The Tokyo heat was already stifling in early summer, around May or June, prompting the girls to dress in increasingly revealing outfits.
Standing beneath a cherry tree whose blossoms had long since withered, Caleb Uesugi stared at the black-stockinged miniskirt before him. He suppressed the turmoil in his heart, his expression outwardly calm. "Look, I'm aiming for Todai (University of Tokyo). I'm not considering anything like this right now, so… I'm sorry."
The alluring, blonde beauty looked unperturbed, as if she were completely used to it. "Hmm… My apologies for stressing you out, Uesugi-kun. But… I'll be back."
She turned, her long, black-stockinged legs swaying beneath the ultra-short skirt as she disappeared towards the edge of the sports field.
Caleb let out a sigh of relief, leaning against the tree trunk, his expression shifting between gloom and confusion.
"That's the eighth time this month… Damn it, why can't I make it stop?"
An unexpected accident had landed Caleb in this parallel version of Japan. Coincidentally, his given name remained Qingqiu, but here, his full name was Caleb Uesugi, a 18-year-old freshman at Kuoh Academy.
Initially, Caleb was ecstatic about the transmigration. However, as he merged with his original body's memories and learned about this world, his excitement rapidly turned into despair and self-imposed isolation.
First, this world was an absolute chaotic mashup of the 'Anime world' realm—encompassing both pornographic ('ura-ban') and non-pornographic ('omote-ban') anime and manga. Humans, gods, devils, yokai, and everything in between lived together. The classmate you were standing in detention with during the day could very well be a bloodthirsty demon at night.
Second, the world's primary 'flavor' leaned heavily towards the underground ('ura-sekai'). The 'regular' characters he had encountered so far weren't exactly 'normal' either.
It was bad enough that he'd landed in this tumultuous underworld, but the previous owner of his body was also the quintessential "Protagonist Template."
Black, messy hair, a clean, handsome face, a slender, slightly frail physique, and black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. His personality was 'yasashii' (gentle/kind), polite to everyone, always eager to help, and girls were constantly falling all over themselves for him…
In a normal anime setting, he would be the classic harem protagonist. But in this world…?
He was a guaranteed "Cuckold-Bait"!
Realizing this terrifying fact, Caleb had tried to change his destiny countless times.
For instance, he tried intensely working out and refusing requests for help from girls.
He also swapped his glasses for contacts, dyed his hair blonde ('kuro-mao'), and attempted to join the local thugs…
He tried everything he could think of, but the results were negligible. Not only did his cheat system fail to appear, but his efforts seemed utterly futile. No matter how hard he trained, his body showed no signs of becoming stronger. His dyed hair faded quickly, barely lasting two or three days, and the thugs refused to let him join their ranks.
The girls' affection for him remained sky-high. They seemed to 'self-strategize' their way into loving him even when he did nothing.
And as time passed, the "Cuckold-Bait" destiny was closing in on him. Initially, he'd only receive one confession a month; now, it was twice a week.
The quality of the girls was escalating as well: from innocent and cute classmates to busty, curvy older students, and now, the black-stockinged senior with the face of an angel and the body of a devil…
Caleb had also noticed that ever since the confessions began, various people had started harassing him—bullying, extortion, and intentional provocation were common occurrences.
He could currently manage to deal with these situations using his two lifetimes of experience and street smarts, but if he actually 'sealed the deal' and got intimate with one of the beauties, and the "Cuckold-Bait" template fully activated, he honestly doubted he'd live to see the next sunrise.
Therefore, Caleb made an arduous effort to suppress his desires and impulses. His life was far more important than any sexual encounter with a beautiful girl.
What made Caleb even more frustrated and desperate was that his predecessor seemed to have offended a certain Blond-Haired Devil from the academy's hidden faction.
Kuoh Academy had two student bodies: regular students and students with supernatural powers. The most prominent among the supernaturals were devils and their retainers. Regular students were never supposed to know this, but Caleb was aware of the truth because he'd seen the anime High School DxD in his previous life.
While the memory of the anime was distant, he remembered the name Rias Gremory clearly.
After spotting the long, blood-red-haired, huge-breasted beauty—or rather, the pure-blood devil beauty—from afar, Caleb immediately recalled Kuoh Academy's hidden identity.
The academy had its own rules: students from the supernatural faction were forbidden from harming regular students on campus. The blond devil's actions just now were already out of line. However, he wouldn't face severe punishment, perhaps just a few days of suspension.
In other words, once they were off-campus, the school wouldn't intervene much. They would, at most, seek justice for him after something happened. After all, if no measures were in place, the regular students would quickly vanish.
Even with the possibility of severe retribution, Caleb doubted this blond devil would let him off the hook out of fear of punishment. The guy truly seemed the type to kill over a woman—Caleb had that much confidence in his "Cuckold-Bait" template.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
Under the bare cherry tree, a chillingly dark, black-clad blond guy swaggered up to Caleb.
The last rays of the setting sun were blocked, the golden-orange light vanishing from Caleb's face, leaving only deep shadows—a reflection of his current mood.
"Looks like you haven't learned your lesson, brat!"
The blond growled, his eyes hostile and his voice rough. "You look like a complete loser. I don't know why Reina and the other girls even look at you."
Caleb suppressed his gloomy emotions and forced a smile, intending to offer an explanation.
But the blond had no intention of listening.
BANG!!!
A gust of wind whipped past Caleb, stinging his cheek. Following the shower of wood chips, a loud bang echoed in his ear.
"Listen up, kid."
The blond, despite his slight build, effortlessly grabbed Caleb by the collar and lifted him off the ground with one hand.
"This is your final warning. If I see you with Reina and the others again, you're dead!"
"Unless you plan to never leave school grounds, otherwise… Heh heh heh."
Caleb's face turned scarlet, barely able to breathe. He could only nod with all his remaining strength.
"Tch."
The blond sneered contemptuously at the utterly defenseless Caleb, then dropped him to the ground and walked away.
Once his tormentor was out of sight, Caleb stood up, his face dark with fury.
Like the frequency of confessions, the strength of the troublemakers was constantly increasing. This blond was someone his predecessor had offended a while ago. Caleb even suspected that the previous owner's sudden death was partly due to the blond's prior 'lesson.'
The deep imprint of a fist on the tree trunk, and the fact that the blond, who was under five-foot-seven, could effortlessly lift him one-handed, proved that the guy was definitely not an ordinary person.
"F\\king hell, those three women are nothing but trouble."
Caleb couldn't help but curse as he brushed the dirt off his pants. "Is this blond a moron or blind? I've rejected them how many times, yet they keep harassing me! What the hell am I supposed to do?"
The "Reina and the other girls" the blond mentioned were Caleb's classmates. There were three of them in total, all beautiful, busty, and curvy: Reina Hamada, Yukina Sasaki, and Ruri Kurumizaka.
Soon after the school year started, the three girls became obsessed with Caleb. The previous owner, unable to resist their seduction, accepted their proposition. On that very day, the blond found him and gave him a brutal beating.
After three days of being bedridden, the original Caleb inexplicably died of a sudden heart attack, and when he woke up, he was the new Caleb.
Now, until he could find a way to resolve the "Cuckold-Bait" template, he absolutely couldn't sleep with any woman, let alone these three, who were essentially pornographic ('hentai') heroines. If he accepted, he would probably be sprouting horns and green hair before he even died.
Yet, the trio remained persistent.
The owner of the long, black-stockinged legs from before was Reina Hamada. Immediately after, the presumed devil, the blond, showed up again.
This time, the confrontation was certainly not going to be as simple as a beating.
Caleb was furious, but he could only curse inwardly. Aside from the pressure of the "Cuckold-Bait" template, as a mere human, he had no way to fight a supernatural being like the blond. Even a low-ranking devil was an insurmountable mountain for a regular human.
"If all else fails… I might have to take the risk and ask the Occult Research Club for help."
Ever since he saw Rias Gremory, Caleb had repeatedly considered approaching her. She was not only an incredibly popular beauty but also a pure-blood High-Class Devil.
Moreover, she was the current underground ruler of Kuoh Academy—the leader of the supernatural faction. If he could secure her protection, the blond devil's threat would be nothing.
But Caleb was just a regular human with no means of approaching Rias, who stood at the academy's apex.
There was another problem: even if he did manage to get Rias's help, he would undoubtedly be dragged into endless trouble. A small inconvenience for her, the female protagonist, could easily cost Caleb his life.
Worrying wouldn't help. No matter what he chose, there was no perfect solution to his current predicament. Ultimately, it all boiled down to Caleb's severe lack of power.
In a world teeming with demons and monsters, a regular human—to put it harshly—was worth less than a dog.