Hinata, Stop Pretending

Hinata saw that, standing quietly inside, was an egg. Its shell seemed to be formed from that grayish-white mist.

Perhaps it was an illusion, or perhaps ninjas' senses were simply that sharp, but she seemed to hear a heartbeat sounding from within the eggshell from time to time.

"System, once the character is generated, he won't come running out naked, will he?!"

System... Hinata translated its words herself: "Host, please don't ask such idiotic questions."

Then she noticed what seemed to be a crack in the eggshell. Hinata's expression shifted. It was coming.

Centered on that utterly inconspicuous crack, a vast web of fractures instantly spread out. Hinata even seemed to hear the sound of the shell breaking.

After the sound of the eggshell shattering, a bout of hurried panting seemed to come from inside. Hinata's heartbeat accelerated as well. It was her first time seeing a scene like this, and she was a little excited.

The cracks continued to spread until they covered the entire shell. With a faint bursting sound, countless streams of air completely crushed the eggshell, turning it back into grayish-white mist.

Hinata frowned. What principle was this based on? But before she could think further, this machine, strange beyond belief, began to vibrate.

After hesitating slightly, Hinata stepped back. The vibration continued, and when a click sounded, the side of the machine with the glass window suddenly split open along a seam.

No, judging by the way it looked, that seemed to have been a door all along. It was simply fitted together so tightly that Hinata had failed to notice the secret.

Of course. If the machine had no exit, how was the little person inside supposed to get out? Was he supposed to crawl out through the huge hole on top of the machine? That would be far too cheap.

As the hatch slowly opened, the sound it made was unbelievably grating, like gears that had not turned in decades grinding without any lubricant.

She could not help wondering whether the System truly had not used this machine for decades.

What if the little person generated inside the machine failed to meet Hinata's requirements because of the machine itself?! Who was she supposed to complain to? Wasn't there some kind of System Management Headquarters?

Hinata suspected there really was one, but considering her System's personality, either it was a System from the countryside that genuinely knew nothing, or it was afraid she would file a complaint against it and had chosen to hide the truth.

Hinata seemed to have found a way to deal with the System and sneered inwardly. System, enjoy yourself for a little longer! Once I completely uncover this secret, let's see how you can keep acting so mysterious.

Watching the hatch slowly open, Hinata felt that something was missing. What was it? Right, BGM.

So she said in her mind, "Dear System, if a character makes an entrance without BGM, it just isn't complete. With taste as refined as yours, you naturally wouldn't like something so plain and dull."

"How about putting in a little more effort and adding some special effects? Give this simple entrance a bit more grandeur."

Hinata did not know what she was thinking at the moment. Perhaps it was because, in her previous life, whenever an important character appeared in an anime without BGM, she had always felt that it was incomplete, that it had no soul.

Hinata's Gradually Satisfied Vanity

Yet this time, the System unexpectedly retorted, "Did you really need to tell me that? Just wait and see."

Hinata... the System actually had a side like this? She seemed to hear many different meanings in those words. Why did it feel as though the System had developed tsundere traits now?

Or had her previous judgment been wrong? She secretly resolved that she had to figure out the System's true persona.

The instant the hatch fully opened, a wave of grayish-white smoke drifted out. Then a burst of intense, rhythmic music began playing across the sky. The System said, "A song for you. Please accept this small token."

Then came the sound of footsteps striking steel from within the open hatch. As the sound rang out, with the machine as its center, even though the surrounding area was already as empty as it could possibly be—

Layers of frost began spreading outward, freezing another sheet of ice over the barren ground. Hinata... the BGM was here, the special effects were here, and naturally, the soul was complete too. It even came with an ice rink as a bonus.

Yet when the frost reached Hinata, it seemed to possess intelligence, curving around her before continuing to spread behind her.

Why did this scene give Hinata such a familiar feeling? Wasn't this the kind of scene from certain anime or film works where the lonely, helpless heroine first met the powerful male lead, or where the male lead was about to propose to the heroine, using powerful special effects to create this unconventional kind of romance?