Shibuya at night.
Natsume Chikage had just finished his shift at the coffee shop and was walking down the street. Looking at the neon-lit scene around him, he slowly drifted back into memories of the past.
One day, after touching a glowing golden orb, he found himself transported bodily to a parallel-world version of Tokyo, Japan. He had taken the place of a boy who had committed suicide, inheriting his memories and identity.
And so, in the eyes of everyone else, he was Natsume Chikage.
In this world, his predecessor had grown up in a single-parent household, but his family had been quite wealthy.
But their good fortune hadn't lasted. His father's IT company suddenly went bankrupt, and he died of grief, leaving only the boy and his younger sister to scrape by.
The irony of it all was hard to miss.
The relatives who had once visited them so often and treated them so warmly had now become just as cold.
They were even worried that the family might have debts after going bankrupt. If they happened to run into the siblings on the street, they would immediately take a detour.
It was easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but hard to go the other way. On top of that, his father had died so suddenly. The boy, already timid by nature, couldn't handle the enormous blow and chose to end his life.
Then Chikage had arrived in his place.
"I never wanted to get isekai'd..." Natsume Chikage sighed.
Before he'd crossed over, he'd graduated from a top-tier university and had actually been doing pretty well after entering the workforce.
Now he'd suddenly been dropped into hell mode, and he had no idea what to do.
Every cloud had a silver lining.
His crossing over hadn't been all bad.
Even the richest person in the world couldn't turn back the clock and grow young again.
Yet after crossing over, his body had become noticeably younger.
As for the other benefit, he closed his eyes slightly, and the mysterious orb he'd touched before crossing over appeared in his mind.
With a thought,
the orb transformed into a translucent panel.
[Character: Chikage]
[Strength: 4] (Average for a normal adult: 5)
[Agility: 4]
[Spirit: 5]
[Constitution: 5]
[Charm: 9]
[Equipment: None]
[Until next attribute-point reward: 3 more pieces of equipment needed!]
According to the panel, it seemed that the more of these special pieces of equipment he collected, the more attribute points he'd earn to strengthen himself.
But where was he supposed to find them?
Natsume Chikage was at a loss.
As he pondered this,
a cool night breeze swept past, lifting the hair around his handsome, delicate features.
Quite a few girls by the roadside couldn't help sneaking glances at him. Some even wanted to approach and strike up a conversation.
But before they could, someone had already beaten them to it.
Fujiwara Aoi, a lively, energetic girl in a loose top with sun-kissed skin, was running briskly toward Natsume Chikage.
The strap of her crossbody bag traced a slightly slender curve across her chest, while her denim shorts showed off her particularly pretty legs.
She stopped in front of Natsume Chikage, the fabric over her chest rising and falling gently with each breath.
"Natsume, why are you walking so fast?"
Natsume Chikage looked up and saw a familiar face: Fujiwara Aoi, one of his coworkers at the coffee shop.
"Fujiwara, is something up?"
Fujiwara Aoi's gaze flickered, and she looked a little shy.
"We got off work early today, and you haven't had dinner yet, right?"
"I know a nice place nearby. If you don't have anything else planned... maybe we could go eat together?"
Natsume Chikage remembered that the supermarket had discounts today. His younger sister had said they should go shopping together.
With that in mind, he was about to turn her down.
But just then,
he suddenly felt someone wrap their arms around his hand.
Natsume Chikage turned his head, his gaze landing on a petite, adorable girl.
Her soft, smooth hair had been carefully trimmed into neat bangs, framing her small, delicate oval face and making her look especially cute.
She wore a light yellow dress, its fresh, elegant color making her skin look as fair as snow. She was like a flower bud just beginning to bloom in spring.
Natsume Ruri watched Fujiwara Aoi with a wary expression.
"Who are you?"
Fujiwara Aoi seemed to jump to the wrong conclusion, and her face went deathly pale.
"Natsume, could she be your girlfriend?"
Natsume Chikage couldn't help laughing awkwardly.
"She's my younger sister!"
Fujiwara Aoi's face lit up with relief, and she quickly apologized.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't realize she was your sister."
"Sorry, I misunderstood!"
Natsume Ruri puffed out her cheeks slightly, looking displeased.
"Brother, who is she?"
Natsume Chikage introduced them.
"She's my coworker at the coffee shop."
Fujiwara Aoi looked at the petite, adorable Natsume Ruri, her eyes sparkling. She really wanted to go over and hug the cute girl.
But since this was her first time meeting Natsume Chikage's younger sister, she didn't want to make a bad impression, so she held back.
With an energetic smile, she introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Fujiwara Aoi!"
At first, Natsume Ruri had assumed this girl was like all the others who approached her brother to hit on him. But now that she knew the truth, had she gotten the wrong idea?
With that thought, she gave a polite little bow.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Natsume Ruri."
Happily, Fujiwara Aoi pulled a few snacks from her little bag and offered them to Natsume Ruri.
"These are really tasty. Here, have some!"
Natsume Ruri blinked, not quite understanding why she was suddenly being given snacks, but politely accepted them all the same.
"Thank you, Miss Fujiwara."
Fujiwara Aoi asked curiously,
"Natsume, now that your sister's here, do you two have something else to do?"
Natsume Chikage nodded.
"Yeah, I'm going to the nearby supermarket with my sister to pick up a few things."
Fujiwara Aoi sounded a little disappointed, but soon perked up again and smiled.
"I see. Then I won't keep you."
"Ruri-chan, see you next time!"
Natsume Chikage waved goodbye.
"Bye."
Natsume Ruri's face darkened.
What on earth was "Ruri-chan"?
But with her brother right there, she still gave Fujiwara Aoi a polite smile.
"Goodbye, Miss Fujiwara."
After Fujiwara Aoi left,
"Brother, was that girl your girlfriend?" Natsume Ruri asked, pretending not to care.
"How could she be?" Natsume Chikage shook his head.
Natsume Ruri smiled sweetly. "I thought so. You've been single for so many years. How could you get a girlfriend after only working for a few days?"
"Thanks. I feel like I've been insulted..."
After that,
the two of them headed to the supermarket.
On the way,
Natsume Chikage spotted a secondhand bookstore and froze for a moment. Then, looking delighted, he headed inside.
"Brother, are you going the wrong way? The supermarket's up ahead!"
He seemed not to hear his sister. He reached the entrance of the secondhand bookstore and picked up a book glowing with an unusual light.
[Young Boy's Painful Diary] [Quality: White] (White < Blue < Green < Purple < Gold) [Effect: After use, you can recall a specific painful and distressing memory with perfect clarity, and will never be able to forget it again. (Uses remaining: 2)] [Synthesis requirements: At least 3 pieces of equipment of the same type] [Description: That small town was the boy's abyss, and the source of his suffering.]
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