Chapter 1 (2/2)

”Oy, oy, what are you talking about, Mary? I don't really get it, but why all of a sudden?”

”What is that book you have in your hands!? In the middle of the day!? … Y-you're indecent!”

Following her words,until naught but a o

Hmm The cover has a woe fan of the notion, but this is a comparatively common practice in order to increase sales Normal stuff

If you flip a few pages, you'll find a depiction of a hu narrative I a, after all That's also nore has happened

Perhaps a slightly indecent shot on the advertiseht be too sti for a child, but contents of this level are an accessory to all azines Normal stuff

I close themy shoulders

Good grief, I wish she'd cut the false accusation… but perhaps to a young girl, even an issue like this is too stiave a reaction a bit too oversensitive,it would be pitiful to chastise her too s as I finally turned to the spine of the book and read the title in my head 'Monthly Hyper Eros'… Ah, this is porn

I frantically thought up excuses, testing out my objections

”Perish the thought, this isn't a particularly dirty book It's your dirtyit dirty”

'He went and made it my fault!'

”And wait, it's that If hypothetically, in the million to one, billion to one chance this is a dirty book, then so what? It's not particularly dirty to read a dirty book Look at it this way, they're produced and marketed in order for sos In the several million years since the birth of humanity, we've reached this level of developh-level economic activity on a scale of whether it's dirty or not? I'm not sure what to think of that”

'So this is what humanity has come to…!'

Mary's voice rung of hopelessness and despair

Fret not, Mary I think the same

Desperately spinning

”No, no, no, little Mary Just think about it a little It's actually the opposite It's not that 'I' pervy in theat so, thinking of it inversely, this isn't so pervy, it's a form of art Just look at it, the lively, animated raw impetus drawn into this depiction”

'Uwah, thiscrazy!'

”It's not crazy Froot to be eros Eros is what created art Think over it with an honest heart Milos' Venus and Michelangelo's David were both naked Rather, old paintings are always naked Was there really such a need? … It is quite likely that the people of the tis in place of dirty books Look back on the, a thousand years later, and this dirty book'll be art too When you think of it like that, you see, the fact that I' the world from a future-man's perspective… understand?”

'I don't understand at all! Are you trying to pick a fight with the world of art!?'

”… Aaaaah, shut it! In the first place, I' a dirty book in broad daylight!? Is it!? So how about it, little Mary-san trainee who likes to peep into someone else's personal business!? You want to see!? Then take it all in!? The way they draw thethat makes you want to lick it all over is simply the best, isn't it!”

I ended up snapping As I waved a dirty book in the air, I heard a small 'Eek,' from the other side of the phone

'I-I understand, it wasinto someone's life! S-so, um, please put away that i-indecent artifact…'

In respect of that voice, I hid the dirty book under my mattress

”…I got too worked up I'm sorry”

'N-no, u so selfish, so…'

”Coht It's your fault for saying so selfish… what's this, it looks like there was no need for rief, even when I swore I'd never apologize more than a hundred times in my life”

'How petty! Do you have no intention of leading a decent social life!?'

”Up to now, I've apologized nine hundred fifty six times The breakdown has my mother at a hundred twenty one, my father at ninety six, my little sister at five hundred thirty three, and two hundred three miscellaneous”

'Your conviction's already in pieces! And just how h, fine, whatever So, do you now believe I'?'

I mulled a moment

My personal information ell, based on how she went at it, there ays to obtain it Be that as itthat dir… piece of artwork I was holding ashe could find out so easily If she had this room under surveillance, then perhaps she could see, but I can't think I did anything to warrant so of that extent

Could that ?

”Well, perhaps you are, but…”

'Good, now that you believe…'

”… How about you show a piece of evidence to prove you really are a Mary-san in training!”

'E-evidence!?'

To a flustered Mary-san Trainee (temp), I promptly thrust in my demands

”I heard Mary-san was supposed to be a beauty Meaning that in order for you to be a Mary-san trainee, you ?”

'… H-huh? That's not the sort of urban legend Mary-san is, but… I'll adinally a western doll, and I doubt she was ly, but…'

”Of course she's a beauty! I'll have you know I saw a fanfic with that setting just the other day!”

'So you're the sort of college student who can't distinguish delusions from reality!?'

”Soend shouldn't be saying such a thing… Well whatever, for now, send over a selfie timestamped with today's date and time Otherwise, I won't be able to discardmy personal info to con me”

'You're quite the wary one…'

”It's only natural for a college student living on his own to be wary It's a harsh world we live in”

'I-is that so… uend association, I'ht?'

”… I'll permit it”

After I answered, 'Understood,' she said and hung up the phone

After around aapp

'How is it?'

”So that's you?”

'That's right Did it come out well?'

”Huess it did?”

Answering the call that caht back over the photo

Written on a scrap of paper included in the photo were the current ti that had just been taken

Wearing a white one-piece and straw hat, there stood a young girl who gave off a truly su forward, even as she hid her eyes with a hand, a faint sardless of the fact that I could honestly only see it as an indecent photo, I could tell That was a beautiful girl

And as long as you're a beautiful girl, about 99 of the world's happenings are pere had a beautiful wo on the cover with the text, 'Suck on me… please, suck on me…' I would probably buy them That's just hoorks

Meaning, even if the existence of the urban legend Mary-san's existence is in doubt, and this girl clai like that, I should permit it

”Very well, I'll accept it… Hmph, what's become of me The past me would've tried to forcefully tease you into a pose to suityou take a photo smeared in an expression of eone soft”

'Soft? Isn't there so…? Rather, the past Akira-san was just a plain dangerous individual, was he not? Practically a criminal'

”Well, when I put her up to it, she hated it like crazy”

'You actually did it!? To who!?'

”My sister”

'So that's why you're always apologizing to her…'

As Mary let quite the fored er from side to side

”Little Mary, you cannot get through life on nothing but ideals If it's possible to love someone, it's just as possible to hate them What's necessary is the capacity to understand that hatred is yet another aspect and forh that the likes of prostrating on all fours and begging for forgiveness is of little consequence”

'Think of the consequences a bit! I al nice!'

”I get where you're co from I had a time like that too A time where what other people said all sounded like trivial babble to o by, you realize I was i able to act on such trivial notions The people we call adults, they're the ones who know the trivial things are trivial, yet even so, they're able to act on them”

'That sounded like the last line from an adolescence novel'

”… Hmm, I see it's too soon for you”

When I tied a pretty bow on the conversation like that, I heard a mutter of, 'How am I supposed to interact with this person…!?' from the other end

And it was there it occurred to me

No matter how you look at it, didn't I screw around a bit too much with someone I just met for the first time?

As it stands, I' with people No, I don't particularly seeparticularly strange, but when I look back onpractically no friends, then Iwith people after all

The point is, I don't really understand the boundaries bethat's suitable and what's not According to -air-e, just an air-man That's the sort of person I am, apparently

”Sorry, Mary It looks liketo hand up for now”

Since I'd realized it, I tried to be tactful when I heard an 'Eeeh!?'

'C-can't we talk a little longer…?'

… Surprisingly, I got the feeling that voice was filled with truly regretful sentiment I was taken aback

But, well, once you've said it, you can't just change the story to, 'My battery suddenly went back up to 100!'

”Just for today… well, you can call again to you company”

'R-really!? Yay! In that case, I'll be calling you again tomorrow at this time!'

”S-sure?”

'Well then, have a good day'

Leaving a sht!' the line was cut

”Walk? … In the end, as all that?”

I tilted et what she wanted to do

For now, I saved the picture Mary sent over and while I was at it, I saved her nu to

[1] Mary-san is a faend

A young girl loses her beloved old western doll Mary in aho When she answers, she hears another girl's voice on the line

”This is Mary-san I'ht now…”

The girl hangs up, but the phone is once more

”This is Mary-san I'm at the tobacco shop at the corner…”

And before long, ”This is Mary-san I'm in front of your house” The call came in

The young girl fearfully peers through the peephole of the front door, but no one's there It s again Feeling relieved, the girl picks up…

”This is Mary-san I'ht behind you”

[2] Tokyo Big Sight is where Comiket, Comic Market is held

[3] Train inated on 2Chan about an Otaku who helped so harassed on a train This eventually leads to roa, and novel as

[4] 110 is the eency number in japan

TL: As this is not a fantasy novel, not s are actually explained That is why I included footnotes I do not intend to make a trend of it I do not vouch for the quality of this story It’s just,I read through for solace The original text can be found at ncodesyosetucom/n6767dv/ and it’s a short series with 8 chapters total