Isshiki Iroha's sudden burst of imagination left Shirase stunned.
Hiratsuka Shizuka, however, gave the sweetly smiling girl beside her a sharp, assessing glance. She clearly had a few thoughts of her own but chose to stay quiet.
"I'm going now," the system said curtly, clearly done with the conversation.
Isshiki hummed softly, her tone gentle. "Don't push yourself too hard, okay? You're the ace of our soccer club, after all."
"I won't." The system turned and walked away.
Hiratsuka quietly observed Isshiki beside her. The girl's eyes lingered on Shirase's back until he finally disappeared around the corner.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, why are you looking at me like that?" Isshiki caught her gaze and jumped slightly, flustered.
Hiratsuka smiled faintly. "Nothing. I was just thinking how close you two seem."
"Y-yeah…" Isshiki's cheeks flushed pink.
With the same mild tone, Hiratsuka continued, "You know, Shirase's pretty popular at school. I even heard a few rumors about him and Yukino today. Who knows—maybe those two are secretly getting closer."
"That's not true!" Isshiki blurted before she could stop herself.
Hiratsuka simply smiled, watching her quietly.
Isshiki's face turned even redder. She quickly looked away and mumbled, "I already checked… Shirase-kun just asked Yukinoshita-san to look into our next opponents. That's all the rumors were about."
"Oh…" Hiratsuka drew out the word meaningfully.
Isshiki froze, suddenly awkward, realizing none of her usual tricks worked on Hiratsuka-sensei.
But Hiratsuka didn't press further. Instead, she gently guided the girl forward, saying casually, "I watched your last match, by the way. Once Shirase-kun steps onto the field, he's even more charismatic than usual."
Isshiki's face grew hotter, and she stayed quiet, already jumpy from Hiratsuka's earlier teasing.
Pretending not to notice, Hiratsuka went on smoothly, "He's really popular with the girls, too. According to Kirisu-sensei, he's even more popular than Hayama Hayato. Teenagers like to rebel and chase individuality—Shirase-kun's cool, aloof vibe just makes him more intriguing."
Isshiki pressed her lips together. She already knew that—her class alone had plenty of girls who liked Shirase.
Hiratsuka glanced at her and chuckled softly. "But according to Kojima, the girl closest to him right now is your classmate, Nakano Nino."
Isshiki's hands clenched slightly.
Hiratsuka sighed inwardly. As she suspected, her guess was right.
It was perfectly normal, after all. First love at their age—meeting a boy who was unbeatable on the field and easy on the eyes—it was only natural to fall for him.
She decided not to push further. Teen romance wasn't her concern.
And besides—she couldn't even find a boyfriend herself.
...
The system, in control of Shirase's body, made a full patrol of the shopping district. Since it was still early evening, the delinquents and nightlife crowds hadn't shown up yet, so there was little conflict to be found.
The system didn't mind missing out on heroic deeds today. It simply guided Shirase back home. After greeting Kojima Kana in the living room, it went straight to the kitchen to level up his cooking skill.
As for the math workbook lying open in his room?
The system pretended not to see it.
"Why are you cooking?"
Kana poked her head into the kitchen, sniffing curiously. The smell of the food immediately made her swallow.
"Because I haven't eaten yet," the system replied flatly.
Kana's face lit up. "Then make an extra portion for me! I didn't eat much earlier because I was chatting with Hiratsuka-sensei… Oh, by the way, she's actually really nice—way more normal and easy to talk to than little Mafuyu."
Little Mafuyu? Shirase nearly laughed aloud. What kind of nickname was that?
They were practically the same age—unless "little" referred to… something else?
The system, of course, ignored such trivial thoughts and kept cooking diligently.
By the time this round of [Free Hosting] ended, Kana was completely captivated by the smell. She sat down without hesitation, chopsticks ready.
As the notification for a new function popped up, Shirase instantly gave the damned system a one-star review.
[Thank you for the host's rating for this Free Hosting session. Reward: Triple-Experience Card ×2]
A brief silence followed.
[Host, is there something wrong with you?]
Shirase smiled faintly. So one-star reviews gave out rewards now? Looked like he'd just discovered a way to farm them.
As for the system's complaints? He ignored them completely.
With a new function unlocked, Shirase didn't rush to spin the [Wheel-of-Fortune Lottery]. Instead, he ate quickly, told Kana "I'm done," and went straight back to his room.
Opening the system panel, he saw the new feature displayed clearly:
[Immersive Hosting]
[Immersive Hosting: Available only during Hosting Mode. Allows mental hosting, enabling double efficiency during hosting.]
Huh? Shirase frowned. Double hosting?
So now I can host not just my body, but even my mind?
[Correct. Host can rest assured—this feature causes no harm or fatigue. You may freely activate it with one click.]
Even capitalists would cry at this…
Shirase sighed. Sure, it would double his learning efficiency—but it also sounded exactly like something a capitalist would love.
Curious, he activated [Immersive Hosting].
Instantly, everything went dark.
A black void stretched around him—nothing but silence.
He had a bad feeling. Maybe this feature was more complicated than it looked.
Then, when he mentally issued the command to begin hosting, a prompt appeared:
[Please select the Hosting activity.]
As expected.
Shirase's eyes brightened. So it's that kind of function.
He thought: Soccer training.
In an instant, the darkness dissolved into light. A vast soccer field unfolded before him, completely empty—no audience, no players—just a single ball sitting at midfield.
Shirase took a deep breath. He understood now.
Focusing his thoughts, he recalled the faces of their upcoming opponents from Yukinoshita Yukino's research materials.
One by one, figures appeared on the field until all eleven players from the championship team stood before him.
"So that's what this means. 'Immersive'—as in, letting me mentally experience real-world sensations."
Shirase's heart pounded with excitement.
---
bonus chaps
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