"First kiss with Amaori Renako, reward 5000 wish points."
The system's prompt chimed in his ears, but it couldn't snatch his attention.
The battle had just begun.
"Wait, wait, wait..."
Amaori Renako's protests grew fainter, the tingling sensation from her lips making her whole body tremble with excitement. Not only was her face flushed crimson, but her rationality was also almost completely overwhelmed by the comfortable sensation.
"Th-this is my first kiss!"
Amaori Renako covered her mouth in disbelief, tears welling up in her eyes.
"This must be it, right? Male animals, when they feel their lives are in grave danger, uncontrollably develop the urge to reproduce. I didn't expect it to actually be true!"
Kazama Haru was amused by her scientific explanation; he hadn't expected her to even come up with an excuse for him.
Renako, I, Haru-kun, hereby declare you the most convenient girl ever!
"W-w-w, I can't believe that the best friend I worked so hard to make is actually such a beast of desire..."
Amaori Renako dramatically wiped away her tears: "It's over, I'm tainted, now I'm probably unmarriageable..."
"You've had your kiss, now are you finally satisfied?"
Kazama Haru still gazed intently into her eyes, not ready to give up.
Given the other party's vindictive nature, they might send as many as twenty thugs to corner them.
The meager wish points he currently possessed were far from enough to ensure their safety.
He had to push further!
"You're still not satisfied?!" Amaori Renako exclaimed, a hint of incredulity flickering in her purple pupils.
"You, you can't go too far. Although this started because of me, you can't..."
What was she babbling about?
Kazama Haru's second attack came even more forcefully.
"Deep kiss with Amaori Renako, reward 1000 wish points."
"Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm!"
Renako's lips once again offered a soft, moist sensation, like biting into a marshmallow.
Her body's strength was constantly draining away, and tears flowed uncontrollably as if her soul was melting, emitting faint, barely audible sounds.
This was truly bad; Haru-kun seemed to have really made up his mind to cross that line with her!
With such hazy thoughts, Amaori Renako gradually gave up resisting.
Instead, like lovebirds feeding each other, she actively and rhythmically responded to and cooperated with Kazama Haru's kiss...
After an unknown amount of time, Kazama Haru slowly released Renako from his embrace, letting her lie in his arms, gasping heavily and desperately like a fish out of water.
He gently wiped away the tear stains on her cheeks; at some point, her pretty face had become wet with tears.
Their eyes met, and after a slight hesitation, Renako proactively cupped Kazama Haru's face from below, speaking haltingly, her voice carrying a shy tenderness that was a stark contrast to her usual genki demeanor:
"I... I never thought... there could be that kind of kiss..."
"It was... too intense..."
Kazama Haru covered her somewhat cold right hand, chuckling wryly: "Someone was just complaining that I was some kind of beast, but then later..."
"Don't say it!"
Amaori Renako shyly covered her face: "Haru-kun, you scoundrel, what have you done to your best friend..."
"I like you, Renako."
Upholding a man's sense of responsibility, Kazama Haru didn't equivocate, confessing his feelings without any evasion.
"You are my most precious treasure. From now on, if anyone dares to harm you, no matter who it is, I will make them pay the price!"
"I told you, what are you saying to your best friend..."
Renako snorted softly, pouting as if unsure what to say.
Feeling her heart pounding uncontrollably, Renako feigned nonchalance and stammered out the question she cared about most:
"Compared to kissing other girls, how does your best friend's lips taste in comparison...?"
"That was my first kiss, you know, you'd better think carefully before answering."
What she really wanted to ask was whether, for Kazama Haru, kissing her was just a momentary impulse, or if he treated it like some kind of collectible trophy to show off.
Kazama Haru furrowed his brows slightly, looking as if he was deep in thought: "I can't answer that question, because I've never kissed any girl other than you, Renako."
"That kiss just now was also my first kiss."
"Eh? Really?!"
Now it was Amaori Renako's turn to be stunned. She had never imagined that a normie heartthrob like Kazama Haru would still be a kiss virgin.
"Judging by your expression, you don't believe me?"
Kazama Haru shrugged helplessly: "There's nothing I can do if you don't believe me. There's never any way to verify such things. If you need it, I can even swear an oath."
"For example, during the duel with the yakuza called by Riko Nakamura this afternoon—"
"Don't say such death flags!" Renako interrupted, a little angry.
"Speaking of which, you still haven't told me how you plan to deal with the ambush after school!"
"Don't worry about that. Since I've drawn enough strength from you, I'll take full responsibility for protecting you."
Kazama Haru waved his hand nonchalantly, his words light and airy: "After school, I'll voluntarily go with Riko Nakamura and her group."
"As for you... just find a place to hide. It's best to stay inside the school and not run around. When everything is completely resolved, I'll contact you by phone."
"Uh, have you perhaps trained in some martial art like karate, which makes you so confident?" Renako asked, full of suspicion.
Kazama Haru was incredibly honest: "Not at all. In fact, I'm still a pure weakling even now."
"...Alright, anyway, I'd only be a burden if I went, so I'll do as you say for now."
"In any case, if anything truly dangerous happens, be sure to contact me immediately, or seek help from the police. Don't try to be a hero!"
"Okay."
Kazama Haru smiled and nodded. Everyone knows the efficiency of the Japanese police; if they were truly useful, he wouldn't have to go through all this trouble.
Afterward, Kazama Haru asked Renako to return to the classroom first, saying he wanted to be alone for a while.
On the rooftop, with only him left, a gentle breeze blew. Kazama Haru lay spread-eagled, watching the clouds drift by, feeling an unprecedented sense of ease.
In such a good mood, he brought up the system panel, which he hadn't checked in a long time .
"Host Name: Kazama Haru"
"Stamina: 5"
"Intelligence: 7"
"Luck: 9"
"Charm: 10"
"Skills: Bartending LV4 (Master), Guitar Playing LV3 (Professional), Shooting Game LV3 (Professional)"
"Wish Points: 29950"
Looking at the fifty-odd points remaining after purchasing information, Kazama Haru, who had moderate OCD since childhood, narrowed his eyes unhappily.
He had originally planned to work with Renako to boost the wish points to a round 30000.
The first kiss was 5000 points, and each subsequent deep kiss was 1000 points.
Before their kisses, the balance of wish points was 15950.
If calculated, they had unconsciously kissed about ten times just now...
Kazama Haru unconsciously licked his lips, then shook his head, forcing himself to temporarily forget the sweet sensation he had just tasted.
Calming himself, he focused his attention on the system interface, his finger unhesitatingly tapping the "Stamina" column on the personal stats panel.
"Do you want to spend 10000 wish points to add to the basic ability 'Stamina'?"
"Yes/No"
A deep blue system query box instantly popped up.
"Yes."
"Stamina: 5 → 6"
"Wish Points Balance: 19950"
Almost simultaneously with his answer, a "ding" sound from the system prompt rang out.
Kazama Haru immediately closed his eyes excitedly, breathing rapidly, awaiting the influx of new power.
But, even after standing there foolishly with his eyes closed for a minute, all he could feel was the comfortable breeze and the increasingly rampant midday sun.
The supposed comfortable warm current flowing into his limbs, as if every cell was infused with strength, and the muscles producing a full and taut sensation... none of these expected feelings appeared.
"..."
"That's it... the points have been added?"
Kazama Haru opened his eyes in disbelief, clenched his right hand, and looked up and down at the changes in his body with some confusion.
Uh... it seems... there really isn't any change at all...
Kazama Haru opened the system interface to confirm, and indeed, the number in the stamina column had changed from 5 to 6.
Could it be that his previous strength was too pathetic, and the system couldn't even be bothered to give him some celebratory special effects?
Kazama Haru gritted his teeth.
Again! What I'm least afraid of is giving up!
"Stamina: 6 → 7"
"Wish Points Balance: 9950"
Another ten thousand wish points were deducted, but Kazama Haru still didn't receive the comfortable warm current he had anticipated.
Sighing helplessly, Kazama Haru decided not to dwell on these trivial matters any longer.
With an experimental thought, he casually threw two punches into the air.
"Whoosh, whoosh—!"
Several low, powerful air friction sounds abruptly emerged, making him widen his eyes in disbelief.
Didn't it say... 7 points of stamina was the average level for a normal adult male?
Then, was this whistling punch actually correct?