"W–waaah… such a moving novel… I can't believe that guy actually managed to write something like this…!"
Inside the spacious bedroom of a luxurious villa, a blonde girl dressed in a tacky green tracksuit took off her black-rimmed glasses. Sniffling as she wiped away the tears sliding down her rosy cheeks, she stared at the computer screen and let out a heartfelt sigh.
"And the song is this good too… you two, hurry up and get famous already, seriously!"
The Meteor That Cut Through the White Daylight was a fan song written by a YouTube uploader for a novel she had read. According to the uploader, the inspiration for the song came from a secondary-creation manga based on that novel—drawn by the blonde girl herself.
Yes. Sawamura Eriri—better known in the industry as Kashiwagi Eri, and in the rr14 game world as [Childhood Friend Victory Route].
Although she was a widely acknowledged beauty at school and a heavyweight figure in her professional field, in this virtual game world she was treated as a nuisance and dead weight due to her lackluster skills. She couldn't even find teammates willing to accompany her into dungeons.
Worse still, most randomly matched players would send her long, angry messages after a run, ranting things like, "With skills like yours, you'd be better off AFK! If the mechanics allowed it, you'd probably be healing the enemies!"—criticisms that dealt a heavy blow to Eriri's strong pride.
Fortunately, during her wandering days on the continent of rr14, she met someone who truly accepted her—[I Want to Eat Your Ahoge].
Ahoge-bro wasn't some god-tier player either, but unlike others, he didn't avoid her. In fact, after running a dungeon together once or twice, he even sent her invitations to grind again. That alone moved Eriri deeply.
Out of goodwill toward this online friend who had shown her kindness, Eriri would often chat with him casually in the main city. Between jokes and banter, the two also listened to each other's frustrations.
From their conversations, Eriri gradually pieced together a picture of her online friend's real-life situation.
A young writer brimming with talent but with nowhere to pour it, possessing a solid writing foundation yet receiving no response to his submissions—an aspiring author stuck in obscurity came vividly to life.
Since he had accompanied her for so long, she figured she might as well help him a little, within her means.
With that in mind, Eriri promised him, "If you really can write something good, I'll introduce you to people in the industry and help you get your name out there."
And, of course, the final product spoke for itself.
Eriri was deeply moved by the pure love between childhood friends in Ahoge-bro's writing—a love that transcended even life and death. Wanting to bring that story to readers in visual form, she volunteered to create a secondary manga adaptation under the name "Kashiwagi Eri." Naturally, Ahoge-bro had no idea about the strange connection linking these identities behind the scenes.
In short, Sawamura Eriri held her online friend's work in extremely high regard. The fan manga she created both promoted the original novel and boosted her own reputation and popularity—a clear win-win.
After that, she also stumbled upon a fan song on YouTube created by a blogger named Guitar Hero. Its rich emotions and beautiful melody captivated her completely, to the point that she'd been looping the song nonstop lately.
And then, when she clicked into Cowlick-bro's personal page on the fanfiction forum to see if he'd posted anything new—
Next to The Meteor That Cut Through the White Daylight, a thread titled simply "Untitled" caught her attention.
Driven by curiosity, she clicked it.
At the center of her screen, an uncloseable window popped up, emblazoned with four bold characters: "Future Simulation."
Ah, I know this kind of thing. I've seen it in manga and novels—click it and you get transported to another world, meet lots of cute girls, and live a blissful life. If this showed up in real life, it's obviously fake. Just a scummy pop-up ad.
Eriri raised an eyebrow. Completely unimpressed, she clicked "Yes" with a "let's-see-what-you've-got" attitude.
The very next second, the world spun violently.
"Wah—?!"
Just moments ago, she'd been wearing a sloppy tracksuit in her bedroom. In less than a second, she found herself standing in the bathroom of her own house. It took her several long moments to even process what had happened.
"…What the hell?"
If not for that "Future Simulation" pop-up just now, Eriri might've chalked this up to exhaustion from staying up too late—maybe she'd blacked out for a moment.
"But I didn't even drink… ugh, my head feels so heavy…"
Information and memories flooded into her mind like a tidal wave. Gradually, Eriri recalled a "past" that seemed to belong to her.
She had been born into a family wealthier than over 99% of the world. Her father was a British diplomat stationed in Japan, and her mother an elegant, mature, and beautiful Japanese woman who matched him perfectly.
As an only child, she'd grown up basking in her parents' love. Thanks to her mixed heritage and striking looks, she'd become an unmistakable beauty among her peers. Her graceful demeanor and refined manners built an image of a highborn girl admired from afar—that had been her everyday life.
But in this "future," the memories pouring into her mind didn't quite match what she remembered.
She was still born into the family of a British diplomat, still enjoyed abundant material wealth—but her parents' affection and the admiration of her peers were no longer hers alone.
Everything she received was now split in two.
From birth, someone else had been beside her, sharing her parents' love. When she basked in the spotlight of admiration, that pride too was divided. Even the bathroom toiletries had duplicates.
Who was it? No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember.
Clutching her throbbing head, she stood up from the bathtub, dried herself off, and slipped on a bathrobe while thinking it over.
And then—
Click.
The door opened.
Sawamura Eriri locked eyes with a boy who had a face mask plastered on his face. She was certain her parents weren't home—and aside from the butler and servants, there shouldn't have been anyone like him here.
"Eek—!"
Without hesitation, she grabbed a bar of soap and hurled it straight at him—the boy collapsed after being hit, the face mask sliding off his face. Only then did Eriri finally see his features—features that perfectly matched someone from her memories.
The "pervert" she'd just smashed in the forehead with a bar of soap—Was her brother.
More precisely, her twin older brother: the Sawamura family's eldest son, Sawamura Tōru.
So in some "future," she even had siblings?
As she stared at her brother sprawled on the floor, that thought suddenly crossed Sawamura Eriri's mind.