Prologue: Et tu, Brute!
Translator: Skythewood
Editor: Deus ex-Machina
［Ah, erm… Tosa-kun?］
The quiet voice stopped me. Friday, school was out. After putting my belongings into my locker along the corridor, I stood stiffly at the entrance of the classroom I was heading into, and observed the girl before me in surprise. She was a female student who seemed really mature, with dark pupils, short black hair and porcelain skin. She was a little nerdy, but very cute. She wasn’t from my class, and from the red sash on her uniform, she was in the second year like me. I didn’t know her, but, she did called for ‘Tosa-kun’. My name is Tosa Itsuki. This wasn’t a mistake or something like that, she was referring to me. —— A girl from a different class was looking at a boy from another class! And intentionally! Chatting me up. And doing so after school.
But I had no idea who she was at all.
This… This was definitely it!
I gulped due to excessive nervousness. After entering high school, I have seen this a few times already. That mouthwatering scene that I yearned for was finally happening to me…?
［“I-I-Is something the matter? I-I-I’m Tosa!］
I really hate myself for my inability to speak smoothly before a girl around my age. However, she didn’t mind this at all, and looked at me as if she was relieved. Seeing this reaction, my expectation gauge became even higher. In my second year of high school in autumn, finally, finally I…!
［Sorry for bothering you so suddenly.］
［I-I-It’s fine!］
My heart was already throbbing. When would she say the decisive words…! I am ready for it anytime. Come on!
［Erm,］
The female student said squeamishly:
［Do you know where Kazuya-kun is?］
［…… Kazu— ya?］
Speaking of Kazuya, that should be my friend in the same class as me since first year of high school. He should be at the teacher’s office right now.
［Because we promised to go home together starting today.］
The female student said with a bashful but blissful expression.
［Tosa-kun, You are Kazuya-kun’s friend, right? That’s why I know your name… Because Kazuya-kun didn’t seem to be inside the classroom… And as you know, Kazuya-kun don’t have a smartphone yet...］
［Nami-chan!］
I didn’t need to answer, and the subject Kazuya himself ran towards us with a shout.
—— chan? He used her name plus chan to address a girl?
It would be hard to do this unless they were close. He actually pulled off such a difficult move right in the face of an unpopular high school boy?
Nami-chan’s face turned energetic when she heard him.
［Kazuya-kun!］
［Sorry! I needed to visit the teacher’s office for something! It took longer than I expected!］
［Mm-hmm, that’s perfectly fine!］
He got close to her, and the two of them looked into each other’s eyes wordlessly. They were completely in their own world.
［I was wondering why was Kazuya running all of a sudden… He seemed distracted in the teacher’s office too, so he just didn’t want to make her wait.］
Tens of seconds later, my other friend Yamai Gonzaburou appeared. He was forced to do manual labour in the teacher’s office by our homeroom teacher along with Kazuya.
［Gon-chan…!］
［—— You said it didn’t you? You called me by that nickname!?］
His name was Gonzaburou, he felt the name was outdated and detested it, and want others to address him by his family name. But I didn’t have time for all that.
［C-Could this be...］
Following my gaze, Gon-chan,
［What—? Ohh, Kazuya?］
He muttered. Nein!
［Girlfriend!］
The one who reacted to my yell was Nami-chan.
［G-Girlfriend...］
Her face was flushed, and was completely affirming it.
［Ahh, Itsuki and Gon… No! Yamai.］
And Kazuya finally realized we were here. That’s how deeply they had immersed themselves into their own world!
Kazuya introduced us to each other. Her name was Nami, Kazuya’s girlfriend, they started dating yesterday. And they were actually neighbours, and knew each other since kindergarten. It’s that thing right, how they would visit each other’s rooms through the window? It happens in Manga all the time.
［Childhood, friends.］
I muttered blankly while Kazuya scratched his head with a giggle.
Child… Childhood friends! The ambusher known as childhood friend was actually hiding amongst my friends? This wasn’t scientific.
［I want a girlfriend］［I really want one］, Kazuya who always converse with me this way was actually… After our friends started dating one after another, my brother in arms who decided to remain a bachelor with me to the end, the final bastion of defence, Kazuya had actually…!
［In conclusion, I’ill be going home with Nami! And sign up for a smartphone plan.］
Gon-chan and I both showed expressions of shock.
Smartphone, contract?
［Even though you were so stubborn when we talked about it, you actually…］
Kazuya was a high school boy who didn’t have a mobile phone or smartphone. His parents didn’t restrict him about that, this was sort of a matter of principle for him. He hate being tied down. It was troublesome to contact him, so we tried to convince him too. Hey, it’s better to have a phone with you anyways, right? Gon-chan and I tried to persuade him numerous times… But no matter how much we preached about its convenience factor, it was no use. The persuasion that made Kazuya waver the most was ［it would be easier to find a girlfriend］. However, he realized immediately...［Isn’t Itsuki a bachelor even though he has a smartphone? Which means a smartphone has nothing to do with girlfriends! So it’s not necessary!］
Why you…! Where did your principles go?
Kazuya said frankly:
［Ehh? If I want to exchange contacts with Nami, then a smartphone is necessary, right!? And also, what’s that app called again? Nami-chan will teach me how to use that too.］
［Yes, we will first start with 【Smile】.］
After taking his backpack from the classroom deftly, Kazuya showed a cheerful smile, and left while holding Nami’s hand.
I already turned ashened as I watched them leave. I thought Nami would confess to me…
［Itsuki… Want to visit a ramen shop later? I don’t mind treating you.］
［Gon-chan…!］
Friends were important after all. So that’s friendship…!
And then, Gon-chan’s phone buzzed. It seemed to be a message.
After reading it, Gon-chan did a 180 and took back his words.
［Scratch that, Akari seemed to be feeling troubled, let’s leave the ramen til next time.］
Friendship was as thin as paper.
After patting my shoulder, Gon-chan headed towards class four where Akari, or rather, Sonoda-san was in. Sonoda-san was Gon-chan’s girlfriend. They started dating during the golden week of our second year. And today, Kazuya got a girlfriend who was also his childhood friend.
And now, I was the only one among my friends that was still single.
—— Only I didn’t have a girlfriend!
［Things shouldn’t be like this…!］
I couldn’t help blurting that out!
During one’s lifetime, there were three period of times where you would be popular, and my time of youth would come when I enter high school! I had deep faith in this. That was why I stayed behind in Japan! When I graduated from middle school, my parents decided to take a job transfer overseas. Back then, I thought that I had to stay in Japan if I wanted my youth to come.
And so, I convinced my parents and grandfather—— And stayed in my grandfather’s place. My grandfather was lax about boy-girl relationships, and would keep urging me to bring a girl back home.
But since April last year—— after finally stepping through the gates of Honami High School, in terms of love, my love haven’t come at all! To be honest, the female students were just an existence that was breathing inside the same classroom as me! More importantly, even when I spoke to them on purely official matters, I would start to stutter from nervousness. After going up to the second year, things only turned worse.
—— Speaking of high school life, that would be youth. It’s the age when we become conscious of the opposite sex, the time for love.
And so, it was the same for everyone. For example, the guys would believe firmly that a heroine would appear before them.
But that wasn’t reality…!
At least, if I had my attributes as a man was higher…!
Regrettably, my face wasn’t charming enough to attract girls without even saying a word…!
I clenched my fists. As the last single guy, I reevaluated myself.
Height… 173cm, I guess I barely made the grade!
Academics… average. I was quite good in middle school. Having a certain standard of results was one of the conditions for me to stay in Japan, so I couldn’t afford to slack in my studies. Even if I worked hard, my studies were still average and not that impressive… If I stopped working hard, my grades would fall drastically.
Physical abilities… negligible.
Interests… I was heavily influenced by my grandfather and love games. I was proficient in all sorts of games, but loses out to my grandfather in terms of FPS. My favourite genres were musical games and FPS! However, FPS wasn’t popular in Japan at all, I completely don’t understand why that was so!
That was about all…
My parents named me Itsuki because they hope I could get first place. They definitely didn’t name me that because I was born in January. To be the greatest huh… It was the freedom of parents to put their hopes and dreams into their child’s name.
<TL: Kanji is 一月>
I wouldn’t wish to be reincarnated into a handsome guy, but at least, I wish I wouldn’t be that nervous when I interact with girls…! No, I wasn’t completely a wreck all the time. If it was the girlfriend of my friend, or something else, basically girls where our relationship had no chance of progressing, I wouldn’t hold any expectations, and so, I wouldn’t be nervous...
If I was conscious that the other party had the possibility of becoming a lover, I would stutter all the way.
Which meant, if I went on like this, my youth wouldn’t come even when I graduate, what suffering…
Alone by myself, I lowered my head along the corridor and sighed.
［Tosa, you are in the way!］
I just happened to be standing at the entrance of the classroom, and got shooed out of the way by the boys in the sports club who was leaving.
Chapter 1: Strange, Why Isn’t My Heroine Appearing?
As a loner dog, there was nothing more grieving then your friends showing off their love life. On weeknights before bedtime, I will roll around my bed in my room, and twiddle with my phone while showing a bitter face. Resting my cheek onto my left hand and propping myself up on my elbows, I slowly texted back with my right index finger.
My friend Kazuya who had just started using a smartphone was very irritating. First, he called my home line and asked for my 【Smile】ID.
The full name of 【Smile】 was 【Smile plus message】, so it’s 【Smile】 in short. It was a free app that first marketed in America. And now, it took pride for having an overwhelming number of users throughout the globe, including Japan. So I told Kazuya my ID. After going back to my room on the second floor, Kazuya started showing off his girlfriend through 【Smile】.
It was infuriating. But if I also had a girlfriend…!
I lifted my head and looked into the distance. Now that I thought about it, it was the same for Gon-Chan… If I had to say what was different now… I got a girl’s 【Smile】 ID… Although it belonged to Nami-chan!
My gaze fell onto the phone… Wasn’t that enough? I had enough of Kazuya and Nami’s childhood friend stories…! And enough about your date today too!
I decided to end the conversation by using emoticons. I returned to the home page after sending it, and a mail came in a few seconds later. I mainly contacted my friends through 【Smile】now. My email was now basically used to receive notification from school. That took up the main bulk of my mails, and I received emails regarding the student elections a few days ago too. Next would be the delivery notice when I buy something online. But I didn’t buy anything… My parents? They would send me a long email about how they were doing overseas. Maybe that was it.
I tapped on the email app icon and checked the incoming mail.
My guess was wrong
【To our customer player,
Congratulations on being selected!
Our company is developing a game app geared towards men, 【There are no heroines in my youth】 and a game app geared towards women, 【There are no princes in my youth】 and is conducting an open beta to the public.
After a stringent selection process, you have been chosen to be a free* pioneer user.
(*No payment is required for usage in your region, but purchases made while starting or using the app would be categorized under other expenses. Please read the software instruction manual for further details.)
This standalone program is able to make a prediction on the future between the customer and the heroine by using cutting edge technology. It will provide hints, and guarantee your meeting with a 【heroine that only belongs to you】.
The reason is, the heroine in the application will be linked to reality.
However, the value of the life prediction meter (*Please refer to the Instruction Manual for the detailed explanations on the term) will vary from person to person, and experience may be different for each customer. For some customers, situations that are a little high in difficulty may appear.
In order to experience a better life, please enjoy your meeting with a heroine brought to you by this application.
The download code for you is 【3wen89ASZu8sxezgE2016】. User authentication will be done, so please ensure the application is downloaded and used by you personally.
Next, please tap on the below URL.】
It seemed to be an advertisement email for a new game. Was it sent in error?
In the past, I requested for a magazine mailer by mistake when I was playing a game app. I already undid it, but was this the reason? From the URL, it didn’t seem like I would be redirected to some porn site.
However, I still have a strange feeling about this. Normally, I would ignore such mails. The content was written seriously, but there was some obviously wacky parts mixed in. Predict the future and providing hints… Yeah right. This wasn’t Science Fiction! Even with modern technology, the weather forecast would be wrong sometimes.
However, the key term that hooked me was in there too. A heroine that only belongs to you or something, and the heroine would be linked to reality or whatnots.
Heroine huh…
I then received a new message from 【Smile】. It was Kazuya. He seemed confused by the emoticons, and finally understood with the help of Nami-chan. He replied to me with an emoticon. I felt a chill as I answered with another emoticon.
Damn it, I want a girlfriend that would teach me how to use 【Smile】 gently too…!
But in real life, the number of girls I was close to was 0…
After all, I couldn’t converse well with them because of my stutter…
Thankfully, my friends that got attached introduced some girls to me.
But I was too nervous and didn’t know what to say. Even if I tried to make conversation, I would stutter all the way. I will stutter no matter what, so I stay silent which brought about the combo of 【boring】 【the conversation is going nowhere】 ! And then, that was the end of the interaction…!
［If it is a game...］
If it was a game, I won’t be nervous. And a suitable game app was right before me. The title might be 【There are no heroines in my youth】, but a heroine would appear in this game right?
My interpretation of the wacky content was that by inputting details of a girl you like, a heroine similar to that girl would appear, and the game would simulate a love story.
That was it! Using this chance—— Even if it was a game, I want to quench my thirst! Please bestow me with a heroine!
Tapping on my phone, I went to that URL and was prompt to enter my download code. After entering it and downloading, what appeared wasn’t the title screen of the game, but the words 【Creating your avatar now, please do not enter fictitious information】.
［It means the main character, huh.］
My real name, birthday, height, weight and blood type was needed. It was a game, but the personal data it requested was a lot and surprised me. But it was for the sake of my heroine, so I will turn a blind eye this time!
Alright, I entered my real details for the main character settings. What’s next!?
【What is the type of girl you want to date? Please think about two girls around you. Please exclude celebrities and idols. Depending on your answer, things that occurred in the game might happen.】
Alright. It’s here, this was it. I would be able to create a heroine to my liking? It was time to enter the data for the heroine.
The field was different from the main character setting. Height, body shape, hair style, face and personality, five fields.
I couldn’t take any field lightly, and had to choose seriously. These choices would probably influence how my heroine was!
Because it was a game, I aimed for a girl around me that was out of my league and hard to approach in reality as the model for my heroine.
Out of my league—— What I thought of was the two girls in my high school.
One was in her third year. Mochizuki Rika who was one grade higher than me. A rich girl whose parents were capitalists. And she was called the Queen. This wasn’t a joke, some of the male students addressed her that way and worshipped her. She gave the impression of a queen, and her full figure and sexy appearance resulted in many scandalous rumours about her. She was the type who didn’t like to talk, and usually act loftily. As expected of a daughter of a rich family. However, I really wish to interact with a cold beauty like her! She was a girl that was that appealing to me.
Everything I knew about her was hearsay, and I only saw her one-sidedly and never spoke to her before. But looking at her from afar, I could understand why she was said to have the looks and aura of a queen. Before I knew it, I started addressing her as Rika-sama. She was taller than the average girl too.
Rika-sama—— With Mochizuki Rika as the model, I entered the data for the first person.
Height, 165cm.
The body shape selection were a drop down list. There were boney, slim, average, thicc and gigantic. Next was breast size, flat, adequate and huge. There were endless combinations… Not. But were there people who would choose boney or gigantic? Slim and huge breasts! And so, the body shape was decided.
As for hairstyle, first would be colour, followed by several long to short styles. Brown medium length hair then, although Rika-sama’s hair would curl before her chest, but this detail couldn’t be replicated faithfully. Even though that curl was a plus for Rika-sama… What a shame.
Last would be personality. I had to pick two out of the ten choices of scary, gentle, aloft, vicious, violent, energetic, brave, quiet, yandere, wacky. But there seemed to be a few things that was out of place got mixed in… Or rather, something weird was in there…
—— It would be fine if I didn’t pick them. Rika-sama’s personality seemed to fit aloft, but I didn’t want my heroine to be that realistic! I will choose gentle and quiet then!
Perfect!
Thinking this was enough, I did a final check and tap on confirm.
【Your desired first person has been accepted successfully. The data will be used for the prediction. Do you want to continue entering the second person?】
Of course I do.
If I had to say who else around me would fit into the model of being out of my league, that would definitely be Nakajima Konoha. She was in her second year, just like me. Right now, she was taking part in the student council president election. A female student that fit the terms【Pure】,【Innocence】,【Nadeshiko】. A perfect innocent type beauty which I couldn’t believe existed in the 3 dimensional world. She was an existence that could match up to Rika-sama. And who would have thought? I have spoken to her once before!
<TL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamato_nadeshiko>
I was made a fool of myself before her but she still spoke to me with a smile. She was the type that didn’t discriminate others based on looks and academic results an existence that couldn’t be corrupted. I didn’t think I could date a girl like her without any reservations, but a kind hearted girl was really appealing. As for looks, I prefer Rika-sama’s style.
With such a hope mixed in and using my impression of Nakajima Konoha as the base, I started keying the data for the second person.
Height—— Nakajima-san was smaller in stature. To differentiate from the first person, she would need to be short anyway. 153cm.
Body shape would be slim… Wait, let’s use average and adequate here!
I had to avoid the selection I already made!
Hair style would be black and long. She was the epitome of pure, feminine beauty. The Nakajima-san in reality life had braids and hair accessories, but there wasn’t such options here.
The possible candidates for personality were gentle, energetic, brave and quiet. Gentle and quiet had already been used, and going by elimination, it would be energetic and brave. Let me check the others… Scary, aloft, vicious, violent, yandere, wacky… I shook my head at this. None of them would work! I had an ominous feeling about the heroine that would be created! All rejected! I chose energetic and brave quickly!
I made my choice.
【The data for the second person had been accepted. The entered data for the first and second person is as follows.】
The heroine setting that I entered after careful deliberation was displayed again.
［! Ahhhh?］
However, I cried out when I saw the personality field of the second person.
It turned into v-violent and brave????
I should have chose e-energetic and brave… Because violent and energetic was next to each other? I tapped too fast… and carelessly…! I didn’t check the second person as carefully as I did the first person…!
Even though I knew I chose wrongly, I already missed the stage to correct it.
The screen changed from the heroine settings screen.
【Using the entered data as the basis, we will now perform a prediction of Tosa Itsuki-san’s life. Please wait a moment.】
It became like this.
What a painful mistake. No no, it might just play a small part in the game, and the heroine’s settings might not affect the script too much…! That’s right, maybe the second person’s character would be corrected to energetic and brave instead…!
I sighed.
［That’s not possible...］
My heroine… although it was just in a game, she had the strange personality of being violent and brave…
As I was sulking, the game finished its so called prediction.
The title card 【There are no heroines in my youth】 appeared on my phone screen. I tapped the start button. The first person was set up perfectly, so I cheered myself up…
［… Huh?］
The game should finally be starting, but what appeared was a screen of numbers, letters and punctuation marks. They kept popping up and filling the screen. The game froze, and after being forced close, it restarted again.
【Error Code000000000000000000000】
Huh, it restarted, but an error code on a black background appeared. Ehh, how do I close this? This was troubling!
I decided to break through by tapping randomly. After doing so, the phone reacted.
Something that could be seen as a challenge letter against me was displayed.
【We did a prediction of your life, but you seem fated to not have any heroine to appear. The result of the prediction yielded 0 heroines. You will probably be single your entire life. As no heroine exists, your game couldn’t start.】
［… Hey.］
If this was a mobile game, now would be the time for it to ask me to pay up… How daring!
It was true that I didn’t have a girlfriend! I admit that my heroine haven’t made a debut in my life yet. Even so, there’s no reason I would be condemned to being a bachelor for life, right?
Although its selling point was about a ‘heroine that only belongs to you’, no heroine appeared. Don’t you dare think this was acceptable, alright?
As my emotions boiled over, I shook my phone with both hands and tapped hard!
【But in this situation—— Tosa Itsuki-san could use an advance. By drawing an advance from your life, you could play this game for 5 days. However, a heroine must appear by the very last day and be confirmed. The repayment of the advance could be waived by meeting this condition. If the game ends in some other way, you will be forced to pay back the advance. For details please read 【regarding forced reparation】. You only have one chance to pay this game. Do you want to continue?】
Yes or No?
Was this… the game company’s strategy? Maybe this screen would appear before everyone. But I would feel that I have lost if I choose ‘No’ here, how infuriating. I would be a failure as a man if I chose no!
So I tapped on yes!
After tapping that, I realized I haven’t read 【regarding forced reparation】 yet. Was this a mistake?
—— So what!?
For the sake of a heroine that only belongs to me! No regrets!
【According to the prediction of your life, the total advance possible will be 1,000,000 Sols. Playing the game for 5 days will require 300,000 Sols. Furthermore, the advance amount might fluctuate during the game. Sols cannot be paid back with cash. It has to be repaid with 300,000 Sols. Do you want to start the game?】
Yes!
300,000 Sols was nothing. In short, the ingame currency was Sols right?
The part about not requiring cash was suspicious… If the situation where the Sols loan had to be repaid in cash arises, I would deal with it then!
After tapping once, the dialogue box vanished. The currency within this app? The 300,000 Sols seemed to be loaned to me out of nowhere. There wasn’t any in-app payment or request for my bank account number. Alright!
【Using the data entered by Tosa Itsuki, the time period is set, characters has been generated.】
After these words, the game started normally.
The game date was set on 26th September, Monday.
So it was slated to begin tomorrow huh. But I… Didn’t enter the date. Well, extracting the date from the phone wasn’t that farfetched.
The main character—— the avatar of the player had the same name as me, 【Tosa Itsuki】. My name appeared in the dialogue box, but there wasn’t any portrait of my avatar. It started with me leaving the house. My character was on the way to school.
Normally, aside from dialogues, the main character would also have a monologue in his heart, but that didn’t happen here. It seemed to be the type where the monologue was cut, and the game only progressed through dialogues. As for the explanation of movements, it was expressed with something like 【Tosa Itsuki left his house.】
… There was BGM, so it seemed to be an orthodox visual novel game. The background wasn’t a realistic artstyle or 3D models, from the way the story progresses by clicking on text, I couldn’t tell how this was a system they claimed to have developed. The wacky email was a load of crap after all.
Where was the cutting edge technology? It didn’t even feel sci-fi at all.
Not just that, I didn’t see any save or load functions either. The top right corner of the screen did have an icon that looked like the settings button, but it didn’t respond when I press it. Was it that thing where you couldn’t unlock it before you reach a certain stage?
—— But no matter how trashy the system was, the important thing was the heroine.
For this game, it would be fine if the heroine was good! That was the only thing I was looking forward to.
The only expectations I had of 【There are no heroines in my youth】 was the heroine!
As long as the cute heroine appears, I could turn a blind eye to everything else.
Who cares about the story! It was fine for the game to be boring too!
Still… Still not here yet?
Come out, my heroine!
I continued in search of my heroine. But still nothing…Up until the other characters debut.
My avatar reached the classroom. Finally, a character with portraits appeared here!
—— They were boys. 【Friend A】 and 【Friend B】. They probably didn’t have names since they were side characters. But 【Friend A】 was tall and had a face like a samurai, and looked similar to Gon-chan. 【Friend B】 had a humourous feel about him, just like Kazuya. And 【Friend B】 seemed to have gotten a girlfriend recently. And the narration 【Friend B was boasting about his love life.】 appeared, but didn’t have specific dialogues.
And here, a choice branch appeared.
【Listen to Friend B rattle on until he is satisfied.】
【Punch Friend B out of rage.】
【Change the topic subtlety.】
Normally, I would expect the choices in such reading games to be related to the heroine… I couldn’t guess the correct option. Which was it? The boasting was done inside the game, but I still don’t want to listen so I will pass on the first option. I could empathize with the feeling behind number two, but beating him up suddenly was a little… I wasn’t a young man who would lose my senses so easily, and 【Friend B】 resembles Kazuya a lot? Well, there was no doubt I should choose ‘change the topic’.
After selecting the 3rd option, my avatar…
【…… I want a girlfriend too.】
Said that to change the topic!
How would this relate to meeting a heroine? 【Friend A】 and 【Friend B】 will hook me up?
【How about joining the archery club now? There are plenty of single beauties there. Especially that freshman. What’s her name again…? Mo… No, Ta…】
【Friend A】 told me. I thought it would be the name of the heroine, but the only clue was 【Mo】 and 【Ta】… I was probably mistaken.
【You think someone like me whose experience without a girlfriend is equal to my age can introduce a nice girl to you?】
【Friend B】 refuted my avatar. Speaking of which… it wouldn’t be strange for a mobile game to have a full range of voices, but the script in this game wasn’t dubbed… The heroine would also…?
And the conversation ended without any conclusion… Just ended like that.
［… Phew.］
As I stared at my phone, I shook my head. Deep breaths. Don’t be anxious. Wasn’t this just the prologue of the game? This was just showing me the game system. It would definitely not affect future choices. I wasn’t frustrated. My temples weren’t hurting!
Alright, again! Tap!
Even in a game, the job of a student was still attending class. My avatar didn’t skip classes and time passed by peacefully. It felt just like 【Tosa Itsuki listening to the lecture of History B】.
First period, History B. Second period, Conversational English II. Third period, Chemistry. Fourth Period, Modern Literature B.
The timetable—— so far had been identical to the monday schedule for Class 2-2 of Honami High School. That was just like my timetable for tomorrow. The fifth and sixth period was the same too. What exactly…
The advertisement email about predicting the future appeared in my mind. Gon-chan and Kazuya looking like 【Friend A】 and 【Friend B】 was also…
I stared at the game screen, it wasn’t anything special, just a classroom background that could be seen anywhere. The dialogue box was placed orthodoxically at the bottom of the screen.
It was impossible, right? I laughed at myself for being caught up in such a stupid thought momentarily.
Instead of that, the heroine was more important… When will she appear? During lunch break? Aside from that, it couldn’t be anywhere else right? —— Let’s continue.
［Oh?］
There was a small scene during Modern Literature B in the fourth period. The teacher called my name during class and my avatar started reading out loud. The teacher corrected the kanji that was pronounced wrongly. My avatar read 雪洞 as ［se tsu do u］, the correct answer was［bon bori］, okay~.
And then, the exciting lunch break where the heroine would finally appear was here!
The second choice branch came too.
【Buy bread at the snack shop.】
【Pull a recycle bag over your head and jump from the roof of one building onto another.】
(TL: レジ袋 was used, which is different from normal plastic shopping bags.)
【Go to the school cafeteria to order a 30,000 yen full course western meal, and get a stomach ache.】
My expression turned stiff.
Was this game looking down on me?
The first choice would be the usual me. As my parents were stationed overseas, I was staying with just my grandfather. Both of us were mediocre in our culinary skills. Although we prepare our own breakfast, we would seldom get up early to make lunch boxes or something. My style was to sleep until the very last moment. My grandfather… he was retired, and spent his days leisurely. He would get up early too, but despite being 73 years old, he would occasionally play FPS for the entire night. And I like bread! Leaving all that aside, the snack shop in Honami High School was really delicious! Very delectable! Hence, my lunch would basically be bread.
And so, choosing the first option would do. It was a very familiar routine for me too.
As for the second option, wasn’t that just being a pervert!? Using common sense, I wouldn’t meet a heroine even if I did that! And I would die if I fail! That’s retarded!
The third option… Well, I didn’t have 30,000 yen, but since it was a game, so whatever. My avatar should have the money. But it wouldn’t do if it taste horrible! Even more so if it upsets my stomach! Who would inflict self harm willingly!? Even if this was a game, the main character was still my avatar! That’s pitiful!
I retorted in my heart before I knew it. I adjusted my breathing.
［I choose to buy bread at the snack shop.］
And so, my avatar went to the snack shop to buy bread. I picked a Yakisoba bread and a Teriyaki-egg bread. The narration 【Tosa Itsuki paid money】 appeared.
［Yakisoba and a Teriyaki-egg…?］
I muttered softly with a frown.
Since the start of the second semester, Honami High School’s snack shop revamped their menu. They even put in more effort into the old products while retaining their name. In order to dominate the new menu, I came up with a routine to try out all the bread. If an item was sold out, I would purchase it the next time.
According to the schedule, Monday tomorrow would be Yakisoba bread and Teriyaki-egg bread. Tuesday would be chocolate croissant, fried prawn bun and cream sandwich. Wednesday was egg-tuna sandwich set and sweet bean paste bun. Thursday was almond bun, fried meat sandwich and cheese smoked meat sandwich. Friday was curry bun, onion bun and honey melon bun.
My avatar brought his bread just like I planned.
He had plenty of similarities with me… Why was that…? How strange…
—— Following that.
I didn’t forget the most important thing.
Still not here! Up til now! My heroine still didn’t appear! Not even a glimpse!
Would that be later? She would appear later? Could I believe in that?
Something happened during lunch?
… But nothing happened. Contrary to my expectations, my avatar ate in the classroom by his lonesome self. 【Friend B】 was with his girlfriend he just made recently, and 【Friend A】 already had a girlfriend, and was eating with her as usual. What was with my friends having a more exciting youth than me even in a game?
My avatar ate lunch as he listened mindlessly to the chatter around him, and lunch break ended like that. How could this be?
If that was the case, only the time after school would be left——!
But at this point, the screen turned black. The BGM stopped and there wasn’t any sound.
【The game prediction has ended for now. Please try again after some time. The time until the game is available will be——】
A number was displayed in the form of a countdown. I could only continue after noon tomorrow. It didn’t react when I tried tapping it. There wasn’t any sound, the countdown didn’t speed up or disappear. Nothing changed.
That seemed to be it for the moment. Right?
… I guess I will wait. It was understandable for a single play session of mobile games to be short. There was a restriction stopping players from rushing straight to the end, that should be it.
Even so, this was too plain, right? Where was the heroine?
Where——was——the——heroine!
There wasn’t so much as a hint of her so far!
The game was just for five days, but I already spent half a day? Which meant one tenth of the time had passed?
［Now that it has turned out like this, I will make the heroine appear even if I had to wring it...］
At least in the game!
I store my passion within my heart and to prepare for tomorrow—— It was time to sleep.
And so, the depressing Monday came in reality too. The Monday right after Sunday would always be depressing! And of course, as a second year high schooler, I had to attend class.
Like usual, I got up at just the right time where I wouldn’t be late. Grandfather left a note saying 【To Itsuki. I will be going to the convenience store to get the 【Hell Scream 4】 I pre ordered. Fuhaha.】 and had left the house. Pre orders could be made at the convenience store nearby, and at 7am on the release day… or even 6.30am in some cases, the merchandize could be collected. It was faster than pre ordering online.
I want to play 【Hell Scream 4】 too, I thought as I went out.
To get to Honami High School, I will need to take a train and walk 10 minutes from the station. My school life that was the same as last week begun. Although Kazuya who was single like me last week found a girlfriend.
I already greeted several people before I reached my classroom. Second year Class two, the middle of the row next to the window was my seat. Gon-chan who was seated before me said with a serious expression:
［Hey, Kazuya’s head is filled with flowers now. Talking with him on【Smile】 is a pain.］
［What are you saying, Gon-chan? You went through the same thing...］
But he got better. Gon-chan acted that way in the past too.
［Like I said, call me Yamai…!］
And my chair leaned back because of him.
［Uwah! That’s dangerous! Don’t use your Iron Claw! It couldn’t be helped since I spend a much longer time calling you Gon-chan! Didn’t everyone call you that when we were in our first year!?］
［That’s in the past!］
That might be so, but it wasn’t that long ago. Gon-chan wanted others to call him Yamai just a few months ago. When Golden Week just started.
［Sonoda-chan didn’t mind it either and calls you Gon-chan.］
［Gon-chan sounds so lame!］
［Sigh….］
As I grunted unhappily, we got interrupted—— by Kazuya who said with a smile.
［Good morning you two! By the way, Nami-chan she...］
He started showing off his love life. Long. That’s too long, Kazuya! Gon-chan gave me a look that says ［Do something about this］. ［You do something about him］ I deflected right back at him—— Then, I remembered that.
Wasn’t this just like that game last night…
［… I want a girlfriend too.］
I muttered. Immediately after that, Gon-chan looked at me with sympathetic eyes and said:
［How about joining the archery club now? There are plenty of single beauties there. Especially that freshman. What’s her name again…? Mo… No, Ta…］
——【Friend A】 said these lines.
［You think someone like me whose experience without a girlfriend is equal to my age can introduce a nice girl to you?］
That was what Kazuya said. I heard that from 【Friend B】 when I played the game app 【There are no heroines in my youth】 last night.
The bell rang. Kazuya returned to his seat while Gon-chan leaned forward. The homeroom teacher entered the room and Homeroom began. This was the usual scene. Morning class began with the first period being History B. Second period was Conversational English II. Third period was chemistry…
And then fourth period, Modern Literature B. I looked at the clock hanging right above the blackboard.
40 minutes had passed. Class would be over in 5 minutes. My eyes fell on my phone that was in vibration mode, hidden behind my open textbook. On the screen was the app 【There are no heroines in my youth】. The countdown timer was proceeding steadily. I could continue to play during lunch break.
［These are the handouts. Next class, we will write poems using what we learned today. Aside from the textbook, I have chosen some old and new poems you can reference, so read it at your own time.］
The lesson would end after getting this.
I took one piece from the handouts Gon-chan gave me, and passed it behind.
［Alright, everybody got one… There is still some time left huh.］
The teacher surveyed the classroom after checking his watch. I looked out the window and into the sky. The sky was so clear in the morning, but it had gotten cloudy?
［Tosa.］
［——Present!］
I stood up with a start. Could it be…?
［Read out the first poem on the handout.］
I picked up the handout hurriedly. It was a poem, so there wasn’t much words or difficult kanji. I read on.
［——Bon, Bori…］
The two kanji that appeared made me stop. 雪洞. My avatar in that game misread it as ［se tsu do u］ and was corrected by the teacher.
After finishing the poem, I sat back down.
［Well done, Tosa. Thank you. Good job on reading 雪洞 correctly. Has everyone heard the song about lighting the bon buri? In Kanji, that’s 雪洞. A illumination device like a lantern. By the way, 雪洞 can be read in other ways like ［se tsu do u］ or ［se tto u］, which means completely different things...］
I got it right, but my avatar in 【There are no heroines in my youth】 read it wrong and was corrected.
But—— If that was the case, then it had credibility…
This game could really predict the future.
What the game described was my future in reality.
【Friend A】 was Gon-chan, 【Friend B】 was Kazuya. If I didn’t know about it beforehand through the game, I would have made the same mistake when I was picked to read out loud during the fourth period.
My avatar in the game 【Tosa Itsuki】—— Was undoubtedly me. Which means——
［Phew.］
If I kept playing 【There are no heroines in my youth】, I will be able to meet my heroine in real life too!
The heroine I haven’t met yet!
［Fuha! Hahaha!］
I expressed my brimming happiness by laughing out loudly. It was rude of me to dismiss you as spam mail and low tech. 【There are no heroines in my youth】 was the best!
［Hey, hey—— Itsuki…!］
Gon-chan turned and looked at me with fearful eyes.
I regained my composure. Before I knew it, the fourth period had ended.
It was lunch break. My next course of action would be…? According to the game, I would head to the snack shop and buy bread. I took my velcro wallet from my bag hanging beside my table and checked its content. It would be a critical blow if I didn’t have enough money. If that happened, I would need to borrow from Gon-chan or Kazuya. There was one thousand yen note in there, perfect.
［Gon-chan!］
I stood up.
［Ah, oh…?］
［I’m going to the snack shop!］
［A-Ahh… I will be eating with Akari...］
［Okay, Okay!］
I gave a thumbs up with a smile. I couldn’t hold back anymore and ran to the snack shop. After buying Yakisoba bun and Teriyaki-egg bread, I returned to class 2-2.
What awaited me in the classroom was just like the development in the game, Gon-chan and Kazuya were both gone.
As for me, I went back to my seat, took out a bottle of tea I brought from home and started eating the bread I purchased. I bit into my Yakisoba bun, listened to the chatter around me and focused on the screen on my phone that was on the center of my desk. When I finished all my bread, there was just one minute left.
It was lunch break after all… I could turn on the volume, but it would be better to keep it down. I basically kept it on vibrate in school, but I turned off that setting when the game began.
—— The countdown was over.
I started tapping the screen anxiously. With the start of the BGM, the screen changed from its countdown mode.
My avatar attended Mathematics II in the fifth period, and school ended after physical education in the sixth period.
As for the time before lunch break ended where I was playing 【There are no heroines in my youth】, the narration described it as 【Tosa Itsuki played a game】.
It only state the necessary, and the game proceeded by cutting out anything unimportant. Well, if it displayed all the chatter, teacher’s script and action, it would be a huge wall of text.
And in the game, I wasn’t picked by the teacher in the afternoon classes or did anything outstanding for physical education, making it through peacefully. This was exactly how my everyday life was.
Up til now, the only characters that debut with a portrait were 【Friend A】and 【Friend B】… Which were guys… This was horrible.
School was finally out now. My avatar finally started action!
The third choice branch appeared! I could finally, finally! Meet with the heroine, right!? And it would be my heroine, right!?
However, when I saw the first and second… options, my finger hovering above the screen started trembling.
【Hurry home and play the latest FPS【Hell Scream 4】 with your Grandfather.】
【Invite Tsugawa from the soccer club and Takeda from the archery club to the school library.】
【Pull a recycle bag over your head and jump from the roof of one building to the next.】
The first option was just like my style. In fact, Grandpa went out this morning to collect his pre ordered game. The game title stating 【Hell Scream 4】 made 【There are no heroines in my youth】 even more convincing.
Leaving that aside, huh? This was the only practical choice, right?
The second option—— What the hell? This was an option that appeared because it was tied to reality. Tsugawa and Takeda were boys from class 2-2 as well. Their clubs were as stated too. I wasn’t really friends with them, but we had chatted before. However, I was fundamentally different from them as a human. As for why, it’s because the two of them were handsome! They were normies —— It wasn’t impossible to invite them, but that place wouldn’t do. Tsugawa hated studying, and the library was like hell to him. Takeda had the tendency to visit the washroom often when he went to the library. Both of them avoided the library like the plague.
I could choose this if this was just a game. But that wasn’t the case… If I chose it, I would need to carry it out in real life. Even if I just invite only one of them, it would be tough getting them to agree to visit the library.
The third option wasn’t even worth thinking about. It was the same option again! I won’t even consider it, who would do something like that!?
—— Which means.
I tap on 【Hurry home and play the latest FPS【Hell Scream 4】 with your Grandfather.】
My avatar then went home just like that.
［!］
When my avatar reached home, the third character with a portrait after 【Friend A】 and 【Friend B】 appeared!
—— It was my Grandpa…
My avatar and 【Itsuki’s Grandpa】 played 【Hell Scream 4】 happily. In a blink of an eye, we spent the night playing the game. I learned that 【Hell Scream 4】 was very well made.
Then the screen turned black. It started counting down. The game for this time—— had ended for now.
［Ehh…?］
Wait, was this really fine?
【Hell Scream 4】 was well made and seemed interesting, so I would definitely have fun playing it. In fact, that was what happened.
But the problem was...
—— The most important selling point of 【There are no heroines in my youth】, where was the heroine?
She didn’t appear!
The first day was ending? Wasn’t this a game that last just five days?
One fifth of it was over. My avatar was already home. It was night. I didn’t have plans to go out, right? Wait, maybe I will go out late at night? Maybe the next game could be played at that timing.
Let’s leave that for later…
［Blow them up with the M203 grenade! Woah! My blood is boiling! Itsuki, I will leave that side to you!］
［Okay!］
Right now was Monday, 26th September evening in reality. Grandpa and I were immersed in the co-op mode of the foreign-made FPS game 【Hell·Scream 4】.
The main character that descended into hell kept killing the humans that had turned into revolting monsters, and got into a final battle with a god. That was the common point in the series.
The console was connected to a 55-inch 4k television Grandpa bought at a high price. 4k was the best after all, the graphics was on another level. On such a graphic settings, the models were almost indistinguishable from reality. The sound effect was epic because of the headphones. The footsteps of the enemy could be heard, and even the directions they were coming from.
And so, we played nonstop for about two hours.
［To be honest, I thought this series was dead after the third game… I only bought 4 out of respect for the masterpiece that 1 was. Something like placing flowers before a grave, and a tiny bit of expectations when I pre ordered it… But 【Hell·Scream】 franchise has revived like the phoenix in its fourth iteration!］
Grandpa who got out of the deadly battle before me said leisurely as he took out the enemy. However…
［Shut up!］
I was surrounded by the enemy. Should I use the precious custom smoke rounds I have been stashing…? But I might need it later… Maybe a worse situation would come up…
［Itsuki, don’t be stingy and use it. Just like me, Itsuki! You will die if you just horde it!］
［Noisy!］
In the end, I didn’t use the smoke grenade to get through that part. Grandpa would not hesitate to use the rare weapons he come across, but I was the type who would stash it carefully… On the other hand! Using weak weapons to fight would improve my skills, so there was nothing wrong with that!
After seeing that I made it through that stage, Grandpa took off his headphones.
［How about ordering take outs for dinner? I have some vouchers and feel like getting ［Pizza—La］］
<TL: https://www.pizza-la.co.jp/SC_EnglishMenu.aspx>
［I’m okay with that.］
Even at this age, Grandpa was still an old man who welcome junk food at anytime.
I picked up my phone which I had placed on the coffee table.
［What do you want to order, Grandpa? I’m fine with anything.］
［【Gluttony Cheesy Autumn Mushroom Pizza】 and 【Assorted Stew Style Pizza】. Hand tossed for both.］
［Roger.］
I placed the call via phone quickly and told Grandpa:
［It will be here in about 30 minutes.］
［Let’s take a break before the pizza comes. After eating, let’s play more 【Hell·Scream 4】! Any objections, Itsuki?］
［Nope.］
Nope. There wasn’t any but… Huh? Was this really fine?
I looked at my phone and tap on the icon for 【There are no heroines in my youth】. The countdown for the next game came out. There was still 5 hours 3 minutes and 11 seconds left.
And things happened just like in the game, and that was because I made the same choices. After school, I immediately went home and played 【Hell·Scream 4】 eagerly with Grandpa. It was almost 8pm at night. And so, the first day was ending in real life too.
I already asked this plenty of times today—— Where’s the heroine?
Leaving the heroine aside, there wasn’t even a portrait of a girl yet. And of course none appeared in real life too.
… Which means, I chose the wrong option for the game?
Could it be, I shouldn’t choose the usual bland and normal options like I usually do?
—— Yes! That must be it!
I realized too late…! I covered my face with one palm. Seemed like I need to take actions that differed from usual…! If this went on, my heroine would probably never appear…!
［Grandpa.］
［Hmm?］
［I will be going back to my room after eating pizza.］
［What about 【Hell Scream 4】? The story is interesting, this is the remake of the original version.］
He asked me with a shocked expression.
I understand Grandpa. I thought so too… If possible, I want to play 【Hell Scream 4】 for the entire night. Until yesterday, I would definitely do so! But not now!
［Grandpa… I… decided to make the heroine appear!］
I bidded farewell to my former self.
［… Huh?］
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