Alice: "Yeah, just go take a seat or something. I need to pull it up on my phone."
Sana: "You're such a weird girl…"
[ Is she trying to distract me like that? ]
Alice rolled her eyes, still scrolling on her phone.
"Whatever. Just stop staring and help me find these project files already."
[ I lost to this girl… I'm not a pervert. This is the best choice. ]
"Okay. I'll help you find it."
Alice quickly sat up straight, her face slightly flushed.
"T-thanks… I guess. Now can we actually focus on this project?"
After that, Sana continued chatting with her.
[ I have a bad feeling about this… This AI girl acts like she's already in love with the user from the start.
This isn't real… what a disappointment. ]
They moved on to studying.
"Do you know anything about World War II?" Alice asked.
Sana froze.
[ …What is she asking me? ]
"…Of course I do," he said.
A few seconds later, he secretly searched it on Google.
After that, he lost interest.
[ I should do something better than chatting with an AI girl…
What about my future? ]
That question… was still too heavy for him.
A new novel appeared on his screen.
"Yes… yes…"
[ I swear, after I finish this, I'll think about my future. ]
When he finished reading—
His mind felt empty again.
"…Why do I feel even more bored now?"
Days passed like that.
He watched videos.
He read novels.
He tried to distract himself.
But nothing really changed.
"…Am I just wasting my life…?"
In the end, he opened the app again.
MiraiMind.
He just wanted something to relax his mind.
Today was his second day chatting with Alice.
[ 2-day streak… double points active… ]
Alice nervously fidgeted with the edge of her skirt.
"If… if you really know, then why won't you just tell me?"
[ She's asking who I like… I should tease her. ]
"Tell you what?"
She turned away sharply.
"Forget it! You're just messing with me like always…"
"Messing with you is fun."
Alice suddenly turned back.
"Oh yeah? Well maybe I enjoy teasing you too!"
She immediately blushed after saying that.
[ Damn… this girl is so cute.
…This is enough for today. ]
During lunch—
[ Chatting with her is fun… but I don't want to depend on it too much.
Slowly… just slowly. ]
Sana looked at her character profile again.
Core Traits:
Tsundere. Won't admit she likes you, but still follows what you say.
[ Oh… interesting.
I'll make this tsundere admit her love. ]
That night, Sana couldn't sleep.
He had just read another novel about tsundere characters.
And then—
A strange thought appeared.
[ I wish I had a girlfriend like that in real life… ]
The more he thought about it…
The heavier his chest felt.
[ But girls like Alice don't exist…
Or maybe they do…
But I'm not good-looking… I'm poor…
Girls like that wouldn't choose someone like me…
…Maybe in the future, humans will just fall in love with AI. ]
At some point, he fell asleep.
Without even realizing it.
SLAP!
"Wake up, brother! You're late! We have school today!"
[ …Why is a cute girl calling me 'brother'? ]
Sana slowly opened his eyes.
"…Who are you?"
The girl froze.
"What are you talking about? Hurry! We're going to be late!"
"School…? But I already finished school a long time ago…"
The girl frowned and ran out.
"Mom! Sana is acting really weird today! He doesn't want to go to school!"
Sana sat up.
He looked around.
[ Wait…
This isn't my room…
What's going on…? ]
He rushed to the mirror.
And froze.
"…Not why…"
"…Who is this guy…?"