All thoughts flew off Midori's mind as she drowned in the protagonist's limpid pool of desire.
"I am going to consider you earnestly, then," she heard herself saying.
Soon afterward, S-9898's booming voice exploded in her head. At the same time, her surroundings froze to give the system time to make some announcements.
[Midori-san, congratulations on unlocking another potential future second husband! The system has established Kiyoshi Matsumoto as "Future Second Husband 2".
From now on, increased interaction with Kiyoshi Matsumoto will grant you Red Love Points.
The accumulated points can be exchanged against reward to enhance your love life!]
Midori had not even had the time to pick up her jaw when S-9898 continued with another revelation.
[Midori-san, your hard effort to sever the connection between yourself and Ryouichi Koishikawa-san has unfortunately been deemed a failure.
The system has established Ryouichi Koishikawa as the "Ex First Husband". Ryouichi Koishikawa-san has been given the power to gather Black Love Points for every interaction you have with your two future second husbands.
He is entitled to use the Black Love Points to erode either the Pink Love Points or the Red Love Points at his leisure.]
"Wait! I am the transmigrator here! Why do you give Ryouichi-san the power to collect points? Even worse, why does he get to take away my hard-earned Love Points??" Midori protested loudly.
[Ara~ Midori-san, light cannot exist without shadow, just as a hero needs a villain to define their purpose. I am rooting for you always, Midori-san!!! (＾∇＾)ﾉ♪]
Midori was about to say that she needed better support from S-9898, but then the frozen time started to flow again.
A mischievous glint danced in Kiyoshi Matsumoto's eyes as a playful smirk spread across his lips.
"Apologies, my friend. It seems that your pregnant wife has chosen to be with me instead. I suggest you let her go before you embarrass yourself further."
[1 Red Love Point is added to your account because Kiyoshi Matsumoto's affection toward you is growing.]
[1 Red Love Point has been deducted from your account after Ryouichi Koishikawa consumed 1 Black Love Point.]
"..."
"This is just marvelous," Akiko snarled at the three people before her. "You will hear from my family, Kiyoshi-san. This matter has yet to conclude."
Before she turned on her heels and left, she shot Midori a look so venomous that caused the blood in her veins to coagulate from fright.
There was something that Midori noticed as she spent more and more time in the novel -- each character she encountered held a different weight in this world. That being said, getting on the good side of the powerful characters could give her a lot of Charm Points, but offending them could also rob her of a lot of Charm Points.
Swallowing hard, Midori quickly assessed her Character Interface to see how many points she had left after inadvertently offending Akiko Yamagata.
Life Points : 130 Points.
Charm Points : 130 Points.
Creativity Points : 46 Points
Pink Love Points : 2350 Points.
Red Love Points : 0 Points.
... Unless she was mistaken, she lost around twenty Charm Points from the brief encounter she had with the number one bachelorette of Japan.
Oh, well. There will be other ways to gather points!
The most important thing right now was to get rid of Ryouichi Koishikawa!
With a self-sufficient smile on her lips, Midori squeezed Kiyoshi's hands eagerly.
"Did you hear my future husband, Ryouichi-san? Please do not stand between me and my happiness."
Ryouichi gritted his teeth.
[1 Red Love Point is added to your account because Kiyoshi Matsumoto's affection toward you is growing.]
[1 Red Love Point has been deducted from your account after Ryouichi Koishikawa consumed 1 Black Love Point.]
"A marriage is a promise made between a husband and a wife to stay together for life. Midori-san, apologies, but you will never remarry in this life."
Angrily, Ryouichi left the family register office.
"Hey! Wait!"
"No need to chase after him," Kiyoshi said calmly. "Nothing you say at this point will change his mind."
Midori let out an exasperated sigh.
Once Ryouichi took his leave, Midori suddenly realized that she was now stuck with two future second husband candidates.
The young woman gulped. She quickly released Kiyoshi's hand from her grip.
"Thank you for the help," she said with a bow. "You truly helped me out."
Kiyoshi beamed at her.
"No worries, you also helped me in return."
Oh.
That's right.
Midori bit into her lower lip.
"You and Akiko Yamagata-san..."
Kiyoshi arched his brow at Midori in surprise. "Do you know Akiko-san by chance?"
"Huh? No, of course not! Not personally, I mean. She is rather famous."
Just like you, Midori thought to herself. Only those living under a rock did not know the Matsumotos and the Yamagatas.
"Famous, eh? I guess."
With a practiced flick of his wrist, Kiyoshi smoothed his tailored suit, the fabric whispering against his touch.
"You have not given me your name," he added with a bewitching smile hanging from his lips.
One could only wonder how many women had already fallen victim to his spell.
"Midori Takigawa from Oshima Town," Midori answered.
"Ah."
Kiyoshi narrowed his sharp eyes at Midori, drilling into the latter's heart with his gaze.
"So it's Midori-san."
The way he spoke her name made Midori's heart flutter, and she was not sure if it was a good sign.
"I have to go," she said in a hurry. "Thank you again for the help, Kiyoshi-san. I wish you happiness with your next partner."
Midori bowed deeply before the protagonist of the story before she dashed away.
Kiyoshi watched Midori depart the family register office with a hint of amusement.
"In that case, you should take responsibility for what you did," he said in a voice so low that it bordered on a whisper.