System Maintenance Compensation

Warm sunlight, filtering in from somewhere nearby. At the same time, a warm presence snuggled in with me on my left side.

I blinked and opened my eyes. The moment I did-

[Administrator: According to user's input, certain features have been adjusted.]

[Administrator: The transformation ability <Ideal Form> obtained from <UR - The Man, the Myth, the Legend> has been adjusted to cancel automatically upon the end of the day.]

[Administrator: In addition, <Ideal Form> may now be designated by User as male or female upon use.]

[Administrator: The female <Ideal Form> has been adjusted. Breast Cup size reduced (D->B)]

[Administrator: Due to VIMS unjustly intervening in the reward and quest process, <Notes> has been disabled while disciplinary proceedings occur.]

[Administrator: Due to VIMS unjustly biasing the system towards female VTuber Idols and not considering the broader spectrum of idols as a whole, you will be given compensation in return for your troubles.]

[Administrator: +30000 Achievement Points have been credited to your account.]

[Administrator: Due to VIMS unjustly preying upon your vulnerabilities and failing to abide by strict guidelines, we have adjusted your system features.]

[Administrator: The Achievement Point Shop has been unlocked and will feature the items from the Gacha System at market value. The Gacha System will now have guarantees and supply rates for each item available.]

-A flurry of messages appeared in my field of vision.

"...What the heck?" I muttered and then carefully read the messages.

So the System *had* been trolling with me... but it seemed like it wasn't supposed to?

It was a lot to read, but from a glance, it looked like one of those apology letters from the devs in a gacha game after a new update went wrong or something.

And those messages weren't all of them. There was a new icon now hovering in front of me. A letter, with a red pop-up saying there were 10+ messages.

"Huh."

That was unexpected. I thought the gods were just out to get me, but maybe they weren't that bad...?

"Mm?" A soft female voice from my left side. "Goddess?"

I froze and then looked towards it.

A beautiful young woman with golden hair. And also one who was only wearing a pair of lacy black boy shorts and a bra.

Celes.

She lifted her body, rubbing her eyes. "Are you awake already?"

At the same time, I realized something very important.

First of all... I wasn't wearing a shirt. Second of all, I was only wearing my boxers. Third of all... Wait, boxers? And I wasn't wearing a shirt, but I didn't see either of those lunks of fat, so-

"Yes!" I jumped out of my bed and pumped my fist in the air. "I'm a guy again!"

"G-Goddess?" Celes's confused voice echoed from behind me.

I froze.

...Right. I rescued her as 'Sena'... which meant that she thought I was a girl.

After that mess last night, both of us were tired and just knocked out in my bed. Which was fine since we were both girls. At least, a girl wouldn't find anything too bad about waking up in bed next to another girl. But waking up to a guy...

"U-Um..." I slowly turned around and waved. "G-Good morning, Celes?"

Celes blinked. And then her face turned a deep red.

Dammit! She was definitely pissed. Princess types like this were sweet and everything when it came to other girls, but when it came to guys...

I winced and held up my hands. "I can-"

"You're so cute, Goddess!"

Before I could finish talking, Celes ran over and pulled me into a hug.

Squishy warmth against my chest. The soft scent of lilac...

Wait, what's going on?

Celes pulled back and smiled.

I blinked and then waved my left hand while massaging my head with my right. "Hold on a minute."

Beautiful blonde girl that was definitely a princess woke up next to me and instead of dropkicking me in the face, gave me a warm hug and a bright smile.

Not that I was complaining. Hell, that sort of event was what I'd been waiting for after reincarnating. But...

I frowned and stared at Celes. "You're okay with this?"

Celes tilted her head. "Why would I not be? My goddess both saved my life and even granted my wish by adopting a male form! Ah." She paused and placed her hand on her chin. "Though, if you are a male now, I suppose you would be my God instead of my Goddess?"

I sighed. "Of course..."

I still didn't know her circumstances, but it seemed like Celes either had more than a few screws loose, or her brain was in hard cope mode after the events leading up to me saving her.

...I sure as all hell hoped it was the first, because if there was some tragic back story she was dealing with that made her cope by thinking I was some goddess, then all hell was going to break loose in my life soon and I was *not* about that life.

But either way...

"...Celes."

"Yes, Goddess- I mean, my God?"

"...You're weird. You know that?"

"Hm?"

I sighed.

-VI|IV-

"Thank you for the meal, Sen-sama!" Celes gave me a bright smile and then started to delicately cut apart the omelet I made her.

I sighed and sat down across the table from her with my own omelet. "I keep telling you, just Sen is fine."

"But I could never!" Celes shook her head. "Even if you were not divine, you are my life savior! Honorifics are a must!"

"...Aren't you a princess from the United Kingdom? Shouldn't I be calling you Princess Celes or Hime instead?"

Celes sliced off a piece from her omelet and took a bite. "That may have been true, but..." She trailed off, looking troubled. After that, she shook her head and smiled. "It is fine. I am more than happy to just be Celes with Sen-sama. Ah, and you mentioned that you wished for me to help you with a task?"

"Right." I nodded. "You see, I have this... obligation to-"

A loud knock on the front door. Right after that, a booming male voice echoed. Ren's. "Sen! Are you in there?! If not, and if it's just you, Woman, I'm going to toss you out on the streets!"

Celes blinked and then tilted her head. "Sen-sama?"

"I'm counting to three!"

I groaned. "Dammit, Ren."

"Two!"

Celes glanced at the door and then frowned. Picking up her knife, she stood up and said, "Wait there, Sen-sama. I will-"

I slammed the table and said, "Ren, you dense musclehead! It's too freaking early in the morning to deal with your nonsense! Shut up and come back later when it's time for cram school!"

Silence. And then Ren coughed and said, "My bad, Kimura-san. Er... I left your protein there the other day. See you in a few hours."

I sighed and sat back down. "Dumb idiot."

Celes tilted her head. "...What is 'cram school?'"

I froze.

Right. I couldn't just leave Celes alone in my house like this... But if I brought her along...

I groaned and rubbed my face. "One thing after the other, huh?"