I won't be a loser.

"Take a rest after you've finished tidying up. Also, wait a moment, I need to go out for some time, so you should go home early too."

The store manager is an old man in his seventies with gray hair and a long beard. His only pleasure every day is to sit behind the counter and read a book alone. He never seems to care about the fact that there are few customers in the store.

I heard that he has a son and a daughter, both of whom work in Tokyo. They seem to have good jobs and have families. They seem to give the store manager a lot of living expenses every month.

"I see."

Wearing the bookstore's exclusive apron, Gokou Ruri was quietly arranging the books in the bookstore with an indifferent expression. Her mind was constantly thinking about things related to animation. She planned to create a fan work of "Maschera ~The Wail of the Demonic Beast Fallen to the Mortal World~" after returning home. Gokou Ruri, who was immersed in the animation character, narrowed her eyes slightly from time to time, and then slowly frowned. While arranging the books, she also made some small movements that were not easy to be noticed.

He flicked his wrist lightly and put the books on the bookshelf. In Wu Geng Liuli's mind, countless magic patterns and arrays appeared behind him. Various magic books emerged from the array, releasing endless magic and bombarding his enemies!

"Um... um."

Murmuring softly, Gogen Ruri pursed her lips, imagining her wings spreading behind her, soaring in the dark night sky, waving to summon her most loyal servant. Slowly closing her eyes, she felt like she was the woman—

"Do you work in this bookstore?"

"Hmm?!"

He hurriedly opened his eyes and looked back behind him——

She didn't know when the other person came behind her. Looking at the man in light blue shirt and gray knitted jacket, she raised her eyes slightly and a familiar face was reflected in Gokou Ruri's eyes.

He looked at her with a slightly curious look, as if asking her what happened just now.

A blush appeared on her fair cheeks. She couldn't help but bite her lips, using the slight pain to resist the embarrassment and shyness deep in her heart, and she calmed down in an instant.

"It's very rude to stand behind someone silently."

"Sorry, I just entered this bookstore and saw you. You looked familiar to me. I wasn't sure if I was seeing things, so I came over to check."

"…What's going on?"

Ruri Gokou stared at the man in front of her. She had an average relationship with him. She only knew that he was a student at Chiba University and had moved to her house not long ago. They chatted about anime and exchanged contact information, but it was just a brief chat and their relationship was not close.

He lowered his head to look at the book in the other person's arms, then looked at the dazzling array of works on the bookshelf. He looked through them carefully, stretched out his hand, took a book from the girl's arms, held it in front of him, and glanced at the name of the book.

"Totkalipoka... this year's Naoki Prize winner."

Gokou Ruri, who didn't pay much attention to these things, was a little surprised. She looked at the other books in her arms, which had the words "Naoki Shang Awarded" printed on them.

"I'm a little interested, but I don't know what kind of story it is."

Looking at the work in his hands, he saw that when he saw it on the Internet, it seemed that this work had received widespread praise. Since he had not won any awards yet, he also felt that he needed to understand the content of these works.

I didn't know what Xianren was thinking. I just saw him looking down at the cover and his expression gradually becoming silent. I felt that there seemed to be some story in it, but I was not curious enough to ask him what was in it. I put the book in my arms and left the bookshelf. Xianren walked around the bookstore again.

When he came near Gokogen Ruri again and watched her sorting out some medieval books, that is, second-hand books, he stopped beside her and looked at the medieval books on the bookshelf. With a hint of curiosity in his eyes, he picked up a book and opened it to read.

"If you're hoping to find some banknotes hidden among these used books, forget it. When these used books are purchased, they're all checked in front of the owners to see if there are any extra items inside, and to check the extent of the damage."

"No, I just wanted to see if there were any notes or interesting content in these books."

The girl squatting in front of the bookshelf slowly raised her head, glanced at the wise man, and said nothing. The wise man carefully read the contents of the book, but found that there was nothing interesting, so he put it back on the bookshelf. After reading several books in succession, he did not find any content that interested him, so he did not buy these books.

The books and letters he was looking for could probably only be bought in Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda District, Tokyo.

In that antique book street, things like medieval books and letters are sold by weight.

Since there were no more books he wanted to buy in the old bookstore, Xianren paid the bill and left the bookstore. Gokou Ruri quietly watched Xianren leave the bookstore, was silent for a moment, and then quietly continued to do the work at hand.

The wise man left the bookstore and stood on the street, looking around in a daze before he confirmed the direction of his home. He walked slowly back to his home, entered the house, put down the book in his hand, opened it and started reading.

Just as he sat down and read a few pages, a phone call came in. He looked down and saw that it was Sanye's call. Xianren, who was sitting on the sofa, couldn't help but sigh.

"I just returned to Chiba not long ago when I received the call. If there's anything, I won't be returning to Tokyo. If you want to meet, let's wait until next week."

"It won't take you long to get back to Chiba anyway. Why not stay in Tokyo for the night and see Chiba afterward?"

Sanye was alone again, standing in the room, and couldn't help getting annoyed. She slowly walked to the desk and looked at the computer that Xianren prepared for her. She didn't feel happy at all. She was not very interested in these things, and she was not familiar with such modern technology. She could simply open the browser and input, but she didn't understand anything else. Every time she turned on the computer, she felt inexplicably uneasy.

"You're not a child anymore. Stop saying those willful things. You're already a high school student. It's time for you to learn to live on your own. Don't always think about going to Setsuna's house. If there's anything you need, you should learn to do it yourself."

"Ah—you've only been in college for a short time, and you're already preaching to me. You used to—"

"Ok?"

A "hmm" sound made Sanye, who was sitting in the room, shut her mouth immediately. She sat on the bed sullenly, tossing and turning, feeling unhappy.

"I want to be in love too! I want to have a sweet love in high school too!"

Mitsuha, who was dissatisfied with Kento for a while and felt lonely in her heart, spoke out her angry words in a low voice, especially when she thought of her brother and the complicated interpersonal relationships in Tokyo during this time. Her tone was full of determination. However, Kento, who had returned home, was still very calm after hearing Mitsuha's answer, without any psychological fluctuations at all.

"My mother knows everything about me. Are you ready to tell her, Sanye?"

"Well--"

"Okay, I should be able to go back to Tokyo on Wednesday of this week, but don't expect too much."

"I'm not expecting you to go back to Tokyo..."

Sanye answered muffledly and lay down on the bed, her whole body buried in the quilt. She felt a little strange and suddenly began to look forward to Wednesday.

"Is there anything else? It's not over yet."

"I haven't decided yet which club to join. Which club would be best? Tennis club? Football club? Or basketball club?"

"They're all sports clubs? You have to arrive at school early every day, train before class, and stay in school after school to train. There's not much free time during holidays. The sports clubs in Toyosaki may not be particularly rigorous, but they're all about achieving results. Everyone has their own goals. Are you sure you can adapt to this kind of life? You have to get up early every day."

"..."

Almost every word hit Sanye's sore spot. Sitting in the room, Sanye gently kicked her legs. Thinking about how she had to get up early from her bed every day and participate in school training, and how she would sweat, she felt that things were becoming troublesome.

He rolled around on the bed twice, then stopped and gave his answer.

"Forget it..."

Just as Xianren knew, his sister had a weak character and had no confidence in herself when it came to things that required persistence. This was no different from how he was in the past.

Everyone has to go through some things before growing up, but since he is Sanye's brother, I feel that he doesn't necessarily need to go through any hardships. There is nothing wrong with Sanye like this. Although he is a little willful, it is still within the scope that Xianren can tolerate and can be understood as "cute". There is nothing wrong with it.

"Tokyo is so boring, there's so little to do. I'm thinking of going to Chiba. Instead of going to school in Tokyo, I'd rather go to Chiba with you. When we get to university... aren't you planning on going back to Tokyo to go to school?"

Sanye slowly sat up, with a look of realization on her face.

I was previously dazzled by "Tokyo", but now I think I can follow my brother and go to school in Chiba.

"I want to transfer schools!"

"Don't be so willful. Transferring schools is not a simple matter. It can't be easily resolved with just a word. You might as well ask your mother and father for their opinions and see if they agree. Without their consent, you will not be able to transfer to Chiba."

"I'm not being willful. You went to Chiba by yourself, but you didn't plan to let me go with you. Are you dissatisfied with me for causing you trouble?"

Sanye groaned and became unhappy. She couldn't help tossing and turning in bed. Then she slowly sat up, clutching the bed sheet with her left hand, and her expression became dissatisfied.

"I haven't settled down in Chiba yet, so why would I ask you to follow me there? Well, I do find you a bit troublesome. You're already in high school, and you still like to follow me around. You're not a kid anymore. It's time to grow up, Mitsuha."

Mitsuha, who was sitting in the room, couldn't help biting her lip when she heard Xianren's answer.

"I'm not a kid. Just wait, I'm going to surprise you!"

"Don't do—"

Before he could finish his words, Sanye hung up the phone. Xianren, who was sitting in the room, couldn't help but rub his forehead. He finally realized how troublesome it was to teach a child.

I just hope that when Elio grows up, he won’t become a troublesome person like Mitsuha, and will stay as well-behaved as he is now.

"..."

After staring at the phone for a while, he called his mother and briefly reported to Miyamizu Futaba about his current situation in Chiba. In addition, there were some things about Feng Xiaochun and Kiyoura Setsuna. As for Kiyoura Setsuna, I think Mitaba had already talked to her about it. In addition, he didn't know the situation in Tokyo at the moment, so he just gave a brief account.

"Does Sanye contact you by phone every day now?"

"I'll contact her every two or three days. I don't want Mitsuha to feel like a child again when she arrives in Tokyo, so I just asked about her daily life and didn't give her any special instructions."

"..."

Xianren couldn't help but fall into deep thought about Miyamizu Futaba's answer.

"Is it me who still treats Mitsuha like a child?"

"It's not that Mitsuha is naive, she just has a slightly freer personality. I hope that during her time in Tokyo, she can mature a bit and become a little more stable."

Facing his mother's hope for Sanye, he silently kept it in his heart and slightly changed his original thoughts...

- - - -

Happy New Year

Thank you all for your monthly tickets and blades! Thank you all for your recommendation tickets!

Chiba New Story: 411. Recruited three employees

People always turn a blind eye to the things around them, and often regret it after they lose them.

In the past, he did not have a deep understanding of this sentence, but after he left Fengzhiqi and was no longer a high school student, he had more thoughts in his heart when he saw the female high school students he used to see often.

In his spare time, sitting on a bench near Chiba Station, watching the young female high school students coming and going, Xianren, who had just entered university for a month, suddenly felt an inexplicable melancholy. He felt that he seemed to have aged a lot, and a feeling he had not felt for a long time came to his heart. Faced with the female high school students who took the initiative to come forward and talk to him, Xianren took the initiative to reject them.

"Normally, people like me would be called a prude."

Sighed.

"what--"

"what--"

The overlapping sighs made the wise man sitting on the bench stunned for a moment. He turned his head to look in the direction of the other sigh and found that there was a male high school student sitting on the other side of the bench where he was sitting.

The slightly unique high school uniform on him made Xianren recognize the other party's school at once. His eyes stayed on the other party's face. Those eyes that had no desire to live happened to look at him. The moment their eyes met, they seemed to understand something all of a sudden.

"This guy is definitely a troublesome person. Don't get involved with him."

"Ah... that look, that troublesome guy, our eyes met, it's so troublesome, just pretend you didn't see it."

The thoughts in their hearts were inexplicably synchronized. They all remained silent and looked away. No one took the initiative to speak. They treated the details just now as just a small accident.

After staring at the pedestrians in the square for a while, Xianren stood up and took the initiative to leave the place. Hikigaya Hachiman, who was still waiting for his sister, turned his head to look at Xianren who was leaving, and felt a little relaxed in his heart.

Sitting on a bench with the other person, he could feel that the atmosphere around them was very bad. Some people hurriedly dodged away after unconsciously approaching them.

"It would be better if you don't run into such troublesome people in the future."

Xianren, who was unaware that he had been disliked, was walking home after leaving the station. He happened to pass by the commercial street, so he bought some fruits and vegetables and returned home. After some preparation, he started to make his own dinner.

Living alone, the taste of food is not that important. He does not waste too much energy on cooking. He focuses on filling his stomach and tastes secondarily. After a simple meal and a short rest, he went into his study, opened his browser, stared at the main interface and fell into silence for a long time before his wandering thoughts returned to reality.

"What are you going to do... Ugh... Ah..."

The wise man thought about what he wanted to do, entered his email address, and after logging into his mailbox, he saw a lot of contact emails. It seemed that the previous recruitment information had played some role.

"We don't have too many staffing needs right now. We just need a script writer, an artist, a programmer...anything else?"

It seems there are no more. There are only these three positions posted on the job posting. Now looking at the emails that have been sent in, there are about ten people...

"This person... is a complete novice?"

"This person has experience in the industry, but at this age... it doesn't seem right."

"Have you ever produced any works? But the style seems a bit... I might consider it."

After carefully observing the resumes submitted, he found that none of them met Xianren's expectations. However, when he saw the last three emails, he was a little surprised and found that they quite met his requirements. Then he looked at the other party's photos and age.

"Original artist, only 21 years old, with experience in the industry, having developed two works and published doujinshi... well, doujinshi..."

A blonde figure emerged in Xianren's mind, and he felt that the other party was quite suitable... But when he thought of the other party's identity, she would be the only one responsible for the affairs of the Sawamura family in the future. It seemed too selfish and self-interested to let the other party participate in this industry for his own personal needs.

"Let's keep this. Besides..."

The other two, script and program, were also fine from the resume, but from the perspective of work experience, he felt something was slightly wrong.

“Why do the career experiences of these three people seem so similar?”

He opened the three emails at the same time and read them carefully. His expression was subtle and he couldn't help but squint his eyes.

"20, 21, and 25..."

Judging from the conditions, they all meet the needs of the wise man. He really hopes to have some people with work experience to work for him. However, looking at the establishment information of these three people, he was a little conflicted. After hesitating for a moment, he dialed the number of one of them.

After thinking for a while, he called the oldest one among them, Ms. Kosaka, a programmer.

"beep--"

"beep--"

"This is Kousaka, what can I do for you?"