“Yup. That, and apparently desktops are cheaper for their performance. Also, they told me it was a plus that I could switch out the monitor.”
“I see.”
The bar for computer specifications was higher than usual for those working in computer graphics. The requirements for most digital drawing programs were high enough on their own, but on top of that, a game developer could be expected to study 3D modeling software, as well. This meant that, in terms of cost-performance, an upgradeable desktop PC with a separate graphics card was better. Even if Nanaka bought a whole new computer one day, she could at least reuse the monitor.
Nanaka wrinkled her brow in the desktop aisle for a while, taking pictures of the computers she was considering. She talked it out with a nearby employee as she looked through all the available options. After an hour or so of consideration, she stopped in front of one of the PCs and exclaimed, “Alright! I’m picking this one!”
It wasn’t a cutting-edge product, but the CPU, RAM, and GPU were all competent enough for digital art software. What’s more, it would have cost at least twice as much to buy an equivalent laptop. It wasn’t a state-of-the-art item, and it was priced accordingly. Lastly, there was a summer break sale that offered a sizable discount for students.
“Okay, let’s call that employee back over,” Kai said.
“No, wait!” Nanaka objected. “I’m not buying it now! I’m planning on coming back some other time with my dad to buy it.”
“I see,” Kai observed. “So today’s trip was just an appraisal.”
“...‘Appraisal,’” Nanaka snickered. “...‘Appraisal.’”
“N-Nanaka-san...?”
“No, it’s just—” she said, shaking her head joyfully. “—I thought, that word choice was so you.”
“I... see.”
“Yes, you do.”
Kai didn’t have the faintest idea what she meant by that, but Nanaka seemed to be having so much fun that he couldn’t be bothered to care.
“It’s about time for lunch,” she continued. “How about that restaurant again? Kai-kun, have you made any progress?”
“No, nothing good has come to mind...”
“In that case, it might not be for long, but let’s work on it together over lunch!”
“That sounds—” Kai stopped to think on their exchange. In the first place, Nanaka was buying a new computer for her future as an illustrator. She had realized that her working environment wasn’t conducive to serious growth, so she had mulled it over and came up with a solution. All he could say was, “...I’m sorry. For making you help me out on the planner’s end all the time.”
Where some people gained a hundred stat points in an hour, others only gained one. The time they had to spend was the only thing they had in common, and it was no exaggeration to say that time was priceless.
Nanaka would have been able to spend her time improving her artistic abilities, if he hadn’t stolen it away with his incompetence. To make matters worse, he had been so caught up in this ‘change of pace’ that he hadn’t gotten anything done the day before, either. Kai was nothing if not ashamed of himself.
“Hey,” said Nanaka, breaking the silence. The sour look on her face was atypical, and she went on to lift her index finger. “I just remembered something about you that made me really mad,” she told him.
“Mad...?”
“Yup. Do you know what it is? I’ll give you five seconds. Fiiive, fooour, threeee,” she counted down.
“Huh? What? I made you mad?” Kai had been so pitiful these past few days—not to say that he had been anything to write home about beforehand—that there were too many possible answers for him to choose from.
“Twooo, ooone... Zero. Time’s up.” Nanaka pouted her lips and clapped her hands together before announcing, “The answer was... the time we went to Tsukigase!”
“Tsukigase... You mean, the Rondo incident?” Kai guessed.
“Yes! Kai-kun... I told you, over and over and over! I told you that I would come along, but you didn’t listen to me at all. That’s it. That’s what made me mad!”
“B-But... The ordeal at Tsukigase really was my own personal problem,” he protested.
“There it is!!!” Nanaka shoved her raised finger into his face with vigor.
Kai couldn’t help but feel like this had happened before... Oh, that’s right, he thought. There had been a similar episode previously, in which Nanaka had come over to his apartment in order to work on a specification document.
“Listen,” she resumed in a calm, explanatory voice. “Kai-kun... you can rely on me, too, okay? Of course, part of it comes from the fact that we’re clubmates. But... I don’t know if this’ll get through to you, but I can’t rely on you if you don’t rely on me.
“I know you don’t realize it, but you’ve helped me out a ton, and I lean on you a lot,” she continued. “You’re the reason I’m trying my best to continue with art... And sometimes, I get worried that maybe I’m relying on you too much... You’re always doing your best on your own, so then I get really lost thinking that maybe I shouldn’t depend on you...”
Nanaka’s face had been pointed toward the ground during her soliloquy, but now it suddenly shot back up. “Anyway! I lost track of what I was trying to say halfway through... but basically! I want to keep relying on you, so you have to rely on me, too! That’s it! Got it?! Do you understand?!”
“Y-Yes,” Kai fumbled. Overwhelmed by her energy, all he could do was nod along. “I got it.”
“...Thank God,” she said with a smile.
Behind her, Kai caught a glimpse of the employee who had helped them pick out a PC. “Um... Ma’am?” he said. “You’re bothering the other customers, so if I could ask you to quiet down a tad bit...”
The pair looked at each other, now remembering what she’d said and what he’d been told, which caused their faces to flush red in sync.
“...We’re sorry,” their two embarrassed voices overlapped before they went speeding out the door.