Under the glow of her two dazzling best friends, Shimaura Hitomi seemed rather inconspicuous.
Yet, having grown accustomed to not drawing attention, she actually liked this state of being unnoticed. It made it easier to do things in secret.
After trying Dream Wanderer just once, Shimaura Hitomi had fallen in love with it.
Kiyoharu in the dream seemed convinced it was only a dream, so while his behavior remained consistent with reality, he also acted a little more boldly.
Shimaura Hitomi had worked up the courage to invite her senior to make a move. She had thought that, given Kiyoharu's personality, he would definitely refuse, but he agreed without hesitation, allowing her to experience a sensation she had never imagined.
In a brightly lit shopping mall in Shinjuku, classical music played in the background. Shimaura Hitomi would occasionally stare at Kiyoharu's hand for a while, reliving its touch as her cheeks and ears grew warm.
Compared with using her senior's belongings to fuel her fantasies directly, a dream that was virtually indistinguishable from reality was ten thousand times more pleasurable.
"Is there something on my hand?" Kiyoharu raised it and inspected it curiously.
"N-no..." Shimaura Hitomi looked a little flustered. "Senior, did you rest well last night?"
"Pretty well, I guess. Why are you suddenly asking?"
"Because, um, near where I live last night... there were some biker gangs making a racket. Right, someone was racing their car, and it woke me up..."
Shimaura Hitomi stammered as she nervously searched for an excuse.
She did want to know what Kiyoharu thought about the dream, but unfortunately, it was secret information that would be hard to uncover even by fishing for clues.
"Where do you live, Hitomi? Shibuya, or Bunkyo?" Airi, who was walking ahead beside Kitahara Ayano, turned and asked.
"Actually, Nakano... Just a really small apartment."
"You're bound to run into low-quality people living somewhere like that. You should move to Minato District instead. There are some nice places near my home."
But the rent would probably double. No, it might be even more than that. Shimaura Hitomi muttered the unspoken implication to herself before smiling. "Thanks, Airi, but I'm already used to living there. Besides, biker gangs don't pass by every night. It only happens occasionally."
"Okay, then."
Chihaya Airi felt a little regretful. She had truly hoped Shimaura Hitomi could live near Chihaya Estate so they could spend time together often.
Among her many friends, Shimaura Hitomi was arguably the one Airi trusted and felt most at ease with. There were no tangled interests between them, and for the Young Lady of a conglomerate family, friends without conflicts of interest were the rarest kind.
If Hitomi lived nearby, Airi could hear her report on Kiyoharu's situation at school in person every day. They could also watch variety shows together, and it would not matter if they stayed up late—she could just ask Uncle Tsuchiya to drive her home.
But that was impractical for Shimaura Hitomi. Chihaya Academy offered generous benefits, but renting in Minato District was simply too expensive. Shimaura Hitomi would rather sacrifice a little comfort and save more money.
It was true that her elders had ties to the Chihaya Family, but their families' financial circumstances were worlds apart.
Shimaura Hitomi had always been frugal. She saved wherever she could and had no money-burning bad habits. From another perspective, she was probably a boring woman with no appreciation for life's pleasures.
At that moment, Kitahara Ayano suddenly covered her mouth and chuckled. "Why not just let Hitomi move into Airi's home? There are so many empty rooms anyway."
That fanciful suggestion instantly stiffened both Airi's and Shimaura Hitomi's expressions.
"Ayano, don't joke around. How could I disturb Airi and Senior's happy life together?" Spotting the familiar sign of a milk tea shop, Shimaura Hitomi quickly changed the subject. "Does anyone want milk tea? I can go line up for us."
"Sure. Get me a cheese Ceylon," Airi said happily. "What do you want, Ayano?"
"Matcha will do."
Not wanting to listen to Kitahara Ayano's passive-aggressive remarks, Kiyoharu simply went to line up for milk tea with Shimaura Hitomi.
While he was at it, he planned to take advantage of this chance alone with her to offer some advice.
He was still thinking about the Shimaura Hitomi series quest the system had generated: Shimaura Hitomi's Image Makeover.
A shopping trip with her best friends was the perfect opportunity. Kiyoharu could make suggestions without seeming out of place at all.
Raising Shimaura Hitomi's charm score from 65 to 80 presumably would not be too difficult. Although he had yet to figure out the system's scoring criteria, Kiyoharu was confident in his eye for people.
Without being passive-aggressive about it, the girl really had an excellent foundation.
As for praising Shimaura Hitomi's figure and making her blush, given how easily embarrassed she was, Kiyoharu might be able to complete it just by offering wholesome, appropriate compliments in front of Airi.
If he could complete this quest, combined with the 70 points he had gained from accidentally tasting Airi before, he would have 170 Energy Points.
Kiyoharu's goal was 300 Energy Points, which he intended to use to exchange for the skill he needed most in the system shop: Network Hacker.
"Host, this system believes that skill is not very cost-effective at present. You could first check out the discounted items in the shop and use the Energy Points you have on hand to improve yourself a little~"
The noisy useless system began chattering in Kiyoharu's ear again.
"What discounted items are there?"
"For example, this attribute point: Vitality +10. It's currently thirty percent off, and the 70 Energy Points you have are just enough to buy it..."
"Pah! You malicious useless system, do you think I haven't read the description for attribute points? Besides strengthening the body internally, the most important function of the Vitality attribute is improving ability in that department. I'm already having a hard time holding back with the Beauty Devil and Canvas Devil taking turns teasing me. Do you want me to explode on the spot by boosting my Vitality?"
"Waaah, Host, you've misunderstood! Isn't this for the sake of your health?" The system sounded utterly humble. "Besides, according to big data, there really aren't many opportunities to use hacker skills, meow."
"That's true, but if I have sufficient Network Hacker ability, I can hack into Kitahara Ayano's phone and completely delete that video of me dressing her. I can also find out exactly what she's creating, and maybe even get some leverage over her in return. Isn't that useful?"
The system froze for a long while, then suddenly praised him enthusiastically. "As expected of the clever Host! You actually found such an exquisite way to break the deadlock and reverse the situation directly!"
"Is that because I'm clever? No, it's because you're too stupid, you dumb mutt. Such a low-grade, ordinary, garbage system!"
"Awoo~"
Just you wait, Canvas Devil!
After venting a few complaints, Kiyoharu saw that the line had reached their turn to buy milk tea.
Shimaura Hitomi ordered what her friends wanted, then asked Kiyoharu what he would like.
"Me? I'll just have an iced lemon water, no sugar."
"Senior seems to rarely drink sugary beverages. That's such a good habit." Shimaura Hitomi sighed. "No wonder Senior has always been so slim..."
"Listen to yourself. You're not fat either."
"Really?"
"Would you like to try a different clothing style, Junior? You clearly have a great figure. With just a little dressing up, you'd really stand out. You definitely wouldn't look bulky."
At that, Shimaura Hitomi's eyes trembled. She hurriedly waved her hands. "No, I don't want to dress in a way that draws too much attention. Um, being too pretty isn't good..."
Her resolute attitude was completely different from that of most girls who loved beauty. It was as though pursuing good looks was something frightening.
Before you continue