I Just Want A Single Ending!

Shuuwa High School, Class 1-B, just before morning homeroom.

Tap… tap…

As Kamigawa Saku sat at his desk, playing on his phone, a small, round stone suddenly rolled to his feet.

At that moment, a pair of choices only he could see appeared before him.

[Pick it up]

[Pretend not to see it]

Without much hesitation, Kamigawa Saku bent down, picked up the stone, and handed it to the girl sitting behind him.

"Here."

"…Thank you, Kamigawa-kun."

As she accepted the stone he returned to her desk, Takamatsu Tomori, murmured her thanks, her bangs hanging low, partially hiding a face as cute as a small animal's.

"No problem."

After his brief response, Kamigawa turned back around, while Takamatsu continued to arrange the small stones on her desk.

Neither of them intended to continue the conversation, and it ended there.

[Strength +1]

Feeling the small surge of strength from making a choice, Kamigawa's lips curved slightly.

You may not believe it, but he was actually a protagonist chosen by fate.

The reason he thought so was because he had a galgame system.

Whenever he interacted with a romanceable character, random options like the ones before would appear.

No matter which choice he picked, the system would grant him a random reward.

It could be money, skills, or—like just now—stats. There was no limit to what he could gain.

As for how the rewards were determined, Kamigawa had no idea.

Unfortunately, even though it was called a galgame system, it didn't have any game-breaking features like saving and loading.

Maybe as a consolation, it did let him glimpse his possible endings.

Or rather, it let him see the future.

It sounded impressive, but in reality, he could only see one ending right now.

And it was a single ending.

[Single Ending]: During your three years of high school, you don't get a girlfriend, but instead happily share this time with them… In the future, through your relentless efforts, you'll accumulate endless wealth, find a circle of like-minded friends, and ultimately live a fulfilling life.

Kamigawa was quite pleased with this ending.

Aside from being single, it seemed to have no downsides.

Money, friends—everything you could want.

Most importantly, it promised a happy life.

That was enough; there was no need to be greedy.

So, ever since he discovered this single ending, he made it his goal.

Even if other endings might be better, he didn't care.

More desirable endings also meant worse ones existed.

Besides, he didn't know how to reach those better endings.

What if he messed up and ended up with a bad ending instead?

There was no point in taking that kind of risk.

Kamigawa wasn't about to gamble with his own future.

So, to make sure he achieved the single ending without any slip-ups, he researched galgames with single endings.

He came to a conclusion:

The key to achieving a single ending was for the protagonist to be a flirt.

In galgames, falling for every character without aiming for a harem route usually led to a single ending.

And in reality, a harem ending was the least likely outcome.

The answer was obvious.

If he just pursued a harem route, he'd inevitably end up with a single ending.

That was the plan, though Kamigawa didn't intend to toy with others' feelings for his own ends.

Besides, the single ending required him to enjoy his time with them.

If he really played around like that, there was no way they would enjoy it.

So, instead of being a flirt, he decided to be warm and treat each romanceable girl kindly, becoming something of a "central heating system."

As long as things went smoothly, that should satisfy the requirements for a single ending.

To summarize, the romanceable girls were the key to this system.

But, just like the random rewards, Kamigawa couldn't tell who the system considered romanceable.

And to confirm if a girl was romanceable, he had to actually talk to her.

So far, he'd identified four romanceable girls.

Takamatsu Tomori, the girl sitting behind him, was one of them.

As for the other three…

Kamigawa glanced over at the red-haired girl chatting happily with her friends nearby.

—Kita Ikuyo.

A cheerful, sunny, energetic girl.

And also one of the romanceable characters identified by the system.

The other two he'd met elsewhere.

Thinking about it, it was impressive that half of the romanceable girls were in his class—truly main-character-level luck.

He turned back to his phone.

The screen displayed a band's page, with just a handful of followers.

CRYCHIC.

He wasn't actually a fan of this band.

What drew his attention was that its vocalist was Takamatsu Tomori.

Their last update was quite a while ago.

They'd only done one live performance.

It was hard not to wonder if they'd disbanded.

To get an answer, he could just turn around and ask Takamatsu.

But the problem was their relationship—barely classmates, if anything, just familiar from seeing each other around.

Asking about the band's status felt too personal.

But he couldn't easily let it go.

This might be his best chance to grow closer to Takamatsu.

Staying on "classmate" terms with her wouldn't meet the requirements for the single ending.

Plus, without additional interactions, system choices would hardly ever appear.

And he was quite interested in those random rewards.

I have to ask her about it.

Thinking of the bright future in the single ending, Kamigawa made up his mind.

I'll do it today at lunch. I can't keep putting it off.

---

The bell rang, signaling the start of class.

This time, however, instead of the usual quiet entrance, the teacher walked in with a pink-haired girl by her side.

"Even though Golden Week is just around the corner, we have a new student joining us today."

With that brief introduction, the girl, Chihaya Anon, finished writing her name on the board and began her self-introduction.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Chihaya Anon. Due to family reasons, I'm joining a bit late. I hope you'll take care of me. Nice to meet you all."

Cute face, pleasant voice, and a calm, confident demeanor—her clear, bright gaze swept over her new classmates, giving off a friendly, approachable vibe.

Even though her introduction was simple, it earned her applause from the class.

"Chihaya, your seat is the empty one at the very back."

"Got it."

Chihaya Anon stepped down from the podium and headed toward the seat behind Takamatsu Tomori.

Since they were in the same row, Kamigawa Saku greeted her as she passed by.

"Nice to meet you."

"Huh? Ah, nice to meet you too!"

Taken aback by the sudden greeting from a guy, Chihaya Anon responded politely, though a bit surprised.

Without pausing, she reached her desk, set her bag down, and reflected on her introduction.

…It was pretty low-key, but it should help her fit in with the class, right?

Oh, and that boy who greeted her just now… he seemed quite handsome.

Yes, definitely handsome!

She's one too…

Kamigawa Saku, after greeting her, glanced at the system notification that had just popped up.

[New romanceable character discovered: Chihaya Anon]

---

T/N: I highly encourage people to post pics of what characters look like!