Self-Awareness

She knew she shouldn't say something like that in front of him, but she just couldn't help herself.

"Are you an idiot?" Asakusa Toru asked, baffled as he looked at Horikita Suzune's aggrieved expression.

Was there something wrong with the way this girl's brain worked?

Classes had been canceled after the Special Exam results came out today. With nothing better to do, he hadn't wanted to sit around in the classroom, so he'd come to the side of the road to sit and enjoy the breeze.

He hadn't been there long when Horikita Suzune sat down beside him, looking dazed and out of it.

The smell coming off her had been irritating, so he'd given her a popsicle. It was only an E-rank reward, but it did have some calming effects.

Who would've thought that after finishing his popsicle, this idiot would start dumping her emotional garbage on him out of nowhere?

He'd had enough.

Time to use Movable Type Printing.

Asakusa Toru reached into his pocket and pulled out his Infinite Voice Recorder. Then he found the recordings from back when he'd been around Horikita Manabu.

As mentioned before, the Infinite Voice Recorder kept every sound made around him, and he could freely edit any stretch of time.

--Even if the clip he cut out was just a single word.

That meant that as long as someone had said the words in question near him, he could brazenly edit them into something else.

This was different from the combo that used Modeling to imitate a voice by collecting samples, then used Voice Transmission to send it secretly.

That couldn't be exposed casually. It was only good for sneaking around and pulling off shady tricks.

But this was different.

What he wanted was the kind of choppy editing anyone could recognize.

Like the musical edits on Bilibili: if the tuning made the voice sound too much like the real person, it just didn't hit the same.

The goal was to make it sound like the person, while also making it obvious that they'd never actually said those words.

A perfect weapon for attacks that fell somewhere between slander and not-quite-slander.

"Are, you, stu, pid?"

"Are, you, use, less?"

"Are, you, stu, pid?"

Robotic, stiff, and broken into pieces, Movable Type Printing had picked out the few similar sounds it could find.

Asakusa Toru hadn't spent much time with Horikita Manabu—just the days of Club Orientation. The usable recordings he had were only a handful of lines.

But those few lines were already enough.

Horikita Manabu wouldn't swear, so there was no way to directly cut out the words he wanted.

But if he only needed similar sounds, then a few simple adjustments to the tones would get the effect he was after.

And so, Movable Type Printing Technique was complete.

"Are you 'stu' 'pid'?"

From the recorder in Asakusa Toru's hand came Horikita Manabu's stiff voice, repeating the words.

"..." Horikita Suzune had gone blank.

She was still holding the popsicle stick, with a bit of saliva on it, and sat frozen on the bench.

W-what had she just heard?

I... He... My brother...

I'd been insulted.

He'd called me an idiot.

Then he'd pulled out a recorder and played her brother's voice.

Her brother had... called her an idiot, too.

N-no, that wasn't right. It was a recording, and even though she could tell the voice belonged to her brother, it didn't sound right at all. Her brother would never talk like that.

It was so vulgar, so contemptuous, and so garbled.

...It was obviously something he'd forced together by cutting and splicing recordings.

But even so, for some reason Horikita Suzune's brain came up with this thought:

Advanced Nurturing was bad for you. Her brother thought she was a complete idiot.

Before, he'd only called her useless.

Afterword

First, let's start with a reward challenge.

Every 1,000 recommendations, 100 monthly tickets, 100 blades, or 10,000 in tips will get you one 2,000-word update. The limit is 30 chapters. Here's your chance to whip me for a whole month. The challenge lasts two days, and I'll check the backend stats after that to calculate the results.

I'd originally wanted to make it unlimited, but after thinking it over, I chickened out. I don't think I'd even hit the limit, but the thought of having no limit still makes me nervous.

If I get carried away next month and decide I can handle it, I'll open another reward challenge.

The daily 4,000 words are the baseline. Anything beyond that goes toward the rewards. Tomorrow, when the book goes on sale, I'll post five extra chapters. Those don't count toward the reward challenge. It'd be hard to justify not doing something special for the release.

Next up: Hani Diary.

White Haniwa's Diary of a Struggling Author:

April 25: Started a new book, but it got an average review. Sigh. I hope this isn't another one-round trial run. I'm tired of trial runs ending after one round. I want to make it through to the next stage at least once.

May 2: Got a trial slot. Nervous as heck.

May 9: Made it through the trial! So many people, so lively.

May 12: Made it onto the click chart. My first time.

May 16: Made it through, then got scolded.

May 19: It's okay. I'm really good at taking criticism. Sob, sob.

May 22: The book goes on sale tomorrow!

Anyway, this is the release afterword. Since the book's going on sale, I thought I'd write a few words.

I usually chat quite a bit when my books go on sale, and I'll probably do the same this time. If you're interested, feel free to take a look.

I'm a complete flop of an author. I've written for ages without a single book making it past the first trial round. My old problem is that I need to pile on content early before I can get the plot moving; otherwise, it's hard to get into the flow.

So after reflecting on it a few times, I decided to try writing a faster-paced opening this time.

It worked surprisingly well.

But when the pace picks up, problems naturally crop up, too. The biggest issue is that the 4,000 words I update each day during a new book's opening period aren't enough to keep up with the fast-moving plot. Any attempt to ease into things makes the story feel sluggish, but a faster pace means more changes and bigger consequences, which inevitably makes the story longer—and in turn, the pacing can seem to slow down.

The simplest way to solve that is to post more chapters.

So I've tried adding a little extra whenever I can. But if I post any more, I'll lose a recommendation round. It's hard to get a full run of recommendations, so I'd really like to see it through for once.

Still, I should reflect on it. Next time, I might try giving up a round of exposure so I can keep the updates at 6,000 words for longer. Maybe that'll work better.

I'm not a fast writer, but luckily I have plenty of time, so I can just about manage to write as much as I can. Opening a reward challenge also gives me a bit of pressure to keep going.

I do guarantee that I'll finish the book. I don't think I'm unreliable, and I've completed works totaling two million words on this site. I don't make promises without being sure, since I'm a cautious person about these things.

So, anyway, please support the first paid chapter. Thank you, meow.

I was going to say a little more, but on second thought, I'll leave it at that. Less talking, more writing!

Anyway, the book goes on sale tomorrow. If you've read this far, please support the first paid chapter. Subscriptions are the best encouragement.

Subscribe, subscribe, subscribe, subscribe, subscribe, subscribe--

That's all.

Yueshu.

Self-Understanding

...Well, that wasn't exactly a nice thing to say, either.

But no matter what, this girl really was being awful.

The Movable Type Printing recording continued to replay in her ears, and Horikita Suzune gradually came back to her senses.

She didn't care what her brother thought of her, but she couldn't let him smear her brother's image with a recording made up of words he'd never said!

With that thought, she gritted her teeth and leaned forward. She braced herself with her left hand and suddenly reached for the recorder with her right.

"--"

He reacted in time.

Asakusa Toru raised the recorder high in his hand, and Horikita Suzune's hand came up empty. She'd been in such a rush that she hadn't planted her left hand firmly, either. Her upper body lost its balance, and as she reached up with her right hand, she toppled forward, her head slamming into the bench.

"Ugh--" The girl let out a cry of pain.

"..." Looking at the disheveled Horikita Suzune, Asakusa Toru wore an utterly incredulous expression. "Are you an idiot?"

He repeated the same question once again.

Seriously, he was starting to find it hard to believe.

He hadn't really seen her in action before. Most of the time, he'd only read about her in text or animations, heard about her from other people, or listened to recordings transcribed by his voice recorder.

If she was just a little dumb and a little innocent, he could laugh it off.

But now he was starting to get curious.

"I treated you to a popsicle, so why are you trying to steal my recorder?" Asakusa Toru asked, bewildered. "You couldn't even eat the popsicle properly, and now you've gone and hit your own head trying to steal a recorder."

"No wonder your brother thinks you're useless."

"Seriously, are you a little kid?"

"Only little kids can get away with doing stupid things and still seem cute. Once you grow up and do something stupid, you should be ashamed of yourself."

Of course, kids doing stupid things could raise anyone's blood pressure, too, but there was no need to bring that up right now.

Asakusa Toru gently stopped the Movable Type Printing from replaying, put the recorder away, and frowned at Horikita Suzune, who was clutching her head with tears welling in her eyes.

An indescribable sense of vulnerability seemed to radiate from her.

It was annoying. The way she came across right now was really irritating.

But seriously, why was she clutching her head when she'd hit her chin? Was she trying to hide her face?

"...What a pain." Asakusa Toru muttered under his breath, then reached into his pocket and pulled out another popsicle.

[Name: Mind-Calming Popsicle]

[Category: Consumable]

[Effect: A bulk pack of 40 sweet popsicles. The top choice for calming your nerves. Contains no added medicinal ingredients.]

[Note: "Want one?"]

With only a limited number of popsicles in his limited pocket space, and the barely useful E-rank item called a "Thermal Pocket," he could only keep three or five popsicles in his pocket at a time.

He tore open the wrapper, crumpled it up carelessly, stuffed it back into his pocket, then grabbed Horikita Suzune by the chin and pried her mouth open. Without the slightest gentleness, he shoved the icy popsicle into her mouth.

"Mm--" The sensation of a foreign object going straight into her throat triggered an instinctive gag reflex, but Horikita Suzune didn't throw anything up. She could only let Asakusa Toru push the stick-shaped object down her throat.

"Ugh?!" The girl looked up at him with teary eyes and glared at Asakusa Toru.

Again?!

But... despite how violent his actions were, as the popsicle began to melt in her mouth, her emotions inexplicably started to settle.

"Finish it, then shut up." Asakusa Toru let go of the hand he'd been using to keep Horikita Suzune from resisting and ordered her.

So, obedient as could be, Horikita Suzune held the popsicle stick in her mouth and didn't do anything unnecessary.

"I don't want to be a therapist, and I have no intention of becoming anyone's emotional trash can." Asakusa Toru pulled out a pack of tissues and slowly wiped his hand, which had gotten wet with either condensation from the popsicle, Horikita Suzune's tears, or her saliva. He shook his head. "But I'll make an exception just this once."