Chapter 26 "I'm in trouble because Momoi is too cute ..."

 "YOU’RE AN IDIOT!”

I couldn't help but exclaim when I saw the email from the Byodo-in Conglomerate.

"What are you thinking, a one month deadline? It was originally supposed to be three!”

In the email that came from a guy named Shinjo, It's the guy who got into a bit of a fight with me at Byodoin Conglomerate earlier, he wrote that the submission date has changed.

He definitely did this to harass me...

I've never heard of such a sudden change in the submission date.

In fact, I think finishing this in three months is considered fast,...?

Should I protest or just leave….?

No, I have the original program, and I think I can finish it in a month if I actually concentrate on it.

If that's the case, it would probably be better to not get into trouble with the Byodoin-in Conglomerate.

This time, the request was for me to modify the anti-virus software of the Byodoin System. But, it's not like a normal anti-virus software that can just block malware and update as soon as new malware is discovered.

　In addition, I once created an anti-virus software with an AI function that remembers the characteristics of a malware when it enters the system, so that it can automatically take countermeasures without the need for a human being to update it, or to use a human analogy to create any antibodies.

　Creating that has caused me a lot of trouble in the past.

　However, this is only possible after the computer has been attacked by a new virus, and when a new virus comes out, the data will inevitably be breached once again.

　So this time, the anti-virus software was modified to automatically create antibodies before the computer was attacked by a new type of malware by inoculating the computer with the malware a little ahead of time, just like human vaccinations.

　It was not completely foolproof, but it could still protect most of the data.

　Well, it wasn't KAI that created the AI-powered feature in the past, so Byodo Conglomerate shouldn’t know about it, but KAI has made some regular anti-virus software, so I guess they decided that KAI could somehow do it… 

[TLN: Kai is Kaito's programming name in case you forgot.]

Rather than that, is he demanding that I do that as a responsibility for not being able to do the other one?

　I'm sure he understands that I'm taking on this project as an apology, so it's hard for me to say no. He's a sly and cunning guy to take advantage of the situation like this...

I originally accepted the job because the compensation was an unbelievable 20 million yen - but this is a real joke.

Fuck me...

I'll definitely finish it in a month.

…...For the time being, I'm going to have to seal off both light novels and eroge.

　I mean, it's probably better to sell it directly to the US but, I'm probably gonna get taxed a lot, plus I don't have any connections there and I can't speak English...

Also, junk mail piles up really quickly....

　I try to delete all the junk mail at midnight every day, but I've already received over 7,000 of them.

　You know, I don't even look at my email.

　Should I reconfigure the deletion to be hourly?

　No, if I start deleting the mail too often, it's going to run a lot slower.

[Knock-- Knock--]

　Just as I was getting rid of all the junk mail, I heard a knock at the door.

　I closed my mail, got up and opened the door.

“What's up?”

“Uh, good evening……”

“Oh, Uh, yeah...”

　When I opened the door, there stood Momoi, who must have just finished taking a bath. Today she was wearing cute light blue pajamas, her cheeks were slightly flushed from the heat of the bath, and her hair was slightly damp.

Why does this person come over and say 'good evening' even though I see her often at home?

　I mean, she shouldn't come to my room right after she gets out of the bath....

　Momoi today is, well, the same as ever, she is still very cute.

　To have such a girl come to your room is quite heart throbbing.

“Um, can I do it again?”

Momoi said, looking up at me shyly and asking.

....Wow, she’s still stunningly cute...

I knew about it at dinner, but I'm seriously glad she's not back to the old Momoi.

"Um, Sanoba Witch?”

I asked, and Momoi nodded silently.

Sanoba Witch is an eroge that I let Momoi play yesterday.

The title means "Coven Witch", but you can think of it as a play on words.

I mean, I was hooked after all. 

That's right, when I saw such a touching story, there's no way I wouldn't be hooked.

So, I would like to let her try out the other routes as well.

It’s just--

"I'm sorry, I can't let you play today, or rather, I can't let you play anything for the time being.”

I said to Momoi, feeling sorry.

I can't lend you my computer because I have to focus on the program now. 

I made a three month contract because I anticipated that such a scenario would happen.

"Why? No way, you're being so mean!”

Momoi looked surprised, as if she didn't expect to be rejected.

"No, I have things to do.”

“What do you mean you have things to do?”

Momoi tilted her head mysteriously to my words.

Oh, I knew this person was Sakura-chan's sister...

Momoi’s facial expressions and gestures look identical to Sakura when she doesn’t understand my words.

I mean - she's so cute...

What's wrong with me?

Momoi's gestures and expressions look so cute right now!

Bad, this is seriously bad...

Momoi is trying to get along with me as a family member, if I show such an expression, she'll begin to hate me.

I have to make sure that she doesn't notice......

“If you can't answer, then maybe it's… ”

“What?”

As I was being puzzled, Momoi mumbled something.　

”What if it's...?”

"Kanzaki-kun…… Well, you're a boy too, so maybe you can't help it... I think it's sneaky to keep it all to yourself though...”

"Ha!?”

Momoi said, glancing up at me with a blush on her cheeks.

What do you mean?　

　I've seen Sakura-chan do the exact same thing with that phrase and gesture.

“That's true, there may be some things that you need to do alone, but I'm curious about the other routes too...”

“Wait a minute, you've got it all wrong!”

“What?”

“I'm not sure what you're thinking about, but I'm definitely not going to do whatever you’re thinking of!”

It can't be helped. It would be better to tell Momoi honestly than to let her misunderstand me like this.

"You know, I have to program an application for work right now. That's why I can't lend you my computer.”

"Huh? Kanzaki-kun, you're a high school student and you're working?”

Momoi was surprised by my words.

“Well, you'd be surprised....but yeah, Don’t tell dad about it.”

“What do you mean, don't tell dad?.... Are you in some kind of dodgy business?”

 “You said you were programming, but you're actually just horny, aren't you?”

I rushed to stop Momoi from saying unexpected words.

I don't think I ever heard her say such words.

Why is it that when I say "program" it somehow leads to "dodgy"?

“No, it's not! Just don't tell mom and dad about it!”

“No, that's where you're going with the illegal stuff. What illegal stuff are you doing!?”

“No! No! I'm doing a real job! I just don't want my dad to know about it for a reason!”

When I said that, Momoi reluctantly agreed.

I was surprised that she didn't ask me why, but I was grateful that she didn't plan to tell dad about it.

It's just--

I glanced at Momoi.

...Wow, I'm swooning... 

[TLN: Yeah I can't think of any better words and I'm tired okay?]

　Momoi looked disappointed and depressed because she couldn't play the eroge. It was as if she was really looking forward to it.

I'm pretty sure Momoi also liked light novels, didn't she...?

“I'm not going to let you play eroge. Instead, you can read the novels on my bookshelf.”

"What?”

When I told her that, Momoi instantly looked up and looked at me happily.

I invited Momoi into my room.

　With a smile on her face, Momoi looked over at the bookshelf full of novels and started to choose a book.When Momoi walked in, I could get a whiff of her scent. She smelled nice just like flowers. I felt like I was going to get weird feelings if I looked at Momoi any longer, so I turned back to the computer.

　[sigh~]... A light novel should be enough to get her back to her room.

　I focused on the screen, assuming that Momoi is no longer there.

But then...

[shuffle, shuffle, shuffle --bed rustling]

"What...?”

What the hell is she doing?　

　Momoi, who had picked out a novel from the bookshelf, sat down beside me with the novel, just like yesterday.

She sat down next to me naturally.

"Hmm? What's wrong?”

　Momoi asked curiously when she saw me looking surprised.

"No, what...? What are you doing?”

I asked Momoi in return.

I couldn't understand Momoi's behavior.

After all, unlike yesterday, Momoi didn't need to look at the screen, so there was no need for her to sit here.

She should be able to read it when she gets back to her room. Yet, Momoi sat down beside me as if it was a matter of course.

"But it's easier to change the books here. Right?”

“Well, if that's the case, then I guess I have no choice...”

When Momoi asked me with an upward glance, I replied quickly.

Wait a minute... what?　

It takes about five to six hours to read a single novel.

A single novel should suffice for a day.

I regretted agreeing to this at the spur of the moment.

I can't concentrate on my work like this.

......Why?

You probably know why, right......?

　I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one who has a problem with this. ...... Right next to me sits an extremely alluring girl with flushed cheeks immediately after her bath, sitting close to me.

　..Momoi has changed too much from yesterday...

　No, I'm happy that she became this cute, but this is bad for my heart.

　I wonder if she really sees me as a family, this sense of distance is too close...

　This is a problem because it's bad for my heart...

　I mean, what kind of book did she decide on reading...?

  I glanced at the title of the novel that Momoi had started reading.

　It was titled, "A self-proclaimed G-ranked brother becomes the top of a school where rankings are determined by a game." That was the title.

　......Huh?

Why did she take that one out of all the others?

Why do you keep bringing books that're so troubling? Like the last book that was mainly about eroge.

I'm sure there are plenty of other books out there that you'd enjoy.

No, sure, the title sounds interesting, and the pictures are full of cute students, but that's not good! However, that's not to say that this work isn’t interesting.

　The story in this work is one of the top three most interesting novels that I know of.

But, it's not a good idea to let Momoi read this!

　The story begins with the strongest protagonist, who is undefeated in the world where war is no longer necessary and everything is decided by games, The protagonist retires from the front line and joins a school.

　However, as soon as he enters the school, the hero is confronted with the fact that in this school everything is decided by games.　

[EDN: This series probably is Jishou F-Rank no Oniisama]

　Up to that point, it sounds like a genuinely interesting work, just a normal school where the ranking is decided by games.

　However, when it says that everything is decided, it really goes to the point where everything in life is decided.

　This means, of course, that there will be students who will be torn to pieces.

　And even in the first volume, a schoolgirl vows revenge for losing to the hero and has a new game to get the money... The schoolgirl who loses the game is turned into a slave with most of her clothes taken.

　In the end, the hero saves her, and even after that, when the heroine is in trouble, the hero always saves her in a cool way, so it's very interesting for normal readers.

　But if Momoi reads it, she'll remember the trauma from last time!

　We're trying to keep Momoi from remembering, but it's pointless if she sees it here!

“Momoi, you can't read this!”

“What?  NO!”

When I took the book away from Momoi, she pouted in anger.

But no matter how angry she gets, I can't give this to Momoi.

“I'm sorry. You'll have to get another book.”

“Why can't I read that...Why are you being so mean to me?”

　Momoi is getting very angry, but I ignore her words and put the novel back on the bookshelf. Instead, I took out another one of my favorites, that's on par with the one I just put back.

"I'm sorry, but you can have this one. It's one of the ones I recommend."

　I said that, and handed it to Momoi.

　In this work, the main character dies in a dumb way, but because he died young, he’s sent to a place where the goddess lies.

The main character died at a young age and was sent to a place where the goddess stays. After that, he was asked to go and defeat the demon king with the help of a cheat ability or weapon granted to him, and somehow, the protagonist ends up taking the goddess with him instead of a cheat ability.

However, the goddess is unexpectedly useless and even though her specs are high, she does a lot of reckless things.

　In addition, there are other members with unique personalities - a girl who runs out of gas quickly because she can only use a special powerful magic, and a durable knight whose defense is very high but can't hit attacks. What kind of luck is that?

And the main character, as you might expect, is a person with a scummy personality.

　However, even though he is usually a scumbag, when his friends are in trouble, he uses his cunning mind to the fullest and utilizes the strengths of his unique friends to get out of it.

　It's full of gags, has a solid storyline, and above all, the heroine is unique and cute, making it a seriously great work.　

[EDN: Konosuba]

“I'm sure you'll enjoy reading this one.” 

“I already have it...”

“What? Really?......”

 Apparently, Momoi already had this novel. Well, this work has been animated for two seasons, and it's quite famous. 

　It's also going to be made into a movie.

“Well, how about this?”

　The next novel I picked up was called "The Dragon King's Shogi!"

　In this story, the main character, who became a professional Shogi player in junior high school, wins all of the Ryu-oh leagues and becomes the fastest Ryu-oh in history - at the beginning of the story, the main character falls into depression due to the pressure and stress of being the strongest in the Shogi world. He meets an elementary school girl who is a prodigy, and he is soon surrounded by elementary school girls to get him out of his depression.

It's not a lie to say that a lot of elementary school girls miss him playing his matches. But that's not the only thing about it.

　The book is written in such a way that even a person who's clueless about shogi can understand it, and it's so interesting that I actually thought about playing shogi after reading it. Above all, the growth of the girl who shows extraordinary talent and the second disciple who becomes her rival, not to mention the wonderful shogi matches played by the protagonist who has come out of his depression, the exciting battles, and last but not least the protagonist who is unreasonably beaten up by the girl are all very interesting!

[EDN: The Ryuo's Work is Never Done!]

[TLN: Loli Shogi]

　....Incidentally, there is also another girl who isn’t a lolicon but is slightly suspicious: she is the childhood friend and elder sister of the protagonist.

　This nee-san is the strongest in the women's shogi world, and is also very cute - but her personality is a bit unreasonable, as she will beat up the main character if he gets close with other girls.

　Now that I think about it, I'm feeling a bit sympathetic for the main character right now. I'm sure I used to laugh while reading this.

　Well, she is quite unreasonable , but in reality, she’s in love with the main character, and it was just simple jealousy and for such a cute reason-

　Nevermind, I don’t sympathise with the protagonist.

    He’s a traitor....

　However, if you think it's all about the lolis, you'll find a younger sister who has reached adulthood, or a very cute nee-san who is a college student.

　This novel has been made into an anime, but I bet Momoi doesn't have it, because at first glance, people would think it's a lolicon anime!

  “ I've got that too.......”

“What, you mean..?”

“I didn't realize you had this too .......”

 You've got this too, Momoi?

You've got some interesting novels under your belt. ......

Well, what about this one?

“I got this too.”

“What about this?”

“Yes.”

What about this?

“I've got it”, “I've got it”,“I've got it”, “I've got it”, “I've got it”, “I've got it all.”

　Impossible... Right...?

I can't believe that all of my recommendations have been read by Momoi...

Maybe she has more novels than I do... but wait a minute...

When I lent you the book, didn't you say, "Even so, with all this ......?"

When I asked that, Momoi scratched her cheek as if she was troubled and laughed.

"That's what I meant when I said, 'Well, that's what I have.'..."

Seriously,.. That's what you were saying?

That's why you couldn't make up your mind during that time, because you were finding all the books that you already had…

I couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Momoi looked at me with a kind of apologetic look.

“Oh, then......?”

“Then why were you happily gazing at my bookshelf of novels?”

　I was curious about that, so I asked Momoi.

　When Momoi was looking at the bookshelf before, she was happily looking at the novels.

　But if they were all books that she had, she would have looked troubled because she couldn't find anything she wanted to read.

"What? Wouldn't it make you happy if other people also had your favorite works?” Momoi smiled.

　Oh no!　

　Momoi is so cute right now, and I couldn't help but writhe in agony at Momoi's words and expressions.

　Isn't it nice to have a girl who has the same preferences as you? It's like we have the same values. It's like they understand you.

That's why I was so thrilled when Momoi said that with a blooming smile.

For the time being, let's talk with Momoi at another date ...

But that's the problem...?

"Okay, so can I borrow that one please?"

Momoi put her hands together in front of her face and looked up at me.

　.....Wait!

　This is dangerous!

　This is seriously dangerous!

I'd say 100% that the Momoi we just saw were her true colors!

But... she's just so damn cute!

She's definitely not the same person!

　I hope she didn't invite a TV station and set up a surprise for me!

　I couldn't help but think that and scurried around to look for hidden cameras.

"What's wrong?”

　Momoi called out to me curiously, but I left her alone and looked for the hidden camera.

　Nothing at all, huh...

   

Does this mean they’re underground?

　
Well whatever, considering what I've been doing lately, I wouldn't have the energy to look for it regardless.

　However, I still won’t allow her to read that novel.

　What should I do?....

I thought, looking over at the bookshelf.

“Oh.”

　There it is:

　With this one, it hasn't been that long since I bought it, and there's a good chance Momoi doesn't have it either.

　Besides, it was a fun read.

　In this one, the protagonist is troubled when two of his best friends both get girlfriends, so he tries to hire a girlfriend online.

　When he thought that he won't get a proper reply from anyone - a girl replied saying that she can be his girlfriend.

　Of course, he doesn't know what she looks like or where she lives.

So, he pretends to be friends with this girl - but it turns out that the girl is actually one of the student council officers.

　The protagonist promises to get serious with her if he can find out which girl the account belongs to.

　However, the girl knows that she’s not the only one who likes the protagonist, and asks him to promise her something.

She told her that if he confessed to a different girl and ended up going out with her, he would have to take responsibility and stay with her.

　At first, there was a girl who I thought for sure was the mystery girl, but by the end, I really didn't know who she was, so I thought the author was very good at writing.

I kind of expected the answer, but the sequel isn't out yet, and now I'm waiting for the new one, looking forward to seeing if my guess turns out to be right.　

　Well, the story was interesting, of course, but more importantly, the girls were all extremely cute…

[EDN: No clue what this series is supposed to be]

"How about this?"

　I said, and showed it to Momoi.

　Please.

“'Can't I just make my online girlfriend my real girlfriend?’, Yes, I wanted to read this!”

　Momoi, who read the title out loud, happily accepted the novel.

Thank goodness....

　Now I'm set for the day.

　When Momoi gets back to her room, I'll hide that other book for a while...

　

I sat back down in front of the computer, relieved.

　

Okay, I can finally get to work!

　

That's what I thought, so I focused on the screen.

　[shuffle, shuffle, shuffle --bed rustling]

    I couldn't do it...

　Yeah, I knew this would happen...

　In the end, no work was done that day, no work was done at all.

　SHUT UP!

　I can't concentrate on my work when you're doing this to me!

　I shouted to myself in my brain.　

_________

TL Notes:

Alright so I have a lot of people to thank for this chapter, Oh boy this is gonna be long. So first, thank you Hamlet, AJ1703 and Semperfi201. Damn those sentences were hard. I’m gonna plug them here if you like fluff you can check them out sweet fiancée by Hamlet and RoshiDere by Semperfi201. Massive thanks to Spynine01 for being a editor for the amateurish me and Child(e)simp for proofreading as well. As usual if you see any grammar mistakes, feel free to dm me on discord or join the NeophyteTL Discord, I’m quite active there. You can ask me about the progress on the chapter or pretty much anything. For chapters I really can't be consistent, this was like over 20k characters which is like twice the length of a normal chapter which is about 9k+ characters. It took me over 4 days of endless working (not really) to get it done. So, I’m taking a week off in order to catch up with my studies. That’s all, Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

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