"Yanami-san, if you think I'm just going to accept your complaints, listen to you endlessly drone on about your failed love life, and act as your personal dumpster for negative emotions, you're dead wrong."
Chihaya Kaiser wanted to say this a thousand, ten thousand times, but in the end, he could only bury it deep in his heart and listen to his classmate, Yanami Anna, talk about her little couple squabbles.
The reason was simple—it was a System Quest.
Let's reintroduce him: Chihaya Kaiser, a reincarnator whose memories were gradually returning. Before reincarnating, he was an ordinary student. Most of his past life's memories had been restored, except for some trivial pop culture stuff he just couldn't recall.
During his sixteen years as a reincarnator, he would occasionally fantasize about a splash of fantasy to break up his tranquil, mundane life.
The moment the System actually appeared, his blood started pumping faster, a flush crept up his cheeks, and his eyes lit up, no longer staring at the blackboard with a dull, lifeless gaze.
Excitement and thrill filled his mind. Desire spread like a wildfire across a prairie, only to be swiftly extinguished.
His gaze returned to its dull state, and the corner of his lips, which had just started to curl up, went flat again, as if he'd entered post-nut clarity.
The sum of his memories from both before and after reincarnation had made him decide to stay away from women, avoid romance, and strive to be a good boy.
But as fate would have it, he awakened a Dating System, and his first conquerable target was pointed out to him—
His classmate, Yanami Anna, whom he'd barely spoken to after bumping into her by chance yesterday, only to have her ask him for money.
After school, not just for the System Quest, but also for the money he'd lent out, he was forced to listen to her recount half an hour of her life as a loser in love.
It was painful. So incredibly painful.
Yanami Anna was still chattering on. Her figure blurred in his vision, and the sky behind her grew ever more azure.
She reached out her hand, interrupting his daze.
"Alright, how much did I borrow yesterday? Can I see the receipt?"
"Here." Chihaya Kaiser handed over the receipt. He'd been keeping it in his pocket, waiting for this moment for so long that the paper was warm from his body heat.
"Let me see..." Yanami took it. Her gaze froze, and she stood stunned for a second before her voice shot up.
"It was this much?! Three thousand six hundred yen."
For some reason, she completely ignored the change, erasing it as if it had never existed.
The wind rustled his short pink hair, revealing a pair of handsome eyes. He said nothing.
Yanami Anna gave a sheepish laugh. "I don't have that much right now, which means..."
"No deal. You can either pay me back in installments from your allowance, or you can get a part-time job and save up to repay me."
He took back the receipt. "Since we're classmates, I won't make you write an IOU. Just contact me when you have the money."
"Huh? Why are you like this?" Yanami Anna's eyebrows furrowed, and she draped her arms over the railing, her whole body slumping forward.
"Well, I'm heading out. Bye."
He had many hobbies, all of them expensive. Every yen he earned was compensation for hours spent taking photos, and he would never accept anything else as payment.
He even occasionally encountered clients who wanted to pay with their bodies, all of whom he would sternly refuse. Yanami surely didn't mean that, and even if she did...
He sized Yanami Anna up and down. She wasn't even as attractive as the gyarus who often booked him for photoshoots.
As he turned and left the rooftop, text that only he could see began to pop up before his eyes.
[Beginner Quest Complete]
[Shop Unlocked]
[Quests Completed +1]
[Reward of 10,000 Yen has been distributed]
Chihaya Kaiser felt his pocket, took out his wallet, and looked at the 10,000 yen inside. His mood improved slightly.
For this 10,000 yen, for his effects pedals and lenses, putting up with a little complaining was totally worth it.
He put his wallet away and opened the game system again.
[Personal Panel]
[Quests]
[Shop]
He'd already looked it over once, so he opened the Personal Panel with practiced ease.
[Name: Chihaya Kaiser]
[Constitution: 6.5]
[Strength: 5.6]
[Speed: 6.2]
[Charm: 7.9]
[Skills: Photography Lv. 4, Guitar Lv. 3, Literature Lv. 1]
[Quests Completed: 1]
Next, he tried opening the Shop to see what items were available.
[Upgrade Guitar to Lv. 5 / Cost: 5 Quests]
[Coin of Good Luck (2 Uses) / Cost: 10 Quests]
[Affection Viewer (3 Uses) / Cost: 1 Quest]
Chihaya Kaiser stopped in his tracks. From the outer staircase leading to the rooftop, he could see the sky, with the text overlapping the blue.
There it was—the splash of fantasy he'd always been hoping for.
A Coin of Good Luck, huh? If an item like this could appear, then the fantasy he desired was surely possible too.
He needed to complete ten quests to buy the luck-bringing coin.
If all ten of those quests had to do with Yanami Anna, he was afraid he'd be tortured to death by her loser-in-love stories.
He had to find other girls like her—girls who wouldn't fall for him—grind out a few easy quests with them, and then quickly move on to the next, racking up ten completed quests.
Lost in these thoughts the whole way, the boy didn't snap out of it until he was standing in the familiar courtyard in front of his house.
Just as he unlocked the door with his key, footsteps reached his ears, growing closer. The inner door in the genkan slid open, revealing an adorable girl with the exact same pink hair as him. Her smile showed two little canine teeth, and she was wearing a Haneoka school uniform.
"Kaiser-chan, where's that guitar I lent you?"
"Didn't you give it to me? You were all teary-eyed back then, telling me it was a gift and that I should make good use of it."
Chihaya Kaiser took off his shoes and arranged them neatly. As he straightened up, his gaze traveled upwards, past the step, the floor, the short white socks hugging her ankles, and the elegant curve of her calves.
The girl before him was his younger sister, Chihaya Anon, born at the same time in his reincarnated life. She had gone to study abroad in the UK upon entering high school, giving him the guitar. After running into some setbacks, she'd returned to study in Tokyo.
Anon put her hands together, fingertips near her chin. Pouting slightly, she leaned forward, her tone wheedling.
"Maa, have you been using it lately? It's not like you're planning to start a band, right? Please, give it back to me. Your big sis can compensate you in other ways."
"I'm the older brother, you know." He finished putting his shoes away and headed up the stairs to the second-floor living room, where the two of them usually hung out and chatted.
Anon followed behind him, a smile on her face that gave a glimpse of her little canines. She held up one finger and tilted her body slightly to the side.
"Then I'll let you be the big sibling for a week. How about you give me the guitar back first?"
"We'll see."
"A month? Three months?" She walked up the stairs, circling around to his front, and changed her one finger to three.
"Let me hear you say it first." Chihaya Kaiser stopped walking, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Ehh? Onii-chan, please give me the guitar back." Anon grinned, her voice a little forcedly cute. She linked her arm with his, shaking his shoulder slightly.
"Maa, I guess I can, but I modified the pickups, which cost a fair bit. I also bought a Yamaha amp. You're going to use that too, right? And the effects pedals. I saved up and bought all of those myself."
"I'll pay you back for them!" Anon said dismissively with a wave of her hand. She didn't have any expensive hobbies, so her personal savings were quite substantial.
"Alright, it's a deal. Pay me back for the pickups later. The amp and pedals can come with it."
"Then you have to teach me guitar too." She hugged his arm tightly, though unfortunately for her, he didn't feel anything special.
"Fine, but I have one more condition."
He opened the living room closet, took out the electric guitar's gig bag, and handed it to her. Only after confirming she had a firm grip on the strap did he let go.
He wondered if his sister could trigger quests. If she could, she'd be the perfect candidate. He could grind quests like crazy.
______
🎉 BIG NEWS! To celebrate our new story, the director is offering 25% DISCOUNT! Your support means the world <3
When you join, you get instant access to:
✅ Until 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Exclusive content and updates!
Help us hit our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 55 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
Claim your 25% OFF spot and unlock everything now:
👻 patreon.com/Walnutchan