Jhin excitedly rubbed his hands together. He was about to claim the random reward for his mission and wondered if he'd get anything good.
Filled with anticipation, he pressed the "Claim" button on the mission panel. Countless points of light converged on the table in the room, then transformed into an ornate card with a starry pattern lying quietly on the tabletop.
Jhin walked over curiously and picked up the card. Before he could examine it closely, the card in his hand turned into a stream of light and merged into his body. The system notification sound rang out.
"Acquired Growth Equipment: Star Deck."
Growth equipment?! Score!
Jhin pumped his right fist, his joy beyond words. He hadn't expected his very first mission reward to be this kind of upgradable equipment. As everyone knows, growth equipment is never bad.
Following the system's explanation and some fumbling around on his own, Jhin quickly figured out how to use this piece of equipment and its effects.
This Star Deck would randomly draw an ability from the world of each completed commission and imprint it onto a card. He would then be able to use the imprinted ability through that card.
If it was a world without any special abilities, then a random imprinting would occur. The world of the commission he just completed was such a case, so a random ability was imprinted.
With a thought, Jhin extended his right hand and drew a card from thin air. Information about the card's ability naturally flowed into his mind. Pinching the card between two fingers, he swiped it in front of him. A deep, mechanical voice sounded out of nowhere, announcing the ability's name.
"Contractor"
The card in his hand shattered at the sound, turning into starlight that enveloped him. When the light faded, Jhin was wearing a black trench coat, with two daggers tied with special silk threads hanging from his waist. The blurry, stern-faced figure of a man briefly appeared behind him.
"I see, so it's just discharging electricity?" Jhin murmured to himself, lifting his hand and looking at the electric sparks flickering at his fingertips.
As the owner of the equipment, he already knew what ability had been drawn. It was the ability of the protagonist "Hei" from the anime "Darker than Black"—the Contractor's power to discharge electricity. He also didn't need to pay the price for using the ability.
Although Jhin was a bit disappointed it wasn't the ability of atomic manipulation, he was content with being able to possess the corresponding ability and combat experience just by using a card.
Still, this method was quite similar to a certain magical girl's class cards. With that thought, Jhin canceled the card's use, and his attire changed back to his original school uniform.
The commission was complete and the reward was claimed, so it was time to check on Gabriel. Remembering there was a fallen angel next door waiting for him to save her, Jhin left the school.
Not knowing if Gabriel had eaten, Jhin stopped by a convenience store on the way to buy a bento for her.
"Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong."
"Hey, Gabriel! Are you awake?" Jhin mashed the doorbell to Gabriel's apartment while shouting loudly.
There was finally some movement inside. Gabriel, with messy hair, dark circles under her eyes, and a weary face, opened the door. "Oh, Jhin. What do you want?"
"What do you mean, what do I want? I think you're the one with the problem!" Jhin said, looking with a headache at Gabriel, who had devolved from a perfect angel into a slob in just one day. "You didn't go to school today, did you? And what's with this ghastly appearance? Never mind, just let me in first."
"Huh? Come in? No way!" Gabriel's reaction suddenly became intense. She used her body to block the door, preventing Jhin from pushing it open. How could she let him see the utter mess inside her room!
"Hmm? What's with this reaction? You're not hiding something you don't want people to see in there, are you?" Jhin's gaze sharpened instantly.
"Absolutely not! It's just... a lady's room can't be entered so casually!" Gabriel continued to struggle, holding the door shut.
But Gabriel, who had stayed up all night gaming and hadn't eaten any proper food, was no match for Jhin's strength, even with his injured leg.
Gabriel soon collapsed in the entryway, exhausted, watching in utter despair as Jhin walked into her home, which now looked like a garbage dump.
It's over. If he sees this scene, we probably can't even be friends anymore. But that's fine, too. Then no one will bother me anymore, and I can stay home and play games all day, Gabriel thought to herself.
The disgusted reaction Jhin had imagined didn't appear. He just had an "I knew it" expression, sighed softly, and handed her the bento. "You should eat something first. I'll go clean up your room for you."
"Oh." Gabriel sat down, uncharacteristically obedient, and quietly began to eat the bento. She didn't argue anymore. Staring at Jhin's back as he cleaned, her heart was filled with mixed feelings. Soon, she noticed he was walking with a slight limp.
"Jhin, what happened to your leg?"
"Oh, this..."
Jhin explained how he had acted heroically while cleaning. With his back to Gabriel, he naturally didn't see the anger flare in her eyes when she heard that a punk had cut him with a knife.
Hurting her friend! For a moment, Gabriel even considered using divine arts to teach those punks a lesson. The strength in her hands unconsciously increased to an angelic level.
"Ah..."
"What's wrong?" Jhin turned around and saw the broken chopsticks in Gabriel's hand and couldn't help but remark, "You actually managed to break them? The quality of these chopsticks must be terrible."
He got a new pair of chopsticks from the kitchen and handed them to Gabriel, then grabbed the hand she had used to snap the chopsticks. "Let me see, you didn't get any splinters, did you?"
It was the first time Jhin had held her hand like that. Gabriel couldn't help but feel a little shy. She quickly pulled her hand back, picked up the chopsticks, and started shoveling rice from the bento into her mouth. "I'm not hurt. I'm going to keep eating, I'm starving. You, on the other hand, shouldn't be pushing yourself to clean for me when you're injured."
"The wound is shallow. It'll heal quickly."
Jhin continued to help Gabriel clean. By the time she finished her bento, he had made the room spotless. After taking the trash out, Jhin came back and sat down at the small tea table, crossing his arms like he was interrogating a criminal.
"Alright, spill it. Why did you turn into this mess in just one day?"
Facing a stern Jhin, Gabriel knelt seiza-style and guiltily confessed the reason for her fall.
At first, she was just curious about the online game on Jhin's computer and started playing. Then she became hopelessly addicted. In just a few days, she had turned into a gaming addict, spending all her time either playing games or surfing the web intensely. She had even spent all of this month's living expenses on in-game purchases.
So she only got into online games because of me?
Jhin felt as if a giant, round wok had just been clapped onto his head. He never expected that after all his precautions, the threat was internal. The game he used just to pass the time had become the source of Gabriel's fall. He'd uninstall that money-grubbing game as soon as he got back!
Feeling a great deal of responsibility, Jhin said to the anxious Gabriel, "I'm also responsible for you ending up like this. For this month, you can come eat at my place. But if you spend all your living expenses on microtransactions again next month, I'm not helping you."
"Jhin, you really are an angel," Gabriel said, looking gratefully at Jhin, who had just solved her food problem.
No, you're the real angel here.
Jhin rolled his eyes at Gabriel and said irritably, "You'd better go to school tomorrow. I'll make a bento for you. Come find me in the Problem Child Countermeasures Club during lunch break. Miss Gotoh and I eat and practice guitar there."
"Miss Gotoh? The girl you saved?"
"Yeah. Let me tell you, even though she's not good at talking to people, she still comes to school every day." Jhin tried to use Bocchi-chan's "inspirational" school attendance story to motivate Gabriel to go to school every day instead of holing up at home as a gaming addict.
"Ehh~" Gabriel let out an ambiguous sigh. Hearing that Jhin spent his lunch break with another girl made her a little annoyed. As she watched Jhin continue his earnest persuasion, this annoyance gradually turned into irritation. The irritation then turned into action. She pushed him out of her apartment and said peevishly, "If you make me a bento every day, then I'll go to school every day."
Jhin thought for a moment after hearing her outburst. He figured it wasn't impossible. Making it wouldn't take much time. He could just cook a few dishes, set some aside to cool, pack them, and stick them in the fridge. The next day, he could just bring it to school and heat it up in the microwave in the clubroom. Since he wasn't making a traditional Japanese bento, he didn't have to worry about the taste.
He had to commend his boss, God, for how the clubroom was furnished. Although it was laid out like a conference room, it was fully equipped with a microwave, refrigerator, and sofa. If Jhin wanted to, he could practically live there.
Seeing a glimmer of hope for completing his mission, Jhin decided to go along with Gabriel's demand. He had to avoid that punishment, no matter what!
The next morning, Gabriel, who had long since forgotten her angry words, stared dumbfounded at Jhin standing at her door with a bento in his hand and a guitar on his back, a smile on his face. He whispered what sounded to her like a devil's murmur: "Let's go. Time for school."
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