"Here, do you want this?"

Yumo shook the simple meal in his hand.

"Aren't you eating?" the homeless person asked.

"I'm not very hungry... but I can share half with you."

"Alright, if you're willing, thank you very much."

Her tone was gentle and mild, even impeccably polite—a demeanor that screamed well-bred intellectual, utterly at odds with her ragged appearance.

Whether out of "sympathy," or simply because seeing someone worse off made him "breathe easier," Yumo decided to share this meal with the stranger. He split the roujiamo in half for her and gave her a can of beer. She accepted it solemnly with both hands and thanked him.

"Thank you for helping me when I was hungry, kind stranger. May I ask your name?"

"Me? Yumo. And you?"

"I am Yusuozaai."

"'Yusuozaai'? That's a strange name, and it doesn't sound feminine..."

"The abode of a fleeting moment. Easy to remember, right?"

"What nonsense..." Yumo muttered under his breath and started eating this unusual dinner.

...

...

...

This feeling was truly strange.

Yumo felt as if he were in a dream beyond reality.

On the last day of the year, as a high school student, he had spent his meager meal money to drink beer and eat roujiamo with a female homeless person he had just met.

The not-so-clear river flowed quietly, thin ice floating on its surface. The biting cold wind stirred the water, drawing icy moisture that seeped into the collar of his down jacket. He tightened his collar a bit, took a sip of beer, bit into the roujiamo, and suddenly found himself lost in the deep purplish-blue sky.

This was a place he passed every day, but with an unusual time and a different perspective, the world seemed transformed. He even felt as if he had slipped into another world.

He took another sip of beer. He hadn't drunk since childhood, when he was scolded by his parents for disobeying and taking a sip. The alcohol slowly spread through his alcohol-intolerant body, giving him a tipsy, half-drunk sensation.

He suddenly felt... relaxed.

Away from that suffocating home.

Away from his estranged sister.

Away from class committee duties.

Away from idiotic classmates.

Away from dumb teachers.

Away from studying.

Away from exams.

Away from anxiety about the future.

Away from all kinds of frustrations.

Only now did he realize how exhausting his life had been from childhood to now.

The world was full of annoying crap every day, and so was his life. He had always accepted it passively, or rather, he couldn't think of anything else to do. Yell at teachers? Foolishly hit on the school beauty? Cling to his parents' legs and scream for attention? Get revenge on his cousin who ruined his middle school life? Accept Zhangyuanzhou's provocation and end up in the hospital? Become a hero and wipe out gangs after seeing news about them? Ridiculous?

"...Just kidding."

He drained the beer can, let out a burp, and opened another one.

Suddenly, he noticed the homeless girl who called herself Yusuozaai was looking at him.

"......What's wrong? Not tasty?"

"It's delicious. Thank you for treating me to this meal."

"No need to thank me. People should help each other... though, maybe it's just self-satisfaction for me."

"Sages judge by actions, not intentions."

"Thanks..."

"You look troubled."

"Just a kid's worries. In this big world, they're nothing."

"But in your small world, they're everything."

"......"

"It's just us here. Consider it my repayment. Tell me your wishes, and I'll make them come true."

"Pfft, that's not how jokes work. What can you do?"

Yumo sized up the girl—her sallow, emaciated face, destitute and frail, blind in one eye. What wishes could this homeless person, who relied on others for dinner, possibly fulfill?

"Actually, I'm a Demon. You know, the kind from fantasy novels that grant wishes—devil, demon. Does that make sense?"

Wow, not only was she down on her luck, but she was also crazy.

"Bullshit... but... whatever..."

Yumo, slightly tipsy from the alcohol, paused.

What did it matter if he said it?

Things he had bottled up for seventeen years—finally, someone willing to listen. Why not vent? After all, she was just a mentally unstable homeless person; it was just stress relief.

With that thought, he felt even more relaxed, even wanting to swear a bit, fueled by the alcohol.

"You want to know my wishes? Simple. Right now, what I want most is... Zhangyuanzhou that bastard! Damn it! Everyone knows he's scum, yet he's thriving! Unfair! If I hadn't run away back then and instead beat him to the ground in front of the whole class, it would've been so satisfying! And Tanglingxue too—can't she learn to look people in the eye?!"

"Mm-hmm, anything else?"

"I want to rank first in my year—at least top ten! I have to outdo that brat of a sister!"

"Mm, okay."

"I want a girlfriend—no, since we're at it, a harem! The more, the better!"

"Mm, and then?"

"I wish my dad would stop giving me that sour face! It's annoying to look at!"

"Mm, and then?"

"My mom too, always favoring that brat sister. If she's going to be biased, just don't!"

"Mm, anything else?"

"I want to be a hero like in the movies, fighting evil and upholding justice! It's so frustrating seeing all the messed-up stuff in society every day!"

"Mm, anything else?"

"I have a cousin. She was the one who came on to me, and when I rejected her, she turned it around on me. What kind of person is that? She'll pay for it someday!"

"Mm, anything else?"

"I want to write novels! Become an internet-famous writer! At least a pillar of the platform!"

"Mm, and then?"

"For girlfriends, I want all kinds! Like the class beauty! The school beauty! The literary girl! The sporty type! And—oh right, idol trainees! And more..."

"Mm, go on, I'm listening. Be specific—like, what evil do you want to fight, what kind of girls do you like, what do you want to do with them..."

"Ahhh, you're so nitpicky..."

...

...

...

After chattering for several minutes, Yumo finally finished. He let out another burp, glanced at the sky. At this time... the New Year's Eve party must be halfway over, right? Zhangyuanzhou was probably showing off with his guitar. Tch...

"By the way, who are the important people to you?" Yusuozaai suddenly asked again.

"Huh? Why ask that..."

"Just tell me."

"Well... uh... family? My dad, mom, sister, stuff like that?"

"Don't you hate them?"

"They're still family."

"I understand. Anyone else?"

"Lots... childhood friends, crushes, favorite idols... all kinds..."

"Aren't you important to yourself?"

"I hate myself. I rank pretty low on my own importance list..."

"Mm, mm... okay..."

"...Wait, what are you writing?"

He suddenly noticed Yusuozaai writing in a tattered notebook from who-knows-where. He snatched it and looked—it was actually the absurd wishes he had just drunkenly blurted out, neatly organized item by item, in handwriting so beautiful it rivaled a calligraphy master's.

Flipping through pages, it read "Contractor's Father," "Contractor's Mother," "Contractor's Sister," "Contractor's Crush," "Contractor's Admirer," and... wait, what the hell is this?

A sudden, inexplicable fear crept into Yumo's heart.

Before he could react, Yusuozaai took back the notebook.

"Shh, don't peek so eagerly."

"...What are you doing? Why write these?"

"I said I'd grant your wishes, as repayment for dinner."

"How? By giving me powers like in web novels? System flow? Invincible flow?"

"I've written a deadline after each of your wishes."

"Mm, so?"

"If you fail to achieve these goals by the set times, the people you care about—the ones you just mentioned—will die one by one."

".........................................................................................................................Huh?"

Yumo's brain froze.

What nonsense?

"You said... you want to... repay me?"

"Yes."

"If I don't fulfill those drunken rants I just made... the important people will die?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"This is how I grant your wishes."

"Who grants wishes like this...?"

"My abilities are limited."

"So... what should I do?"

"Just try your best."

"...But look at these wishes... how can I possibly achieve them?"

"Human potential is limitless."

"Aren't you supposed to cheat for me or something at times like this? Like a system flow..."

"Does such a thing exist in reality?"

"................................................"

Yumo shook his head hard, trying to clear the tipsiness, and stepped back.

"What you just said was all bluff, right? Demons don't exist in this world! Bullshit! You crazy lunatic, stay away from—"

"Pay attention to your phone. Your sister just had a sudden heart attack. Your mother will call to inform you shortly."

"Huh?"

Beep beep beep beep—his phone suddenly rang. He hurriedly answered—

"Yumo! Quick, come back! Your sister—your sister—"

On the other end was his father, the usually taciturn man, now sounding utterly panicked for the first time.