The front gate of Sōbu High School stood wide open.Students in crisp uniforms streamed through in two neat lines—one on the left, one on the right—forming an orderly procession into the school grounds.
Members of the Disciplinary Committee stood at the gate, inspecting students' appearances and attire. For some reason, every one of them was unreasonably good-looking. Maybe the school only recruited attractive people for the job?
Every morning, the sight of those beautiful Disciplinary Committee members had become a signature part of the scenery at Sōbu High.
Of course, upperclassmen were long immune to it.Since the school strictly prohibited "impure relationships" between male and female students, the prettier the committee girls were, the more painful it became for the boys forced to admire them from afar.
Many of the male students were convinced the school did this on purpose—recruiting all the pretty girls into the committee just to make the guys suffer as they passed by every morning.
For the first-years, it had been the same at first. The sight of a whole row of cute, well-groomed girls standing guard at the gate had felt like some kind of early-morning blessing. But as they got used to it, the novelty wore off, replaced by one shared thought: Man, this school's strict.
To be fair, Sōbu High hadn't gone as far as doing full-on bag checks.If a student really wanted to smuggle in something forbidden—boy or girl—they probably could. But if they got caught, the punishment was brutal.
At best, a written apology and public reprimand in front of the entire school.At worst, suspension, forced reflection, or even "voluntary" transfer.
"Sōbu High really does take discipline seriously~!"
Standing at the end of the line, Vignette Tsukinose April, eyes sparkling, couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Back in the underworld, she'd been taught a lot about the human realm—how it was supposedly a place of endless temptation, overflowing with greed, corruption, and desire. She had worried, before coming here, about how she'd manage to live in such a place.
She certainly didn't want to become like those other demons who went around spreading chaos and suffering.Now, seeing how clean and orderly the students were, her anxiety eased considerably.
Even if, technically, a demon should prefer a little more chaos.
"Yeah, not bad," said Hikigaya Hachiman, nodding in agreement."Hope you enjoy studying here, Vignette."
For someone like Vignette—earnest, diligent, and rule-abiding—Sōbu High was probably paradise.
Of course, what she saw was just the surface.
Beneath the polished image, Sōbu High still hid its share of problems—bullying, shadowy hierarchies, and worse.He'd already encountered one of the so-called "Minotaurs" the system had mentioned, and if the mission required him to hunt down every Minotaur in the school, that meant there were plenty more hiding in plain sight.
Maybe the strict rules kept them suppressed for now—but the tighter the control, the harsher the backlash would be when things finally exploded.
Hachiman's gaze lingered on the group of attractive Disciplinary Committee girls at the gate.A thought crossed his mind: Could some of them be otherworld characters too? Maybe even quest targets?
"Morning, Makoto-chan!"
Beside him, Kaede waved energetically at one of the Disciplinary Committee members keeping order near the front.
The girl she greeted had sharp features and a slender frame. Her sleek black hair shimmered faintly with a violet hue, cascading neatly down her back. A red armband emblazoned with the committee's insignia wrapped snugly around her pale, delicate arm.
"Kaede-chan? You're late again?"
The girl—Amasame Makoto—had been scolding another student for improper attire, but when she looked up and saw Kaede, her stern expression softened into a smile.
Makoto was in the same class as Kaede, sitting right behind her. Thanks to Kaede's boundless cheer and friendliness, they'd quickly become close friends.
Since they both commuted from the same direction, Makoto often went home together with Kaede and the others after school.
"I'm not late, I just got here a bit later than usual," Kaede said with a playful grin as she and Hachiman approached.
"Coming 'a bit later' is still late," Makoto sighed. "As student council president, Kaede-chan, you need to set an example for everyone."
With a resigned shake of her head, Makoto stepped closer and reached up to fix Kaede's slightly crooked tie.
"See? Your tie's all messy again."
"Eh? It was fine when I left home! I probably messed it up in a hurry."
Kaede stuck out her tongue sheepishly. She'd realized too late that morning that they were running behind; in the rush to leave Hachiman's house, things had gotten hectic. That must've been when—
Her eyes darted toward Hachiman.She was about to pin the blame on him when she noticed Makoto turn her attention to him instead.
"…Wait, did I mess mine up too?" Hachiman wondered aloud, confused by Makoto's sudden scrutiny.
Her sharp eyes scanned him up and down. Without a mirror, he couldn't tell if his tie was crooked or not, but apparently, it was.
"Don't move," Makoto said firmly. "I'll fix it for you."
Before Hachiman could even react, she stepped in close, deftly untying and retightening his tie. The faint scent of her shampoo brushed against him as her fingers worked with practiced precision.
"As the student council president's childhood friend, you should also be setting an example, Hikigaya-kun. Got it?"
"Uh—y-yeah… got it…"
Hachiman froze, feeling more than a little awkward.
And then—
Ding!
A familiar digital tone echoed in his head.
"Character card detected — Yotsuya Miko.""Character card detected — Kitagawa Marin.""Character card detected — Gotoh Hitori.""Character card detected — …"
Like a kicked beehive, the notifications flooded in nonstop.Apparently, all the anime-world characters hidden within the school grounds—some he'd already seen, some he hadn't—were being detected by the system all at once.
And sure enough, Amasame Makoto's name appeared among them.
Knew it, he thought grimly. No way all these gorgeous Disciplinary Committee girls didn't have some kind of plotline attached.
Still, he hadn't expected Makoto to be one of them. The system had never hinted at her before—and even now, it only said her character card had been detected. No special quest, no event trigger, nothing like Yukinoshita or Yuigahama.
"Makoto-chan, this is our new transfer student, Tsukinose Vignette April," Kaede said cheerfully. "She's living in the apartment next door to Hachiman's place. You'll probably see her with us after school a lot!"
"Hello, Amasame-san. Please, just call me Vignette," she said politely, bowing slightly.She'd quickly picked up on how names worked here—if she could call Hachiman by his first name, this kind and elegant committee girl should be no exception.
"Then please, call me Makoto," the girl replied with a warm smile. "We can chat later—right now, you'd better get in line."
"Okay~" Kaede said brightly, grabbing Vignette's hand as they moved toward the line for female students.
Just then, a wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd.Students turned their heads—some whispering, others outright gawking.
Kaede and Vignette looked over their shoulders to see what the commotion was about.
A few sleek black cars had just pulled up outside the gate. From the middle car stepped out two breathtakingly beautiful blonde girls.
One was petite and sweet-faced, the other tall and commanding.Pretty girls weren't exactly rare at Sōbu High—but these two had something else entirely.
A pair of long, pointed ears peeked through their shimmering golden hair.
"E-Elf Princesses?!" Kaede gasped.
At that moment, another familiar tone rang in Hachiman's mind.
"Ding—""Character card detected — Ailith Tia Edellrind.""Character card detected — Aigis Tia Edellrind.""Quest triggered — Assist the Elf Princess."
"The High Elves stand on the brink of extinction. The young princess, Ailith, bears the duty of restoring her race's lost glory. Aid her, and help fulfill the High Elves' dying wish."
As the flood of notifications faded, Hachiman understood immediately who these transfer students really were.
So these were the "Elf Princesses" everyone had been talking about.
And judging by the quest description… they hadn't come to Sōbu High just to study.
They were here—to ask for help.