Tomozaki
"You thought I meant I liked you that way, didn't you!"
"I actually do like you that way."
Who, a bottom-tier character like me?
This calls for some top-tier assistance.
Aoi Hinami
I guess I'll have to go to Hinami for advice...
Takehiro Mizusawa: Sorry, Fumiya. Can you come to work? Someone called in sick.
Mizusawa?
2nd Stage: Lv. 9 If you don't make up your mind, the story won't advance
Sorry for the short notice.
This is a big help.
Sure.
What's wrong, Fumiya?
It's not like I can tell him about Mimimi.
Aha! Girl trouble, perhaps?
Hey, I got it right.
So were you dumped? Did you jump the gun on confessing your love?
Dumped? No, not dumped...
Oh? Then did someone open up to you?
You've been spending a lot of time alone with Kikuchi lately.
Huh? Kikuchi?
No?
Uh... no...
Hmm... Then that means...
the other possibility would be...
Mimimi?
Whoa, seriously? Mimimi?
Hmm.
I see.
So what's got you confused?
I don't even know if it counts as a confession, for one.
It's hard to say.
Could be a confession, or she could be playing games.
Games...
If you want to continue the relationship you've had so far,
you can totally go on as if nothing happened.
I-I can, huh?
Although I would say that...
if you wanted to date her in this situation, you can probably do that, too.
What?!
Keep it down!
S-Sorry...
But yeah, I can see why she'd be feeling the heat.
What's that mean?
Remember? Attractive guys attract people.
Mimimi's probably fretting about you getting snapped up by Kikuchi
or someone at the girls' school.
Y-Yeah, but even if I did get snapped up,
there are plenty of other options...
Listen.
When are you going to quit with that masochistic crap?
You're just wielding your weakness as an excuse
so you don't have to acknowledge anyone's expectations or goodwill,
and it's a terrible habit.
Haven't you noticed?
Whenever you're putting yourself down, you look almost relieved.
Don't do that.
A truly cool guy is only relieved
after raising the bar for himself, then eagerly putting in the work
to be able to clear it.
I mean, honestly, you're free to keep denigrating yourself.
I don't care either way.
But when you put yourself down,
it upsets the people who like you.
I guess I am an undisputed bottom-tier character in this game called life.
I go on about truth and sincerity while using my own weakness as an excuse,
shutting down my thoughts with "No one would ever choose the likes of me."
But maybe I knew that, somewhere deep down.
Maybe I was just pretending not to notice.
Which is exactly why I'm going to voice this truth
in the realest sense of the word:
Yes, Minami Nanami...
She... she likes me.
Sewing Room 2
Now then,
Today's Task: Decide who you want to get closer to
you've chosen your two or more girls to pursue, yes?
Small Goal: Who do you want to get closer to?
Can I ask you something, Hinami?
What?
What does it mean to... to fall for someone?
How can you ask something so embarrassing with a straight face?
S-Stop it. I was doing fine till you said something.
Well, if we look at it analytically...
It's when reliance, lust, possessiveness, and interest coincide.
Precisely speaking, it would be an emotion
made up of a combination of these factors.
No, I mean in a more individual way.
Something like... who do I like?
How do I even know how to tell?
Are you still going on about that?
I do want to make up my mind,
but I can't yet. Or something.
See, this is why you need to choose two or more people.
You honestly can't decide, yet you're compelled to narrow it down to just one.
Isn't that much more insincere?
Or perhaps there's not a single girl you're vaguely interested in?
No... that's not it...
I'm not telling you to run out there and declare your love.
You don't even have to be certain about it.
Just decide who you'd like to become closer to from now on. That's all.
Small Goal: Who do you want to get closer to?
Got it.
The girls I'm interested in
are Mimimi and Kikuchi.
An extremely appropriate answer, given all your hesitation. What a letdown.
Small Goal: CLEAR! Who do you want to get closer to? Mimimi / Kikuchi
Oh, hush.
Okay, so starting today,
you'll get closer to them on the premise of building
a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.
Boyfriend... girlfriend...
Picture this:
Mimimi comes to your room,
and the two of you sit on your bed, alone.
A lot of words are exchanged,
your fingers are entwined...
Or you're with Fuka,
and a lot of words are exchanged,
your fingers are entwined...
Okay!
Looks like you got it.
Damn her...
Now, first up, your new goal:
New Goal: Decide which one you like
Decide which one you like.
Once you have that answer,
work on conveying your feelings to her.
Your small goal will be...
Small Goal: Complete event map (before culture festival)
to complete a normie romance event map before the culture festival.
An event map?
Minami Nanami Route - Event 1 - Event 2 - Event 3 Fuka Kikuchi Route - Event 1 - Event 2 - Event 3
Like in a dating sim?
Hexactly!
And if you ultimately confess your feelings to her and start dating,
Medium Goal: Have a girlfriend before starting year 3
you'll have met your medium goal.
Now hang on a second...
What is it?
I don't want to make confession a goal.
If I'm going to tell a girl how I feel,
it can't be for some goal or task...
it's got to be because I, myself, want to tell her.
What? Are you saying that the process is what matters here,
regardless of the outcome?
nanashi is saying this?
I do think the outcome is important, too.
Right? Then who cares?
nanashi's play style is all about valuing both the process and the result.
That's how I got to be Japan's top-ranked player.
I mean,
it's got to be more efficient to fight that way IRL, too, right?
Well, if you insist, I guess, sure.
Okay, next we'll go into more detail on the event map.
Small Goal: Complete event map (before culture festival)
Right.
I've just sent you three events you'll need to clear.
First up:
Discuss what you're looking for in a dating partner
Discuss what you're looking for in a dating partner.
Th-That's pretty direct...
Second:
Touch each others' hands on purpose for at least 5 seconds straight
Touch each others' hands on purpose for at least 5 seconds straight.
Wh-What?!
Third:
Wear matching accessories just for you two
Wear matching accessories, just for you two.
Wait wait wait! Aren't these all incredibly hard?!
They are. But you can do it.
Eh?
After all, you've managed to complete almost every task so far.
Isn't that right?
Here goes.
This new cheese curry on the school lunch menu...
pulling some strings as student council prez, I see!
Who, me? No way!
Are you sure?
Wh-What's going on?
What's wrong, Mimimi?
Damn. Now Hinami will see that Mimimi's acting weird, too.
Mizusawa said we could always just carry on as we always had,
but that's looking unlikely.
Did something happen with Mimimi? Nothing in particular
Ah. Well, as long as you're getting through those tasks of yours
First, what we're looking for in a partner...
Discuss what you're looking for in a dating partner
Sorry I'm late.
Whoa!
I-I'm sorry.
Did I startle you?
Oh, no... you're fine.
My Unfamiliar Way to Fly First Draft
Oh, wow!
It's like a real script!
Isn't it?
That was fast, though. You're done already?
Um, I still haven't figured out the second half.
Oh, no?
But it's kind of fun, somehow.
I get so excited when I picture these characters coming to life on stage.
And a little nervous, too.
I get it.
All those people watching the festival stage...
Okay, I'll give this a read-through
and we'll met up again after school.
Thanks in advance.
Oh, um, a-actually...
Yes? What is it?
Well, uh...
What's wrong?
Discuss what you're looking for in a dating partner
Now what do I do?
I know! If Fuka's my choice...
Earlier you said you were trying to figure out
who the hero Libra would wind up with at the climax, right?
Right. Kris or Alucia.
People who see romance as a matter of who winds up with who
are going to be really invested in this story.
Uh-huh.
So, um... if a guy and a girl are g-going out,
what do you think their criteria should be?
Their criteria for choosing someone to date?
Y-Yeah. Right.
There's still so much I don't know...
But I think it probably depends on
what "dating" means to any given person.
What it means?
If someone is simply interested in trying this "dating" thing,
or if a couple wants to put a name on the relationship they share...
I see.
That probably counts for my task, anyway...
Discuss what you're looking for in a dating partner
But I'd like to take it a step further.
O-Okay, then, what does "dating" mean for you personally?
Me? Personally?
Uh-huh.
Um...
Well, there's this Andi story, "The Scissorman's Lie."
Oh, that one. The short love story about the Scissorman and the princess.
Right.
The Scissorman's Lie
A man with scissors for hands who hurts people without meaning to
gets pulled into a storybook world and falls in love with a princess.
A bond gradually grows between the lonely pair.
The Scissorman is the only one for the princess,
and the princess is the only one for the Scissorman.
I think dating might mean being able to create that kind of relationship.
Where no one else could take your partner's place.
That's right.
A special relationship, where no one else will do, taking one ideal shape.
I think that might be what "dating" means to me.
One ideal shape, huh?
I'll have to give that some thought myself.
You don't have a take on it?
Mmm... I never really thought about it.
Oh, I see.
But that's all the more reason I ought to pin down my own definition of "dating."
Well, once you do, please share it with me.
Oh! To, um... to help with the script, that is...
A-As reference.
Right. As reference.
Yo, Fumiya.
What's up, Mizusawa?
Sure is awkward between you and Mimimi.
Oh, well...
you know...
This calls for drastic measures.
Let's get to lunch.
Huh?
Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki S2
Oh! Mapo bowl for you, Brain?
A-And ramen for you, Mimimi?
Hey, Tomozaki?
Y-Yeah?
About... About yesterday...
I mean, don't worry about it too much.
In fact, forget it!
Or, well, not exactly.
Let's just be like we always have been... or something.
S-Sure.
Got it.
Huh! Who knew?
Same goes for you, right, Aoi?
That's right!
I've had people ask if you and I are dating, Takahiro!
Oh, yeah, those two would make a great couple.
If you do say so yourself.
Actually, Tomozaki... what about you?
Um...
I can feel her pressing me to make the most of this setting
to get my tasks over with.
M-Me?
Yeah! It's like you seem to have something going on, but you don't...
or it seems like you don't, but you do.
Well, which is it?
Oh, he might. He was at that girls' school culture festival, after all.
Talking to girls and everything.
I wouldn't be surprised if something developed after that.
I-Is that true, Brain?!
N-No, there's nothing!
Hmm...
You know, Minmi...
Wh-What?
You're weird today.
Oh, that? I thought so, too.
I bet she's hiding something from us!
I-I wouldn't... say that...
Whoa, Mimimi—this is not the time to be looking my way!
Now, now. Setting that aside...
Whoops—my ramen's gonna get soggy!
Everyone eat up fast before it gets cold!
My Unfamiliar Way to Fly
"My Unfamiliar Way to Fly" went like this:
In a world where dragons and humans lived in harmony,
there was one very special breed of flying dragon.
Susceptible to stress and wary of humans,
the most important factor in raising them was
never exposing them to the impurities of the world.
Libra, the locksmith's son, and Alucia, next in line to be queen, were both 15.
They grew up together, despite their different backgrounds.
When Libra was younger, he visited the castle on an errand for his father,
where he met the smart and determined Alucia,
and the two became friends.
One day, while his father was working,
Alucia invited Libra to explore the castle.
Inside it was a garden they were forbidden to enter.
Out of curiosity, the two went in.
There before them was a pure-white dragon with huge wings
and Kris, a young girl who knew nothing of the outside world.
Kris had been abandoned outside the castle as a baby,
and was also 15 years old.
She lived here, apart from the world, to serve as the dragon keeper.
Neither she nor the dragons were permitted to have contact
with any humans who weren't royalty.
The king sentenced Libra to death for having entered the forbidden garden.
But Alucia confronted her father, the king, with a hard truth:
the king had illegitimate children hidden throughout the kingdom.
Alucia bluffed that Libra was one of these children,
making him royalty—and her brother.
And if Libra were royalty, he couldn't contaminate the dragons.
Not wanting his dirty little secret to go public,
the king vacated Libra's sentence,
and Libra was charged with caring for Kris.
Um...
I enjoyed it.
Y-You did? Really?!
Uh-huh. It felt a lot like the way it did when I read the story itself.
Thank goodness...
Um, w-would you say you had any concerns so far?
Hmm...
Maybe the characters?
The characters?
They feel... more ordinary now, or something.
I'm sure the story is easier to understand this way,
but it's like there's something off about them.
Maybe so...
I actually did change the concept a little.
I simplified the characters to make it easier for everyone to play the various parts.
But in making them easier to understand, they may have become more broadly drawn.
Ah, I see.
Her short stories are strong on portraying the characters' fine details,
the particular ways they think, even their inconsistent feelings.
That was a big part of its charm.
I thought I'd do without complex emotions
and bring straightforward thoughts to the forefront.
But I feel like that weakened the sense I had before
that these were living, breathing characters.
Can I keep on writing this as is?
I... I think you should go back the original characters.
It might make them harder to perform,
and it might be hard for you to get that across in just dialogue.
But...
I think that way is absolutely more interesting.
All right, understood. I'll give it a try.
Way too much happened today.
I feel like my head's going to pop.
What should I be thinking about?
What should I do?
What does "dating" mean?
And if I ever find out...
who will I most want to be with,
Mimimi or Kikuchi?