Chapter 1: Peculiar Choices in Love

"Haruhito?"

Tokyo, Shinjuku Ward, inside a convenience store.

Yoshimi Uehara looked at the tall, broad-shouldered high school boy before her with a peculiar expression.

The woman appeared to be in her early thirties, with slightly alluring features. Her long, dyed brown hair was braided and draped over her ample, heaving chest. She wore casual home clothes, her full and enticing hips accentuated by her jeans, and a green apron with "Uehara" printed in bold characters tied around her waist.

Despite her wholesome attire, she exuded an air of mature sensuality from head to toe.

"Is something wrong, Haruhito? Are you feeling unwell?" Mrs. Uehara’s gentle voice pulled Haruhito Harano back from his wandering thoughts.

"Hm?" Feeling the concern from the beautiful, mature Yoshimi Uehara, Haruhito snapped back to reality and quickly waved his hand to indicate he was fine.

"Good, that’s a relief. If there’s ever anything you need, remember to tell me," Yoshimi said kindly.

"Okay," Haruhito replied with a smile.

Watching her graceful figure disappear into the store, Haruhito finally let out a breath and turned his attention back to the virtual panel that had suddenly appeared before him.

[The kind lady cares about you very much—could it be she’s taken a liking to your 180-pound frame? In response to her concern, you decide to:]

[A. None of your business. If you have time to worry about me, why not think about improving the convenience store’s sales instead?]

[B. Noticing the shop is empty, you grin and rub your hands together as you approach Mrs. Uehara… (The Hero’s Path. Are you sure you don’t want to choose this route?)]

The system is calculating probabilities. Calculation complete:

In the current state, Mrs. Uehara has a 3% chance of initiating a relationship with you willingly, a 40% chance of passively accepting and then offering you room and board, and a 60% chance of passively accepting and then pretending nothing happened.

ps: It is recommended that, before taking action, the player closes the convenience store door and brings Mrs. Uehara to the secluded storage area; this will increase the chances of her enduring the encounter should she passively accept.

[C. Act weak and say softly, “I’ve been busy with my studies and part-time job lately, and I’m a bit tired. I hope you’ll forgive me, Mrs. Uehara.” (If you choose this, I’ll look down on you.)]

[This event has ended. The player did not make a choice. The event has disappeared...]

[Please read carefully: This game is a romance-assist simulator. No mandatory missions, no forced events, no interference with your life trajectory—a ‘three-no’ game. Every decision you make changes the outcome of events (if you hesitate, you may refuse to choose).]

[PS: There are many “Sincere Boys” out there—the choice is yours alone. The ultimate goal is to help you find your most suitable, perfect partner and give you a perfect life.]

[PS: Once a partner’s affection reaches the maximum and she confesses to you, if you accept, you’ll clear the game and the system will disappear. If you refuse, the game continues until you find your perfect partner.]

[PS: When an event occurs, you have one minute to make your decision. If you exceed the time limit, it will be considered as forfeiting the event, and it will disappear.]

...

[PS: Real-Life Romance Game activated. Player 001, welcome to your one and only game.]

Haruhito read the scrolling text on the virtual screen attentively. One sentence in particular caught his eye:

Accept the confession, clear the game, and the system vanishes. Doesn’t this mean that as long as he keeps refusing confessions, he could endlessly exploit the system and keep earning rewards?

Damn, Haruhito, you really are a genius!

As for that line about “becoming a Sincere Boy,” Haruhito had automatically ignored it. Everyone jokes about being the Sincere Boy; everyone secretly wants to be him. At the very least, he had his fun!

Rejecting confessions from beautiful girls?

Haruhito glanced at the mirror on the counter.

In the mirror was a rather plump, round face—average features, worlds apart from the dashing Tokyo heartthrobs who were confessed to by high school beauties, let alone rejecting them.

He had been in Japan for fifteen years now, and was still single.

It wasn’t for lack of trying, but no matter what he ate, he kept gaining weight. Back in middle school, he’d worked out for a long time, but instead of losing weight, he gained even more.

Now, though, Haruhito wasn’t fat, just solidly built.

When he moved up to high school, his workout time was swallowed up by studies as he worked hard to get into a prestigious Tokyo public high school.

His immediate issue wasn’t how to turn down confessions, but rather how to receive one in the first place.

Fortunately, his essential cheat for transmigrators had finally arrived—albeit sixteen years late, but it had come at last.

With this thought, Haruhito eagerly began to study the romance assist system.

The interface was simple, with only two tabs: [Panel] and [Characters].

With a thought, he opened the panel.

[Name: Haruhito Harano]

[Intelligence: 62 (above average)]

[Charm: 55 (a rather cute chubby guy)]

[Stamina: 43 (once at his peak, now in decline)]

[Skills: none]

[Partner Candidates: none]

[Money: 164,650 yen]

[Attribute Points: 5]

[Assist Points: 10]

His intelligence was just enough to get him into a top Tokyo high school; his average looks and sturdy build matched the stats well.

He then tried tapping the character panel.

The character page was empty, except for the name Yoshimi Uehara, glowing softly.

He focused, and opened it.

[Character: Yoshimi Uehara (formerly Yoshimi Seiji)]

[Age: 31]

[Intelligence: 43]

[Charm: 89]

[Figure: 90]

[Stamina: 56]

[Affection: 35 (Friend)] PS: Kind Mrs. Uehara’s initial affection for everyone is 30.

[Profile: Originally named Yoshimi Seiji, mature and alluring Mrs. Uehara. Married into the Uehara family at 18, widowed at 20, now runs the convenience store alone and takes care of her daughter, who is now in middle school. (Evaluation: If she becomes your partner, you’ll enjoy a brief period of comfort and security. Age is not a problem; the ripest apples are the sweetest.)]

[Current State: Worried about her daughter’s studies (frustrated), slightly concerned about part-timer Haruhito Harano.]

[Stage Rewards:]

Task 1: Reach 40 affection, reward: 10 attribute points. (Unlocks a special route.)

Task 2: Locked.

Task 3: Locked.

Task 4: Locked.

Final Reward: 1. One billion yen. 2. Two properties in Tokyo. 3. Master-level painting talent. (Choose one of three.)

[PS: Would you like to activate the assist system? Upon activation, you will randomly receive information about the character’s hobbies or weaknesses. Additional information requires points to unlock; the cost depends on the value of the information. Would you like to activate it?]

As Haruhito hesitated, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Haruhito, you can clock out now,” Yoshimi Uehara said kindly.

What?

Haruhito was startled, hurriedly closed the virtual panel, and wondered—am I being fired?

"Mrs. Uehara, have I done something wrong lately?" he asked tentatively. He was quite satisfied with this part-time job.

Business at the convenience store was rather slow, so the days were easy and quiet. He could admire his beautiful boss, get paid on time, and though it was a bit aimless, he enjoyed this peaceful routine.

"No, I just saw you looked tired today, so I wanted you to go home and rest early," Yoshimi replied with a gentle smile. "Don’t worry, you’ll get today’s pay as usual."

[Event triggered:]

[Mrs. Uehara truly is kind—not only letting you leave early, but not docking your pay either. Is it possible she’s taken a liking to you? In response, you say to Mrs. Uehara:]

[A. Who do you take me for? I could handle double the workload!]

[B. Since my shift’s over, would the lovely lady care to join me for dinner? And afterward, perhaps we could… (Success uncertain, but even if you fail, you’ll still have room and board for half a month—a decent outcome.)]

[C. Really, Mrs. Uehara? But there are still two hours left until the next shift. I’d feel bad leaving early. (Don’t disappoint me a second time, all right?)]

This system’s options are a little too bold, Haruhito thought, suppressing the urge to choose B, and went for C instead.

If he chose B without knowing her well, he might come off as a creep. Not only would he lose his job, but if the school found out, he might even be disciplined.

“Really, Mrs. Uehara? But there are still two hours until the next shift. I’d feel bad leaving early,” Haruhito said earnestly.

“Ding! Affection increased.”

Yoshimi Uehara pressed her rosy lips together and smiled.

“Of course. This is a reward for good boys.”