After taking a shower, Shiina Mahiru lay on the bed, silently shedding tears.
It took her quite a while to calm down.
She carefully reflected on everything and realized that the situation turning out this way… she herself bore much of the responsibility.
It wasn't all Hayashi Maki's fault.
She knew how cute she was. From elementary to high school, everyone said she was like an angel.
Every day her shoe locker would be stuffed with love letters.
Hayashi Maki was bad—he took advantage of her vulnerability—but she had allowed it to happen, and that was also a mistake.
Thinking about how she told him yesterday to "do whatever he wanted" in her moment of despair made her cheeks burn even hotter.
Scenes from the night before flashed through her mind. Shiina Mahiru's heart began to race, and her face turned an even deeper red.
Those lustful images made her mind whirl chaotically.
And it wasn't just last night.
Even just now, that guy had made a move on her again.
That strange sensation still lingered in her body, making her subconsciously cover her mouth.
"Ugh… why am I thinking about that jerk? That shameless pervert…"
And he was still her neighbor…
No—she couldn't let him find out about this. If he did, he'd definitely keep bothering her.
Having her mind diverted like that, Shiina Mahiru didn't even have time to dwell on her family troubles. She called in to request a day off.
She wasn't planning to go to school today.
Besides… it still hurt down there… she needed to rest…
…
Meanwhile, Hayashi Maki had seen all of Shiina Mahiru's actions and couldn't help sighing.
Having just regained his memories, he hadn't yet had time to sort out information about this world.
Aki Tomoya choking to death on water still seemed extremely odd to him.
Digging through his memories, he was surprised to discover this world had the Yukinoshita Conglomerate, the Shinomiya Conglomerate (considered the heart of the nation), and the heiress named Shinomiya Kaguya.
Right behind those were the Sanzenin Conglomerate and the Saginomiya Family.
Continuing to recall, it became more and more unbelievable.
In middle school, he had classmates named Katsura Kotonoha and a blond twin-tail girl named Eriri.
Currently, he was in Kyoto. The biggest school here was the one he attended—Hakuo Academy.
Ever since he saw Aki Tomoya, he had suspected this world wasn't normal.
It seemed to be a multi-anime crossover world.
Which made his goal for followers very clear.
After all, what could be better followers than actual heroines?
Thus—
Contract more followers, gain more powers, become the most powerful demon, build his own harem of followers, and found the Hayashi Conglomerate—that was his new mission.
While he was thinking about his ambitions, a knock came at the door.
When he opened it—
He found a high ponytail girl with a lively and energetic appearance.
The girl gave him a polite bow and handed him a gift bag.
"Hello, I just moved in next door. I'm Aoyama Nanami. It's just a small token, I hope we get along from now on."
"Ah, nice to meet you. I'm Hayashi Maki."
Hayashi Maki quickly responded, but inside he was utterly shocked.
Aoyama Nanami — from The Pet Girl of Sakurasou.
A hardworking girl who juggled part-time jobs to chase her dream of becoming a famous voice actress.
She was even working multiple jobs to afford tuition at a Seiyuu Training Agency.
"Um, Hayashi Maki-san, I still need to visit the other neighbors, so I won't bother you any longer."
"Sure, go ahead."
Hayashi Maki smiled and nodded, though he didn't go back inside.
Aoyama Nanami gave him a polite smile and then knocked on the door of Shiina Mahiru's room.
From inside, Shiina Mahiru instinctively asked:
"Who is it?"
"Ah, I'm Aoyama Nanami. I just moved in next door and came to say hello."
Hearing that, Shiina Mahiru opened the door and accepted her gift.
Receiving a small welcome gift was just basic etiquette. If you didn't accept it, people might think you were looking down on them.
Shiina Mahiru politely greeted her—
Until she spotted Hayashi Maki standing nearby.
Her smile immediately froze.
Crap!
Now he knows I live right next to him!
The plan she had just made collapsed instantly.
Shiina Mahiru quickly said goodbye to Aoyama Nanami and shut the door.
Nanami went on to visit other neighbors.
Soon after—
There was a knock at Shiina Mahiru's door.
"Who is it?" she asked instinctively, somewhat nervous.
"It's me. Hayashi Maki."
"..."
After a long silence, Shiina Mahiru sighed and said from behind the door:
"What do you want?"
Hayashi Maki shamelessly spoke up:
"Shiina-san, I just got out of the hospital and haven't prepared any food. Can I come over for a meal?"
"No! Go buy a bento from the convenience store!"
"Oh…"
Hayashi Maki replied disappointedly and slowly walked away.
Hearing his retreating footsteps, Shiina Mahiru breathed a sigh of relief—but also felt a little conflicted.
She had refused his request for food, but now she felt kind of guilty.
It's just a meal… he did just get out of the hospital and used up so much energy…
Ugh… no, stop thinking that!
He used up that energy because of what he did to me!
Thinking that, her guilt vanished. She tied her golden hair into a ponytail, put on an apron, and started cooking.
She was hungry too. Crying takes a lot of energy.
Especially since… she had been the one pinned down and bullied.
Having failed to score a free meal, Hayashi Maki headed to the convenience store to buy a bento and picked up some groceries for the fridge.
Now he was more excited than ever about this world.
If Aoyama Nanami had appeared… then maybe the airheaded artist girl, Shiina Mashiro, would show up too?
She's always drawing… innocent like a blank sheet of paper. What kind of ability would she grant me if she became a follower?
Also, Shiina Mahiru… Shiina Mashiro… their names were awfully similar. Could they be related?
Both were blond, which made that possibility even higher.
After returning home, Hayashi Maki placed the groceries into the fridge and stared at his bank balance in deep thought.
He had about ¥200,000 left — which sounded like a lot, but was only around $1,300.
And with high prices in Japan, that amount wouldn't last long.
"So I'll have to get a job?"
Hayashi Maki sighed. He hadn't expected to transmigrate into another world only to end up needing to work like a corporate slave again.
Isn't there any faster way to make money?
Thinking about his super regeneration ability—
Maybe being a host isn't a bad idea…
But Hayashi Maki wasn't willing to sell smiles for cash. That would be too degrading for a demon.
Sure, other demons could get part-time jobs, but he wanted something easier and more comfortable.
After rubbing his chin in thought, he decided to go back to his roots—
He'd become a light novel author.
Since this world already had the heroines of various anime, the light novels behind them might not exist here yet.
He checked his phone. The most popular light novel at the moment was a school romance titled:
"Love Metronome."
The author? Kasumi Utako.
That's gotta be her — the black-stocking senpai Eriri calls "fat" — Kasumigaoka Utaha!
It made sense.
Aki Tomoya had shown up — and even died choking on water.
So a fair-skinned, stunning senpai like Kasumigaoka Utaha appearing here wasn't a surprise.
Only… he didn't know what school she went to.
Hayashi Maki thought about her black stockings and instinctively compared them to Shiina Mahiru's.
But he couldn't draw a conclusion.
After all, this was a real world to him. It wasn't exactly the same as anime appearances.
That was also why he didn't recognize Shiina Mahiru immediately.
Hayashi Maki was a man of action. Once he decided something, he followed through.
Since he was going to write light novels, he needed to research the trending genres.
So he started scanning through them—
And sure enough, several familiar names popped up.
Like the erotic illustrator Kashiwagi Eri, and the infamous Eromanga-sensei.