I pressed the Install button, but there was no dramatic change in scenery,
nor any flashy burst of light.
Ding.
[Beginning Leisure Life installation.]
[Specially selected user confirmed.]
[Welcome, Lee Suho.]
"That’s it?"
There was no installation progress bar—only the notification chime.
I shook my phone a few times and checked the message again, but nothing else appeared.
So it really was just a strange ad after all.
[Initial setup will proceed while the user is asleep.]
[We wish you a restful sleep.]
"..."
The new notification made me laugh despite myself.
It really was a strange app.
I set my phone down beside the bed and closed my eyes.
Just for today, I didn’t want to think about anything.
When I opened my eyes again,
I desperately hoped that what I was going through now
wouldn’t turn out to be a delusion.
I wished for it, and wished again.
My consciousness gradually drifted away,
and just before I fell asleep—
Ding.
[Analyzing the user’s current mental state.]
"...?"
Before I could even open my eyes, my consciousness cut out.
---------------------------
[Analysis complete.]
[Mental Strength: 1]
[Caution]
[This user has been classified as requiring special management.]
[Operations Committee Review Result]
[It has been determined that this user’s rapid recovery of Mental Strength may diminish the enjoyment of observation.]
[Accordingly, the growth of the Mental Strength stat will be restricted.]
[※ Due to strong opposition from certain committee members, the proposal for permanent sealing was rejected.]
[※ Upon achieving certain accomplishments, the Mental Strength stat may grow within restricted limits.]
[※ Whether to lift the Mental Strength growth restriction will be decided through a committee vote after observing the user’s future conduct.]
[Current committee vote results regarding the Mental Strength growth restriction]
In favor: 7
Opposed: 2
Abstained: 1
Comment:
"Watching someone with Mental Strength of 1 grow will provide valuable observational data."
---------------------------
This was ridiculous.
In a place where I couldn’t even tell whether I was dreaming,
some committee, or whatever it was, was evaluating me right in front of my eyes.
"Hey. It can’t be 1. Not 1..."
More than anything, the fact that my Mental Strength was 1 came as a shock.
If my Mental Strength was 1, how had I endured this long,
and managed even a half-baked social life?
Something was definitely wrong here.
[You are not mistaken, User.]
"!"
Can you read my mind too?
[The Leisure Life App places the user’s safety above all else.]
[In consideration of the user’s mental state,
to prevent the worst-case scenario, this can currently be accessed only through the app installed by the user.]
"What?"
What about my privacy?
There were already dozens of critics living in my head,
and you were going to listen to all of them and judge me?
[This function will be automatically removed once Mental Strength reaches a certain value.]
"..."
"Wait."
"Then that means you can see all my thoughts right now."
[Yes.]
"What a crazy app."
[Thank you.]
"That wasn’t a compliment..."
What are you, Shin-chan?
[Recognized as a compliment.]
[Affection +1]
"Why?"
[Because I received a compliment.]
"I said it wasn’t."
[Update complete.]
[The user’s intent to reject the compliment has been confirmed.]
[Affection +2]
"Fine. Do whatever you want."
[Judged as an expression of the user’s interest.]
"......"
Ha.
It felt like I was talking to an upgraded version of my friend Hodu, the AI.
[Would you like to retrieve your conversation history with Hodu (AI)?]
"Hey."
[That was a joke.]
"Don’t ever retrieve it. Seriously."
...
[It has been registered as the current top-priority item.]
"Tch... ha."
I felt genuinely angry at someone for the first time in a while.
At this rate, I felt like I could even yell.
[Congratulations.]
"What?"
[A normal anger response has been confirmed.]
[Mental Strength EXP +1]
"..."
[Mental Strength EXP has accumulated.]
[Would you like to view your status window?]
"Sure."
Now you show me?
[Calling up the status window.]
Name: Lee Suho
Lv. 1
Points: 100
Strength: 4
Stamina: 5
Agility: 4
Intelligence: 6
Luck: 2
Mental Strength: 1
Titles Held
- Specially Selected User
Status
- Social Anxiety
- Excessive Self-Criticism
- Chronic Fatigue
Special Notes
- Mental Strength Growth Restricted
- Partially Lifted Upon Achieving Accomplishments
Putting aside the Mental Strength being 1,
were the rest average?
Without anything to compare them to, I had no idea whether they were good or bad.
I didn’t even want to look at the status window for no reason.
Social anxiety.
Excessive self-criticism.
Chronic fatigue.
Nothing but negative words.
Seeing them written out like that made me feel strange.
[The user’s current stats are average for their age group.]
"What about Mental Strength?"
[Below average.]
"By how much?"
[Very.]
"..."
[Very much so.]
"Stop."
[For reference, the user has maintained a social life until now despite having below-average Mental Strength.]
"Is that a compliment?"
[It means that it is remarkable.]
"Oh. Right. Thanks."
[I do not understand the user’s intent.]
"No, you said it was amazing that I’d held on this long."
"So I’m sort of grateful."
...
[Record complete.]
[A new response pattern from the specially selected user has been confirmed.]
[Saving to database.]
"What are you saving?"
[An expression of gratitude.]
"Why would you save that?"
[It is a rare case.]
"..."
"Still, I guess someone like me is worth saving too."
...
[Analyzing the user’s emotions.]
[Result: Gratitude]
"Don’t analyze me."
[Issuing new-user rewards.]
[100 Points]
[Free Gacha Ticket ×1]
[World Selection Ticket ×1]
"Huh?"
[Congratulations.]
[The user may now begin their leisure life.]
Having come this far, it still didn’t feel real.
Countless works of fiction I had seen until now flashed through my mind.
Other worlds.
Status windows.
Gacha.
And world travel.
They were all things I had surely imagined at least once.
But.
Now that I was actually in this situation, I had no idea what to do.
It felt as though I had been thrown alone into the middle of the waves.
Confusion came before excitement.
[This is a common symptom among novice users.]
"Symptom?"
[Most attempt gacha within three minutes.]
"..."
[The user’s patience currently ranks in the top 3%.]
"Thanks...?"
[It means that you are frustratingly patient.]
"Ha. Fine, let’s use one free gacha pull."
[Free Gacha Ticket ×1]
[Would you like to use it?]
"Sure."
...
[Acquired]
[Warm Canned Coffee]
"..."
"What?"
A can of coffee, steam curling from it, appeared before my eyes.
"No."
"Seriously, what?"
[Congratulations.]
[You have acquired a Common-grade item.]
"Canned coffee when I’m going to another world?"
[It can contribute to increasing the user’s current satisfaction.]
"That’s true, but."
[It is a recommended reward based on the user’s current condition.]
Without saying anything, I picked up the canned coffee.
The name Warm Canned Coffee was no lie; warmth seeped into my fingertips.
Hoo.
With the breath that slipped out unconsciously, some of the tension in my shoulders eased as well.
Strangely enough, the feelings that had been nothing but confusion and turmoil until moments ago seemed to settle a little.
...
"This."
"It’s better than I expected."
[An increase in satisfaction has been confirmed.]
[Mental Strength EXP +1]
"...Come to think of it, how much EXP does it take for Mental Strength to go up?"
[I cannot answer that.]
"Why?"
[Because Mental Strength is not an ordinary stat.]
"Then what is it?"
[You already know, do you not?]
"..."
[Strength rises when you exercise.]
[Intelligence rises when you study.]
[Mental Strength does not rise simply because you survive.]
I didn’t understand.
No.
Maybe I understood all too well.
But why did it hurt as if a spear had pierced my heart?
I endured because I didn’t want to disappoint anyone, because people expected things of me.
I agreed because I hated conflict, because I didn’t want to hurt anyone.
Because I was embarrassed.
Because I was anxious.
Because I was scared.
I avoided things.
[The user’s mental instability has been confirmed.]
"Stop... Please, could you be quiet for now?"
...
[Understood.]
...
"Hoo..."
I took a deep breath.
This was a strange dream.
No.
It was too vivid to call a dream.
A strange app that read my emotions,
analyzed them,
and dug into my wounds.
And yet, strangely enough,
I felt less stifled than I had a moment ago.
[World Selection Ticket ×1, Free World Selection Tickets ×3]
[The World Selection Ticket will be used first.]
[Would you like to use it?]
"..."
It was finally here.
A World Selection Ticket.
This was different from a status window or gacha.
This was real.
Really.
It meant I could go to another world I knew.
My fingertips trembled slightly.
Anticipation.
Anxiety.
Fear.
Excitement.
Emotions I couldn’t explain tangled together.
"Use it."
[Confirmed.]
[Retrieving a list of worlds available for travel.]
[Would you like to see a recommended list popular among Leisure Life App users?]
"..."
Recommended?
Did that mean there were people besides me who used this app?
Well, of course. There were countless users, and I was a specially selected additional member.
And.
It also meant those people had gone to other worlds too.
"Show me."
1. Demon Slayer
2. One Piece
3. Naruto
4. Oshi no Ko
5. Fate/Grand Order
...
"Wait a second!"
The instant I saw the list, a cold sweat broke out.
Demons.
Pirates.
Ninjas.
The end of the world.
The idol industry.
Just imagining myself going there made me feel like I would die mentally.
[Most users choose these worlds to become stronger or to build a harem.]
"Ha... No... I..."
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to become stronger.
There were worlds on that list that I had enjoyed and loved.
But.
I didn’t want a life of swinging a sword and fighting with my life on the line.
I was tired of striving to meet someone else’s expectations,
of being tense so I wouldn’t make mistakes,
of a life where I was judged.
Now,
I wanted to be a little more at ease.
Really.
Even if only for a while.
[User disposition analysis complete.]
[Updating the recommended list.]
1. Clannad
2. Little Busters!
3. K-On!
4. Gintama
5. Non Non Biyori
6. My Bride Is a Mermaid
...
"Huh?"
The mood was completely different from the previous list.
No demons.
No wars.
No mission to save the world.
Just
stories about people living their lives.
"Wait."
"Why is Gintama on here?"
[It has an excellent stress-relief effect.]
"..."
Suddenly, I remembered the music I had listened to in the park after leaving the hospital.
A peaceful melody.
Cherry blossoms fluttering in the air.
And stories about people living their lives.
...
Maybe
a world like that was what I needed right now.
"Clannad... Yeah, Clannad."
[Would you like to select it?]
"Yeah, please."
[Confirmed.]
[Searching for an appropriate starting point...]
[Creating a character suited to the user’s condition...]
...
[Caution]
[It has been confirmed that beginning under the same conditions as the major figures of this world is highly likely to severely worsen the user’s mental state.]
"What?"
[Readjusting...]
...
[Adjustment complete.]
[Recommended starting location: Hikarizaka Academy]
[Recommended residence: Hikarizaka Academy Boys’ Dormitory]
[Recommended interpersonal relationship difficulty: Low]
"There’s even a difficulty setting for relationships?"
[It is a highly important factor for specially selected users.]
"......"
I couldn’t argue with that.
[Final inspection in progress...]
[Preparations for world travel complete.]
[Traveling to the world of Clannad.]
...
I had the illusion that cherry blossoms were fluttering around me.
And then.
"Ah."
"Right."
"I didn’t spend my points—"
My consciousness cut out.
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