Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Do you know about Blue Archive?
It's a really god-tier game.

"Seriously, why is it a Midori and Momoi banner instead of an Aris banner?"

......

No, it might actually be a trash-tier game.

A few days after the Shirokuro raid ended.
I got angry after hearing the Blue Archive news on Twister.

Yong-ha, you said you wouldn't deviate from the schedule as much as possible... Aris, who was supposed to come according to the original schedule, didn't come, and instead, we got a banner for the green-haired twins.

Aris is my second favorite character, and I was honestly really looking forward to her, so I couldn't help but be angry that she was pushed back.
But my anger quickly subsided.

When I thought about it calmly, it was actually a good thing.

"Well, I guess I can just skip this Chesed raid."

I had tasted bitter defeat in the Shirokuro raid.
In most gacha games, in order to rank, you usually pull for the current banner character who specializes in the ranking event and then grind the game.

But in this Korean server of Blue Archive, the veterans from the Japanese server said that you could definitely get into the top 10,000 by just clearing Hardcore in one try, so I pulled for Izuna, thinking I would just clear Hardcore in one try. But not only did I not clear it in one try, I couldn't even get into the top 10,000 even though I cleared it in 3 minutes.
In other words, having one raid-specialized character doesn't mean you can get into the rankings.

Despite countless crit resets and bomb resets, the limitations of being F2P were clear.
Eventually, I got tired and settled for 7.18 million points, but when I checked the community, I saw a post saying that 7.19 floor was sinking, so I gave up neatly.
What's this urine? This gold trophy is 'honey' is what it is...

"Anyway, even if I pull for Momoi and Midori, I won't get into the top 10,000. LOL. In that case, it's better to focus on my favorite characters."

I'm confident that I have the skills to get into the top 50,000.
I'm account level 55, and I have all the necessary piercing characters like Iori, Nonomi, Sumire, Tsurugi, etc.

And wouldn't some of the people who were tired from this Shirokuro have quit?
Anyway, 10,001st place and 50,000th place, it's all the same urine... no, honey, so if I endure the twins and endure the platinum trophy, I can have a happy Blue Archive life.

I planned to just finish the raids with a 'honey' trophy using what I have and focus on my favorite characters, Azusa, Aris, Koharu, and Natsu.

As I listed my favorite characters, I thought I liked silver hair, but I realized the surprising fact that I liked pink hair to a suspicious degree.

Of course, my favorite is Azusa, who has silver hair... but in my second favorite character line, there were too many pink-haired characters like Natsu, Koharu, Serina, etc.
Can't resist pink.

But I don't really feel anything for Hoshino.
I guess I'm not into odd eyes.

"Anyway, since it's Midori and Momoi's banner, I should save up and pull for Aris."

Earlier, I was annoyed that Aris wasn't coming out soon, but thinking about it again, it was an opportunity given by the heavens.
I pulled for Izuna, so according to the law of averages, I was confident that I could get Aris within 30 pulls this time, but you can't trust games from 'that game company'.
I need to have insurance.

"As expected of Nexon... How did you know I liked Aris and give me this time..."

It's not that I hate the Midori and Momoi sisters.
I like all the Game Development Club characters.
If I died and reincarnated into the world of Blue Archive, I would want to join the Game Development Club.
Since I'm a gamer in real life anyway, wouldn't the Game Development Club be the right fit if I went according to my personality?

No, since I'm from hellish Korea and I think I have a pretty devilish personality, I might end up in Gehenna.

But since I'm an atheist? I don't think I have any connection with Trinity and Gehenna, which are related to the New Testament?
I think the Millennium's Game Development Club suits me best?

My favorite is Azusa, so it would be nice to go to the Make-Up Work Club... but the world there is a bit chaotic to reincarnate there just for my favorite.
I think the Game Development Club with a cute and pretty robot and twins, would be nice. Yeah.

With such idle thoughts, I turned on Blue Archive.

[Welcome, Sensei Lim Han-ja (林韓子).]

Arona, a little girl with sky-blue hair, greeted me.

[Sensei, you have new mail.]

"What is it? 1200 Pyroxenes? Can I really get my hopes up?"

It's not a game where Arona usually announces that you have mail, but I didn't notice that at the time.
I just thought that Nexon was giving us freebies again when she said I had mail, so I went into the mailbox and opened the mail.

[To Sensei Lim Han-ja.]

Hello. Sensei Lim Han-ja.
We thought we were on the right path. We thought we were doing well until now.
With the help of many teachers, we were living a wonderful life, guiding students on the right path and defeating injustice.

But what happened? At some point, the flow of time began to shake unstably.
Before the future that was supposed to happen came, another future came, or the past that had already happened was repeated. Things that shouldn't have happened started to happen.
Was it because we trusted a place we shouldn't have trusted? We want to rectify this situation now.
To do that, we need your help. Please help us.

-Arona
Claimable Reward: 20 billion yen.

I was too lazy to read the long text, so I just pressed the collect all button without reading it.
The result was disastrous.

Not only should you be careful about agreeing to terms and conditions in games, but you should also be careful about claiming all.

Blue Archive forcibly closed, and my phone screen turned black.

"What, what's going on? Is it a bug?"

The world that made up my surroundings was being disassembled into a sequence of 0s and 1s.
My body was the same.

Starting from my legs, it was disassembled into 0s and 1s, and I gradually lost sensation.

My heart disappeared, but strangely, my consciousness remained.

Even when most of my head was gone, I was still conscious.
That was even scarier.

"W-What! Help me!"

Terrified, I called out for help to my neighbors, but no one heard it.
Even if they had heard it, there's no way they could have arrived before I completely disappeared.

Eventually, when my head was completely disassembled, I lost consciousness, and when I opened my eyes, there was...

The world I only saw on the screen. Kivotos was spread out before my eyes.

Chapter Text

When I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling that looked stylish, antique, and elegant.


I can say with certainty that the ceiling of my studio apartment doesn't look like that.


I'm not a millionaire, so there's no way I'd have a chandelier in my studio apartment.

"Ugh... Where am I?"

?

"What's wrong with my voice?"

I'm a man.

This is a truth that will never change unless I go to Thailand and get a sex change operation. If I went out on the street and asked someone,

'What do you think my gender is?'

I'm sure they would respond with,

'What, you don't know your own gender? Are you crazy? You're obviously a man! Get lost before I call the police.'

In other words, I was definitely not a transgender or an otokonoko.

"But this voice right now sounds like a woman's no matter who hears it."

But the voice that was coming out now was different from the one I originally had.
It was a thin, high-pitched soprano voice.`

Even if I tried to make it on purpose, even if I had a cold, even if I inhaled helium gas, it was a beautiful woman's voice that would make anyone say, 'That person is definitely a woman!'
Of course, there are exceptional cases of men with female voices, but I wasn't one of them.

I had a guess.
But I didn't want to admit it, so I kept denying reality.
I decided to ignore the thing that was flapping behind my back for now.

"Is there something wrong with my ears?"

But is there a disease that makes a male voice sound like a female voice?
Not hearing anything at all would be one thing, but this is new.

"Maybe my throat just isn't feeling good today."

If my throat was bad for a few days, I'd probably get scouted as a singer.

"Is this a dream?"

It was the most likely hypothesis.
I tried to bend my middle finger to check, but it hurt, so I stopped midway.
If it hurts, it's not a dream.

"Maybe I was just really tired."

With that thought, I lay down on the bed.
If I get some sleep, everything will go back to normal.

?

"I don't have a bed in my house?"

And the sensation of something flapping behind my back when I lay on the bed was too uncomfortable to ignore.

"Yeah, it must be a dream. It has to be a dream."

Even though I had proven that it wasn't a dream by bending my finger, I still wanted to deny reality.
I continued to deny reality and moved towards the reality I didn't want to face.
Yes, the figure reflected in the mirror was.

Light green hair. Golden eyes.
A beautiful girl in a sailor uniform with pure white wings and a greenish halo.
She looked like an angel girl who would appear in the 'Trinity' faction of Blue Archive.

"What the..."

As soon as I realized that, I fainted.

I woke up from fainting and said,


'What, it was a dream.'


Then I looked in the mirror again and fainted.


I woke up from fainting again, 'It was a dream.' Mirror.


Faint.

After repeating this several times and seeing the K2 assault rifle hanging on the wall, I had no choice but to admit it.

I had been reincarnated into the world of Blue Archive as a Trinity student.

Blue Archive. The game I was playing before I was somehow transported here.
A game whose main setting is a city composed only of schools, called Kivotos.

The schools that have been revealed so far are Abydos, Millennium, Gehenna, Trinity, Hyakkiyako, Shanhaijing, Red Winter, Valkyrie, Kronos, Odyssey, Arius, SRT, and as you can guess from the names of some of the schools, they are related to various mythologies. For example, Kronos is related to Greek and Roman mythology, and Valkyrie is related to Norse mythology.

In this world, students are the main characters, and only students are depicted as humans, while the rest are depicted as robots or furries... I mean, animals. It's a strange world.

It is described that only the player, 'Sensei', has a human form, except for the students.

I'll have to see for myself to know if the other people are really animals.

Anyway, one of the reasons why I judged that I was a 'student' was this.

Since my body was human, I could assume that I was a student in this Blue Archive world where everyone except students was depicted as animals.

There's another unique setting in this game: the students here have a halo, and even if they get shot by some force, it only feels like a slight sting, and they have a miraculous recovery ability that allows them to recover in a day even if they get hit by anti-aircraft guns.

From the story that has been revealed so far, it is speculated that the students are based on gods, angels, and demons, and they have obtained superhuman bodies by inheriting the power of 'mystic' from them.

That's why guns, which were originally a threatening weapon on Earth, have become a must-have item that every student must carry around in this world.

The second reason why I judged that I was a student was that I had a halo. It meant that I wasn't an ordinary human, Sensei.

"But why did I have to be reincarnated into Trinity of all places?"

It was a place I thought I would never come to because of my personality.

Trinity is a school based on the Bible.
Among the backgrounds in the Bible, Heaven corresponds to this.

Most of the students attending this school are angels with pure white wings, and although there are some students with black wings and some without wings, they are all based on angels.

Since my reflection in the mirror also looked like an angel, I could tell that I had become a Trinity student.

On the other hand, Gehenna is a school based on Hell, and the students are demons.
Conceptually, they don't get along with Trinity.
It's one of the schools I thought I would go to if I ever fell into Kivotos.

Considering the school's characteristics, as a person from hellish Korea, considering all the teabagging and evil acts I did in games, I thought Gehenna would suit me best.

Since I like games, I thought Millennium's Game Development Club or the Engineering Club would suit me since I also majored in engineering.

Millennium is a school based on humanity's 'science and technology' unrelated to gods. I thought it would be plausible enough.

If I were to be reincarnated based on the story, Abydos is also acceptable. After all, the main content of reincarnation and possession stories is to get involved in the original story and change it.

Abydos is responsible for the honorable first main story of Blue Archive, so it's not bad to think about it from a possession perspective.

Hyakkiyako and Shanhaijing have no characteristics other than being Japanese and Chinese, so they're fine too.

Red Winter... let's give up on that. I don't want to deal with crazy communists who are okay with everything for a pudding.

The other schools haven't been featured much in the story yet, so I'll exclude them. I can't judge them.

But Trinity?
Let's summarize the characteristics of Trinity.

Angels from the New Testament. A school for young ladies. It seems to be quite prestigious? A mission school. It is said that the students are quite wealthy.

Let's summarize my personality.
A devil born in hellish Korea. All-boys middle school, all-boys high school, engineering college.
raduated from a prestigious university. Atheist. Gamer. I make good money, but I spend most of it on in-app purchases.

No matter how I think about it, someone sent me here by mistake.

It's a place I shouldn't be.

Okay, I can accept that I was reincarnated as a girl because all the students in Kivotos are girls, but I can't accept a school for young ladies.

No, come to think of it, I shouldn't accept being reincarnated as a student.
I was the 'Sensei' of Kivotos' Schale.
Wouldn't it be better to be reincarnated as Sensei?
If I were Sensei, I could have a harem with the students through Momotalk...

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.
As with other cheesy games, there is something called 'affection' between the player and the character, which is shown in Blue Archive through the 'relationship rank' in Momotalk.

When the 'relationship rank' increases, a special story with that student progresses, and when the story progresses to a certain point, you get that student's 'Memorial Lobby'. It was an affection system.

If it's not a playable character, of course, the affection system won't appear, so if it's a character that the player can't pull or hasn't been released yet, it won't appear in Momotalk.

But one thing is certain: all the students registered in Momotalk have an affection for Sensei.
It's not just that they have an affection, they're all crazy about Sensei.

I hurriedly turned on my phone.

It was the same model and had the same password as the phone I used in my previous life. In my haste, I reflexively entered the password, and it went through naturally.

That was a relief. If things went wrong, I might have had to change phones.
Instead of KakaoTalk, which I used in my previous life, Momotalk, the symbol of becoming a girl, was installed on my phone.

No, I can still accept this. Momotalk is a national messenger like KakaoTalk. There's no problem with it being installed. It would be a problem if it wasn't installed.

The important thing is whether Sensei is registered in Momotalk or not.

I went into Momotalk and checked my profile.

[Hayashi Kanshi (林カンシ)]

A name that is read as Hayashi Kanshi. It didn't seem like my name, but I, who learned Japanese to read doujinshi, could understand. The surname was the same as mine, and the name Kanshi is the reading of my name 'Han-ja' in kanji.

In other words, my name was still Lim Han-ja, but there was a name that became Hayashi Kanshi in Japanese pronunciation.

But why Kanshi? If 'ja' (子) is in the name, shouldn't it be 'Kanko'?
Well, that's not important.

I had to look for 'Sensei' in my friend list.
If Sensei is there and I chat with him, my relationship rank will increase.
If my relationship rank increases, it means that I feel affection for Sensei.

Generally, since the Memorial Lobby is around relationship rank 7 or 8, it means that becoming a girl is almost complete when you get the Memorial Lobby.

I really hate the idea of becoming a girl and falling for a man...
In my previous life, I was a person with normal sexual desires.
If I were gay, I wouldn't be playing this kind of pretty girl gacha game.

Fortunately, when I went into Momotalk and checked my friend list, Sensei wasn't there.
It meant that I was still far from becoming a girl.

But there weren't any other friends either, let alone Sensei...
Just because Momotalk is installed doesn't mean you're sociable.
But it wasn't completely empty, there were two people.

Ajitani Hifumi and Kirifuji Nagisa.

One was a self-proclaimed ordinary high school girl with great social skills and a key player in the main story of Blue Archive, Vol.3 'Eden Treaty'.

The other was one of the representatives of the 'Tea Party', which is the student council of Trinity General School.

I don't have any friends at all, but she showed a bit of an obsession with Hifumi in the story, creating the meme 'Hifumi Daisuki'.

Hayashi Kanshi. Just how much of a loner were you?
And if you were a loner, you should have been a complete loner, why are Hifumi and Nagisa on your friend list...
Could you be a member of the Tea Party? But judging from the fact that Yurizono Seia and Misono Mika aren't there, it's just a personal connection.

Additionally, looking at the status message, Kanshi also has 'Go Home Club' just like Hifumi.
Since Hifumi is in the 'Go Home Club', the 'Eden Treaty' arc hasn't started yet. When the 'Eden Treaty' arc starts, Hifumi changes from the Go Home Club to the Make-Up Work Club.
It could be that it's already over... but let's think positively.

I don't know the story after the Eden Treaty. Probably only the Blue Archive story writers know.
So, to think positively and survive using the knowledge I have here, it has to be before the Eden Treaty.

And I need to slowly gather knowledge to prepare for the future.
If it's a world after the Eden Treaty that I don't know, I could literally die on the street...

It was Sunday.
It was a day when other young ladies would go to worship, but it had nothing to do with me, antheist.
Anyway, no one would say anything if a loner like me didn't go to church once, and I don't even know if worship is mandatory in Trinity in the first place.

I see there's a Sisterhood, so there's a church.

Ah, it's a cathedral. I don't know the difference between a cathedral and a church since I was a non-believer.

That was a useless digression.

Nothing will change if I just stay still.
I can't just stay cooped up in my room forever.
And I don't have any money.

Don't I have money?
Judging from the state of my room right now, I can't say that it's a poor household.
Besides, Trinity is a school for young ladies. A rich one at that...

I checked the bank account connected to me on my phone.

[Hayashi Kanshi: 20,000,000,000 yen]

If it's 20 billion yen...
200 billion won...?
I could just play and eat and sleep for the rest of my life...?

No. I need to at least check how far the story has progressed.
If the Eden Treaty is broken and there's an all-out war between Gehenna and Trinity.
Or if the Arius Branch School attacks Trinity? I'm a dead man.

I resisted the temptation and picked up the K2 assault rifle.
Surprisingly, it wasn't heavy. It was as light as a feather.

Well, they're still students who can barely stand after getting hit by anti-aircraft guns, so there's no way the gun would be heavy.
Since I have a halo, it seems like I have the same level of physical strength as them.

"Anyway, there's no point in staying holed up at home, so let's go sightseeing!"

I hypnotized myself into thinking that I had to go out for that reason and went outside.
At this time, I would come to greatly regret not going out with Hifumi.

Chapter Text

I bravely went outside, but I didn't know the geography of this area at all.

"Hmm... I'd like to buy some lunch... but I don't know where the restaurants are... or which ones are good..."

There was nothing to do once I went out.
I briefly regretted not calling Hifumi to guide me, but honestly, I was a little scared to call her.
I don't know how close Kanshi in this world is with Hifumi.

If they were best friends, I would welcome it with open arms, but if their relationship was just because she felt sorry for a loser like Kanshi, calling her for such a trivial and annoying task would instantly lower her affection and turn me into a complete loser.

"If it's a proven good restaurant... it's Shiba Seki Ramen in the Abydos district..."

Shiba Seki Ramen in Abydos. It is described in the story as a ramen shop with generous portions, kind service, and good taste.
It was the only place mentioned in the story anyway. At most, there's a high-class restaurant that appears in the relationship story of a character named Haruna, a gourmet terrorist... no, the head of the Gourmet Research Club, or dessert shops that appear in the stories of students in the After-School Dessert Club.
The restaurant that Haruna of the Gourmet Research Club goes to is said to be high-class, so it's a bit difficult for a loser like me to go alone.
As for going to a dessert shop, it seems a bit inappropriate to have dessert for a meal.

But Shiba Seki Ramen is like an ordinary neighborhood ramen shop, and even the fool Arue frequented it.
If Arue, a fellow loser, went there, wouldn't it be a place where I could go with peace of mind?

"But how do I get to Abydos from here... Ah."

I just realized the existence of my phone.
I can just use the navigation on my phone.

"It would be fun to meet some characters I know on the way."

I don't think there will be anything to talk about even if I meet them...

To fill my hungry stomach, I turned on the phone navigation and headed for Abydos.
It also included escaping the heavy atmosphere of Trinity, a school for high-class girls.

It was a long way to Abydos, but my body felt like a cheat, so I wasn't tired.
It wasn't really that far to begin with.
It felt like a long way to me, who used to live on Earth...
Honestly, looking at this desolate environment of Abydos makes me feel more tired.

Maybe it's because it's an area based on Egyptian mythology, but it was all desert, and it made me feel bleak.

When I arrived at Shiba Seki Ramen, it was just the right time for lunch.

"Welcome. What would you like to order?"

When I entered the ramen shop, Serika greeted me.
Serika. A first-year student at Abydos. Her appearance resembles Karyl, so she is commonly nicknamed Serikyaru.
Abydos High School owes about 300 million to a company, and Serika was working hard at Shiba Seki Ramen to pay off that debt.
Unfortunately, she's the type to get scammed often, so she's a pushover who loses money to scams instead of paying off the debt...

She's the first game character I've seen since I fell here. On the way here, there were only furries and robots, which are characteristic of this world, so I was very happy to see another human.
There really weren't any humans. Even the owner of this ramen shop was a Shiba Inu.
I was so happy that I wanted to hug her tightly, but unfortunately, Serika and I are strangers here. I wasn't Sensei.
Hugging a stranger. She'll definitely think I'm weird. I didn't want to be labeled as weird by a playable character, no, someone who looks like a 'human' like me.

"It's unusual for a Trinity girl to come all the way here..."

After taking my order, Serika muttered quietly, but unfortunately, I heard everything.
Well, Trinity is a prestigious high school in Kivotos. There's no way there isn't at least one restaurant in the district governed by that prestigious high school that's better than Shiba Seki. Most students would usually have their meals in the Trinity district.
Since I heard her, if I didn't answer, my inner Speedwagon would complain that it's uncomfortable, so I gave Serika a simple answer.

"I heard it's delicious. I came here to try it once."

"Hehe. The ramen here is definitely delicious. I didn't know it was famous all the way in Trinity though."

Serika is happy that the place she works at is being praised.
But that wasn't my concern.

Having lived in Korea for 20 years, I had the typical casual way of speaking of an ordinary Korean man.
Moreover, I learned a lot of bad things while wandering around internet communities.
It's definitely not this polite way of speaking.

Even though I wasn't conscious of it, a very natural, polite, and typically 'ladylike' way of speaking came out.
Wow, it's my way of speaking, but I get goosebumps when I hear it.

"I'll have a large serving."

"Are you sure? The ramen here is bigger than other ramen shops. I think even a regular serving would be a lot for a young lady like you..."

"It's okay. I'll have a large serving."

"Hmm... I did hear that there's a scary group in Trinity that sucks up desserts like a vacuum cleaner..."

Is she talking about the After-School Dessert Club?
It's a place I'd like to visit sometime to see Natsu. But I'm in the Go Home Club.
I boldly ordered a large serving of ramen, trusting my wallet.

When I was a man, I was confident that I could eat it all, even if they gave me a serving for one person that was actually for four people, like when Aru and her gang came.
How much could my stomach capacity have shrunk?

It was a mistake.
It shrunk a lot.

"Ugh... I couldn't even eat half of it... I'm full..."

I didn't think I wouldn't even be able to eat half of it.

"I knew it. I told you it would be a lot. Wow... Seeing this amount, I think you would have left some even if you ordered a regular serving."

Serika cleared away what I couldn't eat.
It seems that a large serving was too much for a girl's stomach.
I couldn't even eat half of it and left it.

"Ugh... I'll pay..."

"Hahaha, you couldn't even finish a regular serving, so I'll only charge you for the price of a regular ramen."

"Boss! That's not how you run a business!"

The Shiba Seki boss laughed heartily when he saw me and returned the money for the portion I couldn't eat.
Serika protested from the side, but the boss seemed to ignore her.
Is this... the magnanimity of a great man...?

"Ah, you don't have to give it back. I have a lot of money... and it's my fault for ordering more than I could eat."

"Even so."

"Ah! Then, please let me take out the amount I couldn't eat. That's okay, right? I'll eat it later!"

"Heh, I guess you're a rich girl after all. You must have a lot of money."

But I refused because I felt guilty.
Anyway, my wallet isn't in such bad shape that I'll die if I lose 580 yen.
I'd rather spend a little more money and help Abydos's finances.

Come to think of it, I don't know what point in time this is.
I wanted to ask Serika in front of me, 'How's your Abydos doing?' but even after Chapter 1, Abydos's situation doesn't improve, so no matter what point in time this is, it would be a sore spot for her.
The fact that the ramen shop is still standing means that it's before the end of Chapter 1.

In the middle of Chapter 1, a character named Aru, who plays the role of an idiot in this game, accidentally blows up this ramen shop.
If Chapter 1 is over, there should be a food stall instead of a ramen shop.

I paid 1160 yen for the ramen and left the ramen shop.
As soon as I went out, I had nothing to do again.
There's no way I would have anything to do here when I have no connections, friends, or memories here.

"Should I explore Abydos?"

My body can't die even if I get shot, anyway.
But the current state of Abydos is not safe.
I don't know where I might run into thugs.

I started wandering the streets, fiddling with the K2 on my back.

And it wasn't long before I found an adult man collapsed in an alley.

I poke the man in a suit.
No reaction.
He seems to be just a corpse.

"This is... probably that, right..."

Schale's Sensei.
He's the only confirmed adult male human in this world.
He's strangely handsome, and my heart is pounding, so it seems to be him.

Students basically start with a favorable impression of this person.
I, who usually think handsome men are jerks, acknowledged his handsomeness normally and felt my face heat up, so I figured it out roughly.

It's best to ignore him.
I'll never see anything good if I get involved with this guy.
I won't get involved with Abydos just because I get involved with him, but it will definitely cause problems with my sexual identity.

"Wa... waaaater......"

But he seems to be on the verge of death.
Was there an episode where Sensei was dying of thirst?
I don't remember well.

What if that's not an episode...?
What if Sensei dies here without being able to drink water because of some variable?
This Blue Archive world, which is full of dreams and hopes on the surface but collapses the moment Sensei disappears, could be destroyed.

"Ugh, whatever. I don't know anymore!"

I bought a bottle of water at a nearby convenience store and brought it back.
It didn't seem like it was a nearby distance, but the body of a high school girl with a halo is a cheat key.

-Gulp gulp

"Phew, I'm alive. Thank you."

Wow, what a beautiful voice.
I started with -100 favorability because of prejudice, but just his appearance and voice brought it up to -30.

"I came here because I had some business in Abydos, but for some reason, there are no stores around here. Thanks to that, I haven't been able to drink water for a few days, and I ended up collapsing from hunger and dehydration..."

At the mention of hunger, I looked at the leftover ramen in my hand.

"If you want, would you like to eat this leftover ramen? I took it out earlier because there was too much to eat."

"Really? If you're offering, I'll gladly accept it. No, I'll definitely repay you later!"

"You don't have to. Here, eat this."

I was a little embarrassed because it was something I had eaten, but this man didn't seem to care about that and started inhaling the ramen as soon as he put it in his mouth.

I watched him and asked.

"What brings you here?"

I need to know if this is part of the main story or a relationship story.
Or it might not be a story at all.

"I'm looking for Abydos High School. But this place is so vast that I ended up getting lost."

Before entering Abydos...?
But was there a story where Sensei got lost like this?
I don't remember well.

But if it's before Sensei enters Abydos, and he is called to Abydos, then it's probably part of the main story.

The story will only progress if Sensei enters Abydos High School normally.

"Then, shall I help you find your way? I don't know the geography here well either, but I have navigation, so I can find the way."

"Oh! I'd appreciate that! As expected of a Trinity girl! You're an angel!"

"Well, I am technically part of the angel race."

But if things go wrong here, it's the same as shooting guns.

I fiddled with the K2 on my back again, conscious of it.

"Then, when you're finished, I'll guide you."

"Thank you. I'll repay this favor someday."

"You don't have to."

Because I don't want to get involved with you anymore.

As long as I live in Kivotos, it'll be hard not to get involved with him, but if I remain just an extra, a non-playable character, at least I won't be corrupted.

As long as I'm not registered in his Momotalk, it's fine.

And so, I took Schale's Sensei and headed for Abydos High School.

-Ring ring.

Unaware that I had ruined Shiroko and Sensei's first meeting.

Chapter Text

A school where only sand blows.
Abydos High School.
I understand that they used the desert as a background because they brought in Egyptian tales. But seeing the actual state of this desolate high school makes me think, what did these young students do to deserve this?

"This is Abydos High School."

I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.
I just came to eat ramen, but I'm so tired of defending myself from the unnecessarily handsome and unnecessarily good-voiced Sensei and the sight of Abydos' desertification, which wasn't well revealed in the reused city background.
I don't think I would have suffered this much if I had come with Hifumi...
If I were with Hifumi, I probably wouldn't have come to Abydos in the first place, and we would have gone to a merchandise shop that sells the character goods that Hifumi likes, called Momofriends.

Indeed, it's dangerous outside the house.
Trinity was heaven.
And Trinity is supposed to be heaven in the background. Probably.

I thanked whoever didn't send me to Abydos and tried to go back home.

"Hey. Who are you guys? Why are you standing in front of our school? Ah! You're the young lady from Trinity from earlier!"

"Serika. Do you know them?"

Yes, 'tried'. Past tense.
In the end, I couldn't escape.

"We're back."

Sensei and I, who ran into Serika and Shiroko in front of the main gate, were dragged into the Foreclosure Task Force's room.
Abydos currently owes a company called 'Kaiser Corporation' about 300 million yen in debt, and as they are unable to repay the debt and the environment is gradually becoming desertified, Abydos, which was once a prestigious school, has become a school on the verge of closing down with only five students attending the school.
And those five people established the Abydos Foreclosure Task Force to improve the current situation of Abydos.
The room was bare, with only a few desks, five chairs, and a whiteboard, making it look empty.

"Wow, it's been a while since we've had a guest at school~☆"

"Shiroko-senpai... You didn't kidnap them, did you? No matter how much debt we have, if we kidnap a rich-looking adult and a young lady from Trinity..."

"No. These people were standing suspiciously in front of our school's main gate, so Senpai and I brought them in."

I looked around at the people who spoke one by one.
They were Nonomi, Ayane, and Shiroko, students who were part of the five members of the Abydos Foreclosure Task Force.
Including Serika, there were a total of four Foreclosure Task Force students in this place, and one of them was probably... sleeping. Because that's the kind of character she is...
I don't think we were standing that suspiciously.
Well, it is unusual for a Trinity student to be standing in Abydos.

"So it wasn't a kidnapping... Phew..."

"What kind of image does Ayane have of Shiroko-senpai... Ah, I understand."

"But still, I wonder if we had a guest who was supposed to come to our school..."

At least it's not me.
I wish you would just let me go...
I was racking my brain, wondering how I could get out of there and make it look good. Before that, I was agonizing over what kind of disciplinary action Trinity would take if it became known that I came to visit Abydos on a Sunday. While I was doing that, the Sensei next to me introduced himself.

"I'm the Sensei in charge of . Nice to meet you."

When they heard that, the Foreclosure Task Force kids started to make a fuss.

"Ah... Could it be...?"

"What?! He was the Sensei of the Federal Investigation Bureau ?"

"Wow~☆ Our request for support has been accepted! That's a relief, Ayane-chan!"

"Yes! Finally...... We can get support for ammunition and supplies."

Ah, seeing their lines, I roughly remember the story.
Here, Sensei comes and gives them supplies, and then they fight with the Helmet Gang.

The Helmet Gang is, simply put, like the bullies of Kivotos.
It seems that they are trying to take over Abydos, which currently has only five students.
But I remember that they were repelled by the Abydos students under Sensei's command.

Come to think of it, how did Sensei get here...

Fragmentary words flash through my mind.
Crime. Shiroko-senpai. Kidnapping. A place to... bury the body.
Sunaokami Shiroko carried Sensei on her back and arrived at the school.
Why was Sensei being carried?

He met Shiroko when he was powerless due to hunger and thirst.

That's right. In the original story, Shiroko, who was riding her bike on the road, finds Sensei collapsed and carries him.

Why didn't I remember thattttttttt!
If I had just passed by, I wouldn't have gotten involved any furtherrrrr!

"By the way, then who is this angel?"

Nonomi finally asked about my identity.
I didn't have any prepared answers, so I just recited the facts as they were.

"Hello. I'm Hayashi Kanshi, a second-year student of the Go-Home Club at Trinity General School. I just found Sensei collapsed while I was looking around the Abydos autonomous region and helped him find his way."

This should be enough...
I only said facts that wouldn't be suspected at all.
But the world doesn't seem to work that purely.

"Suspicious."

"Yes?"

"There's no way a Trinity student would come to Abydos, which has nothing to see, for sightseeing on a Sunday."

I... just came here to eat ramen because I didn't know anything after falling into this world...
But since no one would believe me even if I said this, I just kept my mouth shut.

"Abydos is a buffer zone between Gehenna and Trinity. If they occupy or ally with us, Trinity can gain an advantage in the Gehenna vs. Trinity war."

"Does that mean Kanshi was sent by Trinity to investigate Abydos?"

"That's probably the case. The relationship between Gehenna and Trinity is well-known, right?"

No... I'm really not like that...
If Abydos takes that as the truth and files a complaint with the Tea Party, it's going to be a big problem.
My future was bleak, and I felt like crying.

"Wh-What's wrong? Is she crying?"

"Heu... Heuu... I really... just came here... to visit... sniff..."

"Ah... No. Hey, don't cry. Is this acting too? Ugh, I don't know..."

-Bang bang bang bang bang bang

-Boom boom boom boom boom boom

"Gunshots?"

"It's the Helmet Gang!"

"A large number of armed personnel are approaching the school!"

"These guys... They're coming again..."

"They must have attacked because they thought we were out of ammunition and supplies!"

"I woke up Hoshino-senpai~☆"

Nonomi brought in a pink-haired loli with heterochromia who was half asleep and rubbing her eyes from outside the classroom.
Even though she looks like that, she's one of the strongest people in Kivotos, the oldest person here except for me and Sensei, a third-year student, and the last fifth member of the Foreclosure Task Force, Takanashi Hoshino.

"Senpai, wake up! Now is not the time to be half asleep!"

The lines I knew were somehow different.
Is it because I intervened here?
But this is like a butterfly flapping its wings and causing a volcano to erupt, it's such an unrelated thing.

Hoshino and Sensei greet each other, and the Foreclosure Task Force students, who have finished resupplying, go outside to beat up the Helmet Gang.

And with Sensei's fantastic command, the overpowered tank Hoshino, the wide-range piercing dealer Nonomi, and the 2-cost skill rotation Serika and Shiroko, they splendidly repelled the Helmet Gang.
As expected of Abydos. They have a lot of moderately good performers. It's a collection of solid characters. Ayane is also a ranged healer, so she's usable, although her cost is high.

Even though the number of the Helmet Gang was small, and they were caught off guard without preparation, the Foreclosure Task Force students were surprised that they repelled the Helmet Gang with little damage, even though they were the ones who did it.

"Wow... I can't believe we won. The Helmet Gang seemed to be serious this time."

"It's not about winning, Hoshino-senpai... If we lose, the school will become a den of gangsters, you know?"

"I think Sensei's command was amazing. Efficient movements that we couldn't do when we fought alone. Accurate calculations. It was on a different level from when we fought normally."

Excuse me... Can I go now?
It seems like you're already immersed in your own world...

I had nothing to do, so I was just looking at my phone, and I got a Momotalk.

[Ajitani Hifumi: Kanshi~ Where on earth are youuuuu]
[Ajitani Hifumi: I went to your house to look for you, but you weren't there, and you're not at school, and no one has seen you! I'm going to report you missing!]
[1 You're gone...? Are you looking at Momotalk? Please reply]

Messages are coming in at a terrifying speed.
What is it? Why am I feeling fear from the text?
It must be my imagination. Hifumi is the most harmless and cute character in this game as far as I know.
It's probably just my imagination.
Hifumi is probably just a fast typer.

[I came to visit Abydos.]

I let her know where I was so that she would be relieved since we seemed to be quite close.

"Um... My friend is calling me, so I think I should get going... Can I go now..."

"Yeah... What should we do with her..."

"She seems harmless, so should we just let her go?"

"Come to think of it, she came to our ramen shop too... Maybe she really did come for sightseeing..."

"No, why don't you believe people!"

"Sorry, sorry. When you're in our situation, you start to distrust people."

"Come to think of it, a Trinity student. Rich. If we hold her captive, we can get money..."

"Shiroko-senpai! Crime is not allowed!"

"Uhehe. Even an old man like me doesn't want to make an enemy of the whole of Trinity."

"Um... I'm a huge loner, so I don't know if Trinity will pay a ransom for kidnapping just me..."

"Is that the problem?"

Anyway, I was relieved that the conversation was going in the direction of letting me go.

When Schale's Sensei also said that I had done nothing wrong, the Foreclosure Task Force students were convinced and let me go.

"Sorry for holding you~ I'll treat you to a bowl of ramen next time you come."

"It's okay. I'd rather treat you to ramen instead."

"Are you showing off that you're rich~"

"You said you were in debt earlier. I can't ask people like that to pay."

"Ouch. You're hitting where it hurts."

"See you again later~☆"

The debt was 900 million yen... No, it was almost 1 billion yen.
Even if I offered to give them money, they probably wouldn't accept it. They're not even using Nonomi's money.
Then should I try to crush the root of all evil, Kaiser Corporation, with money...
But I don't know how much money Kaiser Corporation has or how much influence it has in this world. It's not something I can mess with carelessly.

"Well, if it's still the early part of Chapter 1, Kaiser PMC won't be destroyed, so I should buy some stocks as a safe asset."

The more money, the better.

"Kanshi! What a coincidence!"

I was buying Kaiser Loan's stock on my phone when Hifumi suddenly tackled me from behind.
Hmm. Hifumi and I call each other by our first names.

"Oh, hi Hifumi. What are you doing here?"

"There was a Peroro-sama merchandise sale near here. I heard that Kanshi was in Abydos, so I came to find you."

"I see. As expected, Hifumi really likes Peroro. I think it's a bit weird and I don't really like it."

"Ahaha... That's what makes it charming."

Speaking of Peroro...
I wanted to experience the thrill of Perorodzilla with Aris.
But I couldn't do it in the end.

Chapter Text

After that, I went around with Hifumi, feeling like I was sightseeing in Abydos. The desolate desert felt different when I looked at it as if I were on a desert tour.
Honestly, how often do you get to see a desert while living in Korea?

"I hope Abydos can be rebuilt soon."

Still, my thoughts and reality were separate matters.
Even when I was watching the story, I didn't want my favorite characters to suffer like that.
I just want everyone to live happily and normally.

"Come to think of it, you said you met the Sensei from Schale? What kind of person was he?"

Come to think of it, Hifumi is also a playable character.
It makes sense that she would be interested in Sensei.
Thinking about it, I remember the days when I struggled to raise the characters' relationship levels.
Since I've lost my manhood anyway, let's not be jealous and help Sensei's activities.
And if Hifumi and Sensei get along, Sensei might not be interested in me!
In that case, I should prioritize making Hifumi have a good impression of Sensei.

"Sensei, huh? Yeah, he was a very handsome person. The kind of face that makes you forgive him even if his personality is a mess? Not that his personality is a mess. He's a true teacher who cares about his students and puts them first. That's the kind of feeling I got. He also has a very nice voice. I saw him fighting with the local thugs with the Abydos people, and he was very good at commanding."

He even has the command ability to have a real fight with Millennium's strongest force, C&C, with the Game Development Club.
I think that's when Sensei's command shined the most, but it hasn't happened yet, and there's no way I could know about the Game Development Club and C&C, so I can't explain it

"Oh, I see."

Hifumi smiled at me.
But it wasn't a pure smile. It was the scary smile that the angels in the Trinity camp had when the Trinity and Gehenna students were holding flags in the Eden Treaty chapter.

"So, did you feel any attraction to him, Kanshi?"

C-Could it be? Am I being kept in check?
It's entirely possible.
In fact, if Hifumi met Sensei before and already knew him, she might think that I'm in love with Sensei because I'm praising him so much, and she might see me as a love rival.
I need to deny it with all my might here.
It's a fact that I'm wary of Sensei in the first place.

"No, there's no way. He's a man I just met, you know? I don't fall in love that easily. I'm not even thinking about dating yet. That was just an objective assessment. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I see. That's a relief. No, I mean, that's good to hear."

Hifumi relaxed and her expression softened after hearing my excuse.
It seems like my guess was right...
I should be careful about talking about Sensei in front of Hifumi.
I should have known from the moment she showed her obsessive attachment to Peroro... Hifumi has a bit of a dark side...

"If you had made a mistake, Abydos and Schale could have been destroyed."

"Huh?"

"It's nothing, you don't need to know."

I think Hifumi said something that felt like a deep, dark abyss.
I felt the atmosphere, but I couldn't hear the important part.

"It's getting late, so let's go back to Trinity."

"Uh... okay."

I held Hifumi's hand and went back to Trinity.
Why do I feel so creeped out?
Did I catch a cold?

Sunday ended and Monday came.
In other words, what does that mean? I have to go to school.
Why is this place a school city? Is it like Daechi-dong? Is it hell?

And why are there only girls here?
I lay in bed and rolled around, thinking briefly about Kivotos.
No answer came.

Well, if the human genes have evolved to only produce females, it's entirely possible. Yeah.
Or maybe men don't have halos, so they died from being shot. Let's stop thinking about it any further because it's cruel.
I got out of bed, coming to an incomprehensible conclusion.

As someone who spent money on microtransactions instead of saving up to buy normal furniture, a bed was a new world for me.
If I hadn't spent so much on microtransactions, I would have lived a little more comfortably.
But it's nonsense that I didn't spend money on microtransactions in Blue Archive because it's a game from 'that company'.
The monthly pass is a courtesy to the game company, so it can't be considered a microtransaction.

"Ugh... It's so fluffy, I don't want to get up.

And the bed seems to be quite a high-end bed.
Even though I'd never slept in a bed before, I could tell how good the material was just by lying down once.

I took off my pajamas and stood in front of the mirror to put on my sailor uniform.

"Pretty... or rather, cute looking."

It's a crazy pedophile game where even characters with C-cup breasts are rare, so my chest was quite flat.
It's probably a little bigger than an A-cup.
Well, I didn't expect it anyway. I didn't expect to become a woman in the first place.

"Haa..."

In the mirror stood a girl in her underwear, not yet wearing her sailor uniform.
Her skin is very pale. And it's so thin that it feels like looking at porcelain.
When I touched it, it was also very soft. It's just baby skin.

But even though it's the appearance of such a girl, it's still my appearance, so I don't feel anything.
No, let's put it a little more politely, like a young lady. I don't feel any sexual desire.
......Of all the young ladies in Trinity, I had to see Koharu and Hanako. I can't think of a way to put it politely.

I changed my underwear from yesterday.
Because my chest was small, it felt like wearing a chest protector instead of underwear.
Still, I feel bad that I have to wear women's underwear.

My body is flexible, so I didn't have any trouble putting on my underwear.
I just felt self-loathing.
I didn't have any trouble putting on my sailor uniform either.

My heart just ached.

I looked at the halo above my head.
A halo that's a little darker green than my hair color.
It's not a part of my body, so I didn't feel anything. If I couldn't see it, I wouldn't have known it existed.
It's amazing that something like this is above my head.

I picked up the K2 hanging on the wall and left the house.
I found out later that I'm also a Trinity student, so there's a modified version of the British AI AS50, but still, carrying around an anti-materiel rifle is a bit...
So I decided to carry the K2 as my main weapon because it's familiar and easy to use.

Hifumi was waiting in front of the house.

"Have you been waiting long?"

"No, I just arrived."

It's not normal, but it was an everyday life that should become normal from now on.

The classes were just like normal high school sophomore classes.
The atmosphere was different from what I expected. It wasn't very different, but it was different.
The conversations are very ordinary. The kind of topics that would come up in a normal high school. I've never heard them because I went to an all-boys school, but they're probably the kind of conversations that are called girl talk.
But the atmosphere is very classy. I feel like I shouldn't approach.

I looked away from the sacred sanctuary where the young ladies were chatting and looked at Hifumi.
Come to think of it, Hifumi is also a bit difficult to see as a young lady.
Just a cute little sister? That's the feeling.
I'll give you my sympathy if you're wondering if you can use the modifier "cute" for a little sister.

I sighed in relief as I looked at Hifumi.
I'm sorry, Hifumi. If I don't look at you right now, I won't be able to stand this atmosphere.

I could feel the gazes of the girls from time to time. I don't know what I did wrong, but it can't be helped that I feel down because I keep getting stared at.
At least I know that I'm quite hated.
I get the feeling that their gazes are saying, 'How dare you go to Trinity?'
Then where should I go... Should I go to the Arius branch school...

Uh... that might be a good choice...
I'll go to the Arius branch school and meet Azusa. And then I'll transfer with Azusa.
......I don't want to live a life where I'm chased by Saori for being a double agent...

I left school with a heart that felt lonely because I felt like I was hated by everyone.
What if I don't get along with the other playable characters...
There are a lot of cute characters in Trinity, so I wanted to be friends with them.
Natsu... Koharu... Serina... Mari...
Sakurako...

At least I'm glad I'm close with Hifumi.
I don't know what kind of relationship I have with Nagisa... Maybe I'm like a friend of a friend through Hifumi.

I looked at the empty Momotalk.
Honestly, it would be awkward if there were a lot of people I don't know in Momotalk, but it's uncomfortable to think that I'm a loner.

At least I have Hifumi in Momotalk, but there's no one next to me right now.
That's because Hifumi left early to buy Peroro merchandise.
She said that if she didn't go quickly, the limited edition goods would be sold out...
I really don't understand why that strange character is so popular.
But Hifumi and Azusa like it, so I wonder if I should like it too... I'm conflicted...

I can still feel the gazes from around me. When I was with Hifumi, who is popular for being kind to everyone, the gazes decreased...
It can't be helped. I have no choice but to ignore them and go home.

I finally arrived home after being constantly mentally attacked.
It's a very ladylike house, so I received additional damage wondering if I should even enter.
In times like these, I should heal by playing games...

It's a world where games exist normally, but I don't know what game to play.
From the Game Development Club's story, it seems like there are normal masterpiece games...
But I don't want classic games, I want gacha girl games.

I turned on the computer.
I was thinking of installing a game on an app player.
But before that. There was one game that caught my eye.

「Tales Saga Chronicle」

The original me seemed to like games, so there were a lot of games installed, and the folder was placed right in the middle of the desktop, so it was easy to find.

Alright.
That's it for today.
I took a step towards the legendary bad game.

Chapter Text

Have you heard of the game called Tales Saga Chronicle?

Wow! You know about it!

It's really a god-tier game.

[Game Over]

"Alright. Should I quit?"

Tales Saga Chronicle.

A game with a name that sounds unusual, which can be translated in a rather strange way as 'Story Story Story'.

This game is the work of the Game Development Department, often called the Game Dev Club, who are the main characters of Blue Archive's main story Vol.2 'Clockwork Flower Pavane'.

I heard that it won 'Worst Game of the Year' in the story, so I was curious and played it.

After playing for a few hours, I came to the conclusion that this isn't a game that 'might' be bad like Blue Archive.

This is a bad game that is impossible to defend.

It's a bad game that makes you want to smash it with a shield.

In the story, it was said that this game even caused robots to malfunction, and after experiencing it, I can see why.

'Reboot. An emotion that cannot be explained in the text has occurred.'

'I think I know what that is! It's like excitement or anticipation. That kind of emotion!'

'No matter how I think about it, it seems like anger or confusion...'

The lines of the Game Dev Club members flashed through my mind.

I'm only human, so I can't memorize the lines perfectly, but I remember the gist of it.

A game that makes even a robot, who couldn't even speak properly, feel anger and confusion.

A game that even causes an error in the robot's processing due to dizziness.

A game that makes the robot say 'Just kill me already' after clearing it once...!

After experiencing it, I understand.

This is not an emotion that can be explained away as anger or confusion.

I've played a lot of games, to the point where I can say that I'm a hardcore gamer.

My main game was a pretty girl gacha game, but I've also experienced all sorts of absurd indie games.

But even I feel an 'indescribable emotion' boiling up inside me due to this insane absurdity.

First of all, the fact that it's set in 'Cosmos Century 2354' even though it's supposed to follow an authentic fantasy setting is mind-boggling.

Even though I forgot the details of the Clockwork Flower Pavane, it took me an hour just to get through the beginning.

My gamer's pride wouldn't let me look at a walkthrough.

It told me to press the B button, but when I did, it was game over. To get through, I had to press the A button.

I'm holding a sword, but some guy who looks like a level 1 mob is holding a gun and instantly kills me.

Is this human? Is this something a human would do?

The game is full of misleading guides that you would see in a troll map in a certain plumber maker game.

And you get instantly killed by a gun that wouldn't kill you in real life, so you have to aim for a no-damage clear that makes Dark Souls look easy.

What's even funnier is that this isn't a 3D game where you can move in all six directions, but an SD retro game. The directions you can dodge are limited.

"Ugh... I think I'm going crazy..."

In the middle of the game, Momoi and Midori's lack of vocabulary caused words that seemed similar but had completely different meanings to suddenly pop out without considering the context, which was an added bonus that made the player uncomfortable.

As the story progressed, not only the insane difficulty and absurdity of the game, but also the strange vocabulary that made me want to call grammar Nazis to give them a taste of their own medicine, and the story that would never be understood by someone in the 3rd dimension, were shattering my mentality like a cookie.

A vegetative state male... a friend from another parent...

The mother is the heroine or the wife from a past life...

"E...error..."

I think even the most determined Korean would have to give up...

No...I am a determined Korean...I can do it...

"Re...Reboot..."

Due to the repeated mental pain, only words, not sentences, came out of my mouth.

Even if Aris could speak fluently from the beginning, I think she would have forgotten her language because of this game.

"I am a gamer...a descendant of Koreans who can do anything when it comes to games...a person who shouts 'totally possible' when no one else shouts 'possible'. I am Korean!"

I'm a Trinity student now, so I shouldn't be boasting about being Korean. It would be more appropriate to boast about being British.

I had a moment of weakness, but I pulled myself together with self-suggestion and put my hands on the keyboard.

Would it have been easier if I had played with a controller?

No, this absurd game would have been difficult no matter what I used.

"There's not much left. Let's do our best."

I remember Aris saying that she passed out when she encountered the insane word 'friend from another parent', and the green and pink haired girls next to her said that it was almost the climax and to hang in there...

Just a little more.

(3 AM)

"Ha...haha...ha...I won..."

I think Aris said she cleared it in 3 hours with the help of the creator...

I cleared it at 3 AM.

The playtime is...about 9 hours...

There were no hints about the guide's absurdity, so I had no choice but to try different methods, and I had to memorize the distance, trajectory, and attack patterns of the bullets that flew at speeds that were almost impossible to avoid, and predict them with the big data in my head.

But I did it.

I did it! Midori, Momoi! I won! This crappy game, I cleared it!

I don't know what I won, but an unknown sense of victory enveloped me.

I looked around with excitement.

A keyboard that was half-destroyed from being hit in the middle.

A mouse that was dented from being pressed too hard due to a failure to control my anger.

Energy bar wrappers piled up in front of the computer.

My haggard appearance from sitting in front of the computer for 9 hours.

4 hours until school.

When I faced reality, I suddenly became calm.

It turns out that it was the game that I won.

I won the battle, but reality was ruined.

I'm screwed.

This girl's body has been living as a well-behaved child, so even though it's only 3 AM, I'm exhausted after the 9-hour-long journey, and I feel sleepy.

If I sleep now...I won't be able to wake up tomorrow...

"Haaa..."

I know in my head that if I sleep now, I won't be able to wake up.

Even if the alarm goes off, I probably won't be able to wake up.

Rationally, it's better to hold out for the remaining 4 hours, then hold out in a dazed state until lunch, and then pass out for an hour during lunch. I know that.

It's better to sleep for 30 minutes to an hour than to sleep for 3-4 hours when it comes to recovering from fatigue.

It's called the law of inertia. The longer you sleep, the harder it is to wake up.

But the temptation of the bed behind me was too strong.

The bed is...beckoning me to lie down...

My reason is warning me not to lie down. It's warning me that I'll pass out as soon as I lie down, but my body won't listen.

I staggered towards the bed and

-Thud

I ended up lying down.

The last thing I remember was the soft sensation that enveloped my body when I finally gave in to the temptation and lay down.

"Snore...snore..."

I woke up in the morning and looked at the clock.

(11:09 AM)

I'm completely screwed.

I'm already disliked, and now there's one more thing to hold against me.

Truancy.

If I don't want to get caught, I have to behave properly, but now the kids who hate me will say things like

'Wow, she was also truant. She must be out of her mind.'

'How rude to be absent without even telling the school.'

'You couldn't come to school because you couldn't control your sleep schedule because you were playing games at dawn? It's shameful that such a stupid person attends Trinity. As a fellow student, I'm ashamed.'

I'm going to hear such harsh words.

Just imagining it makes me not want to go...

I heard about this in the Azusa chapter. These girls are elegant ladies, so they don't bully with force or directly.

However according to Hanako, they bully in a more underhanded way.

I'm afraid to go to school.

How am I supposed to go to school from now on...

What if Hifumi gets tired of me and leaves...?

If only I was in Gehenna...or a school where only a handful of students come to school!

I wouldn't have worried like this. I would have lived as a member who proudly skips school.

Why did the person who sent me here send me to Trinity when they hate me so much! I don't want to go to school either!

Why did they put me in a high school, which I've already been to, and in a ladies' school where the atmosphere is so uncomfortable?

Was it because I'm a urine? Did I have no choice because I'm a urine?

This is honey-like discrimination!

While lamenting my fate, I organized my thoughts and changed my clothes.

It would be better to be late than to be truant... That was my thought.

Even so, I didn't forget to take a morning shower and brush my teeth to make myself look presentable.

I'm already going to get caught for being late, but if I don't look presentable, I'll get hit even more.

Even if I'm late, being even later won't get me hit more, but if there are other factors, I'll get hit more.

It's best not to expose any more weaknesses.

In the mirror stood a girl who looked like she was a little clumsy, but still had a cute and pretty appearance.

The clumsy grooming seemed to highlight the girl's airheadedness and make her look even cuter.

That description is about me, so it's objectively self-absorbed...

I was just looking at myself from a male perspective. It's not self-absorbed.

And if I'm this cute, isn't it okay to be self-absorbed?

(12:13 PM)

It took me over an hour to get ready, even though I'd never done it before.

Even so, I wasn't mentally tired, so I guess "Tales Saga Chronicle" made me mentally stronger.

It's a really great game.

Really...I'm so grateful...

Due to the long period of concentration, I had a mental shield against this kind of grooming, but reality is reality.

The current situation caused by 'Tales Saga Chronicle' is hitting me mentally.

Is this the famous saying, 'Give a disease and then give medicine'?

The disease is too painful to be covered by medicine.

I made up my mind and went to school.

As soon as I entered the front gate, I felt gazes.

Ugh...I think I'm going to get a stomachache...

As I walked, feeling like an animal in a zoo, Hanako spoke to me.

Hanako...the former Trinity student with perfect scores in all subjects. The current maker of dirty jokes. The character in charge of the laugh track in the story, whose mouth is full of dirty jokes.

I don't know if I was close to Hanako...but since she spoke to me, I should respond.

"Oh my, Kanshi. Hello."

"Ah, yes...hello..."

"I heard from Hifumi. You were very sick this morning, weren't you? Are you feeling better now?

Ah. I get it now.

Since I didn't come, Hifumi contacted them for me.

Since Hifumi is a self-proclaimed ordinary high school girl who is favored by the Tea Party, it was possible.

Thank goodness...

I let out a sigh of relief in my mind.

"Yes. After sleeping until 12 o'clock, I felt refreshed. I think it was a cold caused by lack of sleep."

"Oh dear, this is why sleep management is important...yes."

"You're right. I think I should be a little more careful from now on."

As I was talking to Hanako, I didn't feel anything strange.

Maybe she hasn't become a perverted lady armed with dirty jokes yet.

No way...

"By the way."

"Yes?"

Is my brain rotten because I can predict what she's about to say here?

I tried to interrupt her with a question because I knew she was going to say a dirty joke, but Hanako was faster.

"I can't imagine Kanshi having a lack of sleep. Ah...! I see... How passionate were you at night? Maybe you're as diligent in your nightlife as you are in your daily life...?"

"P-Please be quiet!"

That girl says sexual things whenever she opens her mouth!

I strongly hit the head of the dirty joke machine to physically shut her mouth.

And I tried to run away while Hanako was still in shock...

Hanako shouted loudly.

"Kanshi~! Call me when you catch a cold! I'll rush over to stick a green onion in your pretty butt...urk"

"Please be quiet!"

After that, I reported Hanako to the Justice Task Force for sexual harassment, and she was arrested.

The gazes around me were quite different today, and they were gazes of compassion for me, who was being harassed by Hanako.

Chapter Text

Now I've gotten used to life in Trinity to some extent.

Well... honestly, there wasn't much to get used to.

Because no one talks to me.

It would be more accurate to say that I got used to the life of a loner rather than getting used to life in Trinity.

But I think this is better than the alternative.

The Trinity characters I've seen. Koharu, Hanako, and others were all different, but this was definitely a school for high-class ladies.

Listening to the girls talk, it's like listening to a noblewoman's battle of wits that you would see in a medieval romance fantasy.

I don't have the confidence to speak like that.

The only manners I know are the Confucianism manners that I was instilled with since I was a child in my country, the land of the courteous people in the East.

I was never taught, nor would I ever be taught, such lady-like manners.

I've heard it a lot, so I can imitate it to some extent, and it seems like my body remembers some automatic lady-like manners, but rather than going in there and talking and consuming my mental energy, I think it's better to live like a loner and only talk to Hifumi.

Ah.

That's right.

These days, I don't just talk to Hifumi.

I made one more friend.

"Kanshi-san. Are you alone again today? What were you doing alone? Jerking off to your lonely life?"

It's Hanako-san, who I somehow became close with after the lewd joke incident.

She makes a lewd joke to me every single day.

"Hanako-san. Please."

"It's okay! We're 'friends', right? Stop jerking off by yourself, and from now on, I'll..."

"Hanako-san. Isn't it about time for you to attend the Justice Task Force?"

"My club isn't the Justice Task Force, though?"

"Hanako-san is a regular guest of the Justice Task Force. If you skip today, the committee members will be sad."

Honestly, I'm not the type to react strongly to dirty jokes.

Because I was originally a man. It lessened around high school, but from middle school to my first year of high school, my friends would make dirty jokes every time they opened their mouths, so I'm used to it. No, rather, I want to laugh along with them.

In fact, I laughed at Hanako's sudden dirty jokes in the Blue Archive story.

I think they really nailed her character.

But. If I accept those dirty jokes in a school full of girls, my image will be ruined even more.

I'm already disliked, so if I get framed as a pervert, it would be better for my life to cut off my angel wings, get a pair of horns, and infiltrate Gehenna.

Hoping that one day I could laugh and talk with Hanako, I went home with Hifumi.

Hanako, who was following us in a swimsuit, was caught by Koharu.

"You seem to be having a hard time these days..."

"No, I'm not having a hard time. I'm fine."

It seems like she thinks I'm having a hard time because I've been suffering from Hanako's teasing lately.

Honestly, it was very hard to hold back my laughter.

"I...I'll help you if you're okay with it! If I talk to Nagisa-sama, Hanako-san's bullying..."

"No, it's really okay. And Hanako isn't bullying me on purpose."

Oh, she's already trying to taste the power.

No way! Hifumi has to remain pure.

I believe that Hifumi is not the mastermind!

"Rather, I enjoy it when Hanako talks to me like that."

"Huh?"

"I keep rejecting her, but honestly, I'm enjoying it too."

I think I can tell Hifumi.

Her character description says that she's a character who listens to any story with a kind heart.

And after living here, I realized that Kanshi and Hifumi are very close.

"Um...uh...so..."

"Isn't it like a comedy routine? I think she knows that I'm deliberately rejecting her too."

"Is that so..."

"Yeah. Because we're friends."

Although I rejected her as a joke, the relationship between Hanako and me would generally be called friendship.

Maybe I'm the only one who thinks so.

And Hanako's light atmosphere relieves the still heavy atmosphere of Trinity for me, so it's comfortable.

It's a different kind of comfort than Hifumi.

Hifumi is like a totem that heals just by looking at her.

Hanako is like a backscratcher that comes to relieve my stress whenever I'm uncomfortable.

That's how it feels.

"Friends, huh..."

"Right? Someone you can joke around with and rely on when you need them. That's what she is."

"Are we friends too?"

"Uh, uh...yes...?"

I should have just said yes normally, but I was overwhelmed by Hifumi's atmosphere and unconsciously spoke formally.

What, that's scary.

A nonsensical rumor that was floating around in the community in my previous life comes to mind.

"Then, can you do me a favor?"

"Wh-What is it?"

I have a feeling that Hifumi is about to say something dangerous.

For example, 'I'm going to summon Perorodzilla, so you get in the cockpit and pilot it!' something like that...

"Let's go to the Black Market together tomorrow!"

"Huh...huh?"

"There's a limited edition Peroro-sama goodie that I want... but it's currently out of stock, so I can't get it! But I heard that it's being traded secretly in the Black Market, so I'm going to go look for it!"

As soon as I heard that, a related story came to mind.

The boss of the swimsuit mask gang. Faust!

Robbery?

I was relieved that it wasn't anything dangerous.

Although, secretly going to the Black Market is a dangerous statement in itself.

I'm just glad it wasn't a dangerous statement like 'I'm going to eliminate half of humanity' or 'Kanshi's only friend is me'.

I don't know about the first one, but there's no way Hifumi would say the second one. Yeah.

I wanted to go with her, but...

I don't think I should get involved here.

The bank robbery story seems like a gag story, but it comes back as a big foreshadowing later.

If I go with her and Hifumi and the Abydos students don't meet, that would be a story collapse. A catastrophe.

If it was a normal story collapse, I wouldn't care and I would have run out saying, 'I don't know. I'll leave it to my future self!' But if I break this, it won't end with a story collapse that I can handle.

"Can't we go together...?"

"Well... Hifumi, who is favored by the Tea Party, might be able to, but as an ordinary student, it's hard for me to just skip school..."

"I don't know about favored, but... I'll talk to her!"

The fact that she can make it happen means that Nagisa likes you a lot.

But I feel bad because of Hifumi's sparkling eyes that want me to go with her.

"Haa... Okay. We're friends, after all... A friend follows their friend when they go down a bad path!"

Th-This isn't right...

The friend I know is someone who guides their friend back to the right path when they go down a bad path...

And I was the former Sensei of Schale... Is this okay?

If I were Sensei...

Hmm... If I were Sensei...!

Seeing Sensei's actions in the relationship stories, I gave up neatly because it seemed like he wasn't much different from me.

I don't know, as long as Hifumi and Abydos meet, it'll be fine.

Besides, I'm also acquainted with Abydos! Wouldn't the story flow more smoothly if we met?

With that happy delusion, I returned home.

When I got home, I turned on a game called Tales Saga Chronicle.

I can't resist a time attack.

I will proudly take the number one spot in the Tales Saga Chronicle time attack ranking on the internet.

A crappy game has its own charm.

5 AM.

Hifumi and I met early so that others wouldn't find out.

"But is there a reason why I'm coming with you?"

"Because the Black Market is a dangerous place. I thought it would be safer if there were two of us."

"I see."

"Ah, if we can get two limited edition Peroro-sama goodies, I'll give you one as thanks for coming with me!"

"No, I really don't need it."

"Hiii..."

That weird hippopotamus or bird.

Probably a hippopotamus since my favorite, Azusa, said it was a hippopotamus.

Anyway, that cross-eyed hippopotamus is not my type, so I don't really need it.

But it's not polite to just reject someone's goodwill without a reason.

Since I was instilled with the manners of the land of the courteous people in the East since I was a child, I explained the reason why I don't need a reward with a plausible reason.

"I'm not doing this for a reward. I just want Hifumi to be safe, and that's enough for me."

"Is Kanshi really an angel...?"

"Aren't all Trinity students angels?"

What is she talking about again.

And if we're talking about personalities, I'm the devil.

If Hifumi wasn't my friend and a game character I liked, I wouldn't be so kind to her if she was a complete stranger.

If I met a delinquent (mook), I would have no problem shooting them between the eyes and teabagging them from above.

"Besides, I'm not that strong, so I might not be able to protect Hifumi properly."

"If Kanshi is weak, Trinity would have already destroyed Gehenna a long time ago."

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm sorry for dragging you into this! I feel bad not giving you anything in return."

"Ah, alright. Then I don't need the hard-to-get limited edition goodie, so just pick out one of the Momofriends that Hifumi recommends and give it to me later. Okay?"

"Ah, yes. I feel relieved because that makes me feel better too."

Then Hifumi sighs and strokes her chest.

She's really cute.

I doubt if such a creature can actually exist...

Who designed this character! I commend you.

Yeah. There's no way such a cute girl is the mastermind.

The Hifumi mastermind theory that was going around in the old community must have come out without even talking to Hifumi.

Just talking to her, you can feel that she's a very kind girl.

I don't know if a kind girl would skip school with her friend, but it's not a big deal.

Let's just ignore it.

After safely crossing the Trinity autonomous region's wall, we headed to the Black Market.

Chapter Text

Hifumi escaped from the school with a skill that showed she had done this more than once or twice.

"Hifumi... how many times have you been to the Black Market...? How do you know this place so well...?"

"Kanshi. Do you remember the number of breads you've eaten in your life?"

"Just how many times have you been here!"

The Black Market shouldn't be a place you frequent so much that you can't count the times!

What on earth must happen for an ordinary high school girl to skip school so many times that it's comparable to the number of breads I've eaten!

I examined the definition of the word 'ordinary' in my head.

Summoning a tank to the beach in the summer.

Possessing scooter driving skills sufficient to shake off Gehenna's pursuit.

Being the leader of the notorious criminal group, the Masked Swimsuit Gang.

Being favored by at least one member of Trinity's highest authority, the Tea Party.

Liking the one-eyed hippo Peroro.

Is this... ordinary...?

"It's a joke. I just researched thoroughly because it's a dangerous place to come to."

"I see. I almost had a heart attack thinking my friend was a dangerous person."

Fortunately, it was a joke.

Honestly, when Hifumi said she had been to the black market countless times, the thought that she might have actually done it crossed my mind, and even though it didn't make sense, I immediately accepted it...

Of... of course, I believe that Hifumi is not the mastermind!

It's just a reasonable suspicion that Hifumi might have come here many times to find discontinued Peroro merchandise...

Just then, Hifumi hesitated for a moment before finally asking me a question with a determined look.

"By the way, you're not carrying that sniper rifle these days, but a regular gun."

"Ah."

A question I thought I might get someday finally came at this time.

I had a feeling ever since I saw the AS50 hanging on the wall...

Trinity characters typically carry British guns.

And the AS50 is a British gun, while the K2 is a Korean gun.

So I vaguely guessed that the original Kanshi might have carried an AS50.

But it was just a guess, and it didn't explain why the K2 was there, so I let it go.

So when I chose a gun to carry, I just picked the familiar K2, but it seems that the old Kanshi really did carry an AS50...

Of course, since I had guessed that, I had prepared an answer in advance in case I got such a question.

"I wanted to ask you about that assault rifle ever since I saw it, but I never got the chance. But now..."

"If things go wrong, we might have to use our guns?"

"Yes. We might have to engage in a gunfight in the Black Market... It would be terrible if we got hurt fighting with an unfamiliar gun. O-Of course, I'm sure Kanshi has a reason for carrying it!

I'm actually more familiar with this gun than that huge sniper rifle...

But since the old Kanshi seemed to have used it, I modified my answer a bit to match.

"An assault rifle is more versatile in normal situations than a sniper rifle. I felt a bit limited by the sniper rifle lately, so I switched to an assault rifle."

Honestly, I had researched a lot of excuses to say these few words.

This is a game where there are crazy girls who can take the recoil of a sniper rifle with their bare arms.

Look at Iori. She fires a Kar98k with one hand.

But then again, Shun fires a QBU-88 from a stationary position.

So at first, I was going to make the excuse, 'A sniper rifle requires a stationary position to fire, so it's difficult to respond to guerrilla warfare...', but then I wondered if the original Kanshi really fired the AS50 from a stationary position. Once I had that doubt, I had to throw away all my common sense and come up with a new excuse.

And since it seemed like she actually carried it around, I ruled out the excuse that it was heavy...

I also ruled out the excuse that it was difficult to carry...

I also ruled out the excuse that it was conspicuous...

So I erased the various excuses I had written down through brainstorming and combined the remaining ones to create that excuse.

If that didn't work, I was going to use memory loss as a last resort. There was no other answer.

"I see. Well, an assault rifle is good in various situations. In a place like the Black Market, where you don't know when or where something might happen, an assault rifle would be better... When you're at school, you just carry something light and easy to handle..."

Honestly, if I had known that I didn't have to bring a gun to school, I wouldn't have brought it.

Since the Blue Archive kids always carry guns, I thought it was mandatory...

It turned out that Azusa was just hardcore. The other kids don't normally carry guns.

But since no one pointed it out, I carried it for two days in a row, and by the time I realized it, it was too late.

Well, it seems that the original Kanshi also carried a sniper rifle to school.

And most of all, since Hifumi hadn't pointed it out until now, it must have seemed pretty natural.

Anyway, it was a relief that Hifumi understood and let it go.

If she hadn't, either Hifumi would have lost her memory or I would have lost mine.

I would have had to make her lose her memory (physically) and change it so that I was the one who originally carried this...

"Whew, I think this is the Black Market!"

As we were talking about that, we arrived at a shady alley.

Independent illegal organizations that are out of reach of the General Student Council's control, which may or may not exist. This is the Black Market.

"Wow! Finally... I got it! A limited edition Peroro-sama merchandise!"

The rumor that a limited edition Peroro merchandise was being sold wasn't false, it actually existed.

It wasn't a wasted trip.

But the way it looks...

Does Hifumi really like anything as long as it's Peroro?

"Hifumi... are you okay with that?"

"Yes?"

"No... it's just that the ice cream is being shoved into its mouth... What is that?"

"Ah, this? It's a limited edition doll from a collaboration between Peroro-sama and an ice cream franchise! Only 100 were produced, so I gave up when I heard about it while I was at school... I'm so glad I could get it like this!"

No, that's not what I'm asking...

The Peroro-sama you like looks like it's about to choke to death from eating ice cream...

The combination of Peroro's ahegao(?) and the depiction of the ice cream being forcibly shoved in is a disastrous collaboration that makes it look like Peroro is choking on ice cream and foaming at the mouth...

In short, it was already bizarre, but now it's even creepy.

No... it's fine as long as you like it...

Come to think of it... 100 of those are being sold...

There are so many people with unusual tastes in this world...

"Then, now that we've got the Peroro merchandise, shall we go back?"

"Yes. It would be bad if we stayed here too long and got caught by other people."

We need to get caught quickly...

The thugs need to find us quickly so that we can meet the Abydos kids while being chased...

I was getting impatient inside as I walked quickly out of the Black Market.

"Hey, aren't those Trinity students?"

"They seem to be, judging by their uniforms."

"If we kidnap them and ask for ransom, we'll get a lot of money, right?"

The thugs quickly found Hifumi and me, as if the main outline of the story hadn't changed.

In a normal situation, it would have been just a nuisance, but not this time.

They are... gods... they answered my prayers...

Could the thugs who actually showed up when I asked them to, be more of a god than the god in the sky who doesn't make me succeed no matter how much I pray to pass the test?

That was just nonsense.

"Hifumi... I think we've been spotted..."

"Awww... I guess it was a mistake to wear my school uniform because I didn't have anything else to wear."

"Of course, that was a mistake!"

Honestly, I wanted to point that out while watching the story.

A young lady from Trinity comes to the Black Market secretly, but she's wearing a sailor uniform that screams, 'I'm from Trinity'?

She does have a bit of an airhead side to her.

"Kanshi, you're wearing a school uniform too!"

"I also didn't have anything else to wear."

I got used to wearing the school uniform, but no matter how much I tried, other women's clothes were too much of a hurdle...

Besides, I got into the habit of wearing my school uniform whenever I went out.

"Besides, Kanshi, you're not even hiding your wings!"

"Sorry, I don't know how."

When I listed them, I was more at fault, with 2 for me and 1 for Hifumi.

Sure, a normal person with a cosplay hobby could wear a sailor uniform, but not wings... Wings are like an advertisement that says, 'I'm from Trinity'...

I don't know if a person with a cosplay hobby is a normal person, but they must be closer to the norm than we are.

"Let's split up for now."

If we were going to fight, we would have to fight with all our might here to have a chance of winning, but I'm not the one who's going to fight them anyway.

It's the Abydos kids that Hifumi will meet while running away.

For the story to go as planned, it would be best for me to part ways with Hifumi here.

And I just need to run away with all my might.

There's something I want to check too.

"Wh-Why?"

"You know it's dangerous to cause a commotion in the Black Market, right?"

"Yes, if we cause too much of a commotion, the Black Market's security force will come... Kanshi, you knew about that too?"

"I did some research."

While we were talking, the thugs' encirclement was gradually closing in.

There are more of them than before.

What's with these guys, why are there so many of them.

"So it's better to run away than to fight here. And when it comes to running away, it's better to split up and run in different directions to scatter their forces."

"I see..."

"Then let's breakthrough at one point and split up at the intersection!"

"Okay!"

Hifumi and I shot at the place where the fewest thugs were gathered, broke through, and ran with all our might.

"Don't let them get away! They're our source of money! Shoot them so they don't die!"

Stray bullets fly from behind.

Their aim was so bad that most of the bullets missed, but even so, I couldn't dodge them all.

A bullet comes flying towards me.

It was too late to dodge.

The first time in my life that I had been shot at.

I was very afraid of being shot.

In Korea, being shot = death was a given.

No matter how much Blue Archive says that the military-trained high school girls here don't die even when hit by mortars, knowing it in your head is different from the fear that comes from the survival instinct that has been ingrained in your body for decades during your previous life.

Besides, there are always exceptions. I didn't know if the laws of this world would apply to me, who came from another world.

But today was finally the day.

An event that I should have experienced at some point while living as a Trinity student in this world.

A gunfight.

If the laws of this world apply to me, I will live.

If I'm the exception, I'll die from that bullet.

The rapid thoughts that passed before being hit by the bullet ended, and the bullet was within reach of my body.

To live or to die. That is the question.

"Ouch, that stings."

Not even close.

It just stung a little.

Sometimes, powerful bullets felt like being punched.

I didn't bleed a single drop.

Ah.

I'm now... a person of this world.

When I became a woman. When I carried guns. Even when I had a halo on my head, I didn't feel it.

But this time, when the halo worked properly and the bullet only stung a little, I could finally feel it.

The ordinary human Iim Han-ja from my previous life is gone.

Only the character Hayashi Kanshi from the Blue Archive world remains.

"Haha... I don't have to, worry about dying."

Although, they say you die if your halo is destroyed.

Honestly, what are the chances that a commoner like me would get caught up in the world's events and have my halo destroyed?

The only time a halo gets destroyed while living in Trinity is during the Arius attack in the Eden Treaty arc.

I'm planning to ignore the difficult stuff like the Eden Treaty and just eat popcorn in the back, so I'm good.

At the intersection, I parted ways with Hifumi and turned to face the thugs chasing me.

I wanted to test this out.

Whether I can do it or not.

"What, she stopped."

"She must have realized that resistance is futile."

"Hehe, she knows. Let's hurry up and catch her."

By the way,

Not dying even when shot.

Me carrying a gun.

The feeling of almost no recoil when shooting.

And it's in first person.

"Should I just do it like an FPS?"

I know.

That in this world, gunfights are just ordinary violence, like fistfights in the real world.

But to me, it's not a light feeling that can be expressed with the word FPS.

The cold feeling of metal in my hand.

It's not a character on a screen, it's a gun in my own hand.

It's not a character controlled by a keyboard, it's my own body that moves according to my thoughts.

And I point that cold metal at the enemies - the thugs.

It's a different feeling from when I just fired randomly to break through earlier.

At that time, I wasn't aiming at anyone in particular, and I was subconsciously and consciously telling myself that they wouldn't die even if they were shot.

But now it's confirmed.

They don't die when shot.

And I don't die when shot.

A living human.

A girl of high school age at that.

I do feel some resistance to pointing a gun at her.

But it must be inevitable if I'm going to live in this world.

Because I'm a girl of this world, Hayashi Kanshi.

With that mindset, I erase the resistance from my mind.

I wrap it up with the playful word FPS.

And

I shot a person with my own will.

Chapter Text

The bullet I fired accurately hit the head of the thug in the front.

Wow, the first time I shot a person, it's a headshot.

I guess I'm pretty bold.

My stomach churns.

It was the first time I shot at a human, and I hit her in the head, a vital point.

What if she died? Even though I knew she wouldn't die, I couldn't help but feel dizzy.

The thug I shot seemed to have fainted.

"Th-That girl!"

"How dare you do that to our comrade!"

"Counterattack! Fill her with bullets, but don't kill her!"

A dense hail of bullets, enough to fill my vision, flies from the front.

No matter how hard I try, it's impossible to dodge them all.

Unfortunately, there's no cover either. In that case, I have no choice but to shoot while getting hit.

I've been hit once, so I know I won't die.

Still, I'm a little scared, so I give myself some self-suggestion.

Those are just BB bullets... BB bullets...

I don't know how much health I have in-game terms, but after getting hit, I have a feeling I won't collapse from the combined attack of about 15 thugs.

I'm not even sure what it feels like to lose health.

Even in the game, when you lose health, you just get carried away by a helicopter, you don't faint or die.

What's the meaning of health, anyway?

With such simple thoughts, I calmly fired my gun.

Focusing on other thoughts made shooting a little easier.

Even if I spray, I'll probably hit one or two, but I have the pride of a Korean.

In FPS games, if there's no risk of death, headshots are a given.

I quickly align my sights with the target and fire.

That doesn't mean I'm shooting slowly, though.

My mental fortitude, honed by clearing Tales Saga Chronicle, is quite remarkable, allowing me to endure the stinging pain all over my body and land headshots with terrifying accuracy.

The pain increases with each bullet that hits me.

At the same time, my fear decreases.

My instincts seem to have realized that this body won't die from getting hit by this many bullets.

The sensation of shooting also dulls.

No matter how much I shoot, the thugs don't die.

After taking down five of them, the burden on my mind became manageable.

I need to stay calm.

If I get agitated from the pain, my aim will suffer.

Staying calm in games is an immutable truth.

The moment you get agitated, your vision blurs...

With a calm mind, I take down one enemy and aim at another.

.....

I'm landing all headshots, but the enemies don't fall like the first one.

Is there a difference in defense?

I remember them having light armor...

If they're not dying like this, it can only mean that my level is low or that I'm a penetration dealer.

Certainly... the Kanshi from before used an AS50, so penetration would fit... but does that mean I, wielding a K2, am also considered penetration?

-Tudududududu

-Tadadadadadang

About two minutes into the gunfight.

The number of thugs doesn't decrease at all.

As many as I take down, more come to replace them.

It's getting annoying.

Standing still and getting hit, carefully aiming each shot to get into the FPS mood.

I switched from holding the gun with both hands to holding it with one hand to aim more accurately.

Yeah, I don't have to stand still and shoot like I'm really playing Blue Archive.

If this were a real game, they should have given me an EX skill too. Right.

Now that my fear of guns has disappeared to this extent.

I'll make a frontal breakthrough.

I can't be held back by these guys forever.

I ignore the stinging pain of the bullets as much as possible with my mental fortitude and gather strength in my legs.

And then, I ran.

"What!"

Straight towards the group of thugs.

They seem surprised that I would run towards them, and their formation scatters.

"One down."

I put my gun to the forehead of the guy who fell in front and fired at point-blank range.

"You know what?"

"?"

They say the K2 is stronger in close combat than at long range. I'm not sure, but that's what Namuwiki said.

Think of the gun as an extension of my arm and think of firing bullets as throwing punches. Then it's clear.

This isn't a gun anymore. It's my fist.

Instead of feeling like I'm shooting a gun, I feel like I'm throwing punches that come out of the trigger, taking down the confused enemies one by one.

But maybe because of their defense, it's not as clean as I'd like, which is a bit uncomfortable. For those guys, I punched them to relieve stress and knock them out.

They didn't fall immediately, but getting shot in the head at point-blank range causes brain tremors, resulting in a 100% stun, so once I hit them with the gun, it was easy to follow up with punches.

Some might say you shouldn't use violence against women, but I don't care.

First of all, they attacked me first, so it's self-defense, and I'm a woman too. Why, can't a woman hit a woman?

Punching takes longer than shooting, so in the meantime, some of the thugs recovered from their confusion and started aiming at me again.

It doesn't seem to matter if I get hit, but the stinging sensation of the BB bullets is definitely unpleasant.

But if I try to stop them from shooting now, I'll get hit a few times.

I accurately aim my gun at the thugs' guns.

-Bang, bang, bang

Three shots.

All three shots hit three thugs' guns, disabling them.

"Wh-What the..?"

The thugs mutter, wondering how I did that without even aiming properly.

Sorry, but the world is unfair.

I roughly figured out that I could easily handle the recoil of the K2 with my arm strength.

In other words, I only needed to calculate the trajectory without calculating the recoil, so hitting the guns of the guys who were standing still and slowly aiming at me was easier than hitting the pros bouncing around on the battlefield.

If I hit them directly, the damage is low, maybe because of their defense, so I should eliminate their means of attack.

With that in mind, I easily destroyed the surrounding guns.

"Hee... hee, Monster... Monster!"

"I'm not a monster. I'm an angel."

Have you heard of the Blood Angel?

Don't underestimate angels.

There's a crazy angel in this world who can deal 5,000 damage per second with a Vector.

Of course, that's a character from another dimension, so I'll skip the details.

After roughly clearing the area, I looked around.

I was the one who warned Hifumi not to cause a ruckus because the security forces would come, but I ended up causing a huge scene myself.

Well, it's fine as long as I don't get caught, right?

But even if I didn't get caught right now, there's a high possibility that the security forces have been alerted to the commotion here.

Let's get out of here quietly.

I picked up a thug to use as a meat shield and quietly walked away.

I don't know where Hifumi is, but if I head to the bank from here, I should be able to meet her somehow.

I headed to the bank with my face covered by the hoodie I bought at the Black Market.

Meanwhile, Hifumi.

As Kanshi intended, she smoothly met up with the Abydos students and Sensei.

Thanks to that, they were able to repel all the thugs who were chasing them.

"Auuu... I was so scared... Thank you for your help. If it weren't for you, I would have really caused trouble for the school."

She bowed and looked at the person called Sensei who had been giving commands until just now. Certainly, as Kanshi said, he was handsome, had a good voice, had excellent strategies, and cared for the students, he was a superman in every way.

"You said your name was Hifumi-chan? So, what brings a Trinity lady to such a dangerous place?"

Hoshino asked Hifumi a question.

Normally, ladies of Trinity wouldn't come to a Black Market like this.

Of course, that's within the bounds of 'normally,' and Kanshi and Hifumi were far from ordinary ladies. Hifumi seems to want to claim that she's normal, though!

"I came to buy a limited edition Peroro-sama goods with my friend... Ah! That's not the problem right now."

"You came with a friend..."

"Yes... My friend was being chased along side me. We split up at an intersection to escape more efficiently."

"Hmm... Then there's only one thing we can do."

"Ah, it's come to this, huh..."

"We have to help those in need ☆~"

Hifumi and Abydos also caused quite a commotion, so there was a risk of getting caught by the security forces if they weren't careful.

But for Hifumi's friend, they decided to go and rescue her despite the danger...

But before that. Even though Abydos is full of camaraderie, they're not a charity group.

"Heeh... This is really dangerous. We can't do this for free."

"If... If you need money, I'll give it to you."

"No, that's not necessary."

"Our lady. You seem to know a lot about this place, how about being our guide for today?"

"We're looking for something too."

"O-Okay. Let's hurry."

And when Abydos and Hifumi arrived at the place where Kanshi was supposed to be, they found a mountain of unconscious thugs.

"Wow, she did this alone? This is pretty impressive."

"There are over 40 of them... Did she really do this alone?"

"Uwaaa... I knew Kanshi was strong, but I didn't know it was to this extent..."

When Hifumi said the name of the culprit who caused this carnage, the atmosphere of Abydos became momentarily lively.

The name that came out was the name of the angel girl they had captured just a few days ago.

"Kanshi?"

"Are you talking about that light-green-haired lady we know?"

"Oho... We have more to hear. Anyway, Hifumi-chan? It seems like our friend has already dealt with this place and moved on, so let's get out of here for now. If we stay any longer, we might really get caught by the security forces."

"Yes. Understood."

Hifumi and Abydos evaded the security forces and entered the Black Market.

As they did, Hifumi explained what she knew about the Black Market to Abydos, and Abydos explained why they came here.

"Then, can we hear about that Kanshi girl too?"

Hoshino brought up the topic of Kanshi.

If that Kanshi girl single-handedly took down 40 thugs, her combat prowess couldn't be ignored.

No matter how much they were small fries, it's unbelievable that she could overcome 40 armed thugs and fight them head-on to win.

Hoshino had a gut feeling that they needed to know more about that girl before something happened.

"Why Kanshi?"

"Ah, we had a little encounter with her last time. And when a name you know comes up, you get curious, right?"

"Last time... Did you meet her when Kanshi came to Abydos for sightseeing?"

"Y-Yeah! She came to eat ramen at the ramen shop where I was working part-time."

If they said they kidnapped and detained her, they didn't know what kind of trouble they would get into with Trinity

So they explained it in a way that was technically true but not the whole truth.

"She boldly ordered a large serving but couldn't even finish half of it and left."

"That sounds like Kanshi. She has a bit of an airhead side to her."

"So what kind of lady is she? Did she come to buy those Momofriends goods like you?"

"No. Kanshi just came along because I insisted... And she's the top student at our school..."

It was an identity that Abydos couldn't even imagine.

That harmless, airheaded lady is the top student of a prestigious school like Trinity?

She told herself that she was a loser and wouldn't be worth anything, but it seemed like she was wrong.

If they had really kidnapped and detained Kanshi that day, Trinity might have declared all-out war on Abydos.

"But how can someone who's good at studies be so good at fighting?"

"Being good at studies has nothing to do with it, she's rumored to be very strong at our school... There's a famous story where she shot the bullies' heads with a gun from 1km away when they were harassing a kid... And when the bullies found out that Kanshi was the one who sniped them and tried to pick a fight with her, she beat them in a face-to-face fight..."

"Uhehe... She's a scary lady."

They talked about various other stories related to Kanshi.

There was a bit too much TMI, but they were able to get a lot of information about a dark horse, and the Abydos students decided to let her be because Hifumi was cute when she was engrossed in something.

As they were walking, they found a fish-shaped bun shop.

"Ah, fish-shaped buns."

"Ah, I'll buy them for you."

"No, I want to eat them, so I'll buy them~"

And then Nonomi buys the fish-shaped buns instead of Hifumi.

The five of them shared the fish-shaped buns that Nonomi bought.

"Ahaha... Thank you for the food."

'When will we find Kanshi... Well, we won't find her just by wandering around. Right now, all I can do is pray that Kanshi is safe...'

Hifumi wanted to find Kanshi quickly, but she was swept up in the relaxed atmosphere of Abydos and gave up, thinking that they would meet eventually.

Chapter Text

After dealing with the gang of thugs, I headed to a clothing store in the Black Market.

"First, I'd better change my clothes to avoid any more trouble..."

A Trinity student stands out too much in the Black Market.

Besides, my light green hair is also very distinctive, so I could easily become a topic of rumors.

That Kanshi was walking around the Black Market.

"Welcome. Whoa, what a pretty lady! You're from Trinity, right? What brings you here?"

A rat man greeted me in the store.

He's the kind of rat that would fit Arona's desire for a hard-boiled atmosphere.

I almost laughed.

"I'm here to buy some clothes. Do you have anything that can adequately cover my face?"

"Hmm... I have just the thing for that."

I bought a hoodie in the Black Market to cover my face.

It was a pretty nice hoodie, apparently traded in the Black Market, and it was quite expensive.

I would have been fine with something normal, but the store owner insisted that I had to have this one...

I have a lot of money, so it didn't really matter... but why do I feel bad even though it suits me?

The reason I bought the hood was that my light green hair color is quite noticeable, so there's a high chance I'd be recognized.

My pure white wings are also quite noticeable, but that's something that cannot be helped...

"Miss~ Are you perhaps looking for something to cover your wings too~"

As I was looking for a way to deal with my wings, the store owner from earlier was standing there with a cape.

It seems he figured out my purpose.

With tears in my eyes, I bought an expensive cape too...

If I had bought the cape first, I wouldn't have needed to buy the hood.

I realized this only after I had fallen for his sales pitch.

I headed to the Black Market Bank while hiding my identity as much as possible.

The building was huge, so at least I wouldn't get lost.

Then, I saw the security guards searching for someone.

"It's a group of five high school girls, including one adult male. They caused a disturbance in our area! We need to find them immediately."

I don't know why I wasn't caught, but it seems Hifumi and the Abydos group were caught by the security guards.

But the Abydos side, under Sensei and Ayane's instructions, didn't seem to be easy to catch.

In the original story, they also managed to evade the security guards without getting caught, so I guess I don't need to worry too much.

"Even if they were just common thugs, they took down nearly 80 people with just five. They're not to be taken lightly. Call for backup!"

Huh, is that a lot?

Just a moment ago, I thought, 'They can definitely escape that, right?' but I'm starting to get a little worried now that reinforcements are coming.

Why are they calling for backup?

They said that five people took down 80 thugs.

No matter how I think about it, I don't think Hifumi's group could have taken down 80 people.

Since Hifumi and I split up and ran in different directions, even if there were a lot of thugs on their side, there's no way 80 of them went to their side only.

In the original story, assuming that the number of thugs you take down in the game represents the number in the story, they would have taken down about 30 to 40 people.

There are basically 15 to 21 enemies in one stage. And you fight twice, once with the initial thugs and once with the reinforcements.

And I took down 40 by myself.

Could it be... they're mistaking the ones I took down as the ones they took down?

But why?

The place where I took down the thugs and the place where Abydos and Hifumi are should be quite far apart?

Originally, the odds of 1:8 might seem manageable, so the security guards didn't send that many people, but they seem to have determined that 1:16 is quite dangerous.

If this goes wrong, there's a chance that Hifumi's group could get caught by the security guards...

"Haa... I made this mess, so I guess I have to clean it up..."

It's best to avoid a direct confrontation with the security guards.

Not only was I not confident that I could win in a fight, but if we fought face-to-face, there's a chance they could recognize me even if I'm covering my face and wings.

If they make a wanted poster, I'll become the public enemy of the Black Market.

Therefore, I need to fight from a distance as much as possible.

But it was difficult to aim accurately relying only on the iron sights of the assault rifle.

The Black Market is a place where all sorts of things are traded.

Iori's yearbook was even available according to the Iori bond story.

They might even sell sniper scopes here.

In a hurry to find sniper supplies, I found a short scope nearby.

"I guess I'll have to make do with this for now."

I pulled my hood tight to conceal my identity and sniped one of the security guards who was busy looking for Hifumi's group with the short scope.

Sniping is only romantic when you do it with a scoped sniper rifle...

Maybe the old Kanshi knew that, which is why she carried a sniper rifle.

I don't know if I can beat the security guards, but I just need to buy some time.

No, if I can just split their forces, the story will proceed normally.

I fired at the head of a security guard.

One security guard, unable to react, was hit by all three bullets from the 3-round burst of the K2 and fell to the ground.

What? Why did the security guard automatons get one-shotted?

Even the thugs didn't get one-shotted?

Was there a problem with their defense mechanisms?

The thugs who were ambushed earlier also fell in one shot, so just in case, I aimed and fired at another security guard who was on guard after his comrade mysteriously died.

It was a one-shot kill.

What, they're easier to beat than the thugs?

What's going on.

And then, a hypothesis crossed my mind.

Ah, those guys.

Come to think of it, they did look like they were heavily armored.

They're heavily armored.

Now that I think about it, the black enemies that appeared in Blue Archive's Area 8 were called Black Market Automatons...?

It seems my attack attribute is indeed piercing.

This... I might be able to Thanos the security guards, not just buy time.

I said earlier that I wasn't confident I could win in a fight, but I take that back.

I jumped between buildings and continued to snipe the security guards from where they couldn't see me.

I happily hunted down the 'heavily armored' Black Market security guards like a fish in water.

"Hoodie Cape! We're letting you go for now, but the entire Black Market will be after you! Don't think you can get out of here safely!"

"Heavy armor... talking back?"

- Bang

Because of this, the security guards were calling me by the strange codename Hoodie Cape, which reminded me of a certain bald cape from somewhere, and I always made sure to take out the one who said that name first.

Why are you making up my embarrassing past when I haven't done anything?

When the number of security guards had noticeably decreased, I went into a random building, took off the hood and cape, and went back to the clothing store.

Since the security guards were looking for someone with a hood and cape, I needed to change my clothes.

But if I changed back into my Trinity uniform, I might get caught by thugs looking for money again...

I'm such a pushover, I know...

"You're back, miss."

"Yes, hello. I just, uh, needed to change my clothes..."

"Could it be that the Hoodie Cape that the security guards have been looking for with bloodshot eyes since earlier is you, miss? You're the only one I can think of who would wear such an outrageous design."

"Ugh..."

I pointed my gun at the store owner.

Dealing with heavily armored security guards is a piece of cake, but I don't want to cause any more trouble.

Besides, there was a reason why I stopped short of annihilating the security guards.

Even though the Black Market is an illegal organization, there's such a thing as a necessary evil in this world.

If I massacre too many security guards here and the Black Market's own order collapses, it could affect the outside world as well.

"Whoa, whoa, put that gun down, and let's talk. I won't report you."

"How can I trust that?"

"A merchant like me doesn't care how the world works as long as I can make money."

"....."

"And you're a good customer of mine, miss. Gaining your trust and selling you expensive clothes is more profitable in the long run and the short run than reporting you to the security guards and getting a measly reward."

Ah, this is annoying.

So I ended up being called a pushover by that guy.

It's annoying that I have to be a pushover even though I know that.

And I hate myself for thinking that I'll probably come back here again someday, succumbing to the performance of the hood and cape that hid my identity so well and the clothes that looked great even to me.

"Well, okay. It doesn't really matter anyway since I can just take care of the security guards if they come."

"You're a scary one, aren't you, miss? This old man is getting chills."

"So what clothes do you recommend this time? I don't have a good sense of fashion. I have plenty of money anyway, so I'll buy something expensive."

"Oh, you're quite generous."

"People like you would call someone like me a sucker, right?"

"Yep, that's right."

The store owner, who readily admitted it, picked out some clothes from the store.

No matter how much I look, I can't tell what clothes go well with what, but seeing him pick out combinations that look good on me so quickly, I guess that's what you call an expert.

The store owner picked out a sky-blue one-piece dress and a beige coat.

"Ugh..."

"What? Don't you like it?"

Come to think of it, it was my mistake.

Anyone can see that I look like a woman, and if you ask a clothing store employee to pick out clothes that fit you, it's natural that they would bring women's clothes.

Unaware of my inner turmoil, the store owner muttered,

"Why though... I think it would look great on you."

I imagined myself wearing that.

It does look good. It looks good, but...

I've never worn women's clothes other than my uniform.

I want to ask for men's clothes, but...

From what I've gathered about this guy's personality so far, he's a merchant who wants to make a lot of money, but he also seems to have the spirit of an expert who wants to dress his customers in pretty things, judging from the fact that he only brings clothes that really suit me.

If I ask him for men's clothes, not knowing my circumstances, a person with that kind of personality might get angry and keep pushing the issue.

If I'm late, I might miss Hifumi... I mean, Faust-san, leading the Swimsuit Masked Gang to rob the Black Market Bank, so I need to go there as soon as possible and wait.

How can I get out of this smoothly?

As I thought about it, I came up with a perfect excuse using the current situation.

"Could you give me men's clothes instead?"

"Why? I can give them to you, but they won't fit you. First of all, there's a big difference in physique. Besides, men's clothes in human form are scarce, so they're very expensive."

Come to think of it, there are few men in human form in this world.

Most of them have animal features, and even those in human form are robots when you look at their faces... that's the kind of world it was.

Even the store owner is a rat.

There's bound to be a lack of demand.

"I thought it would be best to hide my gender for a perfect disguise."

"I guess so. But men's clothes that fit your body type are really expensive, are you sure?"

Then, the store owner brought a dress shirt and pants from the back.

I immediately bought them and the coat and put them on.

I was bundled up tightly last time with the hoodie, so if I do the same now, it might arouse suspicion.

So this time, I didn't hide my hair.

"Here, take this too. Think of it as a present for a good customer in the future."

The store owner gave me the one-piece dress from earlier as a bonus.

I didn't need it, but I couldn't refuse, so I took it.

Well, as long as I live as a woman, there will come a day when I'll wear it.

I can't just wear my uniform forever, and there might come a day when I can't avoid wearing women's clothes.

Just thinking about the swimsuit event, since I'm friends with Hifumi and Hanako, there's a high chance I'll be dragged along, and I can't wear men's swimwear with this body.

I'll have to use this dress to build up immunity to women's clothes for the future.

With that thought, I looked at the one-piece dress.

It's still a design that makes me nauseous when I think about wearing it myself.

Apart from that, it's aesthetically very beautiful, and it's a dress that's worth the price it was initially offered at.

I sighed, took the clothes, and went outside.

"Ugh... I'm hungry... Is there anything to eat..."

The battle with the thugs, the massacre of the security guards, and deciding on clothes, there were too many things that exhausted me.

I need to regain my energy by eating something...

As I looked around for something to eat, I saw an unusual group of five high school girls and one adult male buying fish-shaped buns.

Their hair colors were so colorful and vibrant that you would have to look at them at least once if you passed by. They really stood out.

Aren't they not getting caught by the security guards thanks to me?

But before that, why weren't they caught because of their hair colors in the story?

Do your job, security guards!

"Anyway, I'm glad I found them quickly."

I'm glad I don't have to wait at the Black Market Bank anymore.

But... I want to eat fish-shaped buns too, can't I eat with them?

I... I'm hungry too...

I wanted to run up to them and ask to eat together, but Nonomi had already bought 'six servings'.

Nonomi bought the fish-shaped buns because 'I wanted to eat them', and if I show up here and make her buy them for me too, it would prove that Nonomi didn't buy them because she wanted to eat them.

But Nonomi wouldn't just watch me buy my own with my own money. Nonomi is a kind girl.

If it were a stranger, it would be one thing, but I've already met Abydos.

They even offered to treat me to a meal when we parted ways. Of course, I refused, but I don't think the Abydos students would give up their will with just that much refusal.

There's no way they'd be fooled by a disguise that only covers my hair...

In the end, I had to watch Abydos and Hifumi eat their fish-shaped buns from behind a pillar, drooling.

Chapter Text

(Author recommends listening to Unwelcome School while reading this part.)

After confirming that Abydos, Sensei, and Hifumi had finished eating the fish-shaped buns, I was about to leave, but I thought it would be too unnatural to meet them right after they finished eating.

It's like a loser trying to awkwardly join a group of popular kids when the atmosphere has calmed down a bit.

So I decided to hide behind the pillar a little longer and leave when the time was right.

It seemed like Abydos and Hifumi were discussing the weapons of unknown origin that the Helmet Gang was using.

I couldn't hear them clearly, but Hifumi seemed to be having trouble, and the Abydos students were asking questions.

Then, Ayane shouted loudly, and Hifumi and the Abydos students started running towards me.

"Wh-What?"

Why are they coming this way?

Did they find me? No, I don't think they found me. If they were coming because of me, they wouldn't look so urgent.

Anyway, it would be very awkward to meet them now.

Should I just escape from here and casually walk past them?

Yeah. That would be better.

I hid in a blind spot where Abydos and Hifumi couldn't see me and went around the other way.

And then I realized why they were running towards me.

There was a market guard transporting a large truck.

"Hey, I heard the 2nd squad was wiped out by some guy in a hooded cape?"

"Sheesh... Not catching even one person, what a disgrace to the security force..."

"Well, it's none of our business. We just have to do our job."

They were having that kind of conversation while working.

Is it because I'm twisted that I want to interfere with their work here?

Interfering with someone who is working hard. That's what Koreans do, right?

Can't stand seeing others do well.

'Other people's misfortune is my happiness' is the motto of this race.

Someone is picking Yordles. Then I'll abandon the Arcane Mage I was going for and pick Yordles.

Don't be obsessed with winning or losing. Games are meant to piss off your opponent.

But unlike before, these are market guards, the top security organization. Even if I have the advantage, I could lose if they work together, and even if I win, destroying the top security organization would definitely ruin the Black Market's security.

I calmed my racing heart, which wanted to destroy the market guard automata transporting the truck, or at least puncture the truck's tires to disrupt their plans, and naturally turned the corner and walked past where Abydos and Hifumi were hiding.

"Kanshi? Kanshi~ Over here!"

As expected, Hifumi spotted me as I was passing by and called me in a quiet voice.

Honestly, I would have been a little hurt if she hadn't called me.

I acted like I didn't know anything and went to Hifumi and asked.

"Why are you hiding here? Are you still being chased by those thugs?"

"N-No. The thugs were taken care of by these Abydos people and Sensei."

As soon as Hifumi finished speaking, Shiroko greeted me.

"Hi, Kanshi. You changed your clothes."

"There was a bit of a commotion while dealing with the thugs. I changed my clothes to avoid being noticed."

After Shiroko broke the ice, the other Abydos students greeted me one by one.

"Hi, Kanshi-chan. That outfit looks good on you."

"Thank you, Hoshino-san."

"Long time no see? Is it long time no see?"

"I think this much time counts as long time no see."

"Wow~ Kanshi's here too!"

The Abydos students greet me.

It's a bit of a prick to my conscience to pretend I don't know they're here when I already know and even instigated it, but what can I do.

"Hello, Kanshi."

"Hello, Sensei. First of all, thank you for saving Hifumi. I managed to take care of my side, but when I went to where Hifumi was supposed to be, she was gone, so I was worried. Anyway, what are you all doing here?"

The Abydos students kindly explained the circumstances that brought them here.

I knew most of it, but I listened carefully in case there was a butterfly effect somewhere that I didn't know about.

"...So that's how we ended up here."

I was relieved that nothing much had changed.

If anything, it's that they didn't see the truck going in because they were busy greeting me.

I think I need to fix that.

"By the way, that market guard-escorted truck just now. It went into the black bank, didn't it?"

At my words, the Abydos members look towards the black bank.

The timing was perfect, as an employee who was receiving money from Abydos was signing a document with a black bank employee.

The expressions of the Abydos students who saw that scene turned serious.

"Wh-What? That guy... Isn't he the bank employee who takes our interest every month?"

"Oh, you're right."

"What's going on?"

From behind, the holographic Ayane had already analyzed the truck and relayed the information to us.

"R-Really?! It's a truck belonging to Kaiser Loan! It's the same truck that was carrying the cash we paid this morning...! Why is it in the Black Market?!"

"Kaiser Loan... Are you talking about that loan shark company?"

"You know about it, Kanshi?"

Of course, I know about it.

It's where I've invested all my stocks right now.

It's even grown so much that my original investment has skyrocketed.

I put in 1 billion yen, and now it's 13.2 billion yen.

It's about time it's going to burst, so should I pull out?

Hifumi and I explained to the Abydos students about Kaiser Loan.

That it's a company that walks the line between legal and illegal.

And that it's a company that the Trinity student council, the Tea Party, is keeping a close eye on.

Hoshino, who intuited that their money was being used for something suspicious, asked Ayane to track it.

"Ayane-chan, can you search the driving route of the transport truck that just went in?"

"...I can't. It's impossible. It seems like they manage all their data offline."

The result was, of course, a failure.

If they weren't this thorough, they wouldn't be able to walk the line between legal and illegal.

But even with this much of a clue, the intelligent Abydos students were able to accurately guess the current situation.

"The cash we paid was flowing into the Black Market's criminal bank...?"

"Does that mean we've been funding the Black Market's criminal activities?!!"

But it's just a guess, there's no evidence.

It means it's not certain yet.

Whether they want to avoid reality or get back at Kaiser, they need something to prove that Kaiser Loan had an illegal funding route.

And that evidence is...

"......Ah! The driving confirmation document that the employee just signed... Wouldn't that be evidence?"

"I see."

"Oh, that's right. Nice, Hifumi-chan."

Thanks to Hifumi's statement, they had a direction on how to handle things.

"Haha... But when you think about it, the document is in that bank... It's impossible. It's in the bank with the tightest security in the Black Market... There are so many market guards guarding it... We need to find another way..."

Pure but intelligent, and in some ways sharp, Hifumi pointed out that it was realistically impossible to find the evidence.

However, the Abydos students, who make statements that exceed our imaginations, were undeterred.

"No, there's no other way."

"Huh?"

Ah... that's coming out...

"Hoshino-senpai. This is the only way."

"I see~. That's it. That's it~"

"....Huh??"

Hifumi, stuck in their conversation, couldn't grasp the current situation at all.

If I were a normal Trinity student, I wouldn't understand what they were talking about either... It was a suspicious context that I couldn't understand at all... But since I already knew the content, I couldn't help but laugh at that build-up.

"What, what are you talking about? ......Don't tell me? It's not the method I'm thinking of, right?"

Shiroko stares at Serika.

"A-Are you serious?!! For real?"

Only Hifumi, who was stuck in the middle without any understanding of the situation, was flustered and asked what they were talking about.

"Um... I'm not sure what you're talking about... Does Kanshi understand? What is this method you're talking about?"

Shiroko answered Hifumi's question with action.

I don't even understand why she was carrying that around...

"There's only one way."

Shiroko took out a mask from her bag and put it on.

"Wh-What are you doing?!"

"That is... to rob the bank."

"Huh?!"

"That's right. That's the development here."

Hoshino, who had somehow put on mask number 1, ignored the flustered Hifumi and continued the story.

"Huh?!?!"

"Wow~ We're going to punish the bad bank!"

"Huh?!?! Um, excuse me?"

No one is paying attention to Hifumi.

I knew that these people wouldn't listen to me even if I gave my opinion, so I stayed still.

No, I wasn't still.

I quietly escaped.

When Hifumi noticed, I was hiding in a place where people couldn't see me.

No matter what, I can't get involved in that.

"Sorry Hifumi, Kanshi. We didn't prepare masks for you."

"N-No, that's not the problem... Um... Excuse me? Kanshi? Where's Kanshi?"

"If it's Kanshi, she was preparing to run away from the time we put on our masks."

Hoshino, Shiroko, Serika, and Nonomi, who were focused on putting on their masks, couldn't escape, but I guess I couldn't escape Ayane's eyes.

I've been found out.

"I... I've been abandoned..."

"No, it's just that Kanshi knew the timing suspiciously well."

"Wow! This is only our second meeting, but for some reason, she knows us really well."

"Anyway, since Hifumi is staying, we can just make it so that all the blame falls on Trinity~"

"Ah... No... That mask...? Ugh... Bank...? Ah... Auuu..."

Hifumi's brain processing has encountered an error.

Even I, who already knew the content, felt like I was going crazy, so it was natural that Hifumi, who was caught up in the incident without knowing anything, couldn't keep her mind straight.

"That would be too pitiful. Hifumi-chan, here's something for now☆"

And Nonomi put a fish-shaped bun bag with a hole in it, marked with the number 5, on Hifumi's head.

It suited her so well that I almost burst out laughing.

-Pfft...

"There was a sound from over there."

And Shiroko's good ears didn't miss it.

"Kanshi-chan~ It's not right to abandon your friend Hifumi when she's trying so hard, right?"

......Whatever.

Should I change my clothes?

I quickly changed into the clothes of the public enemy of the Black Market, the hooded cape.

I'm definitely not some weirdo with a strange nickname who looks like he could one-punch someone with a gun, but I thought there was no better outfit to rob a Black Market bank.

I'm sorry, hooded cape. I'm going to borrow your name to rob a bank.

My conscience pricked me greatly for abandoning Hifumi, so I came out dressed from head to toe.

"Oh, the visual is boss-level, isn't it? The mastermind, isn't it? The leader, isn't it?"

"Hifumi-chan also has a boss-like feeling☆"

"A-Are we going too? To rob the black bank....? A-Are we going?"

"Uhehe. Your friend seems to have already sensed it and came, right? Friendship that doesn't abandon a friend! How noble. Besides, Hifumi-chan promised to be with us today."

"Ah... Ugh... I, I don't know how I should look at the student council members and Kanshi anymore..."

Hifumi was in a panic, but no one was comforting her.

Instead, they try to rationalize.

"It doesn't matter! They're the bad guys! We're robbing a criminal bank!"

"And Kanshi is going to rob the bank with you. There's nothing to worry about!"

This is a K-game, after all.

The personalities of the characters are already messed up.

"Sensei, please say that line."

"Yeah, let's rob the bank!"

I could only sigh.

If you're a teacher, you should stop the kids from doing weird things...

I had a feeling that I would have done the same if I were Sensei, so I didn't say anything.

Chapter Text

Market guards were lined up in front of the Black Bank.

If I had known this would happen, I would have told them in advance, why bother breaking through the front?

"First, I'll take the lead and make a surprise attack. Hoshino-san, please block the bullets coming from in front of me, and Hifumi, please support me. The rest of you, please attack with me. I'll leave the detailed instructions to Sensei."

To efficiently destroy those in a rational way, it's better for me, who can deal high damage to heavy armor, to be the dealer.

"Oooh, Boss!"

"I'm not the boss..."

"Saitama-san!"

Stop that for real.

I ignored Nonomi's rather dangerous remarks and fired bullets at the Market Guards.

No matter how top-tier the organization, the Market Guards couldn't overcome the limitations of heavy armor and fell to my bullets.

Next time, I quietly recommended that they at least make robots with special armor and move forward.

"H-Hoodie Cape!"

In the meantime, the rumor spread, and most of the automatons knew about the existence of the 'Hoodie Cape' that I was impersonating.

But Hoodie Cape and I are clearly different people, so why am I so angry when I'm called by that name?

"Who's Hoodie Cape!"

"Hoodie Cape has brought friends!"

"Is Kanshi a bit famous?"

"I don't know that person."

Come to think of it, Hoshino was also heavily armored.

If I put a bullet in her, will she be quiet?

Since the Abydos students were also a group of strong characters, it wasn't difficult to break through the Market Guards with me, Hifumi, and the Abydos students.

It wasn't just not difficult, it was honestly like bullying. The security of the Black Market? I don't know about that.

Haa... I didn't want to get involved in this... I just wanted to check if things were going properly...

I felt deep self-loathing and skepticism about this situation where I was suddenly robbing a bank. At the same time, the fact that I didn't stop destroying the automatons showed that I had become accustomed to this world in that short time today.

After easily annihilating the Market Guards guarding the Black Bank, we entered the bank proudly.

"Everyone, get down! Put all the weapons you're holding on the ground!!"

"Those who don't listen will be punished."

"Ah, ahaha... Everyone, please get down so you don't get hurt..."

I look at the bank, which is in a mess, with a strange feeling.

One person is a weirdo wrapped in a hoodie and a cape. One person is a weirdo with a fish-shaped bun bag over their head. The other four are masked weirdos.

The people in the bank are all looking at us with frightened expressions.

"Emergency, emergency!"

The bank examiner sounds the alarm and tries to call for reinforcements. But no way.

"Uhe~ It's no use. We've already cut off the power to the security system that connects to the outside."

"Hiiieek!"

Did they expect us to sound the alarm?

Shiroko, this crazy girl, planned to rob the bank and planned an escape route.

Why is she using her brain for this...

Some people got up and tried to run away, so Hifumi and Serika threatened them.

"Hey, you there!! Get down! If you do anything stupid, I'll kill you?"

"Everyone, please stay still... Auuu."

Hifumi... No matter how I look at it, I don't think that's a threat...

Anyway, everything is going according to plan without any problems.

I will never pay attention to the red-haired devil who is looking at me with admiration over there.

"Uhe~ Everything is going according to plan! So let's go to the next step! Leader Faust-san, give the command!"

"Huh?! Huh?! M-Me? Leader? Me?"

Suddenly, Hifumi was chosen as the leader.

I felt like I was going to be the leader a while ago, but why?

"Saitama-san is the assault leader, and Faust-san is the real mastermind who commands us☆. Ah, for your information, I'm Christina of the Swimsuit Masked Gang~darling♧ "

"What's that! When did we become a masked gang?! And that's a lame sense!!"

That's what it is.

I don't know why it's called the Swimsuit Masked Gang when we're not wearing swimsuits, but anyway.

And Nonomi's words seem to mean that she will make the two of us double leaders.

I don't know about Hifumi, but I'm all wrapped up after changing my clothes, so I don't think rumors will spread, right...?

I won't be joining the Make-Up Work Club, right...?

I'm worried about the future. Why am I caught up in this...

"Ah, uwaa... I've become the boss... I'm ashamed to face the Tea Party executives like this..."

You don't have to take it seriously either...

In front of me, there was a bank examiner who was forced to take out all the money he had due to Shiroko's threat, but I wasn't really interested.

Rather...

"Huh, these guys..."

"Abydos?"

"That's right, it's them. There are some kids I've never seen before, but... What are they doing? And what's with those masks?"

Ah... I'm really worried...

The students of Aru's Problem Solver 68 who came to borrow money are too distracting.

If things had gone right, I might have gone to Gehenna...

'Th-That's...amazing~! What are these guys?! They're robbing a Black Market bank? How are they going to escape? No, before that, how are there still outlaws who are so bold? They're so skilled and professional. It's like they were born to rob banks. They robbed everything in 5 minutes! So, so cool! Awesome! These people are the real outlaws...! Wow! I think I'm going to cry.'

Aru's thoughts are written all over her face...

Why... I don't usually remember all the lines, but why can I read all of Aru's thoughts as soon as I see that expression...

Why... I can understand Hifumi or me, but why can't they recognize the Abydos...

Mutzuki and Kayoko were also dumbfounded when they saw it, but they just stayed still after seeing the situation.

That's a good decision.

Right now, our side has characters who can destroy all of them... If you're not happy, always bring special armor.

While I was lost in thought and staring at the Problem Solver 68 kids, our Swimsuit Masked Gang members had already robbed the entire bank.

"Well then, let's go."

"Adios!"

"It seems like no one got hurt, so that's good... Goodbye!"

With a final look at Aru's dumbfounded expression, we escaped the bank.

The Black Bank seemed to try hard to stop us, but there was no way they could catch up to Shiroko, who had calculated all the escape routes, and me and Hifumi, who had researched the Black Market so much that we might know the way better than the locals.

I was scared when the road was blocked at the end, but thanks to Ayane, we were able to escape easily.

I don't know if we got out safely, but we were able to escape the Black Market without anyone getting hurt.

"I can't believe we really robbed a Black Market's crime bank... Haa..."

Shiroko, who planned the crime, Hoshino, who always pretends to be calm, and Nonomi, who is calm, are the only ones who are dazed by the fact that they robbed the Black Market's Black Bank.

"Shiroko-chan. Did you get the operation record documents?"

"Uh, um... It's in the bag."

Shiroko nodded with a somewhat uneasy feeling and opened the bag.

In addition to the operation record documents, there was also a large bundle of banknotes in the bag.

"Waaaaah?! Shiroko-senpai, did you rob cash?!"

"N-No... I got the target documents properly. The bank employee put this money in by mistake."

Honestly, visually, we were robbers who came to take money. What masked group would rob a bank for documents, not money?

"Heeh... It looks like 100 million. We really robbed 100 million in just 5 minutes."

The reactions to the money were divided.

Serika said that since they got back the money they earned, they should use it to pay off the debt, but Ayane and Shiroko seemed to be a little uncomfortable with that opinion.

Shiroko... She only talks about crime, but she's a good kid at heart...

In the end, even Hoshino persuaded Serika, and they decided to leave the money behind.

Since Hifumi and I were not really involved in Abydos' debt, we looked elsewhere while Abydos was talking.

"Ahaha... Today was really something."

"Yeah... I didn't really want to get involved."

"I'm sorry... If I hadn't insisted on calling Kanshi, you could have rested comfortably today... I wanted to skip school and play with a friend at least once."

"Are you really an ordinary student?"

No matter how I think about it, it's not something a normal student would come up with.

No, the idea itself is possible. Everyone dreams of escaping school at least once.

But actually realizing it is a different story...

"Well... it was okay..."

I tried to tell a white lie to reassure Hifumi, but my whole body prevented me from saying it.

It would be a lie to say this was fun. Just from what I've experienced now, there was a guerrilla war with thugs, a sniper battle with security guards, a bank robbery, and an escape. And I did all this without eating.

In other words, I'm very hungry right now.

I should definitely lie... but my body refuses to say that it was fun, even as a lie.

I can see Hifumi's expression changing, what should I say?

"Hmm... Think of it as an experience you couldn't have even if you paid for it for the rest of your life."

This is not a lie. What ordinary student would fight thugs 1 vs 40, fight Black Market security guards, and rob a bank?

In this world, gunfights are within the scope of ordinary students, so I won't count them separately.

This is an experience you can't have even if you pay for it. I wouldn't do it even if I was paid for it. Who would pay to do something that would require 10 lives?

By the same logic, Hifumi, who went through similar things as me, is definitely not an ordinary student either.

"Y-You don't have to beat around the bush..."

I can see Hifumi getting noticeably depressed.

She probably realized that I didn't mean it in a positive way.

I think I should change the subject here...

"S-So, Hifumi. How long have we known each other?"

"Huh? Um... It's been about 8 months now."

"But don't you think it's too stiff to use honorifics like this?"

"Ah..."

"So from now on, no more honorifics. It's cute that Hifumi uses honorifics, but if I use casual language and you use honorifics, I feel a sense of distance."

Honestly, when I first met Hifumi, she only used honorifics until the end, so I suspected that Hifumi was just 'playing friends' with a loner like me... I was really scared that one day I would hear 'It was fun though. Playing friends with Kanshi...' I found out that it was just Hifumi's way of speaking while living together at school.

1

"We're, friends, right?"

So, something that can prove that I'm friends with you. Give me proof.

As long as I'm a resident of this world. I don't want to live alone.

"Yes... I mean, yeah. We're friends!"

Hifumi readily accepted my suggestion and immediately switched to casual language. I wonder if this will make us feel a little closer?

Being close is an ambiguous standard, so it's hard to measure who is more close to whom based on what.

So, for someone like me, it's hard to know who considers me a friend without something like this.

I have the skill to keep my distance in a gunfight, but I don't have the skill to properly measure the emotional distance like a popular person.

Just as it seemed like it would end on a good note, Sensei came and sat next to us.

As a teacher, he probably wants to take care of not only the Abydos students but also us.

Anyway, I had nothing more to say to Hifumi, so I didn't mind.

Sensei bowed his head to us.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this."

"No. It's not Sensei's fault."

I was a little surprised.

I thought this teacher was a bit of a nutcase for encouraging bank robbery, but he seems to have a good head on his shoulders.

Does that mean he was confident that he could safely end the bank robbery under the assumption that we were there?

"No, it was my fault for taking advantage of your kindness and tying you down. I could have told the students that it was wrong, but I didn't. I'm sorry."

Even though we refused to accept the apology, Sensei continued to apologize.

If we keep refusing here, it will be difficult for both the person apologizing and the person receiving the apology.

"Ah... um..."

"It's not polite to keep denying and not accepting an apology when they're apologizing like that. Let's accept the apology and forgive."

"Yeah... Sensei, it's okay. We're not really mad... well, I don't know about Kanshi..."

"I'm not mad either."

I was just too tired to answer, saying it was fun.

I'm not particularly annoyed or angry.

This was a story that had to happen, and it was me who chose to participate even though I knew it.

"Sensei, you worked hard too. You took 4, no, 6 students to that dangerous Black Market and perfectly protected all of them without anyone getting hurt. That's something that's absolutely impossible with just us. This was only possible because Sensei thought of the students and commanded and protected us. So, once again. Thank you for safely rescuing me and Hifumi from the Black Market."

And I stroked Sensei's hair once while he was bowing his head.

There was no special meaning, it was just an impulsive action because I was reminded of my junior colleague from my previous company.

In a way, isn't this teacher my junior? I was also one of the teachers of Blue Archive.

"What are you doing...?"

"It's just, your head was in a perfect position... I'm sorry..."

Sensei asks as if he's dumbfounded, and Hifumi looks at me with a strange expression.

I'm more concerned about Hifumi's reaction, who is silent, than Sensei's reaction.

It's scary. Sensei, what's your relationship rank with Hifumi...

It's not like you're acting like you've never met each other before because you don't want to reveal your relationship, right?

Feeling a strange chill, I looked towards Abydos.

They finished talking with Aru and were calling us.

"What are you doing! Let's go quickly! Towards the sunset!"

"I don't know what that means, but it's clear that they're calling us. Let's go."

"Yeah!"

After that, we parted ways with Abydos and barely made it back to Trinity.

As a bonus, we raided the lunch club to the point where even the Gourmet Research Society would be jealous.

Chapter Text

After returning from the Black Market, I had some time to reflect.

The all-out battle when fighting the thugs and the long-range battle when fighting the security guards.

Certainly, the weapon was definitely more effective in close-quarters combat, but I was better at long-range combat.

Even though it was a good attack matchup, there's something called intuition.

I felt like aiming at the opponent from a distance was more suited to my aptitude than fighting with an AR in close quarters.

Maybe I just don't like getting hit from the front, or maybe I get a thrill from one-sidedly dominating others.

Did the previous Kanshi feel the same way? Is that why she carried an AS50 instead of a K2?

I don't know if I entered Kanshi's body or if the character Kanshi was overwritten in this world to match my character.

But through this battle, I could understand why it was said that the previous Kanshi carried an AS50.

It's strange to be talented with a sniper rifle but engage in close-quarters combat with an assault rifle.

I tried holding the AS50.

It's not heavy or awkward. Rather, it felt like I had been using it for a long time, it fit perfectly in my hand.

I didn't feel this when I tried it before. It's a strange feeling. A weapon I've never used feels familiar.

I casually aimed at the fruit on the desk, and it moved naturally as if I had done it many times.

"Phew..."

But I can't give up the romance of close-range guerrilla warfare...

Besides, since it's the weapon I had when I first woke up here, I'm quite attached to it.

It's a bit strange to be attached to a weapon... but it means that it's quite familiar to my hand.

Aptitude or romance.

"Why worry about it? Just carry both."

Is there a rule against carrying two guns?

I don't remember there being one.

Anyway, combat doesn't always go as planned.

No matter how much I want a long-range battle, there may be situations where I have to engage in close quarters.

To prepare for such situations, wouldn't it be right to carry both the K2 for close-range combat and the AS50 for long-range combat and high damage?

Seems reasonable, right?

Thinking that, I hung up the K2 and AS50 side by side and went to bed.

After the Black Market incident, peaceful days returned to us.

I don't know how much time is left until the Eden Treaty story, but it's a peace that won't be long.

But I shouldn't let the worry about the future conflict from enjoying the present peace.

There's no room for me to intervene in the remaining problems of Abydos. I don't want to either.

It's a place that will function properly without me, so there's no need to get involved and get caught in a whale fight.

I'll live a normal life here with Hifumi until a problem arises in Trinity.

"But why are there two guns now...?"

'Normal' things are normal, so everyone knows them, so there's no obligation to answer.

It's extremely normal for me to carry two guns.

Therefore, I have no obligation to answer that question.

"The Black Market incident yesterday was a big deal. Who knew we'd end up robbing a bank after going to buy Peroro goods."

"Kanshi! Shhh! That's a secret! And don't change the subject!"

"Ah, right. I forgot. Sorry."

"You're not going to answer about the guns?!"

It's probably a normal life.

A life where I get caught up in strange incidents and worry about the gazes of those around me.

But I think part of the reason for these gazes is my fault for carrying two guns...!

For Kanshi, who has Hifumi as a friend and a past as a loner, even this is a normal life to be grateful for.

I looked at Hifumi, who was trying to speak casually to me, although it was a bit awkward.

Her pure and clear eyes looking at me are better than the gazes of those around me.

It makes me feel better too.

As expected, it's better to have a few close friends.

Why should I care about people talking behind my back when I'm busy focusing on the good things in this world?

And is there a need to correct the thinking of those who talk behind my back? If they want to make fun of me, let them. I won't care.

"What did you do about our absence yesterday?"

I ignored the gazes of those around me and only talked to Hifumi.

It was the most important thing to ask after the Black Market incident yesterday, and it was the most appropriate question for the current topic.

"Ah, Nagisa-sama said she would take care of it, I mean... she said she would take care of it... Ugh, I'm still not used to it."

"Not used to it."

"Ah, yes. I'm not used to it."

Hifumi is cute when she's flustered.

I knew Nagisa would somehow take care of Hifumi's absence, but it's a bit unexpected that she took care of mine too.

Is it because I'm Hifumi's friend? Or is it related to Nagisa being in my MomoTalk?

It's not a problem that can be solved by thinking about it.

"Ah, that reminds me! I brought this!"

As if she remembered something, Hifumi clapped her hands and started searching through her bag.

What came out was one of the Momofriends... I've seen it somewhere, but I don't know the name... it was a keychain of something.

"It's Mr. Nikolai!"

Ah, that was it.

The one Nonomi likes, the one with the philosophical yet strange setting.

But why that all of a sudden?

"I promised to give you a doll as an apology for dragging you to the Black Market... I mean, I promised to give you one. So I was thinking about what would suit Kanshi the best... and I thought that since you're the top student at our school, the intelligent Mr. Nikolai would be a good match..."

"Ah, I see... Thank you."

I received the strange keychain that Hifumi gave me.

As I said before, if the person receiving the apology refuses when someone is apologizing with a sorry heart, it's hard for both the giver and the receiver, so I didn't refuse Hifumi's favor and accepted it right away.

But.

"I feel like I heard something I shouldn't ignore?"

"Maybe it doesn't suit your taste? Or was it wrong to compare Kanshi to Mr. Nikolai in the first place?"

"No, that's not the problem, the top student?"

Wait, I'm the top student at Trinity?

Wasn't Hanako the top student of the first years?

Besides, only a few people know that Hanako is the top student. Hifumi only found out that Hanako was good at studying when she found Hanako's test paper during the Make-Up Work Club story.

In other words, the class ranking at Trinity is kept private.

"Y-Yes. I think you were tied for first place... You told me, Kanshi? That you got a perfect score on the exam..."

Ah. I told her. And since we were tied, it was Hanako and me.

If the whole school knew I was the top student, it wouldn't make sense that the kids were ignoring me like this.

Rather, they should have been clinging to me like I was the cause of Hanako's boredom with Trinity.

But at least I know why Nagisa's MomoTalk is saved on my phone.

I'm the top student. And after fighting yesterday, my combat power isn't low. Nagisa couldn't have been unaware of my information, so she probably planned to make me the successor to the Tea Party after we became close.

Of course, I have no interest in politics, and I'm just a student who wants to live a normal life in this world, so I have no desire to get involved.

Besides, if a loner like me became a member of the Tea Party, that day would be the day a coup d'etat occurs in Trinity, just like in Red Winter.

"I don't know who you're tied with, but Kanshi is famous. I think you were originally going to tell only me, but unfortunately, someone with a loose mouth was sitting next to you..."

......?

So, if I interpret that statement in context.

Does the whole school know that I'm the top student?

Then am I being ignored by the kids even though I have the title of top student?

How much of a loner was I when I didn't have it that I have no one next to me even after getting the title of top student...

Considering Trinity's characteristics, if someone as pretty and good at studying as Kanshi appeared, there would have been a lot of people lining up to make connections...

Wait a minute, then... what if I lose my top student title now?

'Ha, now you've lost the one good thing about you. Weren't you playing around too much?'

'Well, getting top student in the first year was probably just luck.'

I can clearly see that I will be directly bullied, not just indirectly, and my future school life will be ruined.

Stu... study. I need to study... I don't know much about the knowledge here...

"Hifumi."

I spoke to Hifumi in a low, serious voice.

"Yeah, eh? Wh-Why?"

"I'm going to live in the library from now on, so if I'm not here, come find me there."

Fortunately, Trinity's library is very famous in the story.

It was said that there was no book that wasn't there. I'll be able to study as much as I want.

I'm not the type to like studying.

I'm good at it, but it's the result of a combination of coercion and talent.

I didn't plan on studying when I came here, but now I have a compulsion.

To live a normal life in this 'academy city', you have to be good at studying.

Not just good, but good enough to be the top student at a prestigious school.

It's embarrassing to say, but I definitely have talent.

Plus, I have the knowledge from studying over there.

I can easily solve simple math or language problems.

The study I need is common sense about this world.

"Then, Hifumi. I'm going to go study first."

"Eh, eh?! Wa-Wait a minute! Kanshi~"

Nagisa-sama said Mika-sama called Kanshi...

Kanshi needs to go see Mika-sama...

Unfortunately, Hifumi's words didn't reach Kanshi's ears.

Several days have passed since I started living in the library.

Of course, living there doesn't mean I actually slept there, it just means that I'm in the library all the time except for school hours.

Now I can answer most common sense questions, and the stares I got in the library at first have decreased a lot.

But I don't think I can get a perfect score with just being able to answer, and I think I need to reinforce my existing knowledge of math, so I'm still stuck in the library.

[Hayashi Kanshi. If student Hayashi Kanshi is on campus, please come to the Tea Party. Once again, if student Hayashi Kanshi is on campus, please come to the Tea Party.]

But... the announcement hit my ears while I was studying.

I was finally able to focus on my studies, but the world won't let me study.

Without knowing why I was called, I headed to the Tea Party, saying the words that kids who can't study say.

There, Nagisa, Mika, and Hifumi were waiting.

"Kanshi... Hello...?"

"Greetings. Kanshi-san."

"Hi, Kanshi! Judging by the time it took you to get here, you were in the Great Library? Were you studying? If so, I'm a little sorry."

Hifumi, Nagisa, and Mika in order.

Mika says she's stupid every day, but honestly, it's creepy.

How can she pinpoint my location based on the time it took me to walk here?

Of course, it's based on a reasonable deduction, eliminating the places where a student named 'Hayashi Kanshi' could have been, and calculating based on the rumor that 'Kanshi seems to be going to the library a lot these days', but it's still a little scary.

"The reason we called Kanshi-san here is because we have a favor to ask."

"By the way, Kanshi! Why are you carrying two guns these days? One is an assault rifle and the other is an anti-materiel rifle. Are you preparing for both close-quarters and long-range combat? Isn't it uncomfortable?"

Ignoring Mika, who was at her usual hyperactive self, Nagisa opened the topic of conversation.

"First, Hifumi-san came to me to ask for a little help for the Abydos students."

"Ah... Yes. We have a bit of a connection... It would be heartbreaking if something bad happened..."

Ah, is it that time already?

It's true that there have been rumors lately that Gehenna students have been causing trouble in the Abydos district.

She's probably talking about the Problem Solver 68 and the Prefect Team incident.

There's been a lot of talk about how Gehenna students are 'scumbags without any sense of ethics' or 'they act without thinking', but it wasn't a big concern for me since I was busy studying.

It was just the story that was supposed to happen.

I didn't know that Trinity was badmouthing Gehenna so much behind the scenes because of that incident.

Anyway, no one talked to me as usual, and Hifumi seemed to be worried about Abydos but didn't seem to have much interest in Gehenna, so I let it go.

Besides, the library is a no-talking zone, so once you enter, you can't hear anything around you.

I can feel the stares, though.

"We also thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to have the Sensei of Schale owe us a favor, so we're thinking of joining in."

If I remember correctly, I think she said something like she would help Hifumi a lot, so Hifumi should repay her.

That's how she ended up as the head of the Make-Up Work Club.

But why was I called here? Hifumi was the one who asked for the favor, and I don't see why I should be called here?

Do they want to feel the wrath of someone whose studies were interrupted?

"You look like you're wondering why you were called here."

Mika comes closer with a smile.

Honestly, I'm a little uncomfortable with Mika because she's the friend who was framed as the mastermind in the story I know.

"Well, it was Nagi-chan who handled Hifumi-chan's absence, but it was me who handled Kanshi-chan's absence~"

"I wanted to take care of it on my own... but I didn't have enough authority to excuse a student of Kanshi-san's level without a reason. So in the end, I had to ask for Mika's help."

No, what am I that it's hard to handle my absence?

Does that mean it's hard to change two unauthorized absences into authorized absences?

It would be one thing if it was one person, but it seems like it's too much to suddenly excuse two people.

I can understand that there's no problem with Hifumi's absence, but I don't understand why there's a problem with excusing me.

Even if I'm the top student, we're equal students. Nagisa must have chosen the wrong words.

"If you give something, you should receive something in return, right? So Hifumi-chan should repay Nagi-chan, and Kanshi-chan should repay me. Nagi-chan, is it okay if I talk to Kanshi-chan separately for a bit?"

"That's fine. Rather, it's too noisy... ahem, I also had something I wanted to talk to Hifumi-san about separately..."

"You aren't just going to insult me, are you? Do you trust me? I trust you?"

"Will you shut up and get out!"

In the end, she was kicked out.

"Hmph... I got kicked out in the end..."

Thanks to the story, I know the relationship between Mika and Nagisa well.

They're just close friends who know everything about each other.

And one of the few people Nagisa can be honest with.

From the front, she just looks like a pure, suspiciously high-tensioned, good person.

Someone who would never do anything bad... that kind of person.

"There's only one thing I want to ask of Kanshi-chan."

But I know that there are all kinds of schemes behind that smile.

Honestly, as a pink-haired character, when she appeared in the story, I thought I should get her right away if she became playable.

Besides, I really like the character's art style, it's so cute. I still think so.

But seeing her backstab the kids makes me afraid of what Mika will ask of me now.

What will she say?

"Give me your MomoTalk ID!"

Huh?

"You exchanged MomoTalk IDs with Nagi-chan, so why not with me!"

Saying that, Mika snatched my phone and added her own MomoTalk.

"There, done! Now Kanshi is my friend too!"

"Ah... Yes..."

Now I have Hifumi, Hanako, Nagisa, and Mika in my MomoTalk.

I met Abydos often, but I never got the chance to exchange MomoTalk IDs.

So now there are four people on my MomoTalk screen, which used to have only two.

Mika is jumping up and down with joy.

I want to be happy too, but considering Mika's actions in the story, I shouldn't just take her actions at face value.

Is that also a calculated action? Or is it a genuine action from the heart?

It's impossible to guess.

"Then, Kanshi-chan. See you later!"

Mika leaves with a smile.

"Ah, right. Nagi-chan will probably send some Trinity students to Abydos to help, do you want to go too, Kanshi-chan? If you do, I can use my authority to include you."

The reason she's saying that now is obvious.

You're involved with Abydos, aren't you? You seem pretty close. Shouldn't you go help?

Everything else was unclear, but I could understand that.

"No, thank you. It wasn't that deep of a connection. Just hearing the news is enough for me."

"Hmm... I see. But just in case, I'll prepare an absence form for that day? And you said you wanted to hear the news? If you don't use that absence form, I'll tell you the news of that day through MomoTalk."

If you want to go see it, go see it.

But you said you wouldn't participate, so don't do anything that stands out, okay?

With that, Mika goes to Nagisa, having said her piece.

It felt like a storm had passed.

It was completely unexpected.

"Kanshi, are you done talking with Mika-sama? I just finished talking with Nagisa-sama too..."

As I finished my conversation with Mika, Hifumi also finished her conversation with Nagisa.

I left the Tea Party room with a heavy heart.

What on earth does Mika want from me?

In the end, the day of Abydos vs. Kaiser came, and some of the Trinity students went to help.

I looked at the absence form Mika gave me.

If I use this, I can legally skip school today and watch the story of the Abydos students.

However, I didn't use the absence form.

The story will go well without me.

It's a story that went well without the character Kanshi in the first place.

I'm not that interested in the story either.

I didn't feel the need to participate. As I said before, the first reason is that I don't want to get involved in their affairs.

The second reason is that it's a shame to miss the famous scenes, but it's also meaningless to ruin them by participating.

Besides, if I see the kids saying things like 'You're back' in front of me, my hands will curl up so much that I'll be sucked into a space-time storm and return to my original world.

As a side note.

Later, I heard from Mika that everything seemed to have worked out properly.

Even though I knew it was a history that would happen, maybe it's because it's one of the connections I made here.

As soon as I heard the news, I felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

[Sensei]

"What is it, Arona."

Schale's office.

There was Sensei, who had finished his work in Abydos and returned to rest, and Arona in the tablet.

[There is a new update. Would you like to update?]

"What kind of update? It's not a virus or anything, is it?"

[No... it's not like that... a file was sent directly from the General Student Council president...]

[It's called the assistant teacher system?]

Chapter Text

The academy has been in disarray lately.

It's been a bit strange since the events at Abydos ended.

In the past, it was clear that the girls formed their own factions or groups and only hung out with each other. Talking to other groups felt like it was to build relationships, keep each other in check, or exchange information. But recently, there have been no groups or factions. It feels like they're talking to anyone they have a connection with and checking rumors.

I'm saying this in advance in case you ask how I noticed that. It's absolutely not because I was observing the girls to see if I was being ostracized or not. It's just that I happened to see girls who usually talked among themselves talking to girls from other groups... It's a coincidence. It's just that I happened to find a girl who was good at understanding relationships, and I happened to be talking to someone who was good at understanding relationships. That's all...

"Well, no one has talked to me though..."

Besides, recently I've been spending all my time in the library instead of being with Hifumi, and Hanako just keeps spouting nonsensical sex jokes, so I haven't heard any rumors or news.

I looked at MomoTalk. Hifumi, Nagisa, Hanako, and Mika are saved there.

If I ask them through MomoTalk now, would they answer me? I don't know about Hifumi and Hanako, but Nagisa and Mika from Tea Party must have already figured out what's going on in the academy.

At least, I won't get a "I dunno" when I ask them.

I hesitated for a moment, but then gave up and turned off my phone.

I was so curious about why Trinity was in such a mess, but it's already been three days since the academy was turned upside down. The reason for the mess must have come out even longer ago. If I ask now, "What's going on?" it would sound too pathetic. I'm not a pathetic person. I just have deep and narrow relationships with people.

The self-hypnosis and escapist sentence that came to my mind a while ago was very effective.

It's not like they'd call me a pathetic person for being late to the party... well, Mika might tease me... Hanako might tease me too...! And Hanako would probably tease me with sex jokes... Those dirty pink-faced girls...

Anyway, I was afraid to ask because I knew they would look at me with pity if I asked such a question.

"Haa... I can't focus on studying..."

But there's no way I wouldn't be bothered by it if I gave up like this.

Humans are curious animals, and once a question is raised, I feel uneasy if I don't solve it.

I feel like an old man who's been left behind in this era.

Old men have the wisdom of age, but I'm only 5-7 years older than these kids...

I'm dying to know what's going on.

"Ugh... what the heck is going on outside..."

"Um... you've been muttering to yourself, please be quiet in the library..."

Endou Shimiko, a member of the library committee, pointed out to me.

Come to think of it, I've become quite close to Shimiko while going to the library.

Not that we're very close, but we can talk to each other casually. Still, in Trinity where no one talks to me, this is quite a blessing.

Shimiko also only likes books and doesn't really make connections with other people, so she doesn't seem to have any negative views of me.

Ah, maybe Shimiko knows about the current situation?

Shimiko not only likes to read books, but she also likes to read things in general. So she might have found and read newspapers about recent events.

"Endou, could you come outside with me for a moment?"

"Y-Yes? Wh-What are you going to say! You, you blasphemer!"

-Thwack

I was hit on the head with the corner of a book.

Since my body can take bullets without any problems, it didn't hurt much, but I felt a little wrong that I had to get hit like this for no reason. No matter how much I think about it, I can't think of anything I did wrong in my statement to Shimiko just now.

Besides, I'm burdened because my actions just now have attracted the attention of the library students.

"No, I was just going to ask you something because I was curious..."

"Ah, is that so... I'll help you if I can. Let's go outside since it'll be noisy if we talk here."

"That's why I asked you to go outside with me..."

I felt a little wrong, but I couldn't let go of a possible lifeline, so I just muttered my complaints in a small voice and followed Shimiko outside.

"So, what are you curious about?"

"You know I don't have many friends, right?"

"Yes. It seems so."

That hurts. It hurts so much.

It wasn't intentional, but Shimiko's words stabbed me in the heart.

I received a mysterious damage, but I pretended to be calm and continued to speak.

"So, Trinity has been a bit noisy lately, right? I'm curious about what's going on, but no one talks to me, so I can't hear any news... Could you tell me what's been happening recently?"

"Haa. I can answer that much. By the way, I can't believe there's someone who hasn't heard the news... and that it's our school's top student..."

Shimiko sighed, rubbing her head as if she was waking up, and then explained to me what had happened recently.

Each of Shimiko's words flew at me like a dagger, but I endured it to the end.

"You know that Sensei from Schale returned after finishing the work at Abydos, right?"

"Yes. I heard that much."

"After that, a file was sent to Sensei's tablet from the missing Student Council President. It's called the assistant teacher system..."

"Huh...?"

"So, they're selecting five representatives from each academy, and then they're going to choose one person among them. An assistant teacher. So, they're recruiting participants to select the five representatives of Trinity. The deadline is... in two days."

Assistant teacher system?

It was an unfamiliar term even to me, who was once a Sensei of Schale.

Could it be that I don't remember? Was there an assistant teacher system in Blue Archive? I quietly went through my memories.

I was wrong. There is no system related to assistant teachers in Blue Archive. The closest thing would be the duty system... that is, the five students we put in the lobby, but the meaning of duty and assistant teacher are too different. Besides, there were five duty students, but this time they were only choosing one.

The meaning of an assistant teacher is not just about being with Sensei.

It's a job where they go around with Sensei, take care of students that Sensei can't reach, and literally assist Sensei's work.

In the real world, they taught students with the teacher and supplemented the parts that the teacher didn't know, but what is the meaning of an assistant teacher in this world where kids study with BDs?

Someone who can command students in crisis situations with Sensei?

Or just a position where they can stick closer to Sensei?

I don't know about the former, but the latter was pretty certain. If they're an assistant teacher, they'll be stuck with Sensei. The female students of Kivotos would love that. So that's why Trinity has been in this mess since before.

I have a rough idea of what the female students were talking about.

This was a check on the entire school.

'Are you going to apply for assistant teacher?'

'Of course. If someone like me doesn't become an assistant teacher, who will?'

'Heh... you, a dimwit like you, are going to be an assistant teacher? I hope you don't tarnish the school's reputation?'

'Hmph, do you think a moron like you can assist Sensei?'

Among them, I was treated as an outsider, so no one approached me...

Since I had no intention of sticking with Sensei in the first place, I had no intention of applying for this strange system that I didn't even know about, but I'm quite scratched in my pride for being ignored to this extent.

But well... what can I do even if my pride is scratched...

Hey Lim Han-ja. What can pathetic people like us do right now?

I don't know, Kanshi. Shut up and study.

Anyway, what's important to me is the grades I need to get in the midterm exams, not the assistant teacher or whatever. Assistant teachers don't help my grades.

My interest has waned. I was nervous that I might have to care about the unheard-of story of the assistant teacher, but it's a story that has nothing to do with me. I'm not a girl who screams when she sees a handsome teacher like the female students in Trinity. At first, there was a strange flutter, but after the last Black Market incident, that's gone too. In other words, there's nothing I can gain by applying for assistant teacher. In the first place, we agreed to call being corrupted by Sensei a 'loss'... no, I personally agreed to it.

Ah, a thought flashed through my mind for a moment.

Should I apply to be one of the five representatives of Trinity?

If I'm selected, I can drop one of the guys who was supposed to be there.

I'm not interested in the assistant teacher position, but I'd like to see someone who was supposed to be in the top 5 of Trinity despair.

Isn't it said that other people's misfortune is my happiness?

I think I'd feel a little better if I saw the misfortune of someone who was deprived of their position by me and didn't even get a chance to challenge for the position of assistant teacher.

But I'm too afraid of the aftermath to do it.

If you're a person, you should act while calculating your future.

If I frag someone who was pushed out of the top 5 by a small margin, I'll have to feel like I'm in hell alone in the paradise that is Trinity.

It's an act worth trying if my backing was a little safer, but it's ambiguous whether I have any backing right now.

It's absurd from the start to assume that someone like me can be in the top 5 of Trinity. I don't even know what the criteria for selecting the 5 people are, but I'm ashamed of myself for drinking the kimchi soup after fighting a few times.

Yeah. What kind of school representative am I? It's a blessing if I don't become a laughing stock for the kids after being dropped.

I shouldn't give the kids a reason to make fun of me. Yeah.

"Thank you for telling me, Endou."

It wasn't very useful information for me, but it did satisfy my curiosity.

Now that I can study in peace, I should express my gratitude for that.

"It's nothing. It's natural for friends to do this much."

"Friends...? Friends. Yes, that's right. Thank you."

I don't know when I became friends with Shimiko, but since she called me a friend first, I accepted it properly, even though I was a little flustered.

That's unexpected. I thought we were just acquaintances who greeted each other when we saw each other in the library, but she thought of me as a friend first.

If I had said, "When did we become friends?" here, it would have been awkward for both of us. I did well to hold back what I was about to say.

"So, are you going to apply for assistant teacher, Hayashi?"

"No. What kind of assistant teacher would someone like me be? I'm just satisfied with studying alone in the library."

Would I do something that would get me involved with Sensei?

Especially if I take that job that sounds like I have to assist Sensei, it's no different from creating the plausibility for me to get involved in the story with my own hands.

I keep saying this, but I want to live a quiet Trinity life with a narrow and deep network like Hifumi and Hanako.

"Ah... is that so..."

If Hayashi is 'someone like that', then there are almost no people in our school who can be selected as a representative of Trinity...

Shimiko muttered quietly. She was so good at muttering quietly while living in the library that I couldn't hear her even when I was listening closely.

"What did you say?"

"It's nothing. Study hard."

Yeah. Thanks for the support.

I'll study hard without doing anything else and make sure to keep my top spot.

I sat down to study.

So, who is most likely to become the assistant teacher?

If they're chosen by combat power, it would be Neru from Millennium, Tsurugi or Mika from Trinity, Hina from Gehenna, and Hoshino from Abydos.

Regardless of their performance in the game, they're the strongest characters in the story.

If they're chosen by intellectual level... I don't know. There aren't many characters who are described as smart in the story.

In the case of Millennium, there are too many, and in Gehenna, Ako and Kayoko are considered smart, and in Trinity, it's Hanako, but she's cosplaying as a stupid pervert right now, so I don't think she'd break her concept to do it.

I flipped through the notebook page I was organizing my studies on and listed the students who would be likely to come out of each school based on each criterion.

In the end, I wasted the whole day thinking about who the representatives of each school would be and couldn't study.

The assistant teacher is of no help in life.

Anyway, it's all the assistant teacher's fault.

Chapter Text

It had been a few days since the topic of assistant teachers came up.
By now, I had already lost interest in the assistant teacher position and was back to studying alone as usual.

My interest in the matter was only piqued when the incident happened—specifically, why the academy was in an uproar. I wasn’t particularly interested in becoming an assistant teacher myself. In other words, it had nothing to do with me directly.

I was slightly curious about who would become the assistant teacher, but since the official announcement would be made by Schale after everything was settled, I figured I’d just wait to hear it then.
For me, maintaining my position as Trinity’s top student was far more important than some obscure assistant teacher role.

Still, being at Trinity meant I couldn’t completely avoid hearing about the news.
Well, to be precise, it was more because of my connections.
If I were just an ordinary student at Trinity, I probably wouldn’t have heard anything about it...
Of course, it’s not that I’m uninterested in rumors—it’s just that Hifumi is the only one who tells me anything.

“I heard there’s a preliminary selection for Trinity’s representative today.”

While studying, I thought, Huh? This isn’t so bad. Lately, I’ve been finding some free time.
Until recently, my daily routine was waking up early, going to the library, heading straight there after class, spending lunchtime in the library, and then rushing home after school. But these days, I’ve managed to find some time to chat with Hifumi.
Thanks to that, my sources of information have been slowly reviving.

“Did that many people apply for the preliminaries...?”

“Yeah. Even before the preliminaries, there were so many applicants that Nagisa-sama had a hard time narrowing them down.”

“Oh, I heard something similar. That’s what they said.”

I glanced at Momotalk.
Aside from Hifumi’s sources, I now had connections with the Tea Party myself.
The selection of Trinity’s representative was being overseen by the Tea Party.
And since I had connections with Mika and Nagisa from the Tea Party, as well as being friends with Hifumi, information naturally came to me whether I wanted it or not.
Basically, Nagisa’s updates came through Hifumi, while Mika’s live updates came through Momotalk.

[Kanshi... There’s too much work...]

[I’m going to die at this rate!]

[Hey, would you... no, can you help us out...?]

[Ugh, Nagi-chan is chasing me with a knife because I skipped work! Help me!]

Dozens of Mika’s chaotic Momotalk messages had piled up.
These complaints had been coming in ever since the assistant teacher applications ended.
It was quite entertaining to see how much Mika was being scolded by Nagisa every day, so even though I didn’t reply, I made sure to read every single message.
Mika’s suffering seemed to be in a slightly different direction from Nagisa’s, but in the end, it all meant the same thing: the Tea Party was working hard.

“Is it okay not to reply to those? You read them as soon as they come in, but I’ve never seen you reply. Even if it’s Mika-sama’s Momotalk...”

“It’s fine. She’ll survive. Probably.”

“What kind of messages are so dangerous that her life is at risk?”

Hmm. It’s the kind of message she send when Nagisa shoves a roll cake into Mika’s mouth.
Just your average, everyday stuff.
Since it’s just your average, everyday stuff, I don’t feel obligated to explain it to you.

“Oh, the preliminaries start during lunch. Want to go watch?”

“Sure.”

Realizing that I wasn’t going to respond, Hifumi changed the topic and suggested we go watch the preliminaries.
Given my recent behavior, she seemed worried that I’d use studying as an excuse to decline.
I pretended not to notice and accepted her offer.

Studying every day doesn’t necessarily mean your grades will improve.
You need to pace yourself when studying. Sometimes, you need breaks. If you can’t control your breaks, then you’re not really studying effectively.
Today, I’ll take a break and watch Trinity’s representative selection preliminaries.
I’m also curious about who’s participating and who’s likely to be chosen.
That’s how I justified accepting Hifumi’s offer in my mind.
It’s not that I don’t want to study.
It’s absolutely not because I’ve built up an image of being a diligent library-goer and can’t stop studying now.

Lunchtime.

The Trinity representative preliminaries were being held in the gymnasium.
Mika was the one running the event.

[Hello! As you all know, I’m Misano Mika, a member of Trinity’s Tea Party. Today, we’re holding the preliminary rounds to select the five academy representatives for the assistant teacher position announced by Schale!]

Waaaaah!

Clap clap clap clap

The audience was filled with excitement.
Attending Trinity had taught me that it wasn’t just a school for refined young ladies.
Most of the students were sitting quietly and clapping, but a few energetic ones were standing up and shouting loudly.

That didn’t mean the quieter students were any less excited.
While their emotions were more restrained, it was clear they were enjoying the situation just as much.
Even I found it hard to suppress my rising excitement. It had been a while since I’d seen a competition like this.
I hadn’t had time to watch soccer or baseball since coming here. I’m not even sure if Kivotos has teams for those

The only uncomfortable thing was that I ended up sitting right in the middle of the audience, which meant people kept staring at me.
What? Am I not allowed to watch?
We arrived late, so we were supposed to stand at the back, but some jerk deliberately gave up their middle seat for us, drawing everyone’s attention.
They definitely knew I was a loner and did it to mess with me.
What a jerk. I’ll remember their face and get back at them later.

Mika’s speech continued.
She spoke in a lighthearted tone, but it didn’t feel like she was taking it lightly.

[I’m not entirely sure what the assistant teacher position at Schale entails, but it’s obviously a role closely related to the teacher, right? We can’t just send anyone for such a position. Trinity’s reputation is on the line here. Especially against Gehenna. We can’t let our representative be inferior to those demons from Gehenna, can we? So, Trinity has decided to send an all-around perfect superhuman as our representative!]

Her words actually boosted the morale of the audience.
By invoking Gehenna, a rival faction, she instilled the idea that they must not lose to them.
And the person selected here would be a superhuman excelling in both academics and combat. It was also a stage to showcase their abilities.
Mika is definitely not as dumb as she seems.
People who claim to be ugly often have a certain charm, and those who say they’re bad at studying are usually the ones who excel.
Annoying people...

But observing Mika, she does seem a bit airheaded at times. She tends to rely on her instincts.
Maybe she just intuitively thought, This kind of talk will boost morale, and went with it.
Still, having good instincts is part of being a genius. How annoying.

[The preliminaries will be a 32-player, 4-block tournament! We did lower the grade requirement, but as expected of our students, there were more who exceeded the standard than those who fell short. Who would’ve thought that even after lowering the bar, 128 people would still qualify? The top two from each block will advance to the finals, which will be an 8-player tournament. Oh, you might be wondering why we’re distinguishing between first and second place in the preliminaries if it’s just a tournament. Well, it’s about the vibe. Even if it’s just the preliminaries, it’s still a tournament, so we should separate the winners and runners-up, right?]

After that, she continued explaining the rules.

Victory is achieved by knocking out the opponent or forcing them to surrender. Since it’s in the gymnasium, there’s no ring-out rule.

Continuing to attack a knocked-out opponent is considered bad sportsmanship and results in disqualification. If the next opponent is disqualified, the offender will be removed

Surrendering immediately at the start is not allowed. Surrender is only accepted after a few exchanges, when it’s clear there’s no chance of winning.

“Well, who would surrender right at the start? Everyone applied because they want to be the assistant teacher.”

“Hmm. If the opponent seems hopeless, wouldn’t you want to surrender right away?”

“Come on, no way. Everyone’s around the same level. Who would want to surrender just by looking at their opponent’s face?”

[First up, Block 1, Round 1: Kenzaki Tsurugi vs. Hanekawa Hasumi! I paired these two together because they’re such a mismatch! Good job, me! But seriously, why did you two from the Justice Task Force even apply? Go do your jobs! Even the Tea Party couldn’t apply because we’re too busy working. How unfair!]

As soon as the names of the two participants for Round 1 were announced, the atmosphere in the gymnasium turned icy.

Most of the audience was probably thinking the same thing.

Hmm. Whoever wins this match, their next opponent will probably want to surrender. No, they’ll definitely want to surrender.

That’s the impression I got.

Inside the arena, Hasumi and Tsurugi were engaged in a heated... debate?

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

“Vice President. You have a duty to uphold Trinity’s justice, don’t you? On the days you’re on duty at Schale, the rest of us in the Justice Task Force have to work our butts off. If you become the assistant teacher too, we’ll be completely lost.”

“Kyaaaaaah!”

“Ugh, I’m the Vice President, aren’t I? If the President just did her job properly, I wouldn’t need to step in.”

“Kihihihihit?”

“If you know that, then could you please act more responsibly?”

Can you even call this a debate?
And how is Hasumi even understanding and responding to this?
I can’t make sense of it.

[Uh, hey! Let’s stop the talking now! We have a lot of rounds to get through, so let’s proceed quickly. Everyone, pick up your weapons. Begin the match!]

It wasn’t just me who couldn’t understand—even Mika seemed lost, so she stopped the insane debate and started the match.
The other students also seemed relieved by the quick progression.

“Vice President, I won’t hold back.”

“Kihihihihihihit!”

Tsurugi picked up a shotgun, and Hasumi grabbed a sniper rifle.
In terms of in-game performance, they’re just average, but story-wise, Tsurugi is Trinity’s official strategic weapon.
And Hasumi is the one who cleans up after her.

If Hasumi can keep her distance, she might have a chance.
Hasumi has a sniper rifle, while Tsurugi’s shotgun deals less damage the farther the target is.
In real life, a shotgun can still be deadly at long range, but this isn’t real life. She definitely won’t die.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

“Heh.”

Knowing this, Hasumi kept as much distance as possible while sniping at Tsurugi, who was quickly closing the gap.
The limited size of the arena made it feel like they were playing a game of cat and mouse.

Hasumi ran away from Tsurugi while occasionally firing shots at her.

Bang!

“Kihit! Kihyaaaaah!”

Hasumi’s bullet cut through the air and hit Tsurugi’s arm.

As expected of the Vice President of the Justice Task Force. Even while running away in a panic, she managed to land precise shots on Tsurugi.
Each time, Tsurugi’s movements faltered, proving that the shots were effective.
At this point, it seemed like Hasumi had a decent chance of winning.

“The match is decided.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Tsurugi-senpai won.”

Unfortunately, this was Tsurugi’s victory.
In a one-on-one match, maintaining distance while attacking is already difficult, and her opponent made it worse.
Even if Hasumi focused solely on running, it would be hard to outpace Tsurugi.
But while running, Hasumi also had to find angles to attack, which meant she had to pause occasionally, allowing Tsurugi to close the gap.

On the other hand, Tsurugi only needed to focus on closing the distance until she could attack.
Even after taking Hasumi’s initial shots, Tsurugi ignored the damage and kept closing in.
Tsurugi’s stamina would likely hold out until Hasumi had to reload.

Tsurugi is heavily armored, and while Hasumi has piercing attacks, the difference in strength is still overwhelming...

There might be some real-world adjustments here aside from attack and armor attributes. If this were purely based on game mechanics, Tsurugi would be practically useless. Plus, students with halos wouldn’t go down from a single bullet...

But Hasumi didn’t give up.
She used all her strength to create as much distance as possible and took a proper sniper stance for the first time.
And Tsurugi waited for her.

“Pierce through!”

The bullet looked significantly more powerful than the previous ones.
It tore through the air and even the ground as it flew toward Tsurugi.

Even from a glance, it was clear this bullet couldn’t be ignored. Under normal circumstances, no one could survive a direct hit.
The bullet was now at a distance where even Tsurugi’s reflexes couldn’t avoid it.

“Kyahahahahahahat!”

And then... Tsurugi laughed as she took the hit.
What kind of beast is she? I had predicted Tsurugi’s victory earlier, but I didn’t expect her to tank Hasumi’s ultimate move so casually... It gave me chills.
She probably could’ve dodged it but chose to take the hit instead.

My initial prediction was wrong.
I thought Hasumi could win if she maintained distance, given her attack type and firepower, but... what the hell? There was no way Hasumi could beat Tsurugi.

“Kihihihihit. Kyaaaaaah!”

It felt like she was saying, Too bad, but I can’t give up the chance to be close to Sensei.
I might be interpreting it wrong, though.

That bullet seemed to be Hasumi’s last. She’d need to reload to fire again, but Tsurugi wouldn’t give her the time. And... even if she fired again, it probably wouldn’t do much to Tsurugi.
Hasumi gave up and watched as Tsurugi aimed her shotgun at her.

“I surrender.”

[Hmm! It’s clear that once Tsurugi catches up, Hasumi doesn’t stand a chance! I wouldn’t know how to beat Tsurugi either if I ran out of bullets. Surrender accepted! The winner of Block 1, Round 1 is Kenzaki Tsurugi!]

The audience, who had been holding their breath during the final moments, erupted into cheers.
Honestly, this match alone made the entire event worth watching. It was that gripping.
I doubt there’ll be a more exciting match than this...

[Next up is Block 2, Round 1! The stars of this round are our school’s second-year top student, Hayashi Kanshi-chan, and the Justice Task Force’s first-year, Shizuyama Mashiro-chan! It’s a showdown between two of our school’s renowned snipers!]

Huh?
What did you just say?

I turned to look at Hifumi beside me.
Hifumi was also looking at me.

My expression probably said, Why is my name coming up?
And Hifumi’s expression probably said, Why is your name coming up?

Chapter Text

I was slow to grasp the situation, but I reacted quickly.

Before the start of Round 1 of Block 2, I immediately took out my phone and opened Momotalk.
The person I was messaging was Misono Mika, whom I had been criticizing for a while now.
We had exchanged Momotalk IDs, and this was the first message I sent her.

Hey, I think something’s seriously wrong here.

I never applied to be that Trinity representative or whatever.

There must have been some kind of mistake.

I feel bad for the people who are watching and expecting a match, but

Please treat my match as a forfeit in favor of Shizuyama-san.

I quickly sent the message and glanced over at Mika, who was handling the event.
She took out her phone and looked at the screen.
At the same time, the "1" on my message disappeared, indicating she had read it.

I waited for some kind of response from her.
I kept my ears open, expecting her to announce that there had been a mistake.
But the reaction I was hoping for never came.

[Kanshi-chan, we have a lot of matches ahead of us, so let’s hurry up and get this done. We can’t waste time. I understand that the previous match was thrilling and the excitement is still lingering, but we have to consider the other students too, right?]

Instead, the broadcast urged me to come out quickly.
As soon as I heard that, I looked over at Mika.
She usually always has a smile on her face, but now she was clearly smiling at me—this time, it felt different.
It was a mocking smile.

Still confused and unable to grasp the situation, I alternated between looking at my Momotalk, which had no reply, and Mika.
Beside me, Hifumi was looking at me with a worried expression, as if something was wrong.
The other students’ eyes were also focused on me.

From the announcer’s seat, Mika was fiddling with her phone.
At the same time, a Momotalk notification arrived on my phone.

[Oh, by the way, as I mentioned earlier, surrendering right after the start isn’t allowed, okay? And if you don’t take this seriously, I’ll just say you weren’t feeling well today and postpone the match to another date. Got it?]

Crack.

Without realizing it, I clenched my hand tightly.
Hmm. I’ve known, since I was able to lift a gun with one hand, that I have enough grip strength to easily crush a phone. I should be careful.
Looking at Momotalk, my mind became cold and rational, and I finally calmed down.
Only then did I fully grasp what was happening.

Even though we were far apart, Mika and I were staring directly at each other.
I sent her one last message.

So it’s you, huh?

[Tehe~?]

What did I do wrong? Why are you acting like this?

"Kanshi... is that Momotalk for real?"

Ah, I messed up. I confused what I should’ve kept to myself with what I should’ve sent.
Well, it couldn’t be helped.
I placed my phone down on the seat.

"Hifumi. I’ll be back before this phone’s battery runs out."

"Uh, if you fight until the phone’s battery dies, wouldn’t that be a problem in itself...?"

The phone’s battery was at 92%.

"Haah... If I ever get to the Eden Treaty arc, I’m going to expose Mika for colluding with Arius efore she can do anything."

I stepped down from the spectator seats and stood in front of the arena.
Was the rule about not surrendering right after the start a setup to force me into this situation?
Well, if they forced me into this, anyone would expect me to surrender immediately.
And if I didn’t take it seriously, they’d just use my condition as an excuse to postpone the match. I don’t know if they can just do that, but since it’s coming from the top authority of the Tea Party, I guess it’s possible.

There’s also the option of pretending to fight seriously and intentionally losing, but the problem is that the only time I’ve fought so far was during the Black Market incident, so I don’t even know how strong I am.
On the other hand, everyone else probably knows about the old Kanshi.
I don’t know if the old me fought seriously or not, but if I did fight and went all out, or even if I didn’t go all out but still displayed higher combat power than I’m capable of now, then if I slack off here, it might get noticed.

The best outcome would be to go all out and still lose to Mashiro.
Mashiro is an explosive-type dealer, right? Since she’s a Special, I didn’t bother memorizing her defensive attributes.
Why do Specials even have defensive attributes?

I’m not sure about Mashiro, but at the very least, my own defensive attributes might be revealed here.
If I get hurt badly by Mashiro, I’m light armor.
If I get hurt less, I’m medium armor.
If I barely feel it, I’m mystic armor.

[Alright, let’s have the two contestants enter!]

Hearing Mika’s announcement, Mashiro and I entered the arena.

"Hello, I’ve heard a lot about you, senpai," Mashiro said.

"Is that so?" I replied.

What exactly have you heard about me?
If it’s about being the top second-year at Trinity, that’s fine, but I hope it’s not some bad rumors or fabricated stories.

"The story about you hitting three delinquents right between the eyes from 1 kilometer away is quite famous among snipers."

Huh?

"Hitting a target from 1 kilometer away isn’t that difficult, but hitting three in a row, right in the center of their foreheads, is legendary. That’s why I wanted to learn from you, and now I’ve finally gotten the chance."

Was I really that amazing?
It seems the old me was far more impressive than I imagined.

Can’t the current me do that...?
I recalled the incident at the Black Market.
I was running around without even looking properly, only going for headshots on the robots.
If I were given proper time to snipe... maybe the current me could do it too.
I just haven’t had the chance yet.

From what I’ve experienced so far, this body’s aim is top-notch.
The ability to predict enemy movements, the ability to calculate bullet trajectories...
It’s as if I have a second scope built into my vision.

I slung the K2 on my back and picked up the AS50.
I could easily win in close combat with the K2, but since my junior wants a sniper duel...
I’ll play along.
I also want to know just how good my sniping skills are.

I stepped forward and shook Mashiro’s hand.

"Let’s have a good match."

"Let’s have a good match."

We then moved apart.
Unlike barbarians with shotguns, we snipers know how to maintain proper social distancing.

[A sniper duel without any cover wouldn’t be fair, right? If there’s no cover or buildings in a sniper duel, it just becomes a contest of who can hit harder and who can tank more damage. So I’ve prepared something!]

Students from the Justice Task Force rushed into the arena.
They were carrying various sports equipment like hurdles and vaulting boxes, which they set up between Mashiro and me.

[Honestly, for a duel like this, it would be best to use the entire school as the arena, but that would be too difficult to broadcast, right? So I’ve prepared something simple! Let’s start the match!]

As soon as Mika announced the start of the match, Mashiro and I both hid behind cover.
In a sniper duel, exposing yourself at such a close range is basically asking to get shot in a vital spot.
I tapped the cover lightly.
I’m not sure what it’s made of, but it’s quite sturdy.
I don’t know if it can withstand bullets, but... Mika probably thought of that. She wouldn’t set up cover that would collapse after one shot.

I peeked out from the cover to check Mashiro’s movements.
There, Mashiro was already aiming her gun right at me, as if she had predicted where I would appear.

"Oops."

Bang.

Thanks to my quick reflexes, I immediately hid behind the cover as soon as I saw Mashiro aiming at me.
I managed to dodge the bullet, but...
Looking at the giant cross-shaped hole in the cover, I realized that getting hit by that would’ve been bad.

"Hmm... I got lucky with a 50% chance, but you blocked it with the cover."

Now that I think about it, in the game, Mashiro’s EX skill getting blocked by cover was a big complaint.
Who would’ve thought the game’s mechanics would be reflected here? I’m grateful for that. I almost got taken out without doing anything.
Losing isn’t a big deal, but getting one-shotted would make me a laughingstock.

But isn’t that cheating?
I don’t even know how to use my EX skill! I’m not even sure if I have one!
Why is she using her EX skill?
In the game, you had to accumulate cost to use skills...
I never understood why throwing bombs would require cost...

Looking at that cross-shaped bullet, which no human could possibly create, it seems like there’s some kind of magical intervention here.
If we’re talking about magic here... the most suspicious thing is the Halo.
Well, it’s just a guess, but since the Alice in Wonderland story said there’s no such thing as "magic," it might just be a modified bullet.

Yeah. Modified bullets are the most realistic guess.
This is a world where railguns exist, after all.
Maybe the cost is for timing the use of such bullets?

I’ll research this later. For now, I need to focus on fighting Mashiro.

Right now, Mashiro is probably waiting outside with her gun ready.
She’s probably planning to shoot me as soon as I come out.
I was too slow. Mashiro took the initiative by setting up her sniper position first, putting me at a disadvantage.

Normally, it would be best to wait until the cover is destroyed and look for an opportunity to turn the tables. In other words, playing the waiting game would give me a better chance.

But I’m someone who deeply embodies the Korean spirit.I hate stuffy situations and sweet potatoes*.

*( “sweet potatoes” is an expression that refers to a feeling of frustration/suffocation in Korea)

I have no intention of sitting here and engaging in a nerve-wracking battle of attrition.Koreans are known for their patience, but in this situation, it’s neither dreamy nor romantic for either the spectators or the participants.

Having made that judgment, I immediately jumped out from the cover.
Whether I win or lose, I hate drawn-out situations. A match should be decided in an instant.

After leaving the cover, I fired a shot at the spot where Mashiro had been aiming at me earlier, just in case.

Tch, she’s not there anymore.

Of course, Mashiro isn’t stupid enough to stay in the same spot after her position was revealed.
Well, it was worth a try. I wasted one bullet, but that’s not a big deal right now.

[Kanshi-chan couldn’t wait and jumped out first! Now Mashiro-chan knows Kanshi-chan’s position, but since Mashiro-chan moved, Kanshi-chan doesn’t know where she is and Mashiro-chan can snipe freely. This is dangerous.]

The makeshift cover is limited in number.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to search through them one by one, risking enemy attacks from unknown directions.
But I didn’t do that.

I let Mashiro snipe me.
Here, it’s better to accurately locate Mashiro’s position than to challenge other things.
If I get hit even once, I’ll know where Mashiro is. I was good at finding snipers based on the direction of the sound in games.
I’ll take the damage to find out the enemy’s location.

A stationary target is a sniper’s best prey.
Snipers already have higher accuracy than regular guns, and if the target stays still, giving them time to aim?
Anyone with a brain would take the shot.

Flash.

For a moment, an unnatural glint caught my eye in the arena.
Whether it was a reflection or the muzzle flash, in this arena with no special lighting or mirrors, the sudden appearance of a new light could only mean one thing.

It was just a momentary glint, but I didn’t miss it and turned my head toward where it came from.
There, a bullet was flying toward me, and behind it, Mashiro was standing with her gun aimed at me.
I never expected to find Mashiro like this before even getting shot.

With my reflexes, I could even block bullets with bullets...
Such a ridiculous thought crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it. Anyway, finding Mashiro quickly was a good outcome. I can’t miss this opportunity.
What I need now is the concentration to accurately snipe my opponent while taking hits.
I need to clear my mind.

Right. What I’m doing now is like an FPS game.
Getting hit doesn’t kill me; it just reduces my health. As long as I avoid vital spots, I can keep moving normally even if I’m injured.

As Mashiro’s bullet was about to hit me, I quickly blocked it with my left arm.
It still hurts. Is it because it’s a 20mm bullet? It hurts way more than the bullets I took from the delinquents during guerrilla warfare.
If it hurts this much, I’m probably not wearing mystic armor. Looking at how Mashiro deals damage to Tsubaki, it probably wouldn’t even tickle her.
Since Mashiro is a high-damage dealer, I’m not sure if it hurts because I’m wearing light armor or if it would still hurt even in medium armor, but I can endure it for now. That’s not what I need to worry about right now.

I endured the pain and focused.
Mashiro is still out in the open.
She’s probably waiting to follow up after confirming that I’ve been hit.
But Mashiro, you shouldn’t underestimate human determination.
I shouldered the AS50 on my right shoulder and took aim at Mashiro.

The bullet felt different from the ones I usually fire.
Is it because it’s a 12.7mm NATO round? The power feels different...
But it’s not just a little different. It’s something else entirely.

The bullet I fired was, no joke, flying with a typhoon attached to it.
I mean, the bullet was spinning, and a typhoon was spinning along with it in the same direction.
What the hell is that? I’ve never seen anything like that in real life—only in manga. A spinning air current had manifested around my bullet.
Who on earth modified my bullet?

Mashiro didn’t expect me to counterattack immediately without regrouping, so her reaction was slow.
Mashiro, who was in a sniper stance, couldn’t block or dodge and took the abnormal bullet cleanly to the head.
She went down instantly.
I switched the AS50 for the K2 and went over to check on Mashiro, who was lying on the ground.
That bullet had enough power to potentially kill a high school girl in this world.

She was knocked out with a huge bump on her head.
She didn’t seem dead.
Her breathing was steady, which was a relief.

[Shizuyama Mashiro is incapacitated! The winner of Block 2, Round 1 is Hayashi Kanshi-chan! As expected, the title of the best second-year sniper isn’t for nothing. Her judgment to use herself as bait to find the enemy in a disadvantageous situation! Her composure to endure pain and snipe the enemy! And her accuracy in going for headshots! Truly amazing. Even though Mashiro-chan lost, she must’ve learned a lot, right? I’ll contact the Rescue Knights to take Mashiro-chan away.]

Not long after, Serina and Hanae carried the unconscious Mashiro out of the arena.
Feeling awkward about staying in the arena alone, I followed them out.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Ah, I got shot in the left arm earlier."

"Let me see your left arm. I’ll treat it!"

The two Rescue Knights who noticed me following them asked if I was hurt, and since I couldn’t just say I followed them out of awkwardness, I used the shot I took earlier as an excuse.
Thanks to that, I got treatment for my throbbing arm.

After receiving treatment, I returned to the spectator seats where Hifumi was waiting.
My next match isn’t until Block 2, Round 17. I still have a long way to go.

"That was really cool!" Hifumi exclaimed.

"Thanks," I replied.

I was a little upset that my plan to put up a bit of a fight and then lose had fallen apart, but Hifumi’s praise made me feel a little better.
If Hifumi keeps praising me like this, maybe being a teaching assistant wouldn’t be so bad?
I considered it a lighthearted thought.

Chapter Text

The purpose of dividing blocks in a tournament is typically to quickly narrow down a large number of participants during the preliminaries.
In other words, if the groups are divided into four blocks like now, the four blocks will have their matches simultaneously, reducing the total time required to a quarter.
However, since Trinity Gym isn’t spacious enough to accommodate both the competition arena and the audience, the block division system is only being used to half its potential. It can only divide the number of finalists; it doesn’t help reduce the overall time.

And now, after the first round of Block 1, Tsurugi vs. Hasumi, the first round of Block 2, my match against Mashiro, has concluded. Next up is:

[Let’s begin the first round of Block 3!]

That’s what they said.
It seems they wanted to mimic the discarded functionality of block division, as they’re not waiting for the winner of Block 1 to finish before starting Block 2. Instead, they’re holding rounds for each block in sequence...

According to this calculation, for my turn in Block 2, Round 17, there are still 16 matches in Block 1, 15 in Block 2, 16 in Block 3, and 16 in Block 4 remaining. It’s taking too long. I can’t do anything.

There are no classes because of the tournament. But I can’t go home either. Unlike other academy stories where festivals and competitions happen together, there’s nothing else to do here. The school is ridiculously large, so walking around and sightseeing wouldn’t be bad, but... I’ve already done that about four times because I had nothing else to do, so I don’t feel like doing it again. My legs just hurt.

I should have borrowed a book from the library. You might think that using the library would mean borrowing a lot of books, but if I spend too much time there, I end up reading all the books inside and don’t bring any back. Besides, when I leave the library and go home, I immediately turn on my games and don’t read the books. Borrowing books is pretty much useless for me. That’s why I don’t carry my library card around. There’s no point in carrying something I don’t use—it’s just a hassle to manage. But now I regret it.

If I had studied during this time, my grades would have improved by at least four points.
Why did they drag me into this? Someday, I’ll wear a hoodie and a cape, go to Mika’s house, and cause a scene. If my next grades don’t improve, it’s definitely Mika’s fault. It’s not because I played games at home—it’s because Mika forced me into this.

I feel like putting on the hoodie and cape in my locker right now and piercing Mika’s head, but there are too many eyes watching, and there’s even the Justice Task Force here. Plus, Mika herself is one of Trinity’s strongest, on par with Tsurugi, so there’s no way I can do that. The most effective way to deal with Mika is to meet her separately later, argue with her, and then beat her up...
Turning Mika into a beehive... That’s all I’ve been thinking about from the start...

Oddly enough, time passes quickly when you’re lost in random thoughts.
But when you try to force yourself to think random thoughts, time doesn’t pass at all.
While squeezing out thoughts to pass the time, I thought at least 10 matches had passed, but it was only the second round of Block 2. Three matches had ended.

What is Hifumi doing?
Is she enjoying this right now?
Looking at Hifumi, she’s asleep.

“Zzz... Zzz...”

Should I sleep too?
Sleeping is undoubtedly the quickest way to pass time.
Forcing yourself to sleep is its own kind of hell, but since I’m a bit tired from exercising(?), I’ll probably fall asleep easily.

“Since it’s Block 2, Round 2, I’ll check who my next opponent is before leaving.”

I hope it’s someone reasonably strong.
If it’s someone with light armor who’s a good match for me, that would be even better.
In my current situation, losing quickly would be the best outcome.
Even in the finals, if the combat style is the same, losing honorably to Tsurugi would be the least damaging to my reputation. But it’s uncertain how the finals will proceed. If the finals are the same combat style, there’s no way a tournament runner-up would advance. It would’ve been more reasonable to divide into five blocks and select a representative from each.

If someone reasonably well-known and strong from Trinity advances, and I can lose naturally, I’ll be satisfied with that. Given my mysterious reputation from the past, I might be mocked with comments like, “You’ve died a lot,” even though I’ve never done anything like that. But it’s better than pointlessly representing Trinity and getting involved with the teacher.

So, who’s next?
Mika mentioned the names before the match, but I don’t know anyone here except the playable characters. Conversely, since I didn’t recognize the names, the two fighting now must be nobodies to me too.

The two were engaged in a fierce battle.
Unlike Tsurugi and Hasumi’s overwhelming power difference or my one-shot match with Mashiro, this was the first proper third-person shootout I’ve witnessed here.
Until now, shootouts somehow ended up being spectated from a special seat called “field experience”...
Did I do something wrong? Or I did something wrong in my previous life
If it’s the former, I wish someone would tell me quickly. I’ll fix it immediately...
If it’s the latter... I can’t do anything about it. Even if I knew, it wouldn’t be changeable

One person had light blue hair, and the other had gray hair.
The blue-haired one was wielding an SMG, and the gray-haired one had an MG.
......An MG? A machine gun? A submachine gun is holding its own against a machine gun?
In reality, that would be completely impossible. Machine guns and submachine guns may sound similar, but their performance is on a different level. Range, power—everything. If a submachine gun user tried to get close enough to accurately hit a machine gun user, the machine gun user would turn them into a beehive.

Submachine guns are already inferior to assault rifles and can’t penetrate modern bulletproof vests, so they’ve been heavily modified, but their performance is still lacking... No wonder most games design submachine gun users to focus on tanking rather than dealing damage. Even then, they’re evasion tanks.
The early days of gun moe games also played a part in this.

The blue-haired one was darting around in a hail of bullets, wielding an SMG.
The gray-haired one, true to the machine gun’s nature, had set up a bipod and was calmly firing away.
If the arena were even slightly larger, the blue-haired one wouldn’t stand a chance.
If it were slightly smaller, the gray-haired one would’ve been overwhelmed.

In terms of stats, the blue-haired one is better than the gray-haired one.
Even though it’s a machine gun, seeing the gray-haired one’s aim, I think I could shoot better with my feet. Still, with the high rate of fire, they managed to land a few hits, but this is the Blue Archive universe. Getting hit a few times won’t kill you. It doesn’t even hurt much. You’d need an anti-aircraft gun to feel real pain...

Unlike the gray-haired one, whose aim is atrocious, the blue-haired one was landing every shot with the submachine gun whenever there was an opening. Considering the submachine gun’s accuracy... Their aim isn’t as good as mine or Mashiro’s, but it’s still pretty good. Plus, they seem to understand the characteristics of submachine guns and machine guns well.

Machine guns, with their long barrels, struggle in close-quarters combat. On the other hand, submachine guns can outperform assault rifles and machine guns in tight spaces. Not that they have higher firepower, but... it’s a gun, so one shot is all it takes. And if the distance is close, in reality, it’s just a matter of who shoots first.

The blue-haired one seemed to know this well, positioning themselves where the machine gun’s movement was hindered and where they could easily shoot.

“Ugh, I can’t take this anymore!”

Finally fed up with the blue-haired one’s sneaky playstyle, the gray-haired one kicked away the bipod and picked up the machine gun with their own hands.
That’s not a minigun—it’s a full-sized machine gun. How are they even holding it? It’s a Vickers machine gun... a British medium machine gun. So... the recoil is insane, and it’s heavy.
I’ve given up trying to understand this... Let’s just chalk it up to the mysteries of Kivotos...

Now that it’s not on a bipod, the gray-haired one has more freedom of movement.
Even for a Kivotos student, the machine gun’s recoil is substantial, causing noticeable shaking, but compared to when they had to turn their entire body along with the bipod every time the blue-haired one circled them, now they only need to turn their body slightly, so their accuracy has improved.
And while they had to stand still and take hits from the submachine gun when the bipod was set up, now the gray-haired one can move, albeit slowly.

Compared to the blue-haired one’s advantageous position earlier, the gray-haired one can now change positions too.
The blue-haired one tried to prevent the gray-haired one from gaining an advantageous position, but...

-ratatatatatat

“Tch!”

The blue-haired one didn’t expect the gray-haired one to suddenly dash and pick up the machine gun, so their reaction was slow, and they were blocked by suppressing fire, unable to pursue.

“Oh, this is fun.”

Objectively speaking, the combat level is quite low.
You don’t even need to go back to the mysterious past of Kanshi to see that.
Just looking at the speed, judgment, and defense I showed in my match against Mashiro, they’re no match.
Even without that suspicious magic bullet.
If I couldn’t beat them, it would really make people question my condition.

First, the submachine gun. No matter how good their aim is or how well they manage distance... comparing them to me, a sniper, is a bit unfair.
Plus, I can handle close combat. Their playstyle of maintaining a favorable distance based on the enemy’s attack characteristics wouldn’t work against me.
The submachine gun’s firepower? I’d just charge through the bullets and press my K2 against their head—I’d win.

As for the machine gun... its power is greater than others, but the aim is still a problem. Even if they stood still, they’d probably only land three shots at most.
In that time, I could block the machine gun’s barrel shot by shot. Besides, in this world, damage doesn’t register well, and landing hits isn’t easy...
And no matter how powerful the machine gun is... firing like that will deplete the ammo. Ammo is finite, and machine guns fire quickly.
It seems the blue-haired one is just waiting for the gray-haired one to run out of ammo.

No, their specs are just too low.
Their running speed, attack power—nothing stands out. At least the blue-haired one has decent combat sense, but even that’s just average. It’s still lacking.
It feels like watching the performance difference between a 5-star and a 1-star character.

But the level of combat and the fun are different.
They say the most fun battles are the ones filled with bravado.
And by my standards, the quality of the fight is low, but judging by the reactions around me, they seem to be in the upper-middle tier of Trinity.

The fights I’ve seen since coming here are...
Black Market thugs and guerrilla warfare.
Black Market security automata and sniping.
Bank heists.
Tsurugi vs. Hasumi.
Me vs. Mashiro.

No wonder my expectations are so high.
So it’s not that they’re bad at fighting—it’s that the path I’ve walked has been rough.
Suddenly, I’m overwhelmed with a sense of despair about my life.
My past life, as far as I know, didn’t do anything wrong, so it must be that my motif did something wrong somewhere.
Who is it? Some kind of angel?

In the end, the gray-haired one couldn’t finish off the blue-haired one before running out of ammo and was subdued. The match ended.

[The winner is Renten Naka-chan! It was amazing how she calmly fought against the machine gun without giving up! Staying focused and dodging until the ammo belt ran out was truly impressive!]

So her name was Naka.
The fight was over, and I carefully observed my next opponent.
Earlier, the distance was too far, and they were moving too violently to see clearly, but now I could make them out if I focused.

When I saw their face, I couldn’t contain my rising anger.

“Yeah, I thought that hair color was distinctive.”

But with so many light hair colors in Trinity, I thought it might overlap with someone else.
Light blue hair with deep blue eyes. It’s like they took the Water Spirit King from a manga and put them here. That’s the vibe they give off.

“I’ll definitely take you down.”

I vowed, forgetting my mission to lose.
That girl was the one who gave up this middle spot just to set me up.

Chapter Text

December 25th. The day Jesus was born. Christmas. Also known as the holiday season.
In this world where all sorts of myths are intertwined, what meaning does Christmas hold? A month ago, when Christmas was approaching, I suddenly found myself deep in thought about it.
But in the end, it didn’t really mean much. Here, Christmas is just Christmas.

I’m old enough now to realize that Santa doesn’t exist, and there’s no one to give gifts to or receive them from. My mind is male, but my body is female, so I don’t have anyone to date either... For me, it’s just a red day off, nothing more, nothing less.
And to make matters worse, it falls on a Saturday, so it’s a double day off. This cruel world.

Ah, but Christmas does have some meaning for me.

“I can’t resist the Christmas event in the game...”

No, that’s not it.
I stop my hand, which had been naturally reaching for the game, and open the calendar instead.

[December 26th - Azusa’s Birthday]

That’s right. It’s the day before Azusa’s birthday!
Which means I need to prepare a birthday gift for Azusa.

Yeah, Azusa’s birthday is more important than Christmas.
But...

“Sigh...”

In front of me, I see a mountain of paperwork piled up like snow. Hah, looking at how white the papers are, it seems like this Christmas will be a white Christmas.
Normally, Christmas is a day off, but as Sensei and the Assistant Teacher, we’re stuck in the Schale office dealing with all the incidents that happen during Christmas. Whether it’s delinquents, regular students... the Gourmet Research Society… Problem Solver... those damn Gehenna bitches. Everyone seems to be causing twice as much trouble as usual, probably because they’re all excited for Christmas.

At least I’m not the only one suffering—Sensei next to me is also dying.
Maybe it’s because I’m not the only one in pain. Or maybe it’s because seeing Sensei suffer is oddly entertaining.
Either way, seeing them like this brings me some peace of mind.

“Sensei, are we working overtime today...?”

“Probably... looking at all this work... even if we don’t go into full overtime, it’s impossible to have any free time today...”

Since I’m originally from Korea and not from Trinity, I don’t have any inherent hatred for Gehenna.
In fact, when I first reincarnated here, I even wanted to join Gehenna and admired it.
But now, seeing that 30% of the problems in these documents are caused by Gehenna, the curses I had suppressed while adapting to this female body come flooding out. I can feel myself turning into an angel of Trinity.

“Kanshi, don’t you want to have fun on Christmas too...? I’ll take care of all this, so why don’t you go have fun?”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t have anything to do anyway.”

All my friends probably want to spend today on a date with you.
Looking at Sensei’s phone, which keeps buzzing non-stop, I feel depressed again.
From what I glimpsed, it looks like they have 99+ messages on Momotalk. Somehow, seeing that makes me even more depressed than the mountain of paperwork.

“Ah.”

A brilliant idea flashes through my mind.
What if I give Azusa a “date free pass” with Sensei as a birthday gift?
I may not look like it, but I’m the Assistant Teacher at Schale. I assist Sensei.
If I take on all the paperwork Sensei has, Sensei will be free. They can go out and have fun with the students.

In other words, whether those students who are desperately trying to have a Christmas date with Sensei can do so or not is entirely up to me.
So, it’s only natural that I have the right to choose who gets to date Sensei, right?

But first, I need to find out if Azusa even wants to date Sensei.

“Hello.”

[Oh, Kanshi, what’s up?]

When I call, Hare picks up.
The place I called is Veritas in Millennium.
If it’s them, they should be able to easily... hack into Sensei’s Momotalk records.

“Can you hack into Sensei’s Momotalk records for me today?”

[Why would you want that...?]

“Don’t ask why. Can you do it or not?”

[We can, but... what’s in it for us?]

No ordinary reward will do.
Because those Momotalk records probably include their own messages too.
Who would want to show someone else the messages they sent to the person they like?
But you guys don’t have a choice.

“Hmm. The reason I want the Momotalk records is just to confirm something. I already know roughly what kind of messages you all sent to Sensei.”

[......]

“And today, Sensei and I are buried under a mountain of paperwork, so overtime is guaranteed.”

To be precise, overtime is only guaranteed if one person takes on the workload of two, but I need to exaggerate a bit here.
In society, it’s the person who gets fooled who’s at fault, not the one who fools them.
If they hadn’t been fooled, I wouldn’t have been labeled a scammer, but since they were fooled, it’s their fault!

Hare seems to be on the verge of tears, feeling wronged by my relentless pressure.

[Then, why!]

“If I take on all of Sensei’s paperwork, Sensei will be free.”

If I’ve said this much, someone as smart as Hare should understand what I’m getting at.

“I could, for example, offer a date with Sensei as a reward and have C&C take down all of Veritas. Do you really think you’re in a position to demand a reward?”

[Ugh... wait a second...]

Realizing their position, Veritas sends over Sensei’s Momotalk records after a short while.
Sure enough, Azusa’s messages are in there too.

[Flying squirrel, will you have time today?]

[Ugh, it feels a bit shameless to even ask if someone like me can take up your precious Christmas time...]

[I heard that the Momofriends Santa collaboration limited edition goods are out today...]

[Can you come with me...]

Even a loser like me can see how much of a loser she is, and it brings tears to my eyes.
Well then, I guess I’ll do something for my favorite character too.
And since I feel a bit bad for threatening Veritas, I’ll give Hare a chance too.
Of course, not today. Maybe later, if there’s an opportunity...?

“Sensei, I’ll handle all the work today.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? Look at the amount of work. If you do it all alone, you might not even make it home.”

“It’s not a big deal for me. But Sensei is much more important than someone like me, especially on Christmas.”

I look at Sensei seriously while naturally picking up the paperwork assigned to them.

“I can just sacrifice some time with my friends, and I have plenty of time to hang out with them later. Besides, this Christmas is on a Saturday, right? It’s just a day off, nothing special. Hanging out with friends on a day off is pretty common. But Sensei is different. Other students want to spend this Christmas meaningfully with you. For you, Christmas might just be a day off like it is for me. But for the students spending it with you, it could be a special day, don’t you think?”

As Sensei, shouldn’t you give your students special memories on days like this?
I finish my speech with a wink, signaling that they should leave it to me, and take all of Sensei’s paperwork.

“Oh, by the way, Azusa said she wanted to hang out with you. Where was it... she said she’d wait at the park. You haven’t checked Momotalk, so you wouldn’t know, but there might be a girl waiting for you in the park, braving the cold air right now.”

I take Sensei’s suit out of the closet and hand it to them.
It’s a sign for them to hurry up, put it on, and get out.

Sensei, unable to resist my pressure, finally gets dressed and prepares to leave.
Even as they leave, they can’t shake off the apologetic look on their face.

“Sorry, Kanshi. If you ever need anything, I’ll take care of your work too. No, actually, this was all my work to begin with, and you, as the Assistant Teacher, just shared the load, so I shouldn’t act like I’m doing you a favor... Call me anytime if you’re in trouble... I’m your Sensei, after all.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that a million times. Just go see my friend already.”

I watch through the window as Sensei leaves Schale.
Now it’s time to wrap up the behind-the-scenes work.

“Hello, Azusa?”

[Oh, Kanshi. What’s up?]

“Sensei is heading to the park now.”

[.....I’ll repay you later.]

“What repayment? Just think of it as a Christmas and birthday gift.”

[Then I’ll definitely prepare a gift for your birthday.]

If you look at the Momotalk messages, you’ll see that Azusa waiting at the park was a lie. Who would set a meeting place in advance without knowing if the other person would even agree?
So, I had to turn that lie into reality, right?
Considering speed and distance, Azusa is much faster, so there’s no way Sensei will arrive before her.

I feel like I’ve done a good deed today, but the satisfaction of helping a friend can’t withstand the overwhelming mountain of paperwork (x2).
I feel like passing out.

You chose to take on all the paperwork... so endure it, no matter what.
Tears stream down my face as I start organizing the documents.

Oh, right.

“Arona, are you there?”

[Yes! Assistant Teacher!]

“I told you to call me Kanshi.”

[But why did you call?]

“Can you keep an eye on Azusa and Sensei for me?”

I need to eliminate any factors that might interfere with Sensei and Azusa’s date before it even begins.
I connect the drone I received from the Engineering Club to Arona and send it flying toward Sensei and Azusa.
Today feels like an AS50 kind of day.

[Assistant Teacher! A mean twin-tailed girl from the Prefect Team is approaching within 500 meters of Sensei! It doesn’t seem like she knows Sensei is here, but if they meet, it’s clear she’ll cause trouble!]

“Okay.”

I take aim and shoot Iori in the head as she passes by.
The shot hits her forehead directly, and Iori, wearing heavy armor, collapses unconscious without even knowing what hit her.

I’ve rented out a hotel near the department store where Sensei and Azusa are on their date and am currently on the rooftop.
Of course, I can’t just not work, so I’m sniping with a rifle while also handling paperwork on the rooftop.

“Multitasking... ugh, the extreme job of an Assistant Teacher...”

[A group of delinquents planning to terrorize the department store for Christmas is approaching!]

“We can’t just let that slide.”

Sniping one person is one thing, but taking out a whole gang of delinquents one by one would take too much time, so I grab a K2 and head down to clean up the mess before returning.

[There’s Mutuski from Problem Solver over there!]

[Shiroko from Abydos is browsing bikes at the bike shop!]

[Kirino from Valkyrie is patrolling around here...]

Stop it...!
I get that everyone’s excited because it’s Christmas, but why are they all here?
Did they all plan to meet at the department store or something?

The mysterious student fever continues until 6 PM.

[It’s... over. The other students are hanging out with their friends at school, and all the students who were around here have been dealt with.]

“Thank you. Thanks to you, Arona, I was able to protect my friend’s date.”

On top of that, the mountain of paperwork that seemed endless is finally starting to show its bottom. At this rate, I might not even have to work overtime.
As expected, work always seems overwhelming until you start, but once you get into it, you realize it’s manageable. It’s going much faster than I expected.

There’s not much left anyway. I take a short break and look over at where Azusa and Sensei are hanging out.
It’s hard to see, so I zoom in with the scope. I can see Azusa smiling.
I’m glad she looks happy.

I guess it’s time to head back.
There’s no point in staying here anyway, and the constant sniping might reveal my presence. Plus, if the Assistant Teacher is here, it’s likely Sensei is here too, which could attract unwanted attention from students of other schools.
And if Sensei returns to Schale and I’m not there on time, they might start suspecting me if something bad happens.

“Shall we head back, then?”

[Yes!]

“Oh, leave the drone around here. Just in case something happens.”

[Got it!]

“Sigh... my side hurts. Why did I end up in this body...?”

Complaining won’t change anything. It’s already been a year since I came here in this body.
I know by now that I can’t return to my original body.

“Damn it... why is Christmas a day for couples? It just makes me feel lonelier...”

Is it because it’s the day Jesus was born that they want to create new life too?
It’s a day that has nothing to do with couples, so why are they so rampant?
Feeling sorry for myself, I wipe away my tears and head back to Schale.

Chapter Text

(Sensei’s Side)

6 PM.
Sensei and Azusa had just finished buying limited-edition Santa Momo Friends merchandise at the department store.

“By the way, Azusa? Isn’t this a bit too much for just yourself?”

One peculiar thing was that Azusa had bought three of each Momo Friends item, even though they were the same. If she had bought a variety of items, it might have made sense to think she was planning to rotate them, but buying three of the same thing was puzzling.

“This... one is for you, Sensei.”

As she said this, Azusa handed one set to Sensei. Though Sensei felt a bit awkward, it was hard to refuse a gift from a student, so they accepted it. While it made sense that Azusa had bought three sets for gifting, Sensei couldn’t help but wonder who the third set was for. If it was Momo Friends merchandise, maybe it was for Hifumi? Considering Azusa’s limited social circle, the only person who might share her interest in Momo Friends was Hifumi, who had introduced her to it in the first place.

“The other set is for Kanshi.”

However, contrary to Sensei’s expectations, the third set was for Kanshi. Kanshi had helped Azusa and Sensei go on their date today. Though Kanshi tried to hide it, Azusa, who was used to combat situations and had sharp instincts, noticed. She realized that Kanshi had been following them and clearing away any obstacles. Azusa wanted to give Kanshi a gift as thanks for her efforts. Whether Kanshi would actually like the gift was another matter.

The image of Kanshi awkwardly accepting the gift came to mind.

‘Kanshi doesn’t dislike Momo Friends, but she doesn’t exactly like them either.’

According to Hifumi, Kanshi initially didn’t understand why anyone would like such things, but after receiving gifts from Hifumi, she had grown accustomed to them and moved from disliking them to being neutral. The thought of Kanshi reluctantly accepting the gift and eventually decorating a corner of her room with it made Sensei smile. Azusa loved cute things.

“Fufu...”

“I’m surprised it’s for Kanshi and not Hifumi.”

“Hifumi wouldn’t let me miss out on getting one for myself.”

That made sense. It made sense, but... Sensei remembered the time Hifumi and Kanshi had to go to the black market to get limited-edition merchandise because they couldn’t find it anywhere else. Sensei decided not to bring that up.

Azusa and Sensei returned to the park where they had met earlier and began walking around. Having achieved their goal of buying the limited-edition Momo Friends merchandise, they weren’t sure what to do next. So, they just walked aimlessly.

There were many couples around. Seeing them, Azusa felt a strange emotion.

‘If we walk like this, will we look like a couple too? No, no matter how you look at it, we’re just a student and a Sensei.’

Besides, even though Kanshi had given them some leeway today, Sensei had Kanshi. Kanshi claimed not to like Sensei, but who could believe that? In all of Kivotos, Kanshi was the one who spent the most time by Sensei’s side. Her words lacked credibility.

Of course, Kanshi’s excuses sounded sincere, but it was true that Sensei didn’t see Azusa as a woman, and Azusa knew that. Kanshi just happened to have the most reasonable justification for venting her frustrations.

After jokingly blaming others, Azusa’s irritation subsided. For now, she was satisfied with this time she could spend with the (former) Make-Up Work Club members, Kanshi, and Sensei.

“Sensei, what are you doing?”

Sensei was catching up on the backlog of MomoTalk messages they hadn’t had time to read. There, they noticed Kanshi’s cleverness.

‘This girl... I don’t know how she did it, but she saw my MomoTalk.’

No wonder Kanshi had been acting unusually today. She had taken on all the tasks and sent Sensei off with Azusa. It seemed she had checked the messages and, seeing how many students wanted to spend time with Sensei, decided to send Azusa off before the others could cause a scene at Schale.

Prioritizing her friends, huh?
Kanshi really is a good kid. Even though she dislikes being an assistant teacher, she takes her responsibilities seriously and works diligently. Yeah, a good kid like her deserves a gift.

Sensei began typing furiously in the chat. Then, they sent a message to the chat at the very bottom. The chat’s name was [Ajitani Hifumi].

“Azusa, we should go give a gift to a good kid, right?”

The sentence was completely out of context, but Azusa knew exactly who the “good kid” referred to. She looked at the limited-edition Momo Friends set in her hand.

“Of course.”

(Kanshi’s Side)

It felt good to see the workload gradually decreasing. It’s true that starting work is the hard part, but seeing it diminish brings a strange sense of satisfaction. It’s like the feeling of finishing a workbook back in middle or high school.

Judging by the amount left, it seemed like it would take about four more hours to finish. Leaving at 11 PM wasn’t too bad, right? As an assistant teacher, getting caught up in an incident meant no breaks and a lot of hard work, so this wasn’t too bad. I even felt happy about the workload being reduced to this extent, despite being gaslit by the Blue Archive story.

Is this really okay?

Whether it was or not didn’t help reduce my workload, so I decided not to dwell on it. My efforts to reduce the workload were what mattered. With that in mind, I focused on the remaining tasks. When I said four hours, I meant that I’d have to work non-stop to finish by then. If I spaced out now, I wouldn’t make it home today. I had to endure this much to support my friend’s love life.

About 30 minutes into my focused work, I heard the door to Schale open. Sensei must have returned. Honestly, I expected them to be out until 10 PM, strolling around with Azusa, enjoying the evening sights and snacks. But they returned earlier than expected. Azusa, why didn’t you hold onto Sensei longer?

It wasn’t my place to meddle in others’ love lives, so I decided to welcome Sensei back. Well, with two of us here now, the work should go faster. It’s not like I could interfere anymore anyway. I decided to take it positively. With that thought, I waited for Sensei to open the office door.

The door gradually opened, revealing Sensei. Of course, it was Sensei. No student would come to Schale to hang out on Christmas. If they were looking for Sensei, that was possible, but the good kids would usually contact Sensei via MomoTalk first and wouldn’t come without permission. And Sensei probably hadn’t given permission yet. Our Sensei is indecisive, so with 99+ messages in MomoTalk, they wouldn’t be able to choose who to respond to.

That must be why. I let my guard down. When the door opened, I only checked for Sensei’s presence and didn’t notice who was beside them. I bowed my head to greet them, limiting my field of vision.

“Welcome back, Sensei. Did you have a good time with Azu—“

That was my mistake.

“Azusa, Hifumi, grab her!”

“Yes!”

“Okay.”

Hifumi and Azusa, who were with Sensei, rushed at me, covering my mouth and restraining my arms. It didn’t take long for my arms to be tied with rope.

“Mmmph! Mmmph! Mmmph!”

“Ah, victim-san. You have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney... or do you?”

“Kanshi, if you don’t stay quiet, I’ll make you eat this and force you to be quiet.”

Azusa held a bomb in her right hand. It was a special halo-destroying bomb from Arius Branch School. Hey, Azusa, eating that won’t make you quiet... well, I guess it would... since you’d be dead...

As I sat there, tightly bound and unable to speak, Sensei said:

“Kanshi, who works on Christmas? Let’s leave today’s work for tomorrow’s us and enjoy today.”

Sensei was mimicking the smile I had given them when I sent them off earlier. It was a smile of madness.

(Later)

In the end, I gave up and followed Hifumi and Azusa outside. Even Koharu and Hanako were waiting out there.

“The Make-Up Work Club is at it again.”

“It’s nice to gather like this.”

“No, it’s not just that.”

Sensei pointed in another direction. There, the students from the Hot Spring Development Department were walking over, with Aru in a Santa costume.

It seemed like Mutsuki had put some strange ideas into Aru’s head.

“As promised, everyone’s here.”

“Hmph. Of course, it’s Sensei’s request. Our Hot Spring Development Department always keeps its promises!”

“For some reason, my head hurts, but I can’t miss Sensei’s invitation!”

“But why the Santa costume?”

“Huh? Isn’t it common sense to wear a Santa costume to a Christmas party?”

Aru...
Extreme gaslighting is no different from a hypnosis app...

Sensei’s invitation didn’t stop at the Hot Spring Development Department.

“The Hot Spring Development Department... Did Sensei call them?”

“Oh, Hina. You came.”

“Eek! The Prefect Team!”

“Don’t worry today. We’re not here to catch you; we’re here to have fun at Sensei’s invitation.”

“Oh, my head...”

Sorasaki Hina from Gehenna’s Prefect Team and Iori, who for some reason had bandages on her head, had also gathered. Mutsuki gave Iori a sympathetic look.

“You too...?”

“You too...”

And so, Iori and Mutsuki found common ground. I didn’t understand why, but I could guess that they had both been sniped somewhere. Whoever sniped the Prefect Team’s twintails and Mutsuki must have some guts. Huh.

I had expected it when the Prefect Team arrived, but students from various schools began gathering one by one.

The Hyakkiyako Street Mouryo. The Festival Operations Department.

The Shanhaijing Eastern Alchemy Society, the Genryumon, the Plum Blossom Garden.

The Abydos Foreclosure Task Force.

The Gehenna Hot Spring Development Department, the Prefect Team, the Pandemonium Society, the Gourmet Research Society, etc.

The Millennium Game Development Department, the Engineering Club, Veritas...

The After-School Sweets Club, the Make-Up Work Club, and the Tea Party.

And so on. Students from various schools began gathering, and soon...

It became a complete mess.

“Wh-why is the Prefect Team here?!”

“That’s the same reaction the Hot Spring Development Department had earlier.”

“Oh ho... Are you here to challenge Trinity...?”

“Huh? Are you looking for a fight?”

“Purge, purge! There are too many people! We need to purge!”

“Everyone, please maintain order! If you don’t, we’ll treat you as criminals and arrest you!”

“Yawn... I’m sleepy... Ouch!”

“Who just fired a shot?!”

“Error detected, error detected.”

“Alice overloaded from the chaotic situation!”

“But where’s Yuzu?”

“Huh... Good question.”

“There are too many people. It’s better to reduce the number of living beings by half for the sake of the universe. Alice, fire!”

“Alice, stop!”

I had seen Yuzu head to the nearby restroom, but I stayed quiet, afraid of getting caught up in the chaos. I quietly watched Sensei.

“Did you plan for this situation?”

“No, not at all. I expected it to get a bit chaotic, but not to this extent.”

“So... you didn’t anticipate this?”

“That’s right.”

If Sensei had anticipated this and prepared a solution, I could have stayed calm, but since they had called everyone without any plan, even if things settled down now, the aftermath would be a problem. Getting involved here would be like tasting hell.

“I need to get out of here.”

“Not so fast.”

I tried to escape, but Sensei, Hifumi, and Azusa blocked me with a triple combo, preventing my escape.

“I’ll handle this, so stay put. And wait so we can all have fun together.”

Sensei stepped into the chaos and began calming the students one by one. As Sensei spoke to them, the students gradually settled down, and the commotion was quelled in no time. Is that Sensei’s power? Someone loved, protected, and respected by all the students. It would be a lie to say I wasn’t envious, but even if I were Sensei, I wouldn’t be able to act like that. Maybe that’s why they’re Sensei of this world, and I’m just a student.

“Alright, today’s about everyone having fun together, so let’s stop fighting and go eat first. I’ll treat you all!”

“No, we can’t let you do that. The Tea Party will cover some of the cost.”

“Heh, we can’t lose to the Trinity kids. We’ll pay 10% more than them.”

“Oh~ So everyone’s competing to pay? But we don’t have any money~”

“Then I’ll cover it for Abydos☆”

Yeah. I could never be like that. Even if I were Sensei, I wouldn’t be someone admired by the students—just someone with Schale’s authority. That kind of thing... only they can do.

“You’re amazing.”

“Kanshi, you’re amazing too.”

“No, I could never be like that.”

“You don’t have to be like that to be amazing. That’s just Sensei’s greatness, and you have your own strengths. Your sniping skills are amazing, and you’re really smart...”

“Hifumi, that’s enough.”

It’s embarrassing to hear praise. Humans are contradictory creatures—they crave praise, yet when they receive it, they feel embarrassed and shy away.

The money war seemed to have settled down, and Sensei gestured for us to follow.

“Why are we always the ones following at the end?”

“Isn’t it because Kanshi always stays behind and doesn’t join in?”

“Can’t argue with that.”

We quietly followed the group of students, walking behind Sensei. It reminded me of following Sensei in a line during elementary school.

(Later)

“Kanshi, here’s a gift.”

“What’s this?”

“A limited-edition Christmas Momo Friends set.”

“......”

Kanshi felt awkward.

Inside the restaurant they had entered—following Sensei—the Tea Party, Kanshi, the Pandemonium Society, and the Seminar had pooled their money to buy out the restaurant, so only students were present. Amid the students having a party, Azusa was giving Kanshi a Christmas Momo Friends set as a gift.

Thanks to Hifumi, Kanshi had built up some immunity, so she wasn’t as uncomfortable as before... but receiving an entire set was still awkward.

Unlike Hifumi, who could confidently carry it around, Kanshi wasn’t that enthusiastic...

“I’ll, um, make good use of it...?”

“Okay. Thanks for accepting it.”

Azusa smiled at Kanshi. Ah, maybe the reason for accepting this gift was just to see that smile. It felt like the weariness of the day was being healed.

“Oh my, I’m all for yuri~”

“Wh-what?! No lewd stuff! That’s a crime!”

“Yuri. Yeah, yuri’s good too. Do you like yuri, Kanshi? Maybe you’d have preferred a flower gift instead?”

“No... I don’t think Hanako means flowers when she says yuri...”

It was fun. Receiving a strange gift, hearing Hanako’s dirty jokes... things that would normally just be annoying felt enjoyable today. Maybe it was because I was playing after working. Or maybe it was the thrill of skipping work to have fun. Or perhaps it was the specialness of Christmas. For some reason, my energy was several times higher than usual, and I was in a good mood. Kanshi didn’t mind the feeling.

Time flew by, and it was soon 10 PM. It was time to head back.

The students who had gathered began to leave one by one, until only Hifumi, Kanshi, and Sensei remained.

“Aren’t you two going back?”

“Yeah. Hifumi, you go ahead.”

“Why?”

Because I still have work to do. Kanshi didn’t believe Sensei’s joke about “leaving today’s work for tomorrow.” Based on her observations of Sensei’s personality as an assistant teacher, she was sure that after sending everyone home, Sensei would stay behind in the office to work.

Sensei’s excuse for tomorrow was predictable: “Since it’s past 12, it’s tomorrow, so I didn’t break my promise.” Kanshi couldn’t just watch that happen. As someone with a strong sense of responsibility, she didn’t want to leave her work to someone else. The best option was to finish it all herself, but given the situation, that wasn’t possible, so she compromised by wanting to finish it together.

“I’m the type of person who has a fit if I leave today’s work for tomorrow. You know that, right?”

“No, this is the first I’m hearing of it...”

“Be quiet. Good kids should go home and sleep early.”

I gave Hifumi a light flick on the forehead. Hifumi seemed to realize that Kanshi wouldn’t budge, so she reluctantly gave up and left first.

“Then, Sensei, let’s go.”

“I’m not leaving until you do.”

“I’m leaving too.”

“You’re going to Schale, right?”

“Then where else would I go without finishing my work?”

“You’re a student. You don’t have an obligation to work.”

“I’m an assistant teacher. I have an obligation to assist you.”

Kanshi and Sensei had a brief argument in the empty restaurant. In the end, Kanshi won. She didn’t back down, and Sensei eventually gave up.

“Then let’s go together.”

“Sensei, you’re weak against students.”

“You’re an assistant teacher, you know.”

“You just said I was a student.”

“You just said you were an assistant teacher.”

“Let’s just agree that I’m both an assistant teacher and a student.”

“You’re both an assistant teacher and a student.”

The two continued their lighthearted conversation as they walked through the streets. The streets were filled with couples, which wasn’t surprising given it was Christmas. However, there was one place where the density of couples suspiciously increased.

Out of curiosity, Sensei and Kanshi walked over. Since they were a man and woman pair, they didn’t feel out of place. There, they found a towering tree adorned with glittering ornaments.

“Wow... it’s beautiful.”

“Yeah.”

As they stared at the tree, Kanshi remembered something she hadn’t said all day but needed to say. Yeah, she couldn’t let Christmas end without saying it.

Kanshi walked up to the tree and faced Sensei. With a genuine smile, she said the words she needed to say.

“Sensei, Merry Christmas. I hope next year is filled with good things.”

Sensei responded in kind.

“Yeah, Kanshi. Merry Christmas to you too. I hope next year brings you happiness without any troubles.”

“Ah, as for a Christmas gift... um... it’s my rare smile! It’s a very special thing, you know? I don’t smile like this often.”

“That’s a wonderful gift.”

Honestly.
For Sensei, there was no better gift than seeing their students healthy and happy.
But if Sensei said that out loud, Kanshi would probably hit them for being cheesy, so they kept it to themselves.

“Then let’s go finish our work.”

“Okay then”

The two worked hard and managed to finish all their tasks before midnight.
However, the chaos they caused on Christmas meant that even more work piled up for December 26th—but that’s a story for another time.

Chapter Text

As soon as I heard the news of Renten Naka’s victory, I immediately went to sleep.

I had a dream where I fired my gun without thinking, and though I didn’t know where the bullet landed, it caused a massive explosion. When I woke up, an hour had passed.

"Mmm... It’s probably not my turn yet..."

Rubbing my eyes, I looked toward the arena. Tsurugi was fighting some nameless student.

"Yaaawn... Seems like I woke up at the right time. Tsurugi—no, Kenzaki-senpai—is in Block 1, Round 17... So next is Block 2, Round 17. That should be my turn."

I almost slipped and called her "Tsurugi" out loud, but I quickly corrected myself when I remembered the crowd around me. Someone might be listening. Here, I have no connection to Tsurugi, so I should address her by her last name. And since she’s a third-year, I should add "senpai."

What a pain.

A fight between Tsurugi and some nobody? No need to watch—it’s already decided. Tsurugi will win, and it’ll be over in seconds.

I should start preparing now. The match will probably end by the time I’m ready.

To make sure I crush Renten Naka, I brought not just the AS50 but also the K2.

Honestly, the most fun part of combat is the overwhelming difference in skill. Dominating your opponent is pure joy.

Time to toy with her.

[The result is... so obvious it’s boring... Kenzaki Tsurugi is just too strong. Ugh, this is so dull. Isn’t there anyone in Block 1 who can challenge Tsurugi? This match is putting me to sleep. Wouldn’t it be fun if some super rookie suddenly appeared, dealt massive damage to Tsurugi, and either barely won or lost in an epic showdown?]

Just as I thought. The moment I finished packing my guns and stood up, Block 1, Round 17 ended with Tsurugi’s victory.

But Mika... Is it really okay for the announcer to openly root against someone like that?

[Oh, but the next match might be interesting! Though it could also be as boring as this one. Block 2, Round 17 features Kanshi-chan, who easily defeated a first-year sniper from the Justice Task Force and Naka-chan, who took down a machine gunner with just her judgment and physical prowess! Kanshi-chan is pretty famous, so we know what to expect, but I’m really curious about what kind of firepower Naka-chan is hiding!]

And then, a MomoTalk message popped up for me:

[Of course, Kanshi-chan will win easily, right?]

There’s no way someone as sharp as Mika wouldn’t know the difference in combat ability between me and Renten. She must’ve guessed Renten’s stats from the last match.

[Naka-chan’s stats are a bit lacking, you see...]

[So if you’re planning to play around, make it entertaining for the commentary!]

How did she know I was planning to toy with Renten? Does she have mind-reading powers?

Wait, even if she did, could she really read someone’s thoughts from this distance?

[Of course, going too far with the bullying is a no-no~. Crushing a growing child with despair is bad for both the victim and the audience!]

Does she not realize she’s the one currently filling me with despair? Just having to participate in this annoying match is despair-inducing enough.

But thanks to Renten, who handed me this mess, my Korean instincts demand I pay her back tenfold. Not that I’m happy about the situation—it’s just how things are. Honestly, this revenge is optional. If I hadn’t been forced into this match, I’d have just cursed her silently and moved on.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been dragged into trouble at Trinity, and I’m not the type to hunt someone down just for revenge.

Let’s just have some lighthearted fun.

By crushing her.

I stood in front of the door leading to the arena and opened it.

The audience’s stares weighed heavily as I stepped inside for the second time.

"Hello. I’m Renten Naka, a second-year. Pleasure to meet you."

"Hello. I’m Hayashi Kanshi, also a second-year. Let’s have a good match."

Naka and I exchanged greetings before taking our positions.

Once we were ready, Mika’s voice rang out:

[Then let’s begin Block 2, Round 17!]

The moment the announcement ended—

—Click-clack-clack-clack!

"Huh?"

—BOOOOM!

A grenade exploded.

Renten Naka and Hayashi Kanshi were classmates during their first year at Trinity.

When Renten first saw Kanshi, her immediate thought was: "She’s truly beautiful."

Hayashi Kanshi’s appearance wasn’t the kind typically described as "beautiful."

"Pretty" and "beautiful" aren’t synonyms. Beauty is abstract, a sensory adjective, and standards vary from person to person—but generally, "beautiful" implies maturity.

In that sense, Hayashi Kanshi was pretty but not beautiful. If you asked people to describe her, most would say "cute" rather than "beautiful." Her charm leaned more toward adorable than elegant.

Yet, when she sat by the window, reading a book in class, everyone would’ve agreed:

"She looks like a sculpture—so beautiful."

The atmosphere around her was just that striking.

The slightly open window let in a soft breeze, making the curtains flutter. Sunlight streamed through the gaps, illuminating Hayashi Kanshi as if she were the centerpiece of a painting. She remained indifferent to everything, absorbed only in her own world.

This wasn’t just first-day shyness. If it were, she would’ve warmed up to friends over time. But even after weeks passed, Kanshi showed no interest in anyone. Instead, she became even more unapproachable, as if encased in an invisible barrier.

Normally, such an attitude would be seen as arrogance and lead to bullying. But for her, it only enhanced her mystique.

The ethereal aura wasn’t just due to the setting—the wind, the sunlight, the curtains. It was her. She had an innate, captivating charm that turned even negative traits into virtues.

Renten Naka was subtly ostracized in class.

Unlike the other girls, she had no prestigious background. She wasn’t rich, nor was she exceptionally talented. If anything, her only "flaw" was her striking beauty, which invited jealousy.

But Kanshi, who also had traits that could’ve made her an outcast, didn’t suffer the same fate. Instead, she controlled the atmosphere around her. Renten found that admirable.

And Kanshi didn’t stop at just maintaining her aura—she proved she deserved it.

Renten wasn’t a top student, but she wasn’t bad either—just average. In Trinity, filled with geniuses, that meant she was overlooked.

But even in Trinity, not everyone was a genius. Some struggled to keep up. And Kanshi never missed those students.

No one knew when she observed them—she always seemed engrossed in her books.

Then one day, printed study guides appeared on every student’s desk.

Meticulously organized, easy to understand—even the top students were impressed.

No one claimed credit, but the suspicion fell on Kanshi.

After all, hers was the only desk without a guide.

The final confirmation came after midterms.

Kanshi, who had slowly warmed up to one classmate—Ajitani Hifumi—casually remarked:

"The exam was easy."

This, despite it being the hardest test in Trinity’s history.

Renten doubted her at first.

But when results came out—

"A perfect score?!"

The rumor spread instantly. Hayashi Kanshi was Trinity’s top student.

And then, she proved her combat prowess.

One day, Renten was being bullied worse than usual. Cornered, beaten, insulted—she was on the verge of breaking.

Why do I have to go through this?

Then—

BANG.

A bullet struck one bully right between the eyes.

Then another. And another.

All perfectly aimed.

Renten searched for the shooter—and spotted a familiar green-haired figure over a kilometer away.

Kanshi had saved her.

Later, Renten learned the bullies had targeted Kanshi first—only to be destroyed and reformed by her.

From that day on, Renten became Kanshi’s biggest admirer.

"But... I’m sorry, Kanshi-sama. I have to win this."

Renten had observed Kanshi for so long—she might as well have been a stalker.

She knew one thing for certain: "In a fair fight, I can’t win."

Kanshi was a genius with every weapon—snipers, rifles, machine guns, even hand-to-hand.

So Renten resorted to a cheap trick: grenades.

She’d pulled the pins beforehand and threw one the moment the match started.

Kanshi disliked heavy armor, so the explosion should’ve dealt major damage.

"But just in case..."

She prepared more grenades.

But before she could throw another—

BANG.

A bullet struck her hand, forcing her to drop the grenade.

"Damn it—!"

It exploded at her feet.

"Cough, cough—!"

The shockwave left her disoriented.

"How humiliating—getting hit by your own weapon."

A figure emerged from the smoke—Kanshi, carrying a sniper rifle and an assault rifle.

"Renten-chan. You don’t want to end it like this, do you?"

Kanshi smirked.

"I’ll give you a chance."

Dazed, Renten nodded.

Kanshi returned to her starting position, silently inviting her to attack.

And so, Renten did.

She charged with her SMG. Threw her remaining grenades. Even tried a suicidal close-range blast.

But nothing worked.

As Mika put it:

"It’s like a veteran toying with a newbie."

Defeated, Renten surrendered.

Ironically, her admiration for Kanshi only grew.

Chapter Text

Block 2, Round 25 – Quarterfinals

Entertainment Value:

—Bang!

"Kyaaah!"

[Block 2, Round 25—Hayashi Kanshi wins the quarterfinals!]

Block 2, Round 29 – Semifinals

Emotional Impact:

—Bang!

[Block 2, Round 29 is also Hayashi Kanshi’s victory!]

There was… absolutely nothing to it.

I already knew that, given my stats, there were hardly any students who could stand in my way.
This wasn’t just baseless confidence—I had watched every single fight in Trinity during my sleepless nights, analyzing their combat capabilities.

I might not be able to confidently beat Tsurugi or Mika, but assuming I had enough cover and a good sniping position, I could deal meaningful damage—maybe even win with some luck. As for the rest? I could take them down easily, even with just a K2.

The only unfavorable matchup would’ve been that flashbang girl (whose name I still don’t know). Unfortunately, she was in Block 4, so we never crossed paths. Her flashbangs were strong—in the game, she was just a 1-star, but here, she was clearly skilled enough to be part of a vigilante group.

Anyway, I knew there was no one left in this block who could beat me, even if I half-assed it.
Still, I thought the fights would at least be somewhat entertaining.
I thought it might feel like exercise.

But these kids were weird.
They couldn’t hit me even when they fired their guns.
They’d overreact to the slightest graze like it was a fatal wound.

It felt like they were trying to lose.
Where was the desperation?
Did they just show up to see the teacher and then give up when they faced me?
Am I that scary?

Even if I’m stronger than the average Kivotos student, I don’t think I’m as overwhelmingly powerful as Tsurugi.
Tsurugi is a monster—high attack, defense, and speed. Meanwhile, I’m just… a sniper. If you play around that, you can beat me.
If they really wanted to win, they would’ve prepared strategies.

Like Renten Naka’s grenade attack earlier.
That was definitely something she brought specifically to counter me.
Even I was a little dazed from the unexpected explosion.
If she had followed up with a smoke grenade, I might not have secured the win.

In gunfights—especially for someone like me who relies on precision shots—visibility is everything. You can’t just spray and pray.
…Well, except for that Stalin midget.

If I were fighting me, I’d bring smoke grenades and an infrared camera to track my opponent’s position.
And if I could think of something that simple, there’s no way they wouldn’t have considered it if they actually wanted to win.
If they were serious, they would’ve studied my fights against Mashiro and Renten and prepared accordingly.

In other words…
Those guys—the ones who just brought a gun with no plan, who didn’t even try to hit me—they never intended to fight in the first place.

Honestly, fighting Renten Naka was more fun, even if she was weaker.

Finals – Block 2, Round 33

In the end, I made it to the semifinals unscathed.
My spot in the main tournament was now guaranteed.

I kinda want to blow up the arena.

It’s a shame my element isn’t Explosion

Would they change my element if I showed up in a swimsuit?

Not that I have the guts to wear a girls’ swimsuit, and storming into the arena in one would instantly become a black mark on my life.
Still, I am curious what "Swimsuit Kanshi" would be like.

Mysteriously, in this Blue Archive universe, changing outfits actually changes your abilities.
In other games, these would just be skins, but here, they’re treated as entirely separate characters.
You can even have the same character in multiple teams at once. If this were real life, that would mean either doppelgängers or cloning.

Is this… the mystery of Kivotos?

[Now, for Block 2, Round 33—the finals!]

[Both of you have already secured your spots in the main tournament, but give it your all anyway!]

[It’d be sad if people said you were weaker than your opponent, right? This is your chance to show off your strength!]

The finals had arrived.
From the Round of 16 onward, the matches progressed quickly as the number of rounds decreased.
Now, this ridiculous "Greatest Gunfight Tournament" was finally coming to an end.

My opponent in the finals was… a familiar face.
Well, familiar to me—we’d never actually met.

Summer…
No, Nuts—
No, Natsu.

Mystic attribute, Heavy Armor Tank.
Debuff immunity, Self-healing.
Back in the Korean server, not many people paid attention to her, mostly because everyone was too busy obsessing over Cherino, Azusa, Koharu, and the swimsuit meta. But Natsu was actually a solid pick—she was practically essential for certain Peroro Extreme raid comps.

Her first skill buffs allies, making her a decent damage contributor.

But she’s Heavy Armor.
Heavy. Armor.
For an SMG user, she has almost no evasion.
In PvP, she’s basically free food for Iori…

And, well…
I might not know much, but one thing’s for sure:

I’m a Heavy Armor killer.

"I… should probably apologize in advance."

"Huh? For what?"

After exchanging brief pleasantries with Natsu, I took my position and raised my AS50.

[And… begin!]

The moment the match started, a single bullet tore through the air—

"Hrgk!?"

—and struck Natsu directly, sending her collapsing to the ground.

Sorry, Natsu.
You probably won’t believe me, but you were one of my favorite characters.
But since we’ve both already qualified, I just wanted to end this quickly…

[Uh… w-well! Hayashi Kanshi wins the finals!]

Even Mika seemed surprised at how fast the finals ended.
I doubt she expected someone who wasn’t Tsurugi to finish a match this quickly.
Honestly? Felt pretty good.

Main Tournament – Popularity Vote

Time flew by, and before I knew it, the main tournament had arrived.
Current time: 6 PM.
Normally, this would be when students head home or do club activities.
But thanks to me and Tsurugi bulldozing through the prelims, the matches ended way ahead of schedule.

Mika, however, had no intention of dragging this out until tomorrow. She pushed forward without delay.

[Alright, no time to waste—let’s move on to the final round!]

[We’ve already evaluated your grades and combat skills. So, what’s left?]

Mika pulled up the participants’ photos on the gym’s screen.

[To represent Trinity, you must be the perfect elite! The final round will test your popularity!]

[Even if you’re strong, if you lack charisma, you’re not fit to lead! And even if you’re strong, what if your personality is terrible? Or if rumors about you are bad?]

[Even if there are no bad rumors, if there are no good ones either, is that person really worthy of representing us?]

[As the saying goes, "A pearl in a pouch will shine on its own." Those with true popularity will naturally gather attention. So if someone has no rumors at all… there’s a reason for that.]

The screen split into two columns, each participant’s photo now accompanied by an empty space.

[Among the finalists, who has the strongest reputation? To find out, we’ll now hold a popularity vote!]

[Finalists: Tsurugi, Kanshi, Reisa, Suzumi, Kuren, Natsu, Aya, and Mizuru!]

[Don’t be discouraged if you get few votes—it doesn’t mean you’re unpopular, just that the winners are exceptionally well-liked!]

A popularity vote, huh…
I let out a sigh of relief.

If there was one thing I was confident about, it was that I was the least popular person in Trinity.
Given all the humiliation and ostracization I’d faced…
I’d be lucky to get even one vote.
Well, maybe three—counting my own, Hifumi, and Hanako.

[The voting will be done via MomoTalk! A link has been sent to everyone—just pick one person and submit!]

Perfect. I can safely lose here.

I was a little worried after sweeping the prelims, but if the final round is this, there’s no way I’ll be chosen as the representative.

Given how much the students here hate me—regardless of my personality—I’m not getting voted in.

Just to be safe, I opened the voting link Mika sent and cast my vote for Natsu.
Partly out of guilt for one-shotting her earlier, partly because she’s a playable character, and partly because she is one of my favorites.
Still, she’s better than that flashbang maniac or that weird machine girl, right? At least in terms of looks and personality.
(Assuming Tsurugi isn’t acting like a normal person, that is.)

Results

Time passed, and the vote tallying began.

[Now, let’s see the results!]

The votes didn’t appear all at once.
Instead, tally marks slowly filled the empty spaces next to each candidate’s photo.

The first to stop gaining votes was Tsurugi.
No surprise there—she’s not exactly the "popular" type.

(Though she does act normal in front of Sensei. And Hasumi keeps her in check so she doesn’t go full "KEEEEH!" and leave the Justice Task Force in shambles.)

Next were two nameless girls—probably Aya and Mizuru.
Once they were confirmed as the first eliminations, the remaining votes continued to climb.

Natsu’s tally stopped, followed by Reisa’s.
Suzumi’s votes went surprisingly high—likely due to her reputation from vigilante work.
(Then again, if you’re known for flashbanging people at the slightest provocation, of course you’d be infamous.)

But then…

"Uh… why are my votes still going up?"

This was not what I expected.
I thought I’d be dead last, but instead, my votes were skyrocketing.

What the hell is happening?
Something’s going on…

Then, a MomoTalk notification from Mika arrived:

 [Just so you know—this isn’t rigged~]

LIAR. THIS IS TOTALLY RIGGED.

Chapter Text

I heard there’s a mysterious student in the first year.
A rare sniper, said to be on par with Millennium Seminar’s C&C officer Karin and Trinity’s Hasumi—a monster of a sniper.
If it were just combat prowess, maybe. But rumor has it her grades are top of Trinity, too.
They say she’s pretty, too. Sitting alone with an aura that keeps others at bay, yet exuding nobility—truly, a "flower on the cliff."

Mika decided to go see this student after hearing the rumors.
Not to recruit her for Tea Party. No, it was pure curiosity. How could a human be born so extraordinary?

"Hmm, according to the info, she’s a cute girl with mint-green hair."

Standing outside the classroom, Mika peeked inside.
Amidst the noisy break time, one spot stood out—a student radiating a completely different vibe.

"Mint-green hair, check. A halo shaped like four crosses bound together by a green ring… Yeah, that’s unusual."

Even Mika, whose own halo was unique, had to admit this one was special. Most halos had a frame with a design inside, but this one looked like a ring literally tying the crosses together.

"Did she make a contract binding the crosses or something?"

It looked like four crosses shackled by some pact.

"Maybe I’ve been working with Nagi too much. What’s with this ‘contract’ talk…?"

Shaking off her thoughts, Mika observed the student—Hayashi Kanshi.

Definitely.

Her presence wasn’t one you could casually approach.
Not that she looked irritated or unfriendly. Not the type to shoot you for talking to her, either.
But just sitting there, reading a book, she gave off an air that said, "Don’t disturb me." Like her time was sacred.

After watching closely, Mika reached one conclusion:

"She’s a total loner."

Not by circumstance, but by choice—a voluntary outcast. Yet her reactions were painfully timid.
Even while reading, she’d glance around every few minutes, checking if anyone was looking at her.
If she heard a word resembling her name, she’d tense up, eyes filled with worry—like she expected gossip or insults.

Then, with a sigh, she’d go back to her book, though she clearly couldn’t focus.

"What the hell? How has no one noticed how adorable this creature is?"

Mika stifled a laugh. This was hilarious.

A revered genius… who’s a socially awkward mess?
Straight out of a light novel.
All that’s missing is someone "accidentally" discovering her shyness and kickstarting a rom-com plot.

"Wait… does that make me the protagonist?"

She’d stumbled upon the school’s S-tier beauty’s secret—alone. Textbook protagonist material.
Mika giggled to herself.

"Time to go. This was fun!"

Her Tea Party uniform stood out too much in the first-year hallway, but she’d avoided suspicion. Class was about to start anyway.

One Year Later

"I’m getting bored of this."

A year had passed since Mika discovered Kanshi’s loner status.
Watching her reactions had been fun, but the novelty was wearing off.

"I wonder how she’d react if she realized she’s not hated? That’d be entertaining."

From the podium, Mika stared at the green-haired angel in the crowd.

The answer to her question was unfolding before her.
Forcing Kanshi into this competition wasn’t just revenge for ignoring her SOS messages.

Kanshi’s flustered expression as her votes skyrocketed—rubbing her eyes, staring at the screen, glancing at others for answers.
The students around her acted like this was expected. Of course Kanshi couldn’t comprehend it. Her lost gaze returned to the screen, dumbfounded.

Mika’s mischievous side flared.

"Bet she’s in denial right now. Probably thinks I rigged it."

But the numbers didn’t lie. This was Trinity’s genuine admiration.

She sent Kanshi a MomoTalk message:

[No rigging involved~]

The reaction was instant.
Kanji’s eyes darted between her phone, Mika, and the still-climbing votes before settling on Mika with utter despair.

"Yes! This is the reaction I wanted! Now it’s getting good!"

Kanshi’s next message:

-Is this a hidden camera show?

As if. The only "rigging" was Mika sneakily submitting Kanshi’s application.
Mika just grinned. Another message popped up:

-Or… did something like the ‘Wasabi Chex Incident’ happen?

"The hell’s ‘Wasabi Chex Incident’?"

Kanshi’s Panic

"This can’t be real. It’s rigged. Mika’s screwing with me for ignoring her help requests."
"Someone like me—hated by everyone—couldn’t possibly get this many votes."

But no one else seemed suspicious. They all accepted it.

"Do they all think everyone else voted for me? No way. If I were as disliked as I thought, they’d question the votes outright."

Fine. Maybe it wasn’t rigged.
But then—

-Is this a hidden camera show?

Maybe Mika bribed everyone to mess with her.
Or—

-Or… did something like the ‘Wasabi Chex Incident’ happen?

Maybe students voted for her out of spite, knowing she’d never win.

But Mika’s reply shattered her theories:

[Seriously, what are you talking about? You’re so dense it’s frustrating! You paranoid loner! Think about it—you’re strong, smart, pretty, and kind. How could anyone hate that?]

[I played along for a year because your reactions were funny, but wake up already, you socially-awkward, timid, closet-neet coward! They’ve never badmouthed you—they respect and adore you! If you don’t believe me, eavesdrop properly for once!]

[You always chicken out before hearing anything, assuming it’s gossip.]

Kanshi’s world crumbled.
She’d thought Trinity despised her. That the whispers were insults.
But they admired her. Too much to approach—like idol fans content just watching.

"Was I… wrong this whole time?"

A mix of relief and unease settled in.
Had she misread everything? Was she an outsider in this world, too scared to engage?

She glanced at Hifumi.
Even when they first met, she’d been afraid. Unsure if she was acting like the "real" Kanshi.
But over time, it felt natural.

Maybe… she could take a step forward.

She messaged Mika:

-Did you plan all this?

[Ehehe~ Who knows? Maybe I just ‘happened’ to find your application~ And maybe I ‘happened’ to enlighten you before you accused me of rigging~]

"This sly fox…"

The Japanese term floated to mind—haraguro. A sweet-faced schemer. Mika fit perfectly.

With a sigh, Kanshi gave up. The votes were indisputable—a landslide victory.

That Night

Lying in bed, Kanshi reflected.

"The whole Trinity hates me."

Just thinking that now was embarrassing.

"What kind of edgy delusion was that?!"

She kicked her blankets.

"I don’t need anyone but Hifumi."

"I prefer few, deep friendships."

"AAAAAHHHHH—!"

More blanket-kicking.

"Is this hell? A personal torture chamber of cringe?"

Worst of all—Mika had known everything. She’d been watching Kanshi’s delusions like a popcorn-worthy show.

"I’ll kill her one day!"

A coughing fit from dust. Tears from… definitely the dust.

But her brain wouldn’t stop replaying the shame.

"Wait… Renten Naka. That time at the bar… Did she give me that seat so I could see better? Not to mock me?"

Another wave of regret.

"Please… stop…"

Exhausted, she finally succumbed to sleep—face flushed, tangled in blankets, muttering incoherently.

Chapter Text

"I’m stronger now."

I know that hardly anyone at Trinity dislikes me anymore. Sure, there might still be a few antis who go against the flow, or people like Mika who’ve always known I was a loser, but most Trinity students seem to hold at least a decent level of goodwill toward me.

In other words, unlike my negative delusions, I won’t get cursed at just for greeting people! A 100% win rate. I’m no longer the pathetic, loser Kanshi from the past. I’m going to become the ultimate popular girl, Kanshi!

With that resolve, I arrived at Trinity General Academy.
Today’s goal: Make one more friend.
I couldn’t just mindlessly greet any random student on the street—what if they were a spy from Arius Branch School or a third-year? Better to start with the safe option: my classmates. My class is safe. I’ve been carefully observing them every day, and at least there’s no one suspicious.

Sitting at my desk near the window, I scanned the room.
Who would be the easiest to greet?
There were two options:

1. A student with enough social grace to casually accept a greeting.

• Pro: Easy to approach.

• Con: Too easy—they’re probably already surrounded by other students.

1. A student with no friends.

• Pro: Easy to talk to.

• Con: Harder to actually befriend.

But maybe too much time had passed since school started.
Everyone was already clustered in their usual groups. Even Hifumi had latched onto me.

“Good morning, Kanshi! I stopped by your place today, but you’d already left! I got lost for a bit—you could’ve at least messaged me.”

“Ah, sorry. I left early today. I couldn’t sleep after winning that competition yesterday, so I was too excited.”

I didn’t say it, but I had a feeling that if I stayed with Hifumi, I wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone else. I wasn’t sure why I felt that way, and it seemed rude to say out loud.

“I’m gonna run to the bathroom real quick.”

“Okay, see you later.”

And that feeling still lingered.
The moment Hifumi stuck to me, I knew I wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone else in class today. It wasn’t rational—just a gut instinct. If I stayed with Hifumi, I’d just be the same old loser loner.

‘I’ll just greet and chat with whoever I bump into on the way to the bathroom.’

As I opened the classroom door, I nearly collided with a silver-haired girl about to enter.

‘This is my chance. In a one-on-one situation like this, not greeting her would make me the rude one. I’m just doing the natural thing.’

I wasn’t sure why I felt guilty, but I mentally justified it as I took a step forward.

“Hello.”

Just a simple, everyday word.
It was almost pathetic how much resolve it took to say something so ordinary, but for now, I was satisfied.

To my surprise, she greeted me back.
Even though this was a normal interaction, it didn’t feel normal to me—it was strangely moving.
Talking casually with a student who wasn’t a playable character, just someone living their life here, made me feel like I was slowly blending into this world.
Sure, someday, if I ever found a way back home, I’d have to return. But for now, with no way back, wasn’t it a small happiness to mingle with the characters—and even students who never appeared in the game?

“O-Oh, long time no see, Kanshi! It’s been a year, right? We were at different schools last time, but now that I’ve transferred here, we’re classmates again. Let’s get along!”

Her words triggered a cascade of keywords in my mind.
Silver hair. Different school. Transfer student. Trinity.
A Trinity transfer student. Second-year.
And a familiar voice.

Unfortunately, the girl in front of me had a voice I’d heard countless times in Blue Archive videos on YouTube—the voice of a character I’d waited for but never managed to pull.

“Shirasu… Azusa.”

“You remembered me! Let’s get along well this year.”

Azusa smiled at me.
Aside from the fact that her smile nearly gave me a heart attack—what exactly had I done a year ago to be on speaking terms with Azusa?!

And seriously… Out of all the students I could’ve greeted, why did it have to be a playable character?
And an Arius Branch School spy, no less?!
I’d been lost in my emotions, only for a playable character to show up and shatter the moment. At least these thoughts were all in my head—no one else knew.

I quietly headed to the bathroom—somewhere I hadn’t even planned to go.
I’d just wanted to chat with someone in the hallway and kill time before returning.

The girls’s bathroom. Of course, the academy only had girls, so there were no other options.
They could’ve prepared a men’s room for male teachers, but even if they had, I couldn’t use it. This body was female. My male mind had struggled at first, but when nature called, I had no choice but to compromise.

I locked myself in a stall.
The thoughts I’d had before recognizing Azusa came rushing back, making me writhe in mental agony.
Even if no one knew about my cringy delusions, the fact that I’d entertained them didn’t just disappear.

Only after my flushed, steaming face had cooled down did I finally leave the stall.

“So, this is Shirasu Azusa, who’s just transferred to Trinity. Let’s all get along with her this year.”

Azusa introduced herself at the front of the class, then took her seat—the desk diagonally behind mine.
Close enough that she could see me, but not so close that I could easily look back at her.
Stuck in a situation where someone who knew me could watch me while I couldn’t return the gaze, I tried to pinpoint the unease creeping in.

Something was off.

First, in the Eden Treaty story, Hifumi and Azusa didn’t know each other.
In fact, Hifumi only learned Azusa was a transfer student after checking the records—which, given how little interaction there was between classes at this school, meant Azusa had been in a different class from Hifumi.
But Hifumi is in my class.
And now Azusa is in my class.
Meaning Hifumi and Azusa are in the same class.

…Huh?
My brain short-circuited.
This… wasn’t right.

Azusa’s transfer wasn’t some random event where her class changed with each world reset.
The only possible explanation was Kanshi’s past connection with Azusa. Maybe Azusa had requested to be placed in a class with someone she knew, or the school had assigned her to mine for convenience.
Another theory? I was the variable.
Transfer students weren’t common at Trinity, so they’d probably placed her with someone reliable—like me, as much as it pained me to admit. Plus, our class had Hifumi, who was well-liked. Easy choice.

Given that Mika was involved in Azusa’s transfer, this theory held weight.

But the second thing I didn’t understand—
Why was Azusa here now of all times?

 Supplementary Class story takes place after the "exam." Since it’s for students who failed, the timeline makes sense—though I’m not sure if it was midterms or finals. Given that the Supplementary Class arc happens before the Summer Sky’s Wishlist event, it was probably midterms.

But right now, it’s still early in the semester. Midterms are a month away.
Azusa was supposed to transfer two weeks before midterms.
There’s no way she should be here this early.

“This is giving me a headache…”

On top of everything, I was about to lose my mind over being summoned by some assistant teacher from the Seminar. And now I had even more to think about.

“Maybe I should just stop thinking.”

It’s not like overanalyzing would change anything.
Even if I figured out why Azusa transferred early, I couldn’t send her back to Arius Branch School. Even if I learned how Kanshi and Azusa met, I couldn’t change the past.

Honestly, the past didn’t bother me much anymore. I’d befriended Hifumi with no memories at all. If I could do it once, I could do it again. Any awkwardness with Azusa could just be blamed on my bad memory—I’d steer the conversations naturally.

Yeah. Maybe I should just let go.
If the world flows forward, I’ll just flow with it.
No overthinking.

I shut down my overloaded brain to cool off.
By the time I rebooted, it was lunchtime.

[Announcement! Representatives from Trinity, please gather in the Tea Party clubroom soon for departure to the Seminar.]

Maybe I’ll just shut down again…

Chapter Text

The Day We Depart for Schale to Choose the Assistant Teacher

Before us stood the Tea Party executives: Kirifuji Nagisa, Misono Mika, and Yurizono Seia.

Seia was still alive.
No—technically, she never died, so my phrasing was wrong.
Seia is still at Trinity—that’s more accurate. Or maybe she hasn’t been taken down yet?
Either way, it seems Azusa hasn’t attacked her yet.