The trio teleported off from the Astral Express onto the excluded park of Kuoh, breathing in the unfamiliar air with a wary look. Beside Hajime Nagumo, Alice Louise Gododdin scanned their surroundings, her composure serene and regal—more like a trained hime-miko attuned to divine flows, sensing the hidden currents of magic and fate around them. Anisphia Wynn Palettia, on the other hand, buzzed with barely restrained energy, practically hopping in place as she took in the sights with wide-eyed wonder.
"Remember," Hajime murmured, casting a glance down the street as he recalled Noah's parting words. "This world might be hiding its threats. Don't drop your guard."
Alice's gaze sharpened, her voice thoughtful. "I feel multiple signatures—subtle, but constant. Spiritual barriers, leyline warps... there's a network of magic flowing beneath the surface."
Anisphia grinned, throwing a cheeky look at Hajime's way. "So basically, we landed in a magical high school anime? I'm ready. Where's the cute student council president with hidden powers?"
Hajime gave a weary sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Anis... please. Let's at least try to go one day without triggering plot flags."
"Hey, I make no promises when sparkles and secrets are involved," she replied with a wink. Then, more softly, she added, "But seriously… This place does feel different. I can't name it yet but oh well, as long as we are together we can deal with it!"
Alice gave a small nod, her voice quieter now. "There's a pull here. Not danger yet, but potential. We need to be ready—for anything."
Hajime exhaled slowly, already bracing for the inevitable chaos that came with their kind of story. "Let's just hope Kuoh's version of 'welcome' isn't a demon horde to the face."
Anisphia leaned closer with a sly grin. "Gods, don't forget the gods~ This is your kind of turf, Mister Campione."
Alice's eyes sparkled knowingly. "Indeed. With you here, divine trouble might be the norm rather than the exception. And if any rogue deity shows up, well... they'll find out that our Campione and Herrscher of Reason don't kneel so easily."
Hajime sighed again, though the corner of his lips tugged upward. "Why do I feel like I've already volunteered to punch a god in the face... again?"
"Because you usually do," Anisphia chimed. "And it's hot every time."
Alice gently swatted Anisphia's arm, but her smile said she didn't disagree. The air around them felt charged now—not with danger, but with unspoken potential. Whatever Kuoh held, it had just received three visitors who weren't ordinary by any stretch of the imagination.
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After placing the Anchor point hidden away to prying eyes, our trio wandered through the town, their steps light but eyes alert. It was a peaceful suburb on the surface—clean streets lined with cherry trees, modest corner shops selling bento and sweet bean cakes, cafés with window seats filled with students and elderly couples sipping tea. Children ran in the distance through a park's soft grass, their laughter mingling with the rustle of wind chimes from nearby balconies.
Yet under the feeling of harmony on the surface, there was a quiet hum, they all felt deep in their bones. Power—veiled, subtle, but ever-present. Hidden behind the normalcy, tucked into shadowed corners and flickers in the wind.
Hajime slowed his steps, eyes narrowing. "I don't like it," he muttered. "It looks too... mundane."
"You just don't trust anything that isn't on fire," Anisphia quips with a half-smile, but her expression sobered as she continued, "But yeah, I feel it too. It's like the whole town's holding its breath, watching from behind the curtain."
Alice stepped slightly ahead, her clairvoyance fluttering like lantern light. "There's an unnatural silence in the spirit flow. It's active and yet deliberately still. Like something or someone is waiting to trip its course ."
They passed a bookstore with mythological texts in the window, a shrine tucked between modern homes, and a tea shop that seemed too quiet despite its open door. Each location whispered more than it should've. Each passerby seemed unaware of something greater hiding beneath the mundane.
Hajime placed a hand on his coat, feeling both his emblem and the weight of the divine authority he carried as a Campione and Herrscher. "This town... may be hiding more than the mystical."
Just then, their terminals buzzed with a soft chime.
Noah's message came through: "Good work on your first descent. Thanks to you setting the first Anchor point, VA was able to access the network and picked up enough data to forge your temporary identities and upload localized credit access. You're now officially part of Kuoh's system. VA will send the full packet in a few seconds."
Void Archives' voice followed shortly after, crisp and smug as always. "Forged identities: Complete. Bank access initialized. Local records updated. Try not to commit any felonies—yet."
Anisphia laughed. "Aww, VA's warming up to us."
Alice gave a soft chuckle. "Or preparing to blame us for the chaos."
"I'd bet both," Hajime muttered.
Then he paused, frowning slightly as he glanced down at the terminal. "Wait... how the hell did they even get us money here? I didn't see anyone applying for multiversal bank access."
Void Archives pinged again, its voice smug. "You're welcome. I cracked three parallel economic models and reverse-synced the Kuoh registry. Local corporations think you're exchange students sponsored by a semi-defunct cultural program. You even have a faux scholarship."
Alice blinked, equal parts impressed and concerned. "You committed financial wizardry."
"Technically, I committed legal fraud," VA said proudly. "You're funded, registered, and blessed with enough credits to survive. Don't ruin it."
Anisphia clapped her hands. "Bless our virtual god of loopholes. But what about housing?"
"Still processing," VA replied. "It'll take time to secure something stable and within required parameters. Until then, consider yourself temporarily homeless. Scout something discreet. And preferably, not haunted."
Anisphia threw her hands up. "No haunted hot springs. Got it."
Hajime just groaned. "I have a bad feeling we're going to end up rooming over a shady place with magical plumbing."
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With identities secured, their next goal was housing. The trio wandered into a residential district lined with blooming azaleas and sleepy shopfronts—some hosting 'for rent' signs hastily scribbled in marker, others proudly announcing two-month waitlists.
"Why is everything either taken or smells like it hasn't been cleaned since forever?" Anis groaned, peeking into a narrow apartment stairwell that practically radiated cursed energy.
Alice wrinkled her nose at a gaudy pink complex shaped like a giant heart. Her cheeks turned a soft pink, and she immediately looked away. "That one looks like it rents by the hour... Let's not."
Anisphia, already a shade redder than usual, coughed awkwardly as she shielded her eyes. "Oh no, absolutely not. I want our time to be special, not in some pink blinking places! I don't want anyone misunderstanding our relationship to be shallow."
Hajime, caught between confusion and sheer panic trying to ignore just what Anisphia conveying, muttered, "Wh-Why would they even build something like that near a school district?"
"I-It's probably legal," Alice said, still flustered. "But that doesn't make it acceptable."
The three of them shuffled away quickly, heads lowered, ears tinted red. Not a word more was said about the heart-shaped hotel—but the silence said plenty.
They encounter a "cozy" apartment above a fish market, where the persistent aroma of seafood permeates every corner.
Anisphia, ever the optimist, quips, "At least we won't need an alarm clock; the smell will wake us up."
Alice, maintaining her composed demeanor, suggests, "Perhaps we should consider other options."
Next, they stumble upon a listing for a "traditional Japanese home" that turns out to be a cramped room with paper-thin walls.
Hajime, inspecting the fragile structure, mutters, "One sneeze, and this place might collapse."
Anisphia laughs, "Think of it as an adventure in minimalist living."
Their exploration leads them to a seemingly perfect house, only to discover it's already occupied by a large, boisterous family.
Anisphia, trying to lighten the mood, jokes, "Maybe we can just blend in; I'm great with kids."
Hajime raises an eyebrow, "We'd be discovered before dinner."
Hajime sighed for the fourth time in ten minutes, arms crossed. "So the options are: fish-scented attic, pink embarrassment hotel, or one-bedroom chamber?"
Anisphia clapped her hands dramatically. "Great news! We're doomed!"
Alice glanced at her terminal. "VA says proper housing is still pending. Nothing secured yet."
"So what now?" Hajime muttered. "Camp in a shrine? Dig a cave?"
Anisphia threw an arm around his shoulder with eyes twinkling, "Simple! You just build us a house, Mister Herrscher of Constructional Reality! Channel those Campione divinity and Reason powers, raise a castle from logic and broken physics. I'll decorate!"
Hajime stared at her. "You want me to reality-warp us a hideout in the middle of a Japanese suburb."
"Exactly," Anis beamed. "Bonus points if it's got an indoor onsen and doesn't collapse the local fabric of space."
Hajime, aware of the need to keep magic hidden, responds dryly, "And attract every supernatural entity in the area?"
Alice shook her head with a laugh. "If it does, we'll just blame VA."
"I hate how much sense that makes," Hajime muttered, but he was already checking if his emblem could repurpose nearby space-time anchors.
The housing hunt… was far from over. But at least they were laughing through it.
As they turned a corner near the commercial plaza, a group of students passed them—chattering in low tones about an upcoming student council meeting. At the head of the group walked a composed, sharp-eyed girl with black hair and glasses.
Her gaze briefly crossed with Hajime's. Neither of them stopped, but something in that glance lingered. A flicker of tension beneath the casual air.
Alice slowed, her voice low. "Did you feel that?"
"They're not normal," Hajime confirmed.
Anisphia clutched her emblem lightly beneath her coat. "Neither are we."
They moved on without incident. No words exchanged. But something had shifted.
A ripple had begun.
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After passing by Hajime and rest, Sona Shitori AKA Sona Sitri came to a quiet stop.
Her brows furrowed just slightly, an almost imperceptible crease forming between them. The student council president tilted her head, fingers adjusting the bridge of her glasses as she watched the backs of the three unfamiliar figures disappear into the street.
Tsubaki glanced at her from the side. "President?"
"...Nothing," Sona said at first, but her eyes lingered. "Those three… they're not from around here. But it's not just that. There's something about their presence. Subtle, silent, has power but controlled."
Tsubaki frowned. "…You think.. they're connected to the other disturbances we've picked up recently?"
"...No," Sona replied, calm but contemplative. "Either way, I want them monitored discreetly. Inform the others. And have the Occult Research Club keep their senses open."
She turned to walk away, her voice softer. "They're not here by chance. I can feel it."