Oh, right—she suddenly remembered something. Monthly tickets! That system really seemed useful… Hmm… after thinking it over, she made a decision:
For every hundred monthly tickets, she'd add an extra chapter. The count would reset at the end of each month.
"So, everyone, vote for monthly tickets quickly! Even though… it looks like I only have four right now…"
Of course, she would also add extra chapters if the book ranked high enough on the monthly leaderboard. "Come on, everyone, let's do our best!" she encouraged. "Oh, and one more time—the reader group number is 291773266! That's it for now~ (cute face)."
————————————————————————————————
She had already made up her mind.
For the time being—before her chest reached an A-rank—she would force herself to train hard.
On one hand, she didn't have much time.
Once her body advanced from AA to A-rank, the difference in aptitude would be tenfold. And the gap between no development at all and AA-rank—the gap she had already crossed—was a hundredfold!
Mui was convinced that the system had only appeared once she reached AA because of some shady backdoor deal behind the scenes.
Otherwise, she might already have been invincible…
That was one part of it.
On the other hand, wasn't it about creating the feeling of turning suffering into motivation? Even if she had no idea whether anyone was really paying attention to her…
She couldn't know. But pretending that she was the protagonist of the world, that the entire world was watching her—that felt wonderful.
Even if it was just self-deception.
But what if… it was true?
…
"Ah, Mui. You're here."
Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha, greeted her. "Thank you for looking after Kakashi while I was gone."
"Of course," Mitsuki Mui replied matter-of-factly. "If it weren't for me, who knows? By the time you came back, you might have been looking at a corpse. One that starved to death."
She gave the returned White Fang a casual glance.
"Hey—who are you saying would starve to death?!"
"Obviously, you."
"You little—" Kakashi started to protest, but then he caught sight of Mui's eyes, still faintly red.
"Hmph! I won't stoop to your level," he muttered instead.
Sakumo chuckled quietly. He, too, noticed the slight redness around Mui's eyes. Most likely, she had just finished crying before coming over.
So… Mui really did feel something for Katō Dan.
Thinking of another person—rumored to have cried so much she developed a blood phobia—Sakumo couldn't help but give a helpless smile.
Still…
To have so many people grieve for you after death… wasn't that a kind of blessing? He wondered, when his own time came, would anyone mourn for him?
As he watched Kakashi and Mui trade casual remarks, a small smile touched his lips. At least… these two would probably feel sad, wouldn't they…?
"Hey! Were you even listening to me?"
"Ah! Huh? What?"
Pulled abruptly from his private musings, Sakumo straightened and looked at Mui.
"I said, since you don't have any missions lined up right now, how about teaching me ninjutsu?"
"…Sure, I can do that."
Sakumo nodded. After all, although Mui didn't hold the same standing as Kakashi, the years they had spent together had made him see her almost like his own daughter.
Teaching her ninjutsu, helping her grow stronger, and giving her a better chance to live a good life in this world—that didn't seem like a bad idea.
From Kakashi, he had also heard about Mui's plans for the future.
His perspective was different from his son's.
He wanted to serve the village, of course. But to him, companions and family were ultimately more important.
And with Mui's natural talent, as long as she didn't lose sight of her own goals, living a simple, ordinary life—survival—would be more than achievable.
Even if her dream was to open… an adult novelty shop.
That was strange, yes, but not necessarily bad. Eventually, she could marry someone she liked, have a child, and settle down.
If that happened, Sakumo could rest easy, even in death.
And if the man happened to be Kakashi—well, all the better.
Watching the two of them together, Sakumo chuckled inwardly. Of course, that part was up to Kakashi himself. All he could do was drop the occasional hint.
Still… the possibility wasn't small at all.
Of course, if Mui ever found out what he was thinking, she'd scoff and tell him he was overthinking it. She wasn't planning on marrying anyone anytime soon. She preferred being single—though she wasn't exactly against the idea of romance, either.
…