After their conversation ended and the food was nearly finished, Haruno said, "Alright, let's start our first date~," then eagerly pulled him out of the fast-food restaurant.
"Of course, you choose the date spot. If you take me somewhere weird, Onee-san won't let you off easily~"
She wore a teasing expression, as if knowing he had no clue where to take her for a date and was ready to watch the show. This irritated Yuu slightly.
Did she think he'd never played a GALGAME (dating sim game)?
Wasn't it just taking a girl to a movie theater, arcade, bowling alley, or something similar? What was so hard to understand?
Though he wasn't at the point of saying, "No one knows dating better than me," Yuu at least knew how normal people went on dates.
"Then let's go to—"
A mental map appeared in his mind, and after picking the nearest movie theater, Yuu was about to tell her.
But Haruno's phone suddenly rang.
Signaling him to wait, she stepped aside and answered the call.
"Hello? It's me. Mmm… Now? Ah… Mm, it's fine, I'll head over soon."
After a brief exchange, Haruno returned, waving her hand with slight disappointment:
"Ah, something came up suddenly. I have to head home."
Yuu nodded, saying regretfully, "If you've got something to do, there's no helping it. Looks like the date will have to wait."
As soon as he spoke, a finger pointed at his cheek, the touch of her nail slightly uncomfortable.
"My dear, did you just sigh in relief? Happy that I have to go so you don't need to go on a date with me?"
Haruno asked with a smile, but her tone carried a dangerous edge.
Yuu didn't answer.
Because answering would be death, and lying wouldn't end well either.
Haruno was incredibly perceptive and loved asking questions she already knew the answers to. Every word and action seemed calculated to provoke, all part of her strategy.
She used this method to understand everyone she met.
But even knowing this, almost no one would dislike her for it—her appearance, speech, and tactics formed her protective armor. That was Haruno's strength.
Yuu had met someone like her before.
So, despite knowing her for less than an hour, he could somewhat guess what tricks hid behind her cheerful smile.
"Let's exchange contact info first." Yuu pulled out his phone, trying to steer away from the sensitive topic.
"You're the boss. You can call me out anytime, and I'll try to adjust my schedule."
"Sly kid."
Shrugging, Haruno didn't press further and opened the QR code interface for LINE.
They added each other as friends, and as they were about to put their phones away, Haruno suddenly reached out, casually taking his phone.
"What are you doing?"
"Don't panic, just changing the nickname." After quickly tinkering with his phone, she giggled, flipping the screen to show the text.
"'My Beloved Majesty Haruno'… What kind of nickname is that? Please change it back."
The corner of Yuu's mouth twitched as he looked at her resignedly.
If there weren't so many people around and he wasn't worried about Haruno resisting and causing a scene, he would've snatched his phone back.
"Eh~ I hired you for a week, and I can't even do something small like this?" Haruno pouted, feigning sadness, her eyes gradually welling up.
Yuu just chuckled, "Sorry, communication privacy is personal territory. We don't offer that service."
Though he wasn't sure if such a rule existed, he guessed it didn't.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host has received a reward: 100 yen]
And this was probably a sign that Haruno was satisfied… after pulling her prank.
How pathetic.
"Well, just kidding~ As a girl, I've always dreamed of things like giving each other cute nicknames."
While changing the contact name back to "Haruno" in front of Yuu, she said with a smirk:
"After trying it myself, it's more boring than I imagined. Totally pointless."
With her other hand doing nothing, Haruno casually showed him her phone.
At some point, she'd changed it. In their chat with no new messages, the name "Rent-a-Boyfriend Yuu-chan" appeared.
"Uh… you knew it was pointless but did it anyway? Was it that necessary to experiment?"
Yuu couldn't help but give her a disgusted look, rubbing his arm as goosebumps rose.
Yuu-chan? That's just gross!
Seeing his expression, Haruno smiled oddly—genuinely happy, as the system's reward notification proved.
"Mmm, keep it up~ Maybe before the rental ends, Onee-san can show you the adult world?"
"No thanks, I'd rather stay a clueless kid who knows nothing about the world."
Extending his hand, Yuu completely ignored her teasing words, just wanting his phone back.
Haruno seemed done playing too, obediently placing the phone in his hand. Then, whether intentionally or not, her finger pressed the HOME button.
Silver hair fluttered, an image of a girl leaning against a railing, staring blankly at the sea, appeared on the phone's home screen, visible to both.
Yuu quickly turned off the screen.
But that split second was enough for Haruno to see clearly.
"Such a cute girl." Haruno looked at him with interest.
"Your girlfriend? Just so you know, I don't want to be the third party."
"…My sister."
Yuu's expression didn't change, as if he didn't care much.
But his dark eyes stared sharply at Haruno, no longer carrying the casual demeanor from their earlier banter.
As if wary of something, a subtle, deep pressure radiated from him.
Yet Haruno seemed oblivious, continuing to ask in a casual, flirtatious tone:
"Siblings? You don't look alike at all. And your hair colors…"
"Sorry, that has nothing to do with you, does it?"
Cutting her off directly, Yuu suddenly smiled, his tone polite.
It was very similar to the smile Haruno had shown him earlier.
—Everyone has boundaries they don't want touched, like landmines that explode when triggered.
Haruno was like that, and Yuu was no exception.
Kasugano Sora was his landmine, and the person in front of him had touched it disrespectfully, as if plotting something. Naturally, Yuu wouldn't respond kindly.
"If there's nothing else, I'll head home. Be careful on your way."
Forget the system mission, forget the girlfriend role…
Right now, he couldn't be bothered with those things.
This was a girlfriend system, not a bootlicking system. Was he not allowed to get angry?
Whatever Haruno thought, whether the mission would fail outright, Yuu walked straight toward the station without looking back.
"…"
In front of the fast-food restaurant, Haruno watched his retreating figure, the annoying smile on her face slowly fading, replaced by a thoughtful look in her eyes.
After probing, conclusions had to be drawn.
"Well, he's probably safe enough… Plenty of strengths, but plenty of weaknesses too. As a short-term rent-a-boyfriend, I can have fun without worry…" she muttered, her soft, beautiful breath carrying a hint of coldness.
Her pre-booked taxi slowly pulled up in front of her. Haruno stopped her thoughts, waited for the driver to open the door, and stepped in.
"But he has a little sister too, huh…"
Suddenly recalling this, her expression melted like snow, and she couldn't help but laugh.
"Next time, we'll just talk about little sisters… Getting him to admit my Yukino is the number one sister in the world, then telling Yukino about it—that'll be so fun~"
Of course, the fact that she hired a boyfriend the same age as her sister had to be kept secret from everyone.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host has received a reward: 200 yen]
[Congratulations, Host has received a reward: Massage (Advanced Level), one-time use]
After walking a short distance, the system notification made Yuu pause, then he clicked his tongue:
"Even after that attitude, she still gives me rewards… Is she sick or a masochist?"
But for many people, masochism does seem like a disease.
"Whatever, no point thinking about that weird woman for now…"
Realizing pondering it was a waste of time, Yuu set it aside, his eyes gradually turning serious.
He didn't head to the station but turned midway, heading toward the nearest ATM.
Yes, he was about to do something very important—confirm whether the cash rewards from the system had actually been deposited into his account!
By his calculations, in the little over an hour since meeting Haruno and starting the mission, he had received a total from the system—