It must be an experience that was both ridiculous and impossible to regret.
What I hadn't expected was that this book seemed to be getting a better and better response. It had passed the trial period with just over a thousand favorites, and now it was nearing seven thousand.
At first, I was delighted. More readers meant more subscribers, and more money.
Then the pressure started to build, because I knew my own abilities. Few authors could write a long novel of over a million words without the quality falling apart, and with Classroom of the Elite, reader loyalty had dropped sharply after the Uninhabited Island arc.
There would come a day when readers and subscriptions dwindled, a slow death brought on by some plotline I'd botched, some toxic development, or some huge stunt I'd pulled. The farther I wrote, the fewer readers there would be.
Could I, after experiencing the peak of my work, keep writing until this novel was finished?
Then, last night, I dreamed about that seahorse and octopus. To my surprise, I realized I didn't even know whether I could finish writing it.
So I'm not going to demand anything from the first-day subscriptions. No matter how many there are, I'll keep writing.
Finally, thank you to everyone who's read this far. The few readers who vote for the book every day are what give me the motivation to keep going until the end.
Thank you!!!
P.S. Tomorrow's update will be after eleven, probably three chapters, around eight thousand words.
Why Do I Keep Running Into You?
Morishita Ran stood by the window, lost in thought. She rested her chin on one hand and swung the book she'd just been reading in the other as she stared outside, lost in her thoughts.
Mikage Touji was looking out the window too. The sun had mostly set, night was beginning to fall, and pinpricks of starlight had appeared in the sky.
"It's about time we left."
"Don't disturb me. Please wait quietly," Morishita Ran said, paying him no mind as she continued to daydream.
"How long do we have to wait?"
"I don't know, but please keep waiting."
Mikage Touji thought for a moment, took out his phone, and sent Yamamura Miki a message telling her where he was.
The girl had been out of sight for a while. Mikage Touji was a little worried, since she wasn't the sort of person to disappear without a word.
Still, he was only a little worried. With her faint presence, she probably wouldn't run into any danger.
Holding the copy of Farewell, My Lovely he'd picked up earlier, Mikage Touji found a seat nearby and began to read.
Hmm... hard-boiled and social commentary, as usual.
After being put through the wringer by The Long Goodbye, Mikage Touji had realized that a detective novel didn't actually need to contain any detective work. Or rather, analyzing human nature was a kind of detective work too.
A little while later, light footsteps approached, and Yamamura Miki joined them.
She first looked at Morishita Ran, who was quietly staring out the window, then at Mikage Touji sitting beside her, and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong with her?"
"Don't mind her. She's exploring the truth of the universe, collecting the afterglow of the Big Bang, and trying to receive its high-energy radiation."
Morishita Ran didn't reply, but Mikage Touji was sure that was what she was thinking. His evidence was that, compared to her slightly hunched posture earlier, her chest now seemed to have lifted by about five centimeters.
"By the way, where did you go just now?"
Mikage Touji looked up at Yamamura Miki. She'd arrived not long after he sent the message, so something else must have held her up. The things that could make Yamamura waste time...
"About that..." Yamamura Miki leaned closer to Mikage Touji, tucked a blue strand of hair behind her ear, and spoke softly, her cheeks turning red.
After listening, Mikage Touji's body jolted. He stared at her in disbelief.
"You're saying that when the Class D students walked by, you overheard them talking, realized that their exam review might cover different material from ours, followed them, and listened to their entire review session?"
"B-because my grades are the one thing I'm... fairly good at..." Yamamura Miki blushed and fidgeted with her fingers.
Mikage Touji grabbed her by the shoulders. Ignoring her startled cry, he said earnestly, "You've got potential. Learn to be an assassin with me, future last Assassin!"
Yamamura Miki held her hands awkwardly in front of her chest. It was as if a wisp of smoke had risen from her head as she mumbled, "I can't. I-I just got lucky."
"No! You're incredible. You have a God-given talent. You're an assassin chosen by fate. That amnesiac hairstylist who moonlights selling beef offal wouldn't stand a chance against you!"
"But... I still like the life I have now."
"I see..."
Mikage Touji let go of Yamamura Miki, a little disappointed. He gazed at the pale fluorescent light on the ceiling and murmured, "Could it be that my hands will be the end of the Old Man of the Mountain's lineage?"
Yamamura Miki was already used to Mikage Touji's sudden bouts of madness. She quietly waited beside him for him to return to normal.
A little while later.
Mikage Touji rubbed his chin and muttered, "So that means Class D's review has been completely pointless?"
There shouldn't be any problem with his own class's exam material. That perverse, self-righteous teacher's reputation was still worth trusting.
So the problem had to be Class D's exam material—in other words, the material set by Mikage Touji's current Japanese history teacher, Chabashira Sae.
I knew it! That woman didn't look like a good person from the start!
She was treating Class D like they were Japanese people!
Was she slacking off? Trying to toughen up the class? Or was she just doing it for fun?
Compared to her, Mashima Tomoya practically deserved the title of Kouiku's Teacher of the Year.
If a few students really got expelled, then first of all, Class D would be at a huge disadvantage in numbers compared to the other classes. Had she decided she didn't want to play anymore?
So, should he tell Horikita-imouto about this?
Mikage Touji rubbed his fingers along the edge of his phone.
Of course, there was no way he'd do it for free. This concerned the survival of Class D's underachievers; it had to be worth fifty... forty... Never mind, two hundred thousand would do.
It was information he'd gotten for free, after all. If he sold it off, the three of them could cover their food expenses for the next few months.
Before Mikage Touji had time to sort out his thoughts, an angry voice rang through the library.
"Shut up! What the hell are you talking about?"
A show!
Mikage Touji quickly moved toward the railing on the library's second floor.
"Let's see what's going on," Mikage Touji said, excitedly sticking his head out first.
"That voice... must be a student from Class D." Yamamura Miki followed close behind, infected by his excitement.
"They're going to fight," Morishita Ran declared confidently, arriving last.
"Feeling better?"
Mikage Touji gripped the handrail and turned to look at Morishita Ran, who seemed to have recovered.
"No, but Captain Dragonfly has to show up wherever there's a fight."
"..." She was clearly back to full health.
Mikage Touji turned his attention back to the scene below.
A few Class D students were gathered together reviewing. The only ones Mikage Touji recognized were Kushida Kikyou and Horikita Suzune. Cha Cha was bravely stepping forward, trying to stop another boy he didn't recognize, while the rest of the students stood frozen, at a loss as they watched the confrontation.
A muscular boy with red hair was clutching Horikita Suzune by the collar, looking ready to punch her.
But Horikita Suzune was no longer as timid as she'd been when Mikage Touji first met her. If anything, she was domineering. She didn't seem at all worried by the red-haired boy's threat and stared at him with contempt.
"You sure do say whatever you want. Studying is completely useless for your future."
"Studying is useless for the future? That's an interesting thing to say. I'd love to know what you're basing that on."
"I've never been troubled by not being able to solve questions like these. There's no need to study at all. Rather than clinging to your textbooks, you'd be better off aiming to become a professional basketball player. That would be more helpful for your future."
The red-haired boy roared in anger while Horikita Suzune coolly fired back. They argued as if no one else were around, completely ignoring the fact that they were in a library. Cha Cha couldn't pull them apart.
If Ichinose were here, she'd surely step in and try to stop them. Mikage Touji had no intention of helping. He was more puzzled that they still hadn't started fighting.
Then he could send another message to Horikita Manabu, take Horikita-imouto to the infirmary, and earn a whopping five hundred thousand!
"Looks like they're not going to fight."
After watching for a while, Mikage Touji came to the disappointing conclusion that the fifty thousand was out of reach. He'd have to see if he could get twenty thousand.
"Then... should we keep watching?" Yamamura Miki asked, twisting the hem of her shirt.
Mikage Touji looked at Morishita Ran. "Should we go, or stay here and watch the stars?"
Morishita Ran looked back at Mikage Touji. "I'm thirsty."
"I'll treat you, okay?"
"Okay."
The three of them gathered their things and left the library together.
On the way, they passed a vending machine. Mikage Touji paid for drinks for the two girls.
Dusk fell, and the streetlights along the school path came on. A few tiny bugs fluttered around the bulbs. The three of them sat side by side on a bench beneath a streetlight, gazing at the rolling clouds of sunset in the distance. They took a synchronized sip of their drinks and let out satisfied sighs.
Just then, the rapid clatter of small heels came from the roadside. Kushida Kikyou, her little shoulder bag in hand, hurried past them with her head lowered and a gloomy look on her face. She didn't even notice Mikage Touji sitting beside her.
Mikage Touji watched Kushida Kikyou's retreating figure and said, "That was the Kick-Rail, right?"
Morishita Ran let go of the straw she'd already bitten flat and declared, "It was definitely the Kick-Rail!"
Yamamura Miki cradled her hot milk and took a tiny sip like a squirrel. "The railing was so pitiful."
The three of them fell silent again.
Mikage Touji let out a long sigh and said, struggling to keep a straight face, "Why do we keep running into her? At this rate, she'll blow up before our leverage even comes in handy."
Simple Insults, Ultimate Satisfaction
"What are you doing?"
The three of them were on their way to a ramen shop. Morishita Ran leaned closer and curiously watched Mikage Touji fiddling with his phone.
"To keep that video from going to waste, I've decided to use an anonymous account to give her a warning. She's way too careless."
Mikage Touji paused, then added, "It's not what you thought last time. That would be a crime."
Morishita Ran turned her head away and continued walking with little stomping steps. "Whatever."
Since Morishita Ran didn't object, Mikage Touji lowered his head and continued typing. Cha Cha was probably still kicking the rail. At the very least, he'd have to wait until she was done blowing off steam before she accepted his friend request.
As for whether Cha Cha would figure out that the person messaging her was Mikage Touji, who might know what she was really like, he wasn't too worried.
First, Cha Cha hadn't even noticed Mikage Touji watching her earlier.
Second, if someone messaged her right after she'd finished kicking the rail, the first thing a normal person would think was that someone had been nearby. But Mikage Touji was at the ramen shop by then. Even if Cha Cha suspected him, he could talk his way out of it.
Third, Cha Cha was actually pretty easy to fool. After their little performance at the café last time, Mikage Touji had come to understand that very clearly.
After making a new account, Mikage Touji picked a random username, opened Kushida Kikyou's profile, and sent her a friend request.
Once he was done, Mikage Touji caught up with the other two.
It was the same ramen shop as before. The interior had nothing special about it. A row of high stools lined the counter, and the chef worked behind it, where customers could watch him cook the noodles and prepare the toppings up close.
After taking a seat, Mikage Touji felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Kushida Kikyou had accepted his friend request.
[Everyone Is Good Friends: Hi there. (smiling and waving)]
As expected of you, Cha Cha. A standard opening.
[Chirp Chirp Chirp Chirp: Hello. This is the Advanced Nurturing Student Council. We've recently received complaints about your kicking the railing. Your behavior violates the Community Safety Management Act, causes a great deal of noise that seriously disturbs others' rest, and endangers the railing's physical safety. Please correct it as soon as possible.]
The blank chat window remained silent for a long while before a message finally arrived.
Before you continue