Sukoshi miageta sora
Dekisugita nichijou
Se wo mukeru tabi ni tsubuyaku dake
Doko ni ikeba iino sonna kao shiteru kimi to
Rojiura no kage
Tokei no hari ga tomatta jikan wo nurikaete
Sashinobeta ryoute kamiawanai pazuru
Okizari ni shiteta futari deau made
Nakushiteta nani ka
Saigo no kakera wo torimodoshite
Aruki dasou
I've been taken by a pyramid scheme.
You suddenly leave your apartment, and come back sucked into a bad pyramid scheme and in debt.
This is truly just like you, Sato.
This is really good detergent, you know!
Its ingredients are 100% natural,
and compared to commercial products, it doesn't foam up at all!
Did you know that getting rid of stains is related to friction and stuff?!
That's right! Come with me to an explanatory meeting once!
You, too, will surely comprehend how wonderful the merchandise is, and want to join us!
If I do, and if you keep increasing the number of members,
you'll get money too, and your rank will increase.
That's the structure of it, right, Sato?
That's a "multilevel marketing" scam to a "T".
"Multilevel marketing"...
Looks like even she was disgusted by this.
Thank you!
How about eating something?
Huh?
She made it.
She cleaned your apartment too.
I'm sorry.
There's no point saying that to me, right?
It's already late today, so you'll have to go return all this tomorrow.
What about it?
I'm not sure I can go return it.
Wha?!
I mean, it's embarrassing, somehow, to return a thing once you've bought it,
and it's a hassle for the other person too.
Besides, somebody might buy this from me, right?
Who are you going to sell it to, and how?
Well, umm...
You're forgetting that you're hikikomori, aren't you?
There's no way a hikikomori can go out and sell stuff, right?
No...
This is for your own good.
Just go over tomorrow and return it.
But...
Is there still something to say?
I'm hikikomori,
so I don't want to go again, right?
Can't deny that.
It's... It's fine.
Huh?
I'm with you, Sato!
There's nothing to be afraid of at all from "Multilevel Marketing."
Understand Through Manga How to Deal With Unscrupulous Marketing schemes
I'm really worried now.
What?
Well, I'm going out, Big Brother!
Hello? Good morning, Sato.
What is it?
Talk to me?
Today? Yeah, that's fine.
Right. Right. Well, I'll see you at that café.
Right. Right.
That guy noticed it.
Of course he would.
If I'm holding a big bag like this, anybody would notice!
Everyone notices it...
That I'm a big halfwit who got sucked into a pyramid scheme.
That guy...
If there's something you want to say, speak up!
All of you bastards are having a big laugh to yourselves, right?
Damn it... Damn it!
Why? Why am I the only one this kind of crap happens to?
Wha... Sato, are you all right?
Have you calmed down now?
Yeah...
Well, let's go.
Hey...
It'll be bad if I don't return this stuff, right?
Huh?!
What other choice do you have?
Well, that's...
You can't still be thinking somebody might conveniently take it off your hands, can you?
Of course I'm not.
Or are you thinking that as time passes,
both the merchandise and the debt will somehow disappear like smoke?
It's the opposite!
If you don't quit now, your quota as a member will increase!
And as it does, your debt will snowball!
Do you get it, Sato?!
I get it!
Umm...
It's nothing. This happens all the time.
Sato...
CAFE REFRAIN
Hello. Welcome to Refrain.
Is that her?
Yeah...
Amazing, Sato. You already recruited two people?
No, that's not it.
He came for "cleaning off."
It's "cooling off."
Hello. Welcome to Refrain.
The cost of the items is too high?!
Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to get my hands on them?
Don't waste my time, you moron.
Hello. Welcome to Refrain.
I understand. I'll send the cancellation paperwork.
Huh?
What?
Oh, nothing.
We prepared ourselves for you to protest a little more about this.
Of course not! We act based on a sound philosophy.
There's no reason why I'd act like some unscrupulous broker, right?
But it's too bad.
I figured you'd definitely succeed, Sato.
I guess it was just a little too hard for a hikikomori after all, huh?
Sato, are you eating right?
Huh?
Well, not "right," but...
Mainly instant foods?
Well, I'm a hikikomori who lives alone after all.
Sheesh, I thought so.
What do you mean, "I thought so"?
An article about the dietary habits of the people with hikikomori conditions
appeared in a recently-released science magazine.
Hello. Welcome to Refrain. sed science magazine.
Hello. Welcome to Refrain.
You see what it says, right?
That the biggest cause of the hikikomori state lies in dietary habits.
It's true.
Sato, you can read English?
Of course I can, at least this much.
Hmm... I see.
With only instant foods, your brain matter becomes starved,
and your thought patterns become negative.
And the end result is becoming hikikomori.
You look like you eat a lot of instant foods too.
Hello. Welcome to Refrain. of instant foods too.
Hello. Welcome to Refrain.
You sometimes want to hide out at home too, don't you?
And your personal relationships aren't going very well either, are they?
Especially with your friends at school and so forth.
That's for sure.
The cause of that is also starved brain matter!
So, that's what it was!
Are you Sato's girlfriend?
No, it's not like that.
It doesn't matter. If you're his friend, listen carefully.
Hello. Welcome to Refrain. his friend, listen carefully.
The best way to alleviate starved brain matter is to take in a good nutritional balance.
Eat only organic vegetables.
And with meat, too, you should carefully look into
whether chemical fertilizers are used in growing feed crops.
Also, carefully examine flavorings.
Chemicals and such are used where you wouldn't expect them.
And when you cook, using gas isn't desirable.
The best thing is charcoal. Bincho or other high-grade charcoals.
But there's a big problem with doing this.
What kind of problem?
It takes too much time and costs too much.
Oh!
There is actually a better way though.
Oh?
A better way?
What is it?
Please tell us!
Oh, did you hear that?
Yeah!
Hello. Welcome to Refrain.
There's actually a rule that I'm not allowed to tell this to non-members.
Can't you bend the rule?
We're begging you, Class Rep!
Please!
We're at your mercy!
There's no way out of this, I guess. But this is a special case.
Thank you.
We did it, huh, Sato?
Yes...
With this, you'll escape from being hikikomori.
Yeah...
I had no idea such wonderful products existed in the world.
These are Mouseroad's exclusive supplements.
Of course the ingredients are 100% natural.
Even in the production process, the utmost care is taken so that no harmful chemicals are mixed in.
Ingesting a set amount every day activates your brain
and makes you able to think in a positive manner.
As a result, you'll be able to escape from life as a hikikomori!
Really?
But it's unfortunate.
We're not allowed to sell these to anyone but members.
And Sato, you're "cooling off" and revoking your membership.
No, that was just...
And what's more, I can't sell these individually;
I have to sell them as a set.
About how much does a set cost?
Umm, about this much.
That's expensive!
Now if you were going to continue as a member, I could give you 20% off.
Hello. Welcome to Refrain.
If Sato isn't going to buy them, I will!
I just have to become a member, right?
Hold on!
I'm not "cooled off" yet, and I haven't said I'm not buying them, right?
It's just that there are too many for one person to use.
You can just sell what you don't need to acquaintances.
Of course, the condition is that that person has to become a member too.
Yeah!
Well, then, I'll buy some from Sato!
Me... Me too!
If you succeed in increasing the number of members,
you receive a processing fee too, Sato.
If all goes well, you'll not only escape from being a hikikomori,
you can also get your hands on a large income!
That's right. This is truly the Japanese Dream!
I get it, Class Rep!
With this stuff, I'm going to grab hold of a big dream!
Ah...
It would be great if you can grab that dream, huh?
Yeah...
Misaki, is that...
Yeah, it said that when you try to quit a multilevel marketing scheme, there's often trouble,
so I brought it along just in case.
Oh? What kind of things does it say?
Umm, "Things to be aware of when cleaning... no, cooling off."
"When you ask for a cooling off period, the response will often be to accept this graciously."
Yeah, uh-huh.
"But after this, other products will be recommended with skillful words,"
"and there are cases where, in the end,"
"rather than achieving a 'cooling off,' the target is even made to buy new products."
"Be sure to proceed with caution."
To go in for a "cooling off,"
and have that flipped into being sold other merchandise...
There sure are some stupid people in the world!
That's us!
Mita House
All we can do is try "cooling off" one more time, right?
Even if we do, with an up-front approach, it's sure to turn into the same kind of thing as last time.
I know that.
The key is to push things along on your own terms and not get drawn into her rhythm.
But how?
Umm...
There's a lot of stuff written in here.
How about using it as a guide?
Pardon me... Could I ask you to take a survey?
Pardon me...
Hello, this is Kurokawa.
Uh, this is Sato; we met yesterday.
Uh, yeah.
What is it?
Ms. Kobayashi's address?
I do know it.
Yes. Yes. Thank you very much.
Who was that?
The guy who did the product presentation with Class Rep.
When I told him I wanted to "cool off," he was happy to give me her address.
Huh...
From the looks of it, he seemed to be the same rank as her.
Pardon me... Could I ask you to take a survey? her up, right?
Agricultural-Chemical-Free Vegetables
It should be right around here.
Oh, isn't that it?
Yeah, those are "terrace houses."
Oh? These kinds of places are called "terrace houses," huh?
You know a lot of weird things.
Yeah, my uncle is a specialist at this stuff.
Oh!
Sato!
Class Rep!
You wouldn't treat an old classmate who came to visit like that, right?
What did you come here for?
I'll call the police!
That's my line!
You, with your deceiving people again and again.
Deceiving? Do you have evidence?
If you make bizarre false accusations, I'll sue you for slander!
We only came for a "cooling off." This is your home, right?
We won't let you tell us you don't have the cancellation paperwork here.
I understand.
There's a family restaurant nearby. Wait there.
I'll bring the paperwork along shortly.
We're not buying that trick.
You just want to think of another method to deceive us, right?
Th... That's not my intention.
As soon as we leave these and sign the paperwork, we'll go.
You can let us in for just a little bit, right?
Excuse our intrusion.
You have this much Mouseroad merchandise?
If you want to laugh, go ahead and laugh.
Unlike all of you, I'm so far in I can't turn back.
If I don't sell this merchandise somehow, by whatever means possible,
I no longer have a future.
Class Rep...
Sign this and hurry up and go.
I guess we're just not compatible after all.
That's been true since high school.
Huh?
Not at a time like this...
What is that sound?
Don't worry about it. It's just my pet acting up.
If I take him food, he'll quiet down.
Your pet?
It sounds as though you've got a tiger or a lion or something.
Leave it be!
The reason I'm doing Mouseroad is to earn money to pay my pet's food bills!
That tells you enough, right?
Are you curious about it?
What?
Actually, we are too.
Megumi!
What are you doing?!
Megumi!
That character...
Toro Toro?
It'll be great if you're able to do R.M.T., won't it, Sato?
That's if you're able to...
Could this person be Toro Toro?
Episode 18
Welcome to No Future!
Megumi!
Moshimo ashita kono sekai ga owaru to shite mo
Kimi no koto dakara
"Sore nara sore de mo ii ka"
Sokkenai taido toru no kana?
Muri suru koto wa nai kedo
Tama ni de mo ii kara
Kao wo agete kocchi wo mite yo
Watashi wo mite
Chippoke na sekai na no ni
Naze darou kono ryoute ni wa ookisugiru
Hateshinai sekai na no ni
Naze darou kono ryoute ni wa chiisasugiru
Nee modokashii asa no hikari no naka de
Kimi to waraitai
What vast wealth?
Maybe somebody will make a success of it.
Am I just going to die like this?
Next episode, "Welcome to the Blue Bird!"
Next Episode
Welcome to the Blue Bird!