Unhappy!! -2-
As a private school, this place was riddled with shady dealings, especially corruption and scandals tied to Yukihime's family, the Minamoto clan—including the chairman himself. I'd snuck around before, swiping a ton of secret documents. If I leaked all that, her family would be blown to smithereens. Of course, Yukihime herself might end up "tragically missing" or dying in some "unfortunate accident."
That was a matter for the future, though. Right now, I was just another bullied kid scraping by at school.
At least the silver lining is... A pack of rare delinquents here had tried pulling some schoolyard violence on a loner like me, but I'd given their leader a little love tap with skills from my past life, so no direct beatings came my way.
Chewing over old memories, future plans, and seething rage like that, I wrapped up morning classes. Finally, a period where the committee chair left me alone passed, leading straight into lunch.
This school had no free lunches—just the paid cafeteria or vending machines—so if you didn't wanna shell out, you packed a bento. No way I had time for that with my early arrivals.
But I sure as hell wasn't paying for cafeteria slop or snacks either.
"Y-Yutakichi-kun... I-I brought a b-bento..."
"I brought one too!!"
"Thanks as always. And sorry for always putting you out like this."
"N-No, it's fine. Hehehe..."
"Yeah!! It doesn't burden us at all!! So don't apologize!!"
It was thanks to these two girls approaching me.
I was an outcast here, sure, but not completely friendless. Standing in front of me were Ono Kanami, with her slightly gloomy vibe, timid voice, and signature dark circles, and Tachibana Erika, the energetic half-Western blonde with blue eyes who was somehow endearingly off-kilter.
Both were rare bullying targets in this school, treated like ghosts. I'd heard they came from good families, but Kanami and Erika were basically treated like dead weight at home for their own reasons. We'd bonded after I helped them out of some trouble caused by Nishiyama High delinquents.
Up through second year, it was just casual friendship, but in third year, as I started getting bullied and realized these two were my only real friends, they became my ride-or-dies—not sidekicks, my besties.
The other kids lumped us together as "Haku's Lackeys"—a nickname and insult rolled into one.
"S-So, where we eating lunch today?"
"Dunno?"
"The rooftop, obviously!! Right, Aniki!!?"
"E-Erika... But last time on the roof... the W-Wind Discipline Committee chair caught us..."
"What kinda bullshit is that!! Kat-chan!! There's no way Aniki listens to that witch hag!!"
As we bantered about lunch spots with my friends, Ah, shit, hold up... My sharp senses picked up a familiar presence heading my way.
THUD!!
"Oh? Who're you calling a witch hag?"
"Eek!?"
"Hiiik!?"
The door to Class F—where the non-delinquent, non-problem kids like me hung out—burst open, revealing Yukihime.
The timid Kanami and the back-talking Erika both let out little yelps.
"Committee Chair? What're you doing here?"
"Asking something so obvious without a clue. I'm disappointed."
Her scolding flowed as naturally as breathing now.
"Wind Discipline Committee rules have changed as of today. All members eat lunch together in the cafeteria. Don't worry—the school foots the bill."
"Th-That's...!!"
"What the hell does that mean!? Dragging Aniki along!! You're just makin' up rules 'cause you wanna harass him!!"
Timid Kanami just fidgeted, but outspoken Erika pointed accusingly at Yukihime, venting her outrage even though it wasn't her fight.
"Harass? What nonsense is that? I just want to strengthen bonds among committee members. Especially Haku—he's special enough to get the seat right next to me."
Fuck, now I can't even eat in peace!? I was pissed too. She'd probably nitpick my "uncouth" eating habits or lecture me on manners nonstop.
Old saying goes, don't even bother a dog while it's eating.
"Committee Chair, this sudden? And can you even change rules like that on a whim?"
"When my beloved little sister asked, how could I say no?"
A new male voice—not one of our quartet—cut in.
All eyes turned to Minamoto Seigen, student council president, Yukihime's twin brother, and that smug parasite-looking pretty boy (in SJ terms, a hottie).
"President, it's you..."
They were twins born same day, but family hierarchy put the first-out Seigen above Yukihime. I didn't wanna know, but she'd nagged me to memorize it while roasting me.
Why the hell do I need to know your family tree?
Anyway, Seigen sauntered in with his smug face, trailed by a guy and a girl flunky duo, invading Class F.
With the chairman, president, and committee chair all one family, no wonder the school ran so smoothly.
Murmurs, whispers
The sudden arrival of our school's top two power players stirred up the lunchtime stragglers—even our homeroom teacher, still packing up, looked scared and bolted.
"Isn't this abuse of power?"
"What're you talking about? It's just fostering committee bonds. No issue."
"Mm!! Mm!!"
Yukihime nodded along with her brother's words.
Seigen still shot me that creepy half-sneer whenever our eyes met.
Should I just wipe 'em all out? Hack 'em so bad they can't even speak!! Bet if I wanted, I could crush the whole Minamoto clan, feed 'em to the crabs off Tokyo Bay!! But! But...!
If I used the "donations" from those yakuza... Hell, no need—I could pulp 'em with my fists right now...
A surge of uncontrollable rage nearly triggered old habits, but thoughts of Mom at home let me clamp down with superhuman restraint.
Just a bit longer. Graduation's less than a month away. That day...
Bzzz... Bzzzzz...
Something vibrated. Must be my fists crying out... Huh? Fists crying?
"Huh?"
"Wh-What!?"
"Light?"
"H-Hiiiik!? Yutakichi-kun!!"
"Wh-What the heck is this!? N-No way, one of those isekai stories trending lately!?!?"
"P-President!! Take cover!!"
Suddenly, metaphysical patterns bloomed on the floor, flooding Class F with blinding light.
And then—
PING!!
The light vanished, and all 16 people in Class F vanished from this world.
It was November 2004.
Darkness everywhere. Eyes wouldn't open, mind foggy like drunk on sleep.
"Whoa!! Jackpot!! Never thought we'd pull something this huge on the first summon!!"
A voice—stern yet oddly dopey—pierced my haze. A beautiful, high-pitched tone.
"Others are solid, but this one's on another level!! A body and talent like that from a magic-less world!? Never seen it even here!! He's destined to be the ultimate Hero!!"
Excited, thrilled tone.
"Now, time for the blessing..."
"Lu◆mi★nus!! Big trouble!! Demon King's forces are pushing the front lines!! We need a mega-miracle ASAP or we're in danger!!"
"What!? Now!?"
The woman called Luminus sounded panicked at the urgent voice from behind.
"Damn it!! System!!"
[Yes? Did you call for me?]
"Handle the blessings for these isekai folks instead!! Especially that one!! Give him the Hero's Blessing!! Got it!? I'll dump all my authority and remaining power—do it now!!"
[Confirmed.]
"Kids!! Mommy's coming!! Hold on!"
The beautiful voice faded in a panic, leaving a mechanical one behind.
[Command received... Injecting blessings...]
[Failed... Analyzing cause... Impossible... Cause...]
This Transcendent Awakening System rejects inferior blessings that would tarnish the user's stature. All blessings refused except language patch.
[Incomprehensible... Resuming operation...]
[Hero blessing failed on target entity... Seeking alternative... Injecting Hero blessing into next most talented entity... Complete... Blessing other entities... Complete... Transmitting to Mundus...]
My hazy consciousness sank back into darkness.
And then...
"Ahh... Hero-sama..."
"What the fuck, where the hell is this now?"
The story began.