Chapter 21: “Buying” Back His Sister After Earning Enough Money

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Anyway, so it came to be. For the second day’s club activity, Himekoji Akito happily slipped away again.

After triggering an option to “fly over eaves and scale walls, taking unusual paths” on his way home, he made it back more or less safely.

Today was Tuesday. After completing some scattered “System Daily Tasks” plus the big haul from the bathroom stall the previous day, his 2D Points piled up to 395.

Could he scrape together 500 points before Sunday’s exchange list refreshed? He could only say it depended on what “luck” he’d have going forward…

Himekoji Akito was obsessed with that bestselling masterpiece. No, actually, Himekoji was obsessed with money.

He needed money. Urgently.

Ah, maybe this was a good time to mention Himekoji’s family situation.

Himekoji’s parents had tragically passed away seven years ago. After that, he and his little sister were adopted separately by two different households. The condition was that the siblings were not allowed to meet or contact each other during this time.

Unless, they each willingly left their adoptive parents’ homes, became independent, and repaid all the kindness they had owed over the years.

This condition might seem cold-hearted—like discarding the family who raised you once you grew wings. But for Himekoji, what felt colder was how those two families tore him and his sister apart in the first place.

He absolutely couldn’t accept that.

So, the equation was simple: only by earning enough money could he “buy back” his sister.

Honestly, those nearly seven years living under others’ roofs weren’t happy memories. Being broke, meaning lacking the ability to care for his sister, meant putting his only remaining relative into someone else’s home. It was undeniably pathetic.

Of course, when you’re just nine years old like Himekoji Akito was back then, feeling helpless is natural.

But the Himekoji Akito now was different. At sixteen, he was a somewhat well-known novelist. Supporting himself and his sister’s life shouldn’t be that hard anymore.

Ahem, though he did have this other title… something about being a pervert without morals… apparently…

…Come to think of it, someone like him… even if they reunited, could things go smoothly with his sister?

No matter how others saw him or what they said about him, he just wanted to seem decent and reliable in front of his sister. He wanted her to see him as an Onii-chan she could trust and lean on.

If he got rejected because of his pervert status… Himekoji Akito felt like he’d rather die…

Really, this was his only small wish.

He wouldn’t call it greedy.

※※※

He hurried through dinner and worked until nearly 9 PM.

Himekoji Akito finished compiling the draft for Volume 8 of “Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn’t Exist” and emailed it to his editor. With his tasks finally wrapping up, he logged into an online game, aiming for a bit of casual fun.

Because of the Perverse Choice System, he’d pretty much given up on real-life socializing. Instead, he’d gotten hooked on MMOs…

At least in online games, that weird System behaved itself. It wouldn’t make things awkward or embarrassing. So, the internet became Himekoji Akito’s last sanctuary.

Well, you could view this as a lame excuse for game addiction. Because truly, being a gamer addict wasn’t easy.

Himekoji Akito, friendless in the real world, had even gotten himself a wife in the game. Definitely a gaming winner.

Strange! Saying “gaming winner” out loud felt intensely cringe!

Anyway, the moment he logged in, the message alert went “ping ping ping!”

A pink envelope with a heart symbol. No mistake — it was the Couple Mail feature. Solid proof he wasn’t single anymore!

Sadly, only in the game.

He clicked the mail open directly—

“Akito! You’re here!”

Look! Calling him by his real first name! Feeling that warm, personal address!

Alone in reality, but acting like a normie online— Himekoji Akito’s self-awareness confirmed this was indeed super embarrassing.

Especially when he thought: what if this sweet “wife” was actually a man playing a female character? The cringe intensified.

…So skipping this whole section might be for the best?

Imagine spending a whole chapter roleplaying sweet nothings with a troll account? That’d be beyond awkward…