hanzalashahri/Light-Novel-Dataset · Datasets at Hugging Face

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Not the hallmarks of impulsive behavior.
"In other words, she was an immense coward about get-
ting what she wanted most."
"B-but ... you don't think she was simply throwing her-
self at unhappiness? Even if that was less stressful."
"Throwing herself into unhappiness ... or into traffic?"
"Yeah, like that."
"But she was hit by a scooter," Y uko said, dismissively.
"She chose when to jump. And jumping out in front of a
dump truck is a much bigger taboo."
If she were hit by a scooter ... she would not die. Espe-
ANOTHERHOLIC: LANDOLT-RING AEROSOL
cially if she blocked it with her arm. It made sense;
Kushimura had chosen when to jump out in traffic, and had
chosen to jump in front of the scooter.
"As a result of which, she did not have to give a major
presentation at work. She was able to avoid such a stressful
situation, to avoid that pressure."
"Yi h b
"
ea, ut ...
"And while she claimed she caused trouble for everyone,
it wasn't actually that big a deal. Someone filled in for her ...
what was his name? Hyodo-kun? He did her job for her, and
whether she was there or not, she was still part of the group
that had made the plan, and no matter what she might say,
the road to promotion is not as firmly closed as she claims."
"Well ... I guess not."
No guess about it.
That was it, plain and simple.
"Or maybe she simply didn't want that promotion. Truly
meek people fear success more than failure. Promotions
bring with them greater responsibility, and there are any
number of people who would prefer to avoid that. For all her
concerns about causing trouble for her group, she also admit-
ted that they were all really nice people. And she knew that
better than anyone."
"But ... she hit me with those flowers ... "
"A visitor so Sewashi-kun-ish -abnormally nice and so
eager to be helpful that he calls an ambulance for a total
stranger-is hardly likely to be particularly enraged when
the injured person they are visiting hits them over the head
with a bouquet. Admittedly, she did so without knowing that
you are prone to violent fits."

-
58159
OUTERHOLI C
"I
1"
am not.
There were just people near him who set him off. Two of
them.
And one of them was right in front of him.
"If you think about it, annoying the nurses by pressing
the button that summons them over and over is not that big a
deal. Same with the fire alarm at school. That button marked
'DON 'T PUSH' is hardly the launch switch for a nuclear bomb.
I'm sure she got off with a sc;olding. Perhaps that's what she's
after: anything except happiness, including making people
angry. Like ordering coffee when you want tea. Speaking of
which, she almost threw her coffee at me."
She had?
So that's what Yuko had stopped her from doing.
"She had calculated that I knew her situation and was
going to help with it, so I would not be all that angry."
Watanuki was silent.
"The old idea that things are going too well. Watanuki,
can you understand the desire to stumble deliberately when
the story looks to progress your way? 'Trouble follows for-
tune.' So why not trip yourself up in advance? If you're going
be tripped anyway, trip yourself before anything good hap-
pens. I have no idea how conscious she is of what she's doing,
but it is, to a certain extent, deliberate."
UGh . .. "
Were there really people like that?
Someone that thorough.
"She mentioned failing to get into the schools she most
wanted to attend, but she always got in somewhere else. She
may have failed to get the job she wanted most, but she was
ANOTHERHOLIC, LANDOLT-RING AEROSOL
hired by her second choice. She mentioned fighting the urge
to throw herself in front of the train at the station ... but she
never actually did."
The most she ever did was jump out in front of a scooter
that was slowing down as it approached a crosswalk.
"And when you get right down to it, the fact that she is alive
now proves everything. The fact that she has survived this long
is not a miracle, it is proof. The greatest taboo for a human is
suicide. If you're satisfied by pretending to kill yourself, then
the action cannot be taken as a violation of that taboo."
She had cut her wrists once - but only once. And the cuts
had been too shallow to kill her.
"If there was a button marked 'DON'T PUSH,' that woman
would never push it," Yuko went on. "She would just claim
she would, and convince herself that it was true. In that
sense, she's wrong about herself. She's never killed anyone,
she's never eaten anybody, yet she talks about violating
taboos? Makes my sides hurt laughing. Any number of chil-
dren have jumped out the window of their classroom. That's

Not the hallmarks of impulsive behavior.

"In other words, she was an immense coward about get-

ting what she wanted most."

"B-but ... you don't think she was simply throwing her-

self at unhappiness? Even if that was less stressful."

"Throwing herself into unhappiness ... or into traffic?"

"Yeah, like that."

"But she was hit by a scooter," Y uko said, dismissively.

"She chose when to jump. And jumping out in front of a

dump truck is a much bigger taboo."

If she were hit by a scooter ... she would not die. Espe-

ANOTHERHOLIC: LANDOLT-RING AEROSOL

cially if she blocked it with her arm. It made sense;

Kushimura had chosen when to jump out in traffic, and had

chosen to jump in front of the scooter.

"As a result of which, she did not have to give a major

presentation at work. She was able to avoid such a stressful

situation, to avoid that pressure."

"Yi h b

"

ea, ut ...

"And while she claimed she caused trouble for everyone,

it wasn't actually that big a deal. Someone filled in for her ...

what was his name? Hyodo-kun? He did her job for her, and

whether she was there or not, she was still part of the group

that had made the plan, and no matter what she might say,

the road to promotion is not as firmly closed as she claims."

"Well ... I guess not."

No guess about it.

That was it, plain and simple.

"Or maybe she simply didn't want that promotion. Truly

meek people fear success more than failure. Promotions

bring with them greater responsibility, and there are any

number of people who would prefer to avoid that. For all her

concerns about causing trouble for her group, she also admit-

ted that they were all really nice people. And she knew that

better than anyone."

"But ... she hit me with those flowers ... "

"A visitor so Sewashi-kun-ish -abnormally nice and so

eager to be helpful that he calls an ambulance for a total

stranger-is hardly likely to be particularly enraged when

the injured person they are visiting hits them over the head

with a bouquet. Admittedly, she did so without knowing that

you are prone to violent fits."

-

58159

OUTERHOLI C

"I

1"

am not.

There were just people near him who set him off. Two of

them.

And one of them was right in front of him.

"If you think about it, annoying the nurses by pressing

the button that summons them over and over is not that big a

deal. Same with the fire alarm at school. That button marked

'DON 'T PUSH' is hardly the launch switch for a nuclear bomb.

I'm sure she got off with a sc;olding. Perhaps that's what she's

after: anything except happiness, including making people

angry. Like ordering coffee when you want tea. Speaking of

which, she almost threw her coffee at me."

She had?

So that's what Yuko had stopped her from doing.

"She had calculated that I knew her situation and was

going to help with it, so I would not be all that angry."

Watanuki was silent.

"The old idea that things are going too well. Watanuki,

can you understand the desire to stumble deliberately when

the story looks to progress your way? 'Trouble follows for-

tune.' So why not trip yourself up in advance? If you're going

be tripped anyway, trip yourself before anything good hap-

pens. I have no idea how conscious she is of what she's doing,

but it is, to a certain extent, deliberate."

UGh . .. "

Were there really people like that?

Someone that thorough.

"She mentioned failing to get into the schools she most

wanted to attend, but she always got in somewhere else. She

may have failed to get the job she wanted most, but she was

ANOTHERHOLIC, LANDOLT-RING AEROSOL

hired by her second choice. She mentioned fighting the urge

to throw herself in front of the train at the station ... but she

never actually did."

The most she ever did was jump out in front of a scooter

that was slowing down as it approached a crosswalk.

"And when you get right down to it, the fact that she is alive

now proves everything. The fact that she has survived this long

is not a miracle, it is proof. The greatest taboo for a human is

suicide. If you're satisfied by pretending to kill yourself, then

the action cannot be taken as a violation of that taboo."

She had cut her wrists once - but only once. And the cuts

had been too shallow to kill her.

"If there was a button marked 'DON'T PUSH,' that woman

would never push it," Yuko went on. "She would just claim

she would, and convince herself that it was true. In that

sense, she's wrong about herself. She's never killed anyone,

she's never eaten anybody, yet she talks about violating

taboos? Makes my sides hurt laughing. Any number of chil-

dren have jumped out the window of their classroom. That's