Impossible for me, who went to eat breakfast and, upon opening the refrigerator, realized that there was not a single item of food inside. Impossible for me, who then decided to ignore my empty stomach and take a bath, only to discover that I was entirely out of both soap and shampoo.

And impossible for me, who responded to the horoscope read on the TV morning show—Virgo's luck in love is up today. An unexpected person may profess their love to you—with the pathetic comment, “How are they going to profess it to me if I don't leave my room all day? Huh? Let's see them try it.”

A normal life within society was totally impossible for me.

Argh.

Maybe I should just die!

***

Maybe 1 should just die. No. I won't die because I am a strong, capable soldier.

I was determined to live until the day I defeated the N.H.K., even if that meant I would have to crawl along the floor.

I would win or I would lose; I was still uncertain which. Anyway, what I required was a good amount of courage; thus, I needed to make efficient use of every ounce of courage in my body. For the time being, however, first I needed to make breakfast.

After slowly rising from my bed, I opened the cupboard and removed the cup of ramen I kept for emergencies. I poured hot water from the hot pot I stored on top of the refrigerator. And then I waited—listening to the faint notes of an anime song that echoed from room 202, the apartment next to mine, I waited patiently for three minutes.