Kagerou Project Light Novel

Jinzou Enemy

Jinzou Enemy

I woke up to the sound of a piercing siren. All at once, my heart began to throb violently. I looked up to see a white ceiling projected above me. Still unable to completely understand the situation, I fell from my bed, knocking over a small side table.

“……Ah!”

I hit my right shin hard, the burning pain registering in my brain moments later.

As my eyes filled with tears of pain and fear of the explosive sound, I gathered up the futon which had fallen in the avalanche, and as I wrapped it around my body, the sound of the siren stopped.

“Good morning, Master!”

The moment I heard that voice, I fully grasped the situation I was in.

There was me—the teary-eyed Kisaragi Shintaro—in an unnatural position, wearing only underwear, with a futon wrapped around me, and a girl—Ene—looking on from inside the monitor, teary-eyed from trying to hold back her laughter.

*

A hot, summer day. Not long ago, society had made a huge deal about the end of the world and the like. Meteorite impacts, the downfall of the Mayan civilization, etc. Now, the top news consisted of peaceful topics like, “It’s been decided that the ultra-popular idol will star in her first TV drama!”

For someone like me, whose job was to be extraordinarily well-informed about top news stories, and had fought in the front lines of heated discussions about the apocalypse controversy on the internet, I have to say that the current topics lacked punch. Well, that said, my job was primarily one of an ordinary 18-year-old, high school boy. But at the time, I conducted voluntary home confinement while exchanging comments with the inhabitants of the internet. In my spare time, I protected my home, diligently serving as a guardsman.

As for the basics of my work, I’d started producing amateur music from scratch and, on the side, would always leave comments of love, and comments of criticism, on new videos of a certain video website. I’d had this job for more than two years already.

Incidentally… I had yet to make anything.

But today, I was unusually full of motivation!

Plopped down in front of my computer, I stuffed myself with the sandwich my mom had given me that morning while glaring at the step recording software on the screen. My goal was to get a first place ranking on a certain video site, then a ringtone and karaoke delivery, and finally, a major album……!

After all is said and done, I wanted to be made into a big deal.

Normally, that high ambition was in vain, and in a matter of ten minutes, it would fall to ruins, comments of criticism from artisans becoming the default. With the exception of my mother’s love in this sandwich, I wondered what special ingredient it contained. As if a god had descended, the phrases kept on pouring out.

“This……This’ll sell!!”

I said this aloud, and steadily continued to work the software. Even though I was doing unbelievably well composing something, I was filled with fear. Since earlier, something that I would call a “virus” was darting about inside the monitor, as if it intended to interfere with my work.

“It seems like today is going to be a considerably hot day. Wow! The expected high is 35°C in central Tokyo!

“What. It seems that, already, in central Tokyo, around ten people have been transported for heat stroke. Master, when you go out, you must not forget to take steady measures!”