I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Tenkuji Yuu isn't that naive.

Although he couldn't guess what had happened, he roughly understood from the system's strange attitude and sudden change in course of action that the disadvantages of agreeing would definitely outweigh the advantages.

"Then we might as well go and complete the fifth mission naked."

Tenkuji Yu scoffed dismissively, glancing at the unanswered doorbell with a questioning look.

"So what if the difficulty has increased? It's still better than the final trial where I know absolutely nothing. I'm most afraid of dangerous things like that."

system:"……"

"However, considering that I won't give you any energy, you'll make me outwit my mother-in-law beforehand. I also have to deal with my memories and feelings, so I don't have the extra energy to win over my mother-in-law..."

As if teasing the system, Sky Temple slowly drew out the long tone.

The doorbell went unanswered, so he took out his phone again to call Yukino—he didn't call her right away because he was afraid she would reject the call if she saw it, so he figured it would be more sincere to come to her door in person, and he wasn't afraid she would completely cut off contact with him to avoid him.

However, it turned out that he had overthought things; Yukino had no intention of hiding from him at all.

"Tenkuji-kun?"

The call was answered quickly, and although the tone was somewhat complicated, the person was more composed than expected.

Tenkuji Yu smiled warmly and said in a very friendly manner, "It's been a long time. I've come to see you again."

"..."

She remained silent for a long time, and finally all her unspoken words turned into a helpless sigh.

"I'm at the supermarket, I'll be right back."

“I also called Xia Chuan, we…”

Her soft breathing stopped abruptly, and she hung up the phone.

"At least let me finish what I have to say..."

Helplessly putting down his phone, Yuu Tenkuji couldn't help but smile bitterly, then vented all his anger on the system.

"You stupid system, if you want me to agree to do that final trial mission, you'd better tell me all the pros and cons, the specific details, and the things that will be affected. Otherwise, I'd rather give myself extra effort!"

System: "...Only by choosing to accept can you obtain information about the final trial."

“Then you go into hibernation, I’ll do my best,” Yuu Tenkuji replied without hesitation.

There are always systems that believe that the host will become its tool and obey its every command.

But for Yuu Tenkuji, although he was occasionally betrayed and targeted by this damn system, he never and would never force himself to do things he didn't want to do just because the system required him to.

He had no right or ability to interfere with the system's settings, tasks, rewards, and punishments.

After all, having accepted the benefits from the system, he couldn't very well ask it to eliminate the downsides—there's no such thing as a free lunch, and he wouldn't dare accept a pie falling from the sky.

However, in contrast, Yuu Tenkuji's will will not be distorted by the system. If she doesn't want to do something, she simply doesn't want to do it, and she doesn't care if it causes her unnecessary trouble.

Just like when she voluntarily requested to have her memories taken back, just like when she refused to let Yui Yuigahama become a mission target—

In Yuu Tenkuji's mind, from the beginning until now, this damn system has always been his tool, a super ATM that gives him all sorts of rewards.

So this time, he did it decisively and freely, without worrying at all about whether the system would make things difficult for him.

So what if the difficulty has increased? It's not like he had it easy the first four times... Rather, Tenkuji Yu is actually quite looking forward to what tricks the mission system will play on him in the fifth mission, to prevent him from recovering everyone's memories and emotions and creating a happy future that no one will regret.

After a few seconds of silence, the system unexpectedly emitted a calm sound:

"Confirm your refusal of the final trial mission?"

“OK, you should go to sleep.” Tenkuji Yu smiled confidently, his gaze meeting that of the silver-haired girl who was running out of the elevator. He smiled and waved to her.

"Whether it's my girlfriend or my mother-in-law, I'll conquer them all and show them to you after you wake up!"

"Host has refused the final trial mission."

Hearing this, Yuu Tenkuji finally felt a little relieved. She turned around as if she had something in mind, and saw Yukino Yukinoshita looking at her from the street corner with a subtle expression and dragging steps, as if she really didn't want to face her.

Before approaching the two girls, he casually asked, "When does the fifth mission start? What exactly do we need to do? You can tell me that now, right?"

System response:

"Host has accepted the mission. Mission details have been updated."

"The fifth mission has begun."

"Its name is the Final Trial Mission."

Yuu Tenkuji: "The most... um???"

Chapter Twenty-Three: Calm Down, Both of You, Let Me Explain First.

Are you putting it here?

So all that he just told me was just a ploy to force me to do this final trial mission no matter what?

Her eyes widened in disbelief, but more than anger, Yuu Tenkuji was filled with curiosity and confusion.

"Damn system, you weren't this cunning before. Should I say your trap-setting techniques have improved or something...? Is this a feature that evolved after the fourth mission?"

After each task is completed, the system will evolve or add some new features.

For example, after the first mission, the text prompts evolved into voice prompts; later, the electronic voice was optimized, changing the original cold and inorganic prompts into a gentle female voice dubbed by professional voice actors, and even a chibi version of Hatsune Miku's avatar appeared in the 'World'.

These are all dispensable. The most important thing is that the system is indeed becoming more intelligent and human-like every day. Although the rewards are given without reservation and the system never lies about tasks, it is increasingly playing word games with him, betraying him in unexpected ways, and consciously choosing not to answer questions that would give him away.

Thinking about it this way, the system's response seems rather familiar, much like that of a certain extremely cunning and shameless individual...

"No way, you bastard, you didn't learn this from me, did you?"

Tenkuji Yu suddenly realized this.

So it's not that the system is inherently evil, but rather that, through living with itself day and night, just like a fledgling bird imitating its parents' flight posture, it gradually learns its own strengths and then uses them in turn.

My family is overjoyed with their filial piety.

"It can't be like that." The system didn't answer, and Tenkuji Yuu immediately dismissed the guess. "When it comes to being disgusting, I'm way behind this damn system. How come it's me who's copying it, not the other way around?"

If it were me, unless I had planned to use a calculated strategy against the host from the very beginning, I wouldn't have used such a crude method to seduce the other party.

In other words, as the mission was gradually completed, the system's intelligence also gradually evolved, autonomously growing into its current sinister form.

As the two girls drew closer, he temporarily put aside the matter of the system, looked at Yukino Yukinoshita, and gestured with his finger to the reception sofa in the apartment lobby, indicating that she should come over there to talk.

Yukino Yukinoshita sighed silently again, but her eyes showed no sign of rejection.

Tenkuji Yuu turned his gaze back to Natsukawa Masuzu, who was in the hall preparing to open the door for him. Just as he was about to say something, his eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of Yukino Yukinoshita behind him.

A voluptuous woman is running wildly toward us.

Tenkuji Yu's eyes locked onto the pair of lively rabbits almost instantly, his pupils suddenly contracting in horror.

As she ran, she swayed violently, and even with her coat cushioning the impact, the front of her coat was still pulled into various arcs of waves, creating a visually striking effect—no man could possibly ignore such a sight, even on a subconscious level.

Almost the instant his expression froze, Yukino Yukinoshita turned around in confusion, following his gaze.

And so, the turbulent scene, like a raging storm, was reflected in the suddenly contracted dark blue pupils.

"Varied--!"

As if struck by lightning, Yukino Yukinoshita gasped and staggered back two steps, letting the other person pass by her.

Then she abruptly turned around, like a girlfriend whose boyfriend is holding her hand while shopping and dares to whistle at the shapely back of a beautiful woman, her gaze icy and fierce as she stared at Tenkuji Yu.

Then, seeing his rapidly changing look of surprise, she snapped out of her anger and quickly realized something was wrong.

"Wait, who is that person...?"

Long black hair peeking out from under the hat, black stockings under the knee-length skirt, and a figure that was too mature for a high school student.

Even without looking at her chest, Yukino Yukinoshita could recognize her just by looking at her face. The person running towards her crush was none other than the third-year "literary witch," Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had already been admitted to the Waseda University Faculty of Literature.

Come to think of it, we both have long, straight black hair, we're both number one in our grade, and we're both considered campus goddesses by others, so why does this senior's chest seem to be more than a year bigger than mine...?

No, that's not the point.

Why is my senior here?

Does she also live in this apartment building? Is she a new resident like Natsukawa?

And why are you running so fast? Could it be that you have something urgent to attend to and want to get upstairs quickly...?

Then why did she not even glance at the gate and rush straight towards Tenkuji-kun?

A series of questions flashed through her mind. Yukino Yukinoshita was a beat slow to react and instinctively reached out to stop the other person.

Also standing in the same spot was Natsukawa Masaki, who was blocked by the glass door of the apartment.

From her angle, she couldn't see what was happening. She only knew that someone was running towards her while waving an obscene object, and a question had just popped into her mind.

The next moment, the black-haired girl dribbled the ball and bumped into Tenkuji Yu. Like a long-distance couple finally seeing each other, they were so excited that they both sat down on the ground.

In front of the apartment building, which was monitored by surveillance cameras, they stood there oblivious to their surroundings, their hair intertwined and their bodies tightly entwined.

Watching this scene unfold before their eyes, both Yukino Yukinoshita and Masuzu Natsukawa stared wide-eyed like statues, their expressions frozen on their faces.

"..."

"..."

Ignoring the two statues inside and outside the door, the black-haired girl straddled Tenkuji Yu like a horse, not only failing to get up immediately but also pressing his head forcefully against her chest. Her face flushed and panting (from running), she looked up at the sky and shouted loudly in a self-destructive manner:

"Just in time! Is this okay?"

No one answered her. After catching her breath, she took out a black notebook from her bag, flipped through a few pages with a frustrated expression, and then breathed a sigh of relief, her tense expression gradually calming down.

"I succeeded! I almost thought I wouldn't make it... But this guy actually remembered to catch me before he fell asleep. He's such a gentleman."

Pulling Tenkuji Yu's head away from her chest, the black-haired girl lowered her head and pinched his cheek hard in revenge, a half-smile playing on her lips: "Hmph, no wonder so many girls like you. Too bad, you're on my blacklist... huh?"

Halfway through her monologue, Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly felt the air around her heat up, as if she had suddenly gone from a freezing winter to a scorching summer.

Her body was burning hot from the intense exercise, and her body was inexplicably stuffy. So almost instantly, sweat began to trickle down her delicate, fair forehead, making her feel as if she were in purgatory.

"what happened?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha slowly raised her head, blinked somewhat blankly, and after looking around, finally realized her current situation.

On the right is a slender girl whose supermarket shopping bag has fallen to the ground at some point, and whose expression gradually darkens.