That night, after finishing his shower, Kamiyā Yuu carried the large package he had just received back to his room. The moment he opened the door, he saw Kamiyā Sora lying sprawled lazily on his bed, fast asleep in disheveled clothing. A simple white sleep shirt barely concealed her petite, delicate figure. Large areas of smooth, pale skin, along with her white undergarments, were exposed before his eyes. Her silver hair, still slightly damp from her bath, was scattered across the bed.
The afternoon's activities had drained all of Kamiyā Sora's energy. The accumulated mental fatigue caused her to fall asleep unknowingly while using the computer on Kamiyā Yuu's bed.
—Playing with fire really doesn't end well.
Kamiyā Yuu's lips twitched. The subtle change in Kamiyā Sora's attitude toward him today was clearly due to something he had impulsively done that morning. From him, she had received a definite answer, and the side of her heart she had long suppressed was gradually opening up. It was like two magnets that had once opposed each other—if one suddenly reversed its polarity, they would inevitably begin to attract, slowly drawing closer until, upon reaching a certain distance, they would come together regardless of everything.
—My thoughts are getting pretty messed up too… I should find time to visit Father's university. There should be some clues there.
Kamiyā Yuu made up his mind. He firmly believed that the photo album found among the relics must be connected to his own background. If he couldn't find anything… he didn't know how much longer he could hold on. He could already feel that, deep in his subconscious, his view of Kamiyā Sora was shifting—from that of a younger sister to something far more possessive.
He carefully set aside the large package containing the drawing tablet, walked to the bed, and picked up the laptop from beside Kamiyā Sora. Turning on the screen, he saw that she had been browsing questions related to animation production. Watching her peaceful, beautiful sleeping face, a gentle, tender smile appeared on his face. He moved to his drawing desk, set the laptop to silent mode, logged into the browser, and began searching for things that interested him.
This world also had a site similar to the illustration platforms from his previous world. Back then, there had been the Japanese site Pixiv; in this world, it was a "cartoons" subforum under the largest global social platform, "Fakebook." The dominant style there leaned toward various forms of 3D American animation, with Japanese-style animation coming second.
—The development of American animation in this world is unexpectedly strong… Compared to works from the same era in my previous world, it's even better. No wonder American animation dominates the global market now.
Kamiyā Yuu thought to himself. In this world, American animation largely fell into two extremes: either 3D animations aimed at children—typified by fantasy fairy tales like Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Frog Prince—or works aimed at adults, featuring bizarre visuals rivaling classical Western paintings paired with satirical plots. Anyone lacking a certain level of understanding would likely find those animations incomprehensible.
The former usually dominated the box office, while the latter gathered widespread acclaim and awards online.
Although "Fakebook" had language options, Kamiyā Yuu couldn't understand the English discussions and comments at all, so he simply focused on exploring the cartoons section.
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"Yosuganosora." Kamiyā Yuu glanced guiltily at the sleeping Kamiyā Sora by the bed. In this world, only he knew what that Romanized name meant.
"Once I get used to the drawing tablet in a few days, I can try uploading some work here. I'm really looking forward to when other artists upload the original artwork of Ruby Rose to this site." A trace of pride rose in Kamiyā Yuu's heart—the production of the 'Red' chapter was drawing near. After fiddling around on the site for over an hour, fatigue finally set in. He closed the laptop and stretched.
He lay down on the bed beside Kamiyā Sora, gazing at her quiet and lovely sleeping face. With her eyes closed, she seemed less distant than usual, her coldness replaced by a softer, more innocent charm. Kamiyā Yuu gently stroked her smooth cheek, savoring the unique and comforting sensation.
"If this were my previous world, aside from children or Photoshop, it'd be impossible to find skin this good," he murmured inwardly.
—Time to sleep. Didn't expect I'd end up restraining myself like this. But the plane tickets are already booked… and the trip to Germany isn't far off.
After tidying her silver hair, he closed his eyes. Before long, that mysterious pull guided his consciousness into an indescribable mental space.
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"For now, I should find a drawing tablet on my previous world's internet with specs similar to the one I ordered and get familiar with how to use it."
"Also, during this time, I need to practice Gothic-style key animation. Before starting production on the 'Red' chapter, my grasp of Japanese Gothic-style animation cannot fall behind Uehara-sensei!
Just as the world of consciousness began to unfold, a small red figure suddenly rushed up from behind with the force of a speeding truck, hugging him and making him stumble in midair. Ruby Rose leaned her head forward, pouting in dissatisfaction.
"Yuu! Welcome back! When you're not here, I can't do anything—it's so boring! Hurry and bring my sister into this world too, so she can duo with me in 'League of Legends'!"
Compared to before, Ruby Rose—now upgraded with Uehara Etsuki's original art—looked far more refined and lifelike. Aside from her artistic style, her movements were almost indistinguishable from those of a real person.
"Alright, I'll connect to the network. Go play 'League of Legends,'" Kamiyā Yuu replied casually, as if indulging a pet. With a thought, an old high-end triple-monitor computer appeared in the space.
"Awesome! I love you, Yuu!" Ruby Rose excitedly kissed his cheek, her face lighting up at the mention of 'League of Legends.' Then she pushed off a magic circle beneath her feet and dashed toward the computer on the ground.
Although Ruby Rose was a consciousness construct created by him, the 'League of Legends' she played wasn't a simulation—it connected to real players from his previous world. Playing games was an effective way to develop her logical thinking processes. Recently, he had discovered something surprising: Ruby Rose had developed the ability to learn logically, improving her thought processes through the internet of his previous world.
Of course, this wouldn't cause any strange side effects—because within this consciousness space, Kamiyā Yuu himself was the matrix, the omnipotent god.