Because of Aoki Kei's sudden approach, the blonde girl in front of him lifted her head slightly.
Her eyes, previously glued to her phone screen, shifted to Aoki's face, a hint of confusion flickering in them.
But she only froze for a moment before quickly snapping back to reality.
With a touch of uncertainty in her voice, Ijichi Nijika spoke up.
"Huh? Um... I am looking for a guitarist. May I ask who you are?"
"I'm Aoki Kei, a second-year at Shirosei Private High. I overheard some people saying there was a blonde girl nearby looking for a guitarist. I happen to know a bit about playing guitar—need any help?"
Aoki Kei responded calmly.
The system's current mission required him to temporarily become the guitarist for the Kessoku Band.
Until Nijika accepted his offer, he wouldn't receive the 100,000 yen reward.
But just getting the conversation going was already half the battle.
According to the system's intel, "Kessoku Band" was currently in a state of collapse—their guitarist had run off.
Given that, it was unlikely Nijika would turn him down.
Even if he was only doing this for the reward…
Even if he had to lie and trick the pure-hearted Nijika with false promises…
Even if he probably wouldn't end up being of much help to her—
Just as Aoki Kei predicted, Nijika's eyes lit up when she heard what he said.
The uncertainty in her voice vanished.
She immediately brightened, speaking with lively energy.
"Really?! That would be amazing! I'm Ijichi Nijika from Shimokitazawa High. We have a live show tomorrow, but our guitarist suddenly disappeared a few days ago.
—So I've been trying to find a replacement around here… If you're willing to help out, I'd be so grateful!"
She clasped her hands together, blinking her hopeful eyes at him.
"Our songs aren't that hard! As long as you can play, you'll pick them up really quickly. And the audience is just gonna be students and friends, so there's no pressure!"
Aoki Kei had no intention of turning her down—in fact, he was hoping Nijika would ask for help so he could complete the system's task.
So as soon as she finished speaking, he gave a decisive nod.
"If it's just being a temporary guitarist, I'm totally fine with that."
Nijika had been mentally preparing herself for a long search, so she seemed genuinely surprised to have found someone so easily.
Her tone was tinged with excitement as she said, "Then—no time to waste! Let's head out now!"
——————————————
Watching the energetic girl in front of him and hearing the eagerness in her voice, Aoki Kei felt a slight pang of guilt.
After all, he had deceived her just to get his hands on that 100,000 yen.
But before he could mentally apologize, a crisp electronic voice echoed in his ears, interrupting his thoughts:
——————————————
[Ding! Option 3 completed. Reward has been automatically issued.]
[Ding! First option successfully completed. Heroine Panel has now been unlocked.]
[Ding! Points acquired. Points Shop function is now available.]
——————————————
Three system notifications rang out in succession.
Aoki Kei blinked in surprise, but quickly caught on.
He'd completed Option 3, the reward was sent out, and now a whole bunch of new features were unlocked—though he wasn't exactly sure what they did yet.
Still, 100,000 yen was real money.
For now, he decided to set his guilt aside.
Wanting to check his system rewards more easily, he hesitated for a second before replying to Nijika.
Lifting the bento box he was carrying, he gave her an excuse.
"It's kind of awkward carrying this around. I live nearby—just a short walk. If you could text me the address of the venue, I'll head back home, get ready, and meet you there."
"Um…"
Nijika hesitated.
It was probably because Kita Ikuyo's sudden disappearance had left a scar—she seemed a little wary of being abandoned again.
But the hesitation only lasted a moment. Then she nodded firmly and answered:
"It's a livehouse in Shimokitazawa called STARRY. You can find it on Google Maps. Just search for the name."
After a short pause, as if worried Aoki might pull the same stunt Kita did, she added,
"It's not far from here, so please… you have to come, okay?"
"Don't worry. I will."
Aoki gave her a reassuring nod.
With the bento still in hand, he waved goodbye and walked out of the park under her watchful gaze.
Just as he told Nijika, his apartment was actually close by—no need to take a train.
A short five-minute walk brought him back to his tiny rented room.
It was a 1R apartment—meaning a single room that doubled as bedroom, kitchen, and living space, with a prefabricated bathroom built in.
Cramped and narrow, every fixture was crammed into one space.
Honestly, it was downright shabby.
But it had its perks.
In a place like Tokyo, rent for this type of unit was dirt cheap—less than half of what other layouts would cost.
After unlocking the door and slipping on his slippers, Aoki set the bento aside without fuss.
Then, without wasting time, he focused his thoughts and tried to access the system that had just spoken in his head.
He'd already received a text from the bank confirming the deposit of 100,000 yen.
He'd checked it on his way back, so he wasn't particularly concerned about the material reward anymore.
Suddenly, a glowing screen popped up in front of Aoki Kei.
Bold black text stood out at the top:
——————————————
[Welcome to the Love Obstacle Simulation Game.]
[Once started, the game cannot be terminated.]
[Note: The host will bear all consequences upon reaching an ending.]
[The game bears no responsibility.]
[Do not disclose any content of the game to others, any violation will be at your own risk.]
——————————————
It looked like a disclaimer.
Below that warning, two other options were flashing on the screen—just like the system's voice had mentioned earlier:
[Heroine Panel] and [Points Shop].
Ignoring the warning text, Aoki Kei, driven by curiosity about this long-overdue cheat system, tapped on the [Heroine Panel].
The light-blue interface immediately shifted.
——————————————
[Available Heroine: Ijichi Nijika]
[Unlocked CGs: (None)]
(Note: CGs unlock by fulfilling certain conditions. Unlocking CGs grants rewards.)
[Achievements for Ijichi Nijika Route: (None)]
[Endings Achieved for Ijichi Nijika Route: (None)]
——————————————
The layout felt reminiscent of a galgame (dating sim).
Aoki Kei scanned the long list of information, then closed the Heroine Panel.
None of the CGs, achievements, or endings were unlocked yet, so for now, this feature wasn't very useful.
He switched to the Points Shop instead.
Just like before, the screen changed.
Compared to the Heroine Panel, however, the Points Shop was noticeably more basic.
A plain table appeared, listing a dense array of items available for purchase using points.
The selection was bizarre and varied: from Master-Level Cooking Skills for 400 points, to a 10,000 yen cash-out for 100 points, to various music scores and lyrics, also for 100 points each.
After skimming the list, Aoki Kei got a general idea of the pricing.
Skill-based items—like the "Master-Level Cooking"—had fluctuating prices depending on their prefix quality.
The cheapest started at 200 points, while the highest went up to 1,000.
However, he quickly noticed something odd.
While there were plenty of practical or creative skills available, there were no academic or science-based ones—no mathematics, chemistry, or biology.
Aside from the skill category, there were also original manuscripts of literature from his previous life, or music scores and lyrics—these had a flat rate of 100 points, regardless of popularity or quality.
Lastly, there was the option to exchange points directly for yen: 100 points for 10,000 yen.
But compared to other options, the exchange rate wasn't very efficient.
Thanks to completing the earlier task, Aoki Kei had been rewarded with 500 points.
If he cashed it all in, he'd get 50,000 yen.
But he wasn't stupid.
He understood the saying, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
Instead of cashing out for short-term gain, there were better long-term options.
His eyes still locked on the minimalist Points Shop, Aoki Kei hesitated.
Since academic knowledge wasn't available, his best bet was to invest in a profitable skill.
There were many fast-earning careers out there, and with just 400 points, he could gain a master-level ability and finally escape his current broke lifestyle.
But then he thought back to how Nijika had looked—nervous and afraid he'd ditch her like their last guitarist.
With that in mind, Aoki Kei made his decision.
He exchanged 400 points for [Guitar Technique – Master Level], leaving him with 100 points.
Earning money and keeping a promise didn't have to conflict.
With this new skill, he could do both at once.
After securing his new ability, Aoki Kei glanced at the wall clock.
Over ten minutes had passed since he got back to the apartment.
He closed the Points Shop and didn't waste another second.
With the master-level guitar skill now uploaded and ready in his brain, he finally felt confident.
Pulling out his phone, Aoki Kei opened Google Maps and began searching for the livehouse in Shimokitazawa called STARRY.