Volume 1 - CH 1

Episode 1: Confessed to My Childhood Friend and Got Rejected

It was a spring day when I just entered my second year of high school.

“M-Michiru…! W-Would you… go out with me?”

“Huh? That’s impossible.”

…In the classroom after school.

I called out to Michiru Okuwa, my childhood friend, and confessed my feelings.

We had been childhood friends for a long time.

We lived close to each other and used to play together a lot when we were little.

Michiru was beautiful, and above all, very kind.

That’s because she always praised the stories I created since we were little, saying they were interesting.

I wasn’t good at sports or any physical activities, and I was a shy and introverted kid… So I spent most of my time daydreaming.

Michiru was the only one who would listen to my clumsy adventure stories and genuinely find them interesting.

“Is that all you wanted? Well, I’m busy, so…”

Michiru took out her smartphone.

“Ahh~ The latest chapter of ‘Digital Masters’ is updated!”

Digital Masters, or Digimas for short.

It’s a web novel that’s currently all the rage.

“Uh, um, Michiru… Can’t you check that later? Let’s talk a bit more…”

“Huh?! What’s ‘that’? The latest chapter of Digimas is updated! Of course, I’m going to read it, right?!”

She snapped at me with anger.

How terrible…

I gathered my courage and confessed, and yet…

While I was feeling down, Michiru was reading Digimas with a serious expression.

Her smartphone cover had a deformed sticker of the main character of Digimas, Ryo.

A modern-day high school girl like Michiru wouldn’t be made fun of for having something like that on her phone… That’s because Digimas is an incredibly popular work.

Digital Masters, or Digimas for short.

It’s a science fiction story set in the near future.

The original work is a web novel, and it’s currently serialized on a novel website called “Novelists? Let’s Do It!”

It had tremendous popularity from the time of its serialization, and it was adapted into a book, an anime, and recently a movie, which surpassed 50 billion yen in box office revenue, as I heard from the editor.

“Ah~ The latest chapter of Digimas was so good…”

“Hehe… Thank you.”

I’m happy when I hear genuine reactions like that.

“Huh? Ugh, why are you smiling with that creepy face? Stop it, you ugly weirdo.”

Suddenly, Michiru frowned with displeasure.

Uh, um… why…?

“Ah… It was a good story. I’m going home to immerse myself in the afterglow. Bye.”

“W-Wait…!”

“What? I need to get home as soon as possible and upload a video with my thoughts on the latest Digimas episode.”

Michiru is a so-called “content creator” who uploads videos on the internet.

She mainly livestreams on a website called “Our TUBE.”(TL notes: lmao YouTube parody I guess)

She has 50,000 subscribers and 5,000 followers on Twitter.

“Um… I mean… about the response to my confession, could you please think about it a little more?”

Her answer came too quickly.

I wished she would take my confession more seriously and think about it a bit longer.

“Huh? Why should I waste my time thinking about something like that? Especially a confession from someone as worthless as you.”

“W-Worthless… That’s not true.”

“You’re worth nothing, really. Compared to the author of Digimas, you’re like night and day.”

“Huh…?”

Michiru’s response left me perplexed.

“Um… Michiru? When you say compared to the author of Digimas… what do you mean?”

“I mean it literally. The value of a pathetic guy like you, who’s an introvert, unpopular, and utterly useless, compared to the author of a divine work like Digimas, Kamimatsu-sama… it’s like the difference between a diamond and a cockroach.”

“W-Wait, hold on… huh? Michiru, didn’t you realize?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

I spoke in astonishment and confusion.

“That’s why… I’m the author of Digimas, Kamimatsu.”

My name is Yuuta Uematsu.

I created an account under the name “Kamimatsu” and posted Digital Masters on the internet.

“Huhhhhh? Don’t lie to me.”

“N-No, I’m not lying! It’s true…!”

Michiru snorted in a dismissive manner.

“That’s impossible.”

“No, really, I am! W-Why didn’t you know!?”

It can’t be true…

I assumed Michiru knew all along.

Because she would always talk about Digimas and share her thoughts with me.

She would say how much she liked certain characters and how amazing the plot was!

I thought she knew that I was the author…

“Evidence, please.”

“W-Well, look at this!”

I took out my laptop from my bag.

On the screen, a Word document was open, containing the freshly updated manuscript of the latest chapter of Digimas.

“You just copied and pasted something from the web, right?”

“No, that’s not it! This is the original manuscript!”

“Ugh, you’re so annoying… Going as far as lying to get my attention. You even prepared such a prop. Honestly… it’s really creepy.”

“No… that’s not it! I’m really Kamimatsu… Digimas is my work!”

“Ugh! You’re so irritating!”

She swatted my hand with a thud, causing the laptop to fall to the ground, making a loud noise.

“You’re Kamimatsu-sama? That’s a harsh joke. There’s no way a loser introvert like you could become a bestselling author.”

“…It’s terrible, too terrible… Why do you have to say such things…”

“Well, obviously. You insulted my beloved Kamimatsu-sama.”

“I didn’t… insult him, and I really am the author…”

“Ugh! You’re so persistent! Kamimatsu-sama must be much more handsome and intelligent!”

How can she say that with such certainty, when she has never even seen him before…

“Anyway! I won’t believe that you and Kamimatsu-sama are the same person. Goodbye, you shitty introvert.”

Only the broken laptop and I were left.

In my mind, Michiru’s words from the past flashed back.

“Yuuta, your work is really interesting!”

It was a long and difficult journey until my work was published and became a big hit.

But what always supported me was the encouragement she gave me that day.

I was able to keep going because she, my childhood friend, praised me.

Such a clumsy work couldn’t be interesting.

She must have said that to cheer me up.

…That’s what I thought. But it was different.

“What Michiru was watching was Kamimatsu’s work, not the stories I wrote…”

Hugging the almost broken laptop to my chest, I collapsed on the spot.

“…Ugh… Sob… Waaaaaah…”

I cried pathetically.