Hobby Modification App; Episode 41, Day 16: I went to the neighbor's house for a brief discussion.

　I get down on all fours and get on the bed in such a way that Yukishiro is draped over me.

　My eyes catch a glimpse of Yukishiro's dazzling naked body lying on top of her long, fanned-out black hair.

 

　Yukishiro's eyes are full of anticipation as she gazes at me.

 

　....Is this Yukishiro's trick on me?

 

　What comes to my mind is what happened after I came to Yukishiro's house after school.

 

 

* * *

 

 

"――Keisuke, you're going to lose... the game that way, aren't you? Why don't you use the [Hobby Modification App]...? "

 

　Yukishiro's dark eyes, which I don't know what she's thinking about, pierce me.

　After school, I came to Yukishiro's house, and as soon as I said sweet words to her, she said these words to me.

 

　...Now, how should I take this?

　If it is a tactic, what is the purpose of mentioning the app's name here?

 

　Yukishiro put her hands on my cheeks as I wondered what to say.

　Yukishiro moves her hands along my face as if caressing a crack.

 

"――Gee, I'll say it again, Keisuke... that way, it's game over."

 

　Yukishiro continues to talk, moving her hand like a slow caress as if she is showing her love for me.

 

" ...Whisper sweet words and melt them to the core... The technique itself is correct. For "us," no other way works so well... But that only makes it a temporary bad medicine.... "

 

　Yukishiro's words are like those of a child who has difficulty remembering anything.

　I wonder what she means... Though Yukishiro's face is still difficult to see the change in emotion, it seems to be more emotional than before.

 

　Compared with ordinary people, I might say that her face is expressionless, but knowing the old Yukishiro, I know that she is smiling now.

　I could not deny that she was smiling softly right now.

 

　―I can't help but think that her expression says she doesn't intend to play games with me.

 

　I feel, somehow, that she is a much more formidable opponent than before.

　The most important reason is that I can't help but feel a sense of composure in the way she is trying to be close to me.

 

　...I'm in trouble. There are not many ways to get information from her like this.

 

　She even knows the app's name and is asking me to use the app's ability.

　In such a situation, there is not much I can do, even if I try to be blustery.

 　At least, if I am losing in terms of the amount of information, I have to extract as much information as possible from my opponent.

　...Well, what should I do?

 

　I thought for a moment. The answer is simple, there is no point in running away from the situation, so I just have to brace myself.

 　In the end, I decided to jump into the fray.

 

"...Yukishiro, how much do you know? "

 

　Yukishiro's smile deepened at my words, and she moved her face closer to mine.

　She stared into my eyes and whispered to me.

 

"... everything."

 

　Yukishiro's jet-black eyes were reflected in my eyes.

　I raised my eyebrows lightly as I looked into those deep black eyes that seemed to drag me into the depths of the abyss.

 

　...everything?

　Yukishiro's eyes seemed to tell me that she knew something I didn't know.

 

　...Truly, I'm amazed. If Yukishiro knows many things that I don't know, it means that Yukishiro will likely continue to dominate the conversation from now on.

 

　I wondered while I've been thinking about this, maybe it's better to just cut off the conversation and use force...

 

　Yukishiro's hand, whether she knew how I was feeling or not, kept stroking my cheek affectionately, as if to quiet me down

    I sigh inwardly, but I put my feelings back into my mind.

 

　Well, let's do what I can while there is no sign of hostility.

　It would be better if I could get some information just by talking with her.

 

　Thinking like that in the corner of my mind about what to do with this situation, I open my mouth to continue the conversation with Yukishiro.

 

"Everything... huh? That's great, there are so many things I don't understand, I wish you could tell me."

 

　I could see Yukishiro's face, which was so beautifully shaped that I wondered if it was really the same human, breaking into a happy smile.

　It was as if she was saying things were going how she wanted.

 

　Yukishiro whispered to me and blows hot breath on my face while she was stroking my face happily.

 

"――Do you believe in fate, Keisuke? "

 

　Yukishiro whispers to me words that I never expected to hear from her.

　Again, those words are very far from Yukishiro's character.

 

"...You say and do some pretty spiritual things. Well, I don't really believe it. "

 

　To be honest, I don't believe in them at all.

　For some reason, Yukishiro looked at me with a nostalgic look in her eyes.

 

"...It's just like you, Keisuke... unfortunately for you, there is fate... that is converging on a certain outcome."

 

　Yukishiro says it like she's trying to teach me a lesson.

 

　I don't know where the conversation is going, and I don't know what her intentions are.

　If Yukishiro was just a curious girl, it would have been less confusing, but the fact that she was naturally an intelligent girl added to the confusion.

 

　Yukishiro's eyes, filled with the color of intelligence, looked into mine, and she continued to talk.

 

"...Keisuke-kun. The world is born through observation...Simply put, this world is made up of countless pieces, as many as there are people in it.

...And when each one of the countless pieces behaves completely randomly, the world can branch into countless numbers of outcomes.... in such a way that it shows infinite possibilities.

...however, there are cases where it breaks down. Sometimes, it all converges on a single path that can only be described as... fate. "

 

　I know she's trying to teach me something, but these words just don't seem to get into my head.

　Or maybe it's because I'm not very interested in it.

 

　Sometimes what she says is too abstract for me to understand, but honestly, I'm not interested in fate at all.

　However, if it is important information, I have to listen to it.

 

　Confused inside, I stare into her eyes while listening to Yukishiro, who never stops talking.

 

"...The phenomenon called fate happens when a piece has more than a certain amount of energy... When that happens, for some reason, no matter how you change the conditions, the pieces will reproduce the generation of that energy.

...Yes, as if something recorded it and recognized that the generation of that energy was inevitable for the world. "

 

　Yukishiro looks at me as if she wants me to understand.

　I sighed inwardly and, without any choice, chewed what she said in my head.

 

　...The point is that the world is an aggregate observed by human beings, and when we are a part of that aggregate, in other words, when we have that mysterious energy, we repeat the same thing no matter what we do, right?

 

　What does that mean? I am not interested in science fiction or hocus-pocus.

　It's like when you want to eat grilled meat and someone tells you that fruits from some unknown country are delicious.

 

"...And again, it's a difficult conversation... haa, if a piece is a person, what is energy? "

 

　With a slight sigh, I ask Yukishiro to tell me, and she brings her hand from my cheek to my head, passing over the side to the top of my head, and strokes it gently.

 

"...Those are, you know, people's feelings. ...human emotion. ...It is the subconscious of human feelings that fixes our destiny, that makes our neurons uniform and our synapses lose their plasticity.

...If we consider human destiny as a piece of paper floating on the surface of the water, human emotion is like a weight on it.

In other words, the heavier the weight, the more it converges to a certain point, as if the paper is sinking. It is like dropping an iron ball on a huge piece of paper floating on the water's surface."

 

　Yukishiro's words make me raise my eyebrows.

　If I interpret what she says as it is, she is saying that when a person's emotions are heightened to a certain degree, they are recorded somewhere, and people will always behave in the same way, pulled by fate or something like that.

 

　If that's the case――

 

"... Keisuke, let me tell you a short story...It's just a story about a boy who was confessed to by his childhood friend...Just, that's all there is to it."

 

　When I noticed it, Yukishiro's jet-black eyes were right before me.

　We were so close that I thought our eyelashes might stick together.

 

　At that distance, Yukishiro stared into my eyes.

 

"...Yes, that's the story, but the boy who is the story's main character is a little different.

...In any case, the boy didn't know what love was, and before he answered his childhood friend, he started to confirm the idea of love with another girl.

... he also targeted 'girls who seem to be hard to conquer', thinking that the more challenging the girl is to love, the more deeply he can learn about love. " 

 

　Clearly, Yukishiro's words are my story.

　I don't remember that at all. My only childhood friend is Hiiragi, but she never confessed her love to me, nor did I ever move on to another girl because of it.

 

　It's ridiculous, but Yukishiro's eyes, those jet-black eyes that seem to drag me into an abyss, keep me trapped in the belief that she's telling me the truth.

　I find my eyes shaking and shudders' in her eyes.

 

"...You're quite a tiresome bastard, aren't you?"

 

　It was all I could do to reply.

 

　Yukishiro's hand gently stroked my head as if to soothe me.

　Slowly, Yukishiro continues to stroke my head as if checking the feel of my hair against the palm of her hand.

 

"...I think that's a lovely part of it....I'll tell you the rest of the story, okay? ...Eventually, he did it the hard way. He made love, he boned the girls to confirm his love ―and then, at the end of it, the boy was satisfied and dumped them without hesitation."

 

　I look into the eyes of Yukishiro, who doesn't even blink.

　And yet, she still pats my head gently, as if to show that she's on my side.

 

"...you're such an asshole."

 

　I said this without showing any emotion, glaring into Yukishiro's eyes.

　Her eyes narrowed in satisfaction at my words, and Yukishiro's face pulled back slightly away from mine.

 

"... the boy had his reasons too...The boy only saw his mother's shadow and believed his childhood Nēe-san's words that [A girl's love can be overwritten, so if you stop pouring it into her, it will just disappear.]. "

 

　If this is a story that you made up after doing some research, it's quite an impressive feat.

　After all, only Nēe-san and I know that phrase.

 

　Besides, it's not wrong as a simulation of my behavior.

　In the same situation, I would probably do the same thing.

 

　Because I don't think Nēe-san's words themselves are wrong.

 

　Considering the human life form, it is reasonable that a woman's love can be overwritten and preserved.

　Given that we evolved from monkeys, if the boss monkey changes, the females have to mingle with him, so keeping love on one male is a defect in terms of preserving the species.

 

　――A distant memory. The image of my mother came to my mind.

　Yes, that story man's behavior makes sense in principle.

　He can give reasons for all of them.

 

"... I think that guy just behaved clumsily, but I don't think the word itself is wrong."

 

　Yukishiro's face breaks into a smile at my words as if to say that she also understands.

　Yukishiro's hand continues to caress my head lovingly,

 

"...You're probably right... but as far as the girls he dumped, I must say he made a mistake."

 

　After saying this, she stopped patting my head.

　In front of me was Yukishiro's face, somehow returned to a completely blank expression. Yukishiro's inorganic eyes, looking at me, show no emotion.

 

　Then, in a flat voice, Yukishiro said without hesitation.

 

"―In any case, no matter how he acts, he's killed after he's done."

 

　It was so quiet that it felt like the world had stopped.

　The atmosphere alone is enough to swallow me up.

 

　...I swear, if you're making this up, I'm not going to let you go.

 

　I managed to squeeze out a few words and open my mouth to Yukishiro.

 

"...That's a pretty bleak story, isn't it?"

"...I guess so. Anyway, the story is only good until the 'girl who seems to be the hardest to conquer.' And the convergence point, or the ending, is always fixed, and he gets killed."

"I see."

 

　Yukishiro resumes patting my head and starts talking as if looking somewhere far away.

 

"... the world is rather rough. It can reproduce the weight of the energy of thought but not its direction... So, the boy will always be loved or hated to the point of being killed, depending on their feelings.

...If you feel hatred, maybe it's because you can't reach the point of thinking that it's okay if you are the only person in this world, even though it doesn't reach the level of energy that can be recorded in the world."

 

　Yukishiro's words are more like a reminder of somewhere far away than a reminder to me.

　For a few seconds, Yukishiro looks at someone who is not me and then turns her gaze again toward me.

 

　I have never seen Yukishiro's face like this before.

　Yukishiro smiled, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, with an unreadable emotion on her expressionless face.

 

"―So, I needed something that would not go out of control, something that would mislead the world, something that would be pre-directed and well-controlled."

 

　Yukishiro's words make me chuckle involuntarily.

　As expected, the story was jumping around too much.

 

"...No, no, stop joking. The way the story goes, the guy who made the [Hobby Modification App] is――"

 

　Something soft touches my mouth as I'm talking as if to cover it.

　My eyes widen in surprise, and I see Yukishiro's long eyelashes and pale eyelids.

 

　Yukishiro's face fell away when I realized she had kissed me.

 

"――I'm not lying... and no more...because deceiving the world is rather tedious."

 

　Yukishiro says seriously.

　On the surface of the conversation, it's so ridiculous that it almost causes empathic shaming.

 

　If a random person said it in my neighborhood, it would be a delusion that could be passed off with a laugh because of its creativity.

 　But when a rare genius girl says it seriously, and I have a reality-destroying object in my hand to back up the delusion...

 

　...Are you kidding me?

 

　The jet-black eyes that look at me, the eyes that stare only at me, the eyes that look into the abyss don't seem to lie.

　But then again, I'm not so naive as to believe anything and everything in its entirety.

 　I could not decide how much Yukishiro's words I should take as the truth.

 

　....I don't know what to do.

 

　I never expected to be told science fiction when I questioned her.

　If the intention is to create a smoke screen, the answer is so far-fetched that there is no more correct answer.

 

　I was troubled for several seconds while looking into Yukishiro's eyes. I continue to verify the validity of the obtained information in my mind.

　The conclusion I came to after much deliberation was simple.

 

　Let's just try to hear this genius's argument to the end.

 

"...So, what does Yukishiro think should be done to save the poor boy? "

 

　As soon as I said that, I could see the festive glow on Yukishiro's expressionless face, and her face lit up.

　Her face seemed to indicate either her wish had been fulfilled or this was an unexpected turn of events.

 

　I wonder which it is.

 

　Yukishiro opens her mouth as if she can't wait.

 

"It's... easy, you just need to disperse your love... ! "

"...disperse? "

 

　At the sound of my question, Yukishiro moves her face closer and brings her mouth to my ear,

 

"...Yes, the dispersion of love. In other words, you spread the most important part of yourself... ♡"

(半身, Half-body. )

 

　Yukishiro whispered this to me as if she was whispering her long-cherished feelings to me.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

"――Keisuke-kun, don't worry....I'll never bother you, okay Keisuke...? "

 

　I thought, staring up at Yukishiro's desperate figure as she looked at me on the bed.

　...Well, I feel like I'm being cheated.

 

　I'm unsure what to do.

    The genius in front of me says that if I don't do anything, the people who have been modified by the [Hobby Modification App] will kill me out of their love for me, so I have to give my most important part, have children and spread my love for them.

 

　...It's ridiculous and incomprehensible logic. It's absurd, but I don't have enough material and information to say that it's not possible.

 

　Looking into Yukishiro's eyes, which have nothing but an expectation in them, I let out a sigh.

 

<< Prev                 Toc                   Next>> 

                                       

Support me on Ko-Fi 

Early release for every tip

TN : Thanks for the tip, Nico and Ditsuyo.

This Chapter feels pretty complicated to tl.

If there is any weird sentence or mistake in this chapter's translation, just write it in the comment section, and I will fix it as soon as possible.

Updated. Thanks for the comment, I tried to fix the sentence. I hope this one is better.

"...Yes, the dispersion of love. In other words, you make your half-body... ♡"

"...Yes, the dispersion of love. In other words, you spread the most important part of yourself... ♡"

　The genius in front of me says that if I don't do anything, the people who have been modified by the [Hobby Modification App] will kill me out of their love for me, so I have to have children and make a half-body to spread my love for them.

    The genius in front of me says that if I don't do anything, the people who have been modified by the [Hobby Modification App] will kill me out of their love for me, so I have to give my most important part, have children and spread my love for them.