With a sharp bang,
The bedroom door slammed shut, sending a gust of air through the hallway that ruffled Yukima Azuma's hair.
His lips curled slightly.
"The tenant is my ex-girlfriend. What a coincidence… almost like something out of a light novel."
Muttering to himself, he turned on his heel and headed downstairs.
Three years.
That was how long it had been since Yukima Azuma and Kasumigaoka Utaha last saw each other.
Back then, she hadn't debuted as an author yet. The Metronome in Love had been nothing more than an unfinished manuscript, barely held together by scattered ideas.
It was during their time together that she finally completed it.
But real life wasn't a novel.
There were no dramatic reconciliations, no fate-driven events that pulled them back together. Their relationship ended not with an explosive climax, but with a simple, quiet collapse.
One argument.
One moment of silence too long.
And just like that, they were done.
No lingering promises, no "I'll wait for you"—just an ordinary breakup between two people who couldn't see eye to eye anymore.
Of course, that wasn't the whole story.
Yukima Azuma was not from this world.
Or rather, he was born here, but the memories of another life returned to him as he grew older.
Because of this, he had already "known" about Kasumigaoka Utaha before they met.
Not just as the beautiful, sharp-tongued high school girl he had dated, but as the genius novelist who would one day become a legend in the industry.
It was this knowledge that allowed him to pursue her in the first place.
But—
"Loving a 2D girl isn't as easy as you'd think."
Kasumigaoka Utaha was stunning. There was no denying that. Her elegance, her refined presence, and those endlessly long legs wrapped in black stockings—any man would find her irresistible.
But her arrogance?
Her sharp, merciless tongue?
Those were very real, too.
In a light novel, it would have been charming.
In real life, it was much harder to handle.
Back then, Yukima Azuma had been inexperienced. Too young, too idealistic. He didn't know how to manage a woman like her. Their relationship had been filled with small, meaningless conflicts that slowly eroded what they had.
And then, they ended.
Shortly after, Yukima left Tokyo for Chiba due to family matters.
Or, more accurately—
Because the entire Yukima family collapsed overnight.
The Truth About Yukima Azuma
The name Yukima meant nothing to most people.
But the name Yukinoshita?
That was a different story.
It was a household name. A family that had risen to power with unprecedented speed, establishing itself among the social elite.
The Yukima and Yukinoshita families were once of the same lineage. But as the Yukinoshitas climbed higher, the Yukimas fell behind, eventually becoming nothing more than an irrelevant branch family.
And then—three years ago—the final blow came.
Betrayals. Financial ruin. The kind of "family conflict" that had nothing to do with sentiment and everything to do with power.
By the time the dust settled, the once-respected Yukima family had been reduced to one person.
Him.
Yukima Azuma.
At fifteen, he was thrown into a battlefield where survival meant playing by rules he barely understood.
But he adapted.
When the wolves surrounded him, he didn't fight them head-on. He sold off most of the family's remaining assets—on his own terms. He let the so-called "relatives" scramble for the scraps while he took a fortune and left Chiba behind.
He invested in real estate, secured a home in Tokyo, and rebuilt himself from the ground up.
The only reason he rented out his apartment at all was to ensure a steady stream of income.
But now, money was no longer a concern.
In fact, he had planned to cancel the rental listing this very week.
Yet, somehow—
Kasumigaoka Utaha showed up before he could.
A coincidence so absurd it might as well have been fiction.
And yet, here they were.
The "Gift" of Reincarnation
Yukima Azuma stepped into the entryway, slipped on his sneakers, and prepared for his morning jog.
But before heading out, he opened his system panel.
[Host: Yukima Azuma]
• Physical: 6
• Intelligence: 8
• Attractiveness: 8
[Skills:]
• Language Proficiency (Lv6)
• Literature (Lv5)
• Cooking (Lv5)
• Programming (Lv4)
• Shogi (Lv7)
When he first recalled his past life, he had expected some kind of reincarnation perk.
It didn't come.
For years, he had assumed he was just an ordinary guy with past-life knowledge.
And then—one year ago—the system finally activated.
It wasn't some overpowered cheat ability. There were no instant skills, no godly talents.
Just a simple set of stats and a progress bar.
But—
Any skill could be mastered through effort.
That was the true power of his system.
With time and dedication, he could push any ability to its absolute peak. No limits, no bottlenecks—just pure, measurable improvement.
His Shogi (Lv7) stat was proof of that.
And as for his physical stat—he had been testing a theory.
If consistent training improved his stamina, then theoretically, his Physical stat could increase as well.
That was why he never skipped his morning workouts.
Someday, he would push past his limits.
A Call From the Past
Just as he stepped outside, his phone vibrated in his pocket.
RING.
He glanced at the screen.
The caller ID displayed a single name.
"Ginko."
His grip on the phone tightened slightly.
A slow smirk played at his lips.
"Looks like today just got a little more interesting."