Early Sunday morning.
When Shirasestepped out for his run, the ground was wet—it had just rained, though he hadn't heard a drop overnight.
The soccer club had planned a victory party for yesterday, but a few members had family matters, so they pushed it to today. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made it to the Nakano household on time last night.
After his run and a quick shower, Shirase saw Kojima Kana was still asleep. In no hurry to make breakfast, he sat in the living room and checked the team's group chat.
The captain had added him on his first day.
It was barely past seven, yet the chat was already buzzing.
[Captain]:@everyone anyone awake yet? Big anime convention today at the International Exhibition Center. I heard a bunch of local Kamen Rider fans are going—anyone want to squad up?
[Isshiki Iroha]:Captain, why are you making noise this early? Also, aren't you boys just going to scope out cute girls?
Seeing that, Shirase dove in:
[Shirase Haruto]:Wrong. Boys don't go to cons for cute girls. As the saying goes—cuteness is worthless in the face of sexiness.
[Isshiki Iroha]:Oh, Shirase-kun, you're awake too?😲
[Captain]:Fair point. Lots of sexy cosplayers at cons. Actually, last time I saw a leaked backstage clip—the girls' outfits were basically invisible. Way too indecent!
[Shirase Haruto]:Send it here. I'll take responsibility and provide a thorough critique.
[Isshiki Iroha]:Are all boys like this? Say "sexy" and you're all fired up. 😒
[Hayama Hayato]:I mean, it's normal. Just like girls enjoy looking at handsome guys, boys like looking at pretty girls.
[Captain]:Hayama, you're actually lurking?!
[Hayama Hayato]:Not really. I set special notifications for you and Shirase-kun. My phone pinged, I got curious.
[Shirase Haruto]: Hayama's secretly perverted.
[Captain]:Hayama's secretly perverted.
[Isshiki Iroha]:Hayama's secretly perverted.
Group chats were always like this—everyone either a veteran pervert or an echo bot.
In the end, Hayama could only drop a helpless smile emoji.
"An anime convention, huh? Timing works."
Shirase checked the website: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Plenty of time. He could swing by.
Might as well grab a few extra Kamen Rider shots.
As for sexy cosplayers?
No interest whatsoever.
Whether it was Nakano Nino or Kojima Kana, if he ever asked, they'd grumble about how troublesome it was—then cosplay anyway.
Nino had the curves and the looks.
Kana had the brains and the looks.
Perfect.
After breakfast together, Kojima Kana cheerfully announced she was off to meet Kirisu-sensei.
Right now, her joy was impossible to hide—nothing like the disappointment she'd worn when she got home last night.
Proved one truth: sleep while hugging something and your mood improves.
Even if it's just a pillow or some weird plush, it works.
Shirase didn't head out yet. He returned to his room, decided to prep, and kicked off another round of [Free Hosting].
He was curious—since every session buffed his physical stats, if he kept at it, would he end up like Kyogoku Makoto?
If not him, even Mori Ran's casual habit of shattering telephone poles would do.
[Welcome back, Host, to Free Hosting.]
[Detected: Host has not prepared math problems. The System approves. However, Host shows an urge to solve math problems. The System is unhappy.]
"You can be unhappy?" Shirase chuckled. "Funny, I can't hear it."
[If Host cannot sense it, Host clearly isn't attentive enough to the System.]
"Impossible. I gave you a negative review last time. I was very attentive."
The System went silent.
After he finished tidying the house, the damned System returned to its old hobby: vigilante justice.
Shirase let it roam, setting the session duration to 120 minutes again.
He still wasn't sure the so-called "crime radar" actually worked.
After two whole streets with nothing, he couldn't help asking, "So where exactly are you planning to play vigilante? Or is there nothing to detect?"
[Criminal activity detected nearby. System proceeding to the scene.]
"Huh?"
Shirase froze, scanned the area, and saw nothing suspicious.
Just as he wondered if the damned System had glitched again, he spotted several security guards up ahead blocking off a quiet street. Behind them, bystanders craned their necks or filmed with their phones.
While Shirase was still confused, the System walked up to the guards. "Can I go in?"
"No. There's a film crew inside. We can't have disturbances. The crew didn't pay much for the street rental, so please understand," one guard said.
The System nodded. "Got it. Thanks for the heads-up."
A film crew?
Realization hit Shirase. "Don't tell me the 'criminal activity' you detected is the crew. They're acting—it's fake."
[Host, rest assured. Real or fake, the System will personally verify.]
With that, the System slipped away from the barricade. When no one was looking, it ran up the wall of a nearby shop, kicked off, and flipped onto the roof with textbook parkour.
"Okay, that's actually cool," Shirase admitted.
Clearing the shop roof, the System dropped onto a lower one and flattened out of sight.
"Voldemort tactics now?" Shirase muttered.
But his focus shifted as the set below came into view.
He immediately spotted Nakano Ichika in the crowd.
Probably not her turn yet. In the middle stood a man and a woman he didn't recognize, while a middle-aged guy in a small hat gave instructions:
"You two come around that corner. Some extras will chase you, and others will ambush from that roof over there, got it?"
Only then did Shirase realize they were shooting a chase.
Pretty standard drama fare.
He'd never visited one of Ichika's sets and had no idea what kind of show it was.
From the costumes, he guessed a glossy office romance—the leads looked too polished to be ordinary.
"All right, places! Action!"
At the director's call, the leads bolted from the corner, extras yelling as they gave chase.
Just as Shirase was getting into it, he heard scuffling nearby. He turned to see three young men climbing up carefully.
"Crap! Those extras are ambushing from here? Damned System, we should bail!" Shirase warned.
The System didn't move.
The three made it up, saw him, and froze. "Who are you?"
"A temp extra," the System said calmly, waving them on. "Hurry—they're almost here. Don't waste the take."
"Oh…"
Still suspicious, the three let his confidence carry them.
Besides, no extra would dare stall a shoot.
And so a three-man ambush became four.
"Damned System, seriously?" Shirase thought it had lost its mind again.
[Rest easy, Host. After confirming no criminal activity, the System will leave immediately.]
"You have zero intention of leaving."
The fleeing leads reached their mark. The script called for the hero's desperate last stand, so they braced.
As the camera pushed in, the System moved first.
"Let's go."
While the three extras crouched to climb down, "Shirase" side-flipped off the roof, landing clean and flashy.
Holy crap, this kid?!
The extras gaped.
The director's team stared, equally stunned.
"This extra's got moves. What's his name?" the director asked without thinking.
Everyone looked around and shook their heads.
Only Nakano Ichika stood there, eyes wide.
Are you kidding me? Isn't that Shirase-kun? Why is he here?!
Three questions in a row, and no answers.
Worse, her scene was up soon—no way to dodge him.
This is bad… I'm definitely getting exposed.
Rubbing her forehead, Ichika fretted: Could Shirase be moonlighting as an extra?
Meanwhile, on Shirase's side—after the System landed, the leads paused—the hero's last stand beat.
Naturally, the director seized the chance for a cool close-up.
---
T/N: yeah no excuse this time :sob: WAIT NO I WAS STARTING NEW TLS SO HA! yeah sorrrey heres the 4 chapters!
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