The cold evening air wrapped around the city of Fuyuki. On its streets, the chilly wind slapped the face of a seventeen-year-old boy. His hair was dull black, his eyes a faint blue, and his steps heavy—as if the weight of the world pressed on his shoulders. His name was Ritsuka Fujimaru. Not yet eighteen, uncertain of what he wanted to be in the future, and one thing was clear… he was a nobody.
School? Average grades.
Sports? Nothing special.
Daily life? Boring.
That day, he walked along the city's sidewalk with his head hung low. Thoughts swirled endlessly, crashing into him like waves with no end.
"What am I going to do? Tuition keeps getting more expensive… there's no way I can get a scholarship with grades like mine. And the orphanage is struggling with money too…"
His mutter was swallowed by the noise of the street.
Ritsuka lifted his gaze toward the crimson evening sky. Bitterness flickered in his eyes.
"Is there really no job with a high salary… a job I could get even though I'm just an ordinary person?"
As if answering his foolish prayer, his steps stopped. His eyes caught a crumpled pamphlet half-detached from a public notice board.
"Chaldea Security Organization: Recruiting New Staff!
Minimum age: 16 years.
Benefits: Full accommodation, international workplace, secure contract.
Salary: Very high."
Ritsuka stared at the words for a long while, his gaze fixed on the bold letters.
"Salary: Very high."
His lips moved faintly, almost inaudible.
"…If I work here… I could live comfortably. At least until I graduate college."
He didn't know what "Chaldea" was. He didn't care where the workplace might be. Only one thing mattered: the pay was high. And for a boy with an ordinary life and an uncertain future, that alone was enough to be called hope.
With a small, innocent smile, Ritsuka tore the pamphlet free, folded it carefully, and slipped it into his jacket pocket.
A few hours later, Ritsuka's steps halted before a modest building in central Fuyuki. The building wasn't flashy—just a sign above the door reading "Chaldea Recruitment Center" in faded iron.
He frowned.
"This? …Looks like a normal office, not some international organization."
But when the door opened, he was greeted by a spotless room with modern equipment. Several staff in white uniforms sat behind desks, their eyes fixed on monitors. There was no crowd of applicants—only a few people waiting in the chairs, looking just as confused as he was.
A female staff member greeted him warmly.
"Welcome. Are you here to register for Chaldea staff recruitment?"
Ritsuka nodded awkwardly.
"Ah, yes. I'm… Fujimaru Ritsuka."
"Alright, please fill out this form. Only basic personal details are required. No special experience needed. Further checks will be done later at the main headquarters."
Ritsuka blinked.
"This easy?"
"That's right. We seek candidates from all backgrounds. The main requirement is simply… your willingness to join."
Swallowing hard, Ritsuka quickly wrote his details. Name, age, address, signature. That was all. No difficult test, no long interview.
Minutes later, his form was submitted.
"Thank you, Fujimaru-san. You are now officially registered as a Chaldea staff candidate. Please wait for a call regarding your transfer to headquarters. You will be contacted soon."
Stepping out of the building, Ritsuka still felt like he was half-dreaming. The cold Fuyuki wind greeted him again, but his steps felt lighter.
"That's it…? Just sign a form and done? Really… the strangest job I've ever heard of. But if the salary is real…"
Evening crept in as Ritsuka descended the road toward a small orphanage in Fuyuki. The building was plain, its paint fading, but inside it always rang with cheerful voices of children.
As soon as he opened the door, several little kids rushed toward him.
"Ritsuka-nii!"
"You're back!"
"Let's play cards again!"
Ritsuka chuckled, ruffling one boy's hair.
"Later, later. I just got home, give me a bit of rest first."
In the living room, a middle-aged woman with neatly tied black hair—the caretaker, Natsume-san—welcomed him with a gentle smile.
"Welcome home, Ritsuka. How was school today?"
"Nothing special, Natsume-san," he answered briefly.
But then his face brightened, as if remembering something. He pulled the crumpled paper from his jacket pocket—the Chaldea pamphlet.
"Oh yeah, today I… applied for a job."
Natsume-san raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.
"A job? Where? You're still 17, Ritsuka."
"It's called… the Chaldea Security Organization. I don't really get what it is either. Their office was downtown. The registration was super easy, just fill out a form… and that's it."
The caretaker looked at him intently, then sighed softly.
"Chaldea…? I've never heard that name. Are you sure this is safe?"
Ritsuka smiled sheepishly.
"I don't know… but they said the pay is high. If I can work there, I can cover my school fees myself. Maybe even help the orphanage too."
Some of the children overheard and cheered innocently.
"Ritsuka-nii's gonna be rich?!"
"Buy us ice cream later!"
Ritsuka laughed, pretending to boast.
"Of course! Once I'm filthy rich, I'll buy you ice cream every day!"
Natsume-san could only smile warmly, though she hid the worry in her heart. She knew this boy often carried far more burdens than he should.
Night fell over Fuyuki. The orphanage grew quiet, filled only with the soft breaths of children asleep in their rooms. In a simple bed tucked in the corner, Ritsuka Fujimaru lay staring at the dark ceiling.
The crumpled Chaldea pamphlet rested on the bedside table under the dim lamp.
"Seriously… what a weird day," Ritsuka murmured. "Applying for a job just because of the salary… have I gone crazy?"
He chuckled faintly, but the smile faded quickly. An unease gnawed at him, unexplainable. His heart pounded fast—not only with dreams of the future, but with an irrational sense of foreboding.
Suddenly, his eyelids grew heavy. The world spun, and starlight swallowed his vision.
When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer in the orphanage.
Ritsuka stood in a boundless void—dark, yet dotted with thousands of glittering stars in every direction. The silence was heavy… yet filled with an unfamiliar energy.
And he wasn't alone. Around him stood four other figures, strangers.
Five pairs of eyes met in silence. Ritsuka's chest trembled, his mind thrown into chaos by unspoken questions.
Then, a voice echoed across the cosmic space. Flat, formless, as though spoken by the stars themselves:
"Welcome to the Multiverse Chat Group. Five chosen individuals from different worlds are now bound by fate. From this moment on… you are part of a network that transcends realities."
Ritsuka's jaw dropped. His lips barely formed a whisper.
"…Wh-what… is this…?"
But before he could understand, the stars flared brighter—forming a curtain of light that swallowed everything.
That was the beginning of Ritsuka Fujimaru's journey.
A seventeen-year-old orphan from the small city of Fuyuki… who only wanted to help the orphanage that raised him.
Now, he had stepped onto the stage of the multiverse—where the destinies of worlds would collide.