'Bzzzz Bzzzz Bzzzz—'
The alarm buzzed loudly, and Hojou Kyousuke opened his eyes.
Waking up grumpy wasn't all bad, it at least ensured he wouldn't drift back into a second sleep after the alarm.
Grabbing his phone, he instinctively opened his memo app to check for any new notes.
It had become a habit by now.
Ever since the body-swapping began, he would lose most of the memories from those days.
It was like living inside a dream, and when he woke up, he wouldn't even realize a day had gone by unless something on his phone or someone else reminded him.
With a slight touch of OCD, Kyousuke preferred checking the memos directly.
Even though the shrine maiden's entries were usually short, mostly food reviews, her note from the day she accompanied Eriri to the doujinshi event had been surprisingly long.
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"That convention was so much fun. ✨
"Eriri is way too cute.💘"
"Not just her looks—her personality's that kind of adorable that makes you want to pull her into a hug and ruffle her hair like crazy. 😭💕"
"I can't believe you know someone like that. Her house was more impressive than our whole shrine."
"When I was taking a bath at night, I really wanted to soak in there with her. 🛁🌸"
"Too bad I was in your body, what a waste! 😫 If it were my own body, I could've hugged her in the bath for sure! 🤗💦"
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Even though it wasn't his first time reading that memo, Kyousuke couldn't help but swallow hard.
Mitsuha really was a countryside shrine maiden through and through, how was she so casually okay with the idea of bathing together?
He only hoped she didn't act like a total perv while using his body...
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"You can't tell from the outside at all, but she's such an incredible artist. 🎨✨"
"I honestly couldn't figure out how your scribble-level manga got published.😒📖 (Magic? Bribery?? ✨🍙"
"But seriously, why is she drawing stuff that's so... embarrassing?💦 And that male lead... that's totally you, right? I spotted it in a second! 🔥"
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If only her sharpness worked in other areas, Kyousuke thought with a sigh.
He could almost picture Mitsuha, cheeks red, holding Eriri's fan comic, trying to look away but sneaking glances every few seconds.
Sitting on his bed, a grin tugged at Kyousuke's lips. Maybe Mitsuha sat right here when she was reading it...
He'd gone over that particular memo so many times.
And every time, it left him with a strange, warm feeling—like her presence still lingered in the spot where he now sat. There was someone out there, living his life with equal effort and sincerity, just as he was living hers.
He used to be all alone, but suddenly, someone else had become entangled in his life in a way that felt... inevitable.
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"If I'd known I'd be loudly selling that kind of manga all day, I'd have been way too embarrassed to even speak.📢"
"That guy, Taki Tomoya, really is as annoying as you said.😤 After I drove him off, Eriri still looked kinda down, so I tried to cheer her up."
"I told her not to waste emotions on friends like that, people who only ever take and treat your help like it's owed."
"Cutting him off was the right call. ✂️"
"Real friends value💖 and appreciate each other. ⚔️✨"
"She looked much happier afterward. Although... she did start looking at me kind of weird..."
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Yeah, I get what you meant, Kyousuke thought, but from Eriri's perspective, it probably sounded like I was bragging...
He exited the note and saw that it was still early. So, swiping through his phone, he looked back at some of the older entries:
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"So this is what body-swapping feels like! I can't believe you're a delinquent leader—so scary! 😱👊"
"But wow, so many people greeted me at school today. I kinda liked it, hehe. 😳💕"
"But hey, what if next time we switch and you're in the middle of a fight? That'd suck! Getting punched hurts. 😫💢"
"For your own health, try not to get into fights, okay? 🥺✨"
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"The cake was so good… 🍰😭"
"Tokyo at night is so lively. The stuff in the accessory shops is adorable. 🌃💎"
"It felt weird shopping in a guy's body—so many girls asked for my number."
"Were those gyarus? 👀"
"For your physical and emotional well-being, I didn't give my number to any of them! ✋😤"
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"Today's weather was amazing. I kinda wanted to ditch class and go to the Skytree. 🌤️✨"
"Kisaki said there's some exhibit going on—ugh, I'm so curious. 😩"
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"Haha, Eikichi Onizuka is such a doofus. Still single after all these years! 🤣"
"Good thing I gave him my dating tips—he'll find a girlfriend in no time.🏆💌"
"If it works, should we host a love lecture series together? If you're on board, tick the box below, okay? ☑️😏"
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"This novel called Love Metronome is so good! I read it three times and cried my eyes out. 😭💦"
"Sorry I got your book wet, but seriously you're amazing. You can read something that emotional and still break it down like a scholar. 🧠❤️"
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"Ugh, last time I swapped, I totally got beat up—thanks to Kisaki Tetta. 😤👊"
"He called you 'Handless Demon'—three times! And Eikichi Onizuka joined in—five times! 🤬👎"
"I even got hit twice… Thank god it was your body, not mine. 🙏💀"
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"Your manga's about to start serialization, right? Too bad I won't be able to buy it out here. 😔"
"I won't get to support you right away. 💌✨"
"Oh! I'm also about to perform my first solo shrine ritual. I'm nervous… 🥺⛩️"
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"I skipped shopping after kendo practice and just kept practicing at home. 🏡⚔️"
"I really hope I don't mess up.😣… "
"…"
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Yeah... this was the kind of girl who had suddenly burst into his life.
A girl who had thoughts and feelings he didn't, who could comfort the stubborn Eriri, smooth things over with subordinates, and handle emotional chaos he normally avoided.
It was strange despite never having a real conversation, just reading through these memos made him feel like she was right here.
It was like she'd left behind pieces of her world and laid them bare for him to see.
Her opinions on people.
Her reactions to books.
Her impressions of Tokyo.
Her curiosity. Her sweet tooth...
Kyousuke felt like he was beginning to truly see the world Mitsuha experienced.
A girl waking up in a completely unfamiliar body, in an unknown place, scared and confused… until she saw the memos and felt just a little safer.
She carefully opened the door, a mix of curiosity and nervousness swirling inside her, as she stepped into what felt like a whole new world.
Along with the sunlight and the blue sky dotted with fluffy clouds, her eyes took in towering skyscrapers, the steady flow of traffic, and people speaking crisp, standard Japanese so different from the countryside dialect she was used to.
She didn't know how to ride a motorbike, and she wasn't used to the chaos of Tokyo's morning rush hour trains.
She missed her train, and in order not to be late for school, she ended up sprinting down the street.
She arrived at a school full of strangers, met unfamiliar classmates, visited the café of her dreams, tasted a cake so delicious it inspired her to write a 3,000-word review, befriended girls her own age, and even started learning kendo...
Then, dusty and tired but overflowing with excitement and new memories.
She sat on the bed, pulled out her phone, and poured every sight, thought, and emotion into the memo app, sharing it all with this familiar stranger whose life she now temporarily lived.
Suddenly, Kyousuke felt a twinge of guilt.
After witnessing such raw, unfiltered glimpses of a girl's inner world and private thoughts, could he really still call her a stranger especially when he himself had been so carelessly stirring up her life?
The curtains on the balcony had been drawn open, letting in a soft white glow.
Kyousuke lifted his head.
In that moment, he could almost see her sitting across from him in loose pajamas, fair legs crossed on the bed, arms propped up behind her, cheeks puffed out in mock annoyance as she glared at him.
"So... can I call you Mitsuha?"
A bird, maybe a crow flew past the window, casting a fleeting shadow as that imaginary vision faded.
Kyousuke looked down, then typed those words into a brand new memo.
'Would she be okay with him calling her that...'
Gazing up at the flawless blue sky outside, Kyousuke thought of the shrine maiden.
If he remembered correctly, today was the day she'd be performing her first solo ritual.
He hoped everything went well for her, and for himself.
Clearing his thoughts, he got up to wash and get ready to head to the hospital.
'Beep beep beep—'
His phone buzzed with a new message. It was from Sakura.
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"Kyousuke's such a lazy bum. Still in bed, aren't you? I'm already at Shouko's place! (Image, image~)"
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He tapped open the image and yep, it was their apartment.
The three of them were wearing matching sporty outfits, almost like couple sets.
Kyousuke recognized them, they'd all bought those at the cherry blossom festival.
White with a hint of pink.
His own set was still folded in the closet, never worn again.
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"Can't Kyousuke-kun wear his too?" —Shouko
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...Yup. This totally had Sakura's fingerprints all over it.
He ignored Sakura and replied to Shouko instead.
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"Sure."
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After putting down his phone, he opened the wardrobe and pulled out the outfit, then went to freshen up.
Since he had a medical checkup, he didn't prepare breakfast for the girls.
Instead, he changed into the tracksuit, grabbed a paper bag, and headed out.
Inside the bag were sample copies of his newly printed manga volume.
Though they were technically samples, they were fully printed editions numbers 1 through 100 had been sent to him.
Originally, the publisher wouldn't have sent so many, but Kyousuke had asked to purchase extras himself, thinking he had a lot of friends to give them to.
In the end, he didn't even have to pay.
Whether the editor paid out of pocket or arranged something with the publisher, a big box of books had just shown up at his door.
Yep, the royalties had already arrived.
When it comes to earning money, Kyousuke didn't slack off.
The day after returning from Akihabara, he'd gone straight to Eriri's place.
After taking a well-deserved beating, the two of them got to work on the bonus chapter.
He didn't have any grand ideas, so he just drew a few intense training scenes from Saitama's three-year journey, full of passion and grit.
He'd figured it out: The readers love stories of underdogs rising through sheer effort.
Surprisingly, the publisher had guts to release that, they printed 300,000 copies on the first run.
Since royalties in Japan are withheld as tax, he received ¥50 per book after deductions.
That meant a whopping 15 million yen, straight into his account.
In Japan, this royalty system is colloquially known as "印税" (inzei), which literally means "print tax," though it's really just a fancy word for royalties.
For a debut author to have a first print run of 300,000 was unheard of.
When Kyousuke asked Eriri for her bank info to transfer her share, she was absolutely floored.
And when he mentioned that there were at least 100,000 more copies coming in reprints, she looked like she was about to faint.
She outright refused to take any money.
Even Sayuri and Mr. Spencer tried to convince Kyousuke to drop it, but he was stubborn.
He told them that if she didn't give him her account details, he'd just withdraw the cash and hand it over in person.
After a long standoff, Eriri finally accepted the money, grumbling all the while.
"If you bring that much cash again, I'm locking the door and not letting you in!"
Satisfied (and with his wealth halved), Kyousuke left the Spencer mansion feeling more determined than ever to one day live in a house like that himself.
One fun tidbit, the publisher seeing a bright future for his manga, suggested doing something special with the cover design.
Making each volume a piece of a larger image when placed together.
Kyousuke, having no talent for art, naturally handed the task off to Eriri.
The final design featured a bald-headed Saitama on a red explosion-themed background.
This was just the top-left corner of the full image.
Later covers would have Saitama's yellow battle suit, his white cape, and of course, more of his shining bald head.
When complete, the poster would be one giant Saitama made up of dozens of tiny Saitamas.
Honestly, the visual was so absurd, even Kyousuke had a hard time imagining it.
Right now, in the bag he carried were Volumes 3, 4, and 5.
Volume 1 had already been mailed to his mother in Hokkaido.
Volume 2 went to his biggest supporter, Eriri.
Volume 3 was for Sakura, Volume 4 for Shouko, and Volume 5 for Naoka.
The order was simply based on when he met each of them, no favoritism involved.
Each book came with a personalized message. For his mom, Hojou Mikiko:
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"Wishing you eternal youth and beauty."
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For Eriri:
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"To the greatest illustrator in the world—Kashiwagi Eiri."
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As for the girls' messages? He'd let them read those for themselves soon enough.
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