Walking down a quiet path, standing at the school gate, Kurusu Akira made intense eye contact with the burly security guard.
Students passed him one after another.
"Hey, who is he?"
"Is he a new idol? Haven't seen him on TV."
"He's wearing our school uniform..."
Several girls clearly found it hard to move.
The security guard noticed this, so he once again stared at Kurusu Akira with an impatient gaze.
"Why aren't you going in?"
Kurusu Akira was filled with grief and indignation, "I lost my student ID."
It was already 2022, and Shujin Academy's access control had long since followed the trend of "smart" implementation, requiring students to swipe their IDs at the sensor next to the gate and scan their faces with a camera for verification to enter the school.
In principle, the security guard was not responsible for assisting students in entering or exiting the campus, only for supervision.
And Kurusu Akira had been in this body for less than twenty-four hours. After searching his entire person, he found nothing but an old smartphone and some loose change.
The phone's contact list contained only one lonely contact: [Sakura Sojiro].
He didn't even know his own name in this world—
"What's your name? What class are you in? I'll help you contact your homeroom teacher." The security guard, as expected, asked this.
"Alright, old man, you've certainly asked the right person."
Just as Kurusu Akira was stiffening his neck, beginning to scheme how to bluff his way through...
His phone rang abruptly.
The screen displayed an unfamiliar number.
The timing of this call was too coincidental, making him inevitably think back to his tumultuous high school life. Perhaps this world's "Kurusu Akira" was also noticed by some mysterious supernatural phenomenon research institution from a young age, considered the "The One" to save the world, like "Neo" from The Matrix, but had been playing the role of an ignorant, ordinary middle school student until a specific moment arrived.
Perhaps soon the roar of helicopters would echo through the campus, and a low-key, luxurious black sedan would pull up to the school gate. The car door would open, a group of men in suits would stride out, invite the embattled Kurusu Akira into the car, and say in a low voice, "Mr. Kurusu Akira, now is not the time for leisurely days. As you can see, our world is facing a crisis beyond ordinary imagination."
Lost in thought, Kurusu Akira deliberately waited a few seconds, but let alone helicopters, he looked around and didn't even see a hair of the so-called "agent team."
He only saw the girls walking to school together casting curious, inquisitive glances his way.
Actually, a calm, everyday life isn't bad; at least he wouldn't have to risk his life entering various dangerous situations anymore.
He comforted himself thus.
Until he saw a low-key, luxurious black sedan parked outside the school gate, and a girl with reddish-brown fluffy curly hair reluctantly left the car, attended by two beautiful maids, then walked past him with her head down and a dejected expression, hurrying into the school gate...
Before his anti-rich sentiments could flare up, Kurusu Akira pressed "Yes" on his phone screen and answered the call.
Then he watched the sedan slowly drive away, completely disappearing from his sight.
It wasn't intentional neglect of the gatekeeper; it was just that the luxury car was indeed cool.
To be able to ignore a priceless car so close by and not appreciate it carefully would truly make one a god.
Kurusu Akira switched the phone to his left hand; it had been vibrating in his right hand for almost half a minute, and his palm was a little numb.
"Hello?"
"Is this Amamiya-san? It's really not easy to get in touch with you. I'm your homeroom teacher, Kawakami, Kawakami Sadayo."
"Yes, this is Amamiya."
'So, in this world, my surname is Amamiya.'
"I received the notice from the school a long time ago. Your transfer application was approved before the spring break, but strangely, the home phone number left on the application has always been unreachable, and your guardian couldn't be contacted either. We finally found your phone number by contacting your junior high school campus in Hoori."
"Sorry for the trouble I caused your work." Kurusu Akira, with the mental age of twenty-three and years of dealing with government departments, had his own understanding of workplace jargon.
However, the vast amount of information revealed in Kawakami Sadayo's few words already made Kurusu Akira feel overwhelmed.
The full name of this high school, "Private Shujin Academy High School," with the words "Private" and "High" appearing together with Tokyo's geographical coordinates, sent shivers down his spine.
Even more terrifying was that Kurusu Akira was a transfer student from out of town.
'So, am I, with no source of income, studying in Tokyo while in debt? Is it still too late to go and physically eliminate the creditor whose name I don't yet know?'
An undoubtedly hellish start.
"Spring break is over. Are you ready for school?"
"I'm already at the school gate, but the backpack containing all my documents got lost on the way to Tokyo, including my student ID..." Kurusu Akira began to fabricate a false life for himself.
Kawakami Sadayo was probably very busy; she didn't have the patience to listen to Kurusu Akira's long-winded explanation and ended the conversation directly, "Wait for me at the school gate; I'll be right down."
Kurusu Akira understood this.
When he used to play mobile games and was eager to draw cards, he would habitually search for the [Skip] button on the story playback page.
Presumably, this homeroom teacher, whom he had never met, was also eager to see what rarity of character this transfer student of hers was.
Soon, under the gatekeeper's curious gaze, a beautiful young woman with a translucent folder hurried out of the teaching building.
She walked to the school gate and saw Kurusu Akira standing outside the entrance, constantly fiddling with his phone.
"Amamiya?"
"Sorry, Kawakami Sadayo, I've caused you trouble."
Kawakami Sadayo scrutinized Kurusu Akira, then nodded. She looked at the gatekeeper, "I'm the homeroom teacher for Class D in the second year. Could you please let him in?"
The gatekeeper nodded obligingly.
----------------
Walking through the still-empty teaching building, Kawakami Sadayo looked at this transfer student: thin, delicate, with a clean aura, wearing glasses, giving off an impression of being well-behaved and law-abiding.
He should be an easy child to manage.
She said, "There's still some time before class starts. I can take you to pick up your textbooks on the way."
"You came early, so you can choose your preferred seat first."
"Don't worry about the student ID for now. I'll contact the logistics teacher to help you get a replacement. You can pick it up from my office next Monday."
...
"Second year, Class D, Amamiya Ren."
"Amamiya Ren?"
"Amamiya Ren, it's your turn to come in," the person repeated.
"Yes."
Kurusu Akira forced himself to accept this unfamiliar name.
He took a set of textbooks from the library administrator and then began to look for his classroom.
Luckily, today and tomorrow were "reporting days," and classes hadn't officially begun. Most of the students who had returned to school were participating in various miscellaneous club activities and student council elections.
The customary self-introduction for transfer students would also have to wait until classes officially started next Monday.
This meant that once Kurusu Akira put away his textbooks and tidied his desk, he could immediately leave school and start working... No, working was secondary.
The most important thing right now should be to find himself a long-term place to stay.
At the same time, he also needed to figure out Amamiya Ren's past and his current debt situation.
The weather was good, the classroom was bright, and the leaves of the Boston ivy outside the window had already climbed up to the second-floor corridor. The sun shone through, casting a soft green glow on the white walls of the classroom.
Kurusu Akira stood by the secondary window, peeking into the classroom.
Next to the podium, two familiar girls were chatting and laughing.
In a corner of the classroom, a group of boys were gathered around a desk, playing a card-drawing game, occasionally erupting in groans or cheers when they lost or won big.
On the blackboard, someone had written in chalk, "Welcome to the new semester, spring break homework check next Monday," and "Additional entrance exam next Wednesday, students please review." These were the kinds of words that would make middle school students feel alarmed.
It was a life so ordinary that one could see its end at a glance.
Thinking this, Kurusu Akira pushed open the metal classroom door and walked to an empty seat by the window, holding his textbooks.
"It's a new student we haven't seen before."
"Is it a transfer student?"
The boys playing cards simultaneously noticed Kurusu Akira's appearance.
"Damn it, even though he's wearing glasses, I can tell he's an amazing hottie."
"Ah, now the 'rare resources' in the class will have to be reallocated for competition."
"..."
Kurusu Akira selectively ignored their discussion and immediately picked the second-to-last row seat by the window, stuffing his textbooks into the desk.
Most protagonists in youth campus anime sit in this spot.
Kurusu Akira, returning to high school after six years, felt a subtle coolness spread through his body from his buttocks the moment he sat on the stool, and he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
At least he wasn't "empty-handed" anymore.
Kurusu Akira thought, now I have a set of textbooks and an identity as a high school student.
One could say it was a historic breakthrough from '0' to '1'.
----------------
Having left the school gate, Kurusu Akira stood on Aoyama-Itchome street with his phone, walking and searching online for rental prices around the campus.
He only glanced roughly, and his eyebrows furrowed tightly.
Such rental standards... it seems he'll have to make do with a capsule hotel for a while.
He changed his objective and began to look for suitable part-time jobs.
He had actually thought about navigating to the nearest bank to check if he had any debt issues, but on second thought, he didn't have any documents to prove he was "Amamiya Ren," so the bank staff probably wouldn't help.
'If only I really had a backpack that I accidentally lost somewhere.'
Kurusu Akira wished without reason, hoping he might get lucky and find it in a lost and found notice.
...
Clunk, clunk.
The wheels and tracks quickly interchanged, emitting a dull tremor.
The polished, semi-elliptical metal shell reflected dazzling glints in the sunlight. The train, accompanied by the roar of its engine and the clang of metal, then drove in from the distant horizon.
A few pine trees were planted beside the gravel ground, their lush green leaves swaying in the wind.
Inside the Tokyo Shinkansen carriage, the repeated station announcements in Japanese and English were exceptionally loud.
A brown-haired girl, curled up asleep in her seat, was groggily awakened. She then took off her Bluetooth headphones, which were playing soft rock, and sleepily picked up her suitcase beside her, about to get up.
'Hmm? What's this...?'
She saw a bulging backpack and an electric guitar in a case placed on the overhead rack above her.
She looked around and found that everyone else had already left the carriage.
The attendant seemed to be busy in other carriages.
Well... after all, it's the final stop.
The girl sighed, then stood on tiptoe, struggling to lift the heavy backpack and guitar case down.
But clearly, she had overestimated her strength.
Thud.
The guitar case and backpack fell to the ground together, making a loud, dull sound in the empty carriage.
From the unzipped zipper of the backpack, some messy documents spilled out.
The girl bounced up like a startled squirrel, immediately closing her eyes and repeatedly bowing in apology to the owner, who was not present.
As if doing so could somewhat alleviate her inner guilt and apology.
After a while, she cautiously opened her eyes and found that a student ID card had landed right on her instep.
How rude... the girl thought to herself, then tremblingly reached for the student ID card that had opened on its own during the fall.
The photo on the ID showed a very handsome boy, not wearing glasses, but with a gloomy face in front of the camera, as if attending a funeral.
Those dull, empty eyes made one instinctively feel a sense of worry and pity.
On the other side of the photo, printed text was clearly visible.
[Private Shujin Academy High School.]
[Second year, Class D, Amamiya Ren.]
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