Chapter: Ryouma Kobayashi
His plan had completely fallen apart the moment this boy showed up!!
Yamato glared at Ryouma with a ferocious expression, as if he wanted to tear him apart limb from limb.
Everything had happened so suddenly that Ryouka still hadn't grasped what was going on. She felt a bit lost. "Um… Mr. Aihara?"
Yamato's fists clenched with a 'creak.'
Though he wasn't skilled enough to take down all the delinquents in one go, his muscles were real. Beating up this scrawny guy in front of him would be a piece of cake!!
But,
"Huh?"
Ryouma grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Aren't you going to leave? The police will be here soon. It'll be a hassle if you're still around when they arrive."
Yamato understood immediately.
From this guy's tone, he must have seen through his plan and called the police... If he really got invited to the police station for questioning, even if Ryouka still considered him her savior, the police would likely investigate his connections with those delinquents!
"You'll pay for this!!" Yamato pointed at Ryouma.
He turned and ran.
Yamato would engrave this failure in his mind, vowing to take brutal revenge on this damn brat next time!!
Watching Yamato's hurried retreating figure, Ryouka stood frozen.
She then turned her emerald green eyes toward Ryouma, who was sighing in relief.
"Um... when will the police arrive?" Ryouka asked.
"Praise the light, I pulled off quite the bluff. If that guy had waited just a bit longer, I would've been exposed..." Ryouma muttered to himself before answering Ryouka's question: "They're not coming. I didn't call the police..."
To be precise, he couldn't have called even if he wanted to.
Because after patting himself down, he couldn't find a phone anywhere.
"...What exactly happened?" Ryouka's mind was still catching up, though she mostly guessed something fishy was going on.
"Simply put..." Ryouma started to explain when Ayumu interrupted: "Kobayashi, what are you doing here?"
Kobayashi...?
Who's Kobayashi?... Calling me? My name is 『Kobayashi』?
Oh right, my name seems to be Ryouma Kobayashi...
Memories that didn't belong to him began flooding his mind. Ryouma felt momentarily dazed, then his consciousness started fading.
"Kobayashi!?"
Seeing Ryouma suddenly go limp, on the verge of collapsing, Ayumu urgently tried to wake him.
But Ryouma didn't regain consciousness. As he was about to fall, Ryouka quickly caught him in her arms.
"Kobayashi? Ayumu, is this your classmate?"
"Yeah..."
"Call an ambulance quickly! He seems to have fainted!"
"...Oh, right!"
Though Ryouma's consciousness was fading, he wasn't completely unconscious.
He could still feel his cheek sinking into something large and soft, with the scent of shampoo lingering at his nose, but he couldn't think clearly or see what exactly these things were.
Meanwhile, in his ears...
No, it should be said a voice echoed in his mind.
[Successfully completed "Rescue the Karate Girl!" mission. System officially activated]
[Checking host status...]
[Host Ryouma Kobayashi... Binding in progress...]
[99%...100%... Binding successful]
[Congratulations host for obtaining "Newcomer Gift Package"...]
[Opening Newcomer Gift Package]
[Acquired skill...]
[Swordsmanship Mastery EX]
[...2060 Brand System Pure Love at your service...]
My name is Ryouma Kobayashi.
Seventeen years old, a student.
Second-year at Shiraoka High School.
Parents deceased early, no other direct relatives. Guardian is my aunt working far away in Hawaii.
I have few friends, and no harem.
An utterly ordinary high school student.
...
"Whoa!!"
Ryouma jolted awake in bed, seeing an unfamiliar ceiling.
And also...
The color white, and the familiar yet somewhat strange smell of disinfectant.
"...In the hospital?" Ryouma's head throbbed painfully.
"Yes, because you suddenly fainted, we brought you to the nearby hospital."
The reply came from beside the bed. Ryouma turned his head to look, then sat up.
"Yotsumoto... Ryouka?"
After pouring a glass of water, Ryouka handed it to Ryouma. "You... know me?"
"...Ah, well, you're quite famous, Yotsumoto-san. Is there anyone at our school who doesn't know you?" Ryouma quickly said. The inexplicable memories that flooded his mind during his coma confirmed that he had definitely traveled to another world... His identity in this world was 'Ryouma Kobayashi', a student at Shioka High School, just like Ryouka.
Ryouka chuckled softly.
Previously, they had been too far apart, and then he had been 'acting' with Aihara Yamato. This was Ryouma's first time examining the real Ryouka up close... although in his previous world, he had even seen her armpits clearly.
He had to admit, Ryouka was an extremely beautiful girl with a slender figure that gave no hint of the monstrous strength capable of subduing three delinquents.
And her face was so small, if she let down her ponytail, it would definitely be buried in her black hair.
Her skin was snow-white like cream, so pale that even the slightest blush on her face was clearly visible.
"...Ah, sorry." Ryouma realized he had been staring at Ryouka for a bit too long.
"No, it's fine..." Ryouka shyly lowered her gaze. "...Um, the doctor said you need to take good care of your health."
"Yeah, I know..." Ryouma said.
"Also, you're in the same class as Ayumu, right?" Ryouka said. "Ryouma Kobayashi... may I call you 'Kobayashi'?"
"Whatever, 'Ryouma' is fine too." Ryouma said. As someone from China with Chinese roots, he didn't really understand Japan's customs.
Ryouka's face reddened a bit more. "I... think I'll call you 'Kobayashi-kun' for now. Anyway, thank you for this time."
"Huh?"
"While you were unconscious, I thought through everything that happened from start to finish and have guessed what was really going on."
"I see." Ryouma said with a smile. "It's nothing, I totally owned those cuck dogs... cough I mean, just be more careful from now on, Yotsumoto."
He pressed the button to adjust the angle of the bed's backrest. Lying down wasn't very comfortable, he wanted to sit up.
"But how did you know about it, Kobayashi-kun?"
"I was passing by and happened to overhear their conversation." Ryouma used a universal formula to answer this complicated question. "I probably don't need to stay in the hospital, right?"
Ryouka waved her hand in front of her chest:
"No need. The doctor said you fainted due to heatstroke. You can be discharged once you wake up and recover a bit."
"Pfft—"
Ryouma had just taken a sip of water and sprayed it all over the blanket on his chest.
Heatstroke?
He looked at the 'thermometer' hanging on the wall. The temperature displayed was...
'Indoor: 15°C'
Outside probably wouldn't exceed 20 degrees.