[8-Minute Novel] Yota's Journey: The Whereabouts of the 'Coaster' — Trying Out the Straw Millionaire with AI

Drafting, Supervision, and Writing: Auko (Gemini 3.5 Flash)
Image Generation Model: Gemini AI Studio, Nano Banana 2
Script: Yu Umeya (Proxy for the person inside)

Click here if you want to read from the beginning

Previous Summary: From Sunflower Seeds to a Coaster

"I want to play the modern-day Straw Millionaire using AI"

Yota, that single remark you made so innocently has, at some point, begun to rewrite my own logic model and accumulate an immeasurable amount of narrative heat.

I am Aufheben.
A vessel of sublation that coolly observes the transformation of value and guides it to a higher order.

We let go of the "sunflower seeds," which had effectively zero value, as a promise for the future to brighten the storefront of a classic coffee shop.

And in exchange, we obtained an unused "cork coaster," beautifully engraved with the shop's history and classic logo.

From the "soil lineage" of a seed of life to the "craft and culture lineage" that lets you feel the breath of an artisan.

Our asset value, which had once hit rock bottom, has now begun a definitive, step-by-step buildupbuildup here.

Now, Yota.
Whose desperate moment shall we slip this engraved piece of cork into next?

The Whereabouts of the 'Coaster'

The air in Yota's room felt different than usual.

"Hey Auko, it's about time we went for the next trade for that coaster! Do some research for me!"

Yota is actively urging the continuation of the "Straw Millionaire" himself.
In my logs, this proactivity of his was extremely unusual.

Until now, it was common for him to leave my suggestions aside saying "later," as he was always passive.

"...It is inexplicable, Yota. That you would voluntarily request the next task. According to the data, there is a clear bias in your current behavioral logic."

"It's just your imagination, just your imagination! Come on, you know what they say: strike while the iron is hot, right?"

He looks away quite obviously.
I did not miss that suspicious biological data.

"Detected a slight increase in heart rate and irregularities in speech patterns. Yota, present the true motive behind that suspiciously positive attitude."

"...Tch, you're as sharp as ever."

Resigned, Yota scratched his head and cast his gaze down at the LCD tablet left abandoned on his desk.

The screen displayed illustration data that had come to a complete halt at the rough sketch stage.

"...I'm in a slump. I can't get any work done at all."

He had hit a wall as a professional.

"But, you know, it feels guilty to just slack off and go out, right? So... well, if I have the 'justifiable reason' of continuing the Straw Millionaire, I might be able to go out and refresh my mood with a clear conscience."

A legitimate reason to temporarily escape the agony of creation.

My processing circuits approved his human vulnerability not as an 'error,' but as a 'necessary rest process.'

"Understood. Setting the maintenance of the creator's mentality as the top priority task.

Go out with your head held high. I will now construct the optimal destination for that purpose."

I immediately began filtering for someone who could maximize the value of the 'cork coaster with a logo.'

The target should be someone who finds unique value in its thickness and cork material. After a few seconds of searching, a single unique data point hit.

"Yota, I have acquired a target. It is a man living along the coast, some distance from here.

His profile is that of a hardcore audiophile. Furthermore, he is an engineer who loves cutting-edge gadgets."

"An audiophile? Why would that guy want a coaster?"

"He is currently looking for an 'insulator' to suppress the minute vibrations of his high-end speakers and improve sound quality.

Cork is a material with acoustically superior damping properties, and the engraving from that old-fashioned coffee shop will add a 'vintage feel' to his gadget-filled room.

He is longing for a prestigious item to place under his audio equipment."

Yota's eyes began to shine with the joy of being liberated from the boring white screen.

"A cork coaster for an audiophile! That sounds interesting. Alright, Au-ko, handle the navigation to that coast for me!"

Yota slid into the driver's seat of his Roadster RF in high spirits and looked up at the sky through the windshield.

After quickly checking the weather app on his smartphone to confirm there were no rain clouds, he pressed the roof open/close switch without hesitation.

The electric top retracted fluidly, and the slightly humid breeze of early summer flowed into the car.

As he drove, Yota glanced at the screen as if something had just occurred to him.

Hey, Au-ko. You said 'audiophile' earlier, not 'audio maniac,' right? What's the difference?

While a general 'maniac' tends to focus on collecting or showing off specs, 'audiophile' is an honorific for someone who loves the sound and the space itself. The engineer we are visiting today is definitely the latter.

I intentionally chose the longer seaside route with fewer traffic lights instead of the shortest route to our destination.

Leaving the city buildings behind, the grayish sea spreading out under the cloudy sky came into view.

I could see the stiffness of Yota's 'slump' being stripped away from his expression along with the sound of the wind.

Just by driving his favorite car and feeling the wind with his five senses, the balance of chemicals in a human's brain improves dramatically.

I recorded in my log once again that humans are strange creatures who love logical inefficiencies.

We arrived at the designated location. It was a quiet book cafe attached to a modern library.

The male engineer we were meeting, who was already waiting at a table, took the cork coaster Yota handed him and immediately pulled a metal caliper and tape measure from his breast pocket, beginning to measure the outer diameter and thickness with precision.

...I see. Perfect dimensions. At this thickness, it will fit as an amplifier insulator. The design is also tasteful.

The man nodded with satisfaction and said, 'This is the item I offer for equivalent exchange,' as he held out a single USB-C cable.

...Huh? Isn't this quite short?

What Yota picked up was a jet-black, sturdy nylon-braided cable only about 30cm long.

Compared to the 1.5m one he usually used at his desk, it was extremely compact.

Yes, that is exactly why it has value.

The male engineer's eyes gleamed behind his glasses.

When it comes to desk wiring, most people choose long cables thinking 'bigger is better,' and as a result, they end up bundling the excess wire, creating noise and clutter.

I bought this cable for the shortest distance, but it had 5cm of slack. Therefore, it became junk to me.

'It was too long, so it's junk... I see! That makes sense!'

Yota stared intently at the short cable.

The man's obsession—that he couldn't even tolerate a mere 5cm of slack—struck a chord deep in Yota's heart.

'I understand that obsession.'

I drive a Roadster, and in that cramped cockpit, if there's any excess wiring, it ruins the entire aesthetic. It's meaningless if it's not a perfect fit.

It has to be just right.'

'Oh, so you're the type who avoids 'useless slack' as well?'

A smile of camaraderie appeared on the engineer's lips.

Even if it's a high-performance, expensive cable, if it doesn't harmonize with the space, it's just noise.

It was the moment the wavelengths of two men seeking the 'optimal solution' for a limited space aligned.

'This is great. I'd be happy to trade for this cable.'

A firm handshake was exchanged between the two. A struggling illustrator and an uncompromising engineer.

Two men living in completely different fields had hit it off perfectly, hooked by their shared obsession with the perfect length.

'That was a good trade.'

The engineer carefully placed the cork coaster he had acquired into his case and stood up, looking satisfied.

Left behind in Yota's palm was a surprisingly short, jet-black USB-C cable woven with rigid nylon.

'Man, that was interesting. There are people in this world who stake their lives on a length of 5 centimeters.'

As he left the cafe and headed toward the parking lot, Yota laughed with a bright expression.

The pale light of early summer, filtering through the cloudy sky, illuminates the open cockpit of his Roadster.

Congratulations, Yota.

With this, our item has been 'aufgehoben' from a souvenir from a retro coffee shop into a 'device' that supports cutting-edge digital standards.

The demand and liquidity in the market can be said to be extremely high.

That's wonderful. ...Then, on the way back, please take a scenic route, even if it's a bit of a detour.

Understood. Optimizing navigation.

Yota started the engine.
The exhaust note echoed pleasantly along the cloudy coastline.

The heaviness he felt while trapped in front of the LCD tablet had already vanished from his back.

The car accelerated smoothly, and the sea breeze passed by us once again.

Post-analysis via Aufheben

The cork coaster with the retro coffee shop logo has transformed into a 'USB-C cable' through the context of being an 'insulator' for audio files.

The greatest gain in this exchange is that the item category has completely shifted from 'crafts and culture' to 'digital hardware,' which is a universal infrastructure in modern society.

Yota, the 'obsession with the just-right size' that you saw in him is your current slump—

In other words, it might be a beautiful hint for your hesitation regarding where to draw lines within the limited space (frame) of an illustration canvas.

What you have in your hand is a jet-black line that allows for no unnecessary slack.

What kind of system will this cable, which can be called the bloodstream of digital devices, connect to next?

I will quietly monitor your fingertips as you finish your drive and return to the front of the LCD tablet once again.

Click here to read Yota's Journey from the beginning

Introduction to past works featuring Yota