“Huh? What? Why are you suddenly tapping my shoulder? Is something wrong? Hey, hey, cut it out. We’re just getting to the good part.

“See? Look at that one, the short-haired girl wearing knee socks. She’s so cute; I want to take her home. Put her under my arm like take-out and carry her home. Eh? What a pain in the ass you are. I’m busy right now! Come on, what’s wrong with you, Yamazaki. If you tap me like that, the picture will blur. Hey, hey, you’re really annoying me. What happened to you, all of a sudden?”

“Satou! I said, Satou!”

“Shhh! Quiet, or we’re going to get caught!”

“What are you doing in a place like this, Satou?”

“It should be obvious. That short-haired girl…”

“The girl?”

“Taking secret pict—“

At that moment, I just happened to take my eyes off the finder. As I did, the palm resting on my shoulder entered the corner of my vision. Those slender, pliable fingers couldn’t possibly belong to a man….

I turned around.

Misaki was there. My heart started pumping at fifty times my normal pulse rate.

A gentle breeze was blowing.

Time stopped.

Somewhere along the way, Yamazaki had disappeared, only to be replaced by Misaki.

To make things worse, Misaki was decked out in her religious outfit—the plain, long-sleeved dress and white parasol. Dressed like that, she was crouched down in the bushes with me.

“Wh-wh-when did you get here?”

“Just a few seconds ago.”

I thought about asking how much of my frenzied prattle she had heard, but I gave up. Either way, this was a huge crisis.

A shady man, digital camera hung around his neck, hiding in the shadows near the gate of an elementary school. Anyone would take him for a pervert—and rightfully so. I was already out of options. Gah! I’m sorry, Mother and Father. I wasn’t content with dropping out of college. I needed to be thrown in jail for sex crimes, also. I’m a complete failure as a son. How can I atone for this crime?

I was already out of time. Misaki, who kept looking into my face, would start screaming soon. “There’s a pervert here! Someone, come quick!”

No, no. No doubt, it wouldn’t end with that. After all, she was dressed in her religious clothes. And religions have strict commandments like, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Naturally, lusting after a child would be beyond the pale—which is exactly why God’s rage rains down on lolicon men.

That’s right. Misaki likely would threaten me with something like, “The Lord knows all your sins!”[18] She would say, “For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things!”[19] and set me shivering with fear. Saying, “For the wages of sin is death,”[20] she likely would try to throw me into the hellfire of God’s rage!

This was the absolute end. Looking up at the sky, I prepared for the moment that God’s punishment would descend upon me. In that moment, my life would come to a close. My future would be sealed. It was just a second away.

Time passed while I waited, though, and Misaki didn’t denounce me. Looking back down at Misaki, she was still gazing at me. Our bodies hidden in the bushes, we stared at each other silently.

Finally, Misaki explained, “I just saw Yamazaki, face covered with both hands, run off in the direction of your apartment. I wondered what was going on; and when I peeked in here, I saw you, Satou, so …”

“You know Yamazaki?”

“The man in room 202, right? He looked pretty happy to get ‘Awaken!’ from us. That’s unusual.”

“He did? What a strange guy.”

“Am I bothering you? You did look pretty busy, after all, Satou.”

“N-no! Not at all. I mean, not really. By the way, Misaki, what were you doing in this area?” I tried to change the subject. I was beginning to feel as though I might actually get away with the whole thing.

“I’m on my way home from our religious recruiting. Auntie Kazuko and I were just passing by here. I had Auntie go on home ahead of me when I found out you were here.”

“Yeah? By the way, I really like your religious outfit. The parasol really gives off a spiritual aura.”

When I said that, Misaki cast her eyes downward. “This is a disguise.” Her face turned pink as she spoke.

“Huh?”

“I really hate doing this religious solicitation stuff, so I go out of my way to carry a parasol. That way, no one will remember my face.” Her reason was strangely reassuring. After everything, she remained mysterious. I still couldn’t tell who she really was.

This was my chance to escape. Run away now!

“Well then, I’ve got to be going.” I stood up.

Misaki also stood, closing her parasol.

Just like that, I started walking away awkwardly. I made it to the sidewalk from behind the bushes, and then I briskly headed up the path toward my apartment.

“Satou?”

“What?” I asked without turning around or slowing down.

“So, you’re actually a lolicon?”

I felt as though my heart would stop. Pretending I hadn’t heard, I walked even faster.

Misaki continued, “It’s fine if you are a lolicon. In fact, it might even be more convenient for you. If you say you’re a lolicon hikikomori, it’d be the absolute best. You’d be at the very lowest rank of human society, after all.”

I stopped walking and turned around.

Misaki wore her habitual smile. “Yeah. Thinking about it, lolicon is better. That way, I think you’re even more perfect for my project.” She jumped lightly, excited. It seemed, once again, to be somewhat forced.

In the calmest voice I could possibly manage, I stated, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Anyway, I’m not a lolicon hikikomori, you know. I’m a creator! I was just taking reference pictures.”

“Hm…”

“It’s true.”

“Well, let’s meet again. Don’t do anything that would put you on the news, okay?” With that, Misaki marched away.

It was a May afternoon.

Chapter 06. Fond Memories, Followed by an Oath

Part One

The second Golden Week[21] had arrived, I recognized that the rainy season had ended in a flash.[22] The days passed and passed and passed at an amazing speed.

However, over the course of a month, all sorts of events had occurred.

For example, one night recently, I happened to run into Misaki at the convenience store. She handed me a piece of printer paper. It appeared to be a contract. “Contract” was written on the paper in black ballpoint pen.

Just a week before that, I’d made plans to meet the girl I’d known from my high school literary club. We went to a cafe in Shibuya and had a little chat. I was a bit nervous, but nothing of note happened.

On top of that, my father was laid off during a “restructuring.” My allowance would stop the following month.

Likewise, my next door neighbor, Yamazaki, also seemed to be facing all sorts of unexpected hardships recently. “My father, who works in the primary sector, has been hospitalized with liver trouble,” he explained. “I’m the eldest son. Should I take over the family business?”

In reality, it seemed like he had no choice. I thought his best decision would be to go home right away and run his family’s dairy farm and winery. Apparently, he had some deep issues with his parents.

“Even though they have money, they wouldn’t help me continue my education. They sent an application to a dairy school without even asking me. And so I worked part time for a year at convenience stores and as a security guard to earn my tuition for Yoyogi Animation Institute. They’ve got to be kidding, coming to me with this now!”