004 – This Damn System is So Not Serious

After sorting out his thoughts, Rokuhara Souta decided to be completely honest:

"The reason I know about you, as well as some of the secrets of this world, is because in my world, Tokisaki Kurumi—that is, you—are actually a fictional character from a story. You appear in a work called 'Date A Live'."

"..."

Kurumi's expression froze in utter shock.

It took her a while to process his words before she finally reacted:

"I… am a character in a story?"

"That's right." Souta nodded seriously.

"So when I first picked up the phone and started chatting with you, I genuinely thought you were just some… uh… hardcore chūnibyō patient—someone who spent all day fantasizing about being an anime character. I figured you were completely delusional… Ahem! Anyway, I thought it was amusing, so I just played along with your act."

At the mention of "chūnibyō", Kurumi's gaze subtly wavered, as if recalling some dark, embarrassing memories from the past.

Souta, completely unaware, continued speaking:

"It wasn't until I actually transmigrated here that I realized… this was all real. Of course, whether it was always real from the start or something changed to make you exist, I have no idea."

To prove that he wasn't making things up, Souta shared everything he remembered about 'Date A Live' with Kurumi.

Since this 'Multiversal Friendship System' allowed him to travel to the Date A Live world, it stood to reason that it might also let Kurumi travel to his world.

If that were the case, then hiding the truth now would only backfire on him later.

For the next hour, Kurumi sat in silence, completely absorbed in processing her shattered worldview.

After what felt like ages, she finally spoke, sighing lightly:

"Even though… even though it sounds ridiculous… considering how much detail you've given me, the credibility is quite high."

Her understanding of reality had been thoroughly turned upside down.

Seeing her in deep thought, Souta wisely held back a certain piece of information—

Namely, the fact that he had read her doujinshi before.

Suddenly, Kurumi's expression shifted, as if she had remembered something important.

With a hint of urgency, she asked:

"Rokuhara-san! If what you're saying is true, then… you should know about the 'First Spirit,' right?"

Unfortunately for her, Souta simply shook his head.

"Sorry. I know that the 'First Spirit' exists, but I don't know their identity."

"Why not?"

"Uh… I never finished the novel."

"..."

For a moment, Kurumi was at a complete loss for words.

She felt like something inside her just got stuck, making it hard to breathe.

Such crucial information…

Lost simply because he never finished reading the story.

Kurumi had spent so many years tirelessly searching for the truth about the First Spirit, and yet, to someone else, it was nothing more than a book they lost interest in halfway through.

The sheer contrast between their perspectives left her feeling incredibly complicated.

Even her gaze toward Souta now carried a hint of quiet resentment.

This made Souta increasingly uneasy.

He had no idea how to read Kurumi's current attitude toward him.

Sure, she looked soft-spoken and graceful right now, but…

This was Tokisaki Kurumi. A Spirit who had slaughtered over ten thousand people.

To be honest, it wasn't that he "never finished the novel".

It was more like—

At the time, he got bored of reading light novels and switched to reading web novels instead.

And light novels had annoyingly slow release schedules—once you paused reading them, it was hard to pick them back up.

Of course, Souta would never say this out loud.

He wasn't that socially clueless.

"I stopped reading around the part where Origami turned into a Spirit and Shidou started messing with time travel, causing changes in the worldline," Souta explained.

"The information about the 'First Spirit' was probably revealed in the newer volumes that I never got around to reading."

Seeing Kurumi's clear disappointment, Souta thought for a moment, then offered some advice:

"That said… if you really want to find out what happens next, there actually is a very simple way."

"Hmm? What way?"

Kurumi's eyes lit up slightly, immediately intrigued.

Souta shook his phone and smirked:

"This thing right here."

"Since it can bring me to your world, logically, it should also allow you to travel to mine. If that works, then getting the information you want is as easy as… browsing the internet and reading the novel."

"...That's true."

Kurumi blinked, suddenly realizing she had overlooked such an obvious possibility.

But in her defense—

Unlike Souta, she hadn't been exposed to countless web novels.

Her instinctive thought process never even considered the concept of traveling to another world.

Kurumi sighed softly and murmured:

"It really feels like something I've spent my whole life chasing… is completely worthless to you."

To think that the "truth of the world" she had been so desperate to uncover…

Was just sitting on the internet, waiting to be read like a casual web novel.

The absurdity of it all was almost too much to handle.

But as ridiculous as it sounded—she had no choice but to accept it.

Determined, she picked up her phone and asked a question:

"System, can I travel to Rokuhara-san's world?"

To be honest, even if the answer was no, it wouldn't matter too much.

As long as Souta could return to his world, they could still share information remotely.

But…

She was way too curious about his world.

She wanted to see it with her own eyes.

A moment later, the cold electronic voice from the phone replied:

[Yes. As a friend of the Host, you may travel to the Host's world with their permission. However, to leave your current world, you must maintain physical contact with the Host.]

[The specific physical contact rules are as follows:]

[Male friends must shake hands with the Host.]

[Female friends must hug the Host.]

Before Kurumi could even react, Souta immediately blurted out a complaint:

"What the hell, System!? Are you serious right now!?"

"What kind of absurd ruleis this? Damn system, you're so not serious right now!"

Oh, come on! Don't mess with me like this!

The system's requirement—that he had to hug Tokisaki Kurumi to take her to his world—was basically a death trap.

If he ended up annoying this Spirit girl… Souta was seriously concerned about his personal safety.

After all, this was Tokisaki Kurumi, a Spirit with a confirmed kill count in the five digits.

Thinking for a moment, he turned to Kurumi and carefully proposed:

"Miss Kurumi, I can help investigate the information you want once I return to my world. I'll send you everything through the phone. There's no need for us to put up with this stupid system's rules."

"Oh?"

Kurumi's lips curled into a playful smirk, and she looked at Souta with amusement in her eyes.

"Rokuhara-san, you're acting a little different from how you did in our phone chats."

She leaned forward slightly, her teasing gaze locking onto him.

"Didn't you say before that if you had trouble sleeping, I'd have to take responsibility by giving you a kiss to help you 'relieve your frustration'? Compared to that request, a hug is much tamer, don't you think?"

Souta: "..."

Oh crap—she remembers that!?

Was she the type to hold grudges over jokes!? She remembered it this clearly!?

He really had dug his own grave when he typed that message.

If he had known that Tokisaki Kurumi was real, there was no way he would've said something like that!

Now, he was stuck dealing with the consequences.

Feeling a bit awkward, Souta scratched his cheek and admitted:

"Well… I did say that, but… I didn't know you were real at the time. I thought you were just some scammer trying to mess with me. Since I found it amusing, I played along and roleplayed with you. That's why I sent some, uh… let's just say, not-so-appropriate messages."

Looking sincerely apologetic, he bowed his head slightly and said:

"If I said anything that offended you, I hope you won't take it to heart."

As he spoke, a hint of worry could be seen on his face.

Kurumi noticed his unease and suddenly asked:

"Rokuhara-san, you're just a normal human without any powers… aren't you?"

Souta hesitated for only a second before nodding.

"Yeah. I am."

Since he was already exposed, there was no point in trying to hide it.

And honestly, Kurumi could have figured it out easily just by testing him.