At the entrance of Class 2-F, Fujiwara Ai finally stopped running and adjusted his breathing slightly.
His Stamina stat was only 8.
That sudden sprint across the school building had already pushed his body close to its limit.
The faint redness caused by intense exercise quickly faded from his face as his usual cold expression returned.
Inside his mind, [Malice Perception] continued sounding alarms frantically.
The sensation felt like countless tiny needles stabbing directly into his retinas.
Without hesitation, Fujiwara Ai pushed open the classroom’s back door.
The classroom was completely empty.
Except for Yotsuya Miko.
She sat frozen stiff in her seat, her body trembling slightly.
And directly before her loomed a horrifying fleshy monster.
It resembled a grotesque lump of rotten meat covered entirely in eyes of different sizes.
Every eyeball rolled around independently while thick pus-like liquid dripped from the creature’s swollen flesh, spreading an unbearable stench throughout the room.
The “Hundred-Eyed Ghost.”
At this moment, one of its slimy tentacles slowly stretched toward Yotsuya Miko’s face.
Miko’s body had become completely rigid.
Tears already gathered in her eyes while her fingers gripped her skirt so tightly that her knuckles had turned pale white.
I can’t see it…
I can’t see anything…
I can’t see it…
She desperately repeated those words inside her mind while trying not to collapse mentally.
Yet the disgusting smell approaching her face made her stomach churn violently.
Just as the tentacle was about to touch the tip of her nose—
“Yotsuya.”
A cold and calm voice suddenly shattered the silence.
There was no dramatic shouting.
No heroic entrance.
No sacred chant.
Fujiwara Ai merely called her name plainly.
Yet the instant his voice sounded, the “Hundred-Eyed Ghost” suddenly trembled violently.
Every eye on its body turned simultaneously toward the classroom entrance.
It saw Fujiwara Ai.
More accurately, it sensed the abnormal soul fluctuations surrounding him.
The strange aura created by transmigration and system enhancement felt incredibly dangerous and revolting to supernatural entities.
Fujiwara Ai walked into the classroom expressionlessly.
His pace remained steady and calm.
Each footstep seemed strangely rhythmic.
As he approached, the clean crisp scent surrounding his body instantly dispersed part of the disgusting odor filling the classroom.
The “Hundred-Eyed Ghost” suddenly released a shrill scream audible only through [Spiritual Vision].
The sound resembled nails violently scraping across a blackboard.
Then, like a cockroach encountering its natural enemy, the creature rapidly dissolved into black smoke before fleeing through the cracks of the classroom windows.
The crisis instantly disappeared.
Yotsuya Miko felt all strength leave her body at once.
She collapsed weakly against her chair while staring upward blankly.
Her misty eyes reflected the figure standing before her.
Under the backlighting pouring through the classroom windows, Fujiwara Ai’s silhouette didn’t appear particularly tall.
Yet within Miko’s eyes, he looked more dazzling than any savior.
“Fu…
Fujiwara-san…”
Her voice sounded hoarse while carrying traces of restrained sobbing.
Fujiwara Ai didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he calmly pulled a small packet of tissues from his pocket before taking one out and extending it toward her.
“Wipe your face.”
Yotsuya Miko tremblingly reached out to accept it.
However, her hand shook so violently that the tissue slipped from her fingers and drifted lightly onto the floor.
“S-sorry…”
The moment she bent down instinctively to pick it up, the emotions she had desperately suppressed finally exploded.
Tears instantly streamed down her cheeks.
The relief of surviving mixed together with overwhelming vulnerability, causing her mental defenses to collapse completely.
Fujiwara Ai sighed softly.
Then he bent down and picked up the fallen tissue himself.
Afterward, he performed an action slightly beyond normal boundaries.
He gently pressed the tissue against the corner of Yotsuya Miko’s eye.
Through the thin paper, he could clearly feel the warmth and moisture of her tears.
“Stop crying.
You’ll look ugly.”
His words sounded sharp as always.
Yet his movements remained unexpectedly gentle.
Yotsuya Miko froze completely.
She stared blankly at Fujiwara Ai’s face from extremely close range.
His expression still carried those familiar dead-fish eyes devoid of emotion.
Yet the clean scent surrounding him, faintly resembling the smell of a forest after rainfall, caused her mind to short-circuit instantly.
[Ding!
Yotsuya Miko Affection Value +40!]
[Current Favorability: 45/100]
[Description: The moment of tenderness just now delivered a critical emotional hit.
The target has begun viewing the host as more than merely a source of safety.
A sprout called “possessiveness” has begun growing within her heart.]
Fujiwara Ai calmly withdrew his hand before stuffing the tissue into her palm.
“Clean yourself up and go home.”
After speaking, he simply walked back toward his seat to grab his school bag as though nothing unusual had happened.
Meanwhile, Yotsuya Miko tightly held the tissue that still carried his warmth.
Her cheeks burned crimson.
Her dreamy gaze remained fixed entirely on Fujiwara Ai’s back.
Did Fujiwara-san…
Come back just for me…?
His hands were so gentle…
I want him to touch me like that forever…
After school, Fujiwara Ai did not head home immediately.
Instead, he glanced toward the mission progress displayed inside the system panel.
[Main Mission: Conquer Goto Hitori (In Progress)]
[Current Objective: Create an opportunity that makes her view you as “one of her kind.”]
“A guitar…”
Fujiwara Ai rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Although the system hadn’t provided him with any instrument-related abilities, he at least had money now.
The fifty thousand yen from the gacha, combined with the original owner’s remaining savings, was enough to purchase an entry-level secondhand guitar.
He remembered an old musical instrument shop near the school district.
Soon afterward, Fujiwara Ai pushed open the wooden shop door decorated with hanging wind chimes.
Jingle.
“Welcome~”
The owner was a long-haired middle-aged man lazily resting behind the counter.
There weren’t many customers inside.
Except for one familiar pink-haired girl crouching near the effects pedal display case while radiating overwhelming gloomy energy.
Goto Hitori.
What a coincidence.
Or perhaps this was simply the so-called law of attracting fellow loners.
At this moment, Bocchi-chan appeared trapped within extreme internal conflict.
Her eyes remained glued toward a distortion pedal displayed inside the glass cabinet.
However—
What do I do?!
Should I ask the store clerk?!
But that uncle looks scary…
What if he thinks I’m just pretending to understand music equipment?!
What if I stutter while talking?!
I’ll definitely embarrass myself…
Then I’ll suffer social death…
Then I’ll drop out of school and move into the mountains to grow mushrooms forever…
Uwaah…
I don’t want to become a mushroom hermit…
Just as Bocchi’s imagination rapidly evolved into survival scenarios inside the Amazon rainforest—
A slender hand suddenly reached over her shoulder and pointed directly toward the effects pedal inside the display case.
“Boss, could you take out that BOSS DS-1 for me?”
A cold calm voice interrupted her mental breakdown.
Goto Hitori instantly jolted backward like a frightened hamster.
Her first instinct was finding a hole to hide inside.
However, after recognizing the person beside her, her eyes widened immediately.
It was him.
The mysterious guy from the stairwell who recognized her guitar.
Fujiwara Ai didn’t look at her.
Instead, he calmly focused on the display case.
His understanding of guitars didn’t entirely come from the system.
Back when he used to isolate himself from reality in his previous life, that cheap acoustic guitar had been his only companion during countless lonely nights.
The blisters covering his fingertips and the vibrations of guitar strings had become deeply engraved into his memory.
The store owner slowly walked over while yawning before taking out the orange pedal box.
“Good taste, kid.
Classic distortion sound.
Perfect beginner rock pedal.”
Fujiwara Ai casually adjusted several knobs skillfully.
“Yeah.
Though this production batch slightly changed the internal circuitry.
The mids became thinner, but it’s more suitable for pushing tube amps now.”
The owner paused before showing obvious surprise.
“Oh?
You actually know your stuff.
Most students nowadays barely understand equipment at all.”
Standing nearby, Goto Hitori became completely stunned.
So amazing…
He even understands circuit modifications…
Is this what actual cool musicians are like…?
Meanwhile, Bocchi’s imagination instantly activated again.
Within her mental theater, Fujiwara Ai now stood beneath massive stage lights wearing a stylish leather jacket while casually playing electric guitar before thousands of screaming fans.
Meanwhile, she herself remained curled miserably inside the corner shadows wearing her tracksuit like a useless stage prop.
No.
Not even a prop.
More like decorative pink seaweed.
“Aaaah!
I don’t want to become seaweed!”
Unable to endure her own imagination, Bocchi accidentally let out a tiny distressed cry while clutching her head.
Fujiwara Ai finally glanced sideways at the pink creature beside him who looked moments away from mentally disintegrating.
“You wanted this too?”
He lightly shook the effects pedal box in his hand.
“Ah?!
I-I…
um…
y-yes…”
Goto Hitori stammered violently while her face rapidly turned red enough to release steam.
“B-but…
I’m still hesitating…”
In reality, she simply lacked enough money.
And because of her social anxiety, she didn’t dare negotiate with the owner either.
Fujiwara Ai glanced briefly toward the price tag before looking back at Bocchi’s longing eyes.
Then he suddenly made a decision.
“Boss.
I’ll take it.”
He calmly pulled several bills from his wallet before paying the owner directly.
Then, without hesitation, he held the orange effects pedal box toward Goto Hitori.
“For you.”
“…Eh?!”
Bocchi froze completely.
Her mental world instantly exploded into chaos.
Why is he giving it to me?!
Is this some kind of scam?!
A prank show?!
Where are the hidden cameras?!
I’m definitely going to appear on television looking ugly today!!
“Don’t overthink it.”
Fujiwara Ai interrupted her spiraling thoughts almost immediately.
A faint trace of amusement flashed through his eyes.
“This pedal doesn’t really fit my style.”
He paused briefly before quietly looking toward her.
“And I think it’ll sound better in your hands.”
Those words struck Goto Hitori like a fatal critical hit.
For someone who valued music more than life itself, receiving recognition toward her guitar abilities carried overwhelming emotional impact.
“Th-thank youthankyouthankyou!!”
Goto Hitori became so flustered that her tongue practically tangled itself.
Her trembling hands carefully accepted the pedal box like some sacred treasure.
“I-I’ll treasure it forever!
I’ll clean it every day!
I won’t even let dust touch it!”
[Ding!
Goto Hitori Affection Value +80!]
[Current Favorability: 15/100]
[Description: What the host provided was not merely an effects pedal, but recognition itself.
Within her lonely closed world, you have forcibly opened a crack allowing light to enter.]
Fujiwara Ai merely nodded calmly.
Without saying anything else, he turned around and left the instrument shop.
Leaving behind a completely dazed Bocchi-chan hugging the effects pedal tightly while grinning foolishly in place.
Tiny pink flowers practically seemed to bloom around her entire body.