Click!
The call finally connected. Without wasting time, Kuroneko immediately exclaimed into her phone.
"Hello! Hikigaya! You're still alive, right?!"
"W-who is this?" replied an unfamiliar voice. Instead of the cynical young man's voice, it was the voice of a young girl.
Kuroneko fell silent for a moment.
"This isn't that idiot's voice... Wait. Are you Komachi? Hikigaya Hachiman's younger sister?" Kuroneko guessed carefully.
"Oh, that's right! I'm Komachi, Hachiman-nii's younger sister. Are you my brother's friend?" Komachi replied amiably.
Hearing the confirmation, a wide smile instantly bloomed on Kuroneko's face. She even raised both her hands into the air triumphantly.
"T-this is really the real Komachi! Oh my goodness, I can finally hear the voice of my favorite little sister directly!" she cheered gleefully.
Being so absorbed in interacting with her favorite character, the chuunibyou girl completely forgot her emergency purpose for calling.
On the other end, Komachi couldn't catch those words clearly.
"Hello? What is it, Sis? I thought I heard a scream just now. You are okay, right?"
"Oh, yes, I'm perfectly fine. By the way, is your brother home? There's an important matter I need to discuss with him," Kuroneko said, trying to normalize her tone.
"My brother Hachiman isn't at home right now. He just went out cycling, he said he was going to the library," Komachi answered.
"Oh, is that so?" Kuroneko responded.
'Could it be that he went there to investigate his new power? If so, it seems he already realizes how deadly that power is,' Kuroneko thought, feeling a bit relieved.
"Alright, Komachi-chan. Later, please tell your brother to call me back as soon as he gets home, okay?"
"Okay, Sis! I will definitely pass it on to him later," Komachi replied cheerfully.
The phone call was disconnected.
"Thank goodness, it seems I don't need to worry too much. That cynic must be smart enough to realize how dangerous his power is," Kuroneko muttered to herself.
The girl got up from her chair and intended to step out of the room.
However, after just a few steps, her body suddenly froze. Her instincts told her something was off.
"Eh, wait a minute... it seems something is wrong. But... what is it?"
Kuroneko fell silent, racking her brain.
A few seconds later, her eyes widened in horror. The moment she realized the anomaly, she immediately snapped her head to stare at her flip phone lying on the desk.
---
(Transition)
"Darling, wake up."
A soft and familiar voice woke Yuuto up from his sleep. As he slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Belfast's figure standing gracefully beside his bed.
"Oh... morning, Belfast," Yuuto greeted with a slightly hoarse voice.
"Good morning," Belfast replied with a warm smile.
Yuuto got out of his bed and stood up while stretching his muscles.
"I'm going to take a shower first," he said.
While starting to tidy up the bedsheets, Belfast spoke again.
"Breakfast is ready, Darling. By the way, are you going to school again today?"
"Yes, I have to go. What about you? Do you want to drop by Mikan's house again today?" asked Yuuto.
"Yes. It seems Mikan is very happy when I teach her cooking. Later, after you come home from school, please pick me up from there, okay."
"Okay, sure thing," Yuuto casually replied.
The young man then walked away towards the bathroom, with Belfast faithfully walking behind him.
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.
.
Yuuto sat at the dining table with Belfast faithfully accompanying him by his side.
The two of them were enjoying breakfast together peacefully.
However, Yuuto's movement halted when his flip phone suddenly vibrated on the table.
"What's wrong, Darling?" Belfast asked gently, noticing the change in Yuuto's demeanor.
"It seems there's an incoming call," Yuuto replied.
He quickly picked up and opened his flip phone, then frowned slightly upon seeing the caller's name on the screen.
"Kuroneko?"
Click!
Yuuto pressed the accept button.
"Hello, Kuroneko. What's up this early in the morning?"
Kuroneko's voice sounded tense from the other end.
"Yuuto, I just received two important pieces of information from the chat group."
"Oh? Information about what? Is it related to group features or something else?" Yuuto asked curiously.
"You could say that. As for the first piece of information... Hikigaya just logged in for the first time, and the reward he got is an insanely incredible power," Kuroneko reported.
Yuuto's facial expression suddenly turned serious hearing Kuroneko's tone.
"What power did he get?"
"Don't be surprised, okay! Hikigaya Hachiman got anti-matter manipulation power! From the group information, he can create that substance as he pleases in infinite amounts!" Kuroneko exclaimed passionately.
"Can you believe it? Anti-matter, you know! This is a substance highly coveted by humanity. The price of a single gram far exceeds the price of gold, its value could reach trillions!"
Yuuto looked interested hearing the explanation, but his forehead creased slightly.
"Wow, that does sound really amazing. But, isn't that power purely for annihilation? I once read on the internet, just one gram of anti-matter is enough to produce an explosion equivalent to a nuclear bomb. With just a slight miscalculation, he could end up killing himself and everyone around him."
"Yes, that's exactly the reality. That's why I immediately called him earlier to warn him about the danger of his power. But, it seems he's already well aware of how deadly his power is, so we don't need to worry too much," Kuroneko explained, her tone slightly subsiding now.
"That power was purely created just to destroy or... commit a suicide attack."
Yuuto nodded in understanding.
"Well, if he's already aware of it, let's just leave that matter to him. He definitely won't act recklessly. Then, what's your second piece of information?"
"The second piece of information is related to the system phone's features," Kuroneko explained.
"It seems the chat group just added a new feature, where we can set this phone to be usable by others without needing our permission. I accidentally found it in the settings menu earlier while I was calling Hikigaya."
"When exactly was that feature added?" Yuuto asked.
"Most likely, the feature only appeared after Zelretch and that Hikigaya joined the group," Kuroneko clarified.
"I see. Thank you for the information, Ruri," Yuuto replied gently, calling the girl by her real name.
"You're welcome," Kuroneko replied from the other end.
The two of them then quickly ended the call.
Yuuto placed his flip phone back on the table.
Seeing that, Belfast, who had been waiting patiently, immediately asked,
"Is your business finished, Darling?"
"Yes. Let's continue our breakfast," Yuuto casually replied.
They then resumed their delayed morning meal.
However, while enjoying his food, a faint smile was carved on the young man's face.
"Anti-Matter power, huh..." Yuuto muttered very quietly, almost inaudibly.
"Things will definitely get very interesting from here on out."
---
(Transition)
Yuuto walked down the street towards school alongside Riko.
The atmosphere between them initially felt a bit awkward, but the girl finally mustered the courage to break the silence.
"N-Nii-san... are you really doing fine at school?" Riko asked a bit hesitantly.
"I'm doing fine. Why do you ask?" Yuuto turned his head, looking at his cousin in wonder.
"W-well... if you are really busy, Nii-san, you d-don't need to force yourself to keep accompanying me. I'm afraid of making you tired," Riko squeaked while lowering her gaze.
"I-I can go by myself! Besides, Sairenji will accompany me later too."
Hearing that innocence, Yuuto's laughter instantly broke out.
"Hahaha! So you're worrying about me, huh?"
Yuuto teased.
Without warning, the young man reached out his hand and gently patted the top of Riko's head.
"It's alright, I don't feel bothered at all. Besides, I always feel comfortable being near you. You are my sweet little cousin, after all."
Riko's face immediately flushed beet red receiving the sudden treatment.
"D-don't treat me like a little kid!" she exclaimed nervously.
The girl hurriedly brushed Yuuto's hand off her head, then quickened her pace, leaving Yuuto behind.
Yuuto halted his steps for a moment, staring at the orange-haired girl's back with a questioning look.
"How strange..." Yuuto muttered softly.
"Why do I feel so comfortable near that kid? It feels like... there's a soothing aura of nature coming from her."
Before he could think about the answer any further, Yuuto quickly snapped out of it and jogged to catch up with Riko.
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Yuuto stood casually in front of the row of shoe lockers, getting ready to open his locker.
He could feel various kinds of gazes directed at him.
There were hostile glares from groups of male students, but there were also looks full of admiration—even bordering on crazy obsession—from the female students.
Right as Yuuto's hand was about to touch his locker door, a booming shout exploded from the side.
"WHO DARES TO DO THIS?!"
Yuuto turned his head.
Next to him stood a large, muscular student with a fierce face like a delinquent.
The student looked furious with his hand roughly crumpling several pieces of paper.
Yuuto glanced into the delinquent's wide-open locker.
It was full of piles of threat letters and stuffed with various kinds of trash.
Yuuto's gaze then shifted to the corner of the room, looking at a group of students who were now standing trembling in fear with pale faces.
Realizing what actually happened—that those students had mistakenly put trash into the delinquent's locker—Yuuto hurriedly bit his lower lip.
"Pfft..."
He turned his face away, trying desperately to hold back his laughter from exploding.
"Nii-san, what's wrong?" a gentle voice called out.
Riko had just come up to him with a confused look on her face.
Yuuto cleared his throat softly, neutralizing his expression.
"Oh, Riko. It's nothing. Let's head to class now, the lesson is about to start."
Riko nodded obediently and turned her body.
The two of them walked away casually.
However, from behind them, the real commotion had just begun.
"So, YOU GUYS DID THIS, HUH?!" snapped the delinquent-looking student, stepping forward to intimidate the group of trembling students earlier.
"N-no, bro! We swear, i-it wasn't us!" they denied in unison, shaking their heads in panic.
But unfortunately, a spare threat letter that hadn't been put into the locker suddenly slipped out of one of the students' pockets onto the floor.
The atmosphere instantly fell silent.
The delinquent's eyes immediately sharpened seeing the paper.
He crouched down and picked it up slowly.
"Oh, really? Then... EXPLAIN WHAT THIS IS?!" the delinquent growled while showing the threat letter right in front of their faces.
"U-um... t-that... t-that's a misunderstanding! I-it's not l-like that, w-we actually—" one of the bullies wailed with a voice on the verge of crying, but his sentence was immediately drowned out by the roar of the big delinquent's anger.
"I don't need any more excuses!" the delinquent growled, and then immediately moved to beat them up.
"GYAAAAA!!"
Hearing the choir of agonizing screams from the bullies behind him, Yuuto closed his eyes for a moment, absorbing it like a melodious classical music tune.
He carved a satisfied smile while looking at the expanse of clouds in the sky.
"Ah... what a truly beautiful morning."
However, his relaxing moment was halted when the flip phone inside his pocket suddenly gave a long vibration.
"Hmm? A new notification from the group?" Yuuto muttered in surprise.
He quickly reached into his pocket, took out the phone, and looked at the screen which now displayed a system notification window.
[Second Quest: World — Oregairu]
[Main Quest Objectives]
1. Execute a Trash Transmigrator who is currently ruining the storyline of Oregairu.
2. Train a minimum of 3 people from that world.
3. Recruit Hachiman's biological sister or one of his kouhai.
[Number of Participating Members: 5 People (including members residing in the quest world)]
[Reward: ???]
[Countdown Time: 3 Days]
[Note: During the countdown period, the flow of time across all group members' worlds will be synchronized.]