4 Is There Anyone Who Even Cares About the Main Character?

The apartment I live in is two-story. There were ten rooms in the building, and I couldn't tell if they were small or not. Either they were busy or empty, but there wasn't a single person occupying the room when I tried to knock on their door. [That was a clear flag...]

I went back to my room since there was nothing else I could do. Sitting on the bed sheets, I clutched my head lightly. "I got another one... Again." 

I was beginning to think the Heroine's Diary had lost its specialness. Maybe it was never special to begin with, in fact. I don't think whoever it was that sent me here knew what they were doing, and to think that this is only the 4th Chapter... Damn it!

"There is one doujin that is heralded as cursed, isn't there...?" I muttered.

I don't really like the story because it's too painful to read. In any case, I honestly think that'd be better in this Heroine's Diary case, saving those stupid Blackmail or NTR girls. You know what? I might have to be the one to NTR them all! Hahaha...!

"Ugh..." groaning, I shook my head and refocused my mind back to what was currently on my hands.

[Yeah, no. Whichever way you look at it, I don't really see much use for this. At least if it's focused on one individual]

There are many things I want to change. That applies to just one Heroine since one change I make is likely to change the entire sequence of events (in a big change) going forward, and that means that I'm required to think about the consequences I had inflicted and how to cope with the alternate future relying on the Heroine's Diary, only the Diary. There's the factor of other people's POVs to take into account, and while some Diary points and endpoints could counteract that, I still had to have thought about how the Heroine could get to such a point, to begin with. Well, unless they killed themselves, I guess.

[There's still a problem with Hoshino...] I concluded in the end. [Why is the killer, Hikaru Kamiki, still trying to target her?] Is it because she's famous? I remember he killed the Japanese artist who was said to be number one in the country as his most recent victim. 

[I can't just stick with her every time to avoid him interacting with her at all.] That's unrealistic. 

What the hell is wrong with him? I know he has a rough past, but can I get a System where I can kill him right at this moment without letting it be known that I was the culprit? He's really a disturbance to my mind, you know?

(Negative)

You're supposed to be a Plot Convenience! Do your job properly at least!

I sighed. Having silly conversations going on in my head never helped things. It's always been a bad habit of mine, except now I have the wholly useless System with me in my head.

(You can upgrade the Diary functionality after completing Special Quests)

Special Quest? What kind of crap are you talking about now?

(This is related to Complete Rescue or Possessing the Heroine in Diaries. You may have the ability to include a few illogical changes to the story or additional features such as Diary of the World [Extension of Heroine's Diary]. You can also acquire them by following Alternate Universe Quests, possibly getting a Bonus that you can have forever)

"Huh," I responded dismissively.

At the moment, if I have to list what I could do with the Heroine's Diary in cool, or straight-up lame and bland words:

1. Minor Incident Makers.

I use the fallible human nature, which is a cool but misplaced word, to cause minor mistakes to the heroine in accordance with my wishes.

It can only be used occasionally because if it's too frequent, the heroine will know something is amiss, naturally becoming more vigilant. It'll be harder for me to change them when that happens. However, in some cases, I should be able to use their nature and their surroundings to forget about that alertness to commit minor incidents all over again. This is quite a definite ability.

2. Movement Maker.

As the name suggests, this is the ability to cause the heroine to execute specific actions. Usually utilized during spare time or to take advantage of certain situations, moving the heroine in a better direction than the original path.

3. Thought Provoker. 

An ability to make the heroine come up with particular thoughts. With the use of Movement Maker, I can manipulate the heroine to think distinguishing thoughts, potentially leading to their future actions altering due to those thoughts.

Well, that's about it! Uncool, right?

[If I can actually change them to my liking, or just to some unnatural ways, maybe that'll be great.] Are they included in some of the Bonuses you're talking about, System-san?

(Yes)

So I guess that means I should stick with the boring Slice of Life tag and do some Harem gathering for now.

[No, no, I should focus on a few first.] Because too much would feel bland. There are many times for me to spare anyway. When I finally went to school, I expected things to be more chaotic. I should do something before then.

First off is Ai Hoshino. At the very least, I shouldn't let her getting too close— no, not even close— to Hikaru Kamiki.

I was taught martial arts up to the use of swords and the like back in the village. I'm an orphan, but unfortunately, I'm pretty sure the connections I know won't be useful enough in this situation.

[Individual strength alone won't be enough.] I'm not into politics or laws either.

I threw the latest Diary without care and opened Hoshino's. [If I left her in her own device, I'm sure her fate wouldn't be much different than the original one.]

"What should you do, Hirosha..." I mumbled, reading the Diary.

[She's already interacted with Kamiki a little before. Only a little, but Hoshino seemed to have a good impression of him from the start.] Then—

Someone knocked on the door, snapping me out of my pondering spree. I had no idea who it was. I quickly went to check it out.

When I did, I widened my eyes slightly, surprised to see who the figure behind the door was. 

"Mahiru-san," I called out her name. "What's the matter?"

She had both of her hands on her back, seeming rather stiff. "Um, have you had breakfast yet, Yoshikawa-kun?"

She asked back.

I frowned a little, recalling the unfortunate incident, and laughing a little. "Just barely. I had fried rice just to be toppled over by something."

Her eyes shone faintly. That's rather a rude reaction, though I don't think that was her intention. She brought her hidden hands to the front. "I made this in return for your gift, Yoshikawa-kun. I didn't think about whether or not you had eaten while cooking this, and since you haven't ate breakfast, please eat this."

"You thought of reciprocating it immediately, huh...?" I replied in an impressed tone.

She seemed a little embarrassed, averting her eyes from me. "I'm sorry if I was too sudden."

"You don't need to apologize," I smiled. "I'm quite happy to have this from you. I'll accept it with pleasure."

Mahiru let out a sigh of relief. "You can always come knocking on my door to let me know when it's done."

"I'll be sure to do that."

She returned to her room in silence. Even before Mahiru entered her room, I realized that Hoshino was in the hallway, watching almost all of our conversation.

"...What?" I asked.

Walking like a gangster— Well, no, not really. "Who is she?" She interrogated me.

It's almost like a jealous girlfriend, but sadly, it's nothing like that.

I acted normally. "She's our neighbor, Shiina Mahiru."

"Hmm..." she narrowed her eyes.

I couldn't stop myself from snickering.

"Hey!" she yelled.

I continued to laugh as Hoshino gave me a glare yet not quite as well throughout the entire time.

"Sorry, sorry," I brushed away my tears. "What's with that face, honestly? I can't see it, but I can feel it. It must be a silly one."

"What's your relationship with her?" She brushed my remarks.

"Just a neighbor," I shrugged. "What's with it?"

"...Does that mean I'm still your first friend in the city...?"

"...Yes, you could say that."

"Hnh," While Hoshino beamed with a radiant smile, even though I can't see it because of the mask, I felt a tingling sensation in my neck. Perhaps because of my empathy issues, I always felt uncomfortable seeing someone who took things to an exaggerated degree, like her. I know that it's because of her background, but I'm still not used to it. Guess I just don't care about the aspect of understanding others.

"You seem to be having fun talking to her," Hoshino pointed out after a while, calming down.

I smiled dryly. "It's natural to feel happy if you're given something nice, especially when you've had such a bad time before that."

"I see, I see," Hoshino nodded. "Even though you love playing act all the time, it turns out that you're not a bad guy, huh, Yoshikawa-kun?"

"Huh?" I was caught off guard by that. 

Hoshino grinned. "You think I didn't realize?"

I was silent for a moment. "...My bad."

Hoshino had always been an actor on stage. It was enough to put her in the group spotlight before long. Of course, it's natural for her to notice. I can vaguely sense the fact inside me, but I just didn't have a definite awareness of it.

Hoshino laughed. "But it's not a very bad idea, is it? Acting, I mean."

I smiled wryly. "I did it to keep up appearances. I don't want someone to misunderstand me with how I convey things because of my real personality."

"Oho, what kind of real personality is that?" Hoshino made an exaggerated gesture.

I laughed. "I'm just a man of few words."

"What's wrong with that?" She appeared a bit puzzled.

"A lot. I'm essentially leaving someone to guess what my simple words actually, leading them to interpret it in a completely different direction since I wasn't being clear about it."

I remember making a lot of misunderstandings, most of which filled the dark memories in my head, back in the village. It was mainly because of my words and my attitude that seemed apathetic. I wish I could go back in time and right my wrongs.

Hoshino was gazing thoughtfully at me. "Is Yoshikawa-kun hoping to find those who can understand you closely...?"

"...Maybe," I answered nearly emotionlessly. [What do I want to do, huh...?]