NOVEL WEB Arc 1, Ch.6: Nice, I remembered my name
It was the first day in a long time that all of us were gathering in the living room to spend time together. I was actually relieved that Haru had taken the choice of talking about it from me. A bit mad, too, but mostly relieved.
Like getting pushed over the edge when not daring to go during bungee-jumping. I still stole all her favourite snacks as punishment.
Anyway, the day put me in front of a completely new problem:
I was perfectly fine.
My menu was still at the edge of my vision.
What the flying fuck.
I wasn’t some protagonist. I wasn’t some fake-average guy who actually had thousands of talents and was actually good-looking and stuff.
I was kinda good at acting and gaming. I had my moments of bravery. But most of the time, I was the common average, awkward student. In gay.
I could kinda hold a conversation even when faced with someone I like and I had a very loving, intact family. But put together, I just didn’t have the makings of a protagonist?
I wasn’t even the overly nice, stupid type for a comedy harem story. I shared the clumsy, awkward part, but I wasn’t too dense and wouldn’t accidentally stumble into perverted situations.
What use would some great deity have to give me a system? Or did I win in some lottery with all of humanity?
That could actually be. Maybe I was a random draw. That would have been pure chance then.
So then I could just make use of the system as long as I was able to see it? There was still a grayed out area that I couldn’t open, so maybe more functions would appear as I progressed. I didn’t dare think as far as actually ‘capturing a target’, I kept my plan of just wanting to manage my relationships with the help of the system.
Lying in my bed, I opened the additional info field in Taizou’s entry, sorting the facts.
He preferred honesty, which made sense because he was a very honest person himself. He also didn’t want to be treated as someone special. That meant I shouldn’t try to go out of my way to meet him, but if I coincidentally encountered him I could probably greet him or something.
The system did mention he now remembered me, after all.
I put that plan in action. I kept my eyes from wandering to look for him and focused on getting my grades up with the help of my brother. A few days passed like this until I was stuck in the library.
Exams were coming, so everyone was starting to get nervous. The books that everyone needed were, of course, all lent out already. I cursed quietly. I really needed that stupid philosophy book. We couldn’t check who had them - that was confidential - so I was stuck.
A yellow pop-up attracted my attention:
[Something to the right seems to attract your attention.]
Really? Okay then.
Attracted by… something, I turned right, seeing a patch of pitch black hair between the shelves.
I carefully walked into that direction, stopping to look at the shelves and skimming them for other books I needed, until I reached the table.
The cover of the book was discarded to the side, in large black letters the title of that accursed book I needed. Next to it, the book itself - on the last pages. My heartbeat increased as I followed the long fingers, up the sleeve of our uniform, to the stoic face of Taizou.
He blinked, then his eyes met mine. I froze.
“Hi”, I blurted out, my brain shutting down. “Uh, book.”
Short silence. I awkwardly pointed to the book before him. He frowned but didn’t look annoyed.
“Hello. Full sentences would be nice.”
I internally squealed. Greetings! We exchanged greetings! Yay! I got an answer!
The rational side of my brain jumped on top of the overjoyed part, screaming at me. Don’t stand there like an idiot, answer!
I gathered the rest of my wits.
“Uhm, that book, are you finished with it soon? I, uh, need it too, but all of them are out-” I tried to explain myself, fiddling with my sleeve while talking. Taizou tilted his head.
“I need another few minutes, but then you can have it. Sit down.”
...Ah? Sit down? Like, next to him? To wait for him to finish?
I must have stared like an idiot, because he pulled the empty chair next to him back with raised eyebrows. I mechanically sat down next to him, all stiff, staring at the table. An annoyed sigh sounded next to me.
“Am I that scary?”
[(Please choose what to say.)
- “You’re not scary.”
- “Yes, I’m nervous.”
- “No, I’m just an awkward person.”]
All hail the system! Thanks for suggesting me something to say, cause I’m at a loss!
I held back the desire to cry at being asked such a complicated and tricky question. I would have stuttered some reply, which would have just sounded like I do think he's scary even more.
Let’s be honest, then.
“No, I’m just an awkward person.” I cleared my throat, rubbing my neck. “Didn’t expect you to tell me to sit.”
I expected my answer to just barely pass, but to my surprise, Taizou nodded as if that wasn’t anything weird. “Oh.”
That stunned me, but he went back to reading and I took out my phone as an alibi before opening his entry. Dear system, give me some hints, okay?
[Met each other in the library and approached to ask for the book. Admitting towards behaving weirdly due to being awkward was an adequate choice, as his sister has social anxiety and he understands the feeling of being troubled with social interactions.]
In his entry, a small panel was added, including the information that he had a sister. That surprised me, I hadn’t known he had siblings. I was far from having actual social anxiety, but I guess I reminded him of his sister. For him, being awkward was a valid reason for my tense, dumbfounded reaction.
...Thank god, that meant he didn’t think I was weird, right?
I kept my breathing quiet, forcing myself to look at my phone. Mustn’t stare at him, he will notice. Also, it’s rude and creepy.
Breathing slowly is incredibly hard to do when you’re excited and giddy. My heartbeat was racing.
Time passed fast and the sound of the book closing jolted me back to reality. Taizou placed the cover back on, then stretched. He groaned as his bones cracked and I twitched at the sound.
“There.” He shoved the book over to me.
I smiled, slightly crooked due to being too nervous. “Thank you, I’ll tell the, uhm, reception. So that they know the book’s with me.”
I stopped myself from babbling.
Taizou looked like he wanted to leave, but waited as he heard me make a sound. I was surprised at his patience and forced the sentence out of myself.
“Watanabe Riku”, I said, then added half a sentence to explain. “I- I thought I’d introduce myself…”
Taizou just nodded. “Taizou Mizuki.”
I know. Not even a ‘see you’ or anything else.
He didn’t stick around any longer and left me behind, ecstatic. I let my head fall unto the table with a thud.
!!! I!!! Introduced!!! Myself!!! Three exclamation marks to show the urgency!!!
Moreover, my points with Taizou had jumped to 15 and his relationship with me was listed as acquaintances. It seems he was comfortable with the fact that I just quietly waited. He also didn’t mind me introducing myself, as it was the third time we had met.
There was an unusual pop-up in the middle of my view.
[Relationship status changed to: Acquaintances.
Hint: The host is the type of person the target is comfortable with. Avoid pressing him in any form and he will soon get used to you. Keep conversations short and only talk about important things.]
...That’s so helpful?! That’s, like a complete relationship guide?! If I had that for everyone, life would be so much easier… but that would be too much to ask for…
The menu worked as long as my eyes were open, so even though my face was pasted against the table, I could still see it. My hands were tightly grabbing the book.
There’s a kind of joy in playing a dating sim and seeing that things are progressing well with your target. Haru’s words kept me in the gaming-mood and the system did the rest. It didn’t feel like full reality, more like a VR game. And it seemed I had taken good choices up until now.
I felt a tiny bit more confident thinking like that. As long as I was careful enough, I could maybe become friends with Taizou. Slightly masochistic, but I was looking forward to it.
