Today is July 30th. With the indoor temperature averaging 30 degrees Celsius, Aoi had no choice but to let the poor electri, which had been running nonstop for five days and nights, tis grueling work.

  It seemed the fan was starting to wear out. Aoi couldn't pinpoily when, but at some point, it began making a "whining" noise, like it rotesting. He swore that when he bought it five days ago, there was absolutely no sign of this peculiar, pining sound.

  "Nagoya: 40 to 41.1°C."

  "Shizuoka: 40 to 41°C."

  "Yokohama: 39 to 40°C."

  The female announcer oV calmly reported these shog temperatures, her soft voi stark trast to the terrifying numbers. It made people feel as though the Earth was slowly turning into Mercury.

  Then, "Rumble....."

  A deafening roar suddenly surged in through the window, drowning out every sound in the room, asserting itself as if it owhe space. Aoi didn't flinch. He remained seated on the sofa, staring bnkly at a slip of paper and a bank card on the coffee table before him.

  It was just the sound of another airpaking off. He was used to it by now, as he heard it once or twice a day. While it used to bother him, he'd long since grown aced to the noise.

  After all, his apartment was right o Tokyo's only major airport.

  This brings us to how Aoi ended up living in this pce, a two-bedroom, oh apartment of about 70 square meters. It wasn't a rental he actually ow.

  Yes, his name was on the deed.

  But he didn't buy it himself. In fact, he couldn't afford it. He was just an ordinary guy, fresh out of college, without the means to purchase a home. And no, his parents didn't buy it for him either. Aoi had grown up in an orphah other kids. Life was fine. Except for the dorm-style living arras, it wasn't much different from the way normal children lived. He had enough to eat, enough to wear, and received a proper education, which left him with a pretty favorable view of the try.

  That said, he did have a particur passion—Anime.

  For Aoi, and for many other kids in the orphanage, anime was more thaertai it was like a friend and a teacher all i gave them, each with their own sad backgrounds, a way to ect with one another.

  Among all the shows, Naruto was the most beloved. It's easy to see why: Naruto, the main character, was also an orphan.

  But let's get ba track.

  The apartment Aoi now lived in wasn't something he bought, nor was it given to him by his parents. He had ied it from an old ma a year ago, shortly after graduating from college.

  The old man, who was hty years old, cimed to have no family, no wife, no children. So, before he passed, he decided to leave all his belongings to a "fated person."

  The catch? Aoi had to be his surrogate son until he passed away. When Aoi asked why he'd been chosen, the old man simply looked at him with a plicated expression and said, "You're easy on the eyes..."

  At first, Aoi didn't believe it. He was a rational adult, and his first instinct was that this was some kind of scam. But when his name legally appeared on the property deed, and nearly 60,000 yen was deposited into his bank at, he couldn't deny it any longer.

  For the five months, Aoi became the old man's "son," staying by his side until he took his st breath.

  Sure, Aoi could have taken the money and the house a without a sed thought. But he didn't. He couldn't bring himself to do something that heartless.

  So, for five months, instead of looking for a job, he stayed home and listeo the old man ret stories from his military days. Aoi didn't even know how to cook, but he bought recipe books and learo make meals. When the old man wanted fruit, Aoi would get up early to buy the freshest produce from the m market.

  Sometimes, when the boredom was too much, he would sing, even though the only songs he knew were theme songs from ahe old man didn't uand a word, but he always listened with a smile.

  In the final two months, the old man became bedridden and refused to go to the hospital, insisting it was a waste of money. So, Aoi made pe every day a to him, spoonful by spoonful. When some spilled, he'd carefully wipe it up.

  But the hardest part was dealing with the old man's deing physical state. He could no lo to the bathroom on his own, and sometimes acts happened. It was difficult for Aoi, and there were many times he thought about walking away. But every time he saw the old man's cloudy eyes, he swallowed his frustration and pushed through.

  To this day, he still isn't sure if he stuck around because of the apartment and money, or because he'd genuinely e to see the old man as a father figure.

  Noas Aoi sitting on the couch, staring at a slip of paper and a bank card? The reason might make you ugh: he'd been sitting there all night.

  The slip of paper was a check. A check with a 1, followed by seven zeros. No, this wasn't part of the iance from the old man.

  He'd ear. In fact, it had only taken him less than forty-eight hours.

  Sounds impressive, right?

  But it's really nothing special. Anyone could do it—as long as they win the first prize itery.

  Yep, the che front of him was the prize from the national lottery.

  As for the bank card, well, that was even simpler. The eight-figure sum on the check was now safely deposited in his at.

  "What the hell is going on with me?"

  "Why is this so ridiculous?"

  "You just buy a random lottery ticket and win?"

  "Okay, fine, I won. So what? It's just the first prize."

  "The first prize, though? And I actually got it?"

  All night long, these kinds of thoughts kept swirling through Aoi's mind in different variations. He simply couldn't his head around how lucky he was.

  "Wait a minute..."

  The sound of the pne had long since faded, and Aoi's mind started to clear. He gnced around his living room and muttered to himself.

  "e to think of it... this apartment... it's kind of suspicious how I got it in the first pce."

  Sure, he'd taken care of the old man for five months, but did that really ba the value of a pce like this?

  "With luck like this, am I the protagonist of some kind of story? Is my 'Golden Finger' just ridiculously good fortune?"

  Maybe it was all the anime he'd watched, but Aoi's thoughts began to wander, and before he k, a strange idea slipped out of his mouth.

  "What if I wao travel through time? To a world with superpowers or something..."