Chapter 2: This is the World Twenty Years Ago
For Nia Honjo, things might have been a little different lately.
Twelve years ago, she obtained powers from the mysterious Primordial Spirit and became a Spirit herself.
With the ability of her
However, knowing too much could be dull and even breed resentment toward reality.
After all, when some people pretend to get along with you on the surface but secretly badmouth you, despise you, and degrade you as worse than trash, it's only natural to feel no fondness for reality.
But in recent years, she had grown quite bored. Nearing thirty, repeating the same days over and over was genuinely tiresome.
So, two years ago, for some inexplicable reason, she suddenly felt the urge to return to school.
Though she knew reality was a trashy game, she was still a manga artist and needed to draw some interesting inspiration from real life.
At the time, some popular manga were set in schools, and they seemed quite fun...
Of course, she didn't expect to find anything worthwhile among those scumbags.
The only thing that brought her happiness was the world of anime and manga...
But on the first day of school two years ago, she met a strange boy.
He was quite handsome, but looks alone meant nothing to her—there were too many good-looking guys, and she preferred the diverse archetypes of 2D men.
Since otaku were at the bottom of the social hierarchy in reality, the most despised, she didn't pay him much mind.
Unless, of course, he turned out to be a perfect, all-around genius—a super handsome guy who was also a hardcore otaku. That might pique her interest...
...
...
...
And that's exactly what he was!
Top of the year in entrance exams, excelling in every possible field.
Sports, board games, athletics, archery, calligraphy, cooking—he was exceptional at everything.
Yet, unlike other "normies," he never hid his otaku identity in class.
He constantly spouted anime lingo, frequently bought figures, merch, and manga, and was even unbeatable at gaming—she couldn't rival him!
At first, she found him interesting and tried using her ability to investigate him.
To her shock, she couldn't find any information about him!
Apart from fellow "Spirits," she had never encountered anything like this before.
Could he be a Spirit too?
But there were no signs of it, and she couldn't sense any Reiryoku from him.
So later, she decided to test him in person—maybe he was just pretending.
But the more she got to know him, the more she realized that was just who he was.
He genuinely loved anime and manga, and one phrase he often said was...
"Reality is a trash game, but thankfully I'm living in the 2D world~"
Honestly, she agreed wholeheartedly with the first part, but the second made no sense.
Where in this garbage reality was the 2D world???
Once, they debated this very topic for two whole hours, until their throats were dry, but neither could convince the other.
However, after that incident, they actually became quite close.
Half a year ago, he had even jokingly said, "If you just become my girlfriend, wouldn't we both be 2D otaku living the dream?" And somehow, she ended up seriously trying out a relationship with him.
Looking back now, it was truly ridiculous—her first romantic relationship in nearly 30 years had started because of such a silly joke.
But so far, surprisingly, it hadn't been too bad.
After all…
"Here comes the chicken soup~! Come on, drink it while it's hot~"
"Mmm~ Drinking soup, what a delightful thing~ Not too salty, not too bland, the flavor is just perfect~!"
Just this god-tier cooking skill alone was something that could only exist in 2D!
As the incredibly delicious taste melted into every cell of her body, Nia couldn't help but cup her cheeks with both hands, her face brimming with happiness—even to the point of tears—as she sighed in admiration.
It looked like just an ordinary dish, so how could it possibly taste this amazing?
O-of course, this was the only reason she was dating him!
It wasn't like she actually liked him or anything!!
…Wait, did that even count as tsundere?
"Hehe, if you like it, have some more. I made plenty."
Of course, Satoru didn't think about any of that.
He simply chuckled as he spoke, taking a sip himself before nodding in satisfaction.
Though he had acquired the "Food Wars" ability two years ago, his progress was still quite noticeable.
Probably because he had been a chef before transmigrating, so his skills in this area had been enhanced to the extreme.
Now, every dish he made was like it had been "drugged"—everyone who tasted it raved about it.
Especially that lady with the "God's Tongue"...
Oh, right. She wasn't married yet—she was still a student, so she couldn't be called a "lady."
This was probably the world of many anime series about twenty years before their main plots. Seems he had transmigrated a bit early, but it didn't matter. Life was interesting enough as it was.
"See, dating you was the right choice~ Otherwise, I'd be stuck eating junk food every day~"
"Hey, is that the only reason you're dating me?"
Hearing this, Satoru couldn't help but retort.
Sure, he knew his cooking was a major draw—maybe even the biggest reason she was with him—but saying it out loud like that was still kind of a blow.
He had plenty of other good qualities too!
"What else could there be? That you flirt with so many girls?"
"Uh… cough I already said that's not true. I'm part of the Service Club, so I'm just helping them with their problems."
"Sure, sure. You just have your eyes on Yukino-chan, right~? If she weren't so pretty, would you even bother?"
"Nope."
"Hey! That's not what you said earlier! You claimed you only liked 2D girls!"
"But Yukinoshita is a 2D girl. A cold, tsundere, secretly warm-hearted ojou-sama who's also a closet cat lover—isn't that peak 2D?"
"Traitor!!!"
"Ow, ow, stop hitting me!"