Keigunen Private Academy.
The most prestigious private esper academy in Tokyo, and perhaps the entire world.
Inside the academy's female dormitory.
[Ding—]
[You have a new message. Please check.]
[Ding—]
[You have a new message. Please check.]
"..."
The sweet synthetic female voice, meant to be pleasant, was instead jarring enough to pierce through one's dreams.
"So annoying—" A slender, pale arm slowly emerged from the covers. The girl, her eyes still hazy with sleep, grabbed the phone by her pillow and stared blankly at the screen.
"E-Excuse me..." a soft, sweet girl's voice sounded from the phone.
"Su-senpai."
"My name is Saotome Yukina, a first-year in the Healing Department at Keigunen Private Academy."
"I was wondering..."
She didn't wait for the girl on the other end of the line to finish.
The moment she heard the other person's name, the girl shot up in bed and cut Saotome Yukina off with a rapid-fire triple rejection.
"No time."
"Not going."
"Impossible."
*Beep, beep, beep—* On the other end of the line, the girl who had been timidly holding her phone with both hands looked completely bewildered, as if she had no idea what had just happened.
"Saotome..."
"Yukina." The slightly biting morning chill swept away the last vestiges of sleep from the girl's mind.
The name Saotome Yukina was like the final piece of a puzzle, confirming the suspicion in the girl's heart—
She, Su Yuzu, had truly been transported.
And what's more... she'd been transported into the world of an eroge.
"This really isn't good news."
"Especially..."
The girl turned off her phone screen, looking at the reflection of her own delicate face in the dark glass.
"...when I might become one of the 'protagonists' myself."
Seventeen years ago.
While criticizing an eroge, Su Yuzu had gotten up to get her food delivery. Her legs were weak, the floor was slippery, and the back of her head had an unfortunate intimate encounter with the ground.
Before she completely lost consciousness, Su Yuzu's very last thought was...
"If there really is a god in this world—"
"Could you please clear my computer's history and 'study material' folders."
"I'm willing to pay any price."
"Even if... it means being sent to the world of an eroge."
Evidently—
Her wish was granted.
She arrived in this world—a world of espers—without any cheat abilities.
Even her own superpower was a pitiful Level 0 Psychokinesis.
In the past, Su Yuzu had clung to the hope that this world might just be *based* on an eroge's setting.
But—
The name Saotome Yukina shattered that last shred of hope.
Because... Saotome Yukina was the game's main heroine.
A sweet, adorable, and well-behaved junior.
Beyond her pure, healing presence, the gentle shyness that shimmered in her aqua-blue eyes always made Su Yuzu's inner beast howl.
But she was the main heroine of the game—
Su Yuzu was well-versed in the survival tactics of an eroge.
In a standard eroge, no matter how expansive the world-building, getting close to the protagonist would inevitably bring 'misfortune'.
Su Yuzu had no desire to see her name appear on someone else's conquest list.
After all... not everyone plays by the rules when it comes to 'conquests'.
There were plenty who preferred forceful methods.
With only Level 0 Psychokinesis, the absolute limit of Su Yuzu's ability was merely bending an aluminum spoon.
She did not want such a dramatic and dark stroke painted onto the canvas of her life.
"No matter what—"
"Stay far away from Saotome Yukina."
Su Yuzu warned herself.
"However..."
"Didn't I receive two messages earlier?"
Just as Su Yuzu had this thought.
[Ding—]
[You have a new message. Please check.]
A familiar notification sound chimed, and the upper-right corner of Su Yuzu's vision suddenly lit up.
A small, beige envelope with a red exclamation mark gently swayed in her field of view, announcing its presence to her.
"Damn..."
Su Yuzu's cheat ability, seventeen years late, seemed to have... maybe... finally... arrived.
She shook her head hard.
Deep breath.
She buried her face into the blankets, which seemed to carry the faint scent of milk.
"Calm down—"
"Yuzu..."
"Calm down—"
That giddy excitement of wanting to be a protagonist had long since been worn away by seventeen years of waiting... as if!
The girl was now just short of wrapping herself in the blankets and rolling all over the bed.
She reached out a hand and gently touched the envelope in the upper-right corner of her vision.
[Ding—]
The familiar synthetic female voice rang in her ears.
[Congratulations, you have unlocked the achievement: If Life Could Be Redone.]
[Congratulations, you have unlocked the achievement: Child Prodigy.]
[Congratulations, you have unlocked the achievement: Wasted Prodigy.]
[...]
[Congratulations, you have unlocked the achievement: Survived Seventeen Years Peacefully.]
[...]
Just like an eroge that had just unlocked its achievement system, a flurry of 'ding' sounds and the sweet synthetic female voice instantly flooded Su Yuzu's vision and ears.
The girl's eye twitched; she felt that these achievements, strung together, were a bit too sarcastic.
Ding, ding, ding, ding—
The notifications came one after another.
[Operator Development Module has been activated. Game launching—]
A familiar light-blue interface from Su Yuzu's memories appeared in her vision.
Besides the prominent modules on the right side of her vision like "Operator Index," "Operator Development," "Operator Log," and "Resource Procurement," the most striking thing... was the girl's portrait on the left.
A girl with black, shoulder-length hair and crimson eyes stared lazily out from the screen.
With just a raised eyebrow, the aura of a bad girl seemed to radiate from her.
But... the name in the lower-left corner of the portrait unquestionably confirmed that the girl was Yuzu herself.
[After you successfully sign a contract with your first Operator, you may choose to change your assistant.]
Just as Yuzu was looking at her own portrait, the sweet yet emotionless voice sounded in her ear.
[Furthermore...]
[Depending on the progression of your assistant's favorability, you can freely choose portraits or CGs from different favorability stages as your assistant's appearance.]
"It's exactly like in the game—"
All her previous fear and anxiety seemed to vanish in an instant.
"So... I'm the protagonist after all."
Deep breath—
Calming herself down a bit, Yuzu tapped on the "Operator Index" on the right side of her vision.
Besides her own "bad girl" portrait, a grayed-out silhouette of another girl caught Yuzu's attention.
[Saotome Yukina]
[Level 2 - Hydrokinetic]
[Talent: Dragon King.]
[Talent: Cash-Powered.]
[The young lady of the Saotome family, currently enrolled as a first-year at Keigunen Private Academy.]
[...]
[Initial Favorability: 40 (Esteem).]
[Note: Favorability can be increased by feeding or developing an Operator.]
[As you increase favorability, you will receive random rewards. Furthermore... as you increase favorability, you will receive bonus returns on the resources you expend.]
[Note...]
[Bonus returns are only granted when favorability increases.]
[...]
[Contract Signed: No.]
"Ding—" The phone in her hand vibrated as the screen lit up.
"I'm so sorry!!!"
"Su-senpai."
"I must have disturbed your rest."
Su Yuzu looked at the message on her phone.
She's like a little rabbit.
No matter what she does, she makes you feel like she's worth teasing. No wonder she's the main heroine.
[Ding—]
[--Game Start--]
[--Distributing Mission--]
[Part 1: Having successfully survived your 'long' seventeen-year life, you are now in urgent need of signing a contract with a new Operator.]
[Mission: Sign a contract with one Operator.]
[Reward: Basic Combat Records.]
[And finally~~~ Welcome to... the new world—]
[Hello there—]
[Su Yuzu.]
Swiping away all the options before her, she looked at her phone. The corners of the girl's mouth curled up into a nearly wicked smile.
"This is Su Yuzu—"
"Is this... Yukina-kouhai?"