Chapter 3: You Just Glanced at Me, Didn't You?
"I'll do it."
A second later, Katsuragi Keima raised his hand and spoke with a smile toward Kushida Kikyo in the distance.
In romance games, intimacy and the frequency of meetings are positively correlated.
Before the blooming period, one only needs to keep watering continuously.
Until the flower opens and bears fruit.
For a female character met for the first time, the most important thing is to leave a deep impression in her heart.
Making her remember you is more important than anything else.
From Kushida Kikyo's previous actions, she seemed to be the most common "warm-hearted" type found in games.
To increase affection, performing a similarly warm-hearted act in front of her was a solid choice.
Katsuragi Keima stood up and assisted the elderly woman, letting her sit in his original seat.
Kushida Kikyo walked over to his side with a smile and said:
"Thank you very much!"
"You're welcome, it's what I should do."
Katsuragi Keima also spoke to her with a smile.
Because they were close, he could clearly smell the faint fragrance emanating from Kushida Kikyo.
Next, he needed to guide the conversation slightly.
"Ah, looking at your uniform, it seems we're schoolmates. May I ask if you're also a first-year freshman?"
"Yes! What a coincidence! Today is my first day of reporting! You're a freshman too, right! Maybe we'll be classmates!"
"Please look after me!"
Keima chatted with Kushida Kikyo for a few more sentences, initially judging her to be the generous and friendly type who could talk about any topic. Her boundaries, tone, and content were all perfectly balanced—the type that was extremely skilled at socializing.
However, Keima himself wasn't particularly interested in real-world socializing.
After all, games were enough.
How could girls in reality be as cute as characters in a game!
Keima didn't notice that while he was chatting with Kushida Kikyo, a pair of somewhat languid eyes had been staring at him.
.
.
.
"Terminal station, Advanced Nurturing High School, has arrived."
As the broadcast voice rang out, the bus stopped at the destination, and everyone disembarked one after another.
"Katsuragi-kun, shall we go report to the school together?"
Kushida Kikyo asked politely.
"I still have some things to handle with my... younger sister. Kushida-san, you go ahead! Maybe we'll run into each other on campus later."
Katsuragi Keima looked behind him and pursed his lips.
"Eh! Katsuragi-kun actually got into this school together with his sister? Your family is amazing! Then I'll go report to my class first!"
"How about we exchange contact information first! If we aren't assigned to the same class, we might be able to help each other out if needed!"
As Keima spoke, he took out his phone.
Although he had traveled to another world, he found that his electronic devices still worked, but they were limited to this world and could not contact people from his original world.
If he could successfully exchange contact information, then more than half the battle was won.
He could communicate with her more conveniently every day and build a presence in front of her.
This was the most important part of "cultivation."
The higher the frequency of appearing before a female character, the higher the efficiency of increasing affection.
"Ah, that's probably not necessary! Didn't Katsuragi-kun know? All electronic products are confiscated after entering the school! We won't be able to use our phones! And it's a mandatory boarding system; we'll live here for the duration of high school!"
"Huh?"
Hearing Kushida Kikyo's words, Katsuragi Keima felt a bolt of lightning strike and shatter his heart. His entire being froze in place like a statue.
What do you mean...
Confiscate all electronic products?
Doesn't that mean his handheld console would be confiscated?!
Doesn't that mean he won't be able to play any games?!
And mandatory boarding?
Doesn't that mean...
He won't even be able to buy games belonging to this world!
Unacceptable, unacceptable, unacceptable!
This world can lack anything, but it absolutely cannot lack games!!!
"Kami-sama, are you okay?"
At that moment, Elsie walked to Keima's side and patted his shoulder, finally pulling his thoughts back to reality.
"I... I am not okay at all! You didn't tell me they confiscate electronics here!!! My PFP! What about my most important partner!"
"I didn't know either! But if it's Kami-sama's request, I can help!"
As she spoke, Elsie touched her hagoromo, and Keima's handheld console immediately turned into the size of a coin.
"This way, it should be able to evade the search!"
"Elsie, I knew I could trust you!"
A look of relief appeared on Keima's face as he patted Elsie's shoulder firmly. Then he remembered something and quickly turned his head.
"Eh, where is Kushida-san?"
"Just now while you were in despair, she told me she was leaving first! She seems like a very easy girl to get along with! I remember she's also one of the target missions! Seeing as you two chatted well just now, her affection level must have increased a lot!"
"Let me check."
Keima subsequently picked up Kushida Kikyo's card.
If this were a normal galgame, he should have established a pretty good first impression.
[Name: Kushida Kikyo]
[Current Affection Level: 0%]
"0?"
Keima reached out his other hand and gently rubbed his chin.
No matter how you looked at it, his first contact with the other party should have been fine; at the very least, there shouldn't be zero increase.
It seems—
Kushida Kikyo is not as simple as she appears on the surface.
This was also very important intelligence.
"Oh my, what's going on? That shouldn't be right! You two seemed to be chatting so warmly just now! It should at least go up a little bit! Even 0.1 is an increase!"
Elsie was clearly getting anxious and asked hurriedly.
"It's fine. Everything is hard at the beginning; this is a normal phenomenon."
Keima pushed up his glasses.
That warm and friendly appearance was likely just Kushida Kikyo's outer shell.
To increase affection, he would have to feel his way into her heart bit by bit.
What would the real her be like?
Why would she disguise herself?
A bit of a challenge—
But, I am the God of Conquests.
Just as Elsie said, it wouldn't hurt to reluctantly treat this world as a game as well.
Surely it won't be long before I can see...
"You just glanced at me on the bus, didn't you? Is there something you want?"
Just then, a cold yet commanding female voice rang out beside Katsuragi Keima.
The owner of the voice was none other than Horikita Suzune.