Kakeru thought for a long time, but in reality only a moment had passed.
Wanting to calm Hatsune down, he spoke slowly.
“Don’t get worked up.
It’s not that I don’t need you anymore…” Only then did Hatsune settle down.
As long as he still needed her, everything was fine.
But then confusion returned — if he still needed her, why had he refused her help?
Kakeru didn’t hide anything.
He reached out and gently stroked her soft golden hair.
Feeling the warmth of his palm, Hatsune gradually relaxed.
He continued explaining, “I didn’t mean anything else by it.
I just prefer to handle things myself rather than have you help me.” Hatsune’s doubts faded, but she still spoke up.
“Go ahead and do what you want.
I’ll help you.
When the time comes, I’ll bring you close to Mana.
I’ll even prepare in advance and buy sleeping pills.
Even if you fail, I can still help you take her down!” Far away on a commercial shoot, the donut lady suddenly sneezed.
She simply thought she had caught a cold recently.
She had no idea that in a villa on the other side of Tokyo, her best friend and groupmate was currently plotting with her lover on how to claim her — and had even prepared to drug her if the first plan failed.
Kakeru had somewhat expected this, but seeing it actually happen still left him pleasantly surprised.
It really proved the saying — the plan to conquer Mana had been decided by Hatsune herself!
She was even ready to drug her own best friend if things didn’t work out.
In a way, wasn’t this a kind of reverse NTR?
Kakeru had to admit he liked it.
The more, the better.
Still, he didn’t plan to put all his hopes on Mana alone.
He intended to run multiple plans at the same time.
As he spoke, he opened the system panel and started looking for something he had been interested in for a while.
Before, when he was still a virgin, he could only look and not buy.
Now things were different.
Although she couldn’t see the screen, Hatsune guessed he was browsing the system shop and considerately stayed quiet.
Kakeru focused on scrolling through the shop.
The system store had a huge variety of items.
Not only were basic daily necessities like rice, flour, oil, and salt available, but he could also spot some very familiar things at a glance… For example: Death Note, Kryptonite, the EX Calibur… Of course, the more familiar items were further down — things like the Hypnosis App, the Dark Bible, and the Forced Recording Book.
You could even see Doraemon and an Otherworld Transporter listed with clear prices on the side of the screen.
However, at this moment Kakeru was acting like a perfect gentleman.
He had no interest in any of these luxurious items and simply kept scrolling downward.
There was no other reason — these things were simply too expensive.
He couldn’t afford them at all.
He didn’t get discouraged though.
He would eventually own all of them one day.
For now, the priority was finding the one item he had already set his sights on.
After scrolling a bit longer, he finally found it.
[Item Name: Psychological Suggestion LV-1] [Price: 1500 Energy Points!] [Effect: Your voice will gain magical power, allowing you to subtly modify the target’s view of the world.] He had noticed this item the first time he opened the system shop.
Not only was the price just one-tenth of the Hypnosis App, but the ability was also extremely practical.
It was basically the perfect stepping stone.
It also suited his current situation perfectly.
After all these years, his efforts hadn’t been for nothing.
He had left a deep impression on every heroine he encountered.
All he needed now was a chance to break through the relationship barrier.
This ability was perfect for delivering that final push.
Even so, he still couldn’t afford it right now.
Since he hadn’t completed any missions yet, he only had the 300 energy points from his first achievement.
Fortunately, the system was quite humane in this regard.
[Purchase] & [Decline] “Purchase!” [Insufficient energy points detected.
Would you like to apply for a system loan of 1200 points?] “Yes!” [Congratulations, Host.
You have obtained the ability: Psychological Suggestion LV-1!] [System loan of 1200 points has been credited.
Monthly interest rate: 7%.
Please repay on time!] He didn’t feel anything special, but he knew the ability had been installed and he could use it anytime.
More importantly, he already had a new target in mind.