[The pause in Kondo Haruka’s story route as Kanzaki Sou’s childhood friend is only a temporary ending.]
[As you know, this world revolves around the romance stories of Kanzaki Sou and several heroines, and overall, the plot progresses in a linear fashion.]
[Cutting off one route doesn’t mean the story ends there—the world’s story will continue to advance toward the next plot node along the path of ‘Kanzaki Sou not entering Kondo Haruka’s personal route.’]
[To be clear, your initiative has exceeded my original predictions.]
[So, I judge it necessary to tell you the following in advance.]
Miura Koharu’s eyes grew serious.
“The next node…”
Leaning against the door, the girl murmured, “You mean the next heroine?”
The game **Brilliant and Shining! The Love Story of Starshine Academy** had a Common Route, but in the end, the Common Route was only a measurement of time.
At different stages of the Common Route, the heroine in focus changed.
Kondo Haruka, as Kanzaki Sou’s childhood friend, had the heaviest screen time and most concentrated plot in the early part of the game, from the beginning of the school year to the sports festival.
But once the sports festival ended, the plot would enter a long, daily life style Common Route without a focused heroine, and then introduce the next heroine—before long, it would be her turn for the core storyline to unfold.
“I remember…”
Miura Koharu tried hard to recall the original game’s plot.
Strange.
Why did her memory feel so fuzzy?
She frowned, trying to sift through the information in her memory.
“–After the sports festival, it should be that… School Idol route, right?”
The girl with chestnut long hair, popular at school, but with another identity outside.
[Correct.]
The System gave a definite reply.
[According to the original program, next, Kanzaki Sou would enter the story route related to the ‘School Idol’ Kiyono Arisa. This was the set order and the natural development of the world.]
“–Originally?”
Miura Koharu keenly caught the subtlety in the System’s wording.
She stared at the blue screen.
“Why did you say ‘originally’? Could something have changed…?”
The pixel expression on the screen didn’t change, but Miura Koharu felt it pause.
After a few seconds, the System began generating new text again.
[Yes.]
–It said yes.
Has something changed?!
Miura Koharu’s heart clenched.
[That’s why I had to appear tonight.]
[Regarding that School Idol’s storyline… It seems there’s now a problem.]
“What problem? Did she disappear? The plot can’t be triggered?”
In her panic, Miura Koharu blurted out.
[Not quite.]
[The character data still exists, and the trigger conditions are within logical range.]
[However, during subsequent plot deduction and computational preloading, I discovered discrepancies.]
[The story line data currently being generated has differences from the game’s original set database that cannot be ignored.]
Miura Koharu was stunned.
“What does this mean?”
She found it hard to understand.
[Simply put, the plot that will appear is different from the original.]
“–The plot changed?”
Now she understood.
A bad feeling welled up in Miura Koharu’s heart.
“……What did it change into?”
[Currently, it cannot be fully analyzed.]
The System replied.
[Because of your interference, and the unforeseen reactions of Kanzaki Sou in events like the ‘Borrowed Item Relay,’ the world’s causal chain has undergone slight but persistent changes.]
[Do you know the Butterfly Effect?]
[These changes are affecting subsequent plots, just like the Butterfly Effect.]
[The System has not yet identified exactly where the specific problem lies.]
[The behavior logic of that School Idol, the events about to occur, even the way she meets Kanzaki Sou, have all become somewhat unclear.]
[In short, I currently cannot accurately determine how the story will unfold next.]
Miura Koharu sucked in a sharp breath.
This was not good news.
The biggest reason she could barely survive in this world was her knowledge of the game’s plot.
Although, for some reason, her memory was a bit fuzzy now, she still had a general grasp of the main events, character personalities, and key plot nodes.
This was her “future-prediction” ability in another sense.
But now, the System was telling her the future had become uncertain.
The original plot had changed, and even the System didn’t know what the new plot would be.
“Then… what should I do?”
Miura Koharu felt a panic unlike anything before.
“If even the plot has changed, how do I know where the traps are?”
“How do I know when Kanzaki Sou might suddenly enter a route? What if… a favorability event gets triggered while I’m not paying attention, and Kanzaki Sou is taken away?”
[Calm down.]
Two big words popped up on the screen.
[Although there are discrepancies in the details, the broad framework is still bound by the fundamental laws of the world. The heroines are still the same few, and the core romance logic won’t be overturned.]
[I’m here mainly to give you a warning.]
The words on the screen flickered, as if emphasizing the following message.
[Given the current instability of the data, please be especially careful with your words and actions in the coming period.]
[Don’t act too conspicuous, don’t actively trigger unknown variables, and definitely don’t try to interfere with unclear plots using overly aggressive methods.]
[The world’s structure is in a delicate adjustment period. If you cause another major plot fluctuation like at the sports festival, it could lead to irreversible effects.]
[Once the world line is severely damaged, restoring it will consume an enormous amount of extra computational power.]
The System didn’t continue, but Miura Koharu already understood.
If her recklessness caused a world error that required massive computational power to fix, the portion needed to send her back home would be consumed in advance, and if too much computational power was depleted…
Then the promise to “send her home” would probably be delayed indefinitely.
She might not be able to leave this place before the game’s story ended.
And what would happen after that was probably grim.
A chill ran through Miura Koharu.
“I understand…”
She nodded, her voice a bit dry.
“You want me to… rein it in a bit, right?”
[That’s one way to put it. At least until the new plot lines become clear, keeping a low profile is the best survival strategy.]
Miura Koharu was silent for a while, digesting all this information.
Then, she thought of a critical question.
“You said there’s a discrepancy in the plot. Then… will the next story still be the original idol’s route?”
She had to confirm this.
If even the target to capture changed, all her previous preparations would be wasted.
[This can be confirmed.]
The System gave a clear reply.
[The world will still progress according to the set order. After Kondo Haruka, it’s indeed the School Idol’s turn.]
[Moreover, according to current calculations, the core storyline of that idol’s personal route will officially begin during ‘Winter Vacation.’]
“Winter Vacation?”
Miura Koharu frowned.
“Isn’t that still a long way off?”
[Yes. That’s your buffer period.]
The System confirmed.