Chapter 2

People opening the Interstellar Livestream Writing Competition’s homepage noticed a writing stream rocketing up the popularity chart. In the blink of an eye, it went from twentieth to nineteenth, and it was still climbing.

They checked the writer’s name.

You Fu.

They’d never heard of him. Usually, even the less famous writers in the top hundred had names people would recognize. The top ten were almost all household names across the stars. What was a newcomer doing so high up?

Wondering, they clicked into the stream.

[Year XX, Month X, Day X

I officially started at the academy today. While I was waiting in line, I saw someone being personally welcomed inside by the headmaster.

The person next to me explained his illustrious background. The string of titles made my head spin.

Curious, I asked for this prodigy’s name.

Alistair. Defender of humankind. What an arrogant name. So he’s the one who stole first place from me?]

…

[Year XX, Month X, Day X

My plan to screw him over failed.]

…

[Year XX, Month X, Day X

The plan failed again.

He got out of THAT? What is his luck stat?

At least I managed to fool some other people. Not a total loss.]

…

[Year XX, Month X, Day X

Our teacher told me to team up with Alistair.

Alistair didn’t look happy about it. Coldly declared that he could do everything alone and other people would only slow him down.

While the teacher was putting him in his place, I agreed with a smile. Then I turned away and spent the next eight hundred mental rounds cursing him out.]

…

[Year XX, Month X, Day X

On our mission, I suggested we just steal some explosives and blow up the space pirates’ hideout. Alistair carried out my suggestion.

Emily, who’d joined our team for the mission, said Alistair and I were two matching pieces of trash who’d finally found each other.

She has no taste.

I gave her a reproachful look for a while. She took it back.]

…

[Year XX, Month X, Day X

Alistair asked why I keep my hair long. Doesn’t braiding it every day get tiring?

What’s it to him?

Doesn’t he have enough to do?

I snatched my hair out of his hand.]

…

The protagonist seemed impossibly gentle but had a thousand wicked little ideas. His partner was arrogant, aloof, and so powerful he was almost inhuman. The details of their interactions made practically everyone who clicked into the stream notice something was going on.

The protagonist was still thinking, This guy is so annoying. The chat was already shipping them for dear life.

That last little glimpse of the protagonist’s diary sent the comments into such a frenzy that they lost all awareness of anything else.

[AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH]

[I see it. Oh my god, I SEE IT.]

[Are we allowed to ship this?]

[I am under no obligation NOT to ship it!]

[Everyone else is drunk on this ship, and I’m absolutely wasted.]