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"Sorry… can you help me up?"
The black-haired girl nervously clutched at Blake's sleeve, her voice filled with embarrassment and desperation.
Her knees hurt.
She had tried to stand up just moments ago, but it was impossible.
More importantly, she had already noticed the group of girls walking toward them. They were her classmates, and one of them in particular was very kind-hearted…
If they saw her collapsed here, they would definitely help her up.
And if that happened, her tail would be exposed.
Once that secret got out, it would spread like gossip, and her entire school life would turn into a disaster.
Panicking, the black-haired girl had no choice but to ask the stranger in front of her for help, clinging to him like a drowning person grabbing the last straw.
"Where did that edgy, sharp-tongued chuunibyou girl from earlier go?" Blake muttered under his breath, unable to help complaining.
How did she suddenly turn into a helpless, fragile catgirl type?
"Give me your hand."
Expressionless, Blake reached out his right hand toward the girl sitting on the ground.
If someone is in trouble and it's within your ability to help, most people wouldn't refuse.
"Th-thank you…"
The girl quietly thanked him, nervously taking his hand and using the leverage to stand up.
The moment their skin touched, a chibi-style game interface suddenly popped up in Blake's vision.
[You have captured a wild Witch]
[Magical impurity level in target exceeds safety threshold. Automatic purification has begun. Please maintain close contact…]
"…A magical girl?"
His breathing paused slightly, but his face remained completely calm, showing no reaction at all.
This wasn't new to him.
This strange thing in his mind had appeared half a year ago.
Half a year earlier, his father had remarried and gone on a honeymoon trip with his new wife. The plane crashed in an accident. His stepsister Sagiri Izumi, who shared no blood relation with him, shut herself in her room and refused to come out. The shock had hit him just as hard, leaving him mentally numb.
Then, in that dazed state, he suddenly awakened memories of his past life.
Along with it came a "special ability."
A game panel that existed in his soul.
Witch Raising Simulator.
It was a casual idle game he used to play in his previous life. He never expected that after reincarnation, it would become a visible interface in his mind.
Unfortunately, most of its functions were locked in grey. No matter what he tried, he couldn't unlock them.
Only one thing worked: the proficiency system.
Over time, Blake gave up trying to unlock anything else and instead focused on grinding real-world skills.
Study LV5 Cooking LV4 Housework LV2 Literature LV1 Light Novel Writing LV3 Game Design LV2…
In his previous life, he had dabbled in making small indie games for fun, so he had some experience.
Light novel writing was also a hobby from before his reincarnation, though his skill level was still low, so his works never really gained attention.
Right now, his main goal was to grind game design skills hard and create a low-budget, high-return indie game that could hopefully take the world by storm.
He needed money. Badly.
His aunt's husband had fallen into gambling debts and ended up taking his own life. Now his aunt was left alone, struggling desperately just to survive.
His father was gone due to the plane crash, and his aunt was his only remaining family. Seeing her in such a situation, he had to help no matter what.
"Even though I've been grinding the system, my progress is still too slow…"
Blake looked down at the girl in front of him.
"But now things are different."
According to the game's rules, purifying magical impurities from witches grants experience points.
And experience could be used not only to level himself up, but also to improve all kinds of basic skills.
More importantly, the more intimate his relationship with a witch became, the higher the experience gain rate would be. And once intimacy reached a certain level, he could even copy their abilities.
A wild magical girl?
No, she was basically a treasure chest walking around.
He could purify her and grow stronger, while she could get rid of her magical instability.
A win-win.
A perfect win-win.
"Please… take me to the rooftop…"
The chuunibyou girl spoke softly, glancing nervously at the group of approaching classmates behind her.
PE class was about to start. The changing rooms would soon be crowded, and she had to hide before that happened. She absolutely could not let her secret be exposed.
"Let's go."
Now that he had confirmed she was a "witch," Blake naturally decided to see it through.
A few moments later.
"…Haa."
On the empty rooftop, Goko Ruri finally let out a sigh of relief.
Safe.
That was way too close.
In the girls' changing room, she had suddenly felt an itch on her back. When she turned around, a tail had somehow grown out of nowhere.
And there were still other girls changing in the room.
Panicking, she had no choice but to bolt out of there, and somehow ended up crashing straight into Blake.
She didn't know why she had suddenly grown a tail, but if anyone found out, her life would be ruined.
She might even get captured by some shady organization and turned into a research subject…
Ruri shook her head hard, forcing those terrifying thoughts away, then looked at Blake.
Trying to steady her nerves, she tugged slightly at her hand, which was still being held.
"I am the Witch of Night, a traveler who crosses endless worlds. In return for your assistance, I shall grant you a blessing later… N-now, you may release me."
Blake remained expressionless.
"Don't wait. Give me the blessing now."
From what he could tell, she was probably just a hardcore chuunibyou.
But the tail under her skirt, and the system's prompt, weren't things he could ignore.
"Huh?"
Ruri flinched, her ahoge twitching in panic. She bit her lip.
"The blessing is in my school bag… I can't get it right now. I'll give it to you after we leave the rooftop."
Blake replied flatly.
"You don't have any contact info, and I don't even know your name. Once we leave here, there's a good chance we'll never see each other again."
"I…" The girl hesitated, then whispered her introduction. "I'm Goko Ruri, first-year class B. I won't forget my promise. You can come to my classroom to collect your reward, so please let go of my hand. My magic might hurt you."
So it really is Black Cat, huh?
For the first time, Blake's usual blank expression cracked slightly, a hint of surprise appearing.
But thinking about his shut-in stepsister Sagiri, he quickly accepted it.
He already knew this was a world where different anime realities overlapped. Running into someone like "Black Cat" wasn't that strange.
So she wasn't an actual interdimensional witch, just a chuunibyou girl with a special ability.
With that thought, he immediately lost interest in the so-called "reward."
Then, in a low voice, he said:
"Ruri… you wouldn't want your tail secret to get exposed, right?"
"Huh?!"
Ruri's eyes widened in panic at the absurdly ominous line.
"T-that line… that's like a standard setup from the underworld!"
"So I've encountered an evil beastman?!"
"I-I won't let you get away with this so easily!"
"…"
Watching the panicking chuunibyou girl, Blake didn't bother arguing.
He simply said, straight to the point:
"I can fix your 'tail' problem."
"…Meow?"
"....."