Kids these days…
With good nutrition, their brains develop so well!
When I was five, I was still running around the countryside playing in the mud.
I'd get myself filthy without even realizing it.
If someone laughed at me, I'd just grin back at them like an idiot.
And of course, the result was always the same—going home only to be met with a double beating from my parents.
The driver sighed deeply with emotion.
Minamoto Senya's home wasn't far.
Within a few minutes, the car pulled up in front of his house.
Before getting out, Senya made sure to thank Haruno once more.
The third grader, who had been smiling so confidently earlier, was no longer so at ease.
Her brows furrowed tightly, as if she were questioning the meaning of life itself.
She only gave him a slight nod in return.
Little Yukino told the driver to wait a moment, then hopped out of the car alongside Senya.
Senya looked at her, puzzled. "Is there something else?"
He wasn't keen on inviting her into his home—it felt troublesome.
After all, when it came to kids, he rarely had much to say.
And besides, there really wasn't anything at home worth offering a guest.
"Um…" Yukino lowered her head slightly.
It was rare for her to so clearly feel such a nervous emotion.
And when she noticed Senya standing there, eyes fixed on her, the unease in her chest only grew stronger.
Her small, soft hands fidgeted awkwardly, pinching at the hem of her clothes.
Finally, she summoned her courage, her wide eyes flickering as they met his.
"…I'm not as exceptional as you said I was. But… but I'll work hard to become that kind of person!"
Her thoughts were a tangled mess she couldn't quite unravel.
And in the end, all she managed to say was this one line.
It sounded like a promise made in response to someone else's expectations.
The last glow of sunset, sinking beyond the horizon, bore witness to the moment.
Hah? That's it? I thought she was going to say something profound…
"Well, alright. Do your best," Senya said brightly, extending his hand.
Yukino hesitated, reached out instinctively, and then—like a startled kitten—pulled her fingers back the instant they brushed his.
"Th-thank you! See you!"
She darted back to the car. It wasn't quite a panicked escape, but it wasn't far from it either.
"Today was fun. Let's play again next time, Senya-kun!"
Haruno finally came back to herself, lowering the window to wave goodbye.
Senya stood at his doorway, waving as the car disappeared down the street.
He reflected on whether he'd gotten a little carried away.
Trading barbed words with those sisters like it was serious business—what was he thinking?
Kids were kids.
This was just the beginning, and already Yukino had gotten fired up like it was some kind of battle.
Still, having the will to improve was always a good thing—worth encouraging.
He turned back into his house.
As quiet and empty as when he'd left.
For most children, such an environment would have felt cruel.
But for Minamoto Senya, solitude like this was the best gift of all.
He went straight to the bath, filling the tub and sinking into the hot water.
"Ahhh… bliss."
The Japanese sure knew how to enjoy life.
A soak in the bath—最高 (saikō)!
He called up his system.
Thanks to the Yukinoshita sisters interrupting earlier, he hadn't yet checked the rewards from today.
[Name: Minamoto Senya][Strength: 1.0][Agility: 1.1][Constitution: 1.2][Charm: 2.3](Free Attribute Points: 1)
Just like in old-school games, the meaning of these four stats was obvious.
Senya thought for a moment and put his free point into Constitution.
He was a pragmatist.
If he was going to keep venturing out like today, having better stamina and endurance would definitely expand his range of activity and improve his efficiency.
Then came the real reward.
At the bottom-left corner of the system screen, a new empty slot appeared.
Senya tapped it, and two avatars popped up: little Yukinoshita Yukino and little Hayasaka Ai.
Right on cue, the system displayed a new prompt:
[Binding Slots][Individuals with a certain degree of connection to the host will be recorded in the candidate list.][Once affection reaches the required threshold, the host may freely select candidates to bind.][Upon binding, the host may choose one skill from the bound target and passively receive continuous growth in that skill.][Note: skill growth obtained this way cannot surpass the target's current level!][The formula for experience gain is as follows—][Distance… + Affection…]
This was the first time the system had ever given such a detailed explanation.
Senya had good reason to believe this was its core function.
He read carefully, including the complicated formula at the end.
Got it.
In short…
From now on, if he wanted, he could literally do nothing—just lie down and get stronger!
The speed of growth would depend entirely on two things: the bound target's affection toward him, and their physical distance from him.
The higher the affection, the closer the distance, the faster he would grow.
This was… this was…!
So damn cool!
Senya could already picture his unstoppable future.
Excited, he immediately decided to test it.
From the candidate list, Hayasaka Ai's avatar was grayed out.
According to the system, that was because her affection hadn't yet met the conditions—so she couldn't be chosen.
Yukino, however, was a different story.
The icy, aloof little girl in the picture had a faint pink glow shimmering around her portrait.
Who would've thought—little Yukinoshita Yukino was surprisingly easy to win over.
Senya selected her. The system responded instantly:
[Target selected: Yukinoshita Yukino. Bind?]
Yes!
[Binding with Yukinoshita Yukino successful!]
[Yukinoshita Yukino's movements will ignore map fog. A five-meter radius around her will be continuously displayed on the host's map.]
Huh???
[Below is a list of Yukinoshita Yukino's skills. The host may choose one for passive growth.]
[Japanese LV4, English LV2, Drawing LV2, Piano LV1, Violin LV1, Cooking LV1… Spanish, Ikebana, Aikidō, Housework, Harmonica…]
"…"
Senya stared at the densely packed list of skills Yukino had already mastered.
Compared to his own pitiful two… it was depressing.
At such a young age, she was already doing all this? Didn't she ever get tired?
Still, complaints aside, Senya quietly chose the one he needed most right now: Japanese.
With his own efforts combined with Yukino's passive support, he would soon master the language—and his biggest barrier to surviving in this country would vanish.
Meanwhile…
At a red light, Haruno suddenly broke her silence."Uncle Yamato, do you know who Lu Xun is?"
Huh? You're asking me?
The driver grimaced. "No idea…"
Little Yukino didn't care about her sister's strange question.
She lowered her head, brushing her right fingers against the ones on her left hand—the ones that had briefly touched Minamoto Senya's.
Her lips curved faintly, and a small smile bloomed on her face.
...