Is It Okay If I Don't Want to Try Anymore? [4]

Izumi Residence.

Click-clack went the keyboard. Click-click went the mouse.

It was midnight, and Izumi Konata hadn’t touched a single word of her homework. Strangely, despite that, she felt oddly relaxed.

“At this hour, I bet Kanade’s still awake.”

She glanced at the wall clock, then tugged open the curtain behind her computer. Her room faced Higashino Kanade’s room directly—they were neighbors, after all. And as long as Kanade hadn’t gone to bed, all she had to do was open the window and call out.

“Nice, still up.”

Seeing the light on in Kanade’s room, Konata smiled in satisfaction.

Her computer sat by the window, so she usually kept the curtains drawn. Kanade was different—he always drew his curtains halfway. Said it helped him wake up naturally: bright enough to stir, but not enough to blind him.

Konata couldn’t do that. If she wanted to sleep in, she’d sleep through anything—curtains open or not.

People really are built different, huh.

“Kanade, you asleep yet?”

She called out softly, testing the volume.

“Kanade, you asleep yet?”

Volume +1.

“Kanade—”

“Why are you yelling in the middle of the night?”

Kanade appeared, sliding open his window from across the way.

“Don’t you think this is the perfect time for a last-minute homework study session?”

Konata scratched her head and gave a sheepish smile.

“…”

Kanade didn’t want to talk.

Seriously? Midnight? Everyone else is asleep, and this is what you’re calling me for?

“Let me borrow your homework. I haven’t done a single page.” Konata clasped her hands together and batted her big green eyes. “Pretty please, Kanade~”

“Humans are doomed to repeat the same mistakes.”

Kanade sighed.

“Because they’re still kids, duh.”

Konata caught the reference like a pro.

They were both quoting Gundam—just not the same one.

“Catch.”

Kanade tossed his homework across.

“3Q~! I’ll return it tomorrow!”

Konata shut her window with a grin.

“You better actually wake up tomorrow.”

Kanade looked at the now-drawn curtain and sighed again.

Japanese elementary school homework wasn’t a lot. If you sat down and focused, it’d take twenty minutes tops. And even that was too much for Konata. She’d rather spend the time reading manga or playing games. Homework? What’s that? Can you eat it? Is it tasty? How do you cook it?

I kinda envy her, though—so carefree.

Kanade closed his window, pulled the curtain halfway, and returned to his desk to keep drawing.

The anime, manga, and games in this world weren’t quite the same as the ones from his old one. If he used his powers to dig through the memories in his brain, he could probably reconstruct some of the manga he’d read before. But he didn’t want to.

It wasn’t that he thought plagiarizing his past life’s media was shameful—he just genuinely wanted to make something of his own. He wanted to draw his manga, tell his story.

If his original work flopped, then he could always become a copycat. No big deal.

He had no illusions about being “principled.” He believed in cutting losses early. Giving up may be shameful, but it’s effective. If plagiarism was the path to a better life, then why chain yourself to a withering tree called “Originality”?

He was a simple man with simple goals: money and women. Endless money, and beautiful women. Expecting him to chase some lofty artistic ideal? Please. If he had that kind of ambition, he would’ve reincarnated into the late Ming Dynasty, the end of the Qing, or the Republican era—not here.

Kuso… I wanna kiss a sakura girl… or even S—

Kanade stared out at the night sky with a look of longing.

Other transmigrators? Ten years in and they’ve got kids already. Him? Still a wizard.

Then again… maybe there was no rush.

He was the transmigrator, and most likely the protagonist of this world. He had his childhood friend, Izumi Konata. Just today, he’d met Nishimiya Shouko and Nishimiya Yuzuru. As long as the author writing his life story didn’t go off the rails, Konata was clearly the main heroine. If this world turned out to be a harem romcom, then Shouko might be a second wife candidate. Yuzuru? Unclear.

Maybe it was the late hour. Or maybe his physical age was messing with his mental age. Either way, strange fantasies were blooming in his mind. Fantasies that quickly gave way to sleepiness.

He glanced at his half-finished draft.

On the outside, he looked like a kid.
But deep inside, he was a tired old man.
No—he was a future manga artist.

Kanade got into bed.

Didn’t really do anything today. Guess I’ll start working hard tomorrow.

As Lu Xun once said: Success comes from hard work. So let’s take today and tomorrow off, and start fresh the day after.

With that lazy optimism, Kanade fell into a peaceful sleep.

He was only ten years old. He didn’t have to become a manga artist right this second.

Bzzzzz. Bzzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzzzz~!

Danger!

Snuggled under the covers and drifting off, Kanade’s eyes flew open. His green eyes—so like Konata’s—were full of terror.

Mosquito!

It was autumn. Why were there still mosquitoes?!

Kanade jumped out of bed and turned on the light. No need to fumble with coils or sprays—he covered the room with his mental power.

Got it!

His eyes sharpened.

The mosquito, hiding in the crack of a drawer, exploded on the spot—sliced to pieces.

Suddenly, the door creaked open. The sound made Kanade flinch.

“You’re still awake, Kanade?”

A long-haired woman stood in the doorway. She looked young—maybe in her twenties.

Ye Shu. Kanade and Suzu’s mom. Looked twenty-something. Actually thirty-four.

“There was a mosquito. It bit me and woke me up.”

Kanade lied with his eyes wide open. If he admitted he hadn’t even tried to sleep yet, he’d be in trouble.

“There’s mosquito coils in our room. Want me to get some?”

“No need. I got it already. I’m going to sleep now.”

He quickly switched off the light.

“Alright then. Sleep well. Don’t catch a cold.”

Ye Shu said, peering into the dark room before leaving.

“Mm.”

Kanade replied with his eyes closed. After a few moments, he opened one eye to check. Sure enough—she hadn’t closed the door.

His heart broke.

“…Mom, can you close the door? You didn’t close the door. The door. The—door…”

His voice faded into silence.

“ARGH!”

Kanade jumped out of bed and stomped over to close the door himself.

Seriously! Was that on purpose?
Sometimes she’d show up unprompted and ask, “Were you calling me?”
Other times, he’d yell for ages and she’d completely ignore him.
Then when he confronted her, she’d go, “Oh? Did you call me?”

Infuriating. Absolutely infuriating.

Good thing it was night. If it had been daytime? The curtains would’ve been yanked open, the windows cracked wide, and the room door forced ajar—because of one sacred excuse:

“Gotta let it air out.”

---

T/N: so true...

This is a fan translation of 不想努力可以吗？by 优的布丁 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!