"Ah, sorry!"
Zayden simply waves his hand, saying, "It's all good, no big deal."
Standing in front of him was a girl, 1.45 meters tall.
She was wearing a navy-blue blazer and, underneath, a white button-up shirt, paired with a large bow-shaped tie in a dark green shade with black stripes, secured at the collar.
Her skirt was short and pleated, matching the colors of the bow. On her legs, she wore black tights, and on her feet, white shoes with dark green soles.
When she lifted her head, her beautiful scarlet red hair swayed lightly. It was tied up in twin tails, adorned with black butterfly-shaped bows on the sides. Her large, expressive eyes displayed a vivid pinkish hue.
There was no doubt that she held an important role in HHHS. After all, she was Subaru's crush and one of the main heroines of the game.
In fact, she was also the one with the most routes, making it clear the creator's preference for a short girl with enormous breasts.
Oh, yes—She was the one with the largest breasts in HHHS. In the game, she was described as having an I-Cup size, meaning an impressive 109 cm.
"I'm in a hurry, so…" She said, bowing again before leaving: "See you later, and sorry again!"
With that, she rushed off.
Looking back, Zayden thought: 'She's really cute, honestly.'
Although he thought that, he didn't keep staring in her direction and entered the bathroom.
'31, huh…'
It wasn't very high or low. The fact that her affection index was 31 meant, at most, that she didn't feel repulsed by him and was willing to be his friend.
He realized that only when he reached 50+ would her interest potentially shift to romantic feelings.
…
Back in the classroom, Zayden glanced at Subaru, the protagonist of HHHS.
He was short compared to most boys, standing at 1.51 meters tall.
His eyes had a slightly droopy shape, and his straight, dark brown hair contrasted with his light brown eyes. Being more introverted, he let his hair grow long enough for his bangs to fall just above his eyes.
This was just a theory among most who played HHHS, though it was never directly stated, it's evident that he had a complex about his height. Because of this, his childhood friend, who was much taller than him, only had one conquest route compared to the other heroines.
Another reason to believe in his height complex was his preference for the girl Zayden had bumped into on his way to the bathroom: Riko Kohinata. Perhaps what attracted him was the fact that she was shorter than him… or, who knows, her breasts, so voluminous they seemed ready to burst like balloons.
Either way, no matter how much Zayden looked at him, though he wasn't ugly, his appearance was just average, and his personality was equally average, even a bit gloomy.
He was probably created to be an ordinary, relatable guy. His standout trait? His childhood friend. Oddly enough, the game's developer made Emilia Subaru's 'golden finger.'
In other words, before he could win over any girl, he needed to get close to them through Emilia. Some of Emilia's actions were even controlled by the players to start befriending certain girls.
Even in the harem route, Emilia played the most important role for the harem to work. And yet, despite all this, she was the only one without a monogamous romantic route.
'Poor girl,' Zayden thought, sitting down in his seat.
He just couldn't understand it. I mean, even though Emilia was tall—1.77 meters—she was still incredibly beautiful. Beautiful enough to grace the cover of a magazine.
Sure, he admitted that by Japanese girl standards, she was quite tall, but that didn't make her any less attractive.
But maybe for someone so short, she wasn't appealing?
Huh…
As someone who had lived two lives over 1.90 meters tall, he couldn't relate to that.
As the saying goes: If you don't want her, someone else will.
Looking at Emilia's back, Zayden was lost in thought until the sensei called his attention.
**
**
Can someone's talent be surpassed with effort and hard work?
The answer to that question can vary.
It can be both yes and no at the same time.
If a talented person is also hardworking, even if someone without talent puts in effort, they'll hardly be able to keep up with the genius's pace.
It was a raw and harsh reality.
Now, where did this come from all of a sudden?
"You must be Zayden, and at your side must be Yamagi from the first year, right?"
Looking at the seniors in sports uniforms, Zayden raised an eyebrow.
Although they were taller than most students, with the shortest among them being 1.75 meters tall, they were still shorter than him and Yamagi.
Glancing at the basketball tucked under the arm of what seemed to be their leader, Zayden kind of guessed the reason for their 'visit.'
"That's right," Zayden replied. "How can I help?"
"I heard you guys were really good at basketball, even becoming champions of the Junior League."
The tallest among them, standing at 1.89 meters, took a step forward and continued, "Actually, we were hoping you two would join the basketball team. Since that hasn't happened, I came personally to invite you to join. It'd be a shame to waste so much talent."
"Not interested," Zayden replied bluntly.
"Hey, is that any way to talk to your senior?"
"Huh?" Looking at the boy with wine-red hair, Zayden gave a cold smile. "Respect isn't given, it's earned. So far, your attitude of stopping me and the way you talk as if I'm wasting my talent… Don't you think that's disrespectful? After all, what do you know about me?"
"You…"
"Taiga, calm down."
"But, Captain!"
"Quiet!" At his shout, the boy named Taiga fell silent.
With a charismatic smile, the boy with the basketball said, "You're right. I spoke out of turn. However, it's true that we'd love to have you both on the basketball team. My invitation is sincere. By the way, I don't think I've introduced myself yet. My name is Arashi Chiba, captain of the basketball team."
Seeing him extend his hand, saying, "Pleasure to meet you," Zayden nodded and extended his hand, shaking Arashi's.
Zayden remembered him; like himself, Arashi was one of the 'villains.' Though his target was his half-sister.
At school, he was called the Smiling Prince.
And right now, he was living up to that title. With his eyes closed in a smile and a thin grin.
Seeing him try to squeeze Zayden's hand with a bit of force, Zayden felt like laughing.
When he tightened his grip and saw sweat start to trickle down Arashi's forehead, he released his hand and asked in a mock-concerned tone, "Everything okay, Arashi-senpai?"
Arashi hid his hand in his pocket while forcing a smile. "Haha, I'm fine, I'm fine."
"Actually, there's a way to convince me to join the team," Zayden said, piquing the interest of the five.
A malicious smile curled on Zayden's lips as he said, "It's very simple. In a basketball game, you five need to beat me and Yamagi. Easy, right? If you prove you're good enough to beat the two of us, even being five, I see no reason to refuse the invitation~"
"Don't get cocky, first-year!" One of them, already brimming with anger, turned completely red in the face and reached out to grab Zayden's shirt collar.
However, before he could get close to Zayden, Yamagi stepped in front of him, looking like a wall as he stared at the boy with indifference.
The outstretched hand was grabbed by Yamagi, and when Yamagi applied a bit of force, the boy with long light brown hair began to scream in pain.
"Yosuke!"
"Bastard, let go of Yosuke!"
"Yamagi, enough."
"Yes, Boss."
Because of the commotion caused, it drew the attention of some students.
Murmurs wondering if a fight was happening could be heard here and there.
With his eyes closed and curved as if he were smiling with them, Arashi said, "Very well, we accept your proposal. If we win, you two will join the team and obey me as captain, got it?"
"No problem," Zayden replied with a meaningful smile.
'Beat us? Don't kid yourself.'
His confidence wasn't baseless.
It wasn't just about him; Yamagi, on his own, was a formidable talent.
…
Because of the earlier scene, many people heard about their match.
As a result, the number of students coming to watch kept growing.
On one side stood the five seniors—two second-years and three third-years—wearing sports uniforms with blue vests.
On the other side, Zayden and Yamagi wore sports clothes and green vests.
In the middle of the court, a student volunteered to be the referee. He was from the karate club and promised to be impartial.
Holding the ball, he blew the whistle and tossed it into the air.
"Yamagi."
"Yes!"
With a leap, Yamagi, competing with Arashi for the ball, had no chance of losing.
With his bear-like hand, he swatted the ball, sending it flying to Zayden's hands.
Catching it, Zayden began dribbling the ball on the ground.
He wore a confident smile as he dribbled, then leaned forward and dashed at a speed the basketball team wasn't expecting.
"Get behind him!"
"Don't let him pass!"
"Mark him!"
Zayden was like a green flash, so fast they couldn't even catch his shadow.
In an instant, he was already in front of the hoop, and with a high leap, he slammed the ball in.
"T-Two points for the green team!"
The referee snapped out of his daze and shouted loudly.
"Ohhhhhhhhhh!"
"Incredible!"
"Wow!!"
"So cool!"
Zayden, holding onto the hoop, let go and landed on the ground with both feet, making a booming sound.
The blue team grabbed the ball, but before they could pass, Yamagi marked them.
He looked like a mountain with his long, strong arms outstretched.
The first thought the basketball team's boy had was to run. His instincts screamed: Danger!
It was like facing a wild beast in a forest.
Frozen under Yamagi's pressure, his ball was stolen.
"Yamagi, do it."
Yamagi, who stole the ball, responded with a "Yes!" and then jumped, shooting the ball.
It all happened so fast that the blue team didn't even have time to react. When the ball was shot and went through the hoop with a 'Shoahh,' another wave of cheers echoed.
"T-Three-point shot!"
Looking at Arashi, who seemed stunned, as if he had seen some kind of alien, Zayden said with a chuckle, "You know… Everyone thinks that because of Yamagi's size, he only knows how to dunk, but actually, his real strength is three-point shots~"
"Damn…" Arashi cursed under his breath.
It became clear to him after this simple exchange. These two are monsters!
"Are they really first-years?" Taiga muttered, incredulous. Everything he saw before him just seemed wrong.
"There are so many students watching; we can't lose to two freshmen," Yosuke murmured.
Arashi nodded and said, "Pass the ball to me."
"Yes!"
Catching the ball, Yosuke passed it to Arashi.
But before Arashi could even grab it, Zayden appeared and snatched the ball: "I'm going in."
At the same time, he jumped, and Arashi, who tried to mark him, saw himself starting to fall while Zayden remained in the air.
Arashi fell backward onto his butt, and Zayden shot the ball.
Outside the hoop area, the ball went through the basket, and a loud whistle echoed.
"T-Three-point shot!"
"What the hell!!" Taiga shouted loudly.
Zayden, landing on both feet with a loud thud, looked at Arashi, who was getting up: "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I'm also pretty good at three-point shots~"
Arashi's face turned red.
It was humiliating to be treated like this, especially by first-year students.
As a senior, and on top of that, the captain of the basketball team, the humiliation he felt was greater than the rest. Especially for someone as proud as him.
What he didn't know was that this was just the beginning of his nightmare…
When they grabbed the ball and advanced toward the hoop, Zayden blocked and stole the ball before they could even reach the hoop area.
Zayden dribbled skillfully but didn't advance; he simply threw the ball forward as if tossing a rock toward the hoop.
"Yamagi!"
At Zayden's shout, Yamagi charged like a wild bull, and when the ball hit the backboard, Yamagi caught it in mid-air, jumping high and, with a powerful thrust, slammed the ball in.
Another loud whistle echoed, followed by a silence that lasted two seconds.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhh!"
Zayden placed a hand on Arashi's shoulder, saying, "Oh yeah, Arashi-senpai, Yamagi…"
"Let me guess, he's also good at dunking, right?" He rolled his eyes, furious.
"Haha, you got it. But unfortunately, there's no prize for guessing that." Zayden let out a chuckle.
…
The game continued—or rather, the massacre of the basketball team.
After the score reached 100 to 0, the blue team was lifeless.
It wasn't just about losing badly to another team; it was about losing to just two first-years.
How could they accept this?
When it hit 150 to 0, Zayden turned to Arashi: "Senpai, still want to keep going?"
If it were a normal game, there would still be plenty of time left.
And if it continued, the shame they'd face would only grow.
Even Arashi was feeling more defeated than he ever had before.
His team was so gloomy they might as well have been at a funeral.
"It's over… It's just over…" Yosuke was muttering incoherent things, head down.
He was sitting on the ground, drenched in sweat.
Meanwhile, Zayden and Yamagi hadn't even broken a sweat.
The two made a mockery of the basketball team. It was unbelievable, but it was happening right in front of a crowd of students.
"W-We give up," Arashi lowered his head in defeat.
The boy acting as the referee swallowed hard before shouting, "T-The winners are the Yamagi and Zayden duo!"
Another wave of cheers and applause echoed.
It would've been better if they hadn't accepted Zayden's challenge. Because of the massacre the five seniors were receiving from just two first-year students, it would be hard for them to hold their heads up afterward.
…
"What the hell!"
Amid the excited cheers of those watching the game and the frustrated shouts of the seniors, Zayden and Yamagi left the basketball court.
Zayden knew he had gone a bit hard on them; after all, they were seniors and part of the basketball team. But who cares? He kind of didn't like Arashi. Though it was a bit hypocritical of him, at least he was one of the villains, but he never "R"ed a girl like Arashi had done so cowardly to his own half-sister.
When he stepped off the court, something flashed in his retina.
───────────
[For the first time, a person of the opposite sex has an Affection Index above 80!]
[Hidden Reward: 1 million yen, [Silver Box of a Mysterious Gift], [+2 Speed], [+1 Luck]]
───────────
When he got to the classroom and picked up his smartphone, he saw the notification:
[You have received 1,000,000 yen]
…
Meanwhile, as Zayden left, a girl in the upper stands of the basketball court had eyes practically shaped like hearts.
"T-So… So cool!" she exclaimed loudly.
She wasn't the only one excited, so because of that, she went unnoticed.
…
Zayden was curious to know who the girl was whose affection index had risen above 80. However, he wasn't going to return to the basketball court, where he imagined this girl must be.
He wasn't foolish. He figured the reason this happened was because she saw him playing basketball.
'Well, sooner or later I'll find out. No rush,' he thought.
To be honest, he was more curious about what this 'Silver Box of a Mysterious Gift' was.
But, as the name suggested it would give him a 'gift,' he chose to 'open' it when he was in a more discreet place.
**
**
Back at his suite, Zayden, who was alone, opened the rewards page and clicked on the 'Silver Box of a Mysterious Gift.'
When the 'open' option appeared, he clicked it.
───────────
[You opened the [Silver Box of a Mysterious Gift] and received: Skill [Focused Strength] and skill [Enhanced Perception]
[Focused Strength]: Uses the right muscles for maximum impact.
[Enhanced Perception]: Notices details quickly.
───────────
Immediately, Zayden felt a change happening in his body.
It was painful. It felt like someone was reshaping him. His body grew hot, feverish.
His vision blurred.
Luckily, he was sitting and laid his head on the table as his body trembled.
The sound of bones cracking echoed.
…
Later, Zayden got up and took a shower.
The pain was still there, but it wasn't as intense anymore.
When he stepped out of the shower, to his complete surprise, upon measuring himself, he saw that he had grown 1 cm.
His posture itself had straightened. Perhaps that was the real change.
Not to mention, when he tried throwing a punch in the air, an explosive sound rang out.
It was like the sound of a baseball bat cutting through the wind.
Simply unbelievable.
'This skill is so magical,' he thought.
Although in practice it was 'just' enabling him to use the right muscles for maximum impact, reality proved it wasn't as simple as it seemed.
Another thing was his perception of details.
It wasn't just his vision; even smells became more distinct.
He could easily identify the scent of everything in the air.
For example, when he entered the room, he noticed the smell of cleaning products.
Obviously, the housekeeper had cleaned while he was at school.
Even sound. When he tried listening to music, he was able to quickly identify every musical instrument used in an orchestra.
'Damn, this is awesome!' he thought, excited.
All the pain he felt during the process was well worth it.
This also made him ponder: 'Is there such a thing as the supernatural in this world?'
This was a topic he didn't want to think too deeply about before.
The thing was… If something like the supernatural existed, it was very well hidden from the masses.
He even tried searching online, but most of what he found were conspiracy theories.
What was real, what was fake?
Maybe everything was real, or everything was fake.
It was like that old saying: Seeing is believing.
Without living proof, he wasn't going to blindly believe what was written on the internet.
Either the supernatural truly exists, or the system tied to him is so powerful that it can break the world's rules and transform him, so to speak, into a "superhuman" being.
Whatever it was, he didn't dwell on it for long. Thinking about it too much would only make him anxious.
Still, he considered the possibility that it might exist.
He didn't intend to ignore any signs that pointed to the presence of "superhuman" beings.
It would be foolish of him to see something out of the ordinary and assume they were filming a movie with special effects or some elaborate trick. Even if it was happening right in front of his eyes.
Setting that aside for now, he received a message on his smartphone and decided to head out for a bit.