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“I do things like get in a taxi and say, "The library, and step on it.”
― David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest

“You’ve got great base stats, so someone like you wouldn’t get how I feel.”

Aoi Hinami’s mouth moved ever so slightly, like she was repeating my words, but I couldn’t hear her. I wasn’t even sure what my voice sounded like just then.

“Life is unfair. I’m ugly, I have a bad build, I overthink until I can’t do anything, I’m wishy-washy, people make fun of everything I do, and I have no confidence in my ability to communicate. How is someone like me supposed to beat someone strong like you?”

This might have been the first time I ever said something like that to a stranger.

“But that’s all fine. Because life’s not fair. You don’t get results just by trying hard. If you could, I would, but life doesn’t have rules. No rewards, no right answers. As a game, it’s a piece of shit. If there’s no right answer, then there’s no point in trying. And I hate the way normies like you live. Your confidence is totally baseless, and you go around in packs just pretending to have fun.”

With the floodgates opened, I couldn’t stop myself.

“Even when I have a reason to be confident, I shy away. When I’m in a group I just feel alone, and it’s not fun. I’m used to this life. I don’t know why things are this way. You have a problem with that? I’ve been like this as long as I can remember. That’s fine with me. I’m a loner, but I have my fun. I’m fine with this…”

I clenched my fists.

“…So don’t force your values on me!”
― Yuki Yaku, Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, Vol. 1

“Man is condemned to be free. Condemned because he did not create himself, yet is nevertheless at liberty, and from the moment he is thrown into this world he is responsible for everything he does.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre

“You can get an awful lot of good done in the world if you're willing to let someone else take the credit for it.”
― Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York