Minamoto Senya had no particular impression of Yukinoshita Yukino.
Which, honestly, was perfectly normal.
His memories made it clear enough.
He had only ended up at this kindergarten halfway through the term, after moving because of his father's job transfer.
And thanks to his introverted, unsociable personality, even after more than two weeks, he hadn't managed to make a single friend.
In that kind of situation, it was only natural that he didn't know much about the other kids in the kindergarten.
"Senya-kun, aren't you going to play with the other children?"
The two female teachers who had just been talking about Yukinoshita walked over with friendly smiles.
Seeing Minamoto Senya sitting all alone, one sat down beside him while the other bent over to ruffle his hair.
Senya didn't quite know how to handle that kind of gesture.
After all, in his way of thinking—
For a boy, unless it was an elder in the family or someone extremely close, having someone touch your head, whether intentional or not, always felt a bit intrusive.
So, without changing his expression, he leaned his head to the side to slip away from the teacher's hand, then put on a bright, sunlit smile.
"No need, sensei. I like being on my own."
He didn't think there was anything wrong with the way he phrased it.
But the two teachers were caught off guard.
After all, in their impression of him…
If you put it kindly, Minamoto Senya was a boy of few words.
If you put it bluntly, he was dull and unresponsive.
Most of the time, when people spoke to him, his replies consisted only of a nod or shake of the head, lips tightly pressed together.
They had almost never seen him look so expressive—or speak so fluently.
And, surprisingly enough, when this little pretty-boy suddenly smiled, he was actually rather cute.
A handsome little guy, with definite potential for the future.
Why hadn't they noticed it before?
Senya, however, paid no attention to their changing expressions. All of his focus was on Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Goodbye, sensei."
With that, he stood and left.
By the time he reached the entrance stairs of the classroom building, he saw Yukinoshita Yukino standing frozen in front of the shoe lockers.
As he approached from behind, the obvious exclamation mark floating over her head vanished.
[She has run into trouble. You may be able to do something about it.]
So this was the kind of prompt you got after accepting a quest, huh?
Senya thought silently to himself.
Without breaking stride, he stepped forward again.
In the next instant, he saw her staring at an empty shoe locker, silent and unmoving.
He immediately understood the situation: someone had played a prank on her.
Troublemakers really did exist at every age.
Senya felt a twinge of anger.
Yukino noticed someone behind her and turned slightly, giving Senya a brief glance before squatting down to take off her shoes without a word.
"Do you want me to go get a teacher for you?"
Senya's sudden question startled Yukino a little, and her hands froze mid-motion.
But just as quickly, her face returned to its usual cool expression. She shook her head and replied softly, "No, it's fine."
Her voice was sweet and gentle, her diction crisp and precise—very different from most children her age. Hearing it was oddly refreshing.
"You're just going to walk straight into the classroom like that?"
Even though the kindergarten had wooden floors that were cleaned regularly, the ground still carried some dust.
And Yukino was wearing white socks—the easiest color to get dirty. A few steps on the floor and the soles would turn pitch black!
Senya had a bit of a cleanliness obsession. Just picturing that scene made him uncomfortable.
"It's okay. The weather isn't that cold today."
Yukino shook her head again, clearly misunderstanding his meaning.
"That's not what I meant…"
Senya sighed inwardly, a little exasperated.
This little Yukino might be cute, but there was no way to connect her with the image of the two-dimensional heroine from his memories.
She was still too young to keep up with this kind of conversation.
He had thought she might be capable of making a proper judgment even in this situation.
But clearly, that wasn't the case.
Which meant it was up to him to act!
There was nothing more detestable than bullying—and besides, Senya was curious to see what would happen if he followed the system's hint.
"Wait here for a second. I think I know who took your shoes."
The moment the words left his mouth, Senya quickly swapped his own shoes and strode toward a certain classroom.
Activating his god's-eye view, he scanned the area.
Almost immediately, he spotted three little girls hiding inside a classroom, peeking out the window in this direction.
Children couldn't hide their emotions; it was all over their faces. Senya instantly knew they were guilty!
Yukino was momentarily stunned by his words. But rather than wait obediently, she slipped off her shoes and hurried after him.
By the time she entered the classroom, she saw Senya glaring fiercely at three little girls, his eyes wide with menace.
"I saw you hiding her shoes! Give them back! Or I'll tell the teachers right now and make them call the police to arrest you!"
Senya's deliberately angry expression was enough to frighten the three girls.
And his exaggerated threat—blowing the consequences out of proportion—pushed them into instant panic.
"U-uh… s-sorry…"
"Please don't tell the teachers! Don't call the police!"
Things were going even smoother than Senya had expected.
One girl kept apologizing, while another was already crying.
Really—if your nerves were this weak, you had no business doing something mean in the first place.
Annoyed by their hesitation, Senya slammed his hand down on a desk. What looked silly from an adult's perspective was absolutely terrifying to children.
"Crying won't help! Hand over the shoes—now!"
The three girls had never faced anything like this before and were utterly shaken.
In a rush, they scurried to the back of the classroom, retrieved a small pair of indoor shoes hidden behind a bookshelf, and shakily held them out.
"Why are you giving them to me? Give them to her—and apologize!"
Senya's harsh expression left no room for argument.
"S-sorry, Yukinoshita-san. Please… please forgive us…"
The three culprits bowed their heads, mumbling apologies.
"…"
For Yukino, this was clearly the first time she had experienced such a situation.
She accepted her shoes but seemed unsure how to respond to their apologies.
"Alright, enough. Get going!" Senya, satisfied with the level of intimidation, waved them away.
The girls fled in a hurry.
Yukino quietly sat down at her seat and slipped on her indoor shoes.
After a moment of hesitation, she glanced at Senya, who had already dropped his menacing look, and finally said softly, "Thank you."
[You successfully resolved Yukinoshita Yukino's problem. Her favorability toward you has increased. Your Charm +1.]
[Personal Status Menu Unlocked.]
"No need to thank me. But next time something like this happens, don't be afraid to trouble the teachers. Otherwise, if they can hide your shoes today, tomorrow it might be your pencil case or your backpack."
Senya said it casually, then turned and walked out of the classroom.
His system had just changed—something new had been unlocked. He was eager to check it out.
Yukino seemed like she wanted to say something more, but his decisive departure left her silent.
Instead, she lowered her gaze to her spotless white shoes, thinking that she had forgotten to ask his name.
Meanwhile, back in his own classroom, Senya summoned the system and noticed a new icon—his own portrait—had appeared in the upper left corner of the map.
When he tapped it, a personal status menu popped up:
[Name: Minamoto Senya][Strength: 1.0][Agility: 1.1][Constitution: 1.2](Average for a five-year-old human: 1.1)[Charm: 2.3][Skills: Chinese LV5, Japanese LV2][Gift: The Unusual Fortune of a Transmigrator (For better or worse, your chances of encountering all kinds of events are greatly increased.)]
Senya looked at the glowing panel before him, then recalled the process of helping little Yukinoshita just now.
If the system had unlocked a personal panel, then surely it would unlock other things later as well.
His lips curved into a faint, satisfied smile.
All in all—things were looking promising.