Because Kai had spoken out of nowhere, the girl lifted her head a little, eyes moving from her phone to his face, a hint of blankness in them.
It only lasted a second. She recovered quickly.
Coming back to herself, Ijichi Nijika spoke with a touch of puzzled courtesy.
"Eh? Um… I really am looking for a guitarist. May I ask who you are?"
"I'm Aoki Kai, second year at Jōsei Private High. I heard from passersby that there's a blonde girl looking for a guitarist nearby. I happen to know a little about guitar. Do you need help?"
Kai kept his tone steady.
Per the system, he had to become the End band's temporary guitarist. Until Nijika accepted, the ¥100,000 wouldn't drop.
Still, getting a conversation going was half a win. From the system's hint, End was probably in the "Ryou has run away" phase with no guitarist. Nijika shouldn't refuse.
Even if he was only doing it for the reward—deceiving pure, innocent Nijika-mama with a lie and likely being no real help in the end…
Just as he'd predicted, Nijika's eyes brightened at his words.
The doubt vanished from her tone. In lively, upbeat voice she said, "R-really?! I'm a student at Shimokitazawa High—Ijichi Nijika. We're performing tomorrow, but our guitarist disappeared a few days ago, so I've been looking around for one… If Aoki-san could help, I'd be so grateful!"
Hands pressed together, she blinked big, hopeful eyes.
"Our songs are simple. Anyone who can play guitar can learn them fast, and the audience will basically just be classmates and friends—the bar's low!"
Kai had no intention of refusing—in fact he was eager for her to ask, just to clear the option.
So the moment she finished, he answered, crisp and sure: "I can take the temporary guitarist spot. No problem."
Nijika had braced for a long slog, so getting a guitarist this easily left her a little stunned—then excited.
"In that case—no time like the present. Let's head out now!"
…
Watching the brimming energy in the girl before him and hearing the impatience in her voice, Kai felt a twinge of guilt for lying for ¥100,000.
Before he could apologize in his heart, a crisp electronic chime rang in his ear, cutting his thoughts short.
Ding. Option 3 detected as completed. Reward has been issued.
Ding. First option completed—Heroine Panel function unlocked.
Ding. Points obtained—Points Shop function unlocked.
Three prompts in a row.
Kai blinked, then caught up: Option 3 cleared, cash paid out, and a bunch of new functions appeared whose use he didn't yet know.
Considering the very real ¥100,000, Kai set the guilt aside for now.
To check the reward in peace, he decided not to head out with Nijika just yet.
Shaking the convenience-store bentos he was holding, he offered an excuse. "It's a bit awkward carrying stuff. I live nearby—just tell me where to meet, and I'll swing by my place to drop things off and come right away. Won't take long."
"Um…"
Perhaps because Kita Ikuyo's sudden disappearance had left a shadow on her heart, Nijika hesitated.
But only a moment. She nodded firmly. "The venue is a live house in Shimokitazawa called STARRY. You can find it on Google Maps, Aoki-san."
She paused, then—maybe worried he'd run like Kita—added, "It's not far. Please do come!"
"Don't worry."
He nodded, raised a hand in farewell under Nijika's gaze, and left the park with his bentos.
Just as he'd said, his apartment really was close—no train needed. Five minutes on foot and he was back in his cramped rental.
A 1R unit with a prefab bath; kitchen and living area weren't separated. Small, narrow—everything crammed into a single room.
Embarrassingly shabby.
The upside was obvious: in this part of Tokyo, rent was dirt cheap—half or less of other layouts.
He came in, changed into slippers, set the bentos aside, and—without fuss—tried to open the "system" that had chimed in his head.
He'd received a bank text for a ¥100,000 deposit on his way home. Having confirmed that, he wasn't in a rush to check the other material rewards.
A translucent screen popped up.
A bold, pitch-black line of text filled his vision.
Welcome to the Love-Obstruction Simulation Game. Once started, the game cannot be terminated. Note: Any consequences after the host achieves an "ending" are borne by the host and have nothing to do with this game. Do not disclose any content of this game to anyone. Violators assume all consequences.
A disclaimer, essentially. Aside from that bold paragraph, two buttons blinked on the screen:
[Heroine Panel] and [Points Shop]—the very features mentioned by the voice.
He ignored the disclaimer for now and, curious about his fashionably late golden finger, tapped [Heroine Panel].
The pale blue screen reshaped itself.
Selectable Heroine: Ijichi Nijika
Unlocked CGs: (None) (Note: Unlock CGs by meeting certain conditions to receive rewards.)
Achievements in Ijichi Nijika Route: (None)
Endings in Ijichi Nijika Route: (None)
It was laid out like a galgame. After a careful read, Kai closed the panel.
CGs, achievements, endings—he had none of them. At present the Heroine Panel wasn't of much use.
He switched to the Points Shop.
Again the screen changed.
Compared to the panel, the shop was spartan: a simple table listing a dense array of items purchasable with points.
A wild variety: "Master-level Culinary Arts" for 400 points; "Exchange ¥10,000" for 100 points; "Sheet Music + Lyrics: [Song Title]" for 100 points, and so on.
—(stray "Portable speaker" tag in the source)—
A quick scan told him the price bands.
Skills like "Master-level XXX" varied by quality prefix: cheapest 200 points, up to 1000.
One thing: while there were many skills, some knowledge-type skills he wanted weren't present—math, chemistry, biology…
Next were manuscripts of literary works or music scores + lyrics from his previous life: all flat-priced at 100 points, fame and quality irrelevant.
Finally, points-to-yen exchange was 100:10,000. Compared to other items, converting to cash had the worst value.
He currently had 500 points from the option reward. If he converted, that'd be ¥50,000.
But he wasn't stupid. Better to teach a man to fish than to hand him fish. Instead of cashing out, there were better investments right now.
Eyes on the simple shop, he hesitated.
Since some academic knowledge wasn't available, buying a money-making skill became his top choice.
Plenty of fast-money gigs; a 400-point Master-level anything could get him out of poverty soon enough.
But then he remembered Nijika's worried look about him running off. After weighing it, he spent points on Master-level Guitar Performance.
Making money and keeping his word weren't mutually exclusive. This skill hit two birds with one stone.
He redeemed [Guitar Technique (Master)] for 400 points, leaving 100.
He didn't plan to spend more. A glance at the wall clock said he'd been home over ten minutes.
He closed the panel, no more dawdling.
With Master-level guitar in hand, he had confidence. He opened Google Maps and searched for the STARRY live house in Shimokitazawa.
-------
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