Well it can’t be helped right?

Because Saijo looks like a blonde gal…. (TLN: So to clarify on blonde gal, it’s actually Gyaru but the literal meaning)

She also has a bad personality…

「Ah, me?」(Saijo)

Saijo responded to Sakura-chan’s words before me as I was lost in thought.

So she said–

「I’m Kaito’s girlfriend you know?」(Saijo)

—It was a bomb shell of a remark.

「You, how can you say that!? Didn’t I deny it earlier!?」(Kaito)

「I don’t know~ Isn’t a man with who means two different things when saying one cool~? 」(Saijo)

Saijo used my words against me.

「I see…you are Onii-chan’s girlfriend?」(Sakura)

「—!」(Kaito)　

Sakura-chan who was looking at our exchange, looked on with a smile.

…..eh, Sakura-chan…?

Your Onii-chan denied that you know….?

Why do you believe the words of this blonde gal and not the words of your Onii-chan…?

Or rather, can you stop smiling like that? I can almost hear a『Gogogogogogo』in the background.

After being pressured by Sakura-chan who was smiling oddly the whole time, I went home with cold sweat flowing down my body.

—By the way speaking of Saijo, she seemed happy that Sakura-chan had believed her and went home alone with a smile on her face.

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Lonely Otaku – Chapter 19

TLN: Apologies for the delay, I felt awful on Sunday with a throbbing headache and couldn’t focus properly.

I’ve seen some reviews saying the cruel scene a few chapters ago was handled badly after the fact. I 100% agree, they kind of forced Saijo into the heroine position using a weird excuse like “sorry I almost got your stepsister gangraped, but my dad might stop giving me money and things, wanna date me?”

So I won’t say anything to those who stopped at that point, because it’s completely understandable. Those who stayed have the best heroine to look forward to, Alice. Do you like kuuderes? (lacking in emotion, but show their “dere” side to people they have opened there hearts to), if so then you have a lot to look forward to. The LN only has 2 images of Alice, so I hope you enjoy them.

Arc 1 – Changing Everyday

Chapter 19 – Shocking Facts

–incredible…

I returned to my room after pressuring Kanzaki with Sakura and remembered the scene I saw at lunch break.

During lunch break, I went to Kanzaki’s classroom to deliver his bento, but for some reason he left the classroom together with Saijo-san.

I thought he might be trying to do something, so I decided to follow them.

Then for some reason Saijo-san handed a bento box to Kanzaki-kun and they began to eat them side by side.

Judging from his expression, they weren’t on good terms. However Saijo-san was smiling from beginning to end…..

Could it be that Saijo-san….likes Kanzaki-kun….?

Didn’t he stop her plan….?

But from the way she was looking at him, I could only think that I was right.

Or rather, she outright admitted that she wanted to be Kanzaki’s girlfriend so it was definitely the case…

But he said he wanted to start out as friends….

Is this a defensive measure he’s doing to protect me..?

Or does he really think it’s okay to go out with Saijo-san…?

Besides that, the key to Kanzaki-kun’s change was….Kotori Haruka?

Waa~ mou, there are so many things I don’t know~…

For some reason I’ve gotten moody.

I know what this is, jealousy.

I was jealous of Saijo-san for being able to talk with him freely, but most of all I was jealous of–Kotori Haruka, for occupying an important position in his heart.

I’m not sure if this is because he’s Umi-kun, or because I’ve started to like Kanzaki-kun.

No, even if you say『they’re the same』the fact is that Umi-kun has been the target of my unrequited love without even knowing his face, and now I’ve suddenly found out that he is someone close to me who I hated until a while ago.

Yet it was Kanzaki-kun who helped me out of a desperate situation.

The two seem to mix together, but at the same time they don’t.

There was also another shocking fact I discovered after finding out that Kanzaki-kun was Umi-kun.

That was—that Kanzaki-kun wasn’t a tsundere!

What does this mean!?

Wasn’t he happy to get close to me!?

He wasn’t saying those things to hide his embarrassment!?

I’m still not convinced on that part.

But it’s an undeniable truth that he hated me.

Because….that’s what he said to me as Hanahime!! (TLN: Remember he complained about his stepsister to Hanahime)

I’ve done it….

I’ve really done it this time….

Until now, I didn’t mind if he hated me and I didn’t feel the need to change my attitude because I thought he was ok with it, but if Umi-kun hates me now, then the story is different!

So am I going to change my attitude now!?

That’s impossible!

I might have been able to right after he helped me–but instead I said『disgusting』–!

Aaaaaaaaaaa!

Am I an idiot!?

Am I really stupid!?

I could see that he was smiling and answering that way out of shyness.

I could have chosen different words!

So, it’s impossible to change my attitude now.

Do I continue to argue with him as is!?

Wait! I still have a hand to play!

I could just admit that I’m Hanahime and that I know he’s Umi-kun and I could start treating him kindly!

…..it’s impossibleeeeee!

Because if I tell him who Hanahime is, what if he starts hating Hanahime as well!?

If that happens, then I can’t talk to Umi-kun anymore right!?

I won’t be able to recover from that!

But but, what should I do…

At this rate Saijo-san might steal Kanzaki-kun…

That’s because, when I left school today I saw Saijo-san and Kanzaki-kun walking whilst linking arms!

I couldn’t hear the conversation, but they seemed to be having fun!

Uuu….that’s not it….

But what should I do…

At that time, a book fell into my sight.

It was the books I had borrowed from him, the base of the story was essentially an eroge involving the heroines.

For the record, Umi-kun didn’t announce his age, but still wrote eroge reviews on his blog…

I thought he might not be a high school student, but if Kanzaki-kun is Umi-kun, then just what are healthy high school boys doing nowadays?….is what I want to say.

Really….eroge is….lewd….

A, ah, that’s it–!

At this time, a good idea suddenly came to mind–!

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Lonely Otaku – Chapter 18

TLN: Sorry for the late chapter! I had an exhausting day at work and fell asleep as soon as I got home. I’ve literally slept like 16 hours (I’m off work today) and I still have multiple bags under my eyes….

Arc 1 – Changing Everyday

Chapter 18 – Whatever, I’m sorry I broke my promise…

「–I’m home….」(Kaito)

「W—welcome back, onii-chan. I’ve already prepared the meal, so why don’t you eat with onee-chan?」(Sakura)

Sakura said with a smile.

Ah—I’m healed by that smile….eh?

What is it…?

The smile that Sakura-chan is showing me is as cute as always, but something feels strange.

「What’s wrong onii-chan?」(Sakura) (TLN: She stops using the kanji for older brother in this sentence and just pronounces the hiragana. There is no difference phonetically, but you can tell from the writing that she’s speaking different than usual)

As I stare at Sakura-chan, she tilts her head with a smile.

Eh….was this how she usually acts…?

I don’t know what the discomfort is and I’m too exhausted, so let’s stop thinking about it for now…

The reason why I’m tired–is of course Saijo.

When I left school today, I continued walking whilst Saijo clung to me.

Why did I keep walking…?

I felt that if I stopped as she requested, I’d likely be stuck with her for an even longer amount of time.

That said, I couldn’t go home with her clinging to my arm, so I continued walking past my house.

Unfortunately, she was unexpectedly patient and held on for such a long time, it was only when we reached Saijo’s house that she finally let go

Even so, this was surprising–

２

When Saijo was dropped off at home–

「—eh…? This is your house?」(Kaito)

I looked up at Saijo’s house and asked her.

「Un, that’s right. Ahaha, is it surprising?」(Saijo)

Saijo who answered my question, was scratching her cheek as if troubled.

Saijo’s house–was a single apartment where a salaryman might live.

Saijo’s family house might not be close by–but it was a strange place for an ojou-sama to live here.

After all, although the room could be locked, there was no further security.

There was no automatic door lock or any other type of security at the entrance to the building complex.

…what does this mean?

「Etto, you see, I wanted you to know this before you found out later and hate me for it….I don’t get much support from my parents」(Saijo)

Saijo started laughing as if what she was saying was funny.

「Could it be, that you’re paying for this?」(Kaito)

Saijo nods to my question.

「I’m living here and I’m paying the rent with my savings」(Saijo)

「…that’s why you’re limited to living in such a place?」(Kaito)

The hell, what are Saijo’s parents thinking?

Even if you want her to experience living alone, should you at least give her a house with proper security?

In the first place, it’s strange to say that if you don’t place 1st in the school rankings, you’ll be cut off from your family…

I know they want her to have a certain level of ability–but isn’t the world of the rich too severe?

「–ah, that’s not right you know? I have a lot of savings, I just chose this place」(Saijo)

Saijo shook her head in response to my question.

Aaah, is that it…

Even if her parents don’t send her any money, she must have accumulated quite a bit of pocket money.

I don’t know how much pocket money the daughter of one of the largest conglomerates in Japan would receive, but it must be a significant amount.

That’s why she’s able to bless the people at school.

But this raises new questions.

「Then why bother with such a place? Isn’t it better to live somewhere with more security?」(Kaito)

Saijo looked embarrassed at my question.

Her expression was different than the one she had shown when she cornered Momoi and when she was talking to her classmates, she looked like a weak girl.

「This is–the punishment I gave myself」(Saijo)

「Punishment…?」(Kaito)

「That’s right–I once ran away in middle school. That caused my parents to be disappointed in me. But my father gave me one last chance」(Saijo)

「You have to get number 1 in the school?」(Kaito)

Saijo nodded and continued her explanation.

「Father told me to survive my high school life using the money I had saved up until now…to be honest, my pocket money is enough to live on my own for a few years, so I decided to run my life by myself」(Saijo)

「Why would you do that?」(Kaito)

「That’s because–if I live a comfortable life, I’m likely to run away again. I couldn’t forgive myself after I ran away the first time. I don’t want to be like that anymore and I’m trying my best not to be」(Saijo)

Saijo’s eyes seemed to indicate that she was well prepared.

I was wondering just what Saijo had ran away from, but I didn’t push the issue as she was deliberately guiding the conversation away from that point.

Saying that, is this the reason why she reads books on negotiation at school…?

Perhaps it’s related to what she was running from….

Maybe I’m thinking too much about it.

「I know what you’re saying, but just because you want to be number one, doesn’t mean you’ll do anything to Momoi right?」(Kaito)

Just in case—I ask Saijo about it again.

I didn’t think she would give up so easily, so I was well prepared.

But Saijo–

「I won’t do it you know? because if I do, Kaito will hate me」(Saijo)

—so she says.

Looking at her like this, it makes me feel guilty for doubting her.

However I still couldn’t understand why she contacted me like this.

「I didn’t think you would but….what will you do?」(Kaito)

「Of course I’ll have to do my best on my own? if I can’t make it to the top that way, then it can’t be helped anymore」(Saijo)

Saijo says with a smiling expression.

….I’m surprised…

「Is that really okay?」(Kaito)

I instinctively ask.

After all, if she doesn’t rank first, she’ll be cut off from her family.

In other words, her future would be over.

「Un, that’s fine, because then I won’t have to worry about the Saijo name anymore」(Kaito)

Saijo replied, looking at me with a meaningful smile.

I was thinking about the meaning of Saijo’s words.

…..I don’t get it…

What changed Saijo’s way of thinking like this?

—to make her think that it would be alright to abandon one of Japan’s leading conglomerates….

Did she reconsider after the matter that occurred the other day?

It doesn’t make sense to think this way and then corner people…

Maa, it’s fine for me as long as Saijo doesn’t target anyone else…

「Then, shall we go inside?」(Saijo)

Saijo smiled and pulled my arm whilst I was thinking.

….ha?

Eh, what is she doing, this girl!?

「Wa, wait a minute! why do I need to go inside?」(Kaito)

To my question, Saijo tilts her head and looks at me strangely.

Why is she looking at me like I’m the odd one?

No matter what you think, this is weird right?

「What are you saying when you’ve come this far?」(Saijo)

….more than her facial expressions, I was more stumped by her words…

「I don’t get what you mean, I just escorted you home?」(Kaito)

Saijo was surprised and shouted an exaggerated『Eh~!』at my explanation.

「You didn’t come here to be an Okuriōkami?」(Saijo) (TLN: 送り狼 – Okuriōkami, basically means a guy who escorts a girl home, only to make a pass on her. Literally means “Feed Wolf”)

「Haa!?」(Kaito)

Really, what’s wrong with this girl…

Why does she think that I’m here to act as an Okuriōkami?

I can’t really understand how her thoughts are wired.

I really don’t want to get involved with this girl anymore…

However there was one thing I was more concerned about.

「Hey–despite being in this state, you’ve been looking into my past a lot right?」(Kaito)

Saijo, who had a sullen look to my question due to my refusal earlier, replied with a smile.

「Ah–that was an easy thing to do though right? I told my dad that a male classmate of mine kept approaching me and that I wanted to know about his middle school days, so he got the butlers to look it up you know?」(Saijo)

Saijo said innocently.

….yes?

Eh…what did she just say?

「C, can you say that again?」(Kaito)

Whilst listening for her reply, my back was drenched in a cold sweat–

「That’s why~ I told him I wanted to investigate a male classmate of mine」(Saijo)

—Saijo replied with a benign smile.

「Ooiiiiiiiiiiiii! What are you saying!?」(Kaito)

「Eh?」(Saijo)

「Don’t『Eh?』me! Don’t screw with me! That makes it seem like I’m stalking you! Did they think I was investigating the Saijo conglomerate, is that it!?」(Kaito)

Saijo laughs at my words.

Why is this girl laughing!

Stop laughing!

From her point of view, this is someone elses problem!

I’d also laugh if an anime character fell into the same predicament!

「It’s fine it’s fine, don’t worry」(Saijo)　

Saijo laughs whilst smiling.

「Why aren’t you worried about it? Ah is it because of that? The misunderstanding was resolved after you finished investigating–」(Kaito)

「—Yeah, even if Kaito was arrested by the police, I’ll free you, so it’s ok」(Saijo)

Seriously…just what kind of thinking method does this girl have?　

I’ll free you, so it’s okay to get caught….

I mean, there’s no reason I’d get arrested in the first place…?

Rather than that, I’m the one being stalked right?

「Ahaha, it was a joke a joke, I told my dad that he doesn’t have to worry, so he won’t do anything」(Saijo)

「Is that true….?」(Kaito)

「Of course! because if Kaito is arrested, I’ll be in trouble too! so feel free to thank me ok?」(Saijo)

Saijo seems proud of that, but wouldn’t it be her own fault that she’s fallen into this danger?

Rather, you should apologize right?

I was thinking such a thing, but stopped thinking about it after a while. Then after Saijo was off-guard, I untied my arm from hers and walked home–

３

—there was such a thing….but it seems that today’s misfortune isn’t over yet….

「Wh, what is this….?」(Kaito)

I look at the dinner lined up in front of me and involuntarily look at Sakura-chan.

「What’s wrong, onii-chan?」(Sakura)

Sakura-chan was there with a lovely smile on her face.

「N, no….nothing….」(Kaito)

「Is that so? eat it quickly before it gets cold, ok?」(Sakura)

Whilst listening to Sakura-chan’s words, I look at the dishes lined up in front of me.

The dishes in front of me where a charred fish-like object and stir-fried vegetables, also charred.

On top of that there was a black object, likely rice, stuck in a bowl.

….well disregarding the other two, how do you make black rice?

Well I don’t think I’ve identified it incorrectly.

Because there are properly grilled salmon and stir-fried vegetables in front of Sakura and Momoi.

Why am I the only one….?

What’s with this….did Momoi make this to harrass me?

When I looked at Momoi with suspicion, she sighed and began to speak.

「You can see the cause if you look at your smartphone right?」(Momoi)

「Smartphone…?」(Kaito)

By the way, I haven’t looked at my smartphone in a while because of my excursion with Saijo.

Also Hanahime-chan is the only person I really contact…

I check my smartphone just as Momoi told me to.

There–

「Eh!?」(Kaito)

–a lot of notifications have come through.

I quickly rush to see the contents.

『I’ve arrived first, so I’ll wait for you onii-chan』

Followed by–

『Etto, are you helping your teacher with something?』

Then–

『Are you okay? What’s happened?』

There were many messages like this.

Of course, from the contents of the text, I could tell it was from Sakura-chan.

A cold sweat flows down my body.

We had promised to go back home together and we were supposed to contact each other if we couldn’t go home together.

Yet—since I was caught by Saijo I wasn’t able to contact her.

Sakura-chan had sent me a message every 20 minutes.

Perhaps she was being careful because she thought she’d be annoying if she sent them too often.

So that means….Sakura-chan has been waiting at school this whole time right?

Uwaaa….

I look up at Sakura-chan gingerly.

She was staring back at me and smiling.

But there was something off about that smile.

However I now knew what that discomfort was.

…this is, Sakura-chan when she’s angry…..

In the background behind Sakura-chan’s smile, it was if the characters『gogogogogo』could be seen. (TLN: gogogogo is a JP SFX to represent a threatening atmosphere/anger)

I then see the last message.

This message, unlike the others, ended with only a few words.

『Cruel』it said.

I’ve gone and done it nooooooow!

「So, sorry Sakura-chan!」(Kaito)

I hurriedly apologize to Sakura-chan.

「What are you talking about onii-chan? Sakura isn’t angry at all you know?」(Sakura)

Sakura replied with a smile, but—it’s a lie!

Somehow I feel as if the intimidating atmosphere has increased!

「Haa….I’ll tell you one thing, but breaking promises is the one thing Sakura hates the most. If you break a promise with her, she’ll get angry and that anger will be proportional to the percentage of how much she was looking forward to it」(Momoi)

Momoi explained.

At Momoi’s words–

「No way onee-chan~ I’ve already said Sakura is not angry at all」(Sakura)

–Sakura smiled at Momoi.

「Th, that’s right….sorry, it was my misunderstanding」(Momoi)

Momoi apologized to Sakura-chan.

Her face was tense….

Sakura-chan’s smile was intimidating enough to put even Momoi under pressure.

「W, well, when I was about to go home from the student council, I told Sakura『Kanzaki-kun was pulled aside by a beautiful blonde girl and went home whilst sporting a sloppy face』」(Momoi)

「Wait a minute! Why are you lying about that!?」(Kaito)

「Haa!?」(Momoi)

「–!」(Kaito)

The moment I voiced my defense, Momoi returned a『Haa!?』

E, eh….?

I’ve spoken to Momoi quite a bit, but I’ve never heard her make a voice like that…?

Or rather, before I noticed it Momoi’s eyes were settled on me!

Eh, why!?

Why has the light disappeared from her eyes!?

「Really, you must have had a fun date–to even leave your cute imouto behind」(Momoi)

「W, wait–aren’t you misunderstanding something here? I was taken by Saijo by force–」(Kaito)

「But, you were having fun….」(Momoi)

How did she see it like that…?

Was my face really sloppy at that time?

My facial expression shouldn’t have changed much…

Maybe I’m emotionally unstable…

「Well that is–」(Kaito)

「Onii-chan–?」(Sakura)

「Hii–」(Kaito)

When I tried to explain to Momoi, I was called out by Sakura-chan, who had never stopped smiling since the start of dinner…..

On this day I promised Momoi and Sakura-chan that I would play with them in the future, and asked them to forgive me.

….eh?

Why did I promise to play with Momoi…?

I promised before I even knew it….

W, well anyway, I vowed on this day that I would never again break a promise with Sakura-chan–

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Lonely Otaku – Chapter 17

TLN: May have found a good novel to translate, but I’ll have to see how it goes. It’s a novel that has only had it’s prologue translated about 1/2 years ago and the website that’s hosting the prologue is down so it should be fair game for me to take.

It has 3 volumes of a light novel so I can easily source images.

Arc 1 – Changing Everyday

Chapter 17 – Just as I thought, this is crazy

「Hey–Saijo」(Kaito)

「Nn? What is it, Kaito?」

Saijo happily answers my call.

I didn’t feel anything bad from her expression.

To that Saijo, I—

「Now, I want to furiously cut off that side ponytail part of your hair, is that okay?」(Kaito)

–I reply with a straight face.

「No that’s no good at all!? If you do that, my hairstyle will change!」(Saijo)

Saijo who answers me, has an angered expression.

「I see….then how about using clippers and going fully bald?」(Kaito)

「What’s with that!? Or rather, aren’t your suggestions getting worse!?」(Saijo)

「…..I’m a selfish guy….」(Kaito) (TLN: Off topic, but on topic. Kaito uses “Wagamama” to mean selfish/greedy, I’m sure some of you have seen the adverts for the company Wagamama which uses the JP for greedy)

「No no no no no no! It’s strange! This person is crazy!」(Saijo)

She doesn’t like it….

Just how hard are you going to deny it?

Sure you might think someone is crazy if they suddenly said that to you–but I still wanted to cut off her hair that was annoying me.

Of course, there’s a reason for this.

That was–

「Why are you leaving school with your arms linked with mine?」(Kaito)

That’s right—when school ended, Saijo came running up to me and linked arms.

Naturally I refused her.

However, she never let go and as such we were the focus of attention.

Also, whenever I try and peel my arm away–

『Kyaaaaaa! Kanzaki-kun is molesting me!』

Is what she shouts!

It, is, strange, right?

She’s the one hugging me, so why am I the molester if I touch her arm to get her to let go!?

No, the people around me probably know the truth–even though they know that, why are they looking at me with gazes as if I’m guilty…?

I wanted to avoid those glances as if I’m an insect, so I gave up my arm to Saijo.

Because Saijo is hugging my arm, her hair tied to the side of her head keeps hitting my face, tickling me.

Originally I was trying to avoid standing out, but the stress of the attention I was getting from leaving school with Saijo hugging me, as well as the hair tickling my face was irritating.

…seriously, let’s cut off this ponytail….　

「—hey, why don’t you hug me?」(Saijo)

Saijo looks at me with a questioning expression.

…..eh?

What’s with that look?

She’s looking at me as if I’m doing something wrong…?

「No, why are you looking at me like that? Isn’t it strange to hug in the first place?」(Kaito)

「Eh~? but it’s normal for friends right?」(Saijo)

Is that so…?

Is it normal for friends to walk whilst hugging each other’s arms…?

…well it’s true that I see some students walking like that.

「—no no, isn’t that only with the same sex!?」(Kaito)

I was almost convinced for a moment, before I thought again.

Even if she says friends, it’s something only girls do, there were no men and women pairs hugging arms.

To my words Saijo responds–

「Eh—Kaito want’s to hug arms with men….? Sorry…I’m a woman…」(Saijo)

She slightly drew back from me.

「What do you mean!? How did you come to that conclusion!?」(Kaito)

「That’s because you said same-sex….」(Saijo)

「I meant girls!」(Kaito)

Saijo giggles at my words.

Ah–

「Sorry sorry, yeah—I knew that」(Saijo)

「You…have a bad personality…」(Kaito)

「Eh~….isn’t that a bit mean? Kaito seemed a little irritated, so I thought I’d help you relax」(Saijo)

Saijo said so and puffed her cheeks up in frustration.

….no the main cause of my irritation is you…..

「That’s why, it’s not strange for us to hug arms with each other, right?」(Saijo)

「Ha…? Why?」(Kaito)

I can’t understand Saijo’s words, so I ask her.

In response, she opened her mouth happily.

「Because we’re starting as friends, then dating, then finally getting married right? so there’s no problem doing this」(Saijo)

Saying that, she smiled.

….wait a moment….

Eh, is that what we promised at lunch today?

Isn’t that a giant leap forward?

「I don’t get what you mean…didn’t we only become friends…?」(Kaito)

「Eh~ what are you talking about? didn’t you say that we should start as friends? Kaito agreed to that, so it’s too late to back out now」(Saijo)

What…?

I thought she was twisting my words, but did I say that…?

….eh, I don’t get it….

Who is in the wrong, me or Saijo….?

I somehow understand what Saijo is getting at….

…but for now, I’ll just respond like this.

「As I thought, you’re crazy you knoooooow!?」

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Lonely Otaku – Chapter 16

TLN: So tired. Spent ages looking for a new series and translated a few teasers (really long chapters). This chapter is extremely long and due to time constraints, I can’t check it over before uploading. So let me know if there are any mistakes. I have 2 or 3 different series to try and gauge peoples interests. I’ve translated 1 chapter right now and have another 2 to go, then I’ll either run a vote or just go off of the comments/views.

Sorry! Forgot to add the illustration, it’s there now!

Arc 1 – Changing Everyday

Chapter 16 – Happy girl I don’t get it

What was I doing? I…..

The day after helping Momoi, I was lying on my desk at lunch break.

There was a tremendous amount of regret.

The reason was of course, what happened yesterday.

Yesterday’s scenes are reflected in my mind.

—why….did I have such an attitude?

Was I out of my mind?

Only the old me would act that way!

But–why was I stroking Momoi’s head!?

Scary….I’ve been tense all night, it’s scary…

Because of that, it was difficult to face Momoi at the moment, so I left home early and didn’t eat breakfast, I also didn’t receive a bento.

I mean Momoi had to get up early for student council anyway, so I should have stayed in late…

It’s no use, my head has been spinning since yesterday.

I look at the message I just received from Sakura-chan.

It read『Because you’re in the second grade classrooms, I asked onee-chan to deliver your bento』

It’s like I’m being chased by the flow…

Is it, from the roots of what started yesterday…?

Yesterday after I woke up from my sleep, Momoi who passed by me in the house didn’t even greet me.

She’s probably angry that I stroked her head….

Well if I was a women, I guess I would be angry if someone I consider disgusting or gross touches my hair…　

But let me make one excuse.

On the way back, Momoi started acting like Sakura-chan…

That’s why I treated her as if I was treating Sakura-chan.

…..I don’t think I’ve ever stroked Sakura-chan’s head….

「—hey, do you have a minute?」(???)

Hearing the words from above, I raise my head.

Is it pashiri again…?

「—tsu!」(Kaito)

Seeing the speaker’s face, I was immediately on alert.

Looking around, I could see the other students staring.

They’re shocked that this person is talking to me.

「What is it, Saijo?」(Kaito)

I suppress my voice so that the other students can’t hear me, then ask Saijo.

「I need to talk with you, come with me」(Saijo)

「Talk?」(Kaito)

「That’s right…probably, you’re in trouble now, so come with me」(Saijo)

I was a little confused about what to do, but thinking about yesterday, I decided to follow Saijo.

２

—Saijo took me behind the gymnasium.

……I know….this decision was stupid….

People rarely approach this place unless it’s time for physical education class.

Right now it’s lunch break.

In other words, no-one will come…

I look at Saijo standing in front of me, twiddling her hair between her fingertips.

No way, settling the score….?

Isn’t she overestimating me…?

To be honest, I’m really scared right now.

In fact, I am good at exercising, I just didn’t stand out in physical education.

But if a few guys come out here, I’ll be dead in no time.

….what is this, a yankee manga…?

It’s not normal, Saijo is not acting normal.

If my reading is off, wouldn’t this be a dangerous situation…?

Yet Saijo isn’t showing a frightened expression at all.

If I appear to be “below” her here, she might try to do something again.

That’s why, I have to act like a bully with this girl.

「What are you going to do….?」(Kaito)

When I stared at Saijo, her face grew red for some reason.

「You don’t have to be so vigilant, I just want to talk」(Saijo)

Saijo said with a smile.

I didn’t expect her to show that expression to me…

I thought she would resent me…?

But it’s best to still be on high alert.

It’s possible that she’s taking this current attitude to put me off guard.

「What did you want to talk about?」(Kaito)

「Well before that, let’s eat lunch together ok? I made two bentos」(Saijo)

Saying that, Saijo really takes out 2 bento boxes.

「Eh, home cooking? You can cook even though you’re an ojou-sama?」(Kaito)

「Don’t be an idiot. In case of emergencies I’ve been cooking from an early age, or rather, I do a lot of the household chores」(Saijo)

I see…if the business ever falls into danger, your daughter still has to be of marriageable quality…

「But–」(Kaito)

I stopped before saying that I had my own bento.

Currently Momoi has my bento box.

If Saijo sees me receiving it, it might make her realize that we’re a family.

If that happens, Momoi will kill me….

It can’t be helped, I’ll eat Sakura-chan’s bento later.

「But why give me a bento?」(Kaito)

I can’t figure out why she bothered to make me one.

「N, no particular reason!」(Saijo)

Somehow Saijo seemed restless as she replied.

No way–!

「Is it poisoned….?」(Kaito)

「What!?」(Saijo)

Saijo quickly responded to my question.

「No, I said too much when I mentioned poisoning…it contains laxatives right?」(Kaito)

「Who do you think I am!?」(Saijo)

That’s…

「The person who tried to break Momoi」(Kaito)

「Uu—」(Saijo)

When I said that, Saijo was lost for words.

I look at Saijo.

She shifted her gaze away from me and slowly opened her mouth to speak.

「T, there’s a reason for that….」(Saijo)

「Reason…?」(Kaito)

「W, well, I’ll explain it properly, so for the time being let’s eat! right?」(Saijo)

I nod to Saijo’s words and sit beside her.

There was no bench, so we sat on the staircase to the entrance to the gymnasium.

When I opened the bento Saijo had given me, it was filled with colorful side dishes. (TLN: Just quick explanation on side-dishes. In Japan, the main dish is usually rice and things like steak, burgers, fish etc.. are side dishes. Completely opposite to how we have it in the west)

「It’s amazing…did you really make this?」(Kaito)

「What’s up with you…I can at least do this much…」(Saijo)

Maybe she was dissatisfied with my words, he cheeks puffed up.

It was weird for a blonde gal to take such an attitude.

However….is this really okay?

It looks good, but I don’t know if it contains laxatives…

But I’m also anxious to not eat considering Saijo is watching closely next to me.

I try to eat the omelette.

—sweet….

But it tasted really good.

I’ve only ever eaten omelettes made with soy sauce, this is the first time I’ve ever had one made with sugar.

「H, how is it?」(Saijo)

Saijo was looking sideways at me, with an expression of both anticipation and anxiousness.

「Ah, it’s really delicious, honestly I’m surprised」(Kaito)

When I responded like that, Saijo said『Yosh–!』and did a small guts pose.

Since Saijo is next to me, I decide to get to the main subject.

「So what are you talking about? Something about Momoi?」(Kaito)

When I asked, Saijo nodded and looked into my eyes.

She slowly opens her mouth.

「Hey, this is your true character now right?」(Saijo)

「True character…?」(Kaito)

I don’t get what she’s trying to say, so I tilt my head in confusion.

「Don’t lie, yesterday and just now, you were completely different than the person you usually are at school. No matter how much an otaku is hurt, I don’t think they’d change that much. So you use a false persona at school and the person I’m talking to right now is different right?」(Saijo)

Saijo’s eyes told me that she was convinced.

….is this girl reading too much manga?

What does she mean false persona…?

Is she sick with chuunibyou? (TLN: 中二病 or chuunibyou is a condition where someone has delusions of grandeur, usually affecting middle schoolers)

My current personality is of someone with a communication disorder.

There’s nothing wrong with that…

「I don’t know, maybe your misunderstanding something–」(Kaito)

「Kotori Haruka」(Saijo)

My eyes widen at the name Saijo just said.

「Sorry, I investigated you. You didn’t seem to be in the center of your classmates until the middle of your second year of middle school. You caused an incident in which you pushed your classmates out a window. That time was right after the transfer of Kotori Haruka, whom you were familiar with. Shortly after that, you were absent from school. So that’s what made you look like how you are now, right? However, normal students don’t do that for no reason. Well unless they are unstable. In other words, it was due to the transfer of Kotori Haruka, right? I can tell she was important to you」(Saijo)

To Saijo’s words I lifted my bangs and looked at the sky.

Just how much did she investigate in only half a day…?

Not everything was right, but most of it was.

As expected of the ojou-san of the Saijo group.

But–

「It’s not completely wrong, I hurt a girl, then we argued and my classmate fell from the 2nd floor of the school building, that’s all. I’m not making excuses about whether or not I pushed him. But if you pry into my past anymore…I’ll crush you, got it?」(Kaito)

I glare at Saijo with a sideways glance.

「Y….yes….」(Saijo)

She replied to my words with a quiet voice.

But—for some reason, Saijo had a red face.

E, eh…?

Is this the face you usually make when scared…?

Why does she look so happy…?

Dangerous…after all this guy is dangerous in many ways…

「Ma, maa, the real me is the one in class, please don’t get any strange ideas」(Kaito)

「Maa, let’s say that then. By the way, why don’t you cut your hair?」(Saijo)

「A, ah…I don’t think I’ll cut it for the time being…」(Kaito)

…haven’t I been asked that recently?

「–because the other kids can’t handle it」(Saijo)

「Eh…? your voice was too quiet, I couldn’t hear it」(Kaito)

Saijo was saying something, but I missed it because I was thinking about something.

「N, nothing!」(Saijo)

Having said that, Saijo turned away.

I wonder what it was…?

「Hey, can I hear something from you?」(Kaito)

「What?」(Saijo)

「As you said earlier, explain why you hurt Momoi」(Kaito)

To my words, Saijo closes her eyes.

Then slowly opens her mouth.

「Why….do you think I’m in this school?」(Saijo)

「Ha..?」(Kaito)

No, it’s not that I’m not curious, but why was my question ignored…?

「I don’t know」(Kaito)

When I answered like that, Saijo seemed a little sad.

Maybe she wanted me to think about it properly.

With a sigh, Saijo begins to speak.

「At the time of graduation, I have to be ranked first in the rankings for the number one school in the prefecture-that’s the quota I got out from my house…that’s the only reason I came to this school」(Saijo)

The second half of the sentence I could barely hear as Saijo’s voice got quieter.

But I don’t really want to tell her that.

Then for the time being, let’s just ask her about it.

「Quota?」(Kaito)

「If I don’t meet the quota, I’ll be kicked out of the house」(Saijo)

Saijo lowered her gaze as she said that.

「I understand….so you aimed to crush Momoi because she’s the current number one?」(Kaito)

She nodded to my question.

Is that so…

I don’t need to ask anything else.

It must be her parent’s aim to make her compete amongst the peasants to remind them of who they obey, rather than send her to a school for the rich.

In that sense, this school, which contains a large amount of students of high specs, must be perfect for her.

But, it’s awful to think about…

「Isn’t it funny? Isn’t it something to laugh at?」(Saijo)

Saijo forced a laugh and urged me to do the same.

Ah…I can tell by looking at her expression.

Her heart is exhausted already.

I start to wonder about myself, if I’ve ever tried to work to improve my status in school….

「I won’t laugh」(Kaito)

「Eh…?」(Saijo)

Saijo was surprised at my reply.

「It’s your parent’s desire to give you some power to survive in the harsh competitive society. I can’t laugh at someone who’s trying to do that」(Kaito)

「…hee…..Kanzaki has changed after all…」(Saijo)

「Haa? why did you call me by my name?」(Kaito)

「It’s fine isn’t it!」(Saijo)

Saijo’s face was smiling.

But I complain to Saijo.

「But still, that’s just an aspiration….I won’t support anyone who uses a reason like that to hurt someone」(Kaito)

When I said that, Saijo looked into my eyes.

「I know that. I’m not going to do that type of think anymore, I won’t touch Momoi」(Saijo)

Her eyes told me that she wasn’t lying.

About Momoi–

Doesn’t that mean that she won’t look down on Momoi anymore…?

「Do you believe me?」(Saijo)

「Of course」(Kaito)

「I see, then….I don’t care anymore」(Saijo)

It’s true that judging someone that had cornered Momoi so much would feel sweet.

But I thought it would be strange to reject someone who genuinely wants to change because of that.

If their motivation to change is destroyed, they may not change anymore.

Changing themselves will bring about a great influence on the people around them.

I felt that Saijo was on of those people now.

「Thanks….」(Saijo)

Saijo smiled happily to my words.

That smile was different that her previous scary image, it suited her more.

「Hey…」(Saijo)

「Eh?」(Kaito)

Whilst I was thinking, Saijo was fiddling with her hair in front of me.

Her face was a little red.

She suddenly started speaking–

「Is Kaito dating Momoi?」(Saijo)

「Haaaaaaaaaa!?」(Kaito)

「Kyaa–!」(Saijo)

「Ah….sorry」(Kaito)

I was so surprised I inadvertently screamed.

But really, do we look like we’re dating!?

「No I’m not dating her, why do you think that?」(Kaito)

「That’s because…you said『my precious girlfriend』so is that not the case?」(Saijo)　

Ah, that’s what she meant…

Did she understand my precious “family” to mean something else.

Well, I suppose it would be weird if I treated a normal classmate as my family…

But even after investigating my past, she doesn’t know that Momoi is part of my family?

—-ah…maybe she focused on my middle school years, she only had half a day after all and my change occurred at middle school.

By the time I entered high school, I was the person I am now.

Maa, it’s better to resolve the situation that let it go.

「It just means that she’s a good friend. I’m on good terms with her imouto, so I often have contact with Momoi and consider her a friend」(Kaito)

I explained the truth to Saijo.

It’s easier to make a lie believable if you mix in some truth.

Besides, I often have lunch with Sakura-chan, so I felt that it was better to clear it up here than let the misunderstanding continue.

….Momoi is my friend, no matter who hears that, they would think that it’s a lie…

Did I fail to convince her…..

「F~un….then are you going out with Momoi’s imouto?」(Saijo)

However Saijo seemed to be concerned about something else.

Sakura-chan as my girlfriend….what are you thinking?

Do you think a guy like me would match up with an angel like her?

I think about how I always walk side by side with Sakura-chan.

…yeah, no matter how much you look at it, it would be unbalanced…

I mean Sakura-chan is a cute and lovable imouto, if I make her my girlfriend, it would feel like a crime.

….but thinking about the changes after one year…

Oops–I had forgotten about Saijo.

She was looking at me strangely since I didn’t reply.　

「No, she’s kind of like an imouto to me」(Kaito)

「Hm, hmm–」(Saijo)

To my response, Saijo made an uninterested sound.

However, she didn’t stop twirling her hair with her fingers.　

Why is this girl asking me this?

Is she looking for my weakness….?

I’m still wary of Saijo.

Then Saijo–

「Then, I’ll ask you straightforwardly, is there someone else? Is there someone you like?」(Saijo)

She asked me.

This girl…is still looking for my weakness?

「Do I need to answer you?」(Kaito)

「Eh—you have one!?」(Saijo)

Saijo leaned forward to listen to my words.

「N, no, I don’t」(Kaito)

I was struck by Saijo’s eagerness and answered honestly.

「What’s with that! Don’t surprise me like that! Mou~!」(Saijo)

Saijo said that and smiled in relief.

Eh?

For this girl, should I have said that I have one?

Why is she so relieved?

Well it can’t be helped, I’ve answered honestly already.

「There’s no way someone like me would have one right? I don’t interact with many girls anyway」(Kaito)　

「Fumu fumu, then there is some good news for a poor person like you! 」(Saijo)

For some reason Saijo was speaking as if part of a play.

I imagine this kid has chuunibyou, she’s unexpectedly funny.

「What’s the good news…?」(Kaito)

「Fufu~n」(Saijo)

Waa…I’m actually excited to hear it…

I never thought Saijo was such a person…

「I, Saijo Kirara, will be your girlfriend!」(Saijo)

With that said, Saijo put her hand on her chest.

….eh?

What did this girl just say?

….isn’t this crazy?

「What are you talking about…?」(Kaito)

—of course my reaction was like this.

Saijo had a shocked look at my words.

「Wh, why!? isn’t this something that would usually make you happy!? a beautiful and rich woman like me is saying that she will be the girlfriend of a loner otaku like you!?」(Saijo)

This girl…not just calling herself rich, but beautiful too?

….well, she’s definitely a beautiful woman…

「I don’t understand, I can’t keep up. Why do you want to be my girlfriend?」(Kaito)

「Th, that is…」(Saijo)

Saijo turned her red face away from me in embarrassment.

Even though there was only a little bit of lunch break left, I couldn’t get a clear answer.

So I’ll just state the conclusion.

「I don’t know you very well, so I can’t」(Kaito)

I’m a healthy high school boy.

I’m interested in her too.

However no matter how beautiful they are, I won’t go out with someone I don’t like.

Besides I can’t go out with her considering what happened in the past.

At my response, Saijo collapsed to the ground.

But she stands up immediately.

「Then, let’s start by being friends!」(Saijo)

Friends…

I was struck by those words, but….Saijo…..?

Could I be friends with someone who cornered Momoi like that…?

Well I don’t care anymore…

「Got it, then it’s fine」(Kaito)

My words make Saijo’s eyes shine.

「Really!? You won’t take that back right!?」(Saijo)

「A, ah….」(Kaito)

Under pressure from Saijo, I nodded which caused her to burst into a smile of joy.

What the hell is she thinking about, this girl…?

I can’t understand her at all.

Or rather, I don’t want to understand…

But one thing I do understand…is that I’ve been spotted by an annoying person…

After that, Saijo didn’t release me until lunch was over–

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Lonely Otaku – Chapter 15

TLN: I’m probably going to be dropping my other novels for now (except this one) and find another novel to cover. Simply put, this novel is my most popular one and the difference between my other novels is insane to the point where there’s little point in continuing with those considering the time investment.

Someone has posted a novel link in the comments previously which has an LN, so I’ll be looking at that because I like to add images to my chapters, but I’ll still accept suggestions.

Arc 1 – Changing Everyday

Chapter 15 – Wavering Emotions

–when I returned to my room, my body was light.

A mysterious feeling, as if I was floating above the ground.

It’s like being in a dream…

There was a reason for that.

Because Kanzaki had helped me, who had given up thinking there was no way out anymore.

Ano–I never thought that Kanzaki-kun, who couldn’t talk to anyone except Sakura, would help me.

He also had such a dignified appearance–

I remember what had happened in the gymnasium.

One after another, he unraveled the plans of Saijo-san and the other girls.

Then, when he tidied his bangs using my hair clip, I saw his face.

「—I mean, why is he so cool!?」(Momoi)

I flutter onto my bed.

Because he was really handsome!

He was staring at me from such a close distance!?

What’s more, when I was threatened by Saijo-san, he pet my head and smiled at me!

That’s so cool!

Uuu…..

「I can’t do it anymore…」(Momoi)

Just remembering what happened in the gymnasium makes my body hot.

I’m no longer afraid now.

More than that, about him–　

Ah….but…he did kabedon and agokui to Saijo-san….

Does he not know that those acts are something all girls dream of….?

I’m sure it wasn’t his intention…

But when I saw that scene, my chest tightened……

I mean, what is he….?

I thought he was a loner otaku, but now I’m not sure. He’s familiar with programming and can understand how other people think.

My head is spinning.

Looking at him, I realized I couldn’t measure intelligence with academic ability.

I don’t know his specific scores, but I’ve never seen him in the top 100 results overall.

So I knew he was bad at studying.

However he clearly has a lot of knowledge and his thinking speed is fast.

–even so, is he used to being around women…?

He’s supposed to be a loner otaku, how can he do that to a girl….?

Kanzaki-kun….I wonder if she’s been with him before…

—-why am I thinking such a thing!?

I have umi-kun!

….we’re not dating….

On the contrary, we’ve never met, I don’t even know his face.　

Besides, he’s probably angry that I haven’t replied in such a long time.

…haa….I guess I’ll go get a drink…

２

When I went to the living room, he was sitting down.

What should I do….voice…should I call out to him?

I approach him whilst thinking that.

「—suu….suu….」(Kaito)

「Are you asleep….?」(Momoi)

When I walk next to him, I find him asleep.

If you sleep in a chair like this, you’ll hurt your back…

When I try and wake him up–

「Ah, onee-chan」(Sakura)

–Sakura called out from behind me.

Sakura was holding her favourite blanket.

Maybe she took it out of her room for him.

「Sakura, isn’t it better to wake him up and let him sleep in his room?」(Momoi)　

When I say that, Sakura smiles bitterly.

「Sakura also thought so, but when I tried to wake him up several times, he didn’t wake up….it can’t be helped, he’s been working all night these past few days….」(Sakura)

「All night…?」(Momoi)

No way…he didn’t say anything about that…

Sakura didn’t reply to my words.

Instead she was looking up at me.

「Hey onee-chan, if you have problems don’t hide them anymore okay…? consult Sakura or onii-chan」(Sakura)

With that said, she was looking at me with a determined look.

—ah….I see.

This kid can see the essence of people. (TLN: I had comments saying “this kid” sounds weird, but it’s literally what is written この子. However I’m open to suggestions)

Such a kid would be aware that I was hiding something.

「Sorry, I’ll do that next time」(Momoi)

Sakura smiled happily at my words.

….but…I see…

I look towards Kanzaki.

I figured out why he came to help me.

He was asked by Sakura, so he came to help…

Even I know that…I’m not an idiot…

I thought he was finally becoming dere…. (TLN: Dere means they are honest with their feelings. For instance, Tsundere is 2 parts, tsun and dere. Tsun is the part where they aren’t honest with their feelings and dere is where they are honest with their feelings)

I’m sure he was just kind to me today out of sympathy…

「Onee-chan?」(Sakura)

When I was feeling down, Sakura looked at me anxiously.

This kid is really sharp…

「It’s nothing」(Momoi)　

I say so and smile at Sakura.

「I see」(Sakura)

After replying to me, Sakura placed her blanket over Kanzaki.

….Sakura is extremely cute.

She’s cute, short, and has a very girly personality.

Above all her chest is very big.

In comparison, my chest is small…

God is so unfair…

Sakura is very fond of Kanzaki.

Maybe she likes him as a member of the opposite sex…?

Anyway he also likes Sakura….

Haa….

It’s fine….I have umi-kun…

….umi-kun, will he forgive me…?

I take out my smartphone and start typing.

『Sorry for the late reply (>_<) I was busy with various errands ( ;∀;) but it’s okay (´▽｀) I’m really sorry :;(∩´﹏`∩);:』(Momoi)

I force a smile when I look at the letters I wrote.

It was pathetic of me to try to escape with such a lie.

But I can’t speak honestly…

I send the message whilst thinking that.

—PIRON♪

Immediately after I sent the message, a notification sounded nearby.

When I reflexively looked at the direction it sounded from, it seems to be from a smartphone that had fallen at Kanzaki’s feet.

Perhaps it had fallen from his hands when he fell asleep.

If he steps on it without noticing, his smartphone might break.

I picked up his smartphone.

Then–

「Eh….?」(Momoi)

When I picked up the phone, I was able to see the screen.

Usually I wouldn’t worry about what I saw.

No matter who he contacts, it doesn’t concern me.

But when i saw the characters on the screen, I froze.

What was projected on the screen was a notification from the SNS site that I use to talk to umi-kun.

The contents of the notification were『You have received a notification from Hanahime』

Then I remembered.

His name was “umi” too–

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