I Won't Be a Loser

On the 24th, there was nothing special.

When he went out to send the package, he didn't run into Saionji Sekai again. He went alone to the post office, handed over the gifts and letters, signed his name, paid the fee, and now all he had to do was wait quietly. Sending it from Tokyo to Itomori would take about three or four days, so when Mitsuha received the package, she'd probably contact him on her own. There was no need for him to worry too much about it.

Having taken care of mailing everything, the wise man made his way to a nearby bookstore.

Since he was starting over, most of his knowledge of studies had been forgotten over time. Now, with a renewed goal of getting into a Arts university, he knew he would have to put in the effort once again.

He didn't have an exceptional memory, so the only thing he could rely on was hard work. Getting into a prestigious university like the University of Tokyo, with an entrance exam score of around 70, seemed a bit far-fetched, but aiming for a university with a score of about 60 wasn't out of the question if he put in the effort.

In today's society, it wasn't necessary to go to university to find a job, but whether one could get into a good university was crucial. It determined both the minimum foundation and the upper limit of future achievements.

Perhaps with a father who was the mayor, he could rely on his family's connections. Still, to live a good life, education was something he couldn't afford to ignore.

Tokyo's largest bookstore district was in Jinbocho, Chiyoda. There were nearly 200 bookstores, most of which were second-hand, along with a few discount bookstores. Haruto only had to walk down Horizaka, reach Kasuga Station, and take the train directly to Jinbocho Station.

The area was full of bookstores, and as he gazed at the vast array of books, his expression became somewhat complicated.

If you asked what he liked, it was reading. Discovering knowledge he hadn't known before and immersing himself in the stories within books used to be one of his greatest joys. But over time, due to poor posture and lighting, his eyes had become strained after reading for a short while. The longer he read, the more his head would feel heavy and his eyes sore. As a result, he had stopped reading for quite some time.

"I need to be more mindful of my posture when reading. Let's see what books are here."

His goal was to find some textbooks and perhaps some popular fiction. He was also contemplating whether he should use some of his spare time to write a piece of fiction of his own and submit it for a writing contest, hoping to win an award.

He browsed the bookstores and found many books he was interested in. However, after seeing the prices, many of them discouraged him. He hesitated and debated for a while, ultimately deciding to hold off on buying them for now.

The books weren't cheap, especially the ones he was interested in, all priced around 1,000 yen. One book wasn't too bad, but three or four would stretch his already tight budget far too much.

Before his magazine submissions is approved, he has no stable source of income and can only endure it for a while.

After carefully selecting three books he thought were both interesting and useful, Haruto returned to his apartment from Jinbocho. Once inside, he unwrapped the protective plastic covering from the books and started flipping through the pages.

Without a TV or a computer, this was his only entertainment...

_ _ _

"What's been going on lately… why do I keep having these strange dreams?"

Eriri sat in her room, staring at her drawing tablet, holding a pen and looking at the computer screen in front of her. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't focus. When she saw the red paint, she would think of the dream she had been having recently.

A dark room. A man lying motionless in a pool of blood, and the knife dripping with blood—

She could not understand why she had such a dream. She did not seem to hate anyone, The man's face was particularly blurry. Whenever she wanted to see it clearly, she would wake up and find it difficult to continue sleeping.

"Have I been drawing too many intense, heavy themes lately? Is that why I'm dreaming like this?"

She put down the digital pen in her hand, stood up silently, put on the green coat she often wore, walked to the window, looked at the lush green grass outside the window, and saw a beautiful woman in a kimono holding a sprinkler and watering the flowers in the garden.

"Watering flowers every day… I'd never be able to stick with something like that."

Sighing softly, Eriri turned her gaze away and returned to her desk. She saved her current progress, then opened her browser to check the reviews of her new work in the evening.

"The reviews are pretty good."

Looking at the reviews online, Eriri's mouth curled up slightly, revealing her cute fangs, and she nodded with satisfaction.

But her smile didn't last long. Her brows furrowed, and she let out a frustrated "tsk."

"They're reading doujins, so why can't they just leave it at that? Why are they fantasizing about the creator? Are these people even sane?"

After seeing the unpleasant content, Eriri closed the browser in a depressed mood. Her mood did not improve at all, but seemed to get worse. Sitting at the table, her mind couldn't help but recall the scene she had dreamed about recently.

"Who is that man? Why would I... No, no, no, I would never do such a thing!"

She shook her head, her golden twin ponytails swaying in the air, and Eriri looked at the time in the lower right corner of the computer.

"There are only three days left before school starts. I wonder what kind of classmates I'll meet in high school."

Starting at a new school meant rebuilding her social circle from scratch. Even if she had acquaintances attending the same school, there was no guarantee they'd be in the same class. Just thinking about it made Eriri's stomach churn uncomfortably.

_ _ _

Having spent his morning mailing packages and browsing books in Jinbocho, Haruto devoted his entire afternoon to reading at his apartment.

Without being disturbed, he finished reading about one-third of the book he bought. When he was about to take a break, the doorbell rang, drawing his attention towards the door.

Glancing at the book in his hand, he slipped a free bookmark into place and rose from his desk. He walked to the front door and peered through the peephole. Recognizing his neighbor from before, he slowly opened the door.

"Miss Kiyoura? Is there something you need?"