I was not expecting sensei to be that thicc

thanks for another great chapter!!

hot damn I really like this author's art style and how they emphasize the details when there's a moving moment. I know it's a common thing to do, but this author really pulled it off well imo.

It did seem rather fishy to me that she can afford all this as an author. But when it comes to manga the exceptional can be sold all too easily as the standard. Even as we trade the setting of an unbelievably successful author with a rich CEO's daughter it seems about equally extreme.

I mean, sure her father being president of a big company is a bit much, but this isn't really that unbelievable. I know plenty people whose parents had money and they had savings, were given cars, hell even their own place before they had to join the workforce. And those weren't CEOs or old money, just regular folks in middle class.

One very real example is a friend of mine who doesn't work, lives kinda like a NEET but had his own apartment (his parents bought for him) and doesn't need to worry about daily expense because his parents got that covered too. At least here Sensei works.

Four chapters in and I'm still not sure what this story's mood is trying to go for. In general, it feels like some kind of self-insert fantasy, which would be alright if this was supposed to be just a silly, wholesome story with a typical "oh we're too far apart to be together" which would provide to be the main "drama" portion of the story. But then we have the first chapter, which just bombards us with angsty facts like bullet points. Now commenting over the first chapter alone could take a while, but it's just... Rushed in such a way that it really feels like wasted potential. Now I understand this is based on an LN and it was like that in the source material, but still, the way it was handled is... Lackluster.
Also, Ayu has controlling parents who would go as far as to get her to a psychiatrist to "fix her" yet she apparently has no issue getting enough money to get to Tokyo and even have a "make-over". I would buy it if her parents gave up on her, but they clearly didn't... In their own way. The parents' side of it feels inconsistent. You can patch it with excuses, but... I'unno.

Ayu is just an odd character. With how her parents were, wouldn't it make her think there's something wrong with her? Wouldn't there be some kind of her forcing herself to "be normal"? Was there some kind of community she was part of that would let her know it was okay? It felt like she just googled stuff and decided upon the first search. We don't know that. Maybe we will, but why just throw at us all those pieces of information and omit details like that. Eugh... She was also just betrayed by her entire environment and yet it doesn't seem like she cares that much. No trust issues, no nothing. Sure, there's that one bit where she's afraid of admitting to sensei about her gayness but... It's just as if nothing happened. That's my main issue with the mood of this story. We got bombarded in the first chapter, only to roll into a fantasy perfect setting and nobody cares about anything.
I get that it's only chapter 4 and it's setting up the mood... But I'm not sure what mood. I'm not sure how I should feel about this.
I think it doesn't help that I'm not particularly... Attached to the characters. Ayu seems like she's made to be seen as a precious little muffin. Which would be fine if not for all that chapter1-baggage. The way she acts now would work if we got some flashbacks from time to time to throw a bit of a "flaw" into her character. Having that chp1 dump and her acting this way is just jarring. The makeover she got also didn't help. Now, I understand why she did it and I will admit it made sense, this might be just a "me" issue, but it feels like a different character, is all. Maybe if we got a bit more of her old self acting the way she acts now, but it just... Doesn't click.
Sensei is... I don't hate her. Although she's the stereotype of a neet author with not many, if any, traits to like about her, at least so far. Sure she agreed to accept Ayu as her uh... Maid? House help? But even then you learn that it's not really her money. Then there are the moments that are supposed to have some comedic value where she either tricks or... Well, manipulates(?) Ayu. Which would be fine, if not for the fact of what we know about the poor girl.

Now, while I talked a lot of crap about chapter 1, I think it had potential with a few things it did. It sort of showed a confused girl trying to look for answers. I also adored (from a writing perspective! or plot or whatever you want to call it) the way she got baited into admitting to her friends that she's gay. Now that shows naivete and how people like that get quickly burned out and forced to lock up into their tiny shells because "society bad". I also very much like the art, it's a very pretty manga.

With all that off of my mind, I hope that we'll get plenty of reasons to like the Sensei character, that Ayu will settle down, relax and be able to confront herself about all the feelings dwelling within her. I hope this manga settles for a mood that will fit what we were presented with so far and that I'll be able to enjoy it even more.

Those are not sunglasses

i think it’s one of those fancy glasses that shift to sunglasses when it’s sunny

I didn't even know such a thing existed
Considering she had a 30k toothbrush it seems more than likely that she'd get transition glasses though

Sensei is... I don't hate her. Although she's the stereotype of a neet author with not many, if any, traits to like about her, at least so far. Sure she agreed to accept Ayu as her uh... Maid? House help? But even then you learn that it's not really her money. Then there are the moments that are supposed to have some comedic value where she either tricks or... Well, manipulates(?) Ayu. Which would be fine, if not for the fact of what we know about the poor girl.

I don't like her teasing Ayu. It feels like she's making fun of her for being from the countryside and not knowing how things are in Tokyo. And those sort of flirty jokes just don't click with me (especially taking into consideration what Ayu faced in the past, it really does feel like the whole thing was forgotten, by the author and the characters alike). I found her thoughts here a bit funny though: "She might end up hating me... Oh well"
Not that it helps me much with liking her, but it's still funny.

I agree with what you said about the tone of the series. It feels like the author wanted to comment on LGBT oppression, but then put it aside in favor of this... light-hearted age gap romance drama? (I don't really know what it's supposed to be XD)
I'm not sure if I should expect it to seriously address this issue any further, or if it'll only be used as a plot device for the usual "I can't tell her how I feel" cliché.

Hopefully Sensei will learn about Ayu's past and realise what she's been doing. But do keep in mind Ayu is head-over-heels for Sensei. This is not diffferent to an Itou Hachi manga, except the cute shy young thing is more competent.

I just think they're getting to know each others, jokes are great for that, I think sensei is being super cool about the whole situation, at least with what little she knows about Ayu

Regardless of all the other stuff, I am really enjoying the running gag of sensei suggesting something naughty as a joke/tease, and having to quickly backpedal as Ayu jumps at the chance. "Can we!?"

This is a keeper. They actually have personalities. Not so common, ya’ know.

I agree with what you said about the tone of the series. It feels like the author wanted to comment on LGBT oppression, but then put it aside in favor of this... light-hearted age gap romance drama?

I don't think this series ever had the slightest intention of consistently being a serious commentary on LGBT oppression to the exclusion of light-hearted romance. The trope is an update on the basic "run away from home with no immediate recourse for a return," a version of which we've seen in any number of manga. LGBT oppression is just a given, the kind of reason that could motivate a high-school student to run away without having them seem to be excessively childish or unreasonable.

I agree with what you said about the tone of the series. It feels like the author wanted to comment on LGBT oppression, but then put it aside in favor of this... light-hearted age gap romance drama?

I don't think this series ever had the slightest intention of consistently being a serious commentary on LGBT oppression to the exclusion of light-hearted romance. The trope is an update on the basic "run away from home with no immediate recourse for a return," a version of which we've seen in any number of manga. LGBT oppression is just a given, the kind of reason that could motivate a high-school student to run away without having them seem to be excessively childish or unreasonable.

Maybe I should have phrased that a bit differently, 'cause I may have come across as though I was just criticising the author for not focusing on the problems LGBT people face. I agree that it probably wasn't what they were going for, and I'm not trying to say that they should have, or that this isn't going to be a good story because the author won't be seriously addressing this issue. What I was trying to say is that the tone of the first chapter felt awfully inconsistent with the rest. It feels like they went out of they way to set up a seemingly serious background, when that wasn't what really interested them in the first place. As you said, it was probably just used as an excuse to have her run away from home and, I expect, to hinder the progress of their relationship. But I can't say I like how it was handled.

Hopefully Sensei will learn about Ayu's past and realise what she's been doing. But do keep in mind Ayu is head-over-heels for Sensei. This is not diffferent to an Itou Hachi manga, except the cute shy young thing is more competent.

And the cute young thing has actually been through puberty.

what kind of "first" do you mean?

Girlfriend? Kiss? or....( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

i love how Sensei keeps teasing Ayu XD

Now you're falling for her,Sensei~
just need a little more push

last edited at Feb 5, 2022 2:14AM

Ayu is just an odd character. With how her parents were, wouldn't it make her think there's something wrong with her? Wouldn't there be some kind of her forcing herself to "be normal"? Was there some kind of community she was part of that would let her know it was okay? It felt like she just googled stuff and decided upon the first search.

She only came out to her parents after she already cemented her sexual identity. This is not weird or vague at all. She quite clearly explained that she figured out she was a lesbian, researched it and pretended to be straight for 3 years. There absolutely was a "force herself to be normal" phase, but not in the sense that she denied her sexuality to herself, just that she hid it.
I believe a lot of people have been influenced by the trap of manga logic too long. When you figure out your sexuality and are honest with yourself it doesnt always end up with self-denial. The trope of denying that the MC is gay or thinking she is abnormal and has to fix that is not accurate to all LGBT people in reality, even in Japan. Yes, to be seen as an outcast and trying to avoid that is expected, but in this world where you have access to the internet and all the information you need, it is easy to realize that being "abnormal" is not what it seems.

Her parents reacted violently and forced her to see a therapist, but those actions would only cause stronger defiance in someone as determined as Ayu, When she punched the gibbering white knight you should have realized she is not the type to take the easy solution. If she feels attacked, she will fight back. So at the point where her parents actually knew and tried to brainwash her, she was already too resilient to be detered.

She was also just betrayed by her entire environment and yet it doesn't seem like she cares that much. No trust issues, no nothing. Sure, there's that one bit where she's afraid of admitting to sensei about her gayness but... It's just as if nothing happened.

I don't believe this criticism makes much sense at this point. She was betrayed and what were her actions?
1. She punched a guy
2. She resisted her parents' brainwashing
3. She ran away from home when she realized it wouldnt get better
4. She had a complete make-over, went to Tokyo and wants to seek out other lesbians

Those are all pretty strong reactions for allegedly not caring. Trust issues should be relegated to sensible moments. She trusts her aunt, because her aunt was the only positive family influence she had. She doesn't trust the author she works for completely, so she won't come out to her.

At several points in chapter 2-4 has Ayu shown a deeper melancholy and that this fresh start is what she had always hoped for to remedy her pain. She may have baggage, but that is exactly why she is here. She naively thought going to Tokyo would fix her issues and her positive experiences with the author only reinforce that sentiment. Things may go wrong later, but for now she is in a bubble of healing that only could be threatened to burst if she did something overly rash, like coming out.

It feels like they went out of they way to set up a seemingly serious background, when that wasn't what really interested them in the first place. As you said, it was probably just used as an excuse to have her run away from home and, I expect, to hinder the progress of their relationship.

In a way this might be seen as "progress" of a sort, with parents' hostility to their child's sexuality joining familiar tropes like physical abuse and extreme familial alienation after a remarriage as legitimate "normal" reasons for a young person to leave home without that necessarily being the central issue of the entire series (i.e., serious enough that it might need to be confronted eventually, but not the main thematic focus).

last edited at Feb 5, 2022 6:24AM

For a moment I thought, "Haven't I read this already?" Forgot this had a light novel. Regardless, another good chapter.

I can't get over the feeling that this is just a scummy overpriveleged adult exploiting a desperate and naive teenager, even if unintentionally. Like, she was real quick to to accept not really paying her, and then just as quick to list off all the things this underage underpaid girl is responsible for while she fritters her time away on distractions. Anyway it keeps me from enjoying any relationship between the two and gives the whole "I love teasing this cute girl ;)" thing a gross vibe.

last edited at Feb 6, 2022 8:18AM

I can't get over the feeling that this is just a scummy overpriveleged adult exploiting a desperate and naive teenager, even if unintentionally. Like, she was real quick to to accept not really paying her, and then just as quick to list off all the things this underage underpaid girl is responsible for while she fritters her time away on distractions. Anyway it keeps me from enjoying any relationship between the two and gives the whole "I love teasing this cute girl ;)" thing a gross vibe.

This is a blatant misreading of the facts of the story. Granted, sensei certainly does like teasing Ayu and if you find that in itself to be intolerable behavior, this clearly isn’t the story for you.

But she absolutely did not “accept not really paying her”—that was obviously teasing. Ayu gets room and board for cooking, doing laundry, and light cleaning (the robot does the daily dusting, and two of the rooms rarely need to be cleaned at all)—all things she was doing anyway for her dysfunctional original family—along with an as-yet unstated monetary allowance, and sensei specifically says she’s “not allowed to hold back” when it comes to money.

Sensei also does not merely “fritter away her time on distractions”—in the latest chapter she takes a nap after shopping because she was up all night working.

This is explicitly a story about two lonely people learning about each other, and we have yet to see two full days of that process. If you find it to be a “gross vibe,” that’s your taste and you’re entitled to it, but the story clearly presents Ayu as being well-compensated for light duties, and not at all as a person whose economic desperation is being unfairly exploited.

last edited at Feb 6, 2022 6:52PM

I can't get over the feeling that this is just a scummy overpriveleged adult exploiting a desperate and naive teenager, even if unintentionally. Like, she was real quick to to accept not really paying her, and then just as quick to list off all the things this underage underpaid girl is responsible for while she fritters her time away on distractions. Anyway it keeps me from enjoying any relationship between the two and gives the whole "I love teasing this cute girl ;)" thing a gross vibe.

This is a blatant misreading of the facts of the story. Granted, sensei certainly does like teasing Ayu and if you find that in itself to be intolerable behavior, this clearly isn’t the story for you.

But she absolutely did not “accept not really paying her”—that was obviously teasing. Ayu gets room and board for cooking, doing laundry, and light cleaning (the robot does the daily dusting, and two of the rooms rarely need to be cleaned at all)—all things she was doing anyway for her dysfunctional original family—along with an as-yet unstated monetary allowance, and sensei specifically says she’s “not allowed to hold back” when it comes to money.

Sensei also does not merely “fritter away her time on distractions”—in the latest chapter she takes a nap after shopping because she was up all night working.

This is explicitly a story about two lonely people learning about each other, and we have yet to see two full days of that process. If you find it to be a “gross vibe,” that’s your taste and you’re entitled to it, but the story clearly presents Ayu as being well-compensated for light duties, and not at all as a person whose economic desperation is being unfairly exploited.

Just gonna slide in here to also note that she bought the girl a $260 dollar toothbrush lmao

Yeah I don't even want to jump into that, as Blastaar said this story isn't for you so even if we list the things that you got wrong, you already decided that the sensei is the enemy in this story so there's no point if you can't even like the main characters... And well, it's completely ok to not like all the yuri mangas out there, is good to know when to move on and not try to force it.

Those are all pretty strong reactions for allegedly not caring. Trust issues should be relegated to sensible moments. She trusts her aunt, because her aunt was the only positive family influence she had. She doesn't trust the author she works for completely, so she won't come out to her.

Has she come out to her aunt, though?

Those are all pretty strong reactions for allegedly not caring. Trust issues should be relegated to sensible moments. She trusts her aunt, because her aunt was the only positive family influence she had. She doesn't trust the author she works for completely, so she won't come out to her.

Has she come out to her aunt, though?

Not as far as I can tell. Whether that is because she fears the same reaction as her parents or if she simply just didn't think it was necessary is a different question.
My point was that after the abuse of her parents she still willingly entrusted herself completely to her aunt's hand and support, so she clearly trusts her more than the rest of her family. Her being a Tokyo woman and someone who would not judge her all the much for running away from home proves that she is closer to the modern ideal that Ayu strives for.

"Is it true that for an author living is wor...?" That had me burst out laughing, literally. Amazing.

For those thinking that the author isn't focusing on the LGBTQ+ oppression, we're only four chapters in. Besides it looks like Yukari is in the closet about her sexuality, remember her family is wealthy and likely well known and well respected so she has to worry about how her actions would affect the image of her family. I think this will definitely be a plot point later on, especailly after learning that Ayu is gay and figuring out herself as well. Also we're ultimately following Ayu and she is desperately trying to forget the awful way everyone in her hometown treated her. I hope she can move past it in time, but that will probably require trusting Myaa-chan and Yukari enough to come out to them and let them support her as she grows.

As for the sunglasses, she has a blue eye and that makes her more sensative to bright light. My wife and I live in Cali and she has blue eyes, when we go out for walks (especially in summer) she can't go outside without sunglasses or it's super painful for her.

I really enjoyed the new chapter, thanks for the translation!