Fiddling with the cards in his hand, a flicker of surprise passed through the boy's eyes.
After all, Kasumigaoka Utaha wasn't a character from the Type-Moon universe—she'd never appeared in Fate/Grand Order.
By all logic, her personal costume shouldn't exist in reality.
Yet here he was, holding a three-star costume he'd never seen before.
Kurosawa Ren furrowed his brows slightly and suddenly thought of a possibility.
In FGO lore, summoning Heroic Spirits and costumes is all about fate.
In other words, there's a high probability of summoning entities that share a causal relationship with the summoner.
"Is the system treating me as a Holy Relic?" he muttered. "Well… not impossible."
Last night, Kasumigaoka Utaha had made her feelings crystal clear and allowed him to take the next step.
Perhaps because of that, the system had rewarded him with a unique personal costume.
"Looking at it another way... if I get to know more girls, could I unlock more rare costumes?"
A 30% chance to "double rewards" was nothing to scoff at.
Not to mention, he might acquire more cards in the future to break the limit further.
For the sake of personal growth—it was necessary to open a harem route.
Kurosawa Ren lowered his head and began planning his next moves.
If a man lives just once and finds himself in a world filled with anime heroines, wouldn't it be a colossal waste not to flirt around?
He was a classic carnivore-type.
He began practicing projection magic again, repeating the process until he had completely drained himself of mana.
Only then did he collapse onto his small bed and fall into a deep sleep.
The next morning.
Sitting at the dining table and staring at the mountain of food laid out before him, Kurosawa Ren couldn't help but twitch his mouth into a bitter smile.
"This is bad... I must've inherited the gluttonous appetite of the Pendragon bloodline... This hunger is outrageous."
He'd usually have a light appetite, but now he felt ravenous enough to devour an entire cow.
The small dining table was overflowing with different breakfast dishes.
Even after eating all of it, he was only 70% full.
…Damn.
Good thing my parents left me quite a bit of money in this life. If I came from a normal household, this bottomless pit of a stomach might've ruined me financially.
After cleaning up the kitchen, he slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and left home.
Today was Monday.
Time to return to the devil's den known as school.
On the streets, you could see students everywhere—yawning, hunched over, dragging their feet like zombies. Clearly, no one was thrilled about leaving behind their relaxing weekend.
"The Red Dragon Heart is constantly strengthening my physique," Ren thought.
Walking under the falling cherry blossoms, he could feel the power surging from his heart with every step, as if his blood was pumping dragon energy throughout his entire body.
It was a pure force.
It nourished his bones and caused his muscles and organs to subtly adapt, fusing with the dragon-blood factor.
"Whoa, who's that tall, handsome guy?"
"That's Kurosawa Ren from Class 2-A. I heard he's amazing at sports and ranks near the top in academics. He's right behind Yukinoshita and Student Council President Shinomiya."
"Wow, really? Does he have a girlfriend?"
"Not as far as I know. Lots of girls have confessed, but he turned them all down. I heard he doesn't plan on dating during high school."
"What a waste."
"Yeah, it's tragic."
My hearing's improved too... Ren thought, frowning at the whispers that followed him wherever he went.
He didn't care for gossip, especially not when it involved himself.
"Yo, Kurosawa Ren! Still as popular as ever, huh?"
Just then, an annoyingly familiar duck-like voice called out from behind.
Ren turned and saw the overly enthusiastic otaku.
"Morning, Aki."
It was Aki Tomoya—thick black-rimmed glasses, plain-looking face, and average grades.
He was the kind of hardcore otaku who loved "educating" everyone around him, whether they wanted it or not.
While it rubbed most people the wrong way, he seemed to revel in it.
Back when Ren had been trying to get closer to Kasumigaoka Utaha, he'd studied a lot of otaku culture and built a decent relationship with Aki.
"Yo, Ren! Have you read volume two of Kasumigaoka Utaha's Love Metronome yet?"
"I stayed up all night finishing it! Her writing has gone to another level. The romantic development feels so real—like she's genuinely in love!"
As always, Aki Tomoya rambled on non-stop.
Not long ago, Ren had accompanied him to a book signing for Love Metronome.
Shortly afterward, the icy and aloof senior had fallen for Ren—and they became a couple.
Ironically, in the original work, this same guy had treated Kasumigaoka Utaha like a tool—manipulating and using her repeatedly.
Should I teach him a lesson at some point…?
"Haha!"
Noticing Ren's calm demeanor, Aki puffed out his chest with pride.
"If it weren't for that signing event, I never would've guessed that senior Kasumigaoka was the mysterious author Kasumi Shiko!"
Since that event, Aki had gone from casual fan to obsessed fan.
He now promoted Kasumigaoka Shiko's works on his popular blog and had even created a fan website under her real name.
After pouring so much effort into his fandom, he felt entitled to recognition.
7: Aki Tomoya Gets Publicly Humiliated – The Relationship Goes Official
Today, he planned to take credit for Kasumigaoka's success.
He even hoped she might notice and thank him for his loyalty.
"Hey, Aki..."
Even Ren, with his generally mild personality, was starting to lose patience with Aki's constant rambling.
"It's important to know your limits. I hope you understand that."
"Huh? Kurosawa... what's that supposed to mean?"
Aki's face stiffened.
He wasn't dumb—he felt the veiled insult.
Was this guy mocking him?
What the hell did he know?
Did he think he knew Kasumigaoka Utaha better than him?
I'm her biggest fan. I've spent sleepless nights promoting her work. What have you done?
Why do you think you get to say something like that to me?
Click, click, click—
The rhythmic tapping of leather shoes echoed in the distance.
Aki froze.
The girl of his dreams was approaching them.
"Senior Kasumigaoka... is she here for me?"
Did she find out about all the effort I put into promoting her? That must be it!
My blog's name is "TAKI"—just a romanization of my real name. She asked for my name at the launch event. If she thought about it even a little, she'd realize I'm the one behind it all!
Brimming with anticipation, Aki quickly stepped forward and blocked her path.
"Senior Kasumigaoka!"
"What a coincidence! I've been reading your second volume—it's amazing! I've reread it so many times!"
"Thank you for your support," Utaha replied politely. "But please don't approach me at school."
Though his enthusiasm was obvious, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt instinctively uncomfortable.
Still, she nodded out of basic courtesy—then turned her eyes toward the person beside him.
Kurosawa Ren.
Though only a day had passed since they last saw each other, she missed him like they'd been apart for years.
"But... Kasumi Shiko-sensei—"
Her polite yet distant tone hit Aki like a bucket of ice water.
He froze.
Unwilling to accept the rejection, he desperately clung to hope.
"Kasumi Shiko-sensei! I created a fan site in your name! The URL is—"
"I already asked you once. Please don't bother me at school again."
Her voice turned cold.
The polite facade vanished, replaced by a look of irritation.
What is with this guy? Can't he take a hint?
She had no interest in exposing her identity as a light novel author in front of everyone.
"Tsk. Another idiot trying to confess to Senior Kasumigaoka."
"Who is he? Can't he tell she's clearly pissed?"
"I think that's Aki Tomoya from Class A."
"Ugh, that guy? I heard he once begged the Dean to approve an anime screening for the school festival—even got the principal involved."
"Now that you mention it, yeah! That weirdo!"
How did a guy like that even get into our school...?
The growing chatter around him made Aki's face pale and blotchy.
Even with his thick skin, the public humiliation was too much to bear.
His whole body trembled with shame—he just wanted to disappear.
But then came a sudden commotion behind him.
He turned around.
And froze.
Kasumigaoka Utaha—his goddess—was holding onto Kurosawa Ren's arm.
"What... what the hell?"
"Did she just publicly announce a relationship?"
"Who is that guy? Wait—I think it's Kurosawa Ren! From our class!"
"Holy crap... that guy's a legend. Even scored a third-year senpai!"
Aki's heart shattered.
The whispers felt like knives.
Every word around him was a fresh wound.
But no one was looking at him anymore.
All eyes were on Kurosawa Ren and Kasumigaoka Utaha—the campus prince and the cold literary goddess—now officially together.