Now I'm lying on my bed after dinner.

Why do I have to say "I like you" to her? What should Rosemary even reply to that? Damn it, Dillon, you fool.

But I really don't know what else to say. I've already told her she's important to me (my life depends on hers) and I need a reason why I said that. The only reason that seems somewhat reasonable to me is because I have feelings for her.

It's not like I can say I was given a mission by a mysterious existence to save her and will die if I fail, right?

I mean, we don't know each other, so there's no reason for her to be important to me other than me falling for her. I'll just let her think I fell in love with her at first sight. It's an unreasonable yet somewhat sensible answer.

*Sigh*

Thinking about earlier makes me embarrassed. Hopefully, Rosemary believes in me.

Ughh, embarrassing...

I roll around in bed for a while.

Embarrassing, but there's nothing I can do to change the past. I'll just let Rosemary think I'm a weird, clingy guy. At least now I have a reason to care about her.

...

I stare at my room's ceiling. Because of today's events, my mind wanders back to memories from the past.

"What should I do?" I mutter quietly.

...

Oh right! Points from the quest rewards. I wonder what I can do with them.

"Open screen."

The screen immediately opens after I say that.

"Hmm, so what are these points for?" I ask the system.

[You can use them to buy items]

[Shop feature unlocked!]

The screen that previously had no shop option now has one. I immediately open the shop.

"Hmm, let's see..."

I spend some time scrolling through the shop's contents.

"These are... items I can buy in the real world, right?" I say, surprised.

Stationery, electronics, groceries, and so on. They're all just normal items that can be bought in the real world. There are no buffs or anything like that; these are all genuinely normal items.

I furrow my brows. What's the point of buying them through the system if I can just buy them in the real world? Besides, my family is wealthy, so I don't need to worry about the cost.

I stare at the screen in front of me in disbelief.

[You might need these items in the future to help you]

I tilt my head, still not understanding.

[There might come a time when you urgently need an item, but your situation doesn't allow you to buy or retrieve it]

Ah, I see. Maybe I will need them in the future.

Well, to be honest, I'm a little disappointed. I thought I might get some magical items. There goes my childhood dreams.

"What did I expect from this half-useless system..."

[ヽ('д´；)/ ]

"What, am I wrong? So far, you've been completely useless. The only thing you've done is giving me quests."

[（┬┬＿┬┬）]

"At least you're self-aware..." I chuckle softly.

[ (≧∇≦)/ ]

"Hmm, what else? Are you not done yet?"

[Aside from buying items in the shop, you can also use them to purchase advice]

"Huh?"

[You can buy advice to help you solve a situation]

"What?!? You should have said that from the beginning!!!" I say angrily.

That could have helped earlier when Rosemary asked me.

I glare at the screen in frustration.

[Sorry (ㄒoㄒ) ]

"Next time, please inform me about important things like that..."

[Got it!]

"Good... Close screen," I say softly. The screen instantly disappears from my view.

I then get up from bed and sit at my study desk.

"Now, let's write down all the important things I remember about this manga," I take a pen and open my notebook.

One by one, I write down the names of important characters along with what I know about them.

"Darn... My memory of the manga's storyline is incomplete," I look at my notes anxiously.

I remember general descriptions of the characters and their storylines, but I can't recall specific details.

I spend a lot of time trying to remember, but I still can't recall who the culprit is and the people associated with them.

*Sigh*

Most main characters in the isekai stories I've read have complete memories of the world they entered, but why not me? They even get a lot of cheats.

"It's so ironic... People often complain about how convenient the life of the main character in isekai stories is, but if they were in my shoes, they would want it too..."

My world now isn't a fantasy world where combat abilities and magic are needed. This is just an ordinary modern world.

"Well, even so, I'm actually grateful that I don't have to face death often..."

*Yawn*

Since I'm starting to feel sleepy, I decide to go to bed and continue tomorrow.

***

Morning came fast. I'm already at school right now. 

"It's already the second day, right? Am I going to be given another quest?" I mutter to myself. Now I'm walking towards my class.

"Hey! Dillon!" someone taps my shoulder. I turn to him.

"Oh, hey Michael," I greet him.

He smiles broadly.

"Sorry for not hanging out with you yesterday, there was something I had to do," I tell him.

"No worries, bro. By the way, turns out you were busy walking with your girlfriend yesterday, huh?" he grins mischievously.

"Huh?" I stare at him in disbelief.

"Eh? Wasn't the girl next to you yesterday your girlfriend? I saw you two together"

"No! She... is just my friend," I look away from him.

Why does he suddenly have to talk about Rosemary? I'm reminded of yesterday's events again.

"Hmm... Are you sure you're not lying?" he looks at me suspiciously.

"Why would I lie? If she really was my girlfriend, I wouldn't deny it to you"

"Oh, so she's not your girlfriend yet?"

"Why does it feel like you're assuming we have a romantic relationship?" I look at him somewhat annoyed.

"Because I've never seen you being close to a girl. So it's a bit weird seeing you with a girl. I thought, maybe my friend finally fell in love," he replies to me.

"Well, I guess I am interested in her..."

"Omg, turns out my guess was right! Congratulations, buddy! I'll support you guys," he gives me a thumbs up.

"Oh come on... Maybe I just have some business with her"

"You're right, but the way you look at her was different"

What does he mean?

I look at Michael in confusion.

"I wonder, huh? You look at that girl with warm eyes, as if you were looking at someone you love. I've never seen you look at anyone like that, even though we've been friends since we were kids"

...

Do I look like that in other people's eyes?

I fall silent for a moment.

"I did say I was interested in her, right?"

Michael just gives me a grin.

"True, hehe"

We then part ways and go to our respective classes.

***

The lessons have begun. Now it's already the second lesson. I steal a glance at the girl next to me. The teacher is busy explaining the lesson and she's busy taking notes.

Rosemary and I haven't talked to each other yet today.

How should I greet her later? After yesterday's awkwardness, I find it difficult to start a conversation with her.

*Ding*

[A new mission has been given!]

I jolted, a floating screen suddenly appears in front of me.

Why do you have to give me a quest now?

I look around in panic. Fortunately, my classmates and the teacher don't look at me.

Even though I know others can't see this screen, my body reflexively reacts to the stares of others.

With a bit of annoyance, I look at the screen.

[Chapter 2: Watch over the heroine from threats

Mandatory quest:

1. Talk to the heroine

2. Protect her from threats

Bonus quest:

Become friends with Rosemary

Penalties will be given if you fail to fulfill the mandatory quests. The mission will automatically end in 3 days.]

Ughh...

This quest gives me a bad feeling. Just yesterday I didn't receive a quest like this, even though we had to deal with that jerk. Does this mean there will be even worse obstacles than yesterday?

Just thinking about it gives me a headache.

I look at Rosemary again. Her face looks completely innocent.

Please don't mess with dangerous people, Rosemary...

***

Long break time has arrived, I decide to talk to Rosemary. Fortunately, she didn't go anywhere and is eating in the classroom.

Rosemary in the manga always brings her own lunch.

Ah! Come to think of it, she might not have had lunch yesterday. Memories of dragging her around me return to me. Thanks to that, I didn't have lunch yesterday either.

"Um, hi Rosemary. Sorry for making you uncomfortable yesterday," I say to her.

She looks at me. It seems like yesterday's situation also made her awkward.

"Oh, yeah. It's okay..."

"You also didn't have lunch yesterday because of me, but I ended up dragging you around," I continue.

"We didn't have any other choice yesterday and honestly, I forgot about lunch. My mind was focused on the clubs we visited yesterday."

"True, haha... I feel a bit sorry."

We fall silent for a moment.

Rosemary looks like she's reaching for something from her bag.

"Here, I forgot to give this to you yesterday," she hands me a plastic bag containing cookies.

"This... we made it yesterday?"

She nods.

Chocolate chip cookies. We made these in the cooking club yesterday. Because she didn't want to bother carrying them, Rosemary decided to put them in her bag yesterday.

We parted ways awkwardly yesterday, so there was no way for Rosemary to casually give this to me.

I take one of the cookies from the plastic bag and put it in my mouth.

"Turns out you're good at cooking..." I say to her. I don't know why, but I feel like teasing her.

She furrows her brows.

"Do you think I can't cook?"

"Well, maybe? Your background is similar to mine."

"I should say the same thing to you."

I chuckle softly.

"Sorry, I was just kidding," I say to her.

"I was too," she replies shortly.

She might not realize it, but her face looks brighter than before.

It seems like I might be able to become friends with her faster than I thought?

I hope so.

Well, knowing her it's probably not gonna be that easy. 

Author's note

Thank you for reading! I'm always grateful to everyone that read my work. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. As always, please correct me if you see any mistake. 

A new character will appear next chapter, can you guess who they're? What kind of character they'll be?