Multi-Anime, Kira Yoshikage Yearns for a Peaceful Life

"The address is in Ota Ward."

Kitagawa Marin sent a location pin with the text, followed by a video. The students of Class C were gathered in a large KTV room, and amid the noisy background, a girl's voice—not quite standard but still beautiful—could be heard singing softly. A girl with slightly wavy golden hair held the microphone, humming gently.

Before Kira Yoshikage could reply, Kitagawa Marin sent another message:

"Kira-kun, does it sound good?"

"Good. Not going."

Kira Yoshikage was sparing with his words.

"Good, that's all that matters."

The girl in the KTV room curled her lips slightly, her fingers tapping quickly on the screen:

"Then, Kira-kun, are you free tomorrow?"

"No."

Kira Yoshikage had barely replied when Kitagawa Marin responded almost instantly, as if she had been waiting for him:

"Eh? Is it because you got fired by the store manager and are busy looking for a job?"

"Yes."

Kira Yoshikage wasn't surprised that Kitagawa Marin knew he had a part-time job. After all, she had added Aoyama Nanami as a friend, and given Nanami's personality, it was hard for her to resist Marin's persistent coaxing.

"Jobs aren't so easy to find these days~"

"Good night, I'm going to sleep..."

Before Kira Yoshikage could hit send, Kitagawa Marin's message came through again:

"I have a temporary gig here with good pay. Kira-kun, wanna come?"

Kira Yoshikage immediately deleted what he had typed and replied instantly:

"What kind of gig? What's the hourly wage?"

Kitagawa Marin glanced at Miura Yumiko, who was still singing, and continued typing:

"It's a personal commission from me, no specific hourly wage."

"Hmm~, how about 10,000 Yen a day?"

Seeing the first line, Kira Yoshikage was about to refuse. No specific hourly wage—was she trying to freeload off him?

But at the next line, he deleted his refusal:

"Time, place."

"Time is tomorrow at 7 AM. Hmm, can we meet at Kira-kun's apartment? Oh, by the way, what's your address?"

"Ota Ward, Morioh Street 117, #502."

"So, what's the job?"

Kira Yoshikage didn't hide it. On one hand, he needed the money; on the other, hiding it wasn't realistic.

He lived in a student dormitory, and student dormitories were always clustered together.

In other words, all the Shuchiin Academy students lived nearby, and there were even classmates of his in this very building.

Even if he didn't say it, Kitagawa Marin could find out anyway.

"Got it!"

Kitagawa Marin cheered inwardly, discreetly clenching her fist, and continued typing:

"As for the job, Kira-kun, do you know about comic conventions?"

"The Tokyo Anime Fair in Japan?"

"Eh~, Kira-kun knows about it? But yeah, that's right! Kira-kun's job is to come with me to the convention. See? Easy, right?"

Kira Yoshikage had a vague understanding. Japan's otaku culture was highly developed, and every year in Tokyo, there were three major anime conventions:

The biannual Comic Market, abbreviated as CM, and the annual AnimeJapan, abbreviated as AJ.

The former had a history of over 40 years, usually held once in summer and once in winter, each lasting three days. So far, 93 CM events had been held. To distinguish them, they were referred to by C + a number.

For example, last year's events were C92 and C93. This year, C94 would be held in August, and C95 in December.

The latter, the Tokyo Anime Fair, was officially called the Tokyo International Anime Fair.

This was a professional anime exhibition jointly hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Japan Animation Association, and the Tokyo International Anime Fair Executive Committee, aimed at spreading and exchanging Japan's thriving anime culture.

In theory, this exhibition was exclusively for professionals.

And in practice, that was indeed the case.

The Tokyo Anime Fair lasted four days total. The first two days were for corporate exhibitions, open only to professional visitors.

The last two days were for general attendees, open to all fans.

The Tokyo Anime Fair was originally scheduled for the end of March, but due to some changes, it was postponed by two weeks to April 6–9.

Although the convention lasted four days, Kitagawa Marin was still a student, so she could only go on the weekend. Tomorrow, April 8, was both a Sunday and a day during the Tokyo Anime Fair, when it would be open to all fans.

Kitagawa Marin emphasized:

"It's 7 AM sharp, Kira-kun, you absolutely have to wake up on time!"

"No problem."

Kira Yoshikage's reply was just as quick.

He went to bed before 11 PM every night without fail, woke up at 7 AM every morning, and ensured eight hours of sleep—unless he had another way to vent his stress, this routine was unshakable.

As it happened, he was recently unemployed, and tomorrow's schedule was already set for job hunting.

But now that there was a part-time gig available, why not take it?

Besides, how exhausting could attending a convention be? There was no reason not to pocket that 10,000 Yen.

After finishing her song, Miura Yumiko picked up a slice of apple from the fruit platter, took a bite, then sat down beside her friend and leaned in curiously:

"Marin, who are you texting?"

A mischievous glint flashed in Kitagawa Marin's eyes as she replied with a smile:

"It's Kira-kun. I sent him the video of you singing."

"Huh?"

Miura Yumiko tensed up instantly, and the apple in her hand dropped onto her skirt.

"D-Did he say anything?"

"Yumiko."

Kitagawa Marin put on a regretful expression. "Do you want the truth or a lie?"

"Ugh~"

Miura Yumiko grew even more flustered. "The truth..."

Kitagawa Marin gave a sly grin:

"The truth is, he said it sounded good."

"Huh? Huh?"

Miura Yumiko, who had been feeling incredibly anxious as if awaiting a verdict, blinked in surprise.

"It's true!"

Kitagawa Marin cheerfully scrolled to the top of the chat log and showed it to Miura Yumiko:

"Kira-kun, does it sound good?"

"Sounds good. Not going."

A hint of secret delight stirred in Miura Yumiko's heart, but she held it back, forcing a nonchalant expression. "What else did you talk about?"

Kitagawa Marin averted her gaze and said casually:

"Nothing much, just invited him to the party. Didn't you see that?"

Miura Yumiko's eyes grew somewhat complicated as she murmured:

"He won't come."

"Hm?"

Kitagawa Marin keenly sensed there was a story behind this.

Miura Yumiko's tone was layered with complexity:

"Back in middle school, he never attended a single class-organized party. He didn't even join the graduation trip..."

Chapter 14: There Is Only One Kind of Sickness

Early morning.

Kira Yoshikage woke up at 7:30 sharp.

Eight hours of ample sleep allowed him to wake up like a baby, free of fatigue or stress, greeting the next day's morning.

After a quick wash and brush, he began patiently waiting for Kitagawa Marin to arrive.

He took the employer willing to pay him 10,000 Yen for the job quite seriously.

The reason was simple.

He was broke.

Though Kira Yoshikage was still a student, the pressure of studying in Tokyo was no small matter.

For instance, the student apartment he currently lived in cost 60,000 Yen per month in rent—and that was with a subsidy. Without it, renting a similar apartment in Ota Ward would cost at least 70,000 Yen or more.

And in Tokyo, Ota Ward's rent was considered relatively low. If it were in a bustling area like Minato Ward or Chiyoda Ward, even a small one-room apartment like this would cost at least 120,000 Yen per month.

And that was just the rent; utilities were extra.

He even had to pay a deposit and a "gift fee," meaning the first month alone cost nearly half a year's rent.

Having a house only solved the "housing" part of food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

Clothing was easy—just wear the school uniform issued by the academy.

As for transportation, while he could buy a monthly subway pass, the price wasn't exactly cheap.

The money saved on rent would ultimately be spent on the subway.

The remaining "food" was the real heavyweight.

If he just wanted to eat something for every meal, a cheap grilled meat set meal cost only 400 yen, but it wasn't enough to fill him up.

The cheap bento boxes sold in Japanese supermarkets were usually very small in portion; even an ordinary girl might not get full, let alone an adult. A typical adult would need at least three or four boxes to be half-full.

A proper bowl of ramen cost 800 yen.

The school cafeteria had the same price—nothing cheap there.

Adding up food, clothing, housing, and transportation, the monthly basic expenses exceeded 200,000 yen.

And even though Kira Yoshikage worked hard at his part-time job, putting in over 54 hours a week—a workload surpassing that of the average corporate slave—he could only earn a minimum wage, netting him just 209,000 yen per month.

In theory, Kira Yoshikage could barely scrape by, but he still had to pay tuition.

As a noble school, Shuchiin Academy was famous for its excellent education, but its tuition was equally notorious.

Including instruction fees, facility maintenance fees, enrollment fees, and so on, the first year's tuition exceeded 1.5 million yen. Although starting from the second year, the enrollment fee was waived and tuition dropped to 1.2 million yen, it was still an astronomical sum.

Originally, Kira Yoshikage could have chosen a public school or a slightly cheaper private school, but because the school he was supposed to attend was destroyed by the Anti-Intellectual Cult, his student registration was transferred to Tokyo, forcing him to attend Shuchiin Academy.

Although the Japanese government also had a special "High School Attendance Assistance Fund" to subsidize poor students—for example, Kira Yoshikage could receive about 400,000 yen in aid each year—

Even so, Kira Yoshikage still had to pay a staggering 800,000 yen in tuition.

For an ordinary student, being admitted to Shuchiin Academy would absolutely make them and their parents ecstatic, because it meant they had a chance to cross social classes—even if it meant being a dog for the upper class, it was still an upper-class dog, naturally superior to others.

So no matter how much money it cost, their parents would spare no expense to ensure they could study in peace.