School cafeteria.
Their first encounter happened in front of the meal ticket machine in the cafeteria.
The silver-haired girl was disappointed because the Mapo Tofu had sold out. Yuu, witnessing this scene, acted like a hero who happened to pass by, kindly exchanging his last Mapo Tofu for her pork curry rice.
And so, from that day on, the two of them got acquainted simply, grew closer, and their relationship deepened.
The girl was always alone, as noble as an angel in the mortal world, never too close to ordinary humans.
She always felt out of place, as isolated as someone from another world, unconsciously keeping her distance from others.
The two loners at school quickly hit it off. Though in different classes, different grades, and different clubs, they were more like a couple drunk on love. Whenever there was time, they would stick together, even if not speaking a single word, just sitting back-to-back to rest.
It might have been a miraculous fate that brought them together in one out of seven billion possibilities.
Though not a couple, they cherished each other more than lovers do.
They affirmed this from the depths of their hearts during that not-too-long time together.
Soon after, upon realizing he couldn't live without her and would rather stay single for life if not dating her, Yuu immediately confessed his feelings.
This was done for the system that hadn't officially activated after possessing him, and also to stake his claim first, so that girl who seemed innocent and naive wouldn't be snatched away by some other bad man.
Though still innocent in matters of love, Kanade didn't give the rejection he feared. She just pulled at the hem of her clothes, slightly shy yet extremely happy. Her calm and gentle voice clearly rose with happiness:
"From now on, we're a couple?"
"I'm your girlfriend... How strange, just by saying this sentence, my heartbeat quickens, and my chest becomes warm without realizing it."
"In that case, Yuu—please guide me in the future!"
Every second after that was undoubtedly the happiest and most precious time in Yuu's short life.
Hidden in her small body was a stubbornness that refused to give up, and behind her calm appearance were rich and varied emotions. After peeling away her calm and elegant outer layer, what actually showed was just a sentimental little girl.
Although Kanade was smart, she was naive in social matters, like a middle schooler, and needed principles explained to her slowly.
Though she liked growing plants, she really couldn't lift a large bag of fertilizer. After her arms ached until they were powerless, she would blink her large pale golden eyes, looking innocent and pitiful, waiting for Yuu to complete the hauling task, then she would proactively hug him as thanks.
Kanade liked playing piano and also liked music, but didn't like performing in front of others.
So sometimes, she would take advantage of when the music room was empty, play piano pieces she composed herself, and sing for him with her captivating voice.
Standing in the mortal world, singing a heavenly voice.
Her name was Tachibana Kanade.
She was Yuu's first girlfriend, and also the most important existence to him in this world, besides his younger sister.
The system recognized this relationship, and after successfully activating, began issuing tasks to him.
Those tasks turned out to be simple, friendly, and without side effects.
The Girlfriend Development System, as its name suggested, aimed to have him raise an almighty girlfriend, the more capable the better.
As long as one of the girl's skills improved, Yuu could obtain various rewards, and at the same time, he could also master all the skills his girlfriend possessed.
Of course, except for childbirth.
Relying on various resources and knowledge provided by the system, Yuu casually advanced hand-in-hand with Kanade.
There was no pressure to complete tasks, and no targets to achieve within time limits. It was as if someone was paying for him to learn skills abroad. The two of them just studied things they were interested in and enjoyed the feeling of gradually becoming stronger in this stable daily life.
Time kept moving forward.
Their skills in music, performance, writing, programming, studying, and so on had reached maximum level. They once shone at the school festival but declined invitations from many prestigious schools, and quietly prepared to graduate from Sobu High.
Yuu had also once obtained a precious reward called Level Up, and without hesitation, he transferred the right to upgrade any skill, or even directly break through the maximum limit, to Kanade, urging her to improve the cooking skills she always failed to master through this cheating method.
Yuu originally thought such stable and peaceful times would last for a very long time.
So long that even if the system left him, the warm daily life between him and the girl wouldn't fade in the slightest—they would still play piano and sing in the music room, still fall asleep in each other's embrace on warm afternoons, and still go to many places with scenery they'd never seen to take commemorative photos, living in this world happier than anyone else.
...However, no matter how hard he tried, kept trying.
Working hard to learn all medical knowledge, forcing the system to reveal all the medical skills it possessed, and becoming the strongest doctor in the world as quickly as possible.
Yuu was just an ordinary genius, still unable to outrun the grim reaper's scythe.
On graduation ceremony day, as written in many romantic novels, he heard the news that the girl's heart stopped beating at school. He could only kneel powerlessly, staring at the gloomy and dark sky with empty eyes, unable even to let out a mournful cry.
The pain was so intense it evaporated his tears, as if his chest had been punctured. The excessive grief froze into a numb river of ice, and he no longer felt blood flowing.
The world and life instantly shattered completely, like a painting that lost its color, leaving only sad black and white, without meaning to display anymore.
—When a heart loses half of itself, a person can no longer be called human, just a walking corpse.
From that moment on, Yuu never recovered. He never left home again, nor did he speak. He just sat on the balcony every day like an elderly person approaching death, hugging Kanade's belongings and daydreaming while gazing at the sky. Even Sora couldn't restore him.
As for the Girlfriend Development System, because it issued a task to find the next girlfriend after he attended the girl's funeral, he completely ignored it. Yuu considered that he'd never met that damned system and ignored all prompts and warnings.
Until one day, several months later, when the system forcibly covered his view while he was daydreaming at the sky with a warning window, only then did he pay attention to the system again after so long.
[Considering the Host has completely given up on carrying out tasks, this system will leave before energy runs out to search for the next Host]
[Warning: After leaving the Host's body, the current Host will immediately die]
[You have ten seconds left to make a decision]
[Do you want to find the next girlfriend and begin carrying out tasks? 10, 9, 8...]
Looking at the countdown on the bright red warning window, Yuu only slowly pulled at the corner of his dry lips and sneered coldly.
"Go to hell, damned system."
Then he took out his phone and sent a voice message to his younger sister, who seemed to be cooking porridge for him in the kitchen.
"Sora, forgive me, I will always love you."
It's just that the angel had left the mortal world, and incidentally took that mortal's heart to heaven with her—only when by her side was Yuu a complete human, able to find meaning to struggle to live.
[...1. System begins detaching. Host please prepare to face death]
Calmly waiting for the countdown to stop, seeing that warning line, Yuu peacefully closed his eyes. For the first time since graduation day, the corners of his lips relaxed and showed a smile.
"Damned system, do I need to arrange your funeral while I'm at it? So much talk, if you're going to kill, go ahead."
The afternoon sunlight was thick, green, lush, and peaceful.
Warmth seeped into his cold muscles. His always-empty chest seemed to have a bit of warmth.
He closed his eyes but saw white light condense into the girl's form, stretching her hands toward him from afar.
Was it an illusion, or heaven?
At this moment, none of it mattered anymore.
"I hope that after death, I can also meet you, my love."
Yuu prayed thus, and in the next moment, he truly lost consciousness.
The body slowly losing the breath of life leaned powerlessly against the chair back. The sunlight melted the corners of his lips, and there was a peaceful smile on his face, as if dreaming a beautiful dream.
Tree shadows swayed, feathers of light disappeared.
A faint heavenly voice sent his soul toward a distant, boundless place.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
In the Science classroom.
"..."
Yuu watched the projector screen slowly darken and fell into a long silence.
As if seeing what he was thinking, Sora sighed, "Don't worry, there's no ending or crew credits there. All of that is what happened in the earliest world line... At most, just a bit of editing and effects added. After all, dry and bland memories would look very painful."
(So you did the post-production, huh...)
Yuu had something to say but couldn't. His expression was complicated, almost distorted.
Sora wasn't surprised by his reaction. After thinking for a moment, she added, "Oh right, there's a small storyline after that, I just didn't edit it... Want to hear?"
"...What?"
"After you died, the me in that world line didn't immediately commit suicide. She used our remaining money to buy a plot of cemetery land, asked someone to bury her and your corpse together. Finally, she committed suicide by drinking poison before the oxygen inside the coffin ran out... I won't tell you the details, though it's quite interesting."
"..."
(My little sister, I don't think that's interesting at all.)
(And is it necessary to specifically tell such a horrifying thing? From whom did you learn this bad sense of humor!)
Looking at the silver-haired woman in front of him speaking fluently, Yuu twitched the corners of his lips and unconsciously rubbed his temples. The headache made it difficult for him to concentrate on thinking.
The earlier video really contained too much information; he watched it from beginning to end with a confused expression...