The horse-drawn carriage moved swiftly down the path, heading toward a weathered yet structurally sound building.
Upon arriving at the main gates, the driver dismounted and opened the carriage door, politely gesturing for the passengers to step out. An elderly man clad in a crisp white shirt, a black coat, and a sharp red tie descended with an elegant, commanding stride. His gaze was far-reaching and authoritative. Following behind him was a boy dressed in a fantasy academy uniform, stepping down with a listless, sluggish posture.
Shortly after, the carriage departed from the courtyard. Chester hurried away from the entrance, heading straight into the building. His father could only shake his head in disapproval before heading toward the same destination via a different route.
As expected, Chester was met with the usual sneers and hushed insults from the surrounding students. And right on cue, as if following a repeated script, he crossed paths with the trio of girls. Each of their expressions varied, but all clearly conveyed their intense discomfort at his presence.
"Tch, look who actually showed up, the parasite!" the red-haired girl snapped harshly.
"Indeed," the other remarked in a flat, frigid tone that was sharp enough to sting Chester's pride.
"Don't waste your breath on him," the girl in the center commanded with a piercing glare. Chester met her gaze and flashed a cynical smirk.
Upon seeing this, the girl in the center, Alise, instantly averted her eyes, masking a sudden reaction that Chester failed to notice.
"Psycho!" Alise muttered under her breath before leading her friends into the building.
Chester could only let out a long, heavy sigh." Sooner or later, I'll probably get used to this," he whispered to himself. "Whatever happens, I am definitely not setting foot in that city again. If everything plays out exactly like it did in that nightmare, then all I have to do is avoid it."
Inside the classroom, every single event unfolded in the exact same manner as it had in his "dream."
When the bell finally rang, signaling the start of the recess period, students flooded out toward the cafeteria. Others chose to spend their free time loitering around the stairwells, the courtyard gardens, and other common areas.
Chester walked down the corridor, lost in thought." According to my memory, Chester used to hang out by the lake behind the academy," he reasoned.
Engrossed in his thoughts, he accidentally collided with someone.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" the male student snapped. The boy stood about two centimeters taller than him, sporting meticulously styled, fiery-red hair. His emerald-green eyes flared with undisguised rage at the person standing before him.
Chester's immediate reflex was to offer an apology, but he quickly reminded himself that he had to stay in character as the arrogant Chester Kerl.
Letting out a soft chuckle, Chester tilted his head up, looking down his nose at the boy with a pompous sneer. "And is that supposed to be a problem? Weren't you the one who intentionally bumped into me?" Chester's voice was loud, arrogant, and provocative, instantly grating on the boy's nerves.
"Don't you dare get cocky with me! You only survived that recent battle by sheer luck. If I hadn't called Sister Maria over, you wouldn't even be drawing breath right now!" the boy snarled.
Chester's eyes narrowed into a sharp glare, his irritation flaring. This wasn't just a standard, scripted reaction, he felt a genuine, deeply rooted sensitivity to the boy's words. He couldn't quite explain why his body was reacting so strongly.
"What? You think I'm afraid of you?" the boy hissed, shoving Chester hard enough to make him stumble back a step.
Chester forced himself to maintain his composure, carefully analyzing the situation. "Tch, aren't you just a pathetic loser desperately trying to crawl your way into Alise's good graces?" Chester countered, his voice dropping into a low, venomous whisper.
The boy gritted his teeth so hard they rattled, stepping forward to snatch Chester by his collar. "Keep your filthy mouth away from her! And don't you dare poke your nose into my relationship with her!" he bellowed, his face contorting with rage.
"Your relationship with her? Heh..." Chester shook his head, letting out a mocking laugh. "Sure, that relationship might seem real to the rest of the world, and especially to your delusional self. But what about Alise's actual perspective? As for me? Heh, I happen to know the real truth." Chester spoke loudly and casually, completely dismantling the boy's pride.
Alexandre Brookhaven, the main protagonist of this world, was currently standing right in front of him, trembling with unadulterated fury and resentment.
Because of his knowledge of the novel, Chester knew everything about Alex and Alise. The 'relationship' Alex spoke of was merely a contractual agreement; they were pretending to be a couple throughout their academy life. This arrangement was made because Alise was constantly plagued by unwanted male attention, including from the original Chester Kerl. Therefore, using a charismatic and highly popular male student like Alexandre was a strategic move on Alise's part to divert the public eye.
However, after playing the part of a fake couple for over a year, Alex had genuinely fallen in love with Alise and had eventually confessed his feelings. Unfortunately, Alise had rejected him, drawing a firm line and stating they could never be more than friends. Left with no choice, Alex had to swallow his pride and continue the charade until graduation.
Hearing Chester lay bare his deepest insecurity caused Alex's remaining patience to snap.
"You know everything? Hehehe..." Alex let out a hollow, manic laugh, his eyes boring into Chester. "Yes, you really do know everything. You know EVERYTHING!! It's BECAUSE of you that she won't accept my feelings! She keeps talking about... damn it!"
With that final, frustrated outburst, Alex spun on his heel and stormed off, vanishing down the corridor without another word.
Chester merely watched his retreating figure until it disappeared from sight. A few students had been lurking in the shadows, witnessing the entire altercation. They immediately began whispering among themselves, their words muffled by the distance. Unwilling to deal with the fallout, Chester walked away with heavy steps.
Unbeknownst to him, Alise had also witnessed the entire spectacle from afar, watching Chester's departure with an unreadable emotion hidden deep within her eyes.
Meanwhile, rumors of the confrontation rapidly rippled through the hallways. As usual, the vast majority of the students piled their scorn onto Chester. Not a single kind or sympathetic word was uttered in his defense.
Chester navigated through the crowded corridors, completely tuning out the surrounding students. His aimless wandering eventually led him to the locker room.
Once inside, he searched for his name, scanning the name tags row by row. After a few moments, he located his locker tucked away in a dusty corner of the room. The exterior was visibly worn and heavily vandalized with animal names intended to mock and degrade him.
"Hah, the usual," he muttered in a flat, detached tone. Acting out of habit, he unlatched the door to inspect the contents inside. He had half-expected it to be empty, or perhaps filled with trash, but it wasn't. Sitting on the shelf was a sealed, black bento box.
Reaching in, he retrieved the container and pried off the lid. His eyes widened in absolute bewilderment at the contents.
"What the hell? There's a sandwich in here?" Chester muttered to himself, thoroughly confused. He carefully inspected the food; it was perfectly intact, fresh, and meticulously prepared.
"Could it be... did someone lace this with poison?" he thought dubiously.
There's no way anyone would actually care about me, about Chester.
Shaking his head, he closed the locker door and walked away, making his way toward the lake where Chester frequently isolated himself.
Upon reaching the secluded perimeter, he glanced around to ensure that no one was watching before scaling the tall steel fence blocking the path. Once he was certain the coast was clear, he climbed over and dropped gracefully to the other side.
"Hmm... this is the first time I've ever attempted something like this," he thought, his heart racing slightly as he followed a faint, overgrown trail through the brush.
Step by step, he pressed onward until the dense foliage gave way to a hidden lake.
The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful despite the midday sun beating down from above. The water was exceptionally clear and pristine, allowing Chester to see straight to the bottom of what appeared to be a fairly deep basin. Standing prominently by the water's edge was a towering, cone-shaped oak tree, offering a perfectly shaded, comfortable spot for anyone seeking a peaceful respite.
With a sigh of relief, Chester walked over and leaned his back against the sturdy trunk, exhaling a long breath.
"Strange... in that nightmare, I ran into a restroom stall and hid there until the end of recess. No wonder I ended up having such a horrific dream," he whispered to himself.
Suddenly, his gaze caught a movement at the far end of the lake. A girl clad in the academy uniform was sitting by the water. Her features were obscured by the distance, but her distinct, vibrant blonde hair was unmistakable.
"Maybe she's just another outcast student like Chester Kerl," he mused, closing his eyes and dismissing her presence as he drifted off to sleep.
As the afternoon sun began its gradual descent, Chester's slumber was interrupted by a harsh ray of sunlight piercing right through his eyelids.
He woke up with a groan, rubbing his strained eyes to adjust to the glare. He stared blankly at the rippling water for a moment before turning his head to look at his surroundings.
An icy jolt of adrenaline shot through his veins.
Sitting right next to him, leaning against the very same tree trunk, was a blonde girl in the identical academy uniform, fast asleep. But the shock didn't stem from her presence alone, it was her identity. The girl sleeping peacefully beside him was none other than the character he had waifued for years, the very person who harbored an absolute, unwavering hatred for him in this world: Alise Antoinette Seraphim.
Chester swallowed hard, his mind completely short-circuiting. Alise had been sitting right by his side the entire time he was asleep. He reached up and pinched his cheek hard. It stung. The pain was real, acute, and undeniable. This was not a dream.
Suddenly, the resounding chime of the academy bell echoed through the grounds, signaling the end of the recess period. The sudden noise stirred Alise from her slumber.
Chester froze, a wave of anxiety washing over him as the girl began to wake. But before he could scramble to his feet or formulate an escape plan, she spoke to him. Her voice was remarkably soft and tender.
"Chester."
Alise rubbed her eyes groosily, turning her heavy, half-lidded gaze toward him. Her face was entirely serene. A natural, delicate flush dusted her cheeks, and a faint, subtle smile graced her lips, radiating an authentic, effortless elegance that required no heavy makeup to amplify.
Chester's face instantly flushed crimson at the breathtaking sight. Panicking, he scrambled to stand up, desperate to leave the area before she snapped back to reality and unleashed her usual barrage of insults upon him.
"Hey, are you seriously going to leave me behind?" Alise called out, her voice causing Chester to freeze mid-motion.
He slowly looked back, only to find Alise throwing a mock-protest. She pouted, puffing out her cheeks in an display of pure, unadulterated cuteness.
"I know we promised to keep this a secret from everyone else, but... we're technically outside the academy grounds right now. So... it should be fine for us to walk back together, right?" Alise continued, her tone shifting into a sweet, playful whine.
"Besides, don't just leave me all by myself like that without giving me some sort of reward. I stayed by your side through the entire recess block, you know."
To anyone else, her behavior would have been incredibly endearing. But to Akira, someone currently inhabiting a stranger's body, dropped into a foreign world without a single shred of the original owner's memories, her words were an absolute, mind-boggling enigma.
What on earth is she talking about? A reward? She wants a reward from me? Doesn't she despise me? She's supposed to hate Chester Kerl with a passion
Chester's mind raced in utter confusion.
"What do you mean, you want a reward?" Chester blurted out, his confusion overriding his caution.
The moment the question left his lips, Alise's expression shifted drastically. Chester swallowed hard as her soft, innocent features instantly hardened into a cold, piercing glare.
Crap... did I say something wrong? Chester panicked internally. He stared at Alise's sharp, calculating eyes, which seemed to emit an oppressive, suffocating aura that pinned him to the spot.
Suddenly, without warning, Chester's entire world violently tilted. Before he could comprehend what was happening, his vision spun, and he felt his body violently crashing onto the hard earth, as though his entire physical form was rapidly shrinking and collapsing inward.
"—!?"
Alise stepped closer, towering over him as she looked down with an incredibly sharp, terrifying intensity.
As Chester's consciousness began to rapidly fade, the world blurring into a hazy mist, he could only look up, straining his eyes to catch a final glimpse of her face. Though her expression was deadly serious and warped with rage, Chester could distinctly see tears welling up in her eyes, reflecting a deep, agonizing sense of utter despair.
"Chester would never say something like that to me. So... who the hell are you?'" Alise demanded, her voice dropping into a heavy, menacing register.
And with that final question echoing in his ears, Chester's world was plunged into absolute darkness.