The doorbell works

But the intercom is broken.

Coming

Coming, coming.

To put it kindly, I'm a freeter.

To put it unkindly...

Sign or stamp here.

Thank you for your continued patrona-

It was the final fall of my teens, the 2nd year I had been living alone.

...To put it kindly, my freeter lifestyle.

Oh... So it's sunny today, huh...

It's bad living in a world where you can buy everything you need both cheaply and easily on the internet.

The water came.

I can't drink tap water.

And the instant meals...

Oh, and that game that just came out!

I'm the only one who hasn't played it yet.

I guess I'll speedrun it 'til morning.

Ok

...An eroge...?

I had borrowed games from my friends before, where the objective was communicate with a beautiful girl.

It wasn't my cup of tea, so I didn't really want to get involved in these kinds of things.

Did they mess up my order?

No, they... Put it in by mistake...

Ah!? It really isn't here!!

My Gaia Project Portable 2!!

Damn it! Are they going to fix my order!?

I'm on the 5th floor, so that old delivery man is going to hate coming up here multiple times!!

Damn, I dropped it.

Ah, it got dented a little.

Aaahh... They won't take this back as a return...

Damn it, you eroge...

You goddamn game...

Though Gai-Pro is a game too...

Hah....

Going to sell it is going to be a pain...

Well I do have time... I guess I'll try playing it.

A Fevered Monitor's World First Part

The package is cute.

But...

I'm terrible at these things. Like having a conversation with choices with an unreal girl...

And then you make a small mistake in choosing which conversation, and she gets angry,

She pouts,

And then goes home without taking off her clothes. ...Well, that's...

The same as a real girl...

Ah, the installation is done.

...I know, once I finish 1 playthrough, I'll sell it to Aisawa.

But I wonder if he already has it.

...? The title's not appearing.

They misdelivered defective goods...?

This is the worst...

It's a real pain, but I guess I'll contact them...

Well, since I haven't been going to my part time job enough,

And just hiding away in my apartment,

Maybe this is a sort of divine retribution.

But still

...My computer's not going to break, right?

If I don't have it, then I'll...

Ah!

Ow

Ouch

T... Tsukimori... Ena...?

What, you disgusting otaku?

Hurry up and put in your name. You disgusting otaku.

...Heh~ So it's a game with this kind of concept... Ok.

Heh~...

My name... Name...

M-A-H-I-R-U

Put in your real name, you disgusting otaku!

Sorry, but that is my real name...

Even though I'm pale and unhealthy, my name is robust.

Wait, why am I seriously talking to a game...

Isn't there a mistake in the manual?

What about you is kinda a crybaby?

Your room's messy.

Do you ever clean it? You disgusting otaku.

Well, aren't you acting too high and mighty.

And I'm not a disgusting otaku.

Aren't you the one who's in some cosplay outfit!

You're completely different from what's on the package!

The moment you buy an 18+ eroge, you're a pervert, a pervert!

Huh? They messed up my order! Who would buy someone like you!?

I like games, but...

I'm terrible at romantic games.

With characters from the games that have age restrictions like you!

...No matter how many dozens of hours I spend with you,

You'd be talking the same with other players! You'd be telling them things like "I love you", right!

Are you stupid?

Right now, I don't care about why I'm able to talk to a game.

Quickly shutting up this terrible little girl takes priority.

Umm, where's the quit button...

If you're going to quit, then save.

Save

That day, my life with Tsukimori Ena began.

There weren't any conversations with choices.

Even though I entered my name, she never once called me by it.

Even though it definitely says 18+ on the box,

There were never any erotic developments.

I thought about discussing it with someone, but I didn't want to be thought of as a crazy person, so I didn't.

"Ena-tan"

"Ena-tan"

You're pretty popular on the internet.

I guess you work normally on other users' computers...

So why only mine

Hold on, you disgusting otaku.

What?

You're the main character of this game, so flatter me more.

Don't start yourself up when you feel like it while I'm on the internet.

Hey, don't close me.

Actually, you're an eroge character, right?

Where are the pictures?

Huh?

Strip.

Strip strip!

What!? You're the worst!!!

...What are you doing, holding your spoon that way. You're not a child.

Excuse me!

Hold it like this. Look.

Shut up, you disgusting otaku!

It's hard to eat like that!

Don't be stubborn and copy me!

Yeah! Like that! You should scoop and eat like that!

What? Are you a clumsy ojou-sama character? Is that your character type?

I don't know, you disgusting otaku.

She's in a game, but she gets hungry, huh...

On the 3rd day of playing, I realized that both her and I eat at the same time.

One night, I was browsing a horror site that I like.

Hey...

Hey...

Enough...

That's enough...

Please stop...

I'm going to die...

I'm going to die...

But in the next window, there's a scary site opened... Hey, close it already...

You're the one who decided to show up on your own.

But I was bored, you horror otaku!

Ho...!

I'll replay that ghost special report!

St, Stop it!

Ok, replaying~

Oh, it's the one where the staff member that goes to a town that's not on any map to collect material, and then gets brutally killed.

Hey, stop!

D, Don't cry...

Shut up, you disgusting otaku!

I'm not crying.

Sorry, I'll close it...

I'm sorry.

Haa...

Did you really close it?

I did.

You're a scaredy cat, huh...

...Would you rather there be choices?

Eh?

Would you rather go through scenarios where you follow the choices, and get to a erotic scene?

Even I don't know why this happened.

The game isn't functioning normally.

But when sometimes when we're talking

...there are happy moments, right?

There aren't, right.

I told you, I hate eroges!

But you don't count as an eroge.

I don't know why, but I realized I was unconsciously, trying to pat the head of the girl inside the monitor.

Ah...

She looked like she wanted to say something,

As she looked from her side to mine.

I couldn't touch her.

At that moment, I thought this.

...Shut down the computer.

...Ok.

Why did she have these feelings and could talk as she wanted?

Maybe me talking with this game character was all my delusion from the start.

While thinking this, I started my part time job, since with winter around the corner, my financial situation had become pretty shaky.

Why are you so late?

You said you would be done at 9:00.

I've only just started, so there's lots of things I need to learn.

Ah~ I'm hungry.

Instant meal again? How about cooking once in a while?

You do have a kitchen, right?

Shut up.

...Were you waiting for me to eat?

I wasn't waiting.

I just wasn't hungry, but now I am!

Even though she's a game character...

From then on, I started cooking for myself a little more.

The laundry didn't pile up as much, and I opened the windows more.

It's not weird, is it?

Hmm...

It's not weird, but...

The boss told me to cut it.

You work at a convenience store, right?

Yeah.

Hmm... Are there any girls?

There is. There's a high school girl.

Is she cute?

Huh? I dunno.

If you had to compare her to a game character, who is she like?

Why games!

Ah, but if it's entertainers, she's like her~ That graviture...

...I'm a C cup.

Heh~ Really? Was that in the manual... Is it the official setting?

Eh, what is it?

I see.

Since then, it's gradually gotten colder.

Due to my part time job, I was out of the house more often.

But still, Tsukimori Ena

Would greet me with an ill-tempered welcome home when I returned.

And then, when I started to be able to see my breath, this happened.

I just wanted to say it.

Ah, but...

If you would think about it,

I'd be happy...

I was confessed to by the high school girl from my part time job.

For some reason, this made me feel oddly guilty.

Welcome home.

Oh...

Are you tired? You don't look too well.

R, Really?

You're hiding something.

No, I'm not?

Or rather, it's almost Christmas.

Ah...

So that's why she confessed now...

But you don't have a girlfriend, do you?

How about buying and eating a whole cake by yourself?

Or something like that.

...Ah

Maybe I'll get A girlfriend Before Christmas...

Y, You know, that high school girl from my part time job.

She's discussed with me about school and studying and lots of things.

And then... Today, we talked about that.

N But...

I still don't know yet but...

Wh...

It's better if you're not alone on Christmas.

She's a real girl, right? Good job.

She can actually use a fork and you two can eat a cake together...

Ah, and maybe you'll bring her back to your room?

Of course... I knew that she and I couldn't be together forever.

I would grow old, and she would stay the same.

Marriage? Dating? We can't do that.

And if the computer broke and the data is lost...

On Christmas, you don't have to turn on your computer.

I don't think you'll have any free time.

I get it.

What do you get?

In that narrow screen...

Damn...

What the hell.

Anyway, you have your part time job tomorrow, right?

Since it's cold, maybe you should buy a coat?

If you catch a cold, you might die.

Good night!

...Say good night...

You get it... Huh...

Why did I say maybe I'll get a girlfriend?

I have the outside world and a future.

But Tsukimori Ena only has me.

Thinking about it, when I first realized it was strange,

I should have uninstalled and returned it.

Before I developed these feelings for her.