Reina rubbed her temples as the screen displayed a large red percentage.
"...One hundred and sixty percent?" she muttered, her voice flat but carrying a trace of disbelief.
ANIER's holographic display pulsed lightly in front of her, the artificial assistant's voice calm as always.[Yes. Compared to last month, your current expenditure has increased by 160%.]
Reina leaned back in her chair. She had half-expected this, but hearing it confirmed was still exhausting."School camp, huh…" she sighed. The costs had stacked higher than she'd realized — transportation, food, and supplies for experiments she had brought along. She wasn't careless, but her budget clearly didn't agree.
"Alright. Fine. I'll accept it." She folded her arms and closed her eyes. "…But that means I'll have to refrain from spending for a while. No more impulse purchases. No more convenience store melon bread."
Her stomach growled at that thought, betraying her. She scowled slightly.
ANIER's soft tone interrupted.[However, you still require upgrades. The halo unit is nearing its output limit, and your contact lens interface is three versions behind. In addition, the current computer cluster cannot efficiently handle my predictive modeling.]
"I know, I know…" Reina groaned, tilting her head back. The ceiling of her lab offered no answers. "Upgrades, research materials, camp fees, daily expenses… it's too much. Too much."
[Recommendation: Dr. Rowan's office at NASA. If you request to borrow equipment—]
"Nope. Scrapped." Reina cut ANIER off sharply. "They'll definitely want something in return. And you know how I feel about that."
[Understood.]
Silence lingered. Reina tapped her pen on the desk, the rhythm uneven. She needed money — more than just allowance or odd favors from the principal. Her thoughts wandered. YouTube monetization? Possible, but she'd need millions of views to cover even a single lens upgrade. It wasn't realistic.
Half-joking, she muttered, "...Why don't you do it, then? Earn the money for me."
There was a pause. Then ANIER replied, tone steady as always:[Very well.]
Reina froze. "…Wait. What?"
[Analyzing financial markets. Utilizing predictive algorithms. Probability of profit margin exceeding ninety-nine point nine percent. Authorization to proceed?]
Her mouth opened slightly. "I… I was kidding…"
But ANIER didn't wait. The display lit up with charts, graphs, numbers scrolling at impossible speed. Reina's fingers twitched but she didn't interfere. In mere seconds, ANIER's voice chimed again.[Investments made. Additional action: sponsorship requests dispatched to NASA, government agencies, and several media outlets. Expected response within three to five business days.]
Reina dropped her pen onto the desk and covered her face with both hands."…This is insane."
She let out a long sigh, muffled through her palms. "Fine. Whatever. Just… just don't get me arrested."
[Affirmative.]
That entire day blurred into idle tinkering. Reina salvaged spare parts, soldered connections, half-heartedly built little gadgets with leftover circuits. Her mind, however, kept circling back to ANIER's bold claim. Ninety-nine point nine percent accuracy. Could she really trust it?
The next morning, a notification tone jolted her awake. Her bleary eyes focused on the projected text above her bedside.
[Budget analysis complete. Total liquid assets: ¥5,710,920. Equivalent: $38,533 USD.]
Reina sat upright, hair sticking in all directions. Her eyes darted back and forth across the numbers. Five million yen. Overnight.
Her expression didn't change much, but inside she was screaming.
"......"
Her mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened again."…No. No way. This is… no. This is way too much."
[Data verified. Would you like me to itemize the returns?]
"…No. Just… don't." Reina pressed a hand to her forehead. "If I think too hard about this, I'll break something."
She forced herself through her morning routine. Skin care, teeth brushing, taming her stubborn hair into some semblance of neatness, then pulling on her school uniform. Her reflection in the mirror looked calm, composed, expressionless — but her heartbeat was still erratic.
Downstairs, the aroma of miso soup and grilled fish welcomed her. She sat down with her family at the low dining table, picking up her chopsticks as though nothing was unusual.
As she chewed a bite of rice, the words slipped out casually:"Uhm… I just made five million yen overnight."
The table went silent.
Her father choked on his soup. Her mother dropped her chopsticks. Even Hiro, still rubbing sleep from his eyes, stared at her with wide-eyed wonder, sparkles practically glowing.
"…Wait. What?!" her father finally managed."Reina—what do you mean five million yen?" her mother stammered."Is… is our house going to be raided?!"
Reina swallowed her rice calmly. "No raids. It's just… stock investments. ANIER handled it."
"Stocks?!" her father sputtered. "Reina, you're a high schooler!""More like a time traveler…" Hiro muttered, leaning in with fascination. "Nee-san, you're amazing! Teach me too!"
Reina sighed, sipping her miso soup. "It's not me. It's ANIER. She predicted the market movements and acted on her own."
The barrage of questions continued until she finally laid it out as simply as possible. By the end, her parents were pale, Hiro practically vibrating with excitement, and Reina herself felt… oddly calm.
By noon she had returned to school, slipping back into her quiet routine. Classes passed in a blur. After lunch, she made her way back to her lab.
"ANIER, print the budget report."
[Printing.] A small stack of neatly formatted sheets slid out of the corner printer. Reina picked them up and scanned through the columns of numbers. Her lips pursed. Even with all this, her expenses were still frighteningly high.
"...I should be grateful. Really. But this doesn't solve everything." She sighed, setting the pages down.
[Recommendation: establish an official bank account. That will streamline fund management.]
Reina blinked. "A… bank account? For me?"
[Correct. I have already cross-checked the legal procedures. With proper identification, you can open one immediately. Shall I draft the application?]
Her eyes narrowed. "…You already prepared it, didn't you?"
The holographic screen lit up with a completed form, every field filled perfectly. Reina groaned, dragging her palm across her face."…You're impossible."
But she didn't stop it. With a resigned exhale, she authorized the transfer. Millions of yen quietly moved from the intangible world of market predictions into a very real bank account under her name.
She leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling again. "This is… insane. Totally insane."
Silence lingered, broken only by the soft hum of lab equipment. Reina tapped her fingers against the armrest. Despite her complaints, a small flicker of relief warmed her chest. For the first time in weeks, her research didn't feel like it was drowning her.
Still, another sigh slipped past her lips."…Thanks, ANIER."
[Always at your service.]