Chapter 1: Starting as the Campus Heartthrob
Teitan High School, Year 2, Class B.
A tall, handsome young man picked up a piece of chalk and—scritch, scritch, scritch—wrote his name across the blackboard.
"Higashino Makoto!"
"This is my name. Nice to meet you all!"
Higashino Makoto gave a slight nod, flashing a warm, brilliant smile.
1.8 meters tall, with looks that were straight off the charts.
Fresh from his transfer to Teitan High School, he was already the talk of the campus—one of the school's top heartthrobs.
"He's so handsome!"
"Uh-huh, uh-huh! And he's so tall!"
"He's taller than Kudo-kun, isn't he?"
"And better-looking too!"
Every girl in the class had stars in her eyes.
The boys, on the other hand, glared one by one—hostility written across every face.
They could put up with having the high school detective Kudo Shinichi around—the guy always stealing the spotlight—but now a foreign transfer student had shown up on top of that.
And taller than Kudo Shinichi to boot. And better-looking.
"Ran, what do you think of Higashino-kun?"
Suzuki Sonoko wore a completely lovesick expression.
"Isn't Higashino-kun from China? Why does he have a Japanese surname? Are you actually Japanese?"
Mouri Ran voiced the question that had been on her mind.
"That's not what I meant—I meant what do you think of how he looks?"
"Isn't he way better-looking than that deduction idiot?"
Sonoko said, completely deflated.
Her best friend really was way too serious sometimes.
Drop a guy this gorgeous in front of her, and what did she care about? His surname.
"The Higashino clan traces back to an ancient emperor who grew up beside the Ji River and later took Ji as his surname."
Makoto calmly walked the class through the history of his name. It took a while—the girls listened intently.
"To this day, there's still a village called Dongye—or Higashino in Japanese—in the Lu region of China."
Makoto smiled. "So, Higashino is an ancient surname that originated in China, not Japan."
"Oh——"
It all clicked into place for Ran.
"Wow, Higashino-kun is amazing! He's actually descended from royalty!"
"Yeah, yeah, no wonder he's so handsome!"
"He's incredible—he can even recite classical texts from memory. His grades must be amazing!"
"And he's got such presence, on top of everything else!"
...
The cluster of girls went even more starry-eyed than before.
Sonoko was already scheming about how to ask him out.
"What's the big deal?"
"Anyone would know where their own family name comes from. That's nothing special."
Kudo Shinichi rested his chin in his hand, muttering dismissively.
"Now then, Higashino-kun's seat will be…"
The balding homeroom teacher gazed around the classroom with a blank look.
As forgettable as ever.
"Higashino-kun, sit next to me!"
"Me! Me! Come sit here!"
"Over here! Come sit on my side!"
...
The lovesick girls shrieked all around him.
Thwack!
Higashino Makoto set his bag down on the desk.
He took the seat to Ran's left.
Sonoko sat in front of him, and Kudo Shinichi was diagonally behind him to the right.
"You don't mind, do you?"
Higashino Makoto smiled serenely.
"N-not at all!"
"Please, sit down, Higashino-kun!"
Ran bowed her head, the tips of her ears turning red.
Seriously!
He's so handsome!
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host! You have successfully activated the Check-In System!]
[Would you like to check in here?]
The system's chime sounded the moment he sat down.
As expected.
The system might go quiet for a while, but it never ran late.
As a transmigrator, activating a system right from the start—that's pretty much standard, isn't it?
"System, are there any conditions for checking in?"
Higashino Makoto asked.
[To check in, this system requires you to be at a plot-relevant location with at least one main cast member present.]
"Main cast members? Who exactly counts?"
Higashino Makoto asked again.
[The main cast members are: Kudo Shinichi or Edogawa Conan, Miyano Shiho or Haibara Ai, Mouri Ran, Mouri Kogoro, Professor Agasa, Suzuki Sonoko, Yoshida Ayumi, Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko, Kojima Genta, Inspector Megure, Kudo Yukiko, Kudo Yusaku, Hattori Heiji, Sera Masumi, Toyama Kazuha, Kaitou Kid or Kuroba Kaito…]
The system rattled off a long list of names—all figures closely tied to Conan, and regulars in the original story.
"I see!"
Higashino Makoto smiled to himself, now clear on how the system's check-in worked.
One condition was being at a plot-relevant location—somewhere that had appeared in the Detective Conan anime.
The other was having at least one major Detective Conan character present at the same time.
Right now, Year 2, Class B at Teitan High School happened to satisfy both conditions perfectly.
"Check in!"
Higashino Makoto tapped the [Check In] button.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Check-in at Teitan High School successful. Reward: 100% ownership of Teitan High School!]
The system's chime sounded again almost immediately.
100% ownership?
Wouldn't that make him chairman of the board?
Higashino Makoto opened the system's main screen.
[Host: Higashino Makoto]
[Assets: 100% ownership of Teitan High School]
[Titles: Chairman of the Teitan High School Board of Trustees, Chairman of the Teitan High School Board of Directors.]
Chairman of the trustees and chairman of the directors—both?
Doesn't that mean he can basically do whatever he wants?
Higashino Makoto's gaze swept over Ran and Kudo Shinichi, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.
"Oh, Ran—to celebrate your Kanto Tournament win, want to go karaoke together this weekend?"
Sonoko leaned over.
"Um, Sonoko, maybe next time?"
"I've got something going on this weekend…"
Ran said, glancing toward Kudo Shinichi's direction with an awkward look.
But Kudo Shinichi was still stewing over Higashino Makoto stealing his thunder—completely oblivious to his childhood friend's expression.
"Oh——"
"Got it!"
Sonoko put on her "I totally get it" face, then immediately turned to Higashino Makoto. "Higashino-kun, want to hang out this weekend? A welcome party for the new transfer student, maybe?"
"Sorry, I've got plans too."
"I'm heading somewhere this weekend!"
Higashino Makoto smiled.
Ran had just won the karate championship at the Kanto Tournament, and Kudo Shinichi was right there as well.
That could only mean one thing—the next plot check-in location was Tropical Land!
"Huh?"
"Why is everyone like this? How boring!"
Sonoko shrugged helplessly, her face full of disappointment.
"Next time, then!"
"There'll be more chances."
Higashino Makoto's gaze drifted over Kudo Shinichi.
Once tomorrow was over, he'd be the one looking after Shinichi's precious Ran.
…
…
Higashino Makoto — Protagonist. Transmigrated.
Kudo Shinichi — High school detective. Series: Detective Conan.
Mouri Ran — Shinichi's childhood sweetheart. Series: Detective Conan.
Suzuki Sonoko — Ran's childhood friend. Series: Detective Conan.
…
…
Translated by CheapBiscuit.