I Will Inspire Your Insipid Days - Volume 1 Chapter 1.5

Thus

“I’m not a proper human being, so isn’t it just right to be a bit carefree?”

“Asked like that, I can’t say I know Tachibana-san well enough to answer.”

“I think that’s exactly right.”

“Don’t just bring up a topic and then be satisfied with your own conclusion.”

Ignoring my words, she faced the canvas once again.

To give meaning to the unfinished painting.

However, Tachibana Natsume—“Natsume,” stopped with a puzzled expression and ceased her movement.

“You said ‘incredible creator’ earlier? About me?”

I gave a brief reply.

“It’s obvious. You’re known by so many people.”

“Is that so? I’m incredible, huh. Seen that way.”

Looking up into the sky, she muttered softly.

“For me, those who can enjoy their school life seem more incredible.”

Saying this, she let her brush dance again.

“When you see someone doing something you can’t, you think ‘wow, they’re amazing’ or ‘they have talent,’ right?”

“You’re making everyone around you feel that way, aren’t you?”

“Is that so? I wouldn’t know; there aren’t many people around me.”

“That’s hard to respond to…”

Undeterred by my reaction, she continued.

“I think school is a very convenient system for many people. No matter how bad one’s personality is or how troubled their upbringing, as long as they meet certain criteria, they can enter school. Under the school’s roof, everyone is equal. Though problems might arise in human relationships, everyone lives as students in a state that encompasses such issues.”

Her brush paused abruptly.

“Yet, what many people take for granted is something I can’t do.”

She spoke as if revealing something, then returned to her work.

“There’s something I’ve been wondering.”

“What?”

“Now that ‘Natsume’ has gained notoriety, why did you choose to enroll in Shumonzuka Girls’ Academy?”

“Hmm.”

She answered without stopping her brush.

“I was invited. I didn’t even go to school during middle school; I was just drawing at home. I hadn’t thought about high school entrance exams at all, but when I was invited as a special student, I immediately said ‘OK.'”

“…Is that all?”

“Is that all? What do you mean?”

“You said that school is a very convenient system. And you also said that what many people take for granted, you can’t do. Despite that, why would you choose to go to school, I don’t understand.”

There’s a phrase: “Right person for the right job.”

To me, it seems that simply continuing to release her works on the internet—the internet being the most comfortable environment for her to live in. After all, that’s where she’s active.

“Is that all? It’s a simple story.”

Nonchalantly, she continued.

“I wanted to experience being a high school student.”

The famous illustrator known to the public as “Natsume.”

And her true identity, unknown to the world, is a high school girl, Tachibana Natsume, who holds a position enviable by anyone aspiring to the same path.

Blessed with outstanding talent and a unique worldview, garnering reviews that set her apart from others, hers was a wish no one could have imagined.

“So, you will help me smoothly ‘be a high school student,’ won’t you?”

The day I first met Tachibana-san, she made such a proposal.

“Then, in return for me not telling anyone, help me so I don’t have to repeat a year.”

At a glance, it seemed like blackmail.

But unable to outright reject that absurd yet straightforward proposal, I found myself agreeing.

“…What’s in it for me, then?”

“If you accept me, it inevitably means I accept you too. Isn’t that enough?”

Hearing those words, I sincerely thought, “That’s fine.”

I thought so.

One reason was that for me, who had never made friends of the same age from birth, having someone who would accept Hanabishi Yonon as he is was “pleasant.”

And another reason—

“Then, I look forward to working with you. Yonon.”

For the first time, Tachibana-san put down her brush, took her gaze off the canvas, and smiled at me… perhaps.

After parting with Tachibana-san and walking down the dormitory corridor, I gathered my thoughts.

Fundamentally, I just want to live a peaceful student life.

A unique girls’ school gathering talented creators from all over the country.

I had no goals or dreams in being enrolled here due to family circumstances. Rather than living on inertia, a stimulating environment seemed better. It might even help me figure out what I want to do in the future.

As I was about to unlock my room’s door, I noticed a notice that wasn’t there when I left for school in the morning. This meant it was posted while I was at school. Perhaps it’s a message.

Who could it be from? Intuitively, I wondered.

Despite my hesitation, I checked the content.

And froze.

“Hanabishi Kanon as of May 25, the above student will move to the designated room.”

The notice indicated a shared room with the current occupant—Tachibana Natsume.

…Huh?

***

“It’s simple, starting today, Yonon will be living in the same room as Tachibana Natsume.”

This was Satsuki-san’s response to my question of “What does this mean?”

Rubbing her sleepy eyes and in a disheveled state, Satsuki-san said this matter-of-factly.

I had no choice but to sigh and put my hand to my forehead.

Shumonzuka Girls’ Academy has single dorms for teachers. Confronted with the sudden room change notice, my first stop was the faculty room. But with Satsuki-san gone, I headed to the student dorm’s seventh floor, a place students normally don’t enter.

“I was supposed to be allowed to live alone when I first entered the dorm, right?”

Satsuki-san, uninterested in my claim, lit a cigarette.

“Hanabishi Kanon, huh? For the school, that’s the heir to the prestigious Hanabishi family. While they’re strict with special students, they’re lenient with students from well-known families. Private schools really are no different from corporations.”

She took a deep puff, turning the paper into ash like a mafia boss. Shortening her cigarette in the ashtray, Satsuki-san continued.

“But Yonon, you know our dorms are basically double rooms, right?”

I couldn’t claim ignorance; it was mentioned in the pamphlet I received at the beginning of the school year.

Listed on page 27, fourth sentence, in bullet points.

“The story changed. Tachibana Natsume knows and still accepts Yonon as Yonon, knowing his true identity—Hanabishi Yonon. In other words, the conditions for you to live naturally in this school have been fulfilled.”

“Ugh…”

I couldn’t deny the occasional odd looks from others due to living alone in a room meant for two.

My perfect ladylike demeanor and Satsuki-san’s somewhat forceful explanation that “Hanabishi was supposed to have a roommate, but they were unable to enroll due to family circumstances” had brushed it off until now.

“Do you know why the dorms are double rooms?”

“I don’t remember. I never forget what I see, but if I only heard it, I probably forgot.”

“You haven’t changed a bit since you were a kid, huh?”

“I can’t accept that coming from Satsuki-san.”

Responding reflexively, Satsuki-san handed over an unopened bottle of coffee from her desk. I took it silently.

“Students who come to Shumonzuka are basically odd in some way, right? Some are loose with time, forget to eat and get sick, suffer from chronic insomnia, etc. By having them live together, we hope they can cover for each other and develop even a little cooperation. No matter how great the works one creates, once thrown into society, you have to communicate with others to some extent.”

“I agree, but I don’t need it, right?”

Then Satsuki-san dramatically waved her hands in the air.

“Speaking as family, you’re quite the problem child too.”

“Me…? How…?”

The silence returned; I couldn’t agree. Me, a problem child? A hallucination?

“I just think. Maybe it was a stroke of luck that Yonon was admitted to Shumonzuka.”

“Why?”

“You’re not good at studying.”

“That’s true. I didn’t attend elementary or middle school properly.”

“Yeah, that… but, how do I put it… It’s a bit troubling.”