Volume 1
Chapter 3-2
Part 2
“Alright everyone! Our hope-and-dream-filled weekend is coming up! How are we going to spend it?”
“Not only are you late Aki-kun, but that line of yours was also unnecessary don’t you think?”
My struggles to arrive at our meeting place were not only compounded by Katou’s remark, but also by Katou already being in the process of locking the door to the audio-visual room and returning the key to the staff room.
“Ah sorry Katou. Just as I was leaving class, my class rep came chasing after me, saying ‘Hey it’s your turn to do the cleaning’.”
“Well I’ve already gone ahead and locked up, so is it alright if we call it quits for our circle activities today?”
“…Sorry for being late.”
Katou had quickly parried my greeting to her, delivered in the style of a dating sim protagonist whose nature was a bit perverted but impossible to hate.
Despite being only 10 minutes late in arriving, the whole situation was already a bit of a hiccup for our non-dating sim heroine who already had more than half a mind in ditching our protagonist to go home.
“Well, since all the members are here, wouldn’t now be good time to just discuss our future plans a little?”
“Saying that all the members are here sounds a bit deceptive…ah I know, how about we go get a drink at that cafe we visited?”
“Ah that sounds good. By going to the same cafe we can cut down on the number of background scenes we need.” (1)
“I didn’t quite understand that last part, anyway shall we get going then?”
“Let me just make a brief detour to the lockers.”
“Well we’d have to go by the classroom first, right?”
And so Katou, having given the OK to my invitation in a natural manner, began to walk down the corridor in an ordinary but excitable way.
Even though it had only been a week since our encounter, if you had looked at us from the point of view of a third party you’d probably think that our relationship was building up quite nicely.
I mean the two of us being placed in the same class, our relationship at the point where we’re talking with each other quite often, creating a doujin circle together, the two of us spending everyday…
“So did you think of something else regarding our future plans for the circle? Do you happen to know of other members?”
“…Al-alright everyone…our hopeless and dream-crushed weekend is coming up…how are we going to spend it?”
“Have you not thought of any other plans yet?”
“If you think about the phrase that one thing amounts to many things, you could argue that one plan amounts to a master plan.”
“That line of logical reasoning seems a bit skewered, don’t you think?”
Hand in hand, we’ll overcome any hardships before us…or perhaps not.
Even though it’s only been a week or so since our encounter, if you looked at us from an inside perspective you might be tempted to think that we’re at a point before those merry fireworks, and we’re solidifying our stance of being just friends.
“Well I guess for now the only thing to do is to just keep sticking with it.”
“Eh, you’re not giving up yet? You’re still hoping on Sawamura-san and Kasumigaoka-senpai?”
“Well, I didn’t think at first that it’d only take a day to get the OK from those two.”
No matter how optimistically you looked at it, the result of yesterday’s presentation was simply dreadful.
To put it bluntly, it was four-paced walloping consisting of denial, abuse, doubt, and pity.
What stood in front of us right now was a wall which was tall enough to make one dizzy just trying to look at it.
“At any rate, unless we manage to persuade those two, nothing can begin.”
“That’s the thing Aki-kun.”
“What thing Katou-kun?”
“I mean the hurdle is too high in the first place.”
“But if it’s only just us two the game can’t be made you see.”
Well there are doujin games out there which are made by solo creators, however they’re the kind of people who are able to, at the very least, write the scenario and script and draw the concept art for the game. In this circumstance, even accounting for both of our abilities, neither of us can write the scenario nor the script, nor can we draw any of the concept art to kickstart the game.
…Hmm, was this plan of mine a little too reckless after all?
“But Aki-kun, I was the only one you were asking at the beginning, so how did those two get involved?”
“Well I guess it’s a little odd isn’t it? Looking at it, it’s in regard to actual ability…”
“I mean, looking at them in the first place, the two of them are fields apart from each other.”
“Fields?”
“That’s to say that Sawamura-san is the ace of the arts club and Kasumigaoka-senpai is the number one honour student of her year.”
“…Ah so that’s what you mean.”
Ah I see, if I’m to change how those two view this project I would have to take aboard their personal criticism as well, wouldn’t I?
“I mean I definitely think that Sawamura-san can draw very well and Kasumigaoka-senpai can write, but it makes no sense to have these two school celebrities, the complete antithesis of you Aki-kun, participating in this otaku circle with us.”
“Well you could definitely say they’re the school celebrities but…”
It seems as though there’s a serious difference between me and Katou in how we view those two.
That being said, if you weren’t in the know about the ‘true nature’ of those two girls, your line of thinking might be more skewered towards a ‘what you see is what you get’ mentality.
…Those two girls are really just plain nasty.
“For your plan you’ve only ever been asking girls about it and that’s already…”
“…”
As we finally arrived at the corridor in front of the classroom, I purposely placed myself in a way in front of the locker as to block off Katou’s view. There I pried open my locker in a stealthy manner.
“…”
“Aki-kun, might you possibly be one of those, um, you know…’Sim-Wired’ people?”
Continuing my stealth, I confirmed that the kilo-heavy item that was placed into the locker earlier this morning had vanished without a trace.
“How should I put this, it’s when people try to apply too much of their 2D ideals into reality right?”
“Hey, Katou.”
“Ah, did I say too much? Sorr-…”
“Do you want to come over to my house tomorrow?”
“…Eh?”
And so I invited Katou to my Room of Retreat, the place where the backgrounds come forth via the reminiscence of scenes.
Translation Notes and References
1. A jab at the production costs associated with creating backgrounds for anime, cartoons, games etc. By only having that one particular cafe they go to, the SaeKano anime and game are cheaper to produce!