Early the next morning.
Kuzeha Yuu woke from his slumber.
A fresh, fragrant scent lingered at the tip of his nose.
The moment he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a familiar head of silver hair.
Kasugano Sora, like an adorable ragdoll cat, was curled up in his arms.
Staring at her long lashes that trembled slightly, a trace of helplessness appeared at the corner of Kuzeha Yuu's lips.
Though over the years Kuzeha Yuu had already assigned everyone their own room…
Sora still snuck into his bed every night without fail.
And she always acted so justified, claiming she just couldn't fall asleep alone.
After patting the "sleeping" Sora on the head, Kuzeha Yuu got up and went to wash up.
At this moment, Sakura was already busy in the kitchen, preparing today's lunch boxes.
"Sakura really is the most dependable!"
Kuzeha Yuu was endlessly grateful for his bold decision to intercept Sakura back then.
After breakfast, under Sora's reluctant gaze, Kuzeha Yuu and Sakura left the orphanage.
...
Sobu High School.
As the closest and most academically elite high school in the area, Sobu High had completely crushed the orphanage's other girls during entrance exams.
They had no choice but to attend other schools with boarding options.
On the first day of school, banners welcoming new students hung above the school gate.
First-year students wore a green ribbon at their collar, making them easy to spot.
Not to mention their faces practically radiated nervous excitement.
Kuzeha Yuu turned to look at Sakura beside him.
She wasn't particularly tall, but her figure was graceful and well-proportioned.
Especially that criminally curvy body—accentuated to perfection by the Sobu High JK uniform.
If it weren't for the colored ribbon indicating grade, no one would believe she was just a new first-year student.
"Sakura, if not for you, I never would've thought the Sobu uniform could look so good."
"You're definitely going to become the next 'cool beauty' of the school!"
Kuzeha Yuu offered genuine praise.
Upon hearing his words, a faint blush tinted Sakura's soft skin, and a trace of sweet joy filled her eyes.
"Things like being a 'cool beauty' aren't important…"
She spoke softly, gazing at Kuzeha Yuu's side profile, her expression full of anticipation.
"As long as I can go to the same school as you, Kuzeha Yuu-nii… I'm already very happy!"
For Sakura, being with Kuzeha Yuu was the greatest happiness of all.
"Kuzeha Yuu-nii, I'm heading to class!"
After entering the school, they went their separate ways.
Kuzeha Yuu checked the class assignment list and found his classroom.
Second Year, Class A!
He arrived fairly early—barely a fifth of the seats were filled.
"Hmm, the throne's still empty…"
Without hesitation, Kuzeha Yuu headed for the seat by the window in the back row—commonly known as the "protagonist seat."
Turning his head, he could see almost the entire school from this vantage point.
"What a coincidence. We're in the same class again!"
A cold yet slightly tsundere voice came from beside him.
Kuzeha Yuu turned to see a silver-haired, blue-eyed beauty with mixed European features pulling out the chair next to him and sitting down without hesitation.
"Good morning, Alisa. We're lucky to be classmates again."
Kuzeha Yuu spoke plainly, but to Alisa, the Russian half-blooded beauty, it struck a chord.
Lucky?
Does that mean he was looking forward to being in the same class? That he's happy?
Alisa began overthinking immediately.
She turned to observe Kuzeha Yuu's face, trying to read his expression.
But Kuzeha Yuu was staring straight at the classroom door.
Following his gaze, Alisa saw her—
The one and only Yukinoshita Yukino, the school's reigning "cool beauty."
Alisa instantly fumed.
A string of Russian slipped from her lips.
"Hmph, I'm a cool beauty too. Why won't you look at me more…"
Then she nervously looked back at Kuzeha Yuu.
"Ah? What did you say, Alisa?"
Seeing the confused look on his face, Alisa smirked.
"Yep, he doesn't understand!"
Then she huffed and retorted, "Nothing. Just said you're an idiot."
"Calling me an idiot is a bit harsh…"
Kuzeha Yuu pouted in mock annoyance, though deep down he breathed a sigh of relief.
Acting is hard!
He almost broke character.
To think he had [Russian Proficiency] triggered when he was a kid—there's no way he didn't understand her.
But the more Alisa used Russian around him, the more he enjoyed pretending.
He was waiting.
Waiting for the moment of truth.
The more she said, the greater the embarrassment when she found out.
Kuzeha Yuu was already savoring the look on her face for that inevitable day.
Ah, it's going to be delicious!
Soon, once the classroom had mostly filled up, Sobu High's famous beauty of a teacher, Hiratsuka Shizuka, entered.
"For the coming year, I'll be your homeroom teacher. Let's begin the roll call!"
"Yukinoshita Yukino!"
"Here."
...
"Kuzeha Yuu!"
"Here."
...
"Tohsaka Rin!"
"Here!"
...
After roll call, Hiratsuka Shizuka led the students to the school plaza.
It was time for that universally dreaded and boring event—the opening ceremony.
Standing in formation, Kuzeha Yuu withdrew his gaze from Yukinoshita Yukino's back.
He hadn't expected to end up in the same class as her.
"Not bad… but Yukinoshita Yukino doesn't hold much sway in her family right now."
If he remembered correctly, in the original story, Yukino didn't have a good relationship with her mother. The heir of the Yukinoshita Conglomerate was actually her older sister, Haruno.
"But this could be a chance to get close to Haruno."
If possible, Kuzeha Yuu hoped to resolve the issue in a gentler way.
After all, a massive conglomerate powerful enough to thrive in this dangerous multiverse world wasn't a pushover.
Kuzeha Yuu's eyes scanned the edges of the plaza.
Even during just a school ceremony, he could sense several auras far stronger than ordinary people.
Likely security hired to guard the opening ceremony.
"Must be professional heroes…"
Kuzeha Yuu thought.
The long ceremony continued to drag on.
Kuzeha Yuu could already hear students muttering in complaint.
"Why so much pointless talk? Ugh, every year I wish the school would just explode at this point…"
Before the student could even finish their grumbling, a piercing alarm suddenly blared across the plaza.
"Warning! Warning! Spatial quake fluctuations detected! All personnel in the area, please proceed to the nearest shelter immediately!"
The crowd instantly fell silent—then erupted in panic.
"No way, it's really happening?!"
Kuzeha Yuu's mouth twitched.
He looked up toward the sky.
A black dot had already formed in midair, rapidly expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Kuzeha Yuu glanced toward the first-year section.
Sakura was still there.
"No choice, then."
He exhaled slowly and focused his attention on the first golden entry he ever obtained.
[Imaginary Space]