The Villainous Uncle in the Adult Game Gets Unusually High Praise from the Heroines - Chapter 4

I had a dream, but in this time and age, making dreams come true required money.

Being foolish, I thought I could earn money this way. Yet somehow, things had taken a strange turn.

*****

“The coffee here is made from fresh beans, and they use quite good ones, so it’s really delicious.”

“O-oh, really?”

Her smile was obviously forced.

Well, yeah.

She was probably thinking something like “Who wants to hear some old man ramble about coffee?”

I understood the feeling — I’d probably think the same in her position. After all, she just wanted money.

She was Tomoe Hinomoto. In the game, she was the character players would encounter in the first erotic scene.

At that point, she was only listed as “Girl A”, though her name would be revealed later on.

She’d made contact with me looking for quick money, and in the original story would become Takeshi Tendo’s convenient woman, gathering information about Sakurako-chan and the other heroines.

Naturally, I intended to follow that path. After all, if I didn’t intervene like this, she would meet an even more tragic fate.

“Now, about that allowance…”

Since we were in a café, I deliberately chose those words. Tomoe-chan’s expression immediately brightened at my words. She seemed to really dislike troublesome matters.

I didn’t mind this kind of honest desire, but this time, it simply wouldn’t do. What was about to begin was a little interrogation session.

“So, what do you plan to do with it?”

“…Weren’t you listening? I forgot my wallet, so I just wanted to borrow some money…”

“In any case, you wouldn’t need that much. Someone your age wouldn’t be carrying around that kind of money either.”

“…What, are you lecturing me?”

Tomoe-chan’s expression turned visibly sour.

Well, I could understand her reaction. She’d come along thinking she’d get money, only to receive a lecture instead. Nothing was worse than being lectured by adults.

But now was the time to push forward.

“It’s to fulfill your dream of becoming an artist, isn’t it?”

“…!?”

She jerked back in her chair, showing obvious surprise and wariness.

“…How?”

“It’s quite simple. Your left hand is your dominant hand, isn’t it? There’s a callus on your middle finger. Plus, the side of your right hand is slightly stained black. These are characteristics of someone who draws.”

I was speaking like a detective, but in reality, this was knowledge acquired from the original story.

“So that’s how you figured out that I want to become an illustrator?”

“Well, manga artist was another possibility, but I couldn’t be that specific, thus I kept it vague with the term ‘artist’.”

“Ah…”

“Should I tell you why you need the money too? You probably want to do digital art, right?”

“…Correct.”

Tomoe-chan shrugged her shoulders in defeat.

“I want to become an illustrator in the future. I want to buy the necessary equipment, but everything’s so expensive.”

“I understand. Professional equipment is always expensive.”

“…You’re not laughing?”

“Why would I?”

“Don’t you think being an illustrator is unrealistic? That you need talent and only a handful of people can make it?”

“I don’t think so,” I said with complete seriousness.

“How foolish.”

“Your brother was so excellent.”

“There’s no way you could become one.”

“Face reality.”

Ah, yes.

The “Takeshi Tendo” character would probably reluctantly say such things.

“I don’t laugh at people’s dreams.”

“…You’re a nice person, Oji-san.”

“I’m not nice. If I were nice, I wouldn’t have brought you here and would have lectured you on the spot instead.”

“Haha, that’s true.”

Tomoe-chan let out a big sigh, speaking wearily.

“I wish my mom and dad were as understanding as you.”

“Things aren’t going well? Or did they tell you to give up on your dream?”

“That’s normal. I know they’re worried, but I still wish they’d support my dream.”

“Well, that’s understandable.”

“Even when I ask them, they wouldn’t give me any money for it, so I thought I’d figure something out by myself. They wouldn’t let me get a part-time job, though. Meanwhile, I see people my age online getting better and better…”

“So that’s why…”

I didn’t need to finish the sentence. It must have been a painful choice for her too. The fact that she could act so casual about it was remarkable, even though her plan had some obvious flaws.

“But even if I had given you the money straightforwardly, you probably couldn’t have bought the equipment, right?”

“Eh?”

“They’d definitely ask where the money came from.”

“Ah.”

“You didn’t think about that?”

“…Not at all.”

“Well, just make sure you never do something like this again.”

I spoke like some respectable, proper adult.

“I don’t think I’m that good of a person either. After all, I brought a minor like you to a café, but there are plenty of people worse than me out there.”

“…Another lecture?”

“I understand wanting to fulfill your dreams, but using dreams as an excuse for your actions isn’t right.”

“Yeah… that’s true,” she spoke with a somewhat resigned expression.

“Yeah, I get it. I kind of knew all along. I got desperate and tried this, but this kind of thing is really wrong.”

“So you were aware of it.”

“I was using my dream as an excuse to run away from reality. That was probably the biggest betrayal of my dream.”

“In that case–”

“Yeah. I’ll just keep my dream as a dream. That way–”

“I don’t think you’re at the stage to be thinking that way yet.”

Saying this, I drained my coffee cup in one go and smiled slyly.

Ah, yes, indeed. I was definitely not a good person.

“Hey, if you have time, want to come to my house?”

After all, I was trying to lure her to my home.