The streetlights flickered in the quiet night, casting long, rhythmic shadows.
Kuoh Town was calm, or so it seemed.
Click. Click. Pan.
In a small corner of the town, a fierce battle was raging. A colossal manticore, a beast of digital myth, was locked in a death match against a desperate group of warriors.
And watching it all through the glow of a high-end monitor was a brown-haired boy.
He glanced at the clock.
02:00 am
"... Five minutes left."
Hyoudou Issei, 18 years old.
He was currently deep in a guild raid in a popular MMORPG, facing down a newly released boss. The time limit was fast approaching, and the monster still had almost half its health. Most of his guildmates were already dead, staring at grey screens and waiting for revive timers that wouldn't reset in time. The boss wasn't giving anyone a second to breathe.
The only thing the dead could do was to provide... 'moral support' through text chat.
[Guild Chat]
Hyoudou Issei's game character, Yuusha36, was sprinting in circles, dodging claw swipes and tail lashes but refusing to attack.
Click. Pan.
Issei dragged his mouse, adjusting the camera angle, watching the boss's every move.
The ground turned red. AOE warning. The manticore unleashed a shockwave. The last two standing members vanished.
Time Left: 4:03
At the 4:00 mark, the mechanic shifted. Mini-manticores spawned, flooding the arena. Issei's character weaved through them effortlessly, camera locked on the boss. But the other member wasn't so lucky...
<
Click... Click... CLICK.
Time Left: 3:07
Issei exhaled sharply. His finger held down 'W'.
He ran straight at the boss.
He side-stepped a claw, rolled under a tail swipe, and in one fluid motion, pulled out his bow. He aimed straight up.
SHOOT.
The arrow vanished into the skybox.
Satellite Arrow. A high-risk, high-reward skill. You launch an arrow into the orbit and ten seconds later, it comes down like a nuke. But if the boss moves even an inch out of the impact zone; congratulations, you just wasted all your MP on literally zero damage.
Issei didn't wait. He swapped to his sub-weapon, a shortsword, and used 'Shadow Step' to blink behind the boss. He started a basic attack chain. The minions swarmed him. He ignored them, charging a sub weapon skill, rooting himself in place.
Suddenly, the boss leaped to the center of the arena. The AOE indicator flashed. The minions were chipping away Issei's health. He was stuck charging an attack while standing in the kill zone.
...
..
.
"... Boom."
BOOM!
It was as if a meteor had struck.
The Satellite Arrow slammed into the center of the arena. The boss's AOE was interrupted by the massive impact stun. The explosion vaporized the surrounding minions.
Seeing this-
Stretch.
Issei's lips curled into a wide, crooked smile. The blue light of the monitor reflected in his eyes, giving them an eerie glow.
Yuusha36 unleashed the fully charged sword skill onto the stunned boss. An impressive chunk of HP had vanished due to the combo.
ROAR.
The monster shook off the stun, locking onto Yuusha36.
SHOOT.
Issei swapped back to the bow. Another arrow into the sky.
The boss crouched. Charge attack.
Issei didn't dodge immediately. He moved slightly to the left, swapping to his sword to parry a minion. The boss charged. Missed. Turned. Charged again.
Issei dodged at the last frame. The boss turned for the third charge.
BOOM!
The second arrow landed. Issei had positioned himself so the boss's own movement patterns would bring it back to the center at the exact moment of impact.
He followed up with an instantaneous slash.
Yuusha36 distanced himself, switching to bow, pointed at the sky...
Time Left: 2:23
SHOOT.
....
RAID CLEAR
Ranks:
Attacker: Yuusha36
Tank: LastuAegis
Support...
....
...
..
.
The raid ended with seven seconds on the clock. Chat was exploding with praise.
"…"
Issei's fingers flew across the keys.
Blank.
Issei killed the power. The monitors went dark.
He pulled off his headphones and let them drop to the desk, basking in the sudden, heavy silence.
It was 2:07 AM.
Beep. Beep.
Issei's phone lit up on the desk.
He unlocked it. The notification badge read '99+'. The messages had been piling up all weekend.
'Break up with Rias-Sama, you bastard!'
'I know that you are a pervert too like those two little monkeys. You can't fool my eyes.'
'Don't assume you can just walk in here and do us all like that.'
'I know where you live.'
He scrolled, his eyes scanning past the insults, looking for one specific name.
It wasn't there.
Issei switched the phone to silent and flopped onto his bed.
"…Goodnight."
… …
…
.
"Streaks of red, and streaks of light…
Together they shall paint,
The stage for my flight."
Rumble.
A flash of memory, his vision twisted and jarred.
His own face, pale and splattered with fresh blood, eyes wide with shock.
SCREEEEAAAAAMM!
The sound tore through his mind. He flinched, throwing an arm over his face, running blindly—
His heart hammered against his ribs. People were staring. Horror. Something terrible had happened—
RINGGG! RINNGGGGG!
I woke up with a start, completely soaked in sweat.
RINGGGGG! RINNG— CLICK
He slapped the alarm off.
'…Weird dream.'
*****
07:45 AM
Time to leave. But first, the routine.
Slash. Zoom. Shoot.
On his monitor, Yuusha36 was tearing through mobs with peak efficiency. Issei checked the script he'd coded. It was running perfectly, mimicking his own playstyle to avoid ban detection. Farming 0.1% drop rate items was a waste of life; letting a bot do it was just efficiency.
Satisfied, he grabbed his school bag and walked out.
**********
Kuoh Town was awake. Engines hummed, voices spilled onto the streets, and the morning rush was in full swing. Hyoudou Issei was another face in the crowd.
He navigated the packed sidewalks towards the imposing gates of Kuoh Academy. Formerly an elite all-girls school, now co-ed, though the ratio still heavily favored the girls. To most guys, it was paradise. To Issei, it was...
"…"
He sensed it before he heard it.
He sidestepped to the left.
Two figures stumbled past him, their attempt to lock him in a headlock grasping only empty air.
"The hell?!" the guy with glasses, complained, adjusting his frame.
"Do you have eyes in the back of your head or something?!" His bald friend commented.
Motohama and Matsuda. The 'Perverted Duo.' His only "friends," mostly by default because no one else would talk to the guy labeled a 'dead fish' by the student body.
They fell into step beside him, immediately launching into a loud debate about a new AV idol. Issei ignored the disgusted glares they attracted, his eyes scanning the crowd.
Not surprisingly some of those glares were aimed at him.
The reason for the glares was waiting at the school entrance.
The crowd parted around her like the Red Sea. Crimson hair that flowed to her hips, blue eyes that shimmered like sunlit water water, and a beauty that felt almost ethereal.
Rias Gremory. Third-year. School Idol.
And... the girlfriend of Hyoudou Issei.
The last part doesn't make sense by any logic.
"Good Morning," Rias Gremory said with a gentle smile.
"…Good morning, Senpai," Issei replied, keeping his voice flat.
She chuckled softly. The sound seemed to silence the entire courtyard.
"Would you be available for lunch this afternoon?"
Gasps rippled through the onlookers. The space around them suddenly felt very small and very crowded.
"I am free."
Don't overthink. Play it cool.
"I wanted to discuss some things with you. Is that okay?"
The whispers exploded. 'It's true? They're actually talking?'
Issei nodded. He knew exactly what she wanted to discuss.
"Good. I'll send someone to get you."
She waved and walked away, leaving Issei standing in the epicenter of a hundred jealous stares.
*****
Surprisingly, the physical harassment I expected never came. The online rage was palpable, but in the hallways, it manifested only as icy glares. Well, I could handle glares.
The morning classes passed in a blur of half-sleep.
As the clock ticked toward lunch, my thoughts wandered to my supposed girlfriend.
******************
Three days ago, Afternoon at school
*****************
"So, Issei-kun," Motohama adjusted his glasses, a gleam of sadistic delight in his eyes. "Your punishment for losing the bet is… asking out Rias Gremory."
"Oh shit!" Matsuda curled his fist over his mouth, "You better do it online Issei, hahaha!"
I never should have bet on football.
I walked up to her in the courtyard, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs.
"…Please go out with me."
Grandpa in heaven, I just confessed to a girl. Are you proud?
The silence was deafening. I could feel the eyes of her fans burning holes in my back.
'Did he just…?'
'Eww…'
'Dead fish eyes even when he's confessing…'
"…Sure."
The word dropped like a bomb.
Rias Gremory smiled, sweet and terrifying. The Perverted Duo's jaws hit the floor. Her fans looked like they'd just witnessed a murder.
But no one was more shocked than me.
*********
PRESENT
*********
We hadn't spoken since, till this morning. The entire student body seemed to have a different idea though. Apparently, Rumors of a weekend date had already spread. How can they even say stuff like that about a guy who pulled two all-nighters playing video games?
"KYAAAAAA!"
The scream cut through my thoughts. The hallway erupted.
There was only one cause for that sound: Yuuto Kiba.
The Prince of Kuoh. The guy living the life I couldn't dream of. He was in my year but existed in a different stratosphere.
He was the natural enemy of Motohama and Matsuda, the black hole that sucked up all female attention in a ten-mile radius.
And he was walking straight towards my table.
'Ah…'
My escort had arrived.
*********
I followed him down the corridor. Did she think I'd get lost on the way to the cafeteria?
I knew about her club, the Occult Research Club (ORC). High-profile, invite-only, filled with the school's elite. Even handsome Prince who was leading me was also part of that club.
I often hear from the duo how likely it would have been that they would have landed a girlfriend if they were in that club. I assumed it was because of their misguided belief that they could bag any of the popular girls in that club, but apparently no… They believed that if they joined the club, the ORC female fans would go out with them, just to make sure that they wouldn't approach the ORC members.
… It was such an unusually brilliant plan, that I was speechless… but were they really ok with such a relationship…?
I wanted no part of it. I wasn't into the occult, and moreover their beauty levels were over 9000. I would stick out like a sore thumb.
Though, one has to wonder. What do those high profile people think about me? I mean, I am dating their club president Rias Gremory, like what are the odds that this guy is gonna lead me to somewhere else and try to stab—
"Hyoudou-Kun, can we talk somewhere in private for a minute?"
… Okay, I am dead.
************
[Behind the Gym]
************
We went behind the gym, and he made sure no one was around. All clear.
"Are you aware of the real reason Buchou accepted your proposal?"
Because she loves me?!
Yeah, right. You have to be a next-level delulu to believe that Rias Gremory would fall in love with you if the first words you ever spoke to her were 'Please go out with me' and you are a 'dead fish' to boot. I happen to be a bit of a realistic guy.
"Is it because of Hiro Satoru?"
Kiba nodded.
Hiro Satoru. The shadow over our perfect academy. The youngest son of Hiro Shōkai, a massive conglomerate. A boxing prodigy. An S-grade bully.
Kuoh Academy wasn't normal, and neither were its bullies. Hiro acted like a feudal lord, collecting "protection money" while being the biggest threat on campus.
And he was obsessed with Rias Gremory.
His influence rivaled the Student Council. Most guys were too terrified to even look at Rias. That's why everyone used LINE to confess now. If you pay the right money to the right person in this school, you can get her Line ID. It was safer.
I'd just been stupid enough to do it in person.
"So, what's my role?" I asked. "I assume it involves my brother."
Kiba nodded again, impressed.
Hyoudou Izo.
My younger brother. Popular, strong, member of the Student Council. The only guy who had beaten Hiro's entire crew single-handedly. The only one Hiro wouldn't touch.
Rias was playing the power card. Dating Izo's brother to ward off Hiro. Smart. However, risky.
If Hiro realized Izo didn't give a damn about me, the shield would shatter.
"Buchou believes Hiro will back off if he thinks you two are together," Kiba explained. "So… please go out with her until graduation. She thinks you are the perfect candidate due to your… reputation."
… The dead fish.
Were these rude people implying that I would have never got a girlfriend in my remaining two years either way? Well… they aren't wrong though.
"…Alright," I said, "But why are you the one saying these things to me?"
Wasn't I supposed to discuss these things with Senpai?
"It would be difficult to discuss this openly. Regarding your reward… Buchou said she would grant you anything you ask for."
He looked up, his prince mask slipping to reveal a steely glint.
"We, as her club members… we humbly request that you do not demand anything... inappropriate."
My eyes narrowed.
He thought because I hung out with the Perverted Duo, I was going to ask Rias Gremory for something depraved.
It was rude. It was presumptuous.
Well, at least it shows how much loyal Mr. Usually-Nice-Guy is to her. He was willing to insult a guy he doesn't even really know to protect her.
"…I will keep that in mind," I said, my voice cool.
He bowed again. "I apologize for the offense."
Hah… whatever.
"Let's just go to lunch."
******
*Clink* *Clink*
*Pause*
Food, food everywhere. But no appetite to eat.
Why?
*murmur* *murmur*
Because everyone was glaring daggers at me while throwing betrayed puppy expressions at the beautiful senpai seated opposite me who was eating elegantly. Catching my gaze, she gave me another sweet smile. In response, I offered her my signature half-attempted smile.
I can't smile. Or should I say I do not know how to do it without freaking someone out. Something must have gone fundamentally wrong when they were programming data into my brain. My cheek muscles don't respond to the warm fluffiness of daily life for some reason.
Initially, Rias Gremory said all of this food was for me, which freaked me out. She wanted to talk to me while I was eating in this cafeteria where everyone was releasing killing intent. I requested her to have a meal with me so that at least the food wouldn't be cursed by these well-wishers around us.
"Did Yuuto explain everything to you?"
Kiba's last name is Yuuto. It is so weird for me to hear a girl call him by his last name because it is always 'Kiba-Kyun this' and, 'Kiba-Kyun that'.
"Yeah."
I guess it really was difficult to discuss those things in this cafeteria. I never expected it to be this crowded. I can see a guy in the corner munching on a piece of bread as if he is venting his anger and glaring at me. There is also a group of girls sitting close to us. Not close enough to overhear us but you never know.
"So what do you want in return?"
She lowered her voice so that others wouldn't overhear.
Looking at this objectively, there is a small to medium possibility that I will be attacked by 30-40 third-year students. And the reward is to compensate for taking this risk. But to be fair, I was already risking something like that the moment I asked her out. There was a chance that Hiro would have come for me then too. The difference is that he might have let me off, in a scenario where she said no, because I am Izo's older brother but in this scenario, I feel like using a brother card might be a bit too much. There is a 20%, no maybe a 30% chance that Hiro will say, 'fuck it' and attack me out of anger because otherwise, it would be like confirming the rumors that he is afraid of Izo. In fact, I am surprised he hasn't come for me so far. So perhaps this might be a safe bet…
"I will ask for compensation if Hiro Satoru does something."
"No, that won't do, you acting as my boyfriend is a shield against not only Hiro Satoru but others too."
True… the person in front of me is one step away from being a celebrity. It is not like Hiro is the only one who asks her out. Damn, being popular sure sounds painful.
"Something I want…"
She nodded, waiting patiently.
Should I ask for money? I heard she is from a wealthy family and money would help out a lot when moving out. But it's not like I can't do it myself. Hmm, I will keep money as an option.
What else… something I really want…
…..
A girl's sweet laughter echoed in my mind.
*Grip*
My grip on my chopsticks tightened.
"… Amusement park? Accompany me to the amusement park…?"
…. ….. …. CRAP, I SAID IT OUT LOUD!
She looks shocked as well! Grandpa in heaven, what is happening to your boy… I asked someone out over a bet, got a 'yes', and now I am asking her out on a date?! Am I using up the rest of my life's luck right here?!
She chuckled.
"Oh my. That was rude of me. Pardon me, it was just unexpected."
The murmurs intensified.
'Look at that… Rias-oneesama is laughing…'
'That dead fish… actually knows how to talk to girls?!'
'He is dangerous…'
'No... Rias-sama…'
Shut up…
"Of course, I will go with you. In fact, going on a date with Hyoudou-Kun to the local amusement park or shopping in the department store was something I had in mind so that we could establish that we were a couple. Since you asked for it as a reward, I will make it worth it. Do you have a passport?"
… I was left speechless. Where did she plan on taking me…? … The rich live in a different world.
I quickly denied it.
"No, no, if we are already doing that then I will take that as my reward. Local amusement park is fine."
Not gonna lie, that was an A-grade simp line.
Rias Gremory made a troubled expression.
"You flatter me, but that would leave you with the shorter end of the stick in this deal. For my sake, can you please accept?"
"I don't have a passport. Besides I am completely fine with the dates being my reward itself."
That was an S-grade simp line, period.
"I can quickly arrange a passport for you," she insisted.
Damn… she is being so pushy with this. To be honest, I am sure it will be a fun experience, wherever she is planning to take me, but I am sure there will be a lot of people there… I dislike being around too many people.
"… actually I always wanted to go to the local amusement park in Kuoh, because there was an important promise associated with it."
"Oh?"
Senpai asked, curious.
"I spend a good part of my life in this town. I am pretty familiar with that park…"
I revealed a sad expression.
"Before the renovation, the park was slowly dying. Me and my friends often went together to that park. Screaming, shouting, getting scared on the rides… that park…"
I paused and took a deep breath.
"That park… where our memories and emotions lie… one day, we wanted to revive it again. We promised we would visit it when we grow older, with our newly made friends. Perhaps even with our girlfriends, as a tribute to those wonderful memories… Looking back, perhaps we already knew… that we would all go on our separate ways as we grow older."
I paused again and said.
"But fulfilling that old promise is more than enough for me, senpai."
"... Oh, okay… I understand..."
Rias Gremory-senpai. She closed her eyes as if trying to empathize with my feelings.
… Grandpa in heaven, I lied to the girlfriend (?) on our first conversation.
To be honest, that park deserved to die. The food was total trash, until recently. I am glad that they finally used their two brain cells to figure out why they were hardly retaining any customers. I still can't seem to enjoy the rides itself, but that might be just a 'me-thing' because I always go there alone…
However, I prefer my local amusement park over leaving town.
'Did he just make her cry…?'
'That's it. I'm gonna go kill him.'
'Knock it off, you know who his brother is right?'
'Look at that smug idiot borrowing muscles… UGGGGHHH his existence irks me so much…'
… these people won't follow us to the local amusement park…will they? Maybe it was a better idea to go to another city's amusement park. Seriously, get a life.
During the rest of the conversation, we addressed things such as how often we should be seen together in school, whether we should walk to school together sometimes, and other convincing acts to show that we are dating. We will end this relationship when Rias goes to Kuoh Academy's college division, if Hiro follows her there, then she said she will approach me with a second deal until her college graduation because, as of right now, I was planning on going to the same college as her. And this time, she will decide the proper reward herself. But she stressed that a college deal is completely optional if I was looking for actual romance there. So… no high school romance for me, huh? Well… I don't think that could have happened either way. This could be the closest I could get.
And finally, we addressed a core issue. How should we address each other?
"Since we are pretending to be dating, you can call me Rias."
What a normal thing to say…
"Rias… san."
"Simply Rias would be fine."
"Rias… san. I will drop the honorific sometime later."
She chuckled.
"Alright, but can I call you Issei?"
That was quick… What is this warm rising in my chest…? Wait… No, no, noooooo!
*curl*
I immediately covered my mouth to stop it from attempting a smile. She looked at me puzzled.
"Yeah… fine."
"Alright, Issei."
She said cheerfully.
*Flinch*
YOU NEO-GRADE SIMP!!!! DIE!!
As the clock approached the end of lunchtime. Rias-san quickened her eating speed… elegantly.
*******
Finally, the chaotic school day came to an end.
I made my way to the main gate weaving through the crowd of students. I could feel the heat of some glares on my back. Stop it, people…
….For some reason I felt the need to visit my favorite spot today.
********
Vehicles zoomed by beneath the footbridge. This spot has always been my favorite. Watching the vehicles rush past has become one of my most cherished activities to pass the time. Their constant passage mirrors my life—days swiftly passing, each moment fleeting.
Going to school every weekday, playing video games at night, occasionally studying, getting lost in social media apps, working out to keep my body in shape, sleeping, waking up, and doing it all over again. Playing games throughout the weekends. I live a peaceful and ordinary student life.
The best way to make your time on Earth meaningful is through doing things you enjoy. To understand what you enjoy, you need self-reflection. Self-reflection leads to self-discovery. You'll learn who you are—your talents, your interests. Self-discovery opens the path to self-fulfillment. You'll live as who you want to be or who you were meant to be. This process can take years. You may mistake your interests, your true talents, and your limits. You may have to start over many times.
Some people are born with more talent than others, but they might discover it much later than someone who has less talent, evening the field. Sometimes the opposite also happens. That's just how it is.
But there is a truth about talents I learned much later. Not all talents are meant to be polished. Some talents and interests are not acceptable in society. Therefore, people who possess them have to settle with their other talents—living against their own self.
Some people are gifted with what's called a 'God-given talent.'
I am one of them. I discovered my so-called 'God-given talent' quite early in life. It is… well..
… what use is in thinking about it now?
Still, a part of me wonders: What would have happened if I never abandoned that talent?
… It reminds me of the famous poem that was taught in our English language class. "The Road Not Taken.
I scratched my head and sighed.
I sound like an old man. What is even an 18-year-old guy like me thinking?
I shifted my thoughts about the bot playing my game at home. I should have around 10 Million coins by now. Or maybe around 15—
"Um… Excuse me!"
A high-pitched voice pulled me out of my thoughts. A beautiful girl was standing nearby, looking nervous. A girl with silky black hair and a slender figure. I am sure I have never seen her before.
"…Yes?"
"You are Hyoudou Issei-kun, right?!"
She quickly said. How does she know my name…?
"Yes…?"
Why is she blushing so hard? We are speaking for the first time—
"I am Amano Yuuma, a second year at Sakuraba High. I have always seen you pass by here and wondered... are you by any chance single?!"
She quickly spit all that out, looking at her feet.
Wait… this can't be going in that direction… This isn't possible in any multiverse… The timing… just when I and Rias-san entered a deal… Wait, Rias-san? AH, I see now. Jesus, I cannot believe Motohama's and Matsuda's theory worked... This girl obviously is asking me out so that I won't be in a relationship with Rias. They set up a girl from another school?! Because if it was a girl from the same school I would get suspicious… Who called it?! Who is it?! Was it Hiro?! Hiro Satoru?! Goddamn…
"No, I am in a relationship."
She looked surprised and then… heartbroken (Hold up, this can't be the real deal, right?)
She looked down unsure of what to do next.
"… I wished that you would go out with me… but…" She looked genuinely sad.
*Drip* *Drip*
Wait wait, you can't be serious?! She is actually crying?! WAS THIS REAL?! High school romance was actually possible?! Just outside Kuoh Academy?!
"Excuse me," she said, wiping her tears, "I didn't expect you to be taken."
Guess what? Me neither…
What is going on Grandpa?! First Rias Gremory, now this girl?! Are you sending me good luck from heaven?! Surely you could have waited until the deal was over?!
After a brief pause, she wiped her tears away.
"But can we at least talk for a few minutes? She asked, "I want to talk it out with you now that I know you are taken. Can you please spare a few minutes and help me please?"
She bowed.
... That's some character there. I guess, I can help her with that.
"Sure. Do you want to talk here or...?"
"The park would be fine," she said in a small voice.
...…
We were at the park and I just had my most awkward + silent walk with anyone in my entire life. She kept sniffing along the way and everyone was looking at me suspiciously.
This park was a bit outside the town. But usually, there were always few kids playing here. But today it was eerily quiet. The water was bubbling from a fountain nearby. I spotted a vending machine and decided to buy drinks to cheer her up.
"Amano-san, which drink would you like?"
I asked Amano Yuuma who was standing near the fountain, behind me.
*Silence*
*Bubble* *bubble*
The water continued to bubble peacefully in our silence.
"…"
Is she that upset?
I was about to turn when…
?!?!!
I felt my whole body screaming at me to jump to the side.
*LEAP*
*WHOOOSSHHH*
Something went past me at terrifying speed.
*BOOMMM* *EXPLODE*
…
*cough* *cough*
Smoke was coming out of the destroyed vending machine. A ringing noise started to fill my ears.
"That was unexpected. Do you train? No… perhaps it was just luck."
I turned my head in the direction of the fountain, towards the voice.
Black feathers were falling from the sky.
*Ba-dump*
Something that shouldn't exist was standing before my eyes. The young girl with a high-pitched voice had disappeared. In her place, a woman with folded black wings, wearing a revealing outfit was looking at me with interest.
For a second the word cosplay crossed through my mind, but the destroyed, smoking vending machine was proof that this situation was just… wrong.
********
Far away in Issei's room, the bot was still playing the game according to the script. Hacking and slashing at the never-ending swarm of monsters.
Just like the cars, my current life was similar to this bot. I have been playing this game called, 'life' as if on autopilot. Following a script, doing what I am told.
Despite being called 'normies,' I don't think having a girlfriend is the norm. Sure, it's normal to have one at this age. I believe that, in my life, relationships would be like, events—disturbances to my quiet, peaceful life, not in a negative way, but just in an eventful way. Events come and go, like in any average life. One day, my deal with Rias Gremory will be over, and that would be the end of that event, I believe even that is part of my 'script'.
But…
Even for the most average, normal person, sometimes an event will come where he has to step out of this casual mode and work hard to bring life back on track. Oftentimes, they succeed in doing so.
But rarely… very rarely…
The game running on Issei's PC suddenly froze, and a message abruptly popped up on the screen.
'You have been disconnected from the server due to suspicious activity.'
An event happens…
*******
*FLASH*
Light flashed and morphed into a spear in Amano's hand.
I shakily got up and ran as fast as I could.
She… that creature isn't human!!
An event that changes everything…
*BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP*
"Phawh…."
I exhaled deeply upon seeing the empty streets that were usually packed with people.
*BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP*
*BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP*
What is going on?! Is this a hyper-realistic dream?! I counted my fingers just to make sure.
1...
2…
3…
4...
5...
Reality came crashing down like a boulder on my chest, dragging my heart into despair.
… And pushes your life onto a completely different trajectory.
******************************
CHAPTER 1- Autopilot [OFF]
******************************
END
Buchou means President/manager/department head in Japanese. Here it means, club president.
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Happy New Year, dear readers. Updates will be slow in the beginning because I am still messing with the drawing board, but I believe I have delivered a decent Chapter 1. I have big plans for this year. I am sure everyone does. All the best and I would really appreciate feedback. I am curious to know if someone who hasn't watched the anime or read the original work can understand what is going on here. Like, am I leaving things to the prior knowledge of the source material, like before? My current impression is no. But don't hesitate to correct me otherwise. Well then, see you in the next chapter.