"This is the special admittee, Roy. Get along however you want."
First-Year, Class 3, High School Division—Homeroom teacher Yatsuzaki Kyouko stood at the podium and gave a casually dismissive introduction of Roy to the entire class, so offhanded it made one question whether she was even qualified to be a teacher.
Upon closer look, the young female teacher appeared to be barely in her twenties. Though slender, she carried herself with a commanding posture. Her gaze was particularly sharp—borderline menacing. In one hand, she wielded a bizarre black-and-red spiked baseball bat.
Rather than a teacher, she looked more like a delinquent.
"Your turn."
Kyouko nudged her chin toward Roy, urging him forward.
"I'm Roy. Nice to meet you all."
Wearing a polite smile, Roy delivered a brief and textbook self-introduction.
The students' reactions varied—some indifferent, some curious, and a few even wary for no obvious reason.
Amid those stares was one that stood out—surprise.
Sensing that emotion clearly, Roy looked in that direction—and his eyes met those of a pink-haired princess seated by the window in the far back.
"Find yourself a seat. Alright, class starts now."
Kyouko waved her hand dismissively, urging Roy off the podium.
With a faint grunt of acknowledgment, Roy stepped down and found a seat near the back of the classroom.
To be honest, something felt off.
Because seated next to him... was that pink-haired princess.
She seemed like she had a lot to say to him but, mindful that class was in session, merely opened her mouth, then looked away to focus on the lesson.
To his right was the blond guy who had helped him during the duel by providing intel. The blond noticed him and gave a cheerful wave.
Roy began to ponder.
This wasn't just "a little weird."
It was very weird.
Exactly what was off, he couldn't put into words—just a powerful sense of incongruity.
That feeling found its answer when class ended.
"Yo! I'm Eishirou Yabuki, apparently your roommate!"
The blond guy came over and greeted him with a friendly grin.
"You're my roommate?"
Roy looked at him with a puzzled expression.
That's... odd.
Why was this guy his roommate?
"Were you living alone before?" Eishirou asked.
"Sort of."
Eishirou didn't seem the least bit suspicious.
"Dorms here are all doubles. It was kinda lonely before, but now I've got you! Let's get along!"
As he spoke, he reached out for a handshake.
Roy shook his hand, but the odd look on his face deepened.
"Yabuki, do you know if there's anyone else recently admitted as a special student? Besides me, I mean…"
He had wanted to ask, "Do you know the protagonist?"
But he suddenly realized… he didn't even remember the protagonist's name. So he rephrased the question.
If he remembered right, the protagonist was also a special admittee at Seidoukan Academy, wasn't he?
"Special admittee?" Eishirou scratched his head and answered with confidence.
"Nope. I'm in the journalism club—every time a special student enters, it becomes big news. There's almost no chance we'd miss one. This year, it's just you."
Oh damn.
Roy mentally yelped.
Now he finally understood the source of the disconnect.
Even back during the duel earlier that morning—something had felt off.
It wasn't the protagonist who dueled the princess, but rather that Kirin Toudou—only later did Roy remember. That youthful, big-busted girl was also a main character in the original story.
As for where the protagonist had gone, Roy didn't have the time to dwell on it just then.
But Claudia had invited him to enroll at Seidoukan Academy, placed him into this specific class, and even arranged for him to room with Yabuki—the one who was probably the protagonist's original "bro" in canon. No matter how you looked at it, Claudia was treating him as the protagonist now, offering the full VIP package.
So… where did the protagonist go? Claudia had chosen him, not the actual protagonist.
Was it because he had interfered with her dream, triggering a butterfly effect?
Something about that felt strange.
But Roy couldn't quite put his finger on what, exactly, was off.
His memories of the original work had long since faded with time. He couldn't even recall the protagonist's name. Only when he saw characters like Julis or Kirin did he vaguely remember who they were. Expecting him to recall every detail of the plot was a tall order.
Maybe I'll ask Claudia about it when I get the chance, Roy thought.
That said, he wasn't overly concerned.
Plot? Narrative? Roy didn't care all that much.
If someone's only way to survive was by memorizing the script, then the moment the story went off track, they'd be helpless—unable to make their own decisions. A person like that wouldn't amount to much.
Rather than clinging to canon, Roy preferred to understand this world.
Once he deciphered the rules of this reality, he could act on his own terms to seize what he wanted.
Even if he didn't know the plot, he felt no panic. His heart was at peace.
He believed—he could shape his own fate.
"Right, right—do you mind if your face ends up on the website?"
As Roy was lost in thought, Yabuki's voice pulled him back.
The blond pulled out his phone, swiped it, and a floating space-window materialized in the air. He tossed it in front of Roy—playing footage from that morning's duel between Julis and Kirin. In the final frame, Roy's face had been neatly captured.
"Technically, I should've already uploaded the full video, y'know, news waits for no one. But since you're my roommate, I figured I'd give you a say in it!"
Yabuki winked and elbowed Roy—"See what a bro I am?" written all over his face.
"So, if he wasn't your roommate, you'd have already posted it, right? You're just scared he'd come after you."
The words were sharp as a dagger.
Beads of cold sweat gathered on Yabuki's brow as he turned a stiff smile to Roy's left side.
"Haha… Julis, even if you see through me, could you maybe not call me out?"
"If it's the truth, you should at least have the guts to admit it."
Julis, seated beside Roy, her pink hair drifting on the sea breeze through the open window, delivered her cold words with typical iciness.
"Go ahead and post it. I don't mind."
Roy glanced at the pink-haired princess and gave Yabuki a calm, smiling nod of approval.
"Awesome! You're the best! I'll give you a 20% discount on all future intel!"
Yabuki lit up, raining compliments on Roy.
"You're too nice."
Julis sighed softly and stood up, approaching Roy.
Up close, her beauty was undeniably transcendent.
But…
Too nice?
Roy adjusted his glasses, a gentle smile on his face.
"Yeah… that's what everyone says."
Said the young man who'd once been labeled by the galaxy as an super-class criminal.
The mercenaries who chased him to their deaths: Oh, totally! What a nice guy! He even sent us through the full cremation package—didn't even leave us a grave to dig!
***
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