For those who want to feel that they belong by fulfilling social needs

Once upon a time, in a certain village, there lived a young man named Shozai. Shozai was always anxious about whether he truly belonged in this world.
Everyone in the village had some kind of role. Farmers, carpenters, weavers, the village chief... However, Shozai had no particular talent and could not find his place.
One day, the village elder said to Shozai, "Everyone blooms in their own way within society. You, too, will surely find your own flower."
Encouraged by those words, Shozai walked all around the village, beginning to search for what he could do.
At first, he helped with farm work. It was unfamiliar work, but the farmers were happy with Shozai's efforts. Next, he helped with carpentry. He wasn't particularly skilled, but the carpenter was impressed by his sincere attitude.
As he did this, Shozai gradually learned various jobs in the village. And when someone was in trouble, he was able to quickly lend a hand.
One day, there was a big festival in the village. During the preparation phase, Shozai helped out here and there. He helped harvest crops, helped decorate for the festival, and took care of the elderly.
On the day of the festival, the villagers noticed Shozai. They said, "If it weren't for Shozai, this festival wouldn't have been possible."
Shozai was surprised. He had never thought that he was useful to the village.
The villagers thanked Shozai one after another. "We are so glad you are here," and "You are an irreplaceable presence to us."
At that moment, a small flower bloomed in Shozai's heart. The feeling that "it is okay to be here" spread warmly.
From then on, Shozai began to show up in places where he was needed all over the village. His presence gently connected the entire village.
Later, Shozai said this: "Anyone can find their place in society. It doesn't have to be a big role. Being useful to someone and being needed by someone. Just by that, we can feel that it is okay for us to be here."
And so, the proverb "Each person is a flower, and if everyone blooms together, it becomes a garden" spread from this village.
And they lived happily ever after.
That is the preface to the 908th interview of the Nameless Person, written on October 14, 2024, at 4:54 PM, thinking that!!!!!
[Preface: qbc / Yasuhiro Kuribayashi (Writer / Organizer of the Nameless Person Interview)]

The person who participated this time is Akaneko!

Age: Under 20
Gender: Male
Occupation: 2nd-year student at N High School
X: https://x.com/gai23n

Present: I feel that in VR, you can see the inside of a person without being caught up in things like their innate appearance.

qbc:
What do you do now?

Akaneko:
Right now, I'm at a correspondence high school called N High, where I belong to the student council and the Virtual Event Executive Committee, which plans events related to the metaverse. As for the student council, I'm currently there as a representative of the Virtual Event Executive Committee. At the time of application, it was like that, and within the student council, I'm in the public relations department, and I'm also involved in coordination with other executive committees and promoting the school festival.

qbc:
What else do you do?

Akaneko:
Outside of school life, I regularly set up 1-on-1s with people I met at school to do something interesting. With people I thought were particularly interesting, I talk about things like, "Everyone tends to start student organizations these days, don't they, people our age?" and that's what led me to try doing something interesting now. Also, completely unrelated to the activities of the executive committee, I'm personally obsessed with VR.

qbc:
Do you have any specific direction for something interesting?

Akaneko:
As I said earlier, the conversation started from "everyone tends to start student organizations," but we are targeting those people who want to start them, creating a community like a joint research group for community management, and then from there, we are repeating the process of further accumulating the know-how of the communities that were started. To put it simply, it's half play and half serious, and I'm doing it now with someone I thought was interesting.

qbc:
What do you do other than that, like outside of daily life? Do you have any hobby time, for example?

Akaneko:
For hobby time, the student council activities are usually during the day, and after that's over, I do VR. I hang out with various people in VR, visit famous worlds, and things like that.

qbc:
Is that what you consider a hobby?

Akaneko:
Yes. VR is my hobby.

qbc:
What do you do in VR?

Akaneko:
Communicating with people, or rather, the genre called social VR... VRChat. The one that's become a hot topic thanks to streamers. Talking to people in VRChat, playing games together in there, and so on. Anyway, I'm interested in VR x something, so VR x games is fine, VR x events is fine, and at N High, it's like VR x education. I'm doing quite a lot of things that involve VR like that.

qbc:
I'm asking out of pure curiosity, but what did you think of Stanmi's thing? How many years have you been doing VR yourself?

Akaneko:
When I entered N High, VR is provided, or rather lent to us, so it's since then. I started getting obsessed with VRChat from there, so it's been about a year. I transferred, so I started touching VR around October of last year.

qbc:
About a year, huh.

Akaneko:
I've been touching VR for about a year. But at first, it was moderate, and after I finished submitting my annual report for N High in December, I did VR to my heart's content and got super hooked.

qbc:
I see. There was something like Stanmi's "Summer Memories," and how was that from the perspective of a resident?

Akaneko:
That has pros and cons, or good and bad sides, but simply because VRChat became well-known, or rather, many beginners and new people joined, I'm purely happy about that. As for the bad side, when I hear that there are people doing things without permission, like while connected to a call or while streaming in the background, I think that's a bit scary. But what can I say, there have probably been people like that to some extent until now, and I'm simply happy that the community is thriving.

qbc:
Yeah. Thank you. How does your life feel overall right now?

Akaneko:
Life, yeah. But since school activities really started to get serious, I've been so busy with that that I haven't had much time to spend in VR. It's like 70% school activities and 30% VR.

qbc:
What are your emotions or feelings like when you're actually living your life right now?

Akaneko:
For now, the philosophy that applies to everything I do is that I want to do fun things, so I go all-in on what I'm interested in.
I don't know, I'm just happy that I can do fun things, so I'm living my life quite happily right now.

qbc:
What kind of things are you doing at school, generally speaking?

Akaneko:
Generally, as I mentioned earlier, the student council and the executive committee activities—the executive committee takes up more time than the student council right now. I joined the executive committee when I first got into VR; it's a committee that plans events in virtual spaces, and I've been selecting the worlds to use for those events. Sometimes we play in existing worlds, and for the N High School cultural festival, which we call the 'Jishaku-sai' (Magnet Festival), students create the worlds themselves, so I do the final adjustments for those. I wasn't actually in charge of it, but since I was one of only two people who could handle it on the day, I helped out a bit.

qbc:
Yeah, yeah.

Akaneko:
So, I've been doing all sorts of messy things, and after the feeling that these activities were really fun started to sprout around the end of April, I started planning things myself.
Things moved fast from there; I became vice-chair in June, and as I mentioned, I've held a position as an executive committee representative since August. Also, among the projects I've pushed forward, there's a group function in the VRChat subscription that's useful for managing events, so I submitted a proposal to the staff department that oversees the executive committee explaining that, and I was able to move a small amount of adult money, which was really fun.

qbc:
Does N High School own any worlds?

Akaneko:
On VRChat, the school itself doesn't own any worlds, but the executive committee owns some, and individuals have made some for N High School.
However, on Virtual Cast, a social VR app similar to VRChat provided by Dwango, there's something called the 'Tower of Learning,' and most of the content managed by N High School is there.

qbc:
Is that place deserted? How is it?

Akaneko:
Well, there are some core people, or rather, people who are settled there, and there are regular events.
Recently, there was a virtual sports festival, and some of the competitions were like SASUKE. We competed for times in athletic worlds, or things like 'Gatling Ball Toss,' where teams of three shoot balls with gatling guns to toss them into a basket. I don't know, the events aren't really deserted. The rankings are pretty full. So, the events are quite lively, but it might be pretty quiet otherwise.

qbc:
But there are people there, then.

Akaneko:
There are people.

qbc:
I see. Based on what you've said, what kind of 'fun' is this current fun? Can you put it into words?

Akaneko:
If I had to describe it, it's like having a position at school, doing activities, and being useful to the organization—I guess you could call it a social need.

qbc:
Yeah.

Akaneko:
The feeling that I'm contributing this much to this organization is what's really fun right now.

qbc:
Did you start feeling that from the timing you mentioned earlier?

Akaneko:
Yes. Around the end of April, I shifted gears.
From then on, I've been active with the goal of doing things for the organization.

qbc:
Is this the first time in your life you've felt this way?

Akaneko:
I'm not sure, but it might be the first time I've shifted gears to that level. I was in the newspaper club for three years in junior high school, and while I had my own responsibilities and did them properly, I didn't really have this current sense of contributing to an organization. It's like that.

qbc:
By the way, did you have a conscious desire to contribute to an organization before that?

Akaneko:
In the past, even when I was in the newspaper club, I aimed to become a grade representative and then the club president, but that was for my own sake—a self-centered reason because I wanted to be called that. Compared to that, it's different now. When I think about it that way, I guess this is indeed the first time.

qbc:
Simply put, without involving school, what do you find interesting about VR itself?

Akaneko:
VRChat, I suppose. The appeal of VR is, well, like anything else, VR is just a tool, and you use it to do something. VR itself can't be the goal, but when I try various things to see what I can do with it, I find it fun to discover that certain combinations work well. It was also fun when I was talking to friends I met that way.
Since you rarely get to meet people you've met online and talk to them face-to-face, I think it's amazing that VR allows you to experience that in a simulated way. Also, in terms of the appeal of VR that's easy to imagine, there are 'experiences you can't really have in reality,' like going into outer space, which is absolutely impossible otherwise.
I use it for those kinds of unrealistic experiences, and also because I just love talking to people, so I use it for that kind of communication.
It's fun. That's why.

qbc:
What kind of people do you meet?

Akaneko:
The first people I met, regardless of school, were people who kindly guided me when I went to a tutorial-like world. There are also people with somewhat intense avatars, like people with flashing eyes. There are all sorts of people, including some who are a bit annoying.

qbc:
So it's not like you're always hanging out with the same people?

Akaneko:
The people I've known the longest or talk to the most are the ones who treated me kindly or hung out with me. If I think about whether there's something only they have, maybe not, but our life cycles match up, and it's not really about it being VR.

qbc:
How much personal or real-life information do you share?

Akaneko:
People might say my literacy is low, but I do exchange LINE contacts with people I'm really close with.
I talk about whether I'm a student or a working adult, and my age. That's about it.

qbc:
To what extent are you conscious of that?

Akaneko:
When talking in VR, I don't really care about age; I talk casually without hierarchy, though I keep the honorifics like '-san,' which is how I am both in real life and online.
Especially in VR, even if I know their age, it's like, 'Oh, I see, anyway...'

qbc:
There's social interaction in real life, and there's social interaction in the virtual world, right? I think each has its own rules, but which do you prefer?

Akaneko:
Wow, well, each has its advantages or good points, but if I could, I'd want to spend all my time in VR. I feel that in VR, you can see a person's inner self without being bound by their innate appearance.
I think VR might be where you can truly see people's inner selves.

As I said earlier, in the real world, it's like my appearance was decided randomly, or I ended up this way without wishing for it.
Even without being conscious of it, there are people I would never have met depending on the circumstances or how people treat me, but in VR, I can connect with such people.

Since I can communicate in various ways while staying at home, even across countries, VR allows me to connect with many people without being bound by location, and I can see their inner selves right away. In terms of appearance, everyone spends their time in the form they want to be seen in.

Since we are born this way without being conscious of it, even if we don't intend to, the way we are treated is influenced by it. In VR, I can be in my ideal form, and everyone sees me in that form, and conversely, I see them in that form too.
Therefore, there's no change in how people treat me based on my appearance.
I think VR is where you can go up to someone and say 'Hello' from the start without any prejudice.

qbc:
What do people around you say about your personality?

Akaneko:
I think my personality is energetic. I feel it myself, and people tell me that when I'm having fun, I go all out, or rather, I lose sight of my surroundings.
In the sense that I'm restless, people tell me I'm 'my own pace' in both a good and bad way.

qbc:
What do you think yourself?

Akaneko:
I think my personality is pretty much what other people say it is.

qbc:
Is there a side of you that people close to you, like family or a partner, mention?

Akaneko:
People often tell me that after getting to know me, they realize I'm surprisingly considerate about small things and that I think before I act, more than they initially thought. For me, I don't change how I treat people just because we've become close, so I'm just like, 'Oh, really?'

qbc:
What is your favorite food?

Akaneko:
As for favorite food, I love sweets, and I often hunt for convenience store desserts.

qbc:
Any recent recommendations?

Akaneko:
Recently, since it's become autumn, there are more things like sweet potatoes and autumn-themed items.
I'm always checking out the pudding and similar types of sweets in the refrigerated section at FamilyMart.

Past: I feel that my experiences so far are being put to use and foreshadowing is being resolved. Entering N High School and waking up to my activities was the turning point of my life.

qbc:
Thank you. I was asking about your past, but what kind of child do you think you were in your earliest memories, like when you were a child or before you started kindergarten?

Akaneko:
In my earliest memories, people tell me I was quieter and more obedient than I am now, and I even have memories of being such a good child that I wonder why I ended up like this.

qbc:
What kind of games did you like to play?

Akaneko:
I have a younger brother, but compared to him, rather than playing wildly outside, I would spend my playtime at kindergarten folding origami. I've always liked indoor games.

qbc:
What kind of scenery was the place where you were born and raised?

Akaneko:
I live in Yokohama, but it's not a developed area. It's like half city, half countryside. I didn't have any trouble going shopping.
I didn't have any trouble with transportation or things like that, but there was a moderate amount of nature.

qbc:
What kind of child were you in elementary school?

Akaneko:
As I said earlier, when I was in the lower grades of elementary school, I was quiet because I played indoors, but from around 3rd or 4th grade, I started finding studying to be a hassle. I couldn't keep up, and I wouldn't turn in my assignments at all. I gradually started going in a bad direction. By 4th grade, I was even walking around during class, and I just kept going in a worse and worse direction.
In 5th and 6th grade, I spent my time talking and playing.

qbc:
Was that fun in its own way?

Akaneko:
I think it was fun. Because I didn't learn the basics back then, I'm having trouble with my studies now. But even though it was tough, it was fun. Back in elementary school.

qbc:
Is there a specific trigger or moment you remember clearly?

Akaneko:
It's not really a good thing, but I think the reason I couldn't study in the third grade of elementary school was just a matter of motivation. There isn't really a clear reason, but there was a model student who would walk around, and since I was in the lower grades of elementary school, there was someone like me in the fourth grade. I watched that person and started doing it myself, thinking it was fun. The fourth-grade homeroom teacher was a new teacher, so I think I probably didn't take them seriously.

qbc:
What was it like, specifically, walking around?

Akaneko:
I couldn't sit still, so during class, I would walk around the classroom at first. Of course, the teacher would warn me, but gradually the teacher and the people around me got used to it, and it just became part of the scenery. I would go around to places like the school warehouse, spending my time like I was on an exploration.

qbc:
Did the teacher chase you?

Akaneko:
The teacher didn't chase me. From the fifth grade of elementary school, a teacher was assigned to watch over me, rather than chase me. At that time, there were about two other kids like me. We would talk normally or play together.

qbc:
So you were being watched over?

Akaneko:
Yes, that's right.

qbc:
What was middle school like?

Akaneko:
Until middle school, I was a child who would quickly resort to physical violence, but that stopped around the first year of middle school. Instead of calming down, I became very obsessed with games. From March of my first year of middle school until the end of my second year, I would go to school sometimes and not others. At my worst, I wouldn't go for two weeks in a row, but it was different from what is called school non-attendance. I think the definition of school non-attendance is not going for a month, but it wasn't like that; when I did go, I had fun. I really just wanted to play games, so I didn't go to school.

qbc:
Are there any games you like?

Akaneko:
I like games where I can have fun with other people, which is also why I got into VR. I liked any game where I could play multiplayer, like Minecraft. The one I was most obsessed with was Minecraft, which I've been playing for a long time. I did survival with people, and I also did creative mode and commands; studying things that required a certain level of knowledge wasn't really hard, it was fun.

qbc:
How do you find people to play with for free?

Akaneko:
At first, the people I played with were mainly friends from school, but that community didn't really change. I also met people on Discord and played games with them. Also, since elementary school, I had been watching streams on the streaming app Mirrativ, and I would occasionally stream myself, so I would find people online to play Minecraft with in those places. That's how I found people to play Minecraft with.

qbc:
I see. What hardware do you use?

Akaneko:
I've been playing since I was in the third or fourth grade of elementary school, and at that time I was using a tablet I borrowed from my father. Later, I bought a Switch, and after I bought the Switch version of Minecraft, I played it on that for a long time. Gradually, I shifted to a PC.

qbc:
Was the tablet iOS, Android OS, or iPadOS?

Akaneko:
It was Android.

qbc:
When did you first touch a desktop PC?

Akaneko:
When was it for a laptop? I was already touching an old computer when I entered middle school, because my parents were using it. It wasn't a high-performance computer that could play games well, but Minecraft runs even on low specs, so I played it on that.

qbc:
I see, so it was like a Steam debut of sorts during middle school, a bit like that.

Akaneko:
I played 2D games like Undertale that run even on low-spec machines. Also, browser-based games.

qbc:
I see, so you didn't get into FPS games?

Akaneko:
For FPS, I had been playing Fortnite since I was in the sixth grade on the Switch, so I did go through that phase of so-called gun games like FPS and TPS. But eventually, the trend faded among my friends, and I also started to dislike the culture of getting angry at teammates. So, I gradually drifted away from them.

qbc:
How was your middle school life?

Akaneko:
After entering middle school, I didn't walk around the classroom anymore. However, I would take days off to play games, and if you added up all those absent days, I probably missed about a year's worth of school. But when I did go, I attended classes normally.

I think moving to a new school and a new environment was a good opportunity for a fresh start. It seems the middle school teachers had received a handover from my elementary school teachers, so they were watching me carefully; a veteran teacher who was used to such situations was assigned to me at first.

That teacher also told me that if I felt restless, I could go to the chair where the teacher on duty for keys waited in the hallway, provided I got permission first. They provided a sort of escape route or preventive measure, but I don't really remember using it much.

I really did calm down. I wasn't like a typical truant child; I felt like I was living a normal school life.

qbc:
Do you remember how you felt at the time, whether you found things fun or not, or what your general mood was?

Akaneko:
Basically, I was happy the whole time. To begin with, I didn't do things that weren't fun. I only did things I knew I would enjoy.

qbc:
Was attending classes at school fun too?

Akaneko:
At school, if it was a topic I was interested in, like math, I enjoyed it at the beginning.
I don't particularly dislike the act of learning itself, and as long as I was listening to the class, I could remember the content and get good grades on tests.
But basically, when I wasn't interested in the content, I felt bored.

qbc:
Even in math?

Akaneko:
If I thought a unit wasn't interesting, I just wouldn't listen. At the beginning of middle school, I thought I would try my best. Since the environment had changed, it was like a middle school debut, if you will.

I shifted gears a bit, and at first, I even clung to studying subjects I wasn't good at. I turned in my assignments relatively well, too. But eventually, my true colors showed, and I returned to my usual self.

qbc:
How were things with the people around you?

Akaneko:
Instead of listening to the class, I would just sleep, so I didn't walk around or anything. If there was anything different about me compared to others, it was just that I was an unserious student. But friends who had known me since elementary school looked out for me, and everyone was very kind.

There were no fights or clashes. I'm just a normal person who happens to dislike studying, so we would talk about games and hobbies, like 'let's play this together,' and we didn't really talk about studying.

qbc:
What criteria did you use to choose your high school?

Akaneko:
At first, I went to a full-time high school, but I transferred in October. When I was choosing a high school at first, I just looked at where everyone else was going—a nearby school that wasn't particularly academically strong. I just went along with it because everyone else was going there, but the full-time style didn't suit me, so I transferred out. At the beginning of deciding my career path, I was really taking it lightly. I was scolded by people telling me I'd regret it, but I was foolishly saying things like, 'If it only causes trouble for me, it doesn't bother anyone else, so it's fine if I only have a middle school diploma.' But eventually, we reached the conclusion that it's better to go to high school.

When I was choosing a high school, the only thing I cared about was where my friends were going.

qbc:
Did you have any trouble before coming to N High School?

Akaneko:
At the full-time school, I had many absences just like I did in middle school. On top of not taking the classes necessary to earn credits, I also wasn't attending the supplementary lessons, so the vice principal of that full-time school told me, 'I won't even let you repeat the year.'

I entered N High School through the online course. Since they handle transfer and enrollment procedures all year round, once I decided to go to N High, it was quick.
At first, it wasn't VR, but I learned about N High's online field trip in Dragon Quest 10, which made me interested in the school. Since it's correspondence-based, I didn't have to do the school attendance that was my biggest bottleneck, so I thought, 'This is great,' and just entered N High.
Until I entered N High, I was really just a delinquent kid like that.

qbc:
How do you think you were raised by your parents?

Akaneko:
My mother did a lot for me, but my father was unstable. I think I was favored compared to my younger brother, but his affection was inconsistent. It even reached the point where government guidance, like from the Child Consultation Center, was involved. There was violence that was like abuse, but when he wasn't triggered, he would pour affection on me normally.

Even though there was violence from my father, I didn't really feel like I was being treated as if he hated me.

qbc:
Did your mother report it to the Child Consultation Center at that time?

Akaneko:
When I was in the fifth grade of elementary school, because I wouldn't go to school, he strangled me with a jump rope. When I went to school like that, the school nurse saw the marks on my neck and reported it.

qbc:
I see. What does your father do for a living?

Akaneko:
At that time, my father was a taxi driver. Then he went to work in food-related stuff for a while, and then went back to being a taxi driver. At that time, he was a taxi driver.

qbc:
You are 17 years old now, right?

Akaneko:
That's right. I'll be 17 this year, but I haven't had my birthday yet.

qbc:
Looking back at about 17 years, is there any turning point in your life?

Akaneko:
Entering N High School was like resolving the foreshadowing of my life so far. We use Google Workspace for all activities at N High, and it's similar to, or almost the same as, the office software I used when I was in the newspaper club. The skills I used back then were put to use. I've played Minecraft, used Discord for community management, and I talk to people online just like I would with friends, so my way of interacting and creating my own community at the executive committee's reunion meeting...
I feel like my past experiences are being put to use and the foreshadowing is being resolved. Entering N High and waking up to these activities is the turning point of my life. It's just beginning, there's still more to come.

qbc:
I see. Was there ever a time when your talent shone in the world of games like Minecraft?

Akaneko:
Well, there were people who could do commands or Redstone circuits in Minecraft better than me, and I didn't really have a sense that I was the one thinking of these things, but instead, I had knowledge of survival, and in creative mode, I had knowledge in various fields like Redstone and commands.
It's not exactly a programming language, but there is a logical aspect to it.

I feel that those ways of thinking have come around and been useful. Along with how to interact with communities and communication, and the ability to think logically—I feel that Minecraft has been useful in at least these three ways.

Even if you look at other schools, student councils exist but don't really have any notable activities, right? N High had a strong student-led organization, and because I could move people around me through my own activities and fulfill a role, the social needs that I had probably been lacking until now were satisfied in a way that suited me.
The staff at N High and other adults would listen to my consultations and even help me put them to use. It might have truly been the ideal environment.

qbc:
I see.

Mirai: My policy or principle of living, which is to just do fun things for now, probably won't change.

qbc:
I'm asking about the future, but you mean the future until you die, right? With that in mind, what kind of image do you have for the future in general? Any concrete plans or missions?

Akaneko:
My policy or principle of living, which is to just do fun things for now, probably won't change. Regarding my career path, I'm starting to think about going to ZEN University, a correspondence university that Dwango is planning to create, because I don't think my current activities will be crushed by things like entrance exams.

qbc:
Yeah.

Akaneko:
If that university is established, I think student clubs will probably be launched in a way that's many times easier to spend time in or work with than at other universities, and I want to continue having this current fun while being involved in things like that. That's how I'm looking at my career path right now, and I don't have any clear vision of what kind of company I'd want to work for, but regardless, I'm interested in fields like VR and community management. I hope I can do something interesting in either of those fields from now on.

qbc:
What do you mean by 'interesting'?

Akaneko:
It really changes from time to time, but right now, it means being in a place where I can play an active role and actually being active and having fun. Also, the executive committee I'm in felt like it was stagnating rather than moving forward compared to other committees.

I find it fun right now to take the lead in an organization by doing things like this to get things moving quickly. If this current fun continues as it is, it leads to ZEN University, and if I get interested in other things, I'll probably study those. So, for me right now, it's about feeling like I'm useful to the organization, or being useful to people, talking to people happily, and being fussed over. That's what I find fun right now, so I want to continue doing it until I don't feel it's fun anymore. Until I get bored of it.

qbc:
I'm asking a 'what if' future question: if you gained power, what would you do?

Akaneko:
What kind of power are you talking about?

qbc:
Like, if you became the Prime Minister or a school principal.

Akaneko:
If I became the principal of N High School... Well, in the student council or the places where I'm active, like the executive committee, I feel like there are quite a few people who haven't fully realized their potential, so I'd want to expand the opportunities for student-led organizations to be active. I'd want to create an environment where it's easier to be active. But right now, my standard or the indicator I'm moving by is, 'How is this beneficial to the organization?'

However, if I find that I'm not suited for school management, I'd probably appoint someone else to handle that and step down to a department that oversees those executive committees.

qbc:
How do you have such good insight into the fact that there are people who aren't being active?

Akaneko:
At N High, it's not just about interacting within the executive committee; there are times when I talk to other committee members in communities, and I hear stories about people doing certain activities, or I talk to the people themselves. There are people who aren't really shining. There are people who should be shining more and being fussed over, but they aren't.

qbc:
Where do you talk to them? In person? Or online?

Akaneko:
Online. There's also VR.

qbc:
For example, what kind of people are not shining or not making the most of N High?

Akaneko:
People who want to become someone, or who don't really have a clear idea of what they want to do, but just want to be fussed over—I think it's good for those people to join the executive committee and be useful to the organization. By satisfying their social needs—or being fussed over—I want them to feel like they belong here.

qbc：
Yeah.

Akaneko：
The reason why people currently on the executive committee aren't fully shining is that they don't get their names out there alongside the projects they've contributed to, so they don't really get a sense of being recognized for their hard work. Also, during the team-building phase, there are cases where someone is clearly skilled in one area but could also handle another, and they say they don't really mind either way.

For example, on our executive committee, someone who is highly skilled in technical areas might be shining within the team by focusing on that work, but they never get public credit for having created something, and I've heard that they get so focused on that work that they can't manage the projects they actually want to do.

The reason that technical person can't manage their project is that they are also serving as a leader. Even if the team needs them for their technical skills, I want to be able to hand off leadership duties or general tasks to others who are good at them, and leave some breathing room so they can do what they want to do. I feel like there might be a better way to divide up the teams.

qbc：
Where did you get the template for that way of thinking?

Akaneko：
It probably comes naturally from my own intuition, but it's not like I was influenced by one specific person; it's more like I've heard stories from many different people and it just developed that way. Hearing the complaints of people working on the executive committee and thinking, 'You could do it more like this,' came from me, and as I worked, the image became clearer and more ideas kept popping up.

qbc：
I see. What do you think you will become in the future?

Akaneko：
I haven't really solidified what I want to be, but what I want to do right now is something interesting with VR. For example, there's a company called HIKKY that runs an event called Virtual Market. Or, while I'm in university, I'd like to take on a teaching assistant role in the department that promotes VR at N High School. If I continue with my current interests, I want to do something interesting with VR.

qbc：
I see. Thank you. As a final question, please leave some parting words—it could be a last will and testament, a message to the readers, or anything you'd like to say before we finish.

Akaneko：
Let's see. For people who feel like they aren't shining, or who want to become 'someone' but haven't decided on a direction, or people who are in different circumstances or at different stages but know they want to shine—for all of them, whether they join a community or join a student organization at N High School, fulfilling a role in a set organization can be very satisfying. For people who want to become 'someone,' it might be a good, settling place to be.

Afterword

N High School is supreme.

【Interview, Editing, Afterword: qbc】

【Editing: Rin Takahashi】

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