A character panel given by the System? While Haruki Kaito had seen similar things in novels before... Moriyama Shiori was a yandere? That didn't seem possible. After all, the impression she gave completely contradicted the yandere archetype.
Or perhaps, a yandere wouldn't casually reveal their true nature?
Regardless, Haruki's first impression of Moriyama Shiori was quite positive. As long as... she didn't stab him with a knife. After all, no one wanted to become a headless knight, right?
"Haruki-kun?"
Moriyama Shiori's voice brought Haruki, lost in thought, back to reality.
"Sorry, I spaced out a little."
"Hehe, it's okay. By the way, it seems we're in the same class. Shall we go to the classroom together?"
"Mm, let's go."
Afterward, Haruki Kaito and Moriyama Shiori headed to the classroom together. He thought their relationship might continue developing like this, but by that very night...
[You died.]
Staring at the three large characters before him, Haruki Kaito's current mood was indescribable.
That's right. He died. The specific reason was that at noon, a sweaty Haruki accepted a canned drink offered by a female classmate.
This action was seen clearly by Moriyama Shiori, who was also in the classroom. If it were just receiving a drink, it might not have been a big deal. The key was that afterward, he chatted and laughed with that classmate for quite a while.
Probably because of this, Moriyama Shiori's yandere mode was activated. That very afternoon, she proposed visiting Haruki's home.
Completely unaware of the danger, Haruki let Moriyama Shiori into his house. What happened later was just like what he'd seen in the TV drama earlier.
Holding a sharp fruit knife, uttering incomprehensible words, Haruki was stabbed to death by Moriyama Shiori. The scene was gruesomely bloody.
The world before his eyes grew hazy, his consciousness gradually fading. Only then did Haruki Kaito finally recognize the terror of a yandere.
However, the imagined scenario of ascending to heaven or descending to hell did not occur. When Haruki regained consciousness, he found himself back at home.
Cold sweat dripped down his back. The air conditioner blew cool air, making the entire room refreshingly cold.
The current time was noon on August 1st. Haruki Kaito had returned to one month before his death... No, perhaps it was the him who had traveled one month into the future who had returned to the present.
Though he hadn't quite figured out what happened, it was definitely related to the System.
So, calming his mind, Haruki focused his thoughts. Several lines of text immediately appeared before him.
[Simulation Ended]
[Simulation Duration: Eleven Hours]
[Rewards Obtained: Simulation Coin X1]
[Summary: Before your bond is strong enough, please avoid any actions that might displease the yandere.]
It wasn't a dream, nor a hallucination, but something that truly happened?
No, to be more precise, it was a simulation of what was about to happen.
Moriyama Shiori—this person existed in the real world and was about to become Haruki Kaito's classmate. She was a hidden yandere who, for some unknown reason, had set her sights on him.
To survive, or rather, to escape from the yandere, Haruki needed to use the simulator to run simulations. Before the first day of school arrived, he had to understand Moriyama Shiori as much as possible to avoid triggering the "axe ending."
But... how exactly did Moriyama Shiori come to target him? Haruki couldn't figure this out.
Clearly, in his memory, he had never met her before. So why did she act as if she knew him during their first encounter?
Thinking of this, Haruki began searching his memories for that terrifying yandere girl.
Soon, he found it. It was probably in early July, just after Haruki had graduated middle school and started his vacation.
One evening, right after a heavy rain. The road was covered in muddy stains, and combined with the sweltering heat, walking outside felt like being slowly steamed inside a scalding iron pot.
The rain hadn't completely stopped yet. Haruki, holding an umbrella, passed by a vending machine. Parched, he inserted coins to buy a bottle of water and偶然 noticed a figure crouching beside the machine.
It seemed to be a girl, looking only in her teens. She wore a thin dress, its white hem stained muddy by the filth. Since she had buried her head in her knees, her face was unclear.
Bruises covered her body. She had even lost one shoe. Her petite frame trembled slightly, as if she had recently been assaulted.
Seeing her state, Haruki felt pity. He bought a can of hot coffee from the vending machine and gently placed it by her feet. He also left his umbrella behind.
The girl looked up at Haruki, but by then, night had completely fallen. The street light was dim, and Haruki couldn't see her face clearly.
Haruki remembered this incident quite well. After all, he didn't do such good deeds often in his life. But as time passed, the memory gradually faded.
Moreover, since he hadn't seen her face clearly, he didn't immediately connect her with Moriyama Shiori.
In other words, that beautiful girl who stabbed him in the kidney with a fruit knife... was actually the passerby he had once helped?
They say good deeds bring good rewards. How did the plot take such a turn here?
Yandere are truly terrifying...
Letting out a helpless sigh, if Moriyama Shiori really was that girl he helped back then, then Haruki could only count himself unlucky.
Doing good deeds isn't a problem. But in some special circumstances, when you offer help to someone without understanding the full story, it can often backfire, bringing trouble upon yourself.
Haruki didn't understand this principle before. Now, he finally could.
"Only one simulation per day? This limitation really cuts off my path to survival."
One simulation per day meant that before school started, Haruki could run a maximum of sixteen simulations. He had already used one just now, leaving only fifteen.
Within these next fifteen simulations, he needed to find at least one route that would allow him to survive. No matter what, he had to escape from the yandere. That was his current goal.
"If all else fails, I can only have my uncle bring me over to his place."
Haruki's home was in Tokyo, while his uncle's family lived in Kyoto. If he had his uncle pick him up, perhaps he could escape from Moriyama Shiori.
But this was troublesome. It required transfer procedures. Although there was still time now, it would take at least a week.
During that week, Haruki could run seven simulations. As long as he was picked up by his uncle in one simulation, he could find out if this method was viable.
If it worked, he could do the same in reality. But if it didn't, he might as well stay.
So, the result would have to wait until tomorrow. No need to rush for now.
...