"There's no one, right? If someone finds me here, I think I'll die of embarrassment…"
In a dark alley, a schoolgirl with a skittish gaze scanned her surroundings to make sure the coast was clear.
"Shirakiyo Hiromi, you're already eighteen! Nobody has any right to scold you for renting one of "those" videos!"
Completely forgetting she wanted to stay unnoticed, Hiromi hyped herself up out loud.
In front of her, the door to the shop hidden in that alley felt like an insurmountable wall right now.
"We only have one computer at home, and Mom won't get me a mobile data plan… How is it possible that I've never seen "the act" even though I'm eighteen? I only know it from school books!"
Hiromi kept shouting embarrassing things at the store's door, but the only response was the flicker of the glowing sign that read "Alasta" above the entrance.
She stared at that sign for a moment, and a determined expression formed on her face.
"There's a reason I dusted off Dad's old Blu-ray player, today I'm done pretending in front of my friends that I know what they're talking about."
Hiromi, who had spent her entire life studying at an elite all-girls school, knew this was her last chance to learn about that world before starting university.
So she braced herself and opened the door.
***
The inside of the store was dark, tinted only by a faint red light.
Hiromi walked past the clerk with her head down, but neither of them really saw the other. He was hidden behind a black curtain, only his hands were visible. It was probably meant to protect the customers' privacy.
"Ugh, maybe I should've changed clothes… But if I'd gone back home, I wouldn't have dared to come again."
Not knowing what was redder, the store's light or her cheeks, she hurried down the aisles.
From the rumors, she knew this was one of the few places that still rented the kind of videos she was looking for, but so far she'd only found "items".
"This is for… No, seriously?! Will it fit?!" Hiromi clapped both hands over her mouth and her eyes snapped toward the clerk's window, but the curtain blocked everything.
Now certain she was redder than the store itself, she kept going along the shelves until she came across a mirror.
Reflected in it was her long black hair falling to her waist, and a figure that, while not especially voluptuous, had nice proportions.
Still, the most striking thing about her was the way her unusual light-colored eyes made the delicate features of her face stand out.
She'd never been vain, but the truth was that more than a few pedestrians turned to look when she walked down the street.
"The mirror is for trying on these outfits, I guess…"
The store was surprisingly well stocked and even had a section with fitting rooms, the mirror was inside one of them.
"Renting a video is one thing, but I don't think I could ever dress like this…"
From police officers and cheerleaders to "magical girls", the store had a pretty wide selection.
!!
That was when she realized most of them were schoolgirl uniforms.
"I need to leave before someone shows up and thinks I'm a customer… even though I am a customer… But I'm not in costume!"
Hiromi kept searching through the store, but with little to show for it.
"Was the rumor a lie? They don't rent videos here?… Mm, what's this?"
Wandering through the place, which was oddly larger than it looked from outside, brought her to another pair of curtains. They hid the entrance to a different section.
""Do not enter"?" she read from the sign beside the curtains. "Ah, there's fine print… "You may enter, but at your own responsibility"."
Hiromi crossed her arms, intrigued.
"Doesn't that sound kind of personal? Mmm… Either way, I didn't come all the way here to leave empty-handed. My responsibility or whatever, I'm going to find those videos!"
She parted the curtains and stepped into the new area, but it turned out to be a hallway. At the end, she could see yet another set of curtains.
"How big is this store?… Another sign?"
If you want to go through so badly, you can, but take the token, it'll be useful.
"A token? What token? Ah!"
In a slot in the wall, she found a round object like a coin with a heart drawn in the center.
"What a weird store, but hey, I'm never going to complain about getting something for free. It could be a collectible… I don't know if I want adult-store collectibles…"
Hiromi took the token anyway and headed for the second set of curtains.
***
As she stepped through the curtains, a blindingly bright light dazzled her and she had to close her eyes for a few seconds.
"Ugh, who thought it was a good idea to put such a strong light… right after… th…"
When she opened her eyes, Hiromi found herself in a city that looked like it had been pulled from a fairy tale… or a science fiction novel… or a Middle Eastern history book…
"Where am I?!"
To be honest, it was hard to tell what kind of city it was. It felt Middle Eastern at its core, but there were futuristic structures too, and people… people? dressed in European fantasy outfits…
"Elves, dwarves, French maids, cyborgs… Did I leave the store at some point? Am I at some kind of convention? But no matter how I look at it, this is a whole city…"
She looked behind her, but the curtains she'd passed through were nowhere to be seen. There was only an empty alleyway.
"Someone explain what's going on here!"
[Welcome to Alasta, user, the interdimensional city!]
[I am the System, and I will be the user's guide in this metropolis]
"Kyaaa! A floating screen!"
Hiromi almost fell backward from the sudden shock, but she caught herself at the last moment.
In front of her, what looked like a bluish holographic screen had appeared, with letters written across it.
[The user had a very exaggerated reaction. If the user was going to react that way, she should have done so upon arriving in the city]
"It popped up right in my face, sorry if I offended you… Wait! A System?! What are you talking about?! I mean… writing."
[The System is a system, like any system from LitRPG novels in the user's world]
"LitRPG? When it comes to fantasy, I've read The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia…"
[…]
[Welcome to Alasta, user!]
"Ah! This screen just ignored me!"
[If the system explains things that basic, the readers are going to end up bored. The system urges the user to continue with the story]
"What readers?!"
[…]
"Ah, whatever! You're a computer or something, right? I want to go back home!"
[That is going to be complicated]
"This system, or whatever it is, is worse than a GPS!"
[Alasta is located in another world; GPS is not applicable]
"Another world?! Do I have to find a portal or something to go back?!"
[CLARIFICATION: Alasta is an interdimensional city; interdimensional travel: enabled. NOTE: The user has no papers, transit between worlds: impossible.]
"… Pa-papers?"
[Affirmative, the user is undocumented]
"…"
[…]
"Are you messing with me?!"
[The system always speaks seriously]
"Ah, whatever! How do I get papers, then?!"
[Only the ruler of the city, the Crimson Monarch, can grant papers]
"Isn't there an immigration office or something? I don't think that's a ruler's job…"
[Alasta is a special city. The user does not need to worry about the details]
"Fine, fine. How do I get an audience with the Crimson Monarch, then?"
[Impossible, the user is a mere commoner, after all]
"And how does he handle immigrants like that?!"
[If the user gains a certain status in the city, obtaining an audience becomes possible]
"And how am I supposed to gain status without papers?"
[In Alasta, it is possible to work without papers. Policy established due to a labor shortage]
"This city is basically a free-for-all, isn't it?!"
[Three routes are available. At the end of each, there is a chance of an audience with the Crimson Monarch]
"Three routes? Like paths to follow?"
[SOLDIER ROUTE]
[MERCHANT ROUTE]
[ADVENTURER ROUTE]
"I see, so they're professions… but merchant, soldier, adventurer? Are those things even I can do?"
[View Requirements for Each Route?]
"Sure, let's start with the Soldier Route."
[SOLDIER ROUTE: Rise through the ranks and become a famous general!]
[REQUIREMENTS: Strength / Agility / Courage / Testicles / Strategic Thinking / Leadership Skills / Penis / Guts / Spatial Awareness…]
"Wait! Is it just me, or are there two things there that disqualify me by default?"
[The Alasta army follows medieval rules, after all]
"And there are cyborgs walking down the street… Whatever, I don't think I meet the other requirements either… Just show me the next option."
[MERCHANT ROUTE: Crush the competition and become a tycoon!]
[REQUIREMENTS: Intelligence / Luck / Cunning / Connections / Mathematical Knowledge / Parents' Money / Market Vision…]
"Everything in life is connections?! And I'm sure not all merchants start with their parents' money!… But enough. Maybe I had no choice but to be an adventurer from the beginning… Let's see those requirements."
[ADVENTURER ROUTE: Let's go for those quests! Become an S-class adventurer!]
[REQUIREMENTS: Adventuring Spirit / Dexterity / Sense of Direction / Perseverance / Ability to Revive if You Die…]
"Stop, stop! I have to be able to revive if I die?! Is there seriously none of these professions I can do?! Isn't there something like a baker route?!"
[CALCULATING… CALCULATING…]
[The probability of scheduling an audience with the Crimson Monarch as a baker is zero]
"Ugh… What can I do? At this rate, I'll never be able to go back to my world… !! What's that?"
In the lower-right corner of the holographic screen, a small slot was drawn. Hiromi pulled the coin-like object from her pocket, the one with a heart drawn in the center, and confirmed it was the exact size.
"This token… if I don't need it now, I don't know when I would."
Hiromi tried to insert the token… but it fell to the floor because the screen was a hologram.
[The possibility has been detected that the user lacks basic reasoning ability]
Hiromi was red as a tomato, but in the middle of her embarrassment, she noticed the token had begun to glow. The very next instant, it turned into energy, which shot straight into the slot drawn on the holographic screen.
[ERROR: The system #$%@ has detected #@€€%# the system / the system #$%#%#…]
"What's happening now?!"
[The system has evolved into the erotic system! ERO System for short!]
"That's an evolution?! Wait… erotic?!"
The holographic screen lost its bluish color and turned pink instead.
[New route unlocked!]
[CONCUBINE ROUTE: Go get those hearts! Become the number one concubine of Alasta's Harem!]
[REQUIREMENTS: Be of Legal Age]
"Be of legal age… that's it? But a concubine… does that mean I'll have to… do that kind of "stuff" with the Crimson Monarch?"
[In fact, the Crimson Monarch shares his harem with the most influential and wealthy people in the city. The absolute majority of concubines have never seen him]
"So it's just a brothel, then!"
[That is not a very marketable name for the novel]
"There you go again, talking... writing nonsense! How am I supposed to meet the monarch like that in the first place?!"
[The Crimson Monarch does not actually visit his harem, but the number one concubine is the exception. The number one concubine refers to the highest-rated concubine in the harem]
"… Rated by all the people who received her "services" before?"
[That's why it's called Alasta's Harem]
"…"
[…]
"…"
[…]
"What are my chances of making it if I pick up a sword and become an adventurer?"
[99% certain death]
"Well, some people have made it against those odds…"
[The remaining 1% is becoming permanently disabled for life]
"…"
[…]
"And what if I get money somehow and become a merchant?"
[100% probability of falling into debt and being sold to the mines for forced labor]
Just then, a spaceship flew over the alley where Hiromi stood.
"There are spaceships, and that's the workforce in the mines?"
[…]
"Aaaaaaa! Fine! I'll be a prost… a concubine!"
[Has the user realized it sounds better that way?]
"Shut up! Actually, you're writing, but you know what I mean…"
[Do you wish to follow the CONCUBINE ROUTE?]
[Yes] / [No]
"Yes…"
[Quests have been unlocked!]
"Great…"
[MAIN QUEST: Be admitted into the Harem of Alasta]
"Ugh, I can't believe it… I'm going to have to do that kind of thing from school books with strangers… I wanted to know what it was about, but not in person!"
[The user is getting ahead of herself. Not just anyone can be part of the Harem of Alasta]
"Now what?! Wasn't the only requirement being of legal age?!"
[MAIN QUEST: Be admitted into the Harem of Alasta]
[REQUIREMENTS: 1000 (200) Allure Points / Basic Harem Outfit]
"I need a thousand allure points?! And that parentheses says I only have two hundred…?"
[Did the user think she was attractive?]
"Are all systems like you?!"
[Beauty is subjective. The ERO System only counts allure points from equipment and acquired traits]
"I don't know what to think about that… and those "traits" sound pretty intriguing. But more importantly, what do you mean by my equipment?"
After Hiromi's question, the system presented a series of tables, among which two stood out the most:
[----------STATUS---------]
[NAME: ---Shirakiyo Hiromi]
[ALLURE: --------------200]
[TRAITS: -------------None]
[TITLES: --------------None]
[ERO POINTS: ------------0]
[------------EQUIPMENT-----------]
[Navy Blue School Blouse: -------20]
[Navy Blue School Miniskirt: -----20]
[Black School Shoes: --------------5]
[Boring White Bra: ----------------10]
[Boring White Panties: ------------10]
[White Stockings: ---------------135]
"Boring?! They're the most normal ones!... Wait… almost all my allure is in my stockings?!... To think my entire existence comes down to a pair of stockings… How do I know this isn't just some fetish of this system?!"
[The system has no preferences, only calculations. And the calculations indicate these [high-cut crotchless panties] would be useful to the user]
[High-cut Crotchless Panties (1500), WARNING: They may be interpreted as an invitation by third parties]
"Of course not! And those are fifteen hundred allure points, I don't need that many!"
[Tch…]
"This system just clicked its tongue at me! Wait… can you shop through the system?"
[SHOP]
The system opened a tab with different clothing categories. Under each one, she could see a description, how many allure points it provided, and its cost.
"Here's that basic harem outfit from the requirements… it gives me eight hundred allure points. I'd have to get the other two hundred somehow… But it looks like one of those Arab dancer dresses… What's this requirement? Exhibitionist Lv. 5?!"
[It is one of the traits the user can acquire]
"How do you even get a trait like that?!... Wait… I don't want to know… Either way, this outfit costs two thousand… but two thousand what? I don't have this world's currency."
[Alasta's currency is the dario, but the ERO System uses ERO points for purchases]
"Looks like you can buy darios in the System shop too… Meaning I need those ERO points to eat and pay for lodging… But how do I get them?"
[Do you want to view the available ERO quests?]
"No… but I don't think I have a choice."