Chapter 198: Sesshouin Kiara
"Hey, you guys over there, it's already time for class, why are you still standing out here!"
Just as Ethan and Mash, along with "Matou Shinji," were about to enter the school building to head to the infirmary first, someone came quickly from the main entrance of the building toward the three of them.
A male student in a black uniform pushed his glasses up.
"What class are you from, why are you still wandering outside?"
It's unclear whether it was coincidence or for some other reason, but the person standing in front of Ethan right now was none other than Ryuudou Issei.
He was Shirou's best friend in Fate/stay night.
However, his gaze quickly shifted to "Matou Shinji" who was standing next to him.
"Shinji, where have you been? Hurry back to class!"
"Oh?"
"Matou Shinji," who was transformed by Berserker Jack, froze for a moment, then immediately put on an arrogant expression.
"Hmph, what does that have to do with you? You're not a teacher, what right do you have to order me around?"
After saying that, he glanced at Ethan, then looked inside the school building.
The implied meaning was: let him go in first to scout the situation.
Ethan gave him a slight nod.
"Matou Shinji" then arrogantly walked away.
"Damn it, that Shinji bastard!!!"
Ryuudou Issei gritted his teeth as he watched him leave casually.
"And what about you guys?"
"...Uh, well! We're students from class 2-A."
Mash immediately took out her student ID.
"Class 2-A?"
Ryuudou Issei frowned.
"I'm also from class A, how come I've never seen you before?"
"——————?!"
We're screwed, how could it be such a coincidence that he's from the same class?!
"Ah, well… maybe… because I… don't have much presence..."
Mash stammered in panic.
At first, she just wanted to try experiencing student life a bit, but she didn't expect to be recognized right away.
Seeing that Mash was at a loss for words, Ethan immediately stepped forward.
"Hello, we're transfer students."
"Transfer students?"
Ryuudou Issei looked Ethan and Mash up and down.
"Yes, we were introduced by Fujimura-sensei."
Upon hearing the name Fujimura, Ryuudou Issei's attitude immediately changed.
"So you know Fujimura-sensei, then I'll let it slide this time."
Ryuudou Issei handed the student ID back to Mash.
"But be careful next time. If you get caught again, as the disciplinary committee member, I can't overlook it."
"Got it, we'll head to class now."
"Umu."
Ethan grabbed Mash's hand, nodded at Ryuudou Issei, then the two of them entered the school building together.
"Senpai, good thing you reacted quickly!"
Mash followed behind Ethan, speaking with admiration in her voice.
"Basically, if anything happens at school and you can't deal with it, just say you're a transfer student and you'll be fine."
"Understood."
Mash nodded, climbed the stairs with Ethan, then slightly tilted her head, looking puzzled.
"But Senpai, what exactly is a transfer student?"
"Ah, actually, it's just a special type of person at school. Just do as I say and you'll be fine."
"Yes!"
Mash closely followed Ethan up two more floors, and finally, they saw class "2-A" ahead.
"This should be it, let's go in."
"…Yes!"
Ethan pushed the door open and entered as naturally as possible, Mash also took a deep breath and followed him into the classroom.
The classroom, which had been noisy and lively, suddenly fell into a brief silence as the two of them stepped in.
All the students inside turned to look at them curiously.
"We're new transfer students starting today. My name is Ethan, and she's Mash."
After saying that, Ethan immediately looked toward the last row, then walked straight to the empty seat by the window, second row from the back, and sat down.
In this academy, the majority were just NPCs simulated by the system, so Ethan didn't want to waste his emotions on anything unnecessary.
Mash bowed her head to greet everyone, then quickly hurried to sit in the empty seat behind Ethan.
"Transfer students? Why so sudden?"
"No idea, but that girl looks kinda cute."
"For real! She feels as adorable as Tohsaka from the other class!"
"Uwaa… even that arrogant Ojou-sama you guys think is cute?!"
"Look, Matou just came in."
While whispers filled the classroom, suddenly a figure stood beside Mash's desk.
"Yo, you guys are the new transfer students?"
"Jack-san?!"
As soon as she saw the person's face, Mash immediately called out happily like that.
"So you're also in this class."
"Jack? Who the hell is Jack???"
Matou Shinji looked at Mash with a confused expression.
"Ah…"
Immediately realizing the person in front of her wasn't the Jack the Ripper they knew, Mash quickly covered her mouth with her hand, afraid she'd slipped up.
"You guys are foreigners, huh? Accidentally saying some weird name like 'Jack' like that."
Matou Shinji seemed a bit suspicious of Mash's way of addressing.
Ethan quietly sighed.
This damn Mooncell is seriously irresponsible. This is London, at the very least you should localize things a bit.
But either way, since all of them were just NPCs created by Mooncell, Ethan didn't want to waste energy maintaining social relationships.
"If there's nothing important, could you not talk to us?"
"Do you… do you even know who you're talking to?!"
The corner of Matou Shinji's mouth curled up.
"Standing before you is the genius Young Master — with an achievement of 78 million points, ranked NO.2 in the world!!!"
"Is that so? Then let me ask you, where's the infirmary?"
"Infirmary? This school doesn't have such a boring place."
As soon as Matou Shinji said that, Ethan instantly understood.
It was definitely BB's interference, erasing all information related to the infirmary.
"Thanks. Also, you say you're amazing, but you're not even NO.1."
Ethan replied coldly.
"You…!!!"
Hit with Ethan's critical strike, Matou Shinji was almost pissed to the point of fainting.
That label of "forever second place" was truly a fatal wound for him. Even though he didn't want to admit it, it was true that he had never once beaten that player named Shinako.
"Damn it! That NO.1 spot was stolen by that cheating trash bastard… Sooner or later I'll overthrow him!!!"
"All right, everyone return to your seats!"
Just as Matou Shinji was about to continue the argument, a teacher with Mediterranean-style hair entered the classroom.
"Matou-kun, go back to your seat."
"Tch…"
Matou Shinji angrily returned to his seat, but still glared at Ethan with eyes full of resentment.
"Well then, today we'll continue with our Literature lesson…"
For some reason, the moment the teacher on the podium started speaking, Ethan suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him.
Whatever, time for a nap.
Ethan just laid his head down on the desk and slowly closed his eyes.
…
"Senpai, Senpai!"
Someone suddenly gently nudged his arm.
"Huh?"
Ethan opened his eyes.
There was no one left on the podium.
"Class is over already, Senpai."
In front of him was a kouhai in a JK uniform, gently waking him up.
He didn't expect that one day he'd be woken up by a cute kouhai in class… This London Singularity isn't completely a bad thing, huh...
"Right, if class is over, I'll head out to look for some clues."
"Then I'll—"
Mash was about to follow.
"No need, Mash. You just stay in class."
Mash had underestimated the thing called "a male and female student walking together in the hallway" in high school. The attention it would attract could reach maximum levels.
Moreover, both of them were currently transfer students, and their movements could soon reach even the ears of the cat on the school roof.
At that level, it would easily catch BB's attention.
"Don't worry, I won't be in any danger."
He was just going to scout around and see where the infirmary was. It wasn't clear how Jack's information gathering was going at the moment.
"Besides, I noticed there are quite a few girls in class who want to talk to you. Try getting to know them, maybe you'll get some information."
From earlier, some girls in the front rows had wanted to approach Mash, but were too shy because Ethan was still there.
Even though most of them were just NPCs, that didn't mean their ability to provide information was zero.
Besides, this was a rare opportunity — better to let Mash experience a bit of the life of a high school girl.
"I understand. I'll do my best to get to know them and gather information."
Mash nodded seriously, treating Ethan's words as a command.
Then Ethan stood up and walked out of the classroom.
Matou Shinji had long disappeared from class — who knows what he'd run off to do.
...
Leaving the class, Ethan stood by the hallway railing, looking outside.
Behind the school building was the sports field, and nearby there seemed to be an old school building, possibly where the infirmary was located.
With that thought in mind, Ethan turned to head toward the stairs — but at that very moment, he accidentally caught sight of a familiar figure.
But in just a flash, that silhouette disappeared up the staircase above.
The other person's outfit was far too distinctive for him to mistake it.
It wasn't the kind of clothing typically seen on campus — it was a Buddhist nun's outfit.
At Tsukumihara Academy, there was probably only one person who could wear something like that.
Sesshouin Kiara!!!
She showed up that easily?!
At that moment, Ethan felt like a newbie who had just left the newbie village and immediately encountered the Final Boss.
He wanted to run back and call Mash right away, but was afraid of losing her trail.
It was best to keep a safe distance and observe for now.
To be serious, Sesshouin Kiara wouldn't actively make a move on her own followers.
As long as he didn't confront her directly, there shouldn't be too much danger.
Thinking that, Ethan quickly began following.
Climbing the stairs, he soon reached the third floor.
But looking around in all directions, there was no sign of Kiara. Ethan cautiously scanned the surroundings, then continued forward carefully.
"Wham ——————!!!"
Suddenly, right at the corner of the hallway, someone carrying a large stack of books crashed straight into Ethan!
The impact was so strong that Ethan lost his balance and fell flat on his back, immediately feeling dizzy and disoriented.
"Ara, ara ara~~~"
Amidst a flustered, feminine voice, Ethan struggled to open his eyes.
But in front of him was only a blurry fog...
"Sorry, I'll get up right away… Uhm… Sorry… I also… can't use any strength…"
With that voice, something soft pressed directly onto Ethan's face.
What… what the hell is covering my eyes like this!!!
But even scarier was the suffocating feeling of being pinned down — his whole body couldn't breathe at all.
At this point, Ethan couldn't even tell what kind of sensation was what anymore, everything before him was pure white, and… extremely bad!!!
All he knew was that if this kept going, he might actually pass out from lack of oxygen.
"I'm truly sorry!!!"
Suddenly, the weight on his body was lifted. Only now could Ethan, who had been pinned underneath, slowly start breathing again.
His consciousness finally returned to reality.
In front of him was a panicked woman who didn't know what to do.
"I always end up causing trouble for those around me… Are you okay? Do you need to rest a bit?"
Her eyes were filled with worry.
At this moment, the air was faintly scented with a fragrance like incense used in a Homa ritual.
It was this scent that immediately made Ethan become alert.
"No, I'm fine…"
He quickly stood up.
"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."
Ethan bent down to pick up the books scattered on the floor, but accidentally touched the woman's hand.
"Ah… it's okay, I can do it myself…"
The woman in front of him, dressed in a nun's habit, slightly pulled her hand back.
"It's alright, let me help."
Ethan didn't want to go along with her wishes. Because if he let things proceed naturally, who knew when he might end up being manipulated without realizing it.
"Thank you so much…"
The woman in the nun outfit looked at Ethan with eyes full of gratitude.
"My name is Fujimura Taiga, I'm an English teacher here. And your name is?"
"I…"
Ethan thought for a moment, then decided to say it anyway.
"My name is Ethan."
"Thank you, Ethan-kun."
The woman carefully stacked the towering pile of books again, preparing to lift them once more.
"Grrrr..."
Suddenly, behind her, a small, unremarkable black rift appeared, and from it, a jet-black hellhound crawled out.
"————————?!"
Why is this kind of demonic beast appearing even here?!
The black hound lunged straight at the woman in front of him!
"Watch out!!!"
"Well then, I should get going to class— Uwaa..."
The woman had just smiled and was about to say goodbye to Ethan while holding the towering pile of books, when she was suddenly yanked forcefully toward him by instinctive reflex.
"Whoosh————————!!"
The black hound's sharp fangs sank into the pile of fallen books, tearing them apart instantly.
The moment he made his move, Ethan already began to regret it.
The person in front of him was Sesshouin Kiara, very likely the Final Boss of this Singularity.
Why did I act on instinct and save her?!
But somehow, looking at the fragile girl before him, he had a feeling… maybe she wasn't the evil being he had imagined.
After all, in the original timeline, she was just an ordinary medical worker.
But there was no more time to hesitate now.
From that black rift, more and more black hounds were pouring out.
"GRAAAAOOOOOOOO——————!!!"
They roared in unison and lunged straight at them again!!!