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Hitori Gotoh felt like she had completely lost her memory; for the rest of that time, her brain was an absolute blank.
About ten minutes later.
Face burning red, Hitori frantically bolted down the stairs from the rooftop.
[Kiss Hitori Gotoh]
[Quest Completed]
[Physically measure Hitori Gotoh's chest]
[Quest Completed]
Knocking out two quests in one fell swoop, Kai stared in the direction Hitori had fled without a shred of regret. If they had already gone this far today, was the next step really that far off?
If his hands hadn't acted with a mind of their own, the whole thing probably would have lasted a bit longer.
"System, claim both rewards."
Standing up and stretching his stiff joints, he thought to himself: Now this is the kind of life a transmigrator is supposed to live.
[Congratulations, Host]
[Reward Acquired: 200,000 Yen in Cash]
[Congratulations, Host]
[Reward Acquired: The Complete Light Novel Series of 'KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World!']
One was 200,000 yen in cash—which was perfect, considering Kai was currently strapped for cash—but the second reward was incredibly interesting.
"A light novel, of all things."
He had literally just been debating whether he should try writing web novels or drawing manga, and the System immediately handed him this. In the vast ocean of isekai novels, this particular series was an absolute legend.
A rare, top-tier masterpiece.
The inevitable anime adaptations later down the line would rake in massive profits. At the very least, he wouldn't have to stress about money in the early stages anymore.
"When I go out this weekend, I should probably pick up a laptop first."
He obviously couldn't just magically pull the System-rewarded books out of thin air. He would have to type it all out himself, print the manuscript, and submit it to a publishing house.
However.
Since this was a massive anime crossover universe, there had to be plenty of powerhouse light novel publishers around, right?
————————————————————
After school let out for the afternoon.
Kai had originally planned to just head straight home.
"Yo, Kai, wanna come play soccer with us?"
Hayato Hayama and Kakeru Tobe were massive soccer fans; Hayato was even on the school's official team.
"Tobe, did you forget that Kai has to go to his part-time job?"
Yumiko Miura stood up and pointed out. They ran in the same circle, so they obviously knew about each other's schedules.
Kai had never bothered to keep his after-school job a secret.
"My bad, my bad! Completely slipped my mind."
Tobe apologized immediately with an awkward, sheepish laugh.
"No worries!"
Kai waved it off casually.
But catching sight of Yui Yuigahama out of the corner of his eye, he smiled and added.
"I actually quit that job recently. I'm completely free now, so let's go."
"Eh? You're not working anymore?"
"Not exactly. I'm just taking a break for now. Plus, it frees up a lot of time for me to hang out with Yui."
"I... I really wouldn't mind if you had to work."
Yui was still completely unaccustomed to such aggressive, straightforward flirting. She immediately ducked her head, thoroughly embarrassed.
————————————————————
Normally, after the final bell rang, Hitori Gotoh would find a quiet little park to sit in for a while, desperately avoiding going home too early.
But today.
The absolute second the bell rang, she sprinted off campus and practically threw herself onto the train home.
"Oh? Hitori?"
Seeing her daughter walk through the front door this early, Hitori's mother looked completely shocked.
"Why are you home so early today?"
"N-Nothing much was going on today, so I just came back. I'm heading upstairs!"
Terrified that her mom might notice something off, Hitori bolted up the stairs at lightning speed.
Watching her frantic, panicked escape left Michiyo Gotoh utterly confused.
Upstairs, the moment she slipped into her room, Hitori slammed the door shut. Leaning heavily against it, she slowly slid down to the floor, clamping both hands tightly over her mouth.
"Kai... Kai-kun!"
Hitori Gotoh might have been a completely friendless, socially anxious mess, but she wasn't actually stupid.
Not to mention, girls in Japan were exposed to that kind of media pretty early on; she knew exactly what all of that meant.
"LIAR."
'That is absolutely not something normal friends do with each other. You massive liar.'
But even as she thought it.
A completely goofy, lovesick smile broke across Hitori's face.
Her mind was completely consumed by what had happened up on the rooftop earlier that day.
"Oh, right."
Suddenly remembering something, Hitori threw her door open and practically skipped down the stairs.
"Mom!"
"Hmm?"
Sitting in the living room, Michiyo looked over at her daughter on the staircase with a highly perplexed expression.
"W-When you're making lunch tomorrow... could you maybe pack an extra portion?"
"Oh?"
An extra portion?
Meeting her daughter's nervous gaze, the smile on Michiyo's face slowly twisted into something incredibly teasing.
"I can definitely do that. But... who exactly is this extra portion for? Don't tell me our little Hitori finally got herself a boyfriend?"
"What?? A boyfriend??"
Hearing the commotion, Hitori's father suddenly came bursting out of the adjacent room.
"Finally! Has the day finally arrived??"
Naoki Gotoh clenched both fists, looking every bit the proud, emotionally overwhelmed father.
He was so hyped he was literally tearing up.
It was a good thing Hitori's little sister, Futari, wasn't home yet, otherwise the teasing would have been infinitely worse.
"N-No, it's not like that!"
Hitori's face burned a brilliant red.
"It's j-just a really close friend."
After all, Kai hadn't actually confessed to her yet. So he technically wasn't her boyfriend... right?
"Are you absolutely sure this isn't just another one of your imaginary friends?"
You couldn't blame them for being skeptical. Hitori had a long history of fabricating imaginary friends to cope. Her parents knew perfectly well just how severely socially crippled their daughter was.
"Mom!"
Hitori was genuinely getting frantic now.
"Alright, alright, I'm just teasing!" Michiyo laughed, waving her hands dismissively.
"Mommy was wrong. There's no problem with the bento. But... if you get the chance, do you think you could bring this friend over to the house so we can meet them?"
Beside her, Naoki also looked over intently.
As much as he desperately wanted his daughter to make friends, he was also absolutely terrified she might have somehow gotten mixed up with the Yakuza or something.
"Or is this just another made-up friend you invented to trick us?"
"O-Of course not! Just you wait! I'll bring my friend over in a couple of days!"
'Dammit, they're underestimating me way too much.'
Hitori had already made up her mind. Once she brought her friend back to the house, she was going to force her parents to witness the undeniable proof that she, Hitori Gotoh, actually had a social life.
Having made her grand declaration, Hitori stomped back to her room with an imposing aura.
However.
The exact millisecond she crossed the threshold and closed the door, the adrenaline instantly evaporated, and she collapsed to her knees.
"What do I do?? I'm completely doomed!"
Sure, she technically had a friend now, but she had never once in her life actually invited someone over to her house. She had absolutely no idea how to even bridge the topic.
'What if he thinks my house is gross? What if he hates it?' A chaotic storm of completely unhinged, self-deprecating thoughts began violently clashing inside her brain all over again.
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