"Hey! Ju Ji, get up already!"
Waking up in the morning to the call of a cute girl was normally a great honor. It was as rare as being hit by an apple falling from a tree, and something every man wanted to experience.
That was, as long as she spoke gently. But there was nothing gentle about the tone of the girl currently standing on Ju Ji. She sounded like a delinquent with a nasty disposition, the type to beat you up whenever things didn't go her way.
No, she was already kicking him. If Ju Ji hadn't practiced Tai Chi and built up a fairly strong body, he'd probably have been injured by that force.
"Miss Kushida, could you please move your precious foot first?"
The cute girl with short brown hair was named Kikyo Kushida. Her nasty attitude was enough to erase all her cuteness, but she only showed her true self when the two of them were alone.
Around other people, she turned into a perfect beauty with a sweet smile and gentle personality. Ju Ji seriously wondered if she had a split personality.
This showed just how much Kikyo trusted Ju Ji. They had still been strangers a month ago, but it had taken less than a day for them to become like this. It was all because of—
[Friend System activated. One guaranteed-success random Hypnosis use granted. Automatically using it. Random selection in progress... Kikyo Kushida has been successfully hypnotized. For details, silently call up the system panel.
New user tutorial complete. Farewell!]
That was the first voice Ju Ji heard after regaining consciousness. Yet it sounded like a worker rushing to clock out, carelessly finishing the job before falling silent.
[System Panel] Name: Shinomiya Ju Fan Age: 15 Skills: Hypnosis Lv1, Clairvoyance Lv1, Taming Lv1 Hypnotized target: Kikyo Kushida (Affection: 100 (max); she regards you as a lifelong friend, would never betray you, and would never "truly" refuse your requests.) Friend Points: 1000
That was Ju Ji's Friend System panel. Besides that, there was also a System Shop where you could buy almost anything, but it required a special currency: Friend Points.
Whenever someone's affection for Ju Ji increased, his Friend Points increased at a ratio of one to ten. It sounded very simple, but for someone as extremely self-centered as him, it was rather difficult.
Still, you'd better use this skill to make friends...
Although he was quite interested in the System Shop, now was clearly not the time.
He was on a bus on his way to school. The vehicle rocked back and forth, and nearly all the other passengers were young people in high school uniforms.
The bus was so crowded that you almost worried whether the office workers, worn down by work and full of frustration, might lose control and accidentally grope someone.
An old woman standing not far ahead was unsteady on her feet, as if she might fall at any moment. It looked dangerous, but if she knew how packed the bus would be and still got on, she had only herself to blame.
Getting a seat was a stroke of luck, and Ju Ji decided to take it easy and ride all the way to the last stop.
"Don't you think you should give up your seat?"
A woman in an office-style outfit was standing beside the old woman, supporting her.
Right in front of her, a burly blond boy in a male high school uniform was sitting with his butt planted on a priority seat.
"You there, sitting down—can't you see the old woman's having trouble?"
The woman's clear voice carried throughout the bus, drawing nearly everyone's attention.
"What a crazy question, lady."
The blond boy didn't get angry or ignore her, nor did he meekly obey. Instead, he grinned and crossed his legs.
"Why should I give up my seat to this old woman? There's no reason for that."
Apparently, giving up his seat to an old woman wasn't even an option in the blond boy's mind. The woman in office attire seemed furious at his words, and they looked ready to start arguing.
"If you don't mind, ma'am, you can have my seat."
Ju Ji couldn't bear to watch things escalate, so he offered his seat.
"Thank you, young man."
Once someone offered a seat, the argument between the two of them stopped.
As she passed Ju Ji, the woman in office attire thanked him, then helped the old woman sit down.
The woman had tried persuading people for quite a while, yet no one had offered their seat. It was easy to see how little empathy there was in this cold society.
Of course, Ju Ji hadn't given up his seat out of some so-called empathy. As an extreme self-centered person, he wouldn't do anything that offered him no benefit.
He had noticed that quite a few of the high school students on the bus wore the same uniform as him, so there was a good chance they were in his class. After the woman's commotion, everyone's attention had turned their way.
First impressions mattered most. If any of them were his classmates, his kind gesture would probably leave them thinking he was easy to get along with. That would make it much easier for him to make friends, probably...
"Ju Ji, we're at the same school! I'm so glad... Ah!"
A sweet-looking girl with short brown hair waved as she walked toward him. Ju Ji didn't know her, but if he wasn't mistaken, she was Kikyo Kushida.
Just then, the bus seemed to run over a stone or something and jolted.
Kikyo lost her footing and cried out as she fell into Ju Ji's arms. The scent of tangerines and the girl's soft, warm body made his head spin a little. The discomfort made him instinctively want to push her away.
"Go ahead and try pushing me away!"
Kikyo seemed to realize what he was about to do. Her cold voice came from below, and a demon seemed to glare at him through her reddish-orange eyes, nearly leaving him unable to breathe.
By the time he noticed, her foot was already pressing down hard on his right foot.
"Sorry, Ju Ji. I accidentally stepped on your foot. I was so happy to see you after so long that I didn't notice. Hehe!"
For a moment, it was as if everything Ju Ji had heard and seen before had been an illusion. The girl in front of him now looked like an angel. The stark contrast left him unable to tell which version was real.
Come to think of it, Kikyo Kushida—the brown-haired girl with such a dramatic contrast between her two sides. He felt like he'd seen that sort of character setup somewhere before. But where...?
Before you continue