Buy a Pet First

Buy a Pet First

In this world, being an ordinary person was undoubtedly a sad thing.

Absolute power was held in the hands of ninjas.

The only use ordinary people had was to provide society's labor force.

Food, livestock, supplies.

Even so, they still had to bear the risk of being dragged into wars between Ninja Villages.

Even daimyos.

The ruler of a country could only maintain a pitiful semblance of dignity when faced with powerful ninjas.

But now.

It seemed there was finally a turning point—a chance for this situation to change.

Kitahara Yuki had undoubtedly seen this in these jars, which was why he had decisively chosen to stake everything on them, all for the sake of his ambitions.

Shen Mo had yet to realize the changes he had brought about.

After sleeping comfortably in the soft bed, he bought "Erina Nakiri's Heart-Shaped Breakfast" from the system, spending a full three hundred Trading Points.

So expensive!

Even Shen Mo, who had money and liked to spend it freely, couldn't help complaining.

But.

It was insanely delicious!

Shen Mo now understood why some people said that the happiness of the rich was beyond imagination—and the happiness of rich people with a system was even more unimaginable.

As the saying went, once people had enough to eat and wear, their minds wandered to other things.

While eating his delicious breakfast, Shen Mo suddenly had an idea. Could this omnipotent system buy the beautiful chef directly as well?

He had previously checked Ikaros, the omnipotent angel from Heaven's Lost Property.

The price was expensive.

Then what about Erina Nakiri, who was merely an ordinary human chef?

What about the other fantasy characters, too?

Shen Mo immediately began searching through the system's shop interface.

And there really was one!

However, before Shen Mo had time to celebrate, he keenly noticed that a parenthesis had been added after the product's name, Erina Nakiri. Inside were the words "replica."

Description: The heroine from the world of Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma, a replica of Erina Nakiri. She possesses all of the original's memories, abilities, and personality, has self-awareness as a replica, and is one hundred percent loyal.

Did this mean that buying a character didn't bring over the original person from the fantasy world, but instead had the system create a replica?

Shen Mo's eyes narrowed involuntarily.

He remembered that when he had searched for Ikaros earlier, there had clearly been no additional parentheses.

He searched for Ikaros again.

He opened the description:

The heroine from Heaven's Lost Property, original version. After purchase, she will disappear from her original world, automatically acknowledge her master, and have an initial loyalty of ninety percent. Abilities as follows:

Ikaros would be the real person, not a replica?

Why?

Shen Mo quickly searched for the other characters as well.

Characters he knew well, such as Misaka Mikoto, Tokisaki Kurumi, Asuna, and even Quake, Black Widow, and Dark Phoenix.

They were all replicas.

Where did the difference lie?

Shen Mo's curiosity was piqued.

He seriously thought about the differences between these characters and Ikaros, listing every possibility.

Then he came up with a theory.

To verify it, Shen Mo searched for another person.

Violet from Violet Evergarden!

This time.

Two products appeared.

Violet (child).

Violet (adult replica).

"Just as I thought."

Shen Mo murmured to himself, a trace of excitement in his eyes. He had found the reason.

Violet's childhood origins were unknown, but she had been treated as a weapon and used on the battlefield. She would acknowledge her master and obey their commands. Adult Violet, after meeting the male lead, gradually developed a sense of self.

That was right.

The difference should lie in "acknowledging a master."

Only for characters capable of acknowledging a master could the system bring over the original, ensuring that they would belong to Shen Mo, who had spent the Trading Points. Characters incapable of acknowledging a master could only be purchased as replicas.

By this reasoning.

The system very likely did not possess the ability to directly control consciousness.

Shen Mo immediately tried the customization service.

Sure enough.

The system allowed him to purchase Professor X's abilities and abilities like Kotoamatsukami, which could alter memories, but it did not allow him to directly customize a service that would completely enslave a person's will.

"Is it because this is an 'all-purpose' system, not an 'omnipotent' one after all?"

Shen Mo stuffed the last piece of cake into his mouth, then stretched lazily in his seat.

It seemed the system still had many unknown hidden rules.

But there was no need to rush into exploring them.

For now.

He would buy a little pet first, to ease the loneliness of being alone.

Since he was alone in this "nonexistent room," Shen Mo made no attempt to hide his cackling laughter before finding the "product" he wanted in the system.

It cost three million three hundred thousand Trading Points—and it was still the original version!

Buy it!

In an instant, a figure appeared on the table in front of him.

"Meow—"

The soft, delicate cry sounded almost like a coquettish whimper.

"Wow, so cute." Shen Mo couldn't help reaching out and stroking her soft body.

"Meow." Another soft cry.

The little thing seemed to enjoy it, gently rubbing her tiny head against Shen Mo's arm with great affection.

That was right.

What Shen Mo had purchased was a genuine pet—a tiny snow-white kitten.

With jewel-like purple eyes, immaculate snow-white fur that was exceptionally smooth, pink paw pads, and a slightly chubby little belly, there was no doubt that this was an irresistibly adorable kitten capable of capturing any girl's attention in an instant. If she were put on a short-video platform on Earth, she would be cute enough to become famous with just a few simple movements.

Her name was Hikari.

Hikari, the heroine from Omamori Himari, who possessed the bloodline of a cat demon.

Of course, this was her childhood state, from before she met the male lead.

Her bloodline had also inherited the quality of loyalty, so even in her childhood state, she was capable of acknowledging a master. That was why the original version could be purchased as well.

Shen Mo had wanted to raise an adorable kitten for a long time, but he had never had the time.

Now, he could finally fulfill that wish.

And besides—

Remembering a meme he had seen online, he couldn't help laughing mischievously again.

It was a pity that he couldn't make posts anymore.

Otherwise, he would definitely have shown off a little.

The cat I keep can really grow into a catgirl beauty. What about yours?

"Come on, Hikari. Let's go earn some money and buy you the finest dried fish." Shen Mo stood up, suddenly full of energy.

"Meow—"

Hikari couldn't completely understand Shen Mo's words yet, but she knew that her master was about to leave.

She hurriedly pawed at him, nimbly climbing up his sleeve to his shoulder, where she curled up like a ball of fluff and gently rubbed her face against his neck. She was warm and snug.

Although she was still only a tiny kitten,

she was already no weaker than an ordinary cat, so there was no need to worry about her falling.

I haven't fully settled into the new-book routine yet, and my schedule has been a little disorganized. I'll stabilize my updates as soon as possible. Also, thanks to dogdog for the first reward—an old reader who has followed five of my books.