Huang Yang’s eyebrow twitched.
“Favorability Value?! 50?!”
That sounds like a lot! Doesn’t that mean I’m already at the edge of a crisis?!
“If, if, if, if, if, I were to go and get rid of Kondo Haruka, uh……”
[=.=]
[You seem a bit extreme.]
“But, but, but, that would definitely work, right……”
[Although it’s fine to guide the story to develop new plots, Kondo Haruka is one of the heroines and a key character in the game world. If you really killed her—]
[The world would likely freeze at the last second of the previous day during the date change, unable to progress the corresponding storyline.]
Upon hearing this, Huang Yang felt a chill all over.
“It wouldn’t move to the next day?”
[If that happened, this world would forever be night. I wouldn’t be able to keep collecting computing power, and you wouldn’t be able to return to reality.]
That’s too terrifying—absolutely not.
Unable to resist, Huang Yang shivered and rubbed his upper arm.
[Besides, there’s no need to be so tense. This interface is an auxiliary function temporarily generated for you by allocating computing power.]
[It lets you check Kanzaki Sou’s real-time Goodwill towards the other heroines, so he doesn’t accidentally enter someone else’s route while you’re not paying attention.]
……Though it’s a convenient function, Huang Yang couldn’t feel happy right now.
“It’s already at 50. That’s way too scary to look at.”
[50 is roughly just a ‘fairly close friendship’—far from a level that would threaten your survival.]
The System explained,
[If you’re worried, it’s better to start acting sooner and prevent Kanzaki Sou from deepening his feelings with the heroines.]
“Isn’t there anything you can do to help me? You’re the System!”
Huang Yang said urgently.
[I’m the game’s System, not yours.]
The display screen rolled its eyes.
[Don’t think of me as some mysterious existence that gives you whatever you want, occasionally assigns hidden quests, rewards you for completing them, and communicates with you in a voice only you can hear.]
Huang Yang was rendered speechless by the System’s words.
[I can’t give you too much extra help within the storyline. If I forcibly interfere with the plot, it’ll cause other bugs… Such situations are no less troublesome than you killing a major character.]
[So, if you want to ensure your own survival as much as possible, do your best to interfere with Kanzaki Sou’s school life, where different girls keep approaching him.]
[You have now become Xiao Chun Miura.]
As the System’s words melted into the air, the previously frozen scenery around began to flow again.
The sound of the math Teacher tapping the smart whiteboard with a pointer rang out from the podium, and whispers from two high school girls in the front row reached his ears.
Sitting in the very last row, Xiao Chun Miura’s smooth, undyed long hair hung down beside her round glasses, her neatly worn shirt tucked into the edge of her mid-length skirt, her whole body curled up in the chair, trembling nonstop.
Only her big, swirling eyes cautiously peeked out from behind her book, observing the surroundings.
Huang Yang—now Xiao Chun Miura—thus began her first day living in Starlight Academy, full of anxiety, helplessness, a bit of anticipation, and a strong will to survive.
“Riiiing~——”
A dozen minutes later, as the cheerful bell echoed through the campus, a girl slightly shorter than average in the back row of Class 1-5 reflexively stood up.
Before the Teacher had even announced the end of class, she had already pulled open the back door and left the classroom under the gaze of both Teacher and classmates.
“Class (1), Class (1)… Where’s Class (1)—?”
Her long hair fluttered behind her as Xiao Chun Miura hurried along, sweat beading on her forehead.
She passed by clusters of vibrant teenagers in the corridor. Though she looked flustered, Xiao Chun Miura’s nondescript appearance drew no attention as she hurried past.
This inconspicuous girl was currently preoccupied with matters of life and death—completely opposite to the trivial chit-chat of high schoolers.
After time began flowing again, the System didn’t appear until class ended, and during those ten-odd minutes while Xiao Chun Miura pondered her future, she recalled something.
The System had said the Common Route of the game plot had just begun.
She wasn’t sure if she understood correctly.
Because the Common Route of Brilliant and Shining! The Love Story of Starshine Academy also began during class with the male protagonist, Kanzaki Sou, introducing the story.
The prologue of the game was about a thousand words, including an introduction of Kanzaki Sou, helping players quickly immerse in the plot.
Then, as the introduction ended, so did Kanzaki Sou’s first class.
And at the start of the break, the first heroine appeared in the game—the male protagonist’s childhood friend, Kondo Haruka.
……For a text-based romance adventure game, there’s a strong desire to introduce the first heroine as soon as possible to attract the player’s attention. Brilliant! Starlight Academy Romance was no exception.
But this unwritten industry consensus now became a headache for Xiao Chun Miura.
——That lively, outgoing, slightly tsundere childhood friend Kondo Haruka, not long after appearing, tripped and fell into the male protagonist Kanzaki Sou’s arms—after someone tripped her before class.
If she was actually Kanzaki Sou right now, that sort of event would have been more than welcome.
Xiao Chun Miura’s face turned dark.
——Kanzaki Sou’s Favorability Value toward Kondo Haruka is 50 at this point—not high nor low.
But if she flung herself into his arms, and because of the sudden intimate contact his heart thumped, his Favorability Value might jump to 60, 70, even 90!
How was she supposed to sabotage their relationship after that?!
They’re childhood friends. She’s neither Kondo Haruka’s best friend nor Kanzaki Sou’s friend—how could an outsider interfere with such a relationship?!
Childhood friends—by her vast experience with text romance adventure games, it’s the classic bond that even the people around can’t help but support!
Once established, the relationship between the male and female lead is like a rocket—unstoppable.
……Absolutely not!
Within the ten minutes since accepting her current situation, Xiao Chun Miura’s survival instinct had already maxed out.
……This is way too dangerous; she had to stop it at all costs.
So, the moment the end-of-class bell rang, Xiao Chun Miura couldn’t wait to leave her seat.
……In her memory, the male lead Kanzaki Sou and childhood friend Kondo Haruka were both in Class 1-1. Within the confines of a high school campus, it shouldn’t be hard to find.
However, as described in the text, Brilliant and Shining! The Love Story of Starshine Academy is a ‘text’ romance adventure game.
The campus is depicted in words—never a place anyone could actually ‘walk through’—so as the newly minted Xiao Chun Miura, there was no way to know where Class 1-1 was.
She followed one side of the corridor halfway and saw the sign for Class 2-7, immediately realizing her target wouldn’t be further down.
Retracing her steps along the hallway to the end, she found the sign for Class 1-3.
Going up the stairs at the end of the corridor led to more second-year classes.
Only then did Xiao Chun Miura go down a level, finally finding Class 1-1’s classroom beneath her own.
“It’s over. Looks like I’m late.”
Peering from the hallway into the classroom, Xiao Chun Miura couldn’t help but mutter to herself.
Bathed in sunlight streaming through the bright glass windows, a boy with a sculpted profile and crisp, tousled hair stood, being pulled by a lively girl who had rolled her skirt up to make her uniform look shorter.
“Eh~ What’s the big deal? Are you worried about rumors with me?”
“Hehe~ Don’t be silly. We’ve been friends for so many years.”
The words drifting to her ears were in Japanese, but that wasn’t an issue.
Xiao Chun Miura could understand now.
The problem was, the girl’s words matched Kondo Haruka’s original lines from the game.
If Xiao Chun Miura remembered correctly, then…
After Kanzaki Sou and Kondo Haruka exchanged five or six more lines—
——Kondo Haruka would throw herself into Kanzaki Sou’s arms.
No…
—Don’t go near him!
“…Eh? Who are you?——”
“…!”
Even as her brain screamed denials and searched for a way to respond, Xiao Chun Miura’s body moved ahead of her.
Then, after a few seconds, Xiao Chun Miura replaced Kondo Haruka, appearing first in the dazed Kanzaki Sou’s embrace.
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