Chapter 45: 45: Once Dependence Forms

When Takashi went to the front desk to pay the bill, he noticed Kotonoha and her family of four. He didn't disturb them. After settling the bill, he left with Eriri, not even greeting Chizuru. She was working, after all. It wasn't appropriate to interrupt. Of course, it definitely wasn't because he was afraid of making Eriri angry again and having to coax her. Compared to his date being a beautiful girl, Chizuru had it much worse. Her date this time was a typical otaku. As for his looks... emmm... at best, he could be described as human. Takashi silently mourned for her for a second. People always say it's wrong to judge others by their appearance, but how many can truly ignore looks? Even novel writers nowadays understand—protagonists can't be ugly. If you write about an overweight and unattractive otaku as the main character, no matter how exceptional your writing is, very few would read it. Takashi once thought he was someone who valued money above all else. Right after graduating from college, his father introduced him to a girl from a wealthy mining family—assets worth over a billion. Her parents were very satisfied with him. The only downside was that she weighed 200 pounds and was... unattractive. His father spent days trying to persuade him. Takashi thought about it for days before ultimately blocking his father. He never expected that he still had some unshakable principles in him. Sure, good looks won't feed you, but you can't be so unattractive that people lose their appetite. Forget about pretending appearance doesn't matter—sorry, but it really does (T ^ T). Some wealth just wasn't meant for him to enjoy. No wonder host guys make so much money. Akihabara, commonly known as AKIBA, is located in Tokyo's Chiyoda ward. It's often referred to by anime fans as a paradise for otakus, a sacred land of the second dimension... but in reality, it's just okay. It's just a bit more crowded, has a better atmosphere, and has more figures and merchandise. Nothing particularly extraordinary. Sure, there are a lot of people, but most of them dress pretty normally. "Whoa, it's Arlecchino!" As soon as he stepped out of Akihabara Station, Takashi saw a massive screen displaying a poster of the Fatui Harbinger, the Knave. Of course, it wasn't just a Genshin Impact ad. Right across from Arlecchino's poster, another building featured a massive advertisement for Wuthering Waves. This kind of blatant competition felt like an open challenge to Genshin. Besides these two games, if you turned your head after exiting the station, you'd see another building displaying ads for Girls' Frontline and the upcoming Zenless Zone Zero. When it came to advertising, HoYoverse spared no expense. As Takashi walked along, he also noticed that even the trucks on the road and the streetlamp poles were covered with posters of female characters from Genshin and Honkai. What puzzled him, though, was that almost all of HoYoverse's female characters were censored. Not only were their chests and legs heavily pixelated, but even their armpits and belly buttons were obscured. What the hell? Is Japan implementing a Vision Hunt Decree now? "Since when did Japan become so conservative?" Takashi was baffled. Was this still the Japan he knew? The levels of degeneracy in Japan's otaku culture were far beyond imagination. "What's wrong?" Eriri had been to Akihabara before. She had visited a few times, but usually alone. "Why are these images censored?" Takashi, following his rule of always asking when he didn't understand something, pointed at the heavily pixelated artwork of Fireworks. Eriri casually replied, "To stop people from licking them." "...Huh? Licking?" Takashi wondered if he had misheard. "Licking the posters?" Eriri, unfazed, said, "Yeah. Why are you so surprised?" "...I take back what I said before." People shouldn't... at the very least, they shouldn't... "We're here." Snapping back to reality, Takashi looked up and slowly read out the store's name: "animate?" "This place is—" Eriri started to introduce it, but Takashi cut her off: "No need to explain, I know. It's the largest anime merchandise chain in Japan, with stores in all 46 prefectures. They sell character goods, books, CDs, DVDs, games, art supplies, and more." Eriri looked at him in surprise. "Huh? How do you know that?" She had known Takashi for a while. She was aware that he didn't really follow otaku culture. Of course, he always listened carefully and remembered when she talked about it. But there was no way he would have researched this on his own. 'Because Utaha brought me here before,' Takashi answered in his mind. But could he actually say that? He knew that if he mentioned Utaha, Eriri would probably throw a fit again. Honestly, he sometimes didn't understand—he was just a substitute. She didn't even like him, so why did she get so mad whenever he mentioned or looked at other girls? Whenever he suspected that Eriri might actually like him, he would check his system's interface to see if her secret crush had changed to his name. Takashi figured that Eriri stuck so close to him not just because he resembled someone else when he put on makeup, but also because she was simply getting used to his presence. If you chat with someone of the opposite sex every day and share your daily life, you'll get addicted to it, even if you're not a couple. You'll unconsciously start relying on that person, getting used to their presence, no matter how rational or self-disciplined you are. Because habits are terrifying things. They slowly and silently take hold of you, making you dependent on someone. Even if reason tells you not to, emotions will drive you to make choices against your better judgment. At that point, self-control doesn't help. Once dependence forms, leaving becomes like quitting an addiction. So many guys make the mistake of thinking a girl likes them just because she's bored and looking for someone to chat with. She just happened to pick them, and after talking for a while, they think they've found their destined partner and dive in headfirst. That's why Takashi never took the initiative to message anyone. If someone didn't want to talk about something, he wouldn't pry. Even if they received a message or call from someone they liked during a date, he would act like he didn't see it. He never begged for anyone to enter his life, nor did he place expectations on anyone. Takashi firmly believed that by keeping expectations low, he would never be disappointed. So, he wouldn't let anyone disrupt the balance he had carefully maintained. 'Looks like it's about time to wrap this up.' Takashi was already considering how to make his exit. He just wanted to earn some quick cash, not mess with anyone's feelings. The only issue was—once he cut ties with Eriri, who would replace her? Finding a rich and generous benefactor wasn't easy. Despite all these thoughts running through his mind, Takashi never let them show on his face. He smiled and nudged Eriri forward. "Just something I happened to hear. Alright, let's go in." Eriri didn't question him further, and the two of them stepped into the world's largest anime store. ___ 20 Advanced Chapters available on p@ tr eon (.) com/HalflingFics Also, please point out my mistakes in the comment, thank you! Don't forget to leave a review too~ [5 bonus chapter if we reach 10 reviews] Check out the other translations too: [Mash-Up: Anything For Money] ___