I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

That is to make a vow to the one you love, to make a promise to go to the future together, and to achieve the final accomplishment—becoming a "winner in life".

Although she couldn't completely intervene, thanks to Kanade Tachibana's active involvement, the conditions for completing the trial became very lenient: it didn't matter if she loved more than one person or if she wasn't really going to propose to them.

If Tenkuji Yu can confess his feelings to a girl he likes, then the trial will be complete, and the system will leave after giving him the final reward, never to bother him again.

His fate of not surviving graduation might change from this moment on.

After Tenkuji Yu experienced five cycles of reincarnation and spent five years in mediocrity, Tachibana Kanade decisively reversed time.

"Why did this happen..."

She really couldn't understand why Yu, who was a heartthrob and could adapt to both pure love and harem themes, and who lacked nothing except girlfriends, would be troubled by "mere romance" for five years, and couldn't even find a close female friend besides her sister.

Over time, Tachibana Kanade pondered for a long time before finally figuring out the problem.

—Because of his own settings for the system, he became a ruthless task machine in this timeline.

Despite numerous women expressing their affection for him, and even a group of high school girls attempting to force themselves on him, Yuu Tenkuji, absorbed in the joy of speedrunning missions and completing his achievement list, ruthlessly rejected them all, his eyes only fixed on the unlit achievement list.

Towards the end, it became almost habitual that he rejected every woman who showed interest in him. As a result, before the final trial began, he only had one woman left to interact with most frequently—

The system stipulates that Kasugano Sora is not a romantic partner.

Even Iroha Isshiki, the junior who seemed to have the best chance of success, gradually drifted away from him after a confession and hint of rejection failed.

This is what happens when you love playing games too much. The situation is even worse for Yuu Tenkuji, a straight man who is completely cut off from romance.

Because he wouldn't force himself to be in a relationship, even if it was just a performance for a mission. As long as he had to give his heart to pass the test, it wouldn't be within his consideration. But if he wasn't in a relationship, he would be trapped in the cycle of trials, and he would have to relive that year of senior high school until his consciousness collapsed.

Who knows how many more cycles he'll have to go through before he naturally meets someone he likes...

Kanade Tachibana didn't want to wait any longer; she had to go find the next "hope."

However, the problems at hand have not yet been solved.

—If you get involved in romance, you can't complete the mission; if you don't get involved in romance, you can't pass the trial.

In the end, she faced either death or endless reincarnation; she walked into a dead end, yet she didn't know how to escape.

"Is it still not enough if it's just me?"

She suddenly felt tired, and that sense of powerlessness was deepening, eroding her once unwavering will.

It's not that I want to give up, but I've started to think that I'm only making things worse by trying to help.

"It's not Yu's problem, nor is it Xiaoqiong's problem... it's my problem."

"If I'm not here..."

That's right, if Tachibana Kanade weren't there.

Will everything become better, just like without my family?

As time passed, she slowly straightened up, and a firm and resolute light shone again in her uneasy and confused eyes.

If you find a mistake, then correct it.

Therefore, Tachibana Kanade decided to commit suicide to get rid of the troublesome Tenkuji Yuu's side.

In the next timeline, she allowed the "Life Achievement System" to continue repeating the same trajectory as before. After a long time, she approached Kasugano Sora and told her everything, just like before, and received the same answer that she was willing to help.

However, this time, Tachibana Kanade hid something from her.

By the time Kasugano Sora realized something was wrong, the ghost named "Tachibana Kanade" had already vanished from this world.

Instead, a delicate-looking, shy, and somewhat sickly ordinary high school student returned to Soubu High School without knowing anything, living an ordinary life no different from usual.

Perhaps even she herself did not expect that after separating the power of the Light Jade, her existence would return to this world?

Kasugano Sora only learned what Kasugano was thinking at the time after reading the message Kasugano had stored in the system.

"By the time you read this message, I'll probably be gone, right?"

"I'm sorry, Xiaoqiong. I'm so sorry."

"From now on, I entrust the heavy responsibility of saving Yu to you."

"Besides you, I don't know who else I can ask for help, and only you are always willing to be my partner... I also always believe that you have more ability and awareness than I do."

"Even when I was alive, I couldn't do anything... I was physically weak and timid. If everyone hadn't been so kind, perhaps I would have become like the others I met in the hospital, depressed and unmotivated to do anything?"

Even so, I don't think I was happy back then.

"Until I met You, and was helped, comforted, and loved by him... I realized that this world is so beautiful, and that my life is filled with so much warm sunshine."

"Perhaps it was only after meeting him that I began to truly live."

"Hmm... Is that an exaggeration? But that's really what I think. Not only Yuu, but Sora is also very important to me. She always plays games with me when I have no friends, and she takes the initiative to ask for leave for me when I'm sick. She's always helping me when I can't do anything."

"Even on the journey after death, you gave me a lot of inspiration and experience, allowing me to get closer to my goal."

"Whether in the past or present, your existence has been a salvation for me... Knowing you is truly the greatest happiness of my life!"

"—That's why I have to disappear."

"Continuing to struggle in a self-righteous manner is nothing more than a way of coquettishly trying to prolong this kind of happiness."

"Hundreds of failures have proven that I am incapable of saving Yu. I should have realized this long ago, but I have been unwilling to admit it."

"I still want to stay by Yu's side. I still want to work through the night with Qiong to modify the system. I still want to see him successfully change his fate, go to university, marry someone, have children, and live a life happier than anyone else's..."

"But I know that I, who would only make things worse, no longer have that right."

"Xiao Qiong, the rest is up to you. You said you would become his hero, and I believe you can do it, and only you can do it."

"I'm truly sorry for saying something so irresponsible. However, it was the best option I could think of."

"If we ever meet again, you can give me a good scolding... although I probably wouldn't dare face you then, would I?"

"Is the message too long? There are still some things I haven't said, I hope you won't get impatient."

"There is only one way to make me disappear, and that is to strip me of my 'existence' and the 'power' of the Light Jade."

"I am not the real Light Jade, but a fake that was forcibly upgraded through system rewards... The real Light Jade is still hidden in the system. I have left all the relevant information. You should be able to find out how to use it after spending a little time."

"Even if it's a counterfeit, my 'Light Orb' still has access to the control system. I've transferred that access to you, so from now on you can do what I do: actively rewind time, change system settings, and change the fate of your loved ones on your own."

"The Radiant Orb also has the power to trigger miracles. Although it cannot affect Yu, it should be of great help to you... I kept 90% of it and gave the remaining 10% as an apology to a girl I once felt very sorry for, hoping that she can fulfill her wish."

"Then, I, no longer the Radiant Jade, will completely disappear from this world."

"But strangely enough, I'm not scared at all!"

"Because Xiao Qiong is still here. Because of my hero, and his hero who wants to save him."

"I am powerless to do anything more, so my journey ends here. But your happy future is definitely just around the corner."

"Even if it disappears, I can feel at peace with it."

"Xiaoqiong, thank you. And, I'm sorry... for making you carry such a heavy responsibility and walk this path alone."

"If I could, I would love to treat you to my homemade Mapo Tofu again!"

"...Well then, that's all for now. My consciousness is almost fading away."

"Finally, even though Yu can't hear me, I still want to talk to him in the very last moment."

"I want to tell him—I saved you not because you saved me before, but because I love you."

"I've always loved you, Yu."

Farewell.

……

The recording was played in its entirety in the science classroom.

As the girl's soft, regretful sigh fell to the ground, Tenkuji Yu slowly lowered the hand that had been supporting her cheek, her face expressionless as if she were hiding her emotions.

"After that, it was my turn to manage the system. I was constantly going back in time and doing all the things that Xiaozou had done before."

Kasugano Sora looked at his reaction, lowered her eyes slightly, sighed, and said in a rather low voice, "She blamed everything on herself, just selfishly sacrificing herself like that, refusing to listen to anyone's advice... Tsk, abandoning me like this is clearly going too far..."

So when the trial had just begun, Tachibana Kanade, who came to visit, was afraid of being scolded by him, so he didn't dare to go upstairs to greet her. He just said a few words to the person he was thinking about and left.

On the other hand, Kasugano Sora really wanted to grab her by the collar and interrogate her fiercely.

For example, why were you able to regain your memories in this trial space? And to whom did you give that one-tenth of the power of the Light Jade?

Unfortunately, Tenkuji Yu was there during the first opportunity, so she couldn't ask her; later, because she couldn't leave home—which was the management center's area—she had no chance to contact Tachibana Kanade unless he walked right into her trap.

To this day, Kasugano Sora has not had a chance to say a single word to Tachibana Kanade. Her existence has completely disappeared from this trial, like a teammate in a duo queue who disconnects and reconnects, only to realize she messed up and then, out of fear, disconnects and deletes the game, ignoring everything else and refusing to even answer her friends' calls.

Despite her anger, Kasugano Sora also understood her feelings and just how heavy this responsibility was.

So, shaking her head, the silver-haired woman decided to leave Tachibana Kanade's matter for the time being, and continued:

"With the power of the light jade left by Xiaozan, I took care of you, who was trapped in the trial and became a vegetable, while I devoted myself to studying the system."

"About ten years later, you suffered a mental breakdown during the trial, which led to a rapid decline in your physical health, and you eventually died. After burying myself next to you, I committed suicide by taking medication and became a ghost similar to Kanade, and completely inhabited this system, continuing to rewind time and modify the system."

"Do you know why this final trial gave you memories of the 'Life Achievement System' worldline? Because this is the most familiar scene to me, the origin and home that belongs only to 'me'."

"..."

Yuu Tenkuji listened silently, his lips slightly pursed, seemingly with no intention of asking any questions.

Still not recovered from the comments just now?

With these doubts in mind, and still pressed for time, Kasugano Sora continued her explanation.

"I learned from Xiaozan's experience and after trying dozens of times, I finally understood a principle—you need to be in a relationship to pass the final test."

"But we can't let you have it too easy. We have to create some surprises, more tormenting factors, and make you gradually mature in terms of relationships until you can skillfully deal with all kinds of women. This will reduce the chances of you dying in the middle of the relationship."

"Finally, I'll arrange a reward full of surprises—the 'Magical Trade.' This thing took most of the Light Jade's power to create, and even I don't know what it can be exchanged for. But what I need most is this kind of uncertainty, so I'll find a chance to give you one."

"And so, the system you are using now was created."

Faced with Kasugano Sora's composed demeanor, Tenkuji Yu finally looked at her directly, and after a visibly stunned moment, slowly asked in a confirming tone:

"So, you developed the 'Boyfriend System'?"

"Mhm!"

Kasugano Sora nodded emphatically, then spread her hands, striking a shameless pose as if she had nothing to lose: "If you remembered your memories of reality, you'd probably find it even more unbelievable, right? The dog system you swore you'd beat up was actually created by your own sister, it's like a big boss taking off his helmet and saying you're actually my son..."

She sighed again and glanced sideways at Tenkuji Yu.