All developments in the simulation are decided by you; the system will not interfere.
Looking at the transparent light screen in front of him, Kiyono pondered for a moment, then pressed the Start button.
"Simulation starting…"
"Worldline deduction in progress…"
"Generating character talents…"
"Talents generated. These are character talents deduced based on you. You can decide the future direction of the simulation based on these talents. Please review them carefully."
"You have a total of three talents for this simulation."
"True Love: In this life, meeting one's true love is a very fortunate thing, and you have one, two, three… or even countless True Loves!
Effect: When you encounter a crisis, a young girl will definitely lead you out of trouble."
What kind of rule-based talent is this! And it's clearly just freeloading! You might as well just rename it "King of Freeloaders"!
Kiyono's mouth twitched. He suppressed the complicated feeling and continued to read.
"Charm Release: You possess a unique aura; older, married women's affection for you greatly increases.
Brilliant Pen: You possess outstanding talent in literature."
A golden talent!
Looking at this last talent, Kiyono's eyes lit up. Leaving the first two aside for now, only this Brilliant Pen talent was randomly drawn by the system, which also set the career path he would pursue in the simulation.
"But literature… it seems it should be classical literature or light novels. Considering quick money, light novels might be more suitable, right?"
To be honest, this was a bit tricky, because whether it was a novel or anything else, it would take a certain amount of time to earn money. His biggest problem now was how to get through this difficult early stage—but it would have to do! After all, it was a free simulation; he couldn't ask for too much.
"Pure Love talents have been configured with one click. Do you wish to start the simulation?"
"Yes."
"During the simulation, there may be intense mental fluctuations. It is recommended that you lie down on your bed."
…How considerate.
Kiyono obediently lay down on the bed and pulled the blanket up.
"Simulation officially begins."
"Sunlight with a lively smile streamed through the window. You, staying at home, suddenly wanted to go out for a stroll."
"You walked out of your house, enjoying the warm breeze, strolling along the roadside. But after only a few steps, you saw a truck painted the color of iced tea roaring down the road, and in front of the truck was a little girl with eyes wide in terror."
"In that instant, you didn't think. Your instincts propelled your body into action. With a cry of 'MAN,' you were hit by the truck adorned with a picture of a certain famous prisoner, but the girl was saved by you."
"But you were surprised to find that you hadn't died; instead, you had transmigrated into the two-dimensional world you had always dreamed of."
"You were very happy, exclaiming that this was the reward for reading ten years of legitimate web novels."
"But you soon stopped smiling. Possessing nothing, you experienced the difficulty of survival. You began a life of wandering."
"You lamented: 'Damn, Japan is really too bad.'"
Fragmented scenes flashed.
Kiyono's mood was somewhat complicated. How can there even be flashback CGs!
"On a moonless night, you—rejected again in a job application—were dizzy with hunger. You sat on the street with a sign that read, 'I'll do anything for money.'"
"The next moment, the dark clouds parted, and a huge, beautiful full moon—bright and gentle—appeared before you, as if you could reach out and touch it."
"You felt admiration for the young girl named Yukino Yukinoshita, and also felt ashamed. You wanted to become someone who could stand proudly even beside her."
"You received fifty thousand Japanese yen."
I'm not—I didn't—don't talk nonsense! That was just simple gratitude and a tiny crush, you damned system!
Seeing those words, Kiyono inexplicably blushed, then became indignant.
But the system had clearly entered a rigorous mode. It ignored his complaints and continued the simulation without stopping.
"But what you didn't know was that after you left, a light-blue-haired, twin-tailed young girl arrived at your previous location with a steaming hot meal. After finding you weren't there, she bit her lip, looking very worried."
"That day, you slept comfortably and peacefully for the first time."
"The next day, you put on a new set of clothes and walked through the bustling commercial street, preparing to look for a job. Because you were neatly dressed and your appearance had returned to normal, many married women on the street frequently cast glances at you."
"You politely declined the contact information offered by a mature woman, thinking about the job you wanted to find."
His consciousness immersed.
Kiyono blinked. The dim hotel room instantly transformed into bright sunlight. Under the clear blue sky, he saw the regretful profile of the mature woman he had just rejected. A girl in a plaid skirt rode past on a bicycle; their eyes met in a fleeting glance. He could smell the aromas wafting from the restaurants along the street—lively and noisy.
"It feels completely like the real world…"
Kiyono sighed, then began to act.
Relying on his rich job-seeking experience, he quickly searched for nearby stores that were hiring and filtered out those he could handle, asking one by one—this time, he no longer received disdainful looks, but was treated normally. In the end, he had three options.
First, a convenience store that took in many temporary workers. The advantage was no threshold and relative stability. The disadvantage was that the salary was at the minimum standard, and the hours were eight or more per day.
Second, a restaurant specializing in Western cuisine. The advantage was urgent hiring and a salary so high he could hardly imagine—1,400 yen an hour. The disadvantage was a limited time cap: they only needed staff for three hours in the morning and three in the evening during peak times, and he could be dismissed at any time depending on business fluctuations.
Third, morning newspaper delivery. The pay was calculated by quantity, which wasn't bad for a part-time job, but he didn't have a bicycle.
Fourth, selling himself at a host club.
Kiyono sat on a park bench, weighing the pros and cons—most importantly, he had to ensure his livelihood while also setting aside enough time to write and submit his work. This was the key to escaping his difficult life.
Although this was just a simulation, it strictly followed the logic of the real world. It was impossible to both work hard to earn money and seriously create literature. If we use a "gamification" analogy, his character's stamina was limited; if stamina was insufficient, text output would decline. He had to make choices.
"Looking at it this way, the combination of two and three is more suitable. Although it's only five or six hours of pay, it's enough for living. After earning money, I can buy a bicycle to deliver newspapers, and all the remaining time can be used for brainstorming and writing. The convenience store hours are really too long, and I'd have to face customers constantly, leaving little room for thought."
Once his mind was set, Kiyono no longer hesitated and walked directly toward that store.
"You arrived at a family restaurant located in the commercial district."
"You explained your purpose, and the Big Sister in charge greeted you warmly."
In the staff break room, the mature and gentle Big Sister had Kiyono sit at a table, watching him with a smile.
"Little brother, did you bring your résumé?"
Her voice was as soft as a young girl's. Now that they were face to face, he finally saw her true appearance: chestnut-colored long hair simply tied up, beautiful emerald-green eyes, and a black-and-white work uniform that perfectly accentuated her slender figure.
"Uh, this…"
Kiyono naturally knew that job applications usually required a résumé—or things like a student ID and address—but he didn't have any of those! He couldn't possibly say he lived under a bridge!
So he could only smile shyly, like a bashful boy who wasn't good at dealing with beautiful Big Sisters.
"Ah, it's fine if you don't have a résumé. How old are you this year? Where do you go to school?" the Big Sister in charge asked, her smile unchanged.
"Sixteen, and I'm not in school anymore."
Kiyono paused, lowered his eyes, and spoke softly. At that moment, sunlight streamed through the window, bathing him. The light warmed his skin, and his long, delicate eyelashes trembled like tender shoots breaking through spring soil. Below were eyes as clear as a stream—reflecting calmness, relief, and a deeply hidden trace of sorrow.
Thus, this sentence had many interpretations. He could be a fallen noble abandoned by a prominent family, struggling alone; or an innocent youth from the countryside, carrying his parents' hopes, venturing into the city, ultimately compromising with life… Seeing the Big Sister's sparkling eyes, she had probably already imagined a hundred thousand words of backstory.
Charm Release—go for it!
After a brief silence, Big Sister took a deep breath and handed him a stack of A4 papers.
"Here, these are the terms of employment. Just follow these roughly. Take a quick look, okay?"
…
Good!
It worked!
Kiyono let out a heavy sigh of relief, a genuine smile spreading across his face as he eagerly took the papers.
Seeing his expression, Big Sister also smiled. She certainly knew Kiyono had many stories, but this young man was quite to her liking—and they were indeed very short-staffed right now—so some small details could be overlooked.
Of course, even though this was essentially an emergency hire for temporary work, as long as it was a legitimate establishment, the formal procedures still had to be followed.
She carefully directed him from the side: "Sign here. You can fill in your hometown address for your family residence."
The interview proceeded smoothly. Kiyono wrote and drew on the terms of employment as she instructed. While signing, he glanced at the clauses—many safety precautions, tardiness rules, contact methods for absences, and so on… He simply ignored them because they were too troublesome to read.
"May I ask if you have any previous experience in customer service like this?" Big Sister asked.
"No, this is my first time working in a store like this," Kiyono answered honestly.
"Oh, then I'll teach you some tips later." After he finished signing, Big Sister handed him a work card. "After writing your name, go punch in over there."
"Thank you!" Kiyono straightened up, bowed slightly, and sincerely thanked the mature woman in front of him. "I can start working right away!"
"Not bad—so enthusiastic on your first day. Then I'll trouble you to work until evening, okay?" Big Sister winked.
"My pleasure." Kiyono gave a thumbs-up.
"However, before that, you need to change into our work uniform." Big Sister led the way. "Follow me; I'll take you to the changing room."
"Big Sister prepared your clothes for you."
"After you put on the uniform, she stood in front of you, her eyes lighting up as she praised, 'It looks great! How are the sleeves and collar? Not too tight, right?'"
"You smiled and replied that it fit perfectly. Then she gave you a tour of the shop, the kitchen, the cash register, the dining area… and introduced you to the other staff. The seniors were all very friendly to you, and the older female staff members were especially fond of you."
"During this time, Big Sister also continuously guided you on the key points of the job. Your work wasn't complicated; it was just what a regular waiter does: taking orders, carrying plates, washing dishes, and helping out in the back kitchen when it was busy."
"The time came to seven o'clock in the evening, which was already the peak dining hour. You also started getting busy. Since it was your first time, you were inevitably a bit flustered, but Big Sister timely helped you resolve these small issues."
"Then the clock hands turned to half past nine. Amidst many sighs of relief, finally, you finished your part-time work for the day. After punching out your work card, you felt a sense of relief and decided to buy a bento box to celebrate later."
"But Big Sister stopped you. She gently patted your back, her smile gentle: 'To celebrate your joining today, let's eat in the store tonight. Although it's just leftovers made from extra ingredients.'"
"'There's such a good thing?' You were delighted to save money on dinner—not to mention getting to enjoy delicious food."
"You and the other staff members sat around the dining table, waiting for dinner. To be honest, your first feeling at that moment was exhaustion; your whole body was tired. Although the working hours weren't long, you hadn't eaten well these past few days, and the high-intensity mental and physical exertion had pushed you almost to your limit."
"However, despite your physical fatigue, your heart felt incredibly fulfilled, because you had earned money and dignity with your own hands—not through begging, not through pity, but by relying on yourself honorably."
"But you hadn't forgotten that it was Yukino Yukinoshita who helped you take this step."
"You ate a very satisfying dinner."
"After eating your fill and leaving the store, you returned to the hotel. Originally, you had planned to go to an internet café to brainstorm your novel, but your fatigue made you abandon that idea. You simply took a shower and almost immediately fell asleep."
"You had a job that could support you, and you cherished it. From then on, you worked diligently every day—arriving the earliest and leaving the latest—always showing your most cheerful smile. With your diligent attitude, you quickly gained the genuine recognition and trust of others, and even started to have customers specifically coming for you."
"At the same time, you devoted almost all your free time to your novel. Days passed, and you finally saved a little money, which made you feel a bit more at ease."
At this moment, Kiyono couldn't help but say, "System, can you transfer this money to my reality?"
"…No."
"Dad."
"No, I can't… I have no choice."
The simulation continued.
"Part-time work, brainstorming."
"Brainstorming, part-time work."
"You began to get a clearer idea of the light-novel industry and the novel you wanted to write."
Time moved as if fast-forwarded by a god.
Perhaps because of the simulator, Kiyono often felt time flying by—like pressing skip on a cutscene while playing a game—and time also skipped along with it.
But Kiyono still retained the relevant memories. He remembered the sweat he shed during part-time work, the joy he felt when he thought of novel plots, and the emotion when he received his wages.
"Now I can pretty much start writing."
Inside the family restaurant.
The young man, dressed in a waiter's uniform, walked among the customers, lost in thought. Whenever he imagined his future success, he couldn't help but automatically play the BGM of "My Future Is Not a Dream" in his mind.
But then—