Class 1-A: The Sinister Chuckle
……huhuhu.
Anyone spotting the man leaking a meaningful chuckle the moment he arrived in the classroom would feel a mix of bafflement and curiosity—like, what's his deal? The girl with reddish-brown hair, Ichinose Hotaru, leaned toward the latter. A thick, positive curiosity. Or perhaps astonishment.
Whoa, that's wild.
She never imagined she'd encounter him in the same classroom. Ichinose Hotaru recalled that day from half a year ago.
On her way home back then, she'd wandered as if entranced, and when she snapped out of it, she'd strayed from the city streets to stand before a wild mountain. Before she could even process the impossible situation, a pack of wolves—larger than any she'd ever seen—charged at her. All she could do was scream helplessly.
Kyaaah!
N-No way, am I really about to get eaten like this?
Hotaru was a spirited girl, but massive beasts terrified her. Anyone would panic facing predators big enough to devour them effortlessly.
……Mom.
As a gigantic wolf leaped high toward her, jaws wide, Ichinose Hotaru sensed her death and sank into despair. Those razor-sharp teeth would hurt like hell if they tore into her. She still had so much she wanted to do…….
In her despairing vision, a man suddenly appeared, standing idly by. Unlike Hotaru, trapped in a life-or-death crisis, he wore a leisurely smile, as if out for a midnight stroll. He had such an innately sinister look that she'd suspect him of orchestrating the wolf attack if she'd been eaten. The epitome of a mastermind antagonist.
A man whose impression was worlds apart from the daily life of an ordinary middle schooler like Ichinose Hotaru abruptly drew the real sword at his waist.
—And in that instant, her vision went black.
Hotaru thought she'd died. Sliced by that sword, no doubt.
But when she opened her eyes, the monster wolves and the narrow-eyed man were gone. She was in a city police box. It felt like a dream, an inexplicable memory. If the shrine serving the Fire God hadn't later sought her out for her spiritual powers, if she hadn't become a Fire Shrine Maiden, she might have dismissed it as a fleeting dream or illusion.
The world might not know it, but yokai exist. Hotaru only learned that after becoming a shrine maiden of the Fire God. So the mysterious man saving her from the monster must be real too.
The Fire Shrine Maiden Ichinose Hotaru, who believed it without a doubt, finally spotted her benefactor on the first day of high school.
His once-snow-white hair had turned black for some reason, and the sword at his waist was gone, but she was certain it was him.
No way there are two narrow-eyed creeps like that in Tokyo who go 'huhu' like—no, people who laugh like that.
No chance. Even in a massive city like Tokyo, there couldn't be two that sinister. How could she forget the face of her lifesaver at her final moment?
Nodding to herself, Hotaru glanced at her still-chuckling benefactor, 'Ichimaru Shiki,' and thought.
He looks busy right now, so maybe I'll say hi later when he's free.
It couldn't be someone else, right? As she wrestled with that last doubt, a familiar figure entered her view.
A delinquent who showed up just before class time, unlike her who'd arrived early.
"Kenichi!"
She flashed a grin and waved happily at the orange-haired boy.
Outside the window, a blue sky and blooming cherry trees swayed in soft pink hues. Inside the classroom, students who'd reunited after ages laughed and greeted each other merrily. The perfect embodiment of a new semester. The youthful energy of young people reveling in their prime seeped from everywhere, even infecting me a bit.
"Somehow, I feel younger."
Well, I was actually younger now. My soul—or mind—was that of a shut-in who'd been grinding a galge dating sim, but my body was a 17-year-old superhuman beyond normal limits. And I even had a total cheat ability: time stop! This body was perfection incarnate.
The only blemish was that I might be the only one here without acquaintances, but there were people I planned to befriend.
That's why I came to this school.
The world's toughest galge dating sim, Apocalyptic Love Comedy. Nicknamed ApocLuvCom. The key figures who aided its episode progression. And no fewer than three core heroines were in Class 1-A.
Huhuhu, the main story finally begins.
I could really feel it starting now. Settling leisurely into my seat, I scanned the room for those with standout hair colors.
They were like game characters—or fittingly, heroines—with a disconnect from ordinary students. Celebrity-level looks and wildly unusual hair colors were prime examples. In short, the more unrealistic they looked, the bigger their role in the story.
Some even had followers on day one.
"Look over there."
"No way, it's Lady Eris."
"As radiant as ever today."
"Ahh, so dazzling……."
With a swish of golden hair, the noble lady entered the classroom. A British aristocrat by setting, no doubt. Eris Betelgeuse walked with elegant poise. Daughter of a British father and Japanese mother, she handled the beauty role in the story. Doll-like features.
Her height's only 150cm, though…… that's a flaw.
Yeah, tiny like a real doll—a huge downside. And her chest…… bosom was flat too. Honestly, as someone who liked things moderately large, I couldn't fully agree she was a beauty. She skewed more cute, didn't she?
Appearance aside, I needed to befriend her somehow.
A mage who awakened Star Power of the Orion constellation, descendant of a great archmage.
With such crucial settings, I'd want to recruit her. Separate from my time-stop cheat, ApocLuvCom was a brutally trash game. Better secure every resource possible.
Next up's over here, I guess.
Turning my head, unlike Eris's cliffs, a generous—massive—heart came into view. A beauty with long, pale pink hair. The Ancient Weapon, Sawamura Cento. She'd naturally become class rep later in the episodes, the model student type. Her pink hair stood out more than the blonde, yet no one batted an eye. In such an oblivious society, white hair probably wouldn't have raised eyebrows either.
As I mused, the school's top popular girl—surrounded by friends—locked eyes with me precisely. Our red pupils met. Her expressionless face bloomed into a smile like mine. Undeniably beautiful, but inorganic. I grinned back, bowed politely like a gentleman, and looked away.
Sharp senses, as expected.
Still, no need to worry about her early in the episodes, so I could put her off. What demanded sensitivity—unintentionally—was the Fire Shrine Maiden Ichinose Hotaru, who'd ended up right behind me.
A rough-around-the-edges high school girl with reddish-brown hair and that classic yakuza-wife vibe. Her stunning looks weren't ordinary at all, but she aimed for the typical girl-next-door. Excelled at purifying demons, and above all, indispensable for early episodes. Because Ichinose Hotaru was the classic galge protagonist's childhood friend.
"Kenichi!"
She'd been glancing at me repeatedly, then shot up from her seat shouting. Just before homeroom, a guy slipped into the classroom.
Like he was a game lead too, with his spiky orange hair. The protagonist, Kitagawa Kenichi, spotted his childhood friend already there and grinned brightly.
"Yo, Hotaru, long time no see."
"Yeah. Put on a little weight while we weren't hanging out?"
"……For real? I overdid it holed up in the kotatsu, huh?"
Taking her casual banter seriously, he grabbed his gut in worry, then locked eyes with me in the seat ahead. He laughed heartily.
"Hey, I'm Kitagawa Kenichi! Nice to meet ya!"
"……."
His figure overlapped with the game's dialogue, making me pause. Nothing major—I'd just spotted the protagonist's signature weapon, as expected.
The cross necklace around his neck. The moment I confirmed his unique Demon Sword that nullified all abilities, temptation struck.
Should I snag it?
My sword-obsessed soul wailed.