Chapter 33: 32

Vol. 1 Chapter 32

Confinement AZ Date

Translated by SoundDestiny
Edited by Kaepinned

 

When I wake up, I see a beautiful girl’s face at a distance where our noses are almost attached.

 

“Kokokoko-Konata!!─ ─ Go,good morning.”

 

I feel a soft touch on the back of my head.

 

The moment I realise that I am on her knees, my body stiffens.

 

“Kusu, it’s night already.”

 

Konata pats me on the head and lets out a sneer.

 

“Oh, yeah. Well, um,  good evening?”

 

I rephrase.

 

I’m not sure how many days of all-nighters I did  for this to happen.

 

“Un. Good evening.”

 

She returns the greeting with a smile.

 

“Anyway, I’m so glad you’re back.”

 

I breathe a sigh of relief.

 

“Thanks. I mean, personally, I didn’t mean to leave in the first place.”

 

She says awkwardly and brushes his hair up.

 

“But all of your personal stuff was missing.”

 

“Oh, that. It was an emergency when you collapsed and I got stuff from my parents’ house but on second thought, I felt sick, so I put it all back where it belonged.”

 

“Feeling sick?”

 

“Yup. If I bring things from my parents’ house, I won’t feel comfortable because it feels like I’m borrowing my parents’ stuff. Only 『our common property』 is allowed in this house.”

 

Konata puts her hands together and says with the expression of a dreaming maiden.

 

“I see. So that’s how it is.”

 

Whether or not I agree with her logic, I understand why she took her personal belongings away.

 

“Yes. But as it turns out, I’m glad you got the wrong idea. Because it gave me such a nice present.”

 

Saying this, she smiles mischievously.

 

“Yeah. If you say so, then you read my manga, right?”

 

I say with my eyes swimming a little.

 

I didn’t mind it when I was drawing but when I got some sleep and cooled down, I suddenly felt embarrassed.

 

If I think about it, the act I did was, so to speak, like a musician giving away a song of his own composition on his birthday, an act of intense pain.

 

Of course, I don’t regret it at all but embarrassing things are still embarrassing.

 

“I read it.”

 

She closes her eyes and nodds deeply.

 

“I see. So, what did you think?”

 

“I’m delighted.”

 

Konata mutters with an ecstatic look on her face.

 

“Haha, it was interesting, wasn’t it?”

 

“Because it’s just me and you, day in, day out. If I said it was 『interesting』 as a story, let alone for anyone else, I would be lying.”

 

She makes a puzzled face and bares it.

 

“Certainly, that’s true.”

 

I nod in agreement.

 

“But I’m glad to know how you feel.”

 

“Oh, yeah. I’m glad I am able to tell you how I feel too. It’s a bit embarrassing, though.”

 

“Indeed it is. I also found out that you were looking at me with naughty eyes.”

 

I cover my face with my hands.

 

If there was a hole, I’d want to get in it.

 

At the very least, I should have confessed about it at least once.

 

I portrayed it too honestly.

 

“I don’t mind.”

 

“Eh?”

 

“Even if you look at me sexually.”

 

Saying this, she shifts my hands to the side.

 

Her eyes are glowing bewitchingly.

 

“Aa, are you sure?”

 

“Of course, but I want more than that.”

 

“That’s a crime.”

 

“It’s not a crime if they don’t know.”

 

She stares at me and brings her face close.

 

I close my eyes.

 

Burururururururu.

 

A moment later, my phone in my pocket goes off.

 

‘Please read the air.’

 

Burururururururu

 

At first I tried to ignore it but the phone keeps shaking insistently.

 

‘”You should answer it.”

 

“Uhuh. Right.”

 

I raise my upper body and take out my phone.

 

‘From Nikaido-san? What does she want?’

 

“『Sensei! Congratulations! You’ve been selected for publication in our magazine as a read-out.』”

 

“Eh? What do you mean?”

 

I am taken aback by the sudden words of congratulations from my editor.

 

“『Stop pretending to not know – the storyboard, I read it. 『The Story of a Manga Artist Who Was Imprisoned by a Strange High School Girl』 This is it!　This is what I’ve been looking for!　It was a great piece of work and it really showed off your talent! There was just the right balance between the reality of a manga artist who can’t get his work published and the fantasy of a young high school girl who takes care of him while he’s locked up. And since romantic comedies are a hot seller at the moment, it’s easy for us to promote it.』”

 

The editor in charge of the project is excitedly ranting about the storyboard. The salty response I’ve received so far seems to be a lie. The editor in charge is a person who responds in a blatantly honest way when it comes to manga, so she must have thought this was really interesting.

 

Or rather, it’s not a fantasy, that high school girl is right in front of me right now.

 

“Th, thank you.”

 

However, I don’t want to be reported for divulging the truth to the editor, so I just nod appropriately to fit the story.

 

“Good. So, for the time being, we’re going to try a short story to see how it goes but if the readers respond well, I’d like you to make it a serial, is that OK with you?”

 

“Yes! I look forward to working with you.”

 

I nod vigorously.

 

There is no reason to refuse.

 

“『Excellent!　Now, if you’ll excuse me, the meeting is resuming. I’ll email you later with the details!』”

 

“Yes. Thank you!!”

 

I bow my head over the phone and hang up.

 

“That’s funny. Did I just absent-mindedly send the storyboard to the editor as well?”

 

I put the phone away in my pocket and tilt my head back.

 

“Oh, that. I sent it to the editor on your behalf. It’s a loss to humanity to keep such a great manga to myself.”

 

Konata says as a matter of course.

 

“Haha, you’re exaggerating. ─ but this is…….Thank you.”

 

I bow deeply.

You are reading story The Story of a Manga Artist Who Was Imprisoned by a Strange High School Girl at novel35.com

 

What I wanted so badly, thanks to a lucky goddess,  fell into my lap so easily that it is almost anticlimactic.

 

“No big deal. A fan should at least do that.”

 

Konata proudly beams.

 

‘Konata has come back to me and as a mangaka, I have seen the light. Can I ever be this happy?’ 

 

It is too convenient a turn of events to be counter-intuitive.

Play

Unmute

 

……。

……。

……。

 

Hmm? I mean, wait.

 

“Come to think of it, how did Konata get my editor’s address? The editor in charge is not supposed to be on a social networking site and it seems strange that she would contact me if you were the sender in the first place.”

 

I fold my arms and ponder.

 

“Eh? The editor’s email address can be found in your email. It’s only natural that they contacted you because I sent it to them from your email address. Hmmm, perhaps you’re still sleepwalking?”

 

She says teasingly.

 

“Haha, I see. You sent it from my email address? Then it’s only natural that they called me.”

 

I laugh as what Konata said was indeed true and then I just agree with her – I turn a straight face.

 

No, it’s still strange now that I think about it.

 

“……How did Konata get into my account? As you may know , I don’t use my birthday as the password for my email account.”

 

The email address itself is published on my social networking profile, along with the words 『I’m looking for work』.

 

So it’s only natural that Konata knows it.

 

But the passwords for my email accounts are automatically generated by Google.

 

I’m basically a lazy person, so I usually just save the random passwords that Google recommends to me in my browser and use them.

 

I mean, if it’s just a four-digit birthday number, it’s too insecure as a password and they won’t even let me register.

 

She could probably still send emails from my laptop via a browser. But when she left, Konata made sure to leave my personal belongings in my room.

 

“That! I had quite a hard time. You are a serious person. You don’t walk around and you don’t mess around with your phone outside. You’re basically an indoor person. You only go outside when you’re shopping in the first place.”

 

I nod to Konata’s words.

 

“Yes, I am. I’m a hermit to the core.”

 

I set the tone appropriately to get her to speak.

 

“But only on the 28th of every month you go out. You love to get the fried chicken from that chain restaurant. Only on the 28th do you eat out at the restaurant. So I had the opportunity to play with your phone at that time and I managed to break the pattern lock by filming and analysing your finger movements. But that is useless if you don’t touch your phone, which is also crucial. So when you dropped your phone in the bookshop, I knew it was fate.”

 

In an euphoric tone of voice, Konata speaks fast and rambles on.

 

‘There was a time lag of a dozen minutes between me dropping my phone and her delivering it to me. But it’s funny when I think about it. She was standing in line behind me.’

 

I just assumed that she was in a hurry to come after me, but if she was in line behind me, it would be more natural for her to notice immediately when I dropped my phone, pick it up and return it to me on the spot.

 

“I mean, that’s when Konata hacked my phone and reset my password?　 And I, using auto-save, don’t even know about it.”

 

Passwords that appeared hidden on screen, such as 『・・・・・・・・・』.

 

In other words, if the password has the same number of digits and the security settings, such as warnings for logging in from another device have been removed, and all the reset notification emails have been deleted, there is no way for me to know that I have been hacked.

 

Of course, if I had checked my log-in records frequently, I might have known. But in a situation where there was no financial damage, there was no way I would have checked every single one of those things.

 

I’m so careless that I set my bank PIN to my birthday.

 

“Yes! Thanks to you, I’ve been able to get closer to your heart – following your social networking sites only gives me a front face of you. Understanding your creative pain and your despair and being there for you, that’s a real fan!”

 

Konata declares, in a tone devoid of any trace of guilt.

 

“I’m glad you’re thinking of me that much.”

 

I mutter, pushing the shame inwardly.

 

I raise the corners of my mouth as hard as I could to hide my twitching cheeks.

 

‘Wait a minute. This is going to change the story. Could it be that this is not 『a clumsy neighbourhood fan who happened to find me and rehabilitate me』, but 『an overzealous stalker who was looking for an opportunity to lock me up at the first opportunity?』’

 

Chills run down my spine.

 

I get goosebumps all over my body.

 

Surely this is not a symptom of a disease.

 

‘I mean, I sent a stalker a manga that was practically a confession. So, is that it?’

 

I can’t swallow my spit.

 

Water that has been spit out cannot be swallowed.

 

I can’t pretend that the manga I drew on my own will never happen.

 

My emotions are all messed up.

 

It is thanks to Konata that I am back on my feet.

 

That’s true and I’m grateful for that.

 

She is kind, clumsy, hardworking and I find her attractive.

 

This feeling is not a lie.

 

But as much as I’m attracted to her, I’m scared of her now.

 

“Oh, that’s right. I have to heat up some rice. You haven’t eaten properly the last few days, have you? You have to take care of yourself. Your body is your capital.”

 

Konata puts her lips to my ear and whispers.

 

“Oh, yes, that’s true. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to keep up with the rhythm of life on my own.”

 

My reply is filled with an absent-minded interjection.

 

“Fufufu, that’s not good. But don’t worry. I’m here for you…”

 

Saying this, she picks it up from the floor, a proof of the bond between us.

 

The choker is once again tied around my neck, just as I had hoped.

 

Is that smile an angel or a devil?

 

I can’t decide right now.

 

‘What will happen to me from now on?’

 

With these feelings hanging in the air, I look over at her back as she heads for the kitchen.

 

『The Story of a Manga Artist Who Was Imprisoned by a Strange High School Girl』

 

Its genre is still undecided.

Afterword from the author:

 

Nice to meet you if it’s nice to meet you. If not, it has been a while. I am Hozumi Moguri.

 

Thank you very much for picking up 『The Story of a Manga Artist Locked Up by a Strange High School Girl』.

 

As many of you know, this work is based on an illustration piece that was serialised by Kitada Ryouma on SNS. As a reader, I thought that the work was so popular and fascinating that I was sure it would soon be commercially developed but I never dreamt that I would be in charge of the novelisation of the work.

 

I understand that the comic book version, which will be directly handled by Kitada Ryouma, will be released in the near future but this work will be released first, so I feel a heavy responsibility and am very honoured.

 

I have done my best to express the charm of the heroine, Konata, who is bewitching but I cannot help being attracted to her and I would be very happy if my thoughts and feelings could be conveyed to the readers.

 

Now, without further ado, let me move on to acknowledgement to the people involved.

 

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Kitada Ryouma, who was in charge of the illustrations as well as the original idea. It goes without saying that without you, this work would not have existed. Normally, I would use all kinds of words to explain the excellence of the illustrations, but for this occasion, I dare not say anything. Please 『look』 at the cover illustration. The illustration speaks more eloquently of the charm of this book than my poor praise.

 

Next, I would like to thank my editor, Be-san. Be-san selected me from amongst many writers to be involved in this wonderful work. Not only that, but you gave me precise and concise suggestions, which contributed greatly to the process of improving the completeness of this work. I would like to thank you for your continued support.

 

Furthermore, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all those who have been involved in this work and above all, to you, who have read this work to this point.

 

I look forward to seeing you again in the next volume.

 

Afterword from the Illustrator:

 

Nice to meet you, my name is Kitada Ryouma.

 

Thank you for purchasing my story about a manga artist who is locked up by a strange high school girl. I never dreamt that my SNS timeline would be turned into a novel.

 

I would like to thank the people in charge who approached me and everyone who enjoyed it.

 

It was the first experience for me and I think I enjoyed creating it.

 

As for the content, I hope that both those who know the original story and those who are reading it for the first time will enjoy it.

 

So, once again, thank you very much to those who made this project so exciting.

 

I think Konota-chan in my heart is also happy.

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