The steady ticking of a clock is your only companion in the small but ornate waiting room. The walls and floors are made of marble, or something that looks like marble at least, and the furniture is made of expensive wood and cloth. Not that there's a lot of furniture. Two small loveseats are positioned perpendicular to each other with a coffee table in front of them.
The only thing that doesn't fit the theme of the room is the vending machine against the wall across from where you are sitting. You had investigated it when you were first told to wait here, curious about what it was. It didn't take long to figure out that it's a drink dispenser, but instead of having rows of buttons with predetermined selections, it has a keyboard where you can type whatever you want.
There's also a warning label declaring that the Company isn't responsible for any injury or death that results from improper use of the machine and that you would be charged for any damages to the machine or room if you chose something dangerous.
So you had decided against being adventurous. It isn't really the time for it anyway. Instead, you had simply asked for 'the best pink lemonade I've ever had'. A styrofoam cup was dropped into the output slot, and a nozzle filled it with the drink you had requested. One sip had convinced you that the machine had delivered on its promise; this is definitely the best pink lemonade you've ever had.
You sip your drink as you wait, flipping through one of the magazines that you found on the coffee table. The magazine is weird, filled with news and gossip about characters from what seems to be every conceivable reality. Some you recognize, some you don't.
You glance down at the page number after a few minutes of idly flipping through. It's marked as page 843, which matches up with how much you've flipped through it, but not the magazine's appearance. It doesn't look like it's almost a thousand pages long, nor does it feel heavy enough to have that many pages.
Your internal musings are interrupted by the door opening. You look up from the magazine and see a woman standing in the doorway. Your eyes take her in all at once, noting the business suit that carefully toes the line between professional and slutty. She's wearing heels that accentuate her long stocking-covered legs that your eyes trail up until they reach her tight pencil skirt that is just an inch shy of showing too much that clings tightly to her wide hips. Her top is form-fitting and there are several buttons undone, showing off quite a bit of her sizable breasts.
Unfortunately, as nice as her outfit and body is, she falls short of your standards. Oh, her face is supernaturally beautiful, and she's wearing a pair of glasses that really helps sell the whole "sexy secretary" look. But her hair, done up in a professional-looking bun, is brown. You have to hold back a sigh. Not every woman can be perfect it seems, even at the Company.
"If you'll follow me, your Agent is ready to see you now," she says as she looks at you. Even her voice seems handcrafted to be as sexy as possible while staying without going full porn star.
You nod, toss the magazine back on the table, quickly drain the last of your pink lemonade, throw the now empty cup into a nearby trash can, and then stand up. "Lead the way," you say, equal parts nervous and excited.
She turns and starts walking down the hall. You follow her, immediately noticing that these are not the halls you came through when you were led to the waiting room. The walls are covered in red wallpaper with vaguely Asian designs printed on them. They're completely different from the plain beige-painted walls of before. You absently wonder if the Company liked to show off their powers like this on purpose, or if it's just a side effect of how they organize things.
It takes less than a minute to arrive at your destination. The woman stops at a door identical to every other door you had passed, with no nameplate or even number, and knocks on it, her knuckles rapping twice against the thick wood. She doesn't wait for a reply, or at least not one that you notice, before she opens the door and steps into the room.
You quickly look around the office as you follow the woman inside. It's pretty much what you expected, reminding you of an office of a CEO or other well-paying position. Bookshelves and filing cabinets lined the wall, as well as a rather large and ornate cabinet that housed a large number of bottles of liquor, only vaguely obscured from sight by a pane of frosted glass.
The center of the room was dedicated mostly to a large desk with two chairs facing it. Behind it was another chair, though it was turned to face away from me. The back of it was large enough to completely obscure the person sitting in it, or if there was even someone sitting there at all.
Behind it, or in front of it you suppose, is a large window that takes up the entirety of the far wall. Through it, you can see one of the most stunning views you've ever witnessed, a massive spaceship sitting in orbit above a planet. You don't recognize the ship, but it's a massive thing of gold and silver. The view pans into what you presume is the bridge, showing a man with a cunning grin surrounded by women who are manning the various instruments and monitors.
Then the view changes in the blink of an eye, switching from the sci-fi ship to a battlefield. You recognize the man here, flying confidently above the fighting with wings made of fire, as a colorful cast from across the multiverse faces off against a red-haired princess and her much smaller force.
"Sir," the woman says as the two of you fully enter the office. The chair turns around, revealing a man just as attractive as the woman. He's dressed in an extremely well-tailored suit and is wearing an easy-going smile on my face.
"Mr. Pink!" He cheerfully greets you as he stands up and waves you closer to his desk. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
The woman wordlessly steps forward and to the side of the desk, where she stands at attention.
You step forward and politely take his hand, giving him a firm handshake. "My name isn't Mr. Pink, it's-"
He cuts you off with a wave. "It's just an endearing nickname we've come up with for you here in the Entertainment department. After all, it's not often we get a request like yours." He sits down in his chair and gestures for you to sit down as well.
The seat is as comfortable and luxurious as you expected, and the man continues talking. "Oh sure, we get some weirdos. In fact, if they weren't unusual in some way, we'd never see their file."
You nod. That makes sense, based off of the little you know, or think you know, about the Company. You had heard of them before you were approached about becoming a Contractor. Vague rumors online, fictional stories based on the idea, things of that nature. The broad strokes usually lined up, though much of the inner workings of the Company were a complete mystery.
"Does that mean my request was accepted?" you ask hopefully.
The man smiles. "Indeed it has been." He turns his eyes to a tablet sitting on his desk. "Just to confirm, you want to 'make every single pink-haired girl in the multiverse part of my harem', and you have 'no interest in any girl that doesn't naturally have pink hair'. Are you sure about that?"
You recognize him quoting parts of the request you placed with the Help Desk when you were first offered a chance at becoming a Contractor. "I am," you agree without hesitation.
He nods. "I figured, but had to ask. Standard procedure and all that." He smiles apologetically before continuing. "Though I admit, I am curious. What is it about pink-haired girls specifically? Most of our Contractors go after a variety. Or, if they do have a theme, it's something a bit less niche, and it's usually a preference, not such a strict requirement."
You mull over his question for a moment before shrugging. "Why do you like Miss Slutty Secretary over here?" you ask, gesturing to the woman who is still standing perfectly still, presumably waiting for instructions.
She doesn't react to your words, so you continue. "Why does anyone have preferences for aspects of a girl that have nothing to do with the base urge to breed healthy children? I don't know, I just know that pink-haired girls turn me on, and very little else does. There's nothing better than a girl with pink hair as far as I'm concerned. So long as it's natural at least."
"An impossibility in your home world," the man points out.
You nod. "It was extremely frustrating."
"Well, have no worries, the Company is here to make your dream come true!" the man reassures you. "Now, there's no real problem with you choosing to only capture a certain kind of girl. Picky Contractors are a dime a dozen, and it makes no difference to us. But you mentioned being concerned about the logistics of your plan?"
"Most settings only have a handful of pink-haired girls, if they have any at all," you explain. "I'll be doing a lot of traveling, and a lot of purchasing, but not a lot of capturing."
The man nods in understanding. "Credit income is a big concern. You could always loosen up your-"
"I refuse," you cut him off before he could finish spouting his heresy. "I have no interest in even momentarily owning any girl that doesn't naturally have pink hair."
Instead of being annoyed that you interrupted him, the man just grins again, like he was expecting that answer. No, like he was hoping for that answer.
"Good, you're devoted," he said, confirming your suspicions. He turns his attention down to his desk, and you hear him open a wooden drawer. "This wouldn't work if you weren't. But, just between us? I'd suggest being willing to do it in a life or death scenario, either for you or one of your retinue. You don't have to like it, but survival is more important to your goals, no?"
You grimace. Some of the worlds you'll visit are definitely pretty lethal. You had realized that already, but the closer you got to starting, the more real it felt. "I'll consider it," you reply, not willing to agree to something like that, but not being able to ignore the fact that it was a good idea.
He nods and then pulls a smartphone out of the drawer he had opened and offers it to you. "In that case, here you are. Your official Company smart device."
You stiffen slightly in excitement before reaching out and taking the proffered device. This is it, this is the start of finally making your dream a reality. You immediately unlock the phone and look at what is installed. There aren't many apps, not yet. A few basic smartphone utilities mostly. But one icon stands out. A stylized "WC", but done entirely in pink.
"'Waifu Catalog: Pink Edition'?" you read out loud, looking up at the man in confusion. Behind him the window switches views again, showing a young boy facing another young figure in a fox mask. Both of them have katanas in hand, but they seem to be sparring, rather than fighting. You don't let it distract you from the moment at hand though.
"You're not wrong in that, with the current default version of the Catalog, you'd run into issues with your quest," he explains. "All of them are totally solvable, but they're annoying and boring. However, my job is to deal with Contractors like you, ones that are different in a fun and, most importantly, marketable way."
"So you customize a version of the Catalog for me, and in exchange, you get…marketing rights?" you ask, confused.
"No, no, we already had that," he answered with a shake of his head. "What my department does is we take those interesting Contractors and sell their story. Books, movies, live streams, hallucinations, dreams, and every other conceivable form of entertainment, as well as some that aren't conceivable by the human mind." He grins at that. "You should see the Pheromone floors. It's like walking into a jungle, but I'm told it's very satisfying work translating the experiences of a Contractor to something that even plant-based species can understand."
You spend a moment trying to wrap your mind around how that would even work before dismissing it with a shake of your head. "So this Pink Edition is to make things more interesting?"
"Exactly," he replies. "We've made quite the number of tweaks to tailor it both for your needs and for our entertainment. Some have made things harder, some have made things easier, and some are just different. If you open the app, it'll first show you a quick list of differences between the version you were sent in your initial recruitment and this one."
You do as he suggests and open the app. It opens and loads instantly. Before you can get a look at the main catalog itself, a window pops up titled 'Changelog'. Having already familiarized yourself with the standard catalog, you quickly skim the list of changes.
"You're giving me the Cash Still Rules starting benefit?" you ask with a raised eyebrow. Normally you receive 60% of the cost it would require to purchase a character when you capture them. But according to this, you'll get 80%, a bonus normally reserved for Contractors who choose to skip the starting bonus. "I'm still getting a starting budget though, right?"
He waves his hand dismissively. "That's not too unusual of a change for extra-picky clients like you, or any other kind of Contractor who plans on limiting their capturing in a way that isn't related to Tier. You'll still get your starting budget, yes. This is just an extra little boost." He fixes you with a somewhat serious look. "That being said, it's a bonus predicated on you sticking to your guns and only capturing pink-haired characters, or those adjacent to it. We'll allow for the occasional emergency capture of non-pink-haired characters, but the second we think you're abusing it, you'll lose the privilege. Understood?"
You nod slowly. You don't think there's any real chance of that happening, but you can see how such a thing can be tempting. You turn your attention back to the list. Some perks that you wouldn't have used have been removed. Only one of those removals really inconveniences you, but the several useful perks that have had their prices reduced make up for it.
Overall, you find the changes helpful to your situation. But… "I'm still going to have to rely on missions for credits," you say. The increase in the amount you'll get from capturing girls is nice, but in most cases, it's not massive enough to fix your credit problems.
"You will, but fret not," he says. "I'll personally be handling your missions. I'll make sure the rewards are fair and they won't require you to capture or purchase any girls you don't want."
"And you'll make sure that those missions are hard enough to provide some entertainment," you assume.
He winks at you. "Of course! Or sexy enough. Or amusing enough. Depends on how your story unfolds, really." Your eyes flicker to the window behind him as it changes views again. This time it's rather explicit. A blue-haired boy that you vaguely recognize is having sex with a woman you also vaguely recognize, though you're pretty sure they're from different settings. You note the odd room they're in, with ritualistic circles drawn on the floor and candles spread through the room, but you quickly lose interest when you note that the woman doesn't have pink hair.
"How your story is going to unfold is actually our next topic to cover," the man says, drawing your attention back to him. "The reason we're having this meeting rather than you having received a device with a message attached is that I've decided to help you with your starting build. I'm sure you could list off a few settings with the most pink-haired girls in them, but I'm here to offer my advice as a Waifu Catalog expert."
"And the Company is willing to dedicate that amount of time to just me?" you ask suspiciously.
"Time is not a valuable resource to the Company," he explains as he presses a few keys on his keyboard. "We can warp and control it enough that just my work schedule would give Einstein a migraine trying to understand it. So yes, we have more than enough time for a hands-on touch like this."
The view in the window behind him disappears and is replaced with four different views, each one taking one corner of the screen. "So let's start at the beginning. I've chosen four worlds that, in my opinion, are your best options as starting places, offering numerous pink-haired girls that will serve well as the foundation of your retinue going forward."
The top left screen expands to cover the others. It shows what looks like a normal home. A young girl sits on a couch, eating pudding, and behind her, a boy slightly older than her runs past in a panic as a pink-haired girl follows him, concern on her face and only a loose towel to preserve her modesty. You recognize it immediately as the man starts talking.
"With four pink-haired targets to grab, To Love-Ru is roughly average out of the starting worlds. Starting here means a small starting budget, but the setting is also very safe, all things considered. And, to offset it, one of your four capture targets is a T8. Not only that, but each of the Deviluke daughters has their own skills, covering Technology, Plants, and Animals, which will surely be extremely useful for future conquests.
"The only real obstacle between you and your targets is Gid Deviluke, the father of the younger Devilukes, husband of the older one, and Emperor of the Galaxy. With your low starting budget and few available capture targets, fighting against him directly will be extremely difficult, as he was powerful enough to lead half the galaxy in a war that won him his title of Emperor. He is weakened at the start of canon, but even in that state, he is capable of destroying a planet.
"However, facing him in direct combat isn't at all required. A bit of deception and being more subtle about your captures can easily land you all four female Devilukes, at which point you can leave the setting. If you really want to settle things there, you can always come back later, when you have more firepower, and usurp Gid as the Emperor of the Galaxy.
"This is the safe pick for a starting world. Capturing the daughters should be easy so long as you aren't an idiot, and once you have their affection, it'll only be a matter of time before the mother comes to visit. It's also the credit-poor option, but all of the captures will be extremely useful no matter what your next world is, and there's plenty of room for very rewarding missions."
The screen shrinks back again, only for the next one to expand, showing a pink-haired girl you also recognize. She's standing on the beach in the rain, seemingly watching as a man is torn limb from limb. But you know that she's the one doing it.
"Next is Elfen Lied. Don't worry, the plot of this one is the manga version, but it follows the anime rule where all of the Diclonius have pink hair. This means that there are at least seven capture targets in the T4 to T6 range, plus an army of clones. Though whether or not those clones, failed as they are, will suit your tastes is another question entirely, as nearly all of them are severely mutated. They might not even have pink hair! Body Talent will fix the worst of the mutations, but the Company doesn't share your opinion on hair colors, and it won't change whatever their hair color is.
"The main difficulty of this setting comes from how extremely lethal it is. By default, Diclonius are antagonistic to humans and use their 'vectors', invisible telekinetic hands, to kill them in a variety of ways. But some individuals are less so, and certain times when you can capture at least one of them safely. And once you do capture one, they can be a massive help in capturing others.
"But the Diclonius aren't the only threat. They're being controlled by a government agency that would rather kill them than let them be free. Capturing all of them means coming into direct conflict with that agency. You'll either have to use quite a bit of force, quite a bit of trickery, or possibly some combination of the two, to get them all before any of them, or you, are killed.
"As a starting world, it's a little risky, but manageable. The only real downside is that all the capture targets effectively have the same powerset. Template Stacking can help with that, but that's going to eat into your already pretty limited budget. On the flip side, their skills are extremely dangerous, and most other settings won't have the proper defenses against them, so long as your girls can get in range."
The screen changes again, this time to what looks like a tavern, filled with colorful characters. Your eyes instantly latch on to the two bits of pink in the room. One on the head of a man with an open vest and fire in his hands, and the other on the head of a maid with shackles on her wrists.
"Fairy Tail is a wacky and zany world filled with magic, adventure, and danger. And more importantly, among its colorful cast are several named pink-haired characters, two of whom are spirits, which should be easy grabs so long as you're a little proactive. The world itself is fairly dangerous, and certain methods of acquiring your waifus may draw some negative attention, but so long as you pick up a moderately powerful magical skill and some stalwart retinue members or allies, you'll be able to find success.
"The major downside to the world is that it will take quite a while for some of your targets to show up naturally, which means making it through a few fairly dangerous events, depending on how involved you are with the plot. Or you could track them down earlier, but you'd be flying blind, experiencing places and events not covered by your meta-knowledge.
"As a starting world, it's moderate. There are quite a few dangers, but the decent starting budget and long periods between major events should allow for grabbing a few waifus and skills and training them up. The pink-haired targets also have a variety of powers with little overlap, though they lean more towards utility than sheer power."
The screen switches to the last view. A pink-haired girl in goth lolita style is lazing on a large bed. A few ghost-like beings hang in the air around her, and a creepy-looking teddy bear is standing a few feet away, at the ready.
"There are at least five different pink-haired girls scattered across Paradise in One Piece and the various factions within it, all of a decent tier. Getting them will be no easy task though. Just navigating the Grand Line itself is going to require a decent ship and crew. The higher Danger Rating provides a decent budget for coming up with those things, but those credits will disappear quickly.
"Your targets include pirates, members of the Marines, and the Princess of the Fishmen. Acquiring them is not only going to be difficult but doing so is definitely going to make you some enemies. Still, if you manage it, it'll be worth it, as all of them are high-quality waifus that will serve you extremely well in other settings.
"As a starting world, this one is somewhat challenging. Most of your initial budget will be spent on a starting crew and you'd be starting on the Grand Line, a terrifying place for even accomplished navigators and crews, though certain flying vehicles could make your travels much safer. And on the bright side, on top of the varied and powerful targets there, One Piece can offer formidable powerups in the form of Devil Fruits, Haki, and even the Rokushiki martial arts style.
"Oh, and just to be clear, this is for Paradise only. There are more targets on the other side of the Grand Line, in the New World, but most of them are part of the Charlotte family. Now, you can take them on if you want to, but I'd advise moving to the next world when you finish clearing Paradise and coming back for the New World once you have more resources and have trained up a bit more."
The screen shrinks down, once more showing all four worlds at once.
"Of course, I assume you'll visit all of these worlds eventually," the man continues as you think over the options he has presented you. "But I'd advise you to choose carefully. Where you start matters more than just how many credits you get. Doing Elfen Lied first and then jumping to To Love-Ru is going to have a very different tone than doing the reverse. Your first world will determine your first companions and the foundations of your skillset."
You nod as you take his advice to heart, and he continues. "Another important thing to consider is how you plan to go about things. I have a pretty good idea of what you'll do based on your psych evaluation, but I want to hear it from you. What is your methodology going to be for accomplishing your goals?"
"I plan on charming them, of course," you say with a confident smile. "There's nothing quite as satisfying as controlling people through words alone."
The Company representative smiles approvingly. "I feel the same way. And your world?"
"To Love-Ru," you confirm. "As you said, it's safe, the girls are hot, and they'll make an excellent foundation for my retinue."
"Can't go wrong with that," the man says with a nod. Behind him, the window changes, once more separating into four sections, though this time in vertical strips in line with each other. Within each of those sections is a full-body picture of the four pink-haired girls of To Love Ru. "Before we start making your build, let's go over your targets."
"Sephie Michaela Deviluke, T4," he starts. The images of the other three girls fade away and are replaced with lines of text. "She's a member of the rather uncreatively named Charmian species, a race known for their supernatural beauty and ability to induce lust in others. On top of that, she's said to be notably more attractive than other Charmians. She's also Queen of the Deviluke Empire, which covers all of the Milky Way Galaxy, and mother to the three other targets."
The view switches to another girl, the lines of text updating to match. "The third and youngest princess, Momo Belia Deviluke. She's a fan favorite, being somewhat perverted and very proactive in her attempts to push Rito into getting a harem. She's half-Charmian and half-Deviluke, giving her abilities such as superhuman strength, a tail that can fire a beam of energy, and an ability unique to her that allows her to telepathically communicate with all kinds of plant life forms. She keeps hundreds of different plants from across the galaxy in a pocket world, and she's a solid T5."
The view switches once more. "Nana Astar Deviluke, the second princess and twin sister of Momo. She's a T5 as well, having the same abilities as her twin, but she telepathically communicates with animals instead of plants. Also just like her sister, she has befriended many from across the galaxy and has them ready to access in a pocket world. She's not quite as popular, but she's also a flat-chested tsundere, so she definitely has her own appeal."
"And last, but most certainly not least, Lala Satalin Deviluke," the man says as the window switches to her. "One of the easiest to capture T8's in the series. She didn't inherit much from her mother outside of her looks, but, perhaps as is fitting for the first princess of Deviluke, she inherited much of her Father's strength. She is significantly stronger than either of her sisters, can roar loudly enough to blow away a typhoon, and the beam she can fire from her tail is powerful enough to stop a planet-busting attack, though at the cost of shrinking her down to a smaller form for a while."
"That's not all either. Lala is a genius and she mostly applies that to her inventions. She's capable of whipping up just about anything in a relatively short time, but her own whimsical nature means they're usually very specialized, silly, cute, or some combination of those. Her speed isn't always a benefit though, with some of her inventions being quite temperamental or having some kind of drawback."
"And speaking of her inventions, one of them is Peke. A robot that is in charge of transforming into her outfit, capable of giving her wings to fly with as well, and with an AI so robust she's listed in the Catalog as a T2. But she's also listed as Lala's Familiar, so capturing Lala will automatically capture Peke as well. She has a human form with light pink hair, so she should fit your tastes as well."
The screen fades back to showing all four girls. "Now, let's talk strategy. Thankfully, things in To Love-Ru are fairly simple. Everything is focused on Lala. Most of the aliens come to Earth and get involved because of her, her sisters come chasing after her, and her mother will eventually come to visit her. Earn Lala's affection, and everything else will fall into place given time. That's not to say it'll be free, you'll still have to capture them, but you are guaranteed the opportunity so long as you get her hands on her. There's just one major issue."
The screen switches again, the four girls being replaced by two images of the same man, though in one image he's significantly larger than the other. "Gid Lucione Deviluke, Emperor of Deviluke and the galaxy, and one of the strongest people in the setting. In the great galactic war, he used too much of his power so he is currently in his shrunken form, but he'll recover soon, and even in that form he's capable of destroying a planet."
"Gid is quick to choose violence and protective of his family. Especially his wife, who he makes wear a veil so no other man will see her face. Though that's partially to blame on the fact that the sight of her can drive men into lustful frenzies and they'll try attacking her. You'll have to earn his approval to get close to all the girls, but he accepted Rito in canon, if only barely, so the bar isn't quite as high as you would think. So long as you don't antagonize him, or reveal that you're enslaving his daughters, you should be fine. At least, until you go after his wife."
"Thankfully, as you likely saw, Exit Stage Left has been reworked. Progress is now measured by how many of the pink-haired targets are captured. This means that capturing his wife and then leaving the world before he finds out is perfectly viable. There would be nothing left to do, after all, and no reason not to move on."
The images of Gid fade away, and the screen turns black. "All in all, nothing that can't be handled, especially by someone as socially focused as you. All you have to do is play the part of someone genuinely in love with Lala, and make her love you as well."
"That won't be a problem," you reply confidently. "It wouldn't be wrong to say that Lala was a very big part of why I developed a love of pink-haired girls in the first place, though of course there are many others that contributed to it. She was just one of the earliest. Loving her? I already do."
"Then you shouldn't have any problems," he says. "Keep all of that in mind, and go ahead and start making a build. I won't hold your hand and make one for you, but I'll be here to answer any questions. I recommend making a few builds exploring different options, it will get those creative juices flowing and let you think of possibilities you would've missed otherwise."
You nod and turn your attention to the phone in your hands, still open to the Catalog and showing the things that were changed from the standard one. You close that window and start making your builds.
You immediately mark Sticky Fingers, Sexual Calibration, and Exit Stage Left as necessary purchases, for a total of 12 credits. The first two ensure you can have fun without worry, and while the third one could technically wait, you don't want to risk forgetting to purchase it when you're trying to leave in a hurry.
You start thinking of how you want to start when you realize something important- you're also going to need Universal Calibration. At 10 credits, it's another big chunk of your budget, but without it, there will be some issues with the age of some of the characters. Primarily Nana and Momo, who are just a touch too young for your tastes at the start of canon. And waiting a year for them to reach that level naturally will delay your journey too much. It also smooths over some other minor issues, and it's something you'd need sooner or later anyway.
To make up for all of those costs, you also choose Empty Hands, selling your Company Stamp in exchange for 20 credits. The Stamp would make things pretty easy, but you're confident enough in your ability to seduce Lala that it's worth the relatively large boost in your starting credits. All you have to do is make her confess her love to you, and she'll be stamped. In fact, if you play your cards right, it could be faster than the three days you'd have to wait for the Stamp to take effect, and you can repurchase the Stamp at any time.
With those choices in mind, you use your remaining credits to make three different builds, the app helpfully offering to let you save drafts that you can easily flip between. All that's left is to choose how you want to be inserted into the world, and what Lures, Talents, and other Perks you want to use to capture Lala and get started.
You quickly come up with three different ideas for how you want to approach things.
The easiest route is, of course, to just become the main character. It ensures you're in the center of the shenanigans, and being in the position of a Harem Protagonist offers tons of opportunity and influence. You double down on the Harem Protagonist power by loading up on passive Lures. With this combination, it should be a simple matter to attract any waifu you want with minimal effort. Of course, you also throw in an Appearance Change. Rito looks so generic, and he doesn't have pink hair, which is not acceptable.
Or instead, rather than being Rito himself, you can be his pink-haired fraternal twin. This gets you close enough to the plot to influence it, but without all the baggage that comes with being Rito. And Rito will still be there, for you to help, screw over, or otherwise use as you wish, which could be very useful. You also grab some active Lures, ones you can leverage with precision to seduce the girls you want. You're only aiming for a few of them after all.
On the other hand… when looking through the Extra options, you realized that just because you were starting on Earth didn't mean you had to be human. At least, not entirely. With your third build, you could naturally have pink hair and double down on your social abilities by becoming half Charmian, the same race as Sephie Deviluke. Unfortunately, you don't have any details about exactly what your racial ability as a half-Charmian will be, your family situation, and how close you are to Rito and the plot. You ask the Company representative, and he assures you that your ability will be useful and won't overlap with a Lure or other Catalog perk, your family won't get in the way, and you will at the very least live in the same neighborhood as Rito and be in his same class, but anything more specific than that is a secret. Due to the lack of information, you decide to leave yourself more credits on this build than the others. With 23 credits, you'll be able to purchase a Lure, Talent, or even a Template Stack to help once you figure out the situation.
Before you make your final selection, you ask the man to look over them and give his thoughts.
"Well, your budget being what it is, it's no surprise that your builds are so similar," he comments as he reads over them on his own tablet. "Still, they have different starting points, which is the important thing. Some of these purchases you've included in all of them could wait until later, but I approve of getting them early. You'll get a decent chunk of credits once you capture Lala, which will be enough to implement a plan to get the others. Plus any credits you'll get from any missions you do."
He looks up at you. "There is one thing I think you're overlooking though. You've set Universal Calibration to age up some of the cast, but you could leverage it better. For two of your builds, Rito is your biggest competition. But if you turn Rito into a girl, it removes him as a competitor. I know Riko has the wrong hair color, so you have no interest in getting her yourself, but it doesn't cost anything extra to do it and would make things significantly easier for you."
"Unless you want to keep him around to show him how a real man treats someone like Lala," the man continues, flashing you a grin. "In which case, by all means, leave Rito be so you can either help him or cuck him. I know plenty of people will enjoy both. Hooking him up with Haruna or one of the other girls before canon starts would reduce his presence as a competitor as well. Or you could allow him to gain Lala's initial attention before capitalizing on his fuckups and stealing her away."
He shrugs. "The choice is yours. The views will soar either way. Unsurprisingly, clients are very thirsty for content from this world. But think on it, and make your decision before you make a final selection."
You nod, taking his advice to heart, and spend a few minutes contemplating how you want to handle Rito.
"I'll leave him a boy," you say. "There are advantages to having him around."
"Of course," he agrees. "I just wanted to make sure it wasn't something you overlooked."
You nod appreciatively. "I've made my choice. Is there anything else I need to do?"
He smiles at you. "No, we've taken care of everything, and I'm confident you'll do just fine," he says. "Simply open the build and hit the start button at the bottom."
You nod and do just that. Instantly you feel your eyelids start to grow heavy. "Don't worry, that's normal," the man says, his voice starting to grow distant as sleep steadily draws you into its embrace. "When you wake up, you'll be in To Love-Ru. With any luck, you won't see me again after this, so before you go, allow me to say this."
You do your best to focus on him, even as your vision goes blurry. You think he's smiling, but it's hard to see. "It's been a delight talking to you Mr. Pink, and I'm very much looking forward to watching your journey."
You nod, or at least you think you do, in appreciation before the world goes black and you fall asleep.
Your journey starts here. Soon, all the pink-haired girls in the multiverse will be yours.
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This is the story-only edit of a Quest I run over on Questionable Questing! If you'd like to participate in the Quest and vote on decisions the character makes, head there!