Inverse Fate: I Get Rewards by Inversing the Heroines' Fates!

Notice [Minor Spoiler]: By 10th Chapter, another heroine has already appeared. Don't worry, I won't rush. Expect the same one as before.

***

After a brief moment of absurdity, Riku sighed, tired of the nonsense. Ai, puffing her cheeks out in a mix of irritation and cuteness, turned her face away in mock anger.

"We can start as soon as I take a look around your place and those boxes," Riku said, trying to get back on track like a professional. "I'll make a list of the essentials you'll need before we go over your purchasing options."

Ai shot him a quick glance, her expression still pouting. "Do whatever you want."

"Alright, then," Riku said, already stepping inside without waiting for a second invitation.

He quickly scanned the place, like he should. The living room was a vast wasteland of empty, bare white walls. No couch, no TV, not even a rug to make it feel like an actual room.

The boxes, stacked haphazardly in the corner, were filled with a truly depressing mix of half-unpacked clothes, scattered baby supplies, and random junk that looked like it had been shoved in at the last second. A single cardboard box labeled "important stuff" contained a tangled mess of phone chargers, a single slipper, and an unopened bag of chips.

The kitchen? A sad sink, some basic cabinets, and a fridge that looked like it had been slapped into place five minutes ago. As for the dining area—well, there wasn't one, unless you count the empty void where a table and chairs might have been if someone actually cared.

The bedrooms were the same: an empty shell with just a couple of futons lazily thrown onto the floor like someone had given up halfway through setting it up. The bathroom wasn't much better—bare essentials, as if someone was in the middle of "moving in" and then just... forgot.

'She really just moved in, huh?' Riku thought, running a hand through his hair. He sighed deeply before pulling out his phone and started typing a list of everything Ai would need to make this place, you know, actually livable.

***

He looked over the list afterward then glanced at Ai.

"What?" Ai immediately caught onto his stare. "You should know, I have an excellent eye for judgment, you know? I can tell you're looking at me with negativity!"

"That's unfortunate," he said, in a tone that was anything but unfortunate. "Well, we need food first. Then furniture. Then childcare basics, because I don't know what kind of mother just treats her babies like stray cats."

Ai gasped dramatically. "They're not stray cats! They're adorable and well-loved!"

"They're also on the floor."

"You're still stuck on that?!"

"Always."

He turned back to the twins, ignoring Ai's huff of protest. "So, are we going out or just doing it online?"

Ai seemed to think for a moment. "Going out sounds fun, but…" she glanced at her kids.

Riku scoffed. "We can bring them. I saw you at least have baby carriers in one of those boxes."

The twins blinked up at him.

Ai, however, gasped in horror. "W-Wait! Can't we just leave them here while we shop?!"

Riku stared at her. Horrified. Absolutely appalled.

Ai flailed her arms. "I mean, they'd be fine—"

"We're taking them."

Ai puffed her cheeks in protest but ultimately didn't argue. Instead, she crouched down and scooped up both babies—one in each arm. They squirmed a little but didn't protest.

***

Ai handed Riku a small envelope as they were about to leave the house. The envelope was crisp and looked surprisingly official. Riku hesitantly opened it with a skeptical expression, and inside was a neatly written note:

Budget: ¥300,000

Riku looked at the note again, trying to make sense of how he was supposed to access the ¥300,000 budget. As if reading his mind, Ai reached into her bag and pulled out a sleek, metallic card. It wasn't one of those fancy, personalized credit cards—just a plain, no-frills debit card with a logo that looked like it belonged to some high-end company.

"This is the card," Ai said, holding it out to him. "It's linked directly to my account. You can use it at most stores around here. Just swipe it like any regular card, and don't worry about the details. If you go over budget, I'll cover the difference later."

Riku eyed the card with a bit of skepticism but nodded. It wasn't like he had much of a choice. At least it's not a prank this time, he thought.

"Just be sure to keep the receipts and make sure you're within the ¥300,000 limit," Ai added, her voice cheerful but slightly anxious, as if she was just as unsure as he was about the whole thing.

"Got it," Riku said, pocketing the card. I'll make sure to spend wisely, he told himself.

With that, the shopping trip was officially on, and he'd be using Ai's card to get everything on the list—no turning back now.

He calculated roughly how much he'd need for everything on his list, starting with the essentials.

Living Room:  ¥38,000 – ¥70,000

Kitchen & Dining: ¥33,500 – ¥66,000

Bedrooms: ¥20,000 – ¥58,000 (depending on the number of beds needed)

Bathroom & Laundry: ¥9,500 – ¥19,000

For the Kids: ¥15,000 – ¥30,000

Total Estimate (for everything):

Low end: ¥115,000

High end: ¥243,000

Riku sighed as he ran the numbers in his head. This is pushing it, but it's definitely manageable.

"Nifuruji-kun, you're my age, right? Eighteen?"

Riku spared her a glance before looking ahead again. "Yeah, what about it?"

"How do you even know so much about this stuff?"

Riku pressed his lips together briefly. "I work as a General Accountant at a Villa & Resort. There are a bunch of different departments I handle financial reports for—Housekeeping, Food & Beverage, Engineering, Front Office, and so on. Even though I haven't been there long, I've managed enough purchases to estimate expenses—not just for hotel standards but also for lower ones. I naturally keep an eye on things myself before giving the Purchasing staff the authority to buy."

"Uh, I have no idea what you just said."

"You don't need to."

Riku stuffed the note into his pocket, then pulled out his phone, already looking up nearby places to shop.

***

A/N: Sorry, I'm quite busy. I'll try to keep a stable update schedule.

You can support me in Patreon, of course. That'll definitely motivate me to give more.

Rate it from 1 to 10 with the reasoning as well, if possible. That'll help me covering what's lacking from the story.

7+ Advanced Chapters [more incoming] in Patreon: patreon(.)com/YvisEV