“Are you listening, Tatsuya?” I blinked, my focus shifting from the glowing screen to the gorgeous woman standing before me.
Hiratsuka-sensei was definitely telling me something, her sharp, beautiful eyes narrowing slightly as her long black hair shifted over her white lab coat.
She looked every bit the picture-perfect anime teacher, but my eyes were stuck on this weird panel floating right next to her.
A panel that shouldn’t exist in this slice-of-life world.
A world where things worked normally with no supernatural stuff, aside from my existence which in itself was supernatural.
I mean, transmigrating into this body a few months ago was pretty crazy.
“Yes, Sensei.” She sighed, running a hand through her dark bangs after hearing my answer.
Not that I was paying much attention to it.
[Choices have appeared!] 1.
Tell Hiratsuka-sensei how pretty she is!
– Random reward 2.
Call her an old hag that’s single – Random Reward 3.Nothing – Reward: Nothing […] “You know Sensei, you really are super beautiful,” I smiled, keeping my expression as natural as possible.
Hiratsuka-sensei chuckled, “Now that you ranked first in the school, you’re trying to hit on me?
Stupid kid.” [Choice 1 was chosen.] [Distributing reward…] [Charm increased by one major grade.] I felt a cool energy swirl inside my body before vanishing like the wind.
[Refer to Main Status for current stats.] I blinked.
Then blinked again.
‘I-Is this really my cheat?’ I’ve read plenty of novels to know what this was.
A golden finger, a cheat, a blessing, etc.
Honestly, I was just happy to be able to live again in a world that was full of different anime and manga.
Most of my skills from my first life were easily replicable here, so I didn’t really need a golden finger.
But to have one was super nice and opened up a whole new realm of fun.
Plus, there was one thing about this life that was a bit different.
My looks were incredible, so the reward I just received felt minimal at best, but given the situation I guess it was good.
I think the great part was that I could legally use them, being 18 and all.
“You can go home now.
Make sure to get home safely.” “You too, Sensei.
I’ll see you tomorrow.” “You don’t have to worry about me.
My fist is enough.” “Gulp.” I felt the sweat trail down my back.
It was scary because her fist, no joke, was enough.
*** The walk home never happened.
Instead, I walked around Tokyo trying my best to activate the choice system.
Nothing happened even after two hours of interacting with nameless people.
The people you would point at and think of as an extra.
Of course, their lives were as significant as those one would label “protagonist,” but they didn’t trigger the system.
I found a seat in a Starbucks and used the peace to think.
My mind asked questions that I would never have an answer to.
Things like “Why am I here?”, “How did I get here?”, and “What is the point of having this system?” An endless loop that stagnated only when I got interrupted.
[Choices have appeared!] ‘What????’ [Choices] 1.
Help Kaoruko Waguri pay for her order – Random Reward 2.
Do Nothing – Nothing […] The prompt was so random that it took me a second to make my choice.
Since she triggered the system, I didn’t mind helping.
She was undeniably a beautiful girl with her soft features, big, expressive eyes, and a bright, bubbly energy that usually radiated from her.
Though, her overall sugary-sweet vibe wasn’t entirely my cup of tea.
If it were, my tea would probably give me cavities to the extreme!
I walked up to the counter where she was standing.
Her little, petite frame was fidgeting anxiously, her cheeks flushed a bright pink that contrasted with her Purplish-Black hair.
From what I could garner, she didn’t have her phone working and couldn’t access the wallet on it.
“Hello.” “U-U-Um, sorry!” She bowed so fast her shoulders shook, and before she could completely panic and run away, a beep sound echoed out from the scanner.
Her head snapped back, her wide, dark eyes staring up at me with a mixture of weariness and profound thankfulness.
It was a strange, endearing combination that made me chuckle.
“Do you know Rintaro?” I asked to hopefully lessen her wariness.
“You know him?” Her entire face lit up instantly.
The wary tension left her small shoulders, and those expressive eyes of hers practically sparkled at the mention of his name.
“He did me a favor and I happened to see you two out one time, so I thought I’d help you.” A massive, dazzling smile bloomed across her face.
The kind of bright, pure expression that could completely change the mood of a room.
The two of us moved to the end of the pickup counter, her short frame bouncing slightly with leftover nervous energy while she waited for her coffee.
“Thank you so much!
My phone died and I didn’t bring my wallet…” “Don’t worry about it.
If you want to thank someone, you should thank Rintaro.” Just talking about him made her mood visibly brighter, a soft pink blush returning to her cheeks, though this time out of pure happiness rather than embarrassment.
‘It seems that things are going well with them.’ I smiled back.
“I’m going to go back to my seat.
Tell Rintaro thank you for me, not that he’ll remember what he did for me.” “Hehe~, you’re right but I will!
Thank you again!” “Of course.” I walked back to my seat and threw away my empty cup.
Thankfully, she didn’t try to pay me back.
I would have felt a bit guilty for lying about the Rintaro thing if she tried.
She probably just forgot because I never hinted at it, and that was good.
[Choice was chosen.] [Reward: $10,000 in investments.] Ding~ At the same time I read the reward, my phone chimed.
When I opened it up, I had a notification to my email from an investment firm with a login.
My hands moved quickly, downloading the app and logging in.
The ten thousand dollars there were invested in solid stocks.
The dollar amount was actually in yen, but I could easily tell that it was ten thousand USD in amount.
‘So the reward really is random.’ I thought as I made my way back home.
A quick walk since this body inherited a house from his dead parents along with funds.
Since he didn’t have another legal guardian, he was given control over his inheritance which felt like some bullshit, but it benefited me now.
In truth, there was no way this would pass normally, but since it worked in my favor I wasn’t going to question it anymore than the original “Tatsuya” did.
The moment I stepped into the two-story house, free of any dust, and wonderfully taken care of, I slipped off my shoes and threw myself on the couch.
There was still a part of the system that I hadn’t checked out yet.
‘Status.’ [Tatsuya Sarukomi] [ Stats ] – Physical Grade: C – Mental Grade: A – Charm Grade: A [ Skills ] – General Knowledge: B+ – Cleaning: A- – Self-Defense: C – Exercise: C […] It wasn’t hard understanding what the letter grades meant.
The skills were even easier to get.
The stats part caught my attention the longest.
[Physical grade: Consists of all physical attributes.
All physical stats are graded “C” or Average.] If this were an RPG, then the stats it was referencing had to be Strength, endurance, dexterity, and agility.
Mental grade when I focused on it was just the same thing as the physical grade but for the mind.
Charm was, well…
charm.
Its focus was the pull I could have on people.
Not in a mind-control way, but a higher charm meant people had a greater impression of me.
That’s what the panel that described it hinted at at least.