Yukino: How many girls has he won over? / So I Have a System?

The first time, she had asked why Fushimi Makoto knew what she was thinking.

The second time, she was asking why something like this had happened.

Clearly, she believed him completely now.

Chapter 2: Yukino: How many girls has he won over?

Yukino was utterly shaken.

Before, she had only half believed Fushimi Makoto's claim about being caught in a "Time Loop."

But now, she believed him completely.

If there were no Time Loop, how could he have set an alarm just before the car crash, then leisurely strolled over and casually helped the mother and child avoid it?

He had avoided the crash with such precise timing, down to the very second. Without a Time Loop, there was only one other possibility—he was a superhero.

Only by repeating this exact moment countless times in a Time Loop could Fushimi Makoto have timed it down to the second.

The scene was so shocking that Yukino forgot to move her legs, and even forgot that Fushimi Makoto had just beckoned to her.

It wasn't until Fushimi Makoto came over to her that she seemed to snap out of a dream and instinctively handed his phone back.

Then, looking anxiously toward the crash site, she started to reach for her phone to call for help, but a warm hand stopped her.

She gave Fushimi Makoto a puzzled look.

Fushimi Makoto shook his head. "It's no use. The driver died on the spot. He was speeding because he'd gambled away his entire fortune and was deep in debt, so he got drunk and decided to race through the city. One thing worth mentioning: that car was stolen."

Yukino froze. Wasn't that guy just scum?

"Exactly. He was scum."

Fushimi Makoto had guessed what she was thinking again.

Yukino's breathing turned slightly uneven as her beautiful eyes fixed on his handsome face. "Did you investigate things during the Time Loop?"

"That's obvious," Fushimi Makoto admitted.

Yukino was about to say more when the mother and child hurried over, visibly emotional as they bowed to Fushimi Makoto. "Thank you. Thank you so much. We almost..."

The mother was overwhelmed, her voice full of lingering fear. As she spoke, she choked up.

She had just realized that she and her elementary-school-aged son had nearly been in a car crash, and she could barely contain herself.

"Please don't panic. Take a moment to calm down."

Fushimi Makoto comforted her calmly, as though nothing had happened.

Yukino stood quietly to the side, saying nothing.

He must have gone through something like this too many times. He was probably numb to it by now.

Wait!

Did that mean he watched this mother and child get into a car crash every day? No matter how many times he saved them, the next day it would happen all over again?

Yukino's gaze flickered, and her feelings suddenly grew complicated.

After the mother and child left, Fushimi Makoto turned to her with a smile. "Were you wondering what I was thinking?"

"Yes."

Yukino didn't deny it.

She really was curious.

Fushimi Makoto continued in his calm voice. "The first time I saw them die in a crash caused by a drunk driver, I decided to help them avoid it. But every day after that was the same. No matter how many times I saved them, it kept happening again."

"So you started feeling helpless and numb?" Yukino guessed how he must have felt.

Fushimi Makoto nodded. "Yeah. At first, I was numb. Gradually, I became irritable. Eventually, I simply started avoiding this street and doing other things to take my mind off it."

Yukino fell silent.

It must have been awful.

Just imagining it made her feel suffocated.

"Come on. I'll keep showing you how to verify it," Fushimi Makoto said.

I already believe you.

Yukino answered him silently, but still followed him.

"Is that Teacher Matsukaze?"

As they passed a shopping mall, Yukino spotted a familiar figure.

Fushimi Makoto nodded. "That's her."

Where their gazes met, a petite yet curvaceous woman with an incredibly sweet face came out of the mall carrying a bag of apples.

"Is this part of your verification plan too?" Yukino asked curiously.

Fushimi Makoto pointed at Matsukaze Mayu's petite figure. "The apples in her arms are about to fall out."

Matsukaze Mayu was the school's art teacher. With her sweet face and voice, as well as her gentle personality, she was very popular at school and well known, too.

And she wasn't just generally gentle. If she particularly liked someone, she could even indulge them with an affectionate, doting attitude.

Fushimi Makoto had tried to win her over, too, spending a lot of time learning everything about her.

Including the layout of her apartment.

Very nice.

"Are the apples really going to fall?" Yukino asked. It sounded like a prediction, but she realized she wasn't surprised anymore.

Five seconds later, Matsukaze Mayu let out a soft, sweet "Oh no!" as several apples fell from her bag and rolled right toward Fushimi Makoto and Yukino.

Fushimi Makoto and Yukino both bent down almost simultaneously to pick up the rolling apples.

"Fushimi? Yukinoshita?"

Seeing two students from her school helping her, Matsukaze Mayu first looked delighted. Then curiosity spread across her pretty face. "Are you two on a date?"

"No, we're just out for a walk," Fushimi Makoto replied casually. "Teacher Matsukaze, are you going to see a movie tonight?"

Matsukaze Mayu looked surprised. "How did you know?"

Fushimi Makoto didn't answer. Instead, he continued, "If you're planning to see that romance movie showing at six, I'd suggest going later. The six o'clock tickets are already sold out."

"Huh? Really?"

"Really. A friend of mine at the movie theater told me."

"Thank you, Fushimi. I almost would've made the trip for nothing." Matsukaze Mayu smiled sweetly.

Yukino, standing nearby, frowned slightly, full of suspicion.

She remembered Fushimi Makoto telling her earlier, "I once tried to win you over."

So had he tried to win over Teacher Matsukaze, too?

Maybe he had won over more than just her and Teacher Matsukaze?

Watching the two of them chat so happily, Yukino's bold suspicion grew stronger.

From where she stood, Fushimi Makoto wasn't just laughing and talking with Matsukaze Mayu. At one point, he even said, "Do you live alone, Teacher Matsukaze? How about we exchange contact information? I live right downstairs from you, so if you ever need help, you can call us anytime."

Not "me," but "us."

Matsukaze Mayu readily agreed, looking delighted.

After she left happily, Yukino finally couldn't hold back. With an expressionless face, she asked, "What did you mean by 'us' just now?"

Fushimi Makoto replied unconcernedly, "The timeline will reset tomorrow anyway, and you'll forget all of this. Does a question like that even matter?"

Yukino froze.

She was silent for two seconds, then spoke in a subdued voice. "I'm going to buy a bottle of water. Do you want one?"

"No, thanks."

Yukino headed to the convenience store by herself.

Her mood had suddenly soured.

A Time Loop. A world that reset.

What did everyone but that guy even count as?

NPCs?

The moment she heard what he'd said, she'd immediately thought of that key point.

For some reason, it made her uncomfortable.

Watching her beautiful figure from behind, Fushimi Makoto's thoughts drifted, too.

As a transmigrator, he'd lost count of how many years he'd spent reliving April 9.

He'd worked himself to death in his previous life. When he opened his eyes again, he'd become a high school student.

At first, he'd thought he'd gone back in time. He'd even planned to find a way to make money, hoping to become the world's richest man like the protagonists in all those reincarnation novels he'd read.

But once he realized he'd transmigrated to Japan, and no matter what he did, he couldn't get past April 9, his plan to become the richest man was dead in the water.

He still looked like he had in high school, yet suddenly he'd ended up in a world of two-dimensional beauties.

Where the heck have I ended up? .jpg

His parents were alive in this life, but because of the Time Loop, he hadn't met Mr. and Mrs. Fushimi yet.

And a Time Loop meant he could do whatever he wanted in this world.

No matter what he did, everything would reset the next day.

Most importantly, his memories wouldn't be reset.

So he'd learned all sorts of things and used his "infinite save-file reloading" to win over many beautiful girls.

He'd tried bungee jumping without a safety rope, been hit and sent flying by a drunk driver, played co-op games with Matsukaze Mayu, and even found out whether Kasumigaoka Utaha's embrace was warm.

Yukinoshita Yukino was the hardest to win over.

After all, he only had "one day."

His closest moments with Yukino had come when he tricked her into joining him in a couple's challenge at the mall, then carried her bridal-style all the way through.

But she really was cute when she blushed and hesitated in front of him.

Chapter 3: So I Have a System?

When Fushimi Makoto invited Yukino to dinner, she agreed without hesitation.

Everything she'd experienced today had clearly stirred her curiosity.

They had oden for dinner.

Although Fushimi Makoto offered to treat her, Yukino insisted on splitting the bill.

Fushimi Makoto didn't push the matter.

Because of the Time Loop, he'd never cared about money. His wallet would "reset" the next day anyway.

At first, that had been pretty satisfying. But as time went on, Fushimi Makoto began to feel something like aesthetic fatigue.

It was just like that movie, Groundhog Day.

The one thing that made him happy was that whenever he talked to Yukinoshita Yukino about the Time Loop, she always ended up believing him.

That was at least some emotional comfort in his repetitive life.

"Where are you taking me next?"

Yukino sat across from him, eating elegantly, her beautiful eyes openly fixed on Fushimi Makoto's face.

It was clear she wanted to keep experiencing this novel adventure.

Even if everything would reset tomorrow.

"How about Chiba?" Fushimi Makoto suggested.