Takashi Ichinose's POV
After managing to impregnate three women and survive the endless drag of high school life, the moment I had been waiting for finally arrived, stepping into the Advanced Nurturing Academy, the stage where I'd meet all the gorgeous heroines from Classroom of the Elite.
Compared to the canon timeline, where we could enroll three years earlier, since canon dealt with ordinary high school and not this academy system, my situation was different. I had to endure an extra three years before the original plotline even began. It was a detour, yes, and it changed a lot of things, but in the grand scheme of everything, did it matter? Not at all.
The foresight of the canon storyline was nothing compared to what I had in store. The sheer identity rewards from the system, the reality-warping powers that I was destined to unlock, those were far more important than staying on track with some pre-written narrative. Why settle for being a background character, or even a main character, when you could rewrite the rules of existence itself and become God?
That thought made me smile faintly as my eyes turned toward the young lady sitting across from me on the bus. She had silky black hair flowing down her shoulders, crimson eyes that gleamed with coldness, and a red-blazer uniform paired with a white skirt.
Her thighs were snugly wrapped in black stockings that traced her shape perfectly. She looked refined, elegant, her entire presence radiating the air of someone untouchable.
Her face carried a detached expression, pale and indifferent, as her attention stayed locked on the book in her hands. She didn't care about the world around her, didn't care about the chatter or glances in the bus.
Her breasts weren't too large, not too small either, a medium size that suited her frame and gave her a balanced elegance. More than her body, it was her temperament that struck people first.
Elegant, aloof, and refined, the kind of aura that made strangers assume she came from the upper class. But I knew better. Beneath that polished surface, she was from the working class.
Her arrogance was not born from heritage, but from her sharp intelligence, her conviction that she was smarter, stronger, better, and more capable than the people around her.
That sense of superiority radiated from her in every little gesture.
"Suzune-chan, we meet again." I grinned as I leaned slight.
The moment my voice reached her ears, she lowered her book and raised her gaze.
Her eyes, sharp and frosty, locked on me, and her reply was as cold as her expression.
"Ichinose-san, since when were we that close?"
"That's kinda harsh, Suzune-chan. After all, we've known each other for three years, haven't we?" I answered with a smug grin, deliberately poking at her indifference.
Her expression only hardened, and her voice grew even colder. "Please don't speak in a way that could lead people to misunderstand. If you have no business with me, then leave."
I feigned surprise, raising my brows. "Oh? I thought you didn't care about what people think. Anyway, I just wanted to greet an old friend. Mind if I take the seat next to you? I'd rather sit with someone familiar than a complete stranger."
Her crimson eyes didn't soften for a moment.
She gave the faintest shrug and turned back to her book. "Do as you please."
Without hesitation, I slid into the seat beside her.
She ignored my presence, flipping through the pages with the same icy temperament as before.
I leaned back, watching her in silence for a moment.
And just like that, my new beginning in this academy had begun.
I wondered briefly if worse women than Suzune existed in this place.
Maybe there were, maybe there weren't.
Fuka, for instance, wasn't nearly as hard to communicate with compared to Suzune, who carried herself with that permanently constipated expression that made every interaction feel like prying open locked doors.
The simplest way to conquer a woman like her was to become her brother. Unfortunately, I wasn't.
But honestly, I already had more than enough satisfaction from having a cute sister like Honami. Missing the chance to play the brother figure to Suzune wasn't a bad thing, just a fleeting moment of pity that passed as quickly as it came.
That's all.
"You're thinking something rude about me, aren't you?" Suzune snapped.
She had just opened her book, eyes moving quietly over the pages, but then she shut it with a loud thud.
This time, she made sure I noticed her displeasure.
"I'm not," I denied immediately, not giving her even a second of hesitation.
"Then why are you staring? What are you, some kind of pervert?" Her eyes narrowed into a glare that was sharp enough to cut.
"Well… you're beautiful. Any man with a normal sense of aesthetics would stare at you," I answered honestly, without sugarcoating a single word.
For a moment, she froze, speechless.
Then, after a pause, she muttered, "I never knew you were that frivolous, Ichinose-san."
Her tone sharp but carrying a faint trace of embarrassment she couldn't hide.
I rolled my eyes at her judgment. "And what kind of person do you think I am, in your opinion? Since when was I not frivolous or perverted?"
She answered with surprising seriousness. "You're the quiet guy. Serious. Diligent. If you weren't like that, I would've already changed my seat a long time ago. You're the only guy in class who isn't noisy or annoying. I don't know what happened, but you should stay true to that self. There's no need to act frivolous just to get close to me… or anyone."
So that was her impression of me. She misunderstood, of course. She thought I'd changed into this, when in reality, this was me at my core.
In class, I just couldn't be bothered to waste energy flirting or chasing after irrelevant people.
My focus had always been on studying diligently, maintaining a wholesome relationship with Arisu, and building a successful future.
That was my path. But the impregnation system seems to have corrupted me, turning me into this pervert.
Yes, Suzune was right in a way. But this wasn't my fault. It was the system's fault.
System: …
I sighed and leaned back a little. "Well, the truth is… I missed you. You just vanished after graduation, and you don't even realize how much of a mess the school became after you left."
Of course, the chaos was thanks to Kushida, who turned the atmosphere into a battlefield of catfights.
Ironically, that same chaos gave me the chance to breed Kushida successfully.
If Suzune had stayed instead of disappearing after the holiday, I would've already bred her too by now.
I could have gone to her house, knocked on her door, and simply taken her then and there. But I didn't. I wasn't a slave to the system's quests.
I still had my own values, my own opinions, and my own girls to take care of.
This wasn't only about breeding. It was about relationships too, about creating bonds that meant something beyond the physical act.
The holiday was short, and once we returned to the Academy, I knew my time would be scattered, never as free as it had been during that period.
That's why I chose to spend those precious days bonding closely with Arisu, Honami, and Kushida, though I admit, my time with Kushida was far less compared to the other two.
"I noticed," she finally answered after a pause, her voice flat. "That's why I didn't bother going to class anymore. It's an unpleasant place. Besides, graduation is already over. I've already done everything that needed to be done."
"It's good for you, I guess." I leaned back in the bus seat, shrugging, not sure what else to say.
She sighed softly, almost with a kind of resignation, before reopening her book.
Who knows how many times she had repeated that little cycle. At some point, I almost found myself amused by it.
The bus rattled along the road, the hum of the engine filling the silence.
When I thought I could simply enjoy the silence with her in the bus, the illusion shattered.
Kushida's eyes darted toward me, sharp, cold, and loaded with something unpleasant.
She glared, but didn't let her gaze linger too long.
Instead, she shifted her attention, creating noise and stirring commotion, targeting the narcissistic blond guy who was busy admiring his own reflection in a pocket mirror.
She pressured him, with her smile and her honeyed words, to give up his seat for an old grandmother standing nearby.
Different world, different choices, different circumstances… yet no matter which version of her I saw, this same damn shit always repeated itself.
Kushida causing drama, Kushida twisting the situation to put herself in the spotlight.
Whatever.
I decided not to bother.
At least, not yet.
But deep down, I knew. Kushida was the type who would bite the moment something rubbed her the wrong way.
She never forgave easily, never let things go. And without a doubt, my closeness with Suzune had started to eat at her, scratching at that ugly side she tried to keep hidden.
So, when her eyes briefly locked on me as she made her little performance of asking people to give up their seat, I understood instantly.
This wasn't just about the old woman. It was about me. She wanted me involved, wanted to force me into a position where I had to stand, stripped of my quiet time with Suzune, and instead be left alone with her.
And it was obvious. The way the other passengers turned their eyes toward me, expectant, silently pushing the responsibility into my lap.
They wanted me to move so they wouldn't have to.
Kushida's trick was effective, use emotional blackmail to corner someone, make it impossible for them to refuse without looking bad.
Alright then, Kushida.
If you wanted to play a game, I'd play.
But I've never been the one who loses.
Nah, I'd win.
...
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