It's a new year. Yay.

I think my updating schedule has significantly slowed, for the most part. (lol)

Anyway, I think our 'Violet Evergarden' arc is slowly going to come to an end, while being followed by another arc that I already have plans for.

I always have the ideas, but I also always lack the commitment to actually write it. (I'm sorry!)

"Hm." I muttered as I stared daggers at my drawing tablet.

Here I was, in my own apartment. The place where one could call home, or the place where people tend to feel the safest. It has been almost a day since I had slept, and for a good reason too.

Due to my past trauma of overwork, I figured I should start my next novel early, even if only the 3rd volume of Violet Evergarden is released at the moment. I couldn't let all this free time go to waste! I should at least lighten my inevitable burden!

I made a firm decision for my first novel series, because I told myself that it would have to be special….

"ARRGHH! I CAN'T THINK OF IT! THERE ARE TOO MANY GOOD SERIES OUT THERE!" I yelled, standing up.

I shook my head until I got dizzy, and quietly sat down again.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Okay, Redo of Healer it is." (This is a joke, I swear I'm not doing that series.)

"..."

"Have… I lost it?" I laughed to myself. I haven't felt this kind of pain and indecisiveness in a long time, I felt like it was going to drive me insane at any point.

Well, insane is better than horny though.

"Redo of Healer…" I muttered.

Nope. Off to horny jail I go.

I sighed. I was determined to make a decision, and I even went as far as to do marketing research to figure out which novels would be more likely to be successful. However, it didn't matter. This world's Manga and Novels were so doo-doo that I would bet even a crappy novel like Eromanga-Sensei would become a bestseller. Minutes led to hours, hours led to a whole day.

I should probably get some sleep-

"!?"

My phone began to ring. I forgot that I even had one in the first place, given that no one really calls me to begin with. I clear my throat and pick up my phone.

"H-hello…?" I answered with a drowsy voice.

"Ayaka-chan!" Yoshikawa yelled in a panicked voice.

"...? You can just call me 15712, you know?" I responded, a bit confused by her urgency.

"Not the time!" Her voice yelled back, stunning me. "Listen…" She began to speak again.

"The biggest news station in Academy city wants to have an interview with you!"

My face went blank.

"Eh?"

I looked in the mirror, to see a cute girl with long chestnut hair. Time had flown by quite a bit, as my hair reached my shoulders.

I still look too similar to Mikoto, but I guess this differentiates us a bit, right?

I would say that I looked cute, but it is clear that my standards are way too low. Not to mention, I have absolutely no idea what kind of clothes I should be wearing for an interview.

"You can always decline the interview, you know?" Yoshikawa's voice echoed in my mind.

She was right, I could always back down. However, this was the key opportunity to become a normie! I shouldn't chicken out because of my social awkwardness, I'm a new person. I used to be an experimental sacrifice, but now I'm actually on my way to become a functioning member of society. Being a NEET is the last thing that must ever happen to me!

I felt a surge of energy, before dying back down again. That was embarrassing in a strange way.

I decided to leave the place again, putting on the casual clothes that I had bought earlier. I took my goggles and put them around my forehead. My cassette went to my pocket, though I didn't wear my headphones.

It was a very peaceful day, again. Having the weather accurate to the second makes it quite convenient. I observed the hundreds of windmills scattered all over the city, and billboards broadcasting news, weather, and trends. One particular ad showed the cover for Sincerely Volume 1 that I drew.

'BESTSELLING AUTHOR AYAKA HIIRAGI AGREES TO AN INTERVIEW, STAY TUNED.'

'You can always decline the interview', my ass. How am I supposed to drop out if they hyped it up this much?

I walked through the sidewalk, still as busy and lively as ever. Every bookstore became increasingly more visible and noticeable with the same posters and book covers. It was the same cover of a teenage girl with silky hair, and a doll-like blank face. Her hands were replaced with metallic prosthetic hands. She posed, blankly looking at the sky, full of violet colours. I very much appreciated this cover that I had engraved in my mind. Her expression is blank, emotionless, yet the pretty colors in her eyes connotes the fact that she is very well capable of experiencing emotions, just that she hasn't yet. This foreshadowing was one of the key factors to such a masterpiece. My passion towards this kind of thing simply couldn't stop, and I could talk about it for hours.

Of course, other people probably don't notice such indirect and obscure things firsthand. Which makes the second read still just as good.

I entered the mall, to accomplish one objective; and that is to pick out clothes appropriate for the interview.

A certain store worker in her work eagerly patrolled the clothes store, looking for anyone in trouble. It was her passion and hobby to be helping out others with the little skills she has. She wasn't at all that talented, but she had one thing she could say she was good at.

That was fashion.

It was the only thing she really focused on during her student years. As a little level 0, no one would acknowledge her. Some even made fun of her. At the time, she always wanted to be a reliable person to someone else.

However, no one has ever taken a chance on her.

The sad truth was, that people always judge others by their appearances. The store worker learned that the hard way. So, she worked hard to change her exterior, to look like someone who can help others.

Day and night, day and night, day and night, day and night, day and night, day and night.

In the end, she was still a phony; a pretty gyaru on the outside, and a useless level 0 on the inside. All she could do is dig down further and work harder towards her exterior. She did nothing to improve what was inside.

As she began to study more, she began to realize that clothes really say a lot about someone than they think they would. By looking at the combination of clothes, hair, eye color, figure, and body language, she could tell just what kind of person one person is. Some people said that she'd be insanely rich as a fortune teller, but she wanted to stay with this job. The part-time job that she had taken later became a full-time job. With this job, she could help as many people as she wanted.

She met all sorts of people, one notable memory she had was when a Tokiwadai student showed up inside the store, holding a fan with a condescending look on her face. But all those little descriptions that the store worker usually looks for were completely disregarded due to the fact that the girl had a large, long snake around her neck and shoulders.

Of course, the girl was asked to leave after a fuss, but the store worker was happy that she got to meet all sorts of unique people looking for something to wear. The most recent unique person was a short-haired girl with chestnut hair. She would occasionally wear a pair of green goggles around her forehead. The thing about her was that-

"Hi, could you help me with some-" A familiar voice arose out of nowhere.

"EEEK!" The store worker immediately leaped back from the sudden interruption of her backstory.

"-thing." The girl finished.

There she was, it was notable that she now had her goggles now. The store worker turned on her work face and repositioned herself. "I'm so very sorry. You startled me a bit." She said with a bow.

The girl smiled. "It's nothing."

When the store worker had first met the girl, it wasn't anything special. She could tell her fidgety movements yet friendly behavior meant that the girl was shy, determined and enjoyed normalcy (which was quite rare among tokiwadai students). It was a surprise when she threw a manga onto the ground very suddenly, but that was it. Until, she met the girl again. Without the goggles this time. Her movements were unchanging, and she spoke friendly, yet a hint of firmness in them. Her behavior now told her that she was a hot headed tomboy girl with a little insecurity about her breasts.

The store worker immediately knew that she had a split personality. This time, she was wearing her goggles with her calmer personality.

Moving back to reality, the store worker proceeded back with her job. "What exactly do you need help with?"

"Thank you for your patronage!"

"Yeah, thanks a lot."

Despite me not knowing this employee's name, I still felt a certain closeness with her. I wonder why.

I wasn't at all sure about how to dress in an interview. So, I simply asked the store worker for clothes that "Are perfect for something extremely important, but subtle."

Of course, the interview is important, but something about showing up with a business suit didn't feel right.

I happily skipped out of the store with a shopping bag.

"Tell your other split personality to come back too!" The store worker said.

"What?" I asked.

"What?" She asked in return.

It was difficult to clear up the misunderstanding, but I managed anyway. Just what kind of person assumes one has a split personality rather than a twin? Do people like that exist in Academy City?

Putting that aside, I got back home to rip the tags and wear them for myself. I wore an ordinary-looking T-shirt, with a breast pocket (it looked fine with my proportions) and ribbon. I wore a longer skirt than the Tokiwadai uniform, along with reasonably long stockings. Overall, the look gave the impression of a school uniform, which was surprisingly perfect.

I stood up proudly to get my goggles, and everything I needed to face the interview. I knew it was quite a long walk towards Yoshikawa's home, so I rushed over to run over there.

After some time when I arrived at the apartment, I finally rang the doorbell with a glee.

Surprisingly, the door opened up rather quickly. The reason why was explained very shortly when I saw a miniature version of me's hand on the doorknob.

"Welcome number 15712! MISAKA MISAKA says with a glee!"

The girl's face immediately lit up as soon as she saw me. She ran towards me to give me an adorable hug. I made it my cue to enter, and prepared myself for the interview.

Now that I thought about it, I wasn't exactly told what it was going to be like, right? There isn't going to be some cameraman and reporter hanging out in this place, right? I doubt Accelerator would take it gently.

I quickly saw Yoshikawa in the room, wearing her normal lab coat attire. She had her hands in her pockets, smiling at me casually.

"Did you make your decision?" She asked.

I swallowed and nodded slightly.

"Ah, that's good. I almost had to give in to the journalist's pressure and try to convince you." Yoshikawa said with a laugh.

What? Didn't you say that it's my choice!?

"Any who, let's get to the computer. You don't really need to look nice, you're staying anonymous to the public."

Wait, what?

"W-wait, you mean they're only going to hear my voice? I'm not being recorded?"

"Yes. Did you actually think it was going to be a physical interview? We can have the public find out about the project." Yoshikawa said as I stared at her dumbfounded. She spoke again. "Are you perhaps an idiot?"

"Gack!" The words struck me hard. I wanted to curl up onto the floor and die. What was the point of shopping for clothes, then?

I walked into a room, which I have never seen in the anime before. Yoshikawa guided me into a sophisticated looking office, with bookshelves on the side, multiple papers on the desk, a studying lamp, and finally a double-monitor desktop computer.

This somewhat reminds me of a gaming setup. I thought, despite the fact that the office was probably only used for work and research.

Yoshikawa seated me onto the computer, and briefly explained how the voice call worked. The program wasn't all that difficult since I experienced a whole freaking pandemic with my past memories. Good times.

The second monitor displayed a real channel consisting of some famous show hosts. "Just speak up when you're signalled to, and don't worry too much about it!" She said, and left the room.

I sat awkwardly on the chair, wearing headphones, staring at the microphone in front of me. Just how expensive must this thing be?

I heard a loud voice, clearing asking for extra attention. It came from the live channel on the second monitor.

"Now, this is what we've all been waiting for. We finally managed to get contact with the person everyone is dying to know about right now! The mysterious author that came out of nowhere, writing the bestselling book, Sincerely that took readers by storm! Introducing none other than Ayaka Hiiragi!"

Yep. I made the right choice to not make my pen name 'Kira'.