Penalty Applied — Sendo Erika
Penalty: Social Compliance
The user must publicly embarrass the person she loves the most
• The location must be a public place
• The audience must not be Star Chasers
• Must be witnessed by at least 100 people
• Embarrassment must be genuine
• Failure to comply will keep the penalty active
Erika stared at the screen in front of her.
"…Whatttt?"
The word slipped out before she could stop it.
Akira and Selena leaned in to read the penalty window, both wearing expressions that could only be described as weird.
"…Wow," Akira said after a moment. "This seems worse than mine."
"I guess that's the gacha element of it," Selena replied lightly.
"Don't give me that!" Erika snapped, turning toward her. "Why is my penalty like this?! I can't do this to Akira!"
Akira nodded immediately.
"Yeah. This penalty feels more like it was targeted at me than her. And it's her penalty."
Selena looked between the two of them, then a slow, teasing smile spread across her face.
"Oh?" she said. "So, you automatically decided the target is Akira?" She clasped her hands together. "Hehe. That's good. That's really good."
Erika's entire face detonated bright red.
"I…THAT'S NOT…THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR THIS!" she yelled, steam practically coming out of her ears.
Akira, meanwhile, had gone completely still.
He had entered maximum tactical silence mode.
He was not going to draw any attention to himself. Not now. Not ever.
Meanwhile, Erika and Selena continued arguing.
"Anyway," Erika said firmly, trying to regain control, "there is no way I could do something like that."
"Calm down, Erika-chan," Selena replied casually. "This penalty isn't as bad as it sounds."
She gestured lightly as she explained.
"It only says public embarrassment. My brother might seem thick-skinned at times, but most of the time, he is actually quite thin-skinned and introverted. Just putting him under the spotlight without warning would probably be enough to embarrass him."
"…Really?" Erika asked hesitantly.
"I'm telling the truth," Selena said. "The penalty doesn't say you have to humiliate him or cause him any harm. Just public embarrassment."
She continued, counting off examples almost thoughtfully.
"Even doing something good can embarrass someone, right? Public displays of affection, such as hand-holding, hugging, kissing, or even a public confession. All of those can make someone embarrassed, even though they aren't bad."
She smiled and said, "…So there are plenty of ways to do it."
Erika's shoulders relaxed slightly.
"…Yeah," she said slowly. "That… makes sense…"
Then realization hit her.
"WAIT, THERE IS STILL NO WAY I CAN DO THAT IN PUBLIC!" she screamed.
Selena smirked.
"Oh? So doing it in private is okay?"
Erika's face turned even redder.
"That's…! You…!"
She froze, completely failing to find words.
Selena laughed lightly.
"Relax. The point is, it's really easy to embarrass my brother. He's actually pretty thin-skinned, so it's…"
She suddenly stopped.
"…Wait."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Where is my brother?"
Erika froze as well.
"…Wasn't he just standing next to us?" she asked.
The two of them turned to look at the same time.
Only to find Akira standing right beside them.
"…Bro?" Selena asked. "Did you go somewhere?"
"No," Akira replied calmly. "I was here the entire time."
"…Really?" Selena frowned. "I didn't feel your presence for a bit."
Erika nodded slowly.
"Yeah. Same."
"Oh, that," Akira said casually. "I've mastered the ability of standing so incredibly still that I become invisible to the eye."
Selena and Erika stared at him like he was an idiot.
And yet…
It really did feel like his presence had diminished.
"…Does that mean it actually works?"
Just as they were thinking about it, a new notification appeared on their systems.
Akira sighed inwardly.
"Great timing."
Right now, he really wasn't ready to talk about romance. There were still too many things he didn't understand, his own feelings included. He needed time to sort them out before taking any kind of next step.
Everyone's attention shifted to the system notification.
[Hidden Achievements Detected]
[Reward Distribution Available]
"…What is it now?" Erika asked, tired.
Selena glanced at the screen.
"Oh. It's the hidden achievements and rewards."
"…Oh, that?" Akira said. "I forgot about that."
"Hidden achievements?" Erika repeated.
"Right," Selena said casually. "I already explained this to Akira before. You weren't there at the time."
Erika crossed her arms.
"Then explain it properly."
"It's like in a game," Selena said. "If you complete a hidden goal during a mission, it unlocks the corresponding achievement. And those achievements give rewards related to them."
"I see," Erika nodded. "So, we get rewards for that too?"
"Not very strong ones," Selena replied. "But they still count, I guess."
She clapped her hands lightly.
"Anyway, who's going first?"
Akira thought for a moment, then looked at Erika.
"You go first."
"…Why?" Erika asked.
Akira shrugged.
"Just a feeling. The one who goes second always gets better rewards."
Selena burst out laughing.
"Bro. That is not how it works."
Erika let out a small sigh.
"…Fine. It's not a big deal. I'll go first."
Erika took a breath, then tapped the notification.
The system responded instantly.
[Hidden Achievement Unlocked — "Breaking Free"]
Condition: Trigger Device Reconstruction
[Reward Granted]
Skill Name: Battle Continuation
Rank: C
Allows the user to continue fighting despite injuries that would normally render them incapacitated, as long as the user's will to fight remains unbroken.
"…Is it good?" Erika asked, looking up from the screen.
"I guess," Selena replied. "You'll keep fighting even if you get hurt. It's probably because your resolve triggered your device reconstruction. As long as you keep that resolve, you can keep fighting."
"That's a cool skill," Akira said honestly. "I want one too."
Selena glanced at him.
"Brother, you don't need it. You've been trained to keep fighting even if you're missing half your body, remember?"
She paused slightly.
"You probably already have something like Battle Continuation. At EX level."
Akira fell silent.
For a moment, memories surfaced: training, pain, broken bodies, and deaths that blurred together.
"…Yeah," he said quietly. "Probably."
"Forget about that," Selena said. "Let's check yours."
"Okay."
Akira tapped the notification.
The system responded immediately.
[Hidden Achievement Unlocked — "The Bone of His Sword"]
Condition: Learn blacksmithing and create one hundred swords
[Reward Granted]
Skill: Appreciation of Swords
Rank: C
Grants the user an instinctive understanding and heightened affinity toward swords and sword-type weapons.
Akira stared at the screen.
One second passed.
Two.
Three.
"…Why should I appreciate swords?" he asked flatly. "Why can't it give me something cooler? I need an offensive attack skill."
Selena looked at him calmly.
"Brother, with your talent in magic, you can create any kind of attack you want by yourself," she said. "How many attacks have you created over the years?"
She continued, her tone firm but patient.
"These kinds of skills suit you better. You can't easily obtain them, and they're more useful to you than a simple offensive skill."
Akira exhaled slowly.
"…Yeah."
He also realized she was right and let out a small sigh.
Then he thought of something and asked.
"…Are these all the achievements?"
"Seems like it," Selena replied.
"There should be more, right?" Akira continued. "I learned all breathing styles. I created medicines and poisons. I even created my own breathing styles. And Erika learned the Blood Demon Arts and developed her own breathing style as well. Why weren't those achievements?"
Selena explained calmly.
"Some of the conditions probably weren't completed," she said. "You didn't actually learn all breathing styles, remember you forgot Moon Breathing."
She continued, ticking things off mentally.
"As for medicine and poisons, you make those all the time, so they don't count as achievements. And you never forged swords by actually forging them, you usually make them with magic, so this one counted instead."
She glanced at Erika.
"Erika didn't learn that many Blood Demon Arts, so it probably didn't unlock the achievement. And for the breathing techniques you created, you only made one form, and Erika only made three forms. That probably wasn't enough to count."
Akira sighed.
"…Whatever."
Then another thought crossed his mind.
"Why are all the rewards from the Fate franchise?"
"I don't know," Selena shrugged. "Maybe because they have a lot of skills?"
She smiled faintly.
"Anyway, that's that. I'm sure you'll get more skills later, so don't be too sad, okay?"
"…Fine, fine. Whatever."
Akira exhaled.
"So… now that we're back, what time is it again?"
"I paused this world's time," Selena replied. "Remember? It's still the night you left."
"I see…"
Akira went quiet, looking like he was thinking about something.
Then he glanced at Erika.
His expression stiffened slightly, and his face grew just a bit flustered.
"…Anyway," he said quickly, "it's nighttime, right. I'm going back to my room to sleep. It's been a long time. Good night."
He turned and hurried away.
Then suddenly stopped.
"…Hey, sis," he asked awkwardly, turning back. "Can you send me back? I can't leave by myself."