Chapter 3 : Dying One Time Was Apparently Not Enough

Midori hid behind an adjacent wall and peeked through a crack at the wall.

Ryouichi and Hanae were sitting next to each other on the player bench. They spoke in a low voice, but Midori was close enough to listen to their conversation.

"… I can't help it," Ryouichi said. "I have fallen in love with you."

His words were akin to rusty nails that were hammered into Midori's heart.

In love with whom? Hanae?

"But I already have a boyfriend," Hanae said. "Besides, what are you going to do about Midori? Didn't you two plan to get married after graduation?"

Ryouichi sighed.

"We have been together for a long time, enough for me to realize that my feelings have cooled off. Hana-chan*, I know that you feel the same. If you don't, then tell me now and we will end this."

Midori held her breath. When she heard Hanae's answer, her heart almost stopped.

"You know that I love you," Hanae said in a soft voice. "Otherwise, I wouldn't start an affair with you."

At that moment, Midori did not care anymore whether the two traitors found her out or not. All she wanted to do was run as far as possible from them.

She did not know how long she ran. When she regained consciousness, she already slowed down and was walking like an undead past a row of cherry trees. It was the path she took every day to go home.

"Onee-chan**, why are you wearing short skirts in autumn?" an innocent child in a thick jacket looked up at her.

Midori looked down at herself. She was still wearing the tennis uniform.

"Onee-chan, why are you crying?" the little girl demanded to know.

Midori raised a hand to her face and wiped tears from her eyes.

"Little girl, I just have some dust in my eyes," she lied between tears.

The little girl shrugged. "Onee-chan, remember to change your skirts," she said again before she left.

Midori waved her goodbye, and then she continued walking back home. At some point, her mind turned blank and she recalled the novel that she used to read three years ago. She became attracted to that novel because, in that novel, she and her boyfriend Ryouichi were married to each other.

She used to think that it was a sign from above that they were meant for each other. Apparently, she was wrong.

And by the way, three years had passed. Had the novel ended?

Midori took out her phone and started opening the webnovel reading application. She scrolled down her reading list and found the novel she was looking for. "Dream Of The Ancient Period" ended yesterday with over two thousand chapters.

Midori whistled.

If she was not mistaken, she stopped around chapter 100. Thanks to her photographic memory, she did not need to re-read the novel to continue the story.

Midori read on her way back home.

And when she got back home and locked herself in her bedroom.

And when she was eating her meals and getting screamed at for looking at her phone the entire time.

And when she took a bubble bath, with her younger brother pounding at the door angrily because she was taking too long time.

And when she was supposed to sleep, with a flashlight under the blanket.

Around a week later, a heaven-splitting scream was heard coming from Midori's bedroom.

"Stupid novel, stupid author!!!" she threw her pillows and dolls at the door in a fit of rage.

After more than two thousand chapters full of tears and blood, the only ones who got a happy ending were none other than the protagonist and the female lead. Everyone else either died, lived a miserable life and then died, or get crippled and then died.

Among those unlucky characters was Midori Takigawa, who was accused of cheating and then kicked out of the Koishikawa family sometime in chapter 130.

"This is all the author's fault!" Midori cried out in frustration. What did Midori Takigawa in the novel do to deserve this inhumane treatment? She proceeded to write a lengthy forum post to complain about the author.

"Author-san, if you are not capable of writing classic Japanese literature, then please shut down your laptop and throw it out of the window. What kind of garbage are you writing here? I can't believe that I paid for over 2000 chapters only to soil my eyes with this crap again and again. I demand a rewrite, no, I demand my money back with interest!!! Obviously, even a three-year-old child can write better than you!"

Furious, she went to a nearby coffee shop to get herself a cup of warm, soothing coffee. Before she got to the coffee shop, though, a bus hit her and flung her into the air…

The colossal force of the impact knocked the wind out of Midori's sails, sending her vision spiraling into darkness. Her body crumpled to the side of the road, like a ragdoll tossed aside by a careless child.

When she opened her eyes again, she already landed between the pages of "Dream Of The Ancient Period".

To be exact, she was in chapter 100, line 20.

To her greatest dismay, she inhabited the body of the very cannon fodder*** who was supposed to die thirty chapters from now!

Was her death not miserable enough? Midori shook her fist and cursed at the sky.

At that time, she started hearing S-9898's voice in her head.

[Test, test...]

"..."

[Hellooo~ can you hear me?(⁠ﾉﾟ⁠0ﾟ⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠~]

"..."

Midori marched toward the nearest house pillar to bang her head against it.

[WAIT! WAIT! DON'T BE RASH! I AM S-9898, THE TRANSMIGRATION SYSTEM ASSIGNED TO YOU! MIDORI TAKIGAWA, YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY BEEN BOUND TO THE CANNON FODDER ACCOUNT 'MIDORI KOISHIKAWA', FORMERLY TAKIGAWA. CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SUCCESSFUL TRANSMIGRATION! (⁠✿⁠☉⁠｡⁠☉⁠)]

Midori squatted on the floor while pressing both hands against her ear. It was futile, because the voice did not enter her head through her ears.

"Stop... screaming... in... my... head!" she enunciated each word.

[Sorry, sorry (⁠◡⁠ ⁠ω⁠ ⁠◡⁠)] S-9898 said without the slightest remorse. [Anyway, nice to meet you. Again, I am S-9898. I will take care of you until you have successfully achieved your goal in this world.]

"... Goal? What goal?"

The system laughed.

[Awww, did you forget? You wanted a rewrite of the novel 'Dream Of The Ancient Period'.]

"..... Wait, what?"

[Congratulations! ⋋⁠✿⁠ ⁠⁰⁠ ⁠o⁠ ⁠⁰⁠ ⁠✿⁠⋌ You have been given the privilege to handle the rewrite of the novel! Please turn this garbage-quality novel into a perfect Japanese classic literature that suits your preferences.]

"Stop congratulating me!" Midori snapped. "Are you the idiot author who wrote the novel? I want my money back! It is not my job to rewrite the novel! Return me to my original world, now!"

[Are you sure? ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ]

"..."

The sound of rustling paper was heard, as if S-9898 was poring through pages in her ear.

[Midori Takigawa, 21 years old, got hit by a bus when she was crossing the street. She died on the spot.]

"..."

[Do you still want to return to your original world? ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ] S-9898 taunted her.

"... I mean, rewriting a novel sounds fun," Midori said through gritted teeth. 

The system giggled in her head.

[To make it fun for both of us, I will reward Life Points to you when you achieve greatness and also deduct Life Points from you when you mess up.]

"Heh. And what are the Life Points good for?"

[Well, if you get enough Life Points you can exchange them for items to help you rewrite this book. You must maintain at least one Life Point in order to stay in this world.]

"A store? What items do you have?" Midori asked, her interest piqued.

[The store content will be updated when you collect a certain amount of Life Points.]

"And how many Life Points I have now?"

[You now have exactly ten Life Points.]

"Che. Stingy."

Thankfully, Midori was an optimistic person.

If she could not go back into the original world to save herself, she could at least help another Midori Takigawa; this cannon fodder who could do nothing but cry when she got bullied.

Therefore, Midori grasped a newfound determination. She was going to change this cannon fodder's fate. Not only would she live beyond chapter 130, but she was going to see the end of the novel with her own eyes!

"Let me show that stupid author how to properly write classic Japanese literature!" she shouted at the sky, startling a bunch of birds that were peacefully resting on a tree branch.

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Author's note :

*-chan is a suffix that Japanese people use for people who are close to them, typically similar in age or younger.

** Onee-chan = Big sister.

*** Cannon fodder = A minor character in a novel who usually ends up dead in a tragic manner.