'From then on, I started to lose confidence…'
'While they were spending time in the outside world, I kept myself locked up. I'm fed up with this world, and for me, the game is the only thing that can prove that I'm alive,' she still walked slowly towards the minimarket.
'But, I feel... if I continue like this, I feel like I'm losing myself.'
'I can only live in games and become a less social person…' Anko was thinking about her future, she couldn't go on and on all her life she spent playing games.
The people outside who were busying themselves with their work made Anko feel envious.
'Indeed now I am a person who can be practically useless even my family doesn't care anymore, but one day I want to change this life!'
She wanted a world like the one in the game she was currently playing.
The atmosphere there is very pleasant, and the friends who meet online every day feel like a fraternity.
Anko felt that was the real world but, there was no way they would meet in the real world, and what if her friends found out that 'Milkyway' was a girl?
....
The supermarket was near, and Anko immediately went in and bought the snack she wanted.
Since there was a discount cake and a free cola next to it, Anko became interested and bought it as well.
It didn't take long, because Anko had to go back to her apartment to log back in.
After a cashier's waitress totaled Anko's groceries...
Anko immediately took out the money and gave it to the cashier. Should have returned with some Yen coins but, Anko refused the change and she said to the cashier, 'Think of it as a tip/charity.'
Immediately the cashier said 'Thank you very much,' to Anko while bowing politely.
Even though Anko doesn't look like a rich person, she still hasn't taken a lot of money from playing games at her ATM.
*ATM: Automated Teller Machines
'Yeah, the game I'm playing right now is an amazing game...' she muttered under her breath as she walked cheerfully home from the convenience store. The white snow still piled up on the side of the road...
She remembered the first time she was in this city as a penniless man, and she remembered the day before winter was disarmed by some people at work.
Not anymore, she was much happier.
She saw some children in front of the house playing in the snow... some of them even decorated their front yard with colorful lights as if they were about to welcome the new year.
Even though it's only a few weeks away...
As soon as Anko stepped onto the road to her apartment which was starting to climb, the view below the white city's night lights began to feel amazing.
She never goes out, he goes out only to buy essential needs and she spends the rest of the time shopping online.
"Wow~ beautiful..." She muttered while chuckling in admiration, this is the beauty of winter at night.
She wanted to take a photo with his smartphone but, she didn't bring it.
Anko never thought that today would be her last day, she just smiled softly as she said, "Yosh!! Next time I will bring my smartphone when I go out."
"Ah, what will happen after the Comiket event ends I will take Tama for a walk, okay?" Tama is the name of her friend who collaborated on the winter comics project, and she was the one who helped Anko in the first place. To Anko, Tama was now the only person she could trust. She knew Tama in college and met by chance in the study program room to ask for an autograph from the lecturer who was the head of the study program. That time, Tama was in the wrong room!! Anko did the same and they finally waited for the lecturer outside and chatted, as soon as Anko played the game... Tama was also interested, she was interested in the storyboard and game design and at that time, the games Anko played were games she developed on a whim.
Tama started to get close as soon as she exchanged opinions with Anko about design, she's a graphic design major so it's no wonder their conversation went on.
Their initial meeting yielded sweet results until now they are collaborating to show their development work at last year's comics. This relationship will continue until the winter comics, Anko can't wait for it.
At night it gets quieter, the streets are quiet, and the lights on the side of the road are still bright as usual. Anko was only a few steps away from her apartment.
The apartments in this complex are kind of like flats, so sometimes you can hear someone noisy at night.
Some of the occupants of the apartment knew Anko because, at that time, that person who had just moved here asked her about this apartment...
Call it resident number 23, he is a man who is almost 2 meters tall, has a friendly attitude towards new residents, and smiles.
However, today his apartment looks dark, it seems that he hasn't come home from work yet...
Anko immediately climbed the stairs and headed for the room above her, where it was her apartment. However, something surprising flashed in front of Anko.
"...."
'Looks like I stepped on something…' thought Anko who stepped in and felt like she missed something.
As Anko felt bad, she immediately turned her head and found that she had stepped on something.
Anko who was curious about something in front of her apartment approached, she lowered her gaze to something that was on the front floor of her apartment.
"...!"
An elegant black flat object wrapped in about 0.3 mm plastic.
Anko looked around and made sure this wasn't someone's item that had been dropped or accidentally fallen. The apartment environment is quiet and no one passes by. The surroundings of his apartment were quiet and no one was passing by.
'Weird!' Anko thought so, her attention returned to something lying on the floor.
Because she felt that this didn't belong to anyone around her, Anko finally picked it up. It would be a shame if such an elegant-looking and high-value object were left on the ground like that, she thought.
She lifted it, it was a bit heavy but, I think Anko understood what it was. Yes, a memory card!!
'Hmm, what if I investigate the contents of this memory card... I can find the owner?'
'But, what if the contents of the card are empty?'
'What if I see it and when I return it, the person who has this memory card scolds me because I saw his private information?'
"Hmm..." Anko's intention to pick it up was shattered.
As soon as she flipped through the card, in the lower-left corner was an inscription.
"Eh?"
Anko spelled it out, and did the writing on the memory card belong to it?
But, 'If my guess is right... when there's no occupant of an apartment with this name!?'