I looked at myself in the mirror—or rather, in the reflection of the foggy window—and nodded half-satisfied. A new name? Jun Mizushino. Not too special, but at least it sounded mysterious enough to use as a cool identity.
Then, for some reason, that big boar appeared again. Not something unusual in this world, but strange because lately it acted like a personal stalker that had gotten way too comfortable. While I sat by the riverbank, calmly fishing, the creature approached, sniffing around, even taking sips of water right next to my foot. Completely fearless. Tame, maybe? Or just stupid? I didn't know.
Rubbing my chin, I murmured quietly, "For some reason, life is full of confusing things."
But life rarely gives long breaks for reflection. A system notification appeared, soft blue yet firm, greeting me with its usual cold tone.
[Quest – Investigate the suspicious laboratory in Osaka]
I stared at the screen, then at the boar that seemed to stare back. "Damn… that's really far."
The thought alone made my back ache a little. Osaka from where I was now? Nearly 500 kilometers. Clearly this wasn't just a casual afternoon stroll. But curiosity bubbled up, because I felt—somehow—that this was still connected to the ongoing plot, even if it had nothing to do with the original canon.
I turned my chair, looking at the blue window reflecting the moonlight. "Alright… let's check out this mysterious laboratory. If this turns out to be a trap, at least I can say: 'I was forced to be curious.'"
The system then provided the full address. A tiny dot on the map, yet for some reason the digital aura of the coordinates made my curiosity rise slightly.
I took a deep breath, staring at the boar that somehow looked like an expedition partner. "Okay, friend… let's investigate. Just don't let that lab have snacks for you too."
The boar only lifted its snout, took another sip of water, and looked at me as if saying: "Relax, weird human."
I gave a crooked smile. Life really did sometimes feel like a cursed experiment—but hey, if there's a boar acting as a living witness, at least I wasn't too lonely.
...
It was annoying, really. Osaka? Far. Very far. My interest existed purely because of the system quest, not because of curiosity—though obviously, that curiosity appeared automatically like a biological alarm. I was trying to survive, not create world-level chaos. But… sometimes the two were hard to separate.
Now I stood in the middle of a crowded station. People coming and going everywhere, but me? I… didn't have money. Yeah, damn. Too busy training in murim, too absorbed in Qi experiments, until I forgot that this world still required simple things: train tickets, ID cards, wallets filled with money.
I used to be homeless. Handling a new identity wasn't as simple as opening a door. A new identity meant documents, forms, addresses, signatures, proof… all the things normal humans take for granted, but for me? It was like facing a sneaky administrative mini-boss, complete with debuffs like "illegible ink" and a status effect called "acute stress."
Lowering my head, I looked at my phone and took a deep breath. "System… help me…"
The blue screen lit up, that familiar notification appearing as if smiling coldly at me: "I know you're weak, but do it first, then I'll help."
[Beginning document printing…]
Not long after, a document fell into my hand. I bent over, hiding it from the people passing by. I opened the sheet slowly, reading every detail: name, date of birth, address, identification number—complete. Jun Mizushino, the official version for the modern world. 'At least one problem is solved… but life won't stop here.'
The next problem awaited: money.
[You can convert tower coins into Yen.]
"Yes?"
[Convert 50 Coins into 5,000 Yen?]
I pressed Yes and a bundle of money appeared in my hand. 'Ugh… I underestimated my own system,' I thought.
...
I sat in the Shinkansen seat, watching the night fog blur past the window. Bento in hand, candy in pocket, head full of questions: "What will happen at that Osaka laboratory?"
While chewing onigiri, I began to hear a conversation from the seats behind me. Two men and a girl, young, but their aura clearly wasn't human. Their energy was different—unnatural, even for me, who was used to sensing Qi. This was something… unique.
"Tobio, you didn't restock your bar supplies!?" the girl's voice sounded sharp but light, like scolding a careless roommate.
I raised an eyebrow.
"'Well… Azazel handles that, you know that old man is the one guarding the bar!'" Tobio, a young man with a somewhat dark yet cheerful aura, replied casually.
"Let me remind you, that old man didn't restock them—he finished your drinks. You know what happened last time," another man added, tone mixed with seriousness and humor.
"That…"
The silver-haired girl let out a long sigh, expression somewhere between annoyed and amused, as if the world revolved around trivial but still important problems.
"Kouki is right, you shouldn't have been careless the last time we went out for a mission," she continued, her tone slightly scolding but still playful.
I suppressed a small smile. 'Youth, huh… while I'm busy training and experimenting, they're busy with simple drama like this.'
"Um, Sae, Kouki, did you forget he's our boss too?" Tobio added, his tone joking but still acknowledging the fact.
I took a sip of warm tea, exhaling slowly. 'Wait a second… Tobio? Is he Tobio Ikuse!?'
[Correct… behind you are three characters from the Slash/Dog series.]
'You've gotta be kidding me….'
"Anyway, Osaka?" Kouki asked curiously. "What's going on with that place!?"
"Azazel said to investigate a laboratory, he mentioned there were traces of a Sacred Gear there, like someone was conducting experiments, and since we don't know what kind of Sacred Gear it is, it might cause damage to the civilians near the lab," Tobio explained.
"But… isn't Azazel just trying to say that if you find a Sacred Gear, give it to him?" Sae said.
"Knowing that fallen angel's personality, it's not surprising…" Kouki remarked.
Then I heard them from behind, and said internally:
'What the hell!? They're talking about missions in a place like this!?'
[Note: they're using a sound suppressor on a device hanging from the human named Sae Toujou's bag]
'Hee….'
But it seemed my quest from the system still had ties to the canon story. If I remembered correctly, the system said to fix the universe's fate line? Are all linked quests connected?