Bonus: On the Other Side of the Night

"Ah... Another day with nothing to do... And I'm a reincarnator at that..."

I was walking home, staring at my phone with boredom, quickly scrolling through all kinds of sophisticated apps and sighing because I had had such an extraordinary experience, but it was still so ordinary.

Where was my cheat ability? Where was my epic, exciting adventure?

"Hahh... Reincarnating was supposed to have an exciting end to it..."

I was playing video games at home when suddenly, in the blink of an eye, I realized I had become a baby. Faced with that situation, I panicked for a while at first, until I understood what was happening.

I originally thought my rebirth would be exactly like a novel's protagonist, who would eventually achieve something great. But then reality hit me again: a plagiarist? While this world certainly didn't have novels or books from my previous world, unfortunately, some guy beat me to the punch by plagiarizing all the stories and publishing them with blatant copyrights. But what was worse was that the guy took an even more shameless pseudonym, like "the messiah of the full moon" or something, leaving no popular franchise for me to use.

As expected, even if I was reborn as a common person, that was all I could hope for, since I had no knowledge of any events in this world. Although similar in appearance to Earth in the modern era, it was also completely different in other aspects, such as its larger size or a greater amount of water and different cities.

Also, for some reason, the cities seem to have names from the Greek alphabet, like City Sigma or City Lambda. Despite this, there are no cities or towns that represent the letters Alpha, Omega, and Delta; these three unique letters seem not to exist for some reason, being replaced by other names like Central City, which is where I live. So I simply gave up on thinking about it...

"Hahhh..."

When I think about the past, I can't help but sigh.

So I was walking down the street, looking at my phone absent-mindedly, when I suddenly discovered something strange.

"Mmm... What is this?"

I was bored and looking for interesting games, but why did I end up on a strange page?

"......"

I looked at the huge eye on the phone in front of me and the black vortex spinning inside it, and I fell into deep thought.

Could this be some new kind of virus?

Thinking about the money I'll have to invest to fix it, I always remember how a while ago I used to boast to my best friend Leo that I didn't need to try hard to win in life, believing I could get rich with copyright and plagiarism. However, seeing how someone beat me to it because of my laziness, I always feel like cursing my own stupidity for it.

After all, because of my lack of effort, Leo ended up getting into a better school than me, who barely managed to get into one. Fortunately, we're still friends and we keep in touch, so I can count on him in a pinch.

".... Huh?"

But while I was thinking about this, after pressing the button several times without a response, I unconsciously pressed and held the power button to force a shutdown, like a deeply ingrained habit.

"....."

And because of that, the scene in front of me made me fall into a deep reflection, because even though the phone should have been forcibly turned off, the eyes and the vortex on the screen still didn't disappear.

"Is it broken...?"

After waiting for a while, I discovered that the phone hadn't changed. After messing with it several times, I decided to try to turn it on and check, although I really had no idea if it was turning on or off.

"After all, I'll have to take it in for repairs."

While thinking this, I noticed that the eyes and the swirls on the phone had disappeared.

"Haa..."

It was disappointing, but I still wanted to see if there was anything strange on the phone.

"Huh?"

I don't know when, but on the home page, a program appeared that was both familiar and unknown to me: familiar because of the icon, unknown because I had definitely never downloaded it.

"What is this? This isn't some alien virus that steals my bank cards if I click it, is it?"

Reading the name of the app, I couldn't help but click it with some hesitation.

[Congratulations, you have been chosen for the application test——Hobbymod]

[Do you want to start editing?]

An immensely huge logo and a simple "Start Editing" below it. That was all that was shown on the open program.

[Current functions]

[People modification limit: 1]

[Editable elements: Hobbies]

"Could it really be?!"

After excitedly clicking to start editing, a long list of words appeared.

"Is this my cheat ability?!"

I KNEW I WAS A WINNER!!

Thinking about this, I suppressed my excitement and ran home as fast as I could.

Immediately after arriving home, I spent the entire night investigating the functions of this app....

"I'm tired..."

..... So after a whole night of research, I managed to understand the function of the program that suddenly appeared on my phone to a certain extent.

First, it can detect "human" beings in a radius of about 500 meters centered on itself.

Second, it can know the name and interests of the person it is detecting.

Finally, it can modify the interests and hobbies of the target.

"Of course, the last point is questionable."

After all, the fact that only one person can be modified makes me hesitate to change it lightly.

"Therefore, the experimental target must be chosen carefully."

The target can't be a celebrity who's too distant or unknown. Even if I try to get close to them, I have no way of observing if it's effective.

"It could even arouse suspicion, and maybe other people with this program or something similar will detect something strange."

If I were the protagonist of a light novel, I'd probably have a disdainful neighbor or an arrogant relative, which would allow me to experiment easily... Unfortunately, I live alone and don't have relatives... There aren't even any frictions between neighbors; they are just acquaintances, or can't even be classified as that...

"In that case, my options are classmates or the teachers with whom I can have close contact."

That way, I can easily observe the changes, and due to the easy and frequent contact, it won't be easy to arouse suspicion.

"Now, the question is which one to choose."

The students in my class or in nearby classes are the safest. Classes that are a little farther away are relatively problematic. As for teachers, besides the tutor and the teacher, it's not easy to contact others. And in terms of income, teachers are also the highest earners... But the problem is that I feel a bit uncomfortable choosing a teacher... None of them are particularly appealing...

"No, the health teacher! She's new, good-looking, and it would be easy for me to go to the nurse's office without attracting attention..."

Thinking this, I arrived at class with my heart pounding with anxiety and excitement.

"Teacher, my head hurts..."

I feigned discomfort and secretly looked at the cleavage that was unconsciously squeezed when the Teacher leaned over to check my physical condition, and I involuntarily swallowed.

"Mmm... Look at those dark circles under your eyes. Did you stay up all night? It's nothing serious. Drink some water and rest for a while; it will pass quickly."

She spoke to me gently, with a hint of helplessness, and offered me a glass of water.

"Don't do this again, okay?"

It seemed that she had realized I was faking being sick, but she had no intention of ratting me out. Instead, she gave me kind advice. Her kind and respectful attitude towards students' self-esteem was one of the reasons she was so popular.

"......."

Although I had decided to use her as a test subject, I couldn't help but feel ashamed. I had no choice but to nod, took the drink, drank it, and lay down on the bed. Then, while she returned to her seat to continue watching the series, I secretly opened my phone.

"?!"

[name: Ainara Kaelaneth]

[Hobbies: Reading]

[Hobbies: watching TV series]

[Hobbies: sleeping]

"...."

The content displayed on the phone surprised me, and I couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Last night's observations on my phone showed that the name and interests were practically the same. So, does that mean the last name is authentic? If that's the case, it means she must belong to a prestigious family, because in this world, having a last name is the same as belonging to a royal or prestigious family.

"Looks like I found someone important, so it would be a waste not to try."

"......."

While thinking, I clicked on the hobbies displayed on my phone.

[Do you want to modify?]

Faced with the message that asked me, I clicked "yes" and saw a text bar appear that indicated it could be edited, and below there was a plus sign and a minus sign.

"So when I click the minus sign, the added hobby is directly deleted..."

While thinking, I glanced sideways at the teacher, who seemed to be watching the series with great interest.

"......."

I thought about it and then added the words "eating snacks while watching series" and pressed "Confirm changes." Then her hobby became "eating snacks while watching series."

"Excuse me, I'm going to buy some things. If other students come, could you let them know on my behalf?"

"Oh, of course!"

Then I saw the teacher look away, suddenly getting up. She asked me in an apologetic tone and hurried out.

"Thanks!"

So I watched her walk away in a hurry without looking back.

"Ugh..."

I let out a sigh of relief while lying on the bed, bored and thinking: Did it really work? Could a person be transformed with a simple click?

"......."

Observing the expectant scene in front of me, tossing and turning in bed, I felt a little excited and a little incredulous.

"I'm still not sure, I have to try again..."

I suppressed my excitement and clicked again, but this time I had no idea that this action would have consequences....

"Hello, sorry for the delay."

"Oh, don't worry!"

The teacher had returned with the snacks but I felt anxious, fearing that this was all just a coincidence. I couldn't help but hold the phone with both hands and, determined, I did something I would regret.

"Let's see if this works."

... At that moment, I added some new hobbies without knowing what the teacher would become.

[Name: Ainara Kaelaneth]

[Hobbies: Reading]

[Hobbies: Sleeping]

[Hobbies: Eating snacks while watching series]

[Hobbies: Masturbating while thinking of the student Cedro]

[Hobbies: Masturbating every day.]

Curious, I added these two hobbies, wondering how she would react to me using my name and becoming an active hobby of hers. I hoped that, if it worked, it would spark her interest in me... Looking back now, it was a mistake.

"....."

At that moment, while looking at her with her cheeks inexplicably tinted pink and her eyes somewhat erratic, she squirmed uncomfortably with her legs crossed. I was thinking positively about the near future.

"Please, Leo, answer!!"

Returning to the present, it was midnight. Locked in my room, I was looking at the door to the outside with fear, remembering how things had escalated to this point...