Reiji Kamizawa was supposed to be the sun.
That's what the game always portrayed him as—bright, warm, and effortlessly magnetic. Every girl in Love Hearts Academy revolved around him like planets to a star. That was how the code wrote it. That was how the world worked.
Until now.
I watched him from the library window as he awkwardly tried to talk to Kaori Minase—the "cold beauty" route. His voice was chipper, the usual shallow confidence laced into every word, but Kaori didn't even glance at him.
Instead, she just walked past without a word.
No blush.
No pause.
No event trigger.
It was like the scene never existed.
Reiji stood there, confused, like someone expecting applause after a joke that no one laughed at.
Good.
The system was breaking. And I was the glitch in its code.
But while Reiji fumbled, I was setting my eyes on a much more difficult challenge.
The next heroine: Mikasa Kurono.
Mikasa wasn't like the others.
She wasn't the girl next door, or the tsundere, or the emotional artist. She was the Queen. The undisputed top of the academy's hierarchy. Class rep, student council vice-president, undefeated in fencing, daughter of a corporate dynasty. Always perfect, always in control.
Her route in the game? Brutal.
Cold rejections. Social humiliation. Endless grinding for affection points. You could follow every correct dialogue option and still get the "bad end" if your reputation stat wasn't maxed out.
She didn't fall easily.
Which was exactly why I wanted her next.
I found her in the school garden. Alone, seated beneath the shade of the tall sakura tree, calmly reading a book—The Prince by Machiavelli. Fitting.
She was dressed impeccably in her dark, custom-tailored blazer. Hair tied back in a sleek ponytail, not a strand out of place. Legs crossed, posture perfect.
I approached carefully.
Her eyes flicked to me before I even spoke.
"What do you want?"
No warmth. No invitation.
I sat on the bench beside her without asking. "Just fresh air. And good company."
She looked at me sideways, lips curving slightly. Not a smile—something sharper. "Then I suggest you find someone else."
I smirked. "You always this friendly?"
"You're not worth the effort to be unfriendly to," she said, returning to her book. "You're just the librarian."
The words stung. Not because they were cruel—but because they were true. In the original world, I was just an NPC.
Background noise.
I leaned back against the bench, unfazed. "You like reading Machiavelli?"
"He was honest. A rare trait in a man."
"And you believe manipulation is necessary for power?"
"I believe power exposes who people truly are." She shut her book with a soft thud. "Which is why I don't waste time pretending to be nice to nobodies."
Oof.
Still, I didn't flinch. "And yet you're still talking to me."
Her eyes narrowed. "Curiosity. Like watching a fly try to crawl up the edge of a wine glass."
I laughed. "What if the fly flies away instead?"
"Then I hope it lands in something poisonous."
This woman.
Yeah—this wasn't going to be a two-conversation seduction.
I tried again the next day.
This time I brought a book—Antigone. Figured a girl like her would appreciate tragic nobility. I found her in the council room, surrounded by paperwork and silence.
"You know," I said as I walked in, "you really should delegate."
She glanced up from a stack of budget sheets. "And let the incompetent handle things? I'd rather not."
"Even tyrants take breaks."
She frowned. "Comparing me to Creon? Charming."
"I was thinking more Antigone. Stubborn, brave, willing to bury the dead even if the law says otherwise."
She paused.
That got her attention.
I held out the book. "Borrow it. Might surprise you."
She didn't take it.
Just stared at me.
Then, finally, she said, "You think reading a Greek tragedy makes you interesting?"
"No," I replied calmly. "But understanding you does."
That did something.
I saw the crack. The flicker. Her fingers twitched as if to take the book—then stopped.
"You're persistent," she muttered.
"You're worth the effort."
[New Flag Initiated: Uncooperative Heroine Detected]
[Success Rate: Low. Personality Resistance: High]
[Route Type: Ice Queen / Political Power]
Later that day, I returned to the library and opened the system log. Code strings flew past my vision—numbers, route maps, flags. Mikasa's affinity was frozen. Flat zero. But I'd registered.
Even if she didn't want to admit it.
The glitch had started.
And she'd felt it.
Day Three.
I tried to greet her again. She didn't speak.
Just placed Antigone back on my desk and walked away.
Inside was a note, written in neat, controlled handwriting:
*"You're playing a dangerous game.
M.K."*
I smiled.
Oh yes.
This was going to be fun.
That night, a new prompt appeared in my interface:
[SYSTEM CONFLICT: Reiji Assigned to Heroine "Mikasa Kurono"]
[Conflict Detected: Dual Pursuit in Progress]
[Priority Recalibration: REIJI ROUTE LOCKED – FAILURE LIKELY]
Reiji was trying to pursue her now. I could imagine him with flowers and a forced smile, trying to "trigger" the elegant fencing scene.
I almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.