"???"
Staring at the mission message, Yuu's face was filled with question marks.
(Why did the mission suddenly change? This is a Boyfriend System, not some generic Strategy or Romance System, right?)
(What does "showcase your charm" even mean? And "fulfill her desires"?)
Though what he'd just done earlier kinda fit the line about "filling the emptiness in her heart"…
Still, something felt off!
"Wah, is this really something that needs so much thinking?" Seeing him frozen with a strange expression, Masuzu frowned slightly, not understanding his hesitation. "A beautiful girl like me personally making such a request—don't you just need to use the lower half of your body to answer?"
"Or… is Tenkuji-kun's lower half not even—"
"Whether it can or can't, no lower half is capable of thinking." Pushing system issues aside for now, Yuu stared at her blankly. "It seems you've been holding back at school for a long time. Your usual obedient, quiet demeanor is just an act, isn't it? Is this crude, vulgar version of you your true self?"
"That's not certain. What if this version of me is also just another mask?" Masuzu giggled cheerfully, gently poking his chest—only to be surprised by how firm it felt. "Fake and real, illusion and truth—that's the charm of women."
"...Maybe." Suddenly remembering someone, Yuu swallowed his rebuttal, brushed her finger away, and sighed. "As for the answer, I'm sure you already know. Of course, I refuse."
"Yeah, I knew you wouldn't be that easy to conquer." Masuzu didn't seem bothered. She flicked her soft, shimmering silver hair. "Even asking you to walk me home after school, you probably wouldn't agree, and you'd just tell me to find someone else—that's exactly what makes you different from other guys."
"Why do you think that?"
Yuu was genuinely curious. How did this girl know him? Why did she seem to know so much about him?
Masuzu smiled.
"I did a lot of secret investigation, you know? The files about you at my house might be this tall~"
She raised her pale white hand, pointing level with her head, wearing a slightly proud expression.
Yuu shuddered. "That's way too much! Are you a professional stalker?"
"By the way, the scanned files stored in the cloud are probably around 1TB. I've already applied for a world record."
"1TB... This is so excessive it leaves people speechless."
"You too—you're not like you appear on the surface. You're actually quite sharp with criticism." Masuzu smiled and nodded, pleased by something Yuu couldn't understand. "Enough joking. Let's get back to the main topic."
"Tenkuji-kun, the question you most want to ask is probably why I want you to be my fake boyfriend, right?"
"You could say that. But no matter your reason, I won't agree to be your shield."
Yuu glanced at the system. The mission panel hadn't changed due to his refusal, nor had it exploded his heart to rewind time.
Sure, earlier this morning he'd said he'd approach the mission from a love-slave perspective and enjoy the relationship without regrets… But that didn't mean he had to blindly obey his target, do whatever the other party said, and become a spineless pushover just to complete the mission.
After all, under normal circumstances, when an unfamiliar girl asks someone to be her fake boyfriend—to protect her from admirers and endure gossip together—no one with their eyes functioning would agree.
(Better someone else suffers than me. Why should I get dragged into trouble and seek out hardship?)
Even to complete the mission, the current Yuu would find a way he could accept—not like before, when he had to become a rented boyfriend or be forced into a virtual couple because of some game…
Anyway, the system only cared about results. The process was up to his own choices.
"Don't be so sure?"
Smiling meaningfully, Masuzu placed her hands behind her back and slowly walked along the edge of the small grove.
"First of all, I once heard you say—'The rumors aren't entirely wrong. At least in terms of charm, you really can't compare to that transfer student with the surname Natsukawa.'"
Like reciting anime dialogue, she delivered it with dramatic flair, her ocean-blue eyes gleaming with amusement.
Yuu immediately reacted. "That's what I said to Yukinoshita in the Service Club after school started… Were you eavesdropping from outside?"
"Your manners are terrible. I just happened to pass by, and you two were speaking too loudly. I would never do something so low."
After defensively protesting, Masuzu shrugged. "Since then, I've been paying very close attention to you~ After all, someone who can treat Yukinoshita-san so rudely, mocking her without mercy… surely must have given up on love, right?"
Yuu stared blankly. "That's an utterly illogical assessment..."
"My Masuzu-style assessment. My radar is extremely accurate."
Masuzu tapped her temple with a finger, her eyes slowly narrowing as if a flash of wisdom passed through them. "Observation, recognition, and subsequent testing—each step only strengthened my conviction: Tenkuji Yuu is uninterested in love."
"Oh? Why so?"
Yuu raised an eyebrow, his expression gradually turning serious. He began to see her in a new light.
Could this girl actually have something going for her?
Under his gaze, Masuzu declared firmly: "Even though there's a big-chested girl constantly following him, practically throwing herself at him like meat offered to a starving dog, he remains unmoved. Aside from occasionally peeking at what's beneath the buttons with a perverted gaze, he shows no intention of getting close—always maintaining proper distance like a true gentleman!"
"His resistance to love-slave influence is incredibly strong. His mind must be exceptionally firm—strong enough to match my own! This is the first reason I say only you can do it."
"..."
Yuu's cheek twitched. He pressed his temple, feeling a slight headache. "I've never looked at anyone with a perverted gaze, and please don't call my friend a big-chested girl."
Besides, this girl's brain was clearly messed up—and so was his for even reconsidering his opinion of her.
(...Sora, this world really is full of strange people.)
As if not hearing his explanation, Masuzu hugged herself and sighed. "Honestly, at first I thought you were gay. You're gentler toward handsome guys than toward beautiful girls. Turns out, there are people like that in this world."
"I'm leaving."
Yuu turned and walked away with a blank face.
Seeing he wasn't bluffing, Masuzu, unfazed by her own surprise, immediately delivered her pre-rehearsed line:
"Even though factors like becoming popular at the fair, being gossiped about with a beautiful schoolmate who supports our relationship, and rejecting other admirers are in my favor… before making a decision, what I consider most isn't the benefits—but the risks."
"What if I'm rejected? What if you spread it around? If I'm going to speak, I need to ensure a perfect outcome..."
Yuu turned back and saw her pulling out her phone. Like a detective placing evidence on the table, Masuzu proudly showed her screen to the criminal before her.
Then, she smiled sweetly, as if she'd already won the battle.
"If you don't want everyone to know your other identity, please accept my request—Rental Boyfriend."
"..."
Honestly, Yuu had completely forgotten.
He did have that identity as a rental boyfriend.
After the first mission ended, he'd never opened that rental agency website again, nor received any notifications telling him to go on dates or firing him for inactivity.
Now that he thought about it, maybe the system had been handling everything to prevent interference with his missions—but why hadn't it just deleted the identity instead of leaving it on the site? Yuu didn't understand.
(Was the trap to stab me in the back planted long ago?)
(One identity usable for two missions? This system really loves cutting corners.)
Of course, though he asked inwardly, the system gave no meaningful reply. Yuu could only record this debt in his heart and face the reality before him.
What Masuzu showed him wasn't the webpage itself, but a screenshot.
"I've copied all the data there, and set it to automatically distribute worldwide the moment my heart stops beating."
Her tone was serious, but her expression was slightly amused. Masuzu continued casually: "If you keep refusing me, I might become so heartbroken that my heart stops? At that moment, the entire school will know you've been doing side work like this—your friends' stares, your teachers' scolding, your peers' misunderstanding..."
"Even if you're not expelled, you probably won't be able to stay in this school. That's called social death! Wow, terrifying~ Can't even imagine."
Not like a rose.
It was a sharp, cruel smile—like a poisoned needle. She openly revealed her worst side.
With exaggerated acting and vivid words, Masuzu, to achieve her goal, didn't hesitate to use the most shocking and disgusting methods to strangle him.
The opponent before him wasn't easy to deal with. If persuasion failed, she'd resort to threats—because she only had this one card, she'd play it with all her strength. Better to go overboard than fail completely.
After a moment's thought, Yuu had basically guessed her plan. He sneered inwardly.
(...Equally cunning, but Natsukawa Masuzu is far more childish and naive than Yukinoshita Haruno.)
(If comparing strength, maybe it's like the difference between Agumon and WarGreymon?)
(In a quiet little grove, threatening a strong young man with an unshareable secret—just so he'd become her fake boyfriend… Tsk tsk, who gave her the courage to do something like this?)
"So, threatening me with this—is your guarantee that I'll become your shield?"
After a moment of silence, Yuu shifted his gaze, frowning as he stared at her.
Like he was looking at a fool.
Unaware of his thoughts, Masuzu stuck to her script, smiling brightly. "Threatening sounds too harsh. This is a request. I'm inviting you to be my accomplice—a sinful bond of shared secrets, where neither can betray the other as long as the contract holds..."
Slipping her phone back into her pocket, she stepped in front of Yuu and suddenly rose onto her toes, bringing her beautiful face close.
Her long, thick lashes framed cold, sharp blue eyes—deep as a whirlpool, trying to pull him in. Her warm breath and the fresh scent of her hair intertwined, like a witch's temptation.
She spoke softly, her moist, soft lips parting slightly:
"A relationship like this… don't you find it intriguing?"
"After all, you don't intend to date anyone either. Just help me a little. Later, if you peek under skirts, I can pretend not to see."
"—So, what's your answer?"
At such close range, where any slight movement forward would result in a kiss.
Masuzu smiled, but her eyes were empty—no trace of doubt.
Yuu didn't smile, nor was he swayed by the girl's softness and scent. He simply sighed, as if just realizing something.
His breath brushed against Masuzu's lips, causing her to unconsciously pout, her brows slightly furrowing.
"Indeed, if others found out I worked as a rental boyfriend, my school life would be over, wouldn't it?"
Ignoring system interference or the possibility of someone else discovering the rental boyfriend secret, perhaps this would be the outcome.
As he spoke, Yuu also stepped back from Masuzu. "Though your freeloading behavior is utterly shameful—and if genders were reversed, this would be a scene from a porn comic—when I think about it, being the boyfriend of a beautiful girl like you isn't actually hard to accept..."
"Not only would I look cool in front of others, but I could also enjoy the feeling of being chased by a girl." As if finally giving in, Yuu shrugged resignedly, seeming to look forward to such developments, the corner of his lips slightly relaxing.
Seeing this, Masuzu's eyes sparkled. "See? Then… Wait!"
Before she could finish, she seemed to realize something. Her pupils suddenly shrank, she stepped back in shock, staring at him in disbelief.
"This plot, this tone, this feeling—could it be?!"
Blue eyes, silver hair.
Though she was an elegant, seductive girl, she unconsciously raised both hands and crossed them behind her head—striking a strange yet charismatic pose.
"Yuu, your next line is!"
The moment she said it, Yuu's shadow seemed to deepen slightly. He lifted his face slightly, speaking in a flat, indifferent tone.
As if their hearts had synchronized, their voices suddenly merged:
"But, I refuse!"
The words sent birds flying from the trees. Autumn wind carried the coolness of grass.
Among the dappled shadows, the two stared at each other, the atmosphere slowly falling silent.
"..."
"..."
"...Aren't you going to finish the next line? The thing I love most, Yuu, is..."
Yuu shook his head, staring at Masuzu's JoJo-like pose with a strange look.
"It feels kinda embarrassing. Let's just drop it."
As if deeply provoked, Masuzu widened her eyes in anger, pointing at him and shrieking: "You only half-played a JoJo joke, Yuu, you bastard!"
"...This is the first time I've been called a bastard for not finishing a joke."
Yuu rolled his eyes silently, said nothing more, and turned to leave the small grove.