As a second-year student in Class F at Sobu High School in Chiba, Shirakawa's homeroom teacher was none other than Shizuka Hiratsuka.
Perhaps because of his arrival, he had essentially replaced Hikigaya Hachiman in this world. In order to max out his [Student] class level, Shirakawa had scored top ranks in every subject.
In terms of personality, he got along quite well with his classmates—so well, in fact, that he had even become the class representative for Japanese literature.
[Note: Supposed to be ChineseLiterature but Fuck That Shit]
But now, he faced a challenge far more difficult than any test:
"How am I supposed to ask for leave…?"
Resting on the soft chest of Hanako, his pillow in the shape of a massive mountain plush, Shirakawa stirred from sleep. He couldn't just say, "I'm going to another world to awaken Megumin's Arch Wizard class," could he?
Gently lifting the limp and near-collapse Mary doll by his side, he glanced out at the gradually brightening morning sun. After a moment's thought, he opened LINE.
He found Hiratsuka-sensei's icon.
After some hesitation, he decided to be honest and simply typed:
"Sensei, I have something to take care of today and would like to ask for leave."
"…"
After sending the message, Shirakawa—an early riser by habit—didn't crawl back into bed. Instead, he got ready to head to school as usual, figuring that if the excuse didn't fly, at least he'd be prepared.
If things went smoothly, his next destination would be the world where Aqua resided—the world of Konosuba.
Just then, the sound of a key turning in the door lock rang out. It could only be one person—Aunt Izumi Mio, stumbling in, clearly not yet fully awake.
Yawning, her energy depleted, she mumbled groggily, "Morning, Shirakawa-kun…"
"Good morning, Auntie."
For a lewd illustrator, all-nighters were par for the course. Shirakawa didn't think much of it and greeted her calmly.
Just as he took a bottle of milk from the fridge and prepared to warm it up, his phone buzzed in his pocket.
A message from Shizuka Hiratsuka.
"Shirakawa-kun, is there something urgent that requires your absence?"
"..."
Shirakawa wasn't surprised—Hiratsuka was the kind of teacher who genuinely cared about her students. It would've been easy to bluff, but he opted for honesty again:
"Sensei, it's something very important I need to take care of. I really must take the day off."
Apparently at a red light while driving, her reply came swiftly:
"Then please have a classmate pass on today's lessons. If things get difficult, feel free to call me."
"Thank you, Sensei."
Contrary to her depiction as a violent woman in many novels, Shirakawa knew firsthand just how devoted Hiratsuka-sensei truly was to her students.
Shaking his head with a smile, he turned his attention back to breakfast: warm milk, soft-boiled eggs, and sandwiches—a simple but satisfying spread.
Looking at Izumi Mio, who had already taken off her apron and was dragging her feet toward the door, Shirakawa asked:
"Auntie, aren't you going to eat something?"
"No thanks…"
"I think I'll go back to sleep."
Unable to meet Shirakawa's eyes, Izumi Mio just wanted to flee the scene. After all, she hadn't expected that simply catching a glimpse of his well-defined muscles last night… would lead to that kind of dream.
That shameless kind.
She quickly waved her hands and escaped, pretending to be sleepy, suppressing the strange thoughts budding in her heart.
"…"
"Why do I feel like Aunt Mio's acting a little weird lately…?"
With a frown, Shirakawa watched the door shut again. He finished his breakfast without overthinking and decisively opened the dimensional chat group.
With both Aqua and Gabriel in the group, the chat logs were basically unreadable walls of spam. Skimming through for anything useful proved fruitless.
So, he activated the interdimensional anchor function.
[Would you like to teleport to the world of 'Konosuba'?]
"Yes."
---
Konosuba World – City of Beginners: Axel
In the early morning, the Adventurer's Guild was already packed with people.
A crowd had formed in front of the Job Counter, their eyes gleaming with anticipation.
Behind the counter stood Luna, the stunningly beautiful receptionist with golden hair tied up in a high ponytail. She wore the official guild uniform, but what really drew eyes were her curves—especially that impressive bust.
Looking at the stats on the card before her, Luna couldn't help exclaiming in disbelief:
"Huh?! All of the stats are far above average—except for intelligence and luck, which are both… well, really low."
Gasps echoed throughout the guild hall. Even the surrounding adventurers began cheering in admiration for Aqua.
"Aside from classes that need high intelligence, like Mage, you can basically pick any advanced job right away! Crusader, Swordmaster, High Priest—you're eligible for all of them!"
"..."
Clutching her Adventurer Card in both hands, Aqua's face was drained of all color. Her dull, lifeless eyes were fixed on the very last stat: 'Luck'.
She looked like a salted fish that had lost its dreams.
With a deadpan stare, she turned to Luna and asked weakly, "Is there any way to raise my luck stat…?"
"Umm… actually, for adventurers, Luck doesn't affect much! And it's determined at birth, so... there's really no way to raise it."
"..."
Suddenly, it all made sense to Aqua.
Why she always got the lowest points in the chat group sign-ins… why her life felt so meaningless.
But just then, a surge of magical energy began swirling beside her.
The magic circle for interdimensional transmission began to form—glowing faintly, its light pulling her attention away from her depression.
And with a soft flash of light—
Someone arrived.
Suddenly standing beside her was Shirakawa, dressed in casual athletic wear. Noticing Aqua beside him, looking as if she'd lost all hope, he greeted her out of courtesy with a light chuckle.
"Good morning, Aqua!"
"Y-You are...?"
Aqua snapped out of her daze momentarily. That teleportation spell was clearly not from this world—and this man, somehow, knew who she was.
Her expression clouded as she recalled the prompt from last night—the one from the Dimensional Chat Group.
Frowning in puzzlement, her otherwise beautiful and intelligent face now full of doubt, she asked,
"Don't tell me... You're that so-called Normal high school student?!"
"..."
Moments later, without the slightest concern for decorum, Aqua clung tightly to Shirakawa's arm, her voice trembling on the verge of tears.
"Please! Tell me how to raise my luck stat—I don't want to stay in this world anymore!!"