The sports festival was over, and with the approaching summer, the temperature began to gradually rise. At the elementary school, an increasing number of students opted for short-sleeved clothing.
“Chiaki-chan, your skin looks beautiful. What skincare are you using?”
“Well, um, I use the C10 one!”
(First, let’s work on improving my favorability with Chiaki-chan.)
Chika was aiming to build a stronger connection with Chiaki, who would be her future daughter, in hopes of becoming her mom. Chinatsu was difficult to approach, Chiharu was also a challenge, and Chifuyu was sharp and quick-witted in various ways, so there was no choice but to talk to Chiaki first.
“Chika always showers me with compliments; why is that~?”
“I’m not trying to flatter you. I’m just saying what’s in my heart.”
“I see~.”
(It’s surprisingly hard to understand Chiaki-chan as well… She’s always smiling, so I wonder how much she likes me. 《《 If only I could know her favorability score.》》)
Just when Chika started wondering how much Chiaki liked her, a moment arrived when a change occurred in her field of vision.
“What’s this…?”
Previously, there had been instances where options appeared in her line of sight. However, this time was different. There was an unusual change, though, which caught her attention.
―― Chiaki → Chika, favorability 20%
“What’s wrong? Chika, if you’re feeling unwell, should I take you to my infirmary?”
“I’m okay… Chiaki-chan, do you like Chinatsu-chan?”
“Of course, she’s a bit cheeky, but I like her!”
―― Chiaki → Chinatsu, favorability 100%
“What’s going on… Wait, does this mean I can see the favorability score?”
“Are you really okay? Chiharu mentioned that you were a mysterious girl, and it seems to be true.”
“…Do you like Kaito-san?”
“I definitely like Kaito!”
―― Chiaki → Kaito, favorability ???% Up to an Explosion of Emotions ???%
“As expected, that guy is still a mystery. However, I see, so this is a branch ability of the choices ability…”
“Hey, are you okay? You haven’t been listening to a word I’ve been saying…”
“I see, well, I understand the general idea. For now, I’d like to know the specific extent of where each choice can lead, the numerical details… But then again, relying solely on this also doesn’t sit well with me. It feels like depending too much on choices, and I’m not too fond of that.”
“Hey, can you hear me?”
“…. Fufufu, but if I use this skillfully, I might be able to become their ‘mama’… Thanks, I’ll catch up with you later.”
Chika slowly moved away from Chiaki.
◆◆
I used to go for a run on weekend mornings. The reason was that I thought I should be mindful of my health. Even though I was still in my early twenties, I believed it was important to do so in order to live a long life.
“Kaito-san.”
“Ah, Ch-Chika-chan, huff, huff.”
While running, I noticed Chika running beside me in her workout clothes. I thought that since I was running quite early in the morning, I wouldn’t run into anyone I knew… Was it just a coincidence?
I had been careful not to run into anyone because I definitely felt out of shape… Yet, here I was, sweating profusely from my forehead and breathing heavily.
“Are you okay? Would you like some water?”
“Oh, thank you…”
The timing was just perfect, so I ended up accepting it. Yeah, the water tasted good.
“Is the water tasty?”
“It’s really good, thank you.”
“Did it help?”
“Of course.”
“Do you like me?”
“Huh?”
“…I still can’t see. Just question marks…”
Question marks? What could she possibly mean…? I don’t quite understand.
“Should we head back?”
“Yeah, sure.”
We were neighbors, so that meant we would take the same route back. As Chika and I walked, two small figures appeared in front of us.
“Hey, hold on a sec, you two!”
“Give us your money!”
A girl, roughly elementary school height, stood before me with the air of a delinquent. Huh? But there’s something familiar about this scene right now.
“Um, I don’t have any money…”
“Jump then, come on! You must know the sound of jingling coins, right?”
I’ve definitely seen this somewhere before. That feeling of déjà vu… Ah, this was a game event…
In “Resonating Hearts”, when the protagonist was with one of the heroines, there was an event that would trigger with a certain probability. The setup involved the protagonist getting harassed by delinquents, but Chika would cleverly come to the heroine’s rescue, raising the protagonist’s favorability with her.
However, I had imagined the delinquents who would confront us to be somewhat larger, maybe older high school girls… But since Chika had already met Chiharu and the others right now when she is younger, could that be why this event had been moved up?
No, but this world isn’t a game… It’s quite a troublesome situation.
“For now, just calm down. We’re just heading home… Besides, it’s risky for kids to be out alone this early in the morning. It would be better to go back to your parents,” I suggested.
‘”…Hey, you, are you looking down on us?!””
“Kids these days come in all sorts…”
Stuff happened, but I managed to skillfully evade them and make it back home. Chika and I had run together to escape… but it was incredibly tiring to face all that so early in the morning.
“Well, it was quite an ordeal,” Chika remarked.
“Yeah, that’s for sure.”
“Kaito-san, how are you feeling now? Since we experienced something like the ‘suspension bridge effect’, has your impression of me changed?” Chika asked.
“Regarding my impression of you… Not really.”
“But, I can tell that my favorability towards you has increased, Kaito-san. I wonder if this means I can also see my own favorability…”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to this. If I were to say that I had developed an impression of her as being quite a peculiar child, maybe that could indeed be seen as my impression changing.
“Well then, until next time.”
Chika said so and left.
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