Chapter 409: A Wish Achievable Through Effort

“R-rape the world’s settings?”

[Yeah. Since you like everyone, why not be with them all? Why choose only one side? Who decided this painful and meaningless setting?]

“I-It’s not meaningless! It is painful though…”

Himekoji tried to deny it, but another voice hid deep inside him.

[Who decided it?]

It felt like the System saw right through Himekoji’s thoughts. It called itself a god, yet used words like a demon.

So tempting.

“No one decided… The world… the world is naturally like this…” Himekoji mumbled the answer.

[Oh~~ No one decided? Then I’ll decide.]

“Huh?”

[Then I’ll decide.]

“B-but…”

[But what?]

“This… this isn’t fair to Shiina and Aoyama, right?”

[If it brings happiness, it is fair.]

“R-Really?”

Then… what was this fresh feeling of guilt inside him?

[You seem conflicted? That’s unexpected. I thought after being a pervert for so long, you’d sneer at these stupid old rules.]

“……”

He didn’t refute it.

Honestly, Himekoji didn’t care what happened to the world. He didn’t have the right to care that much.

He only cared about Mashiro and Nanami.

Was it really fair to them, to be together like this?

Himekoji didn’t know.

He also worried about the so-called “rewriting the settings” the System mentioned. How far did it go?

[Fine, fine. If you’re still troubled, let’s try a middle path.]

Watching Himekoji closely, the System, calling itself a god, suddenly changed its tone.

“A middle path?”

[Ding!]

[Please choose!]

“Eh?”

The sudden, familiar notification sound during the chat made Himekoji freeze for a second.

[A: Reset Life.]

[B: Reset World.]

Reading the options immediately had almost become Himekoji’s habit.

After scanning them quickly, questions popped into his head.

Option B was easier to understand. “Reset World” probably meant the “rewriting the settings” the System spoke of.

But… Option A, “Reset Life”?

Could it be…

[You guessed right. That wish of yours, to become ordinary… I can grant that too.]

“Really?!”

He gasped aloud. Shouting excitedly at thin air seemed silly. Very silly.

[Of course! I’m not a heartless god. Before, I was just asleep. I’m actually very reasonable and care about you.]

“Eh? Ah? Umm… really?”

It sounded strange coming from the System that tormented him for a year, but Himekoji believed it.

Because he wanted to believe.

After all… Not being a pervert. Attending school normally. Living normally. Making friends normally. Even… falling in love normally. That was the ordinary happiness Himekoji wanted but couldn’t have.

And now… that happiness was right in front of him. Placed beside the other “happiness” the System offered. His to choose.

What was this?

He suffered for over a year. He thought his whole life would be that awful. He was nearly ready to give up… and suddenly won the jackpot?

It felt unreal, dizzying.

He took deep breaths, forcing down the sudden overwhelming joy.

He clenched his fists. His palms were already slick with sweat.

[Oh, and… you don’t need to choose right away.]

“Eh?”

Not hurry?

How could he not hurry?

It was like being lost in a forest on a pitch-black night. Starving. Exhausted. Dying of sleepiness. Plodding numbly through the gloom like a walking corpse. The only thing keeping him upright was the instinct to escape.

Then… that person turns a hopeless corner… and suddenly sees a clear blue sky, a bright moon hanging high. Ahead, barely out of reach, shines the welcoming light of home.

He found the way back!

So… he’d run madly towards it, right?

When you see hope after despair, you grab it with all your might, right?

How could he not hurry?

How could you expect him to wait?

[This is the final choice. So… save it for the end.]

“S-save it… what do you mean?”

The confusing words instantly tightened Himekoji’s chest.

Hope… made him afraid.

[It means choosing now is pointless.]

The System explained patiently. A change from its usual style. Almost… reasonable?

[Because my energy is low. I’m falling back asleep soon. Ugh… just talking about it makes me tired. Anyway, even gods like me need power. Lots of it. Honestly, without enough energy, I can’t even leave your body and set you free.]

“Not enough energy?”

Himekoji focused on the key point.

“What would be enough?”

[Getting the idea, Pervert-kun?]

Himekoji was so focused on this “new life” chance, he barely noticed the System imitating Yukinoshita.

“How?”

He pressed again, impatient.

[Work hard for me, of course.]

“Work hard?”

[Mmm. Work yourself to the bone. Try hard to create hap—try hard to collect energy for me, until you drop. If you go that far… it should be enough.]

The System even mimicked Yukinoshita’s smile perfectly.

A condescending smile. Thin and cold. Like sunlight glinting off snow: dazzling, beautiful.

“So… you want me to keep being a pervert?”

The burst of joy faded. A strange, uncomfortable feeling washed over Himekoji.

After all that… the summary boiled down to:

To stop being a pervert… he had to try even harder to be a pervert?

Was that it?

[No, no, no. Not necessarily a pervert. This time, I learned something interesting… Pervert-kun, the energy you collect isn’t just perverted stuff. Your human side is surprisingly delicious too~~ Humans… wow me.]

The tone was delighted. But the expression, borrowed from Yukinoshita, stayed frozen. Like trapped in the emptiness of absolute zero.

The mismatch between voice and face… felt deeply unsettling.

The weird sense of wrongness grew stronger for Himekoji.

But right now, that feeling didn’t matter.

Because with this shining hope before him… everything else seemed tiny.

“I understand. One last question. You said ‘final choice’… what did you mean?”

[Oh, that’s my reasonable side kicking in. Before, I was always asleep. Missed the whole “user experience” thing. My bad, Himekoji-kun. From now on, forcing choices like this is ancient history. We’ll get our energy in a better way: more reasonable, efficient, human.]

“Eh?”

That was a lot to take in. Himekoji paused briefly.

As he stood there frozen, the System switched to a voice he found utterly irresistible.

[So? Will you do it? If you try hard, I’ll make your wish come true~~ Of course, if you say no… staying how you are is fine too.]

He snapped back instantly—-

“I will!”

Of course he would!

A wish made real just by trying hard…

Himekoji understood its preciousness better than anyone.

……