Chapter 199 – The Ending with Only One Path
Added 2025-10-05 18:19:56 +0000 UTCThough the layout was the same, the panel in front of him displayed items completely different from those in the points shop.
Aoki’s eyes swept quickly from top to bottom, scanning the list.
It was a simple table—various attributes and strange tools that could be exchanged with Achievement Coins.
Most of the things on sale… were the kind of bizarre items you’d never see in the regular shop.
Aoki skimmed through it.
The first thing that caught his eye was something he’d never seen before—Attribute Points.
As the name suggested, they were like power-ups in online games, items that boosted one’s abilities.
But unlike online games, these attribute points were divided into many categories—
Guitar Talent, Vocal Talent, Charisma, Stamina, Explosiveness…
The list went on and on. Too many to count one by one.
Fortunately, this system thoughtfully came with a search function.
As for the price—
One attribute point cost 100 Achievement Coins.
The exchange rate was 1:100.
Judging by price alone, it wasn’t cheap.
After browsing for a bit and understanding the general rules, Aoki thought it over.
At the moment, he wasn’t desperate for attribute points.
So…
His eyes moved further down, shifting to the items section.
Aside from a few things that looked useful, the rest were utterly strange.
Frowning, Aoki read them one by one:
[A jacket perfect for “Ijichi Nijika.” (Can only be purchased with Nijika Line coins); Price: 100 coins]
[A guitar pick “Yamada Ryō” would love. (Can only be purchased with Ryō Line coins); Price: 100 coins]
[Recipe for “Kita Ikuyo’s” favorite cream of mushroom soup. (Can only be purchased with Kita Line coins); Price: 100 coins]
[Three-day travel plan with “Gotō Hitori.” (Can only be purchased with Hitori Line coins); Price: 100 coins]
[…]
‘What even are these? Weird items to boost affection points?’
After skimming through, Aoki quickly lost interest.
Too expensive, unclear benefits—better to ignore them for now.
His gaze drifted again, this time landing on a strange-looking USB drive tucked away in the corner of the shop.
The description read:
[Album Release Track Library]
[Usable when producing an album with more than 5 songs: Automatically fills the USB with 5 sheet music tracks matching the album’s style.]
[Price: 50 coins]
The explanation was short, but the effect… was insane.
And even more importantly—it was cheap.
The moment Aoki first scanned the shop, his eyes had immediately locked onto it.
High value, big impact.
‘Should I buy it?’
He stared at the pitch-black USB, considering.
But after a moment of thought, he held back.
Yes, the sooner they worked on an album the better—but even if he bought this now, there was no way Kessoku Band could suddenly start production today.
So… Aoki stuck to the principle of “we’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” and decided not to rush spending his 200 coins.
After another quick round through the strange affection-boosting items, Aoki closed the shop panel.
The character panel for the heroine popped back up.
Now, only one option remained untouched—Ending.
A flicker of curiosity rose in Aoki’s chest.
The word Ending carried too much weight.
From the very beginning, Aoki’s instinct had been to avoid it at all costs.
But now—on Nijika’s personal panel, under the Ending section—were the words:
[Approaching Ending.]
‘Why?’
Puzzled, Aoki tried to think of a reason, but of course, no answer came.
So instead, without hesitating further, he tapped it open.
The panel shifted, and in an instant, a light-screen unlike anything he’d ever seen before appeared before his eyes.
At the same moment, a clear notification rang in his ear:
————————————————————————
[Ding. Congratulations, Host, for unlocking the Ending function.]
————————————————————————
As the voice faded, the screen filled with branching storylines—like the flowchart of a galgame.
With narrowed eyes, Aoki focused on the details:
[Current Heroine: Ijichi Nijika]
[Bad Endings Avoided: (A Life on Repeat), (One-Day Substitute Guitarist, and Nothing More), (Illness, Compromise, and Surrender), (After the PVC Failure, A Split Path), (The Scandal Aftermath)]
[Normal Endings Avoided: (Just Simple Friends), (Giving Up, and Watching Her Back Walk Away)]
[Good Endings Avoided: (Starlight Shining Bright), (A Selfish Kind of Love)]
[Current Ongoing Ending: Fireworks Rising into the Sky (Difficulty: ★★★★★. Condition: Must be in a relationship with at least two heroines, with both aware of each other. Progress: 60%).]
————————————————————————
Each line was written clearly, unmistakably.
Aoki read them one by one—until he reached the last, and froze.
A spark of shock flickered in his chest. Confusion.
‘What is this supposed to mean?’
The avoided endings, he understood.
The bad ones, he could easily recall when those might have happened.
The good endings, after some thought, he could also piece together.
But this so-called ongoing one?
There was only one.
And it was the most impossible path of all…
Aoki frowned.
‘If I just stayed firm, chose only one girl, confessed wholeheartedly, and ignored everything else from then on…’
Wouldn’t another ending suddenly appear?
Or… was this system actually predicting the future, determining his choices for him?
Even if he gave the benefit of the doubt—
Say the system based its predictions on the girls’ personalities, and concluded:
“Even if Aoki makes a firm choice, one of the others will never give up, and will keep finding ways to intervene.”
What about unexpected incidents?
Like the trouble that had befallen Kita.
Or the hesitation Nijika had shown just days ago.
What if something like that happened again?
Staring at the panel, where only one ongoing ending remained, a quiet unease grew in Aoki’s chest.
Desire whispered to him: This is the best choice.
But his human conscience, his moral bottom line, shouted back in defiance.
“If you go down this path, then everything you’ve done is nothing more than selfish theater—touching only yourself, ignoring the hearts of the girls around you.”
“Isn’t staying true to yourself the right thing?”
“No. That’s just stubbornness.”
