The System Creator Chapter 4

As for affection points, was he really afraid he couldn't build them up?

But there was one thing the system hadn't fully recorded yet—the System Network.

Fortunately, as its creator, Chu Chen retained the right to issue updates, just like selling a game and later releasing unfinished or improvable content as DLC.

So, he'd deal with the rest later. First, he needed to lure... bring this little girl home!

"Open the gift pack... claim today's check-in..."

[Beginner's Gift Pack opened... All stats increased by 1 level. Obtained Fate Testarossa Transformation Card (Pre-series, 1-time use)!]

[Miyu completed daily check-in. Obtained 1-time Skill Card "Photon Spear: Starry Flight"!]

Chu Chen: "!!!"

Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!

It wasn't that Chu Chen lacked vocabulary—it was that only those two words could express his shock.

Illya pulling a Nanoha Transformation Card was already shocking, but here was a true child of destiny!

Getting a Transformation Card from the very first Beginner's Gift Pack—this pack was pure luck. Ai, Yukino, and the others had all gotten mediocre stuff. Illya had scored a whole box of Magical Girl Tapes, which made her ecstatic since they were ones she'd wanted but couldn't buy.

Miyu, though, was brutally straightforward—she got Fate's Transformation Card, the counterpart to Illya's.

And even a daily check-in gave her a Skill Card, one of the most powerful skills from Fate's first season. Honestly, seeing this, Chu Chen couldn't help but feel jealous.

What was a European Emperor? This was the real deal!

A parallel world's Lesser Grail was something else!

Forget it (so jealous), she'd be his eventually anyway—it wasn't like he couldn't choose her later!

He silently calmed himself down, then immediately issued a mission for Miyu.

[Miyu triggered Event Check-in: Find a way to move into Hohomihara Academy teacher Chu Chen's home.]

[Check-in time limit: 1 hour.]

[Check-in reward: Increase own power by 1 level.]

Miyu: "..."

Looking at the mission, Miyu glanced in the direction Chu Chen had left.

Her face clouded over. Speechless and exasperated, she fell into silence.

Chapter 7: Magical Girl? Isn't It Magical Grandma?

Chu Chen silently watched the little girl tailing him, finding it quite amusing.

She really is adorable... Miyu... he thought to himself.

He hadn't expected her to follow him all this way—that genuinely caught him off guard.

Watching her trail behind him, a playful urge stirred in his heart.

Why not mess with her a little? It wouldn't hurt...

With that thought, Chu Chen quietly quickened his pace, and Miyu did the same.

Keeping up with Chu Chen wasn't a problem, even though he'd already invited her and she'd refused—now sneaking after him felt embarrassingly thick-skinned. But for the mission, Miyu was all in!

So what if she had to be shameless? That wasn't a big deal!

Thinking this, Miyu silently sped up again, afraid of losing him.

But to her utter confusion, the moment she caught up, he vanished.

She froze. How had she lost him? He was right there a second ago!

Instinctively, she rushed forward to check, but there was no one around. Had she really lost him?

Frowning, Miyu's mood darkened. How was she supposed to complete the mission now? She couldn't find him!

Wait—the system had said he was a teacher at Hohomihara Academy. Should she go there?

But there wasn't enough time... the Check-in System only gave her one hour, and he probably wouldn't head to the academy this late. He'd surely go home... It looked like the mission was impossible.

Miyu sighed deeply. She hated wasting any mission, but now she had no choice but to give up.

She'd find a place to rest for now. It was already so late...

"Yo! Didn't you say you didn't need my help? So why sneak after me... you cute little thing..."

Just as Miyu was about to leave, a voice made her instinctively reach for her Transformation Card.

But when she saw the familiar figure, she quietly relaxed. At least it wasn't an enemy.

She had to stay alert around everyone. Even if this world had no Einsworth agents, who knew what dangers lurked? Hadn't she already run into a creepy old guy—Chu Chen?

Of course, if Chu Chen knew he was seen as that, he'd probably be at a loss for tears.

Meeting his teasing gaze, Miyu felt utterly embarrassed.

She'd rejected him earlier, and now, because of the mission, she had to throw herself at him.

She sighed deeply, silently emphasizing one thing—it was all for her brother.

"I was wrong just now. I sincerely apologize, and I hope you can give me a place to stay..."

Miyu bent her waist, speaking with a tone full of sincerity.

"I can do anything! Laundry, cooking—whatever it takes. I just hope you'll let me stay here!"

Seeing her so earnest, Chu Chen was momentarily speechless. Kid, do you realize that saying "I can do anything" can easily be taken the wrong way? Though, given how young you are, no one would really think in that direction.

Still, Chu Chen had planned to take Miyu home from the start. Wouldn't it be nice to adopt a little loli?

The corners of Chu Chen's mouth lifted slightly as he silently crouched down, bringing himself to eye level with the girl.

Miyu remained bent over, completely unaware of his gaze, simply waiting for his answer.

When no reply came for a long time, a hint of disappointment crept into her heart. She mistakenly thought he had refused her.

But then—

"Sure! Actually, the moment I saw you, I felt like I couldn't just leave you be. So from the very start, I intended to help you..." Chu Chen said with a light laugh, his face full of warmth. Compared to Illya in this world, who lived in a happy home, Miyu was undoubtedly closer to the tragic fate of the Illya from the FATE series.

In the original story, Miyu was taken in by Luvia, but...

Why couldn't he be the one to adopt her? Looking at that house where he lived all alone, having a little loli wandering around in front of him every day—wouldn't even the air smell sweeter?

[Miyu has completed the entry event check-in. Personal power increased by 1 level.]

Seeing the task completed, a trace of joy rose in Miyu's heart. At the same time—

She glanced at Chu Chen, and even her usually calm heart couldn't help but ripple slightly.

He intended to help me from the very start?

Though she didn't know his reasons, a warm current still flowed through Miyu's heart.

Miyu silently followed behind Chu Chen, then couldn't help but ask.

"Why would you say that? You and I have no connection at all. Why would you decide to help me the moment you saw me?"

With a soft laugh, Chu Chen turned to look at Miyu behind him and asked in return.

"Just because there's no connection, does that mean you shouldn't help others? It's true that many people in this world choose to stand by and watch because they're afraid of trouble. Some even help others only for some ulterior motive. But even so, I believe there are still plenty of people in this world who help others without expecting anything in return."

As he spoke, Chu Chen took hold of Miyu's small, dust-covered hand. Though Miyu, who seemed to have a startle-prone disposition, instinctively tried to pull her right hand back, Chu Chen held it firmly.

"Hey! Haven't you run into one right now? And I'm the type who, once I hold on, never lets go..."

Miyu silently lowered her head, saying nothing, and her right hand stopped struggling.

Seeing Miyu drop her head, Chu Chen didn't say anything more, simply shifting his gaze elsewhere.

He wondered if Sapphire would still seek out Miyu now that he had taken her in...

He had meddled with the plot. He had no idea how extreme the impact would be.

But—

His gaze lingered for a moment on a spot in the sky where something was flashing, and Chu Chen silently thought to himself.

It probably won't affect things too much... Those two idiots are still fighting over there...

That's right, in Chu Chen's line of sight, Tohsaka Rin and Luvia, who had just arrived in Fuyuki City, were still playing their Magical Girl PK match...

Though compared to Illya and Miyu, those two girls should probably be called Magical Aunties...

Chapter 8: Would You Be Willing to Form a Contract with Me and Become a Magical Girl?

After returning, Chu Chen began arranging all sorts of trivial matters for Miyu.

Like bathing, like clothes, like the room issue...

It only took about half an hour. Miyu stepped into the bathroom, while Chu Chen silently started crafting a brand-new system.

That's right, a brand-new system—no longer the Check-in System, but an entirely new series...

The Check-in System was the beginner series Chu Chen had first known about. Once he had crafted a certain number of Check-in Systems, he could unlock the next series of system crafting. That was the information Chu Chen had, though he had no idea where this ability of his came from.

Or rather, was this not even an ability, but his own system? A system that created systems?

But if it was a system, why didn't he even have a Beginner's Gift Package... Every system he created basically had one... Heartbreaking...

Chu Chen decided not to overthink it. At least for now, this let him grow stronger, so he would just keep moving forward.

[Unlock the next level of system? A random system type from the next level will be selected for crafting?]

Silently pressing "Yes," a brand-new system type was unlocked by Chu Chen. Then—

"I'll send this system to the Nanoha World... Let's see what good perks this new system has..."

"Right, first update the System Network so Miyu can join the network as quickly as possible..."

At the same time, Miyu, who was bathing and familiarizing herself with her newfound power, suddenly received this notification.

[System updating... Once the update is complete, the host will be able to chat with system holders from other worlds. All systems held by these users are manufactured by the same factory as this system. Please look forward to it...]

Chu Chen: "...Same factory? So I'm the factory floor? (￣ー￣)..."

Miyu was slightly stunned but said nothing... Just... system holders from other worlds?

Parallel worlds? Miyu pondered this in her heart, and her estimation of the system's creator rose by a notch.

Being able to casually hand over a system to someone from another world—that alone speaks volumes about their level!

Still, Miyu didn't dwell on it too much. For her, saving her brother was the most important thing right now.

Originally, her plan had been to escape Einsworth and just drift through life as it came. But now she had a goal—no matter what, she had to rescue her brother.

After finishing her bath, Miyu said a quick word to Chu Chen and headed back to her room.

There was just one thing she didn't understand: why was Chu Chen sitting there motionless, as if in a daze?

Was he thinking about something? But then why did he look so strange?

Miyu didn't press further, though. She quietly returned to her room, spread out her bedding, and walked over to the window to close it.

Just as she was about to pull the curtains shut, change into her pajamas, and go to sleep, she seemed to catch sight of something. Her gaze snapped to the window, where something appeared to be flitting through the night sky, making her pause in surprise.

"What's that?" Miyu murmured to herself, then slowly stepped closer to the window.

The next moment, her eyes locked onto the thing darting back and forth. Soon, she realized with some astonishment that it seemed to be flying straight toward her.

But the mature Miyu wasn't afraid. After all, she had already experienced being hunted by Einsworth. There wasn't much left in the world that could scare her—unless she ran into someone from Einsworth again.

Right now, the object was flying pretty fast. Before long, it entered the residential area.

As it drew closer, Miyu gradually made out what it was.

It was a flying staff, about as long as her arm. Its body was blue, and the head was a golden ring with two blue gems embedded in it like eyes. On either side were ribbon decorations, and the hollow center held a golden six-pointed star. It was unmistakably a Magical Girl's staff.

"Huh? A staff?" Miyu tilted her head, a look of deep confusion on her face.

"Hello, I am the Kaleidoscope Staff Sapphire. Would you be willing to form a contract with me and become a Magical Girl?"

Sapphire was different from her sister. Ruby was the type who never took anything seriously, while Sapphire was a lot like Miyu.

You had to admit, Sapphire had found a master whose temperament matched her own perfectly. That was a real stroke of luck.

Miyu tilted her head again, blinking in bewilderment. The confusion in her eyes never faded.