"I messed up."
Behind the academy's administrative building, Reisou munched on a potato bread, nearly in tears after realizing he had forgotten to save system points to buy another GK Card.
A few minutes earlier, while browsing the system store, he spotted an E-Grade GK Card listed for two system points, which instantly reminded him that he didn't have any, as the one gifted by the system had already been used.
'I'm so stupid! Now I have to wait for the school expeditions to start or try find a way to sneak into a public Gate,' Reisou thought, finishing his bread and heading toward his classroom.
Public Gates, unlike private ones, were open to any guild or independent Hunter. Sadly, entering one required a license, and Reisou would have to be at least eighteen years old to obtain it.
With a hint of frustration, he walked into the classroom and sat down, pretending to sleep while his mind worked on a solution to his problem.
A few hours later, when classes finally ended, he was free and decided to check on 2B.
He had left her alone all day and was concerned she might have tried to go out on her own. Although he was sure she wouldn't disobey his orders, he still needed to check just to be safe.
Upon entering his room, Reisou spotted 2B using his computer. For some reason, the sight of her completely focused on whatever she was doing was oddly amusing to him.
Until he realized something.
'Wait… I never told her my password, and my "homework" folder is on the desktop!'
Reisou felt like his life would end if she accessed his "educational" materials. In an instant, he rushed toward her, praying that he had some dignity left.
"Hey, 2B! Don't open that homework folder!" he shouted, causing 2B to turn her head and look at him.
"Master, you're back," she said, smiling warmly, making him freeze in place, embarrassed by her sudden display of affection.
With a sigh, he walked up to her and saw that she was merely browsing the internet, which put him at ease.
However, as he stared at the screen, something felt off.
"2B, how did you discover my password, and what are you doing on the Japanese government's website?" he asked, puzzled, pointing at the screen. "And why is there a confidential warning in there?"
2B glanced at the screen before turning back to face him again and said, "Sorry for using your machine without permission, Master. But yesterday, you said I couldn't go with you because I didn't have a real identity in this world, so I decided created one myself."
She explained how she had bypassed the computer's password verification and hacked into Japan's central server, breaking through their firewall to forge a legitimate identity for herself.
Reisou was left stunned as she casually described each step like it was nothing. Then again, considering she was a high-tech android from an advanced world, this was probably nothing more than child's play for her.
Even if 2B wasn't built for hacking, she was still leagues ahead of any native hacker.
"You're full of surprises," Reisou said, shaking his head. "But even with a real identity, if people see you here, we're going to be in trouble."
"Don't worry, Master, I've already taken care of it," 2B replied calmly, making Reisou raise an eyebrow.
He didn't understand what she meant by saying that.
"What did you do?"
"Secret," she said, smiling, gently placing her soft index finger against her lips.
The sudden display of her playful demeanor made Reisou sigh once again.
After making sure she had deleted the "homework" folder, he went to take a bath.
While soaking himself, 2B's words kept replaying in his mind, and Reisou could only hope she had not done something outrageous, such as enrolling herself in Sozukusen.
Once he finished his bath, Reisou sat on the couch to watch TV when an idea suddenly popped into his mind.
He rushed to 2B, who was still using the computer, and asked her to forge a fake identity and Hunter license for him, confident it would be an great opportunity for them to enter a public Gate without raising suspicion.
2B readily agreed, and after completing the process of inputting his new identity into the Japanese government server, Reisou picked up his cellphone to check.
It worked.
He now had two separate logins in the government's application, which meant entering a public Gate was officially within reach. As Reisou examined his fake ID, he raised an eyebrow at some of the details.
"Eh... 2B, why does it say I'm married to someone named Nibee?" he asked, turning to face the white-haired android beside him.
"Don't worry, Master. This is the name of my other fake identity, and we're registered as a newly married Hunter couple to make the verification process easier," 2B explained, sounding very convincing.
Upon hearing her answer, Reisou tried to say something but couldn't find the words to refute it.
Hours later, they both had dinner, and once they were done, 2B lay down on his bed, ready to "sleep.[1]"
Reisou, on the other hand, stayed up playing a gacha game on his phone until he eventually fell asleep as well.
><
"Today, we'll be having a spar between classes. Everyone, change into your PE clothes and head to the arena."
Chabashira Sae announced at the end of the second class, causing most students to feel excited.
Reisou, just like the others, was also excited for the sparring class that usually happened once a week, where classes fought against each other for training.
However, his excitement was very different from that of his classmates. For him, it was a good opportunity to test his current strength against a fellow Hunter, while other students saw it as a chance to boost their popularity by defeating popular students.
His class, 2E, wasn't as strong as others, but it did possess a share of strong figures, including Horikita Suzune, Hayama Hayato, and Sudō Ken.
Horikita Suzune was at the top of the class, regarded as a formidable mage-swordswoman, followed by Ken in second place and Hayama Hayato in third.
However, when it came to popularity, she ranked below even Ken, all because her personality remained exactly as in the original work.
She was cold toward others and preferred to act alone, earning the reputation of a loner.
Her title as the Lone Iceberg Princess truly spoke for itself.
Reisou had no intention of getting involved with any of them and simply minded his own business.
As he got up from his seat to follow the other boys to the locker room, he overheard some classmates excitedly chatting behind him and caught snippets of their conversation.
"This time, I will definitely win a match!" a random boy shouted to his friends, who were struggling to hold back their laughter.
"Pfff~ Yeah, yeah, bro, I trust you," his friend, wearing a red bandana, answered, covering his mouth.
"Me too. Last time, trusting you cost me five thousand yen," another one said sarcastically, showing his empty wallet.
"Tsk, you bunch of snakes," the boy grumbled angrily, chasing after the duo, who were now laughing.
Seeing such a display of friendship made Reisou smile. Even though he didn't have any true friends in this new world, he wasn't entirely alone anymore.
He had a cute girl to keep him company.
A small smile tugged at his lips as he walked toward the locker room, thinking about the exotic, white-haired android.
><
After everyone changed into their PE clothes and gathered at the arena entrance, a woman with light green eyes and brown hair tied in a side ponytail approached Sae, offering a brief greeting. She was dressed in a simple black and white tracksuit, holding a red tablet in her right hand.
Sae simply nodded in response before walking away, leaving the students under her care.
The woman didn't seem bothered by Sae's attitude. Instead, she smiled and turned to the class, instructing them to follow her.
This person was Takei Miwa, the head coach of the second-year, and a highly popular teacher among most students for her unique personality.
"Okay, we've arrived. This is where you guys will fight against Class 2C," Miwa explained, pointing to a dark gray square area the size of a tennis court. "So, wait here for a moment. I'll bring the other class, and then we'll start forming the teams."
When Miwa walked away to gather the other class, some students immediately began chatting among themselves, while others started warming up.
Reisou chose to join the latter group. He was eager to test his abilities and measure his strength against another Hunter.
Unlike weak Gate monsters, even a low-ranked Hunter could be dangerous, as humans were often unpredictable.
Also, Hunters were not invincible, and a single opportunity could be enough for someone weaker to defeat a stronger opponent. After all, only a select few Hunters possessed strong defenses, such as regeneration or muscles tough enough to withstand heavy blows.
Miwa did not take long to return with the students from Class 2C. Reisou was in the middle of doing push-ups, but the moment he spotted a few familiar faces, he stopped to look.
In class 2C, he saw the "glutton" Nakano Itsuki, the infamous blonde "dog loser" Sawamura Spencer Eriri, the walking "refrigerator" number one Yukinoshita Yukino, and the "traumatized" Karuizawa Kei.
Reisou didn't bother staring for long and went back to his exercise. In contrast, most of his male classmates immediately burst into cheers at the sight of the girls from class 2C, especially Kei, Eriri, and Yukino, who were popularly known as the "Princess Trio of 2C."
Aside from their beauty, the three also held high positions on the Kiroku Rank List, which only boosted their popularity with the boys and stirred envy among the girls.
Miwa signaled for Class 2E to quiet down and began explaining how the matches would proceed, summarizing the rules.
The classes were already familiar with the rules, but it was necessary to repeat them for legal reasons.
She then instructed both classes to form teams of three within their own class and mentioned that anyone unable to form a team would be paired with others in the same situation.
A few minutes later, Miwa had already arranged sixteen teams in a tournament-style bracket.
Reisou ended up being paired with two other unlucky individuals who didn't manage to form teams on their own.
"Okay, all teams are set," Miwa announced while tapping on her tablet, making a large weapon shelf rise from the ground, displaying a variety of weapons. "Now, Team One and Team Seven, step forward and choose your weapons."
Following her command, the members of both teams chose weapons suited to their roles and headed to the fighting area to start the match.
The first match ended in under five minutes, and the next two followed suit due to poor teamwork and a lack of strong members.
Miwa stared at the results on her tablet, her expression tinged with disappointment. The quality of Hunters seemed to drop each year.
Coming from the strongest generation, led by legends like Makima, the Gojo siblings, and the Dark Witch, such results felt discouraging.
Still, she maintained her smile and announced the next match, which immediately grabbed everyone's attention.
It was time for Team 9, also known as the princess trio, to participate, causing many boys from both classes to cheer.
Reisou was also eager to see how strong they were. He watched closely as Kei, Eriri, and Yukino chose their weapons and stepped into the fighting area.
The opposing team, made up of two boys and a girl from his class, couldn't hide their fearful expressions. Losing was certain, but backing down would be worse.
*Sshhwee
At the sound of a loud whistle, Miwa started the match.
[1] Suspend mode?