18: Unlocking the Store Function

In the clean and tidy infirmary.

Gotoh Hitori slowly opened her eyes while lying on the bed. She propped herself up, looking around in confusion.

The school nurse, noticing her situation, put down the magazine and approached her.

"Gotou, you're awake. Do you feel any discomfort?"

"No... But, teacher, how did I end up here?"

"A very handsome boy found you fainted and brought you here. He was very worried about you. Once I told him you were fine, he left feeling relieved."

The nurse, seeing Gotoh Hitori's changing expression as she recalled what happened, joked happily. "He was quite handsome. Is he your boyfriend?"

"What! No, it's not like that!"

Gotoh Hitori immediately became anxious, closing her eyes and waving her hands around helplessly.

"Someone like me, who doesn't even have friends, how could I possibly get a boyfriend!"

"Don't say that. Gotou, you're actually very cute, just lacking in confidence. With a little change in your image, becoming the center of attention wouldn't be impossible."

The school nurse's earnest advice made Gotoh Hitori's heart race a bit faster.

"Really? Is that so?"

"Yes. Besides that, your fashion sense is quite poor. You always hunch over when you walk, your eyes lack vitality, and that overly lonely negative aura needs to be managed."

"If you correct all these things, you'll definitely become the center of everyone's attention."

The nurse, talking with her fingers, didn't notice Gotoh Hitori's increasingly desperate and pale face.

If things could be corrected so easily, she wouldn't have so many troubles.

"Oh, I almost forgot this!"

The nurse clapped her hands, startling Gotoh Hitori into a hiccup.

"This is for you. The boy who brought you here left this note. He asked me to give it to you."

Gotoh Hitori took the note from the nurse, still dazed.

"Oh, youth. Seeing you all makes me want to go back to my own school days—so naive and nostalgic. You should rest a bit more. It's not time for the break to end yet."

"Y-yes, thank you, teacher."

Gotoh Hitori stared at the folded note in her hand, nervously swallowing.

It was undoubtedly from him...

After the trouble of bringing her to the infirmary, he probably wanted some sort of compensation.

Maybe there was even a chance she would need to pay for some mental distress he might have experienced.

What should she do? Will she go bankrupt because of this? Will her parents become homeless because of her?

After a long time of self-torturing and paranoia, Gotoh Hitori finally unfolded the note, trembling.

But the message written on it was something she didn't quite understand at first.

[You were unconscious, so we couldn't have a normal conversation. If possible, I'd like to be friends with you. This is my LINE account: xxxxx.]

A simple message that normal people could easily understand.

Unfortunately, Gotoh Hitori, in a certain sense, wasn't quite a normal person.

Was this some sort of new scam?

How could someone want to be friends with someone as gloomy and strange as her?

Gotoh Hitori's thoughts drifted into an absolutely wrong path.

"Touma, Touma…"

Back in the classroom, Suzumiya Chisato did the same thing as in the morning, waking up the sleeping Touma Kazusa.

He then placed the bread and milk he had bought on her desk.

"What?"

"Sleeping and not paying attention is fine, but at least you should eat on time." Suzumiya Chisato said this in the most natural tone.

"Huh?" Touma Kazusa looked at the food on her desk, unable to understand in her shock.

However, he continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

"Your health is important. If you're hungry, even sleeping won't be comfortable. That's what I believe."

"…"

"I'm not sure what you like to eat, so I chose the best-selling bread and milk. I hope you like them."

"Hmm…"

"What's wrong? Do you want me to open the bread for you? It's understandable that you might be weak after just waking up."

"Annoying…"

"Hmm?"

"You're so annoying!"

Touma Kazusa didn't look at the food on her desk anymore but instead glared aggressively at him. "Suzumiya-san, do you have a problem or something?"

[Touma Kazusa feels touched, Affection +10.]

"Mind your own business and don't bother me!"

[Touma Kazusa feels happy, Affection +10.]

"…"

Suzumiya Chisato was silent for a moment, then sighed.

"Even if you say that, I can't ignore what's happening right in front of me."

"Hah, are you like a mother?"

"Maybe I am."

"…"

Touma Kazusa looked at him, not speaking for a long time.

With her tightly closed lips, narrowed eyes, and the impatience on her face, she gave off an intimidating sharpness.

"Touma, if you don't eat, lunch break will end soon."

"…Hmph."

Touma Kazusa picked up her bag and walked straight to the back door of the classroom.

"Are you leaving?"

The response Suzumiya Chisato received was the sound of the back door slamming shut.

The students who had been casting either obvious or subtle glances in this direction lost interest and returned to their previous activities, and the classroom became lively again.

"It's really a disaster. Maybe Touma-san just doesn't like the combination of bread and milk."

Satoshi, sitting in the front row, patted Chisato's shoulder and offered a friendly smile to comfort him.

"Probably."

"Don't take it too personally."

"Don't worry, I won't."

Because...

[Touma Kazusa feels delighted, Affection +10.]

[Touma Kazusa feels shy, Affection +10.]

[Touma Kazusa feels... +10.]

[... +10.]

Suzumiya Chisato's screen was almost flooded with these messages.

[Touma Kazusa's affection has reached maximum value, current affection increased to ?]

It was much easier than he had imagined.

The bread and milk were left behind.

But the most important thing was...

[Shopping mall feature unlocked. The host can now use points to exchange for special items.]