Chapter 1: The Flirtatious Older Sister
Satoru was feeling a bit frustrated at the moment.
He was a second-year student at Raizen High School in Tenguu City, 17 years old this year.
At the same time, he was also a transmigrator.
Two years ago, he had crossed over into this world filled with anime characters. As a hardcore otaku, he was naturally thrilled, especially since he had awakened an incredible cheat ability.
[Congratulations on awakening the Protagonist Template System. Whenever you encounter anime characters, you will obtain the protagonist template from that anime. We hope you enjoy your time in this world.]
It was just like those overpowered male protagonists in stories. He thought he would quickly become the strongest in the world or something...
But that was impossible. All the abilities he awakened were related to daily life.
Cooking, writing, painting, shogi—none of them had anything to do with combat.
Although he had already earned quite a bit of money using these abilities and had even bought a house while still in high school, he still felt somewhat helpless.
Of course, living a comfortable life and being able to flirt with cute 2D girls wasn't something to complain about.
However, there was one thing currently bothering him...
"Nia, are you playing video games again? Take a break, will you?"
Looking at the silver-haired girl sitting cross-legged in front of the screen not far away, Satoru held his forehead and sighed in frustration.
"Ugh, I died! It's all your fault!"
Unfortunately, the silver-haired girl, dressed only in a tank top and a short skirt, didn't listen to him. Instead, she angrily threw her controller onto the cushion in front of her.
Then she stood up and stomped on the cushion with her black thigh-high stockings, looking absolutely furious.
"Damn it! Why am I so useless?! Stupid! Trash! Just die already!"
It had to be said, the girl named "Nia" didn't have much strength. Despite her anger, the controller she was stepping on barely budged.
In fact, with her pretty face and slightly risqué outfit, the scene carried a strange allure—at least enough to make Satoru unable to look away...
Well, not really.
Right now, he was just massaging his temples in exasperation.
Ah, why did he have to fall for such a hopeless otaku girl? Was it just because she was a "Spirit"?
Wait, no—whether she was a "Spirit" or not was still up for debate. After all, he had never seen her use any Spirit abilities.
Yes, Spirit abilities.
Anyone familiar with Date A Live would probably recognize who she was.
Nia Honjo, from Date A Live, the Spirit who possessed the "Omniscient" tome Rasiel!
She was also his classmate and girlfriend—they had been dating for over half a year.
About two years ago, when he first transmigrated here, his identity was set as a transfer student from China who had already enrolled.
The first anime character he met was Nia!
As a result, he immediately obtained the abilities of Itsuka Shido—specifically, the power to absorb a Spirit's abilities through kissing.
...But unfortunately, although "Date A Live" has plenty of battle scenes and the combat power isn't weak, the protagonist has never actually encountered a Spirit!
And judging by this timeline, even Nia Honjo, the "old aunt" of the group, is still in school. It's unclear whether she's even become a Spirit yet, let alone the others—many of them probably haven't even been born at this point!
"Alright, what's the point of getting angry at a game?"
But for now, Satoru couldn't be bothered to dwell on those thoughts. Instead, he chuckled and patted her shoulder, trying to console her.
The reason he'd chosen her as his girlfriend wasn't to "conquer" her and gain her abilities.
...Well, it wasn't entirely unrelated—after all, Nia's abilities were quite formidable.
But Satoru was a content person by nature. As a transmigrator already privy to all sorts of chaotic knowledge, life would have been too boring otherwise. He felt his current life was quite fulfilling as it was.
The real reason he'd picked her as his girlfriend was because she was an otaku, just like him—kindred spirits.
And also...
"But this thing is seriously infuriating! I even used the precious time I managed to free up from my deadline for this, and it was all for nothing. Young man, my heart feels so empty now—come fill it up for me~"
She could be a bit of a tease sometimes.
Watching the youthful-looking girl before him, who was now pressing her alluring face against his chest and whispering into his ear, Satoru couldn't help but gulp before replying sternly.
"You're only a few months older than me, and this is just because you've been staying up too late. Go get some rest."
"Fine, make me sleep so you can go meet your little sweethearts, huh~"
"Ahem, what sweethearts? I told you, they're just friends. Speaking of which, are you hungry? I can make something for you."
Naturally, Satoru outright denied her baseless accusations and smoothly changed the subject.
"Chicken soup~ I need to replenish my energy~"
"Alright, alright, I'll make it right away."
With that, Satoru immediately stood up and walked out, heading to the next room over...
Which was his own place, where he began preparing the meal.
Well, they were a couple—what was wrong with living next door to each other? Besides, they were also "colleagues," since he did freelance illustration work on the side.
"That playboy ran away~ Honestly, what's there to be guilty about? But... still nothing, huh."
What Satoru didn't know was that after he left the room, Nia's playful smirk froze.
She raised her slender right hand and spread her fingers.
Suddenly, a random flash of holy light appeared—and a black book materialized out of nowhere!
The pages flipped on their own, landing on a particular page, but it was completely blank. Nia frowned in frustration.
"Twelve years have passed, and this is the first time I've met someone like this. He really is special. If only he were a Spirit, then we could..."