Knock knock knock.
"Is the Academy Director in...?"
-"Come on in~"
As I slid open the door to the Academy Director's office, I spotted a voluptuous woman lounging in a massive executive chair.
[Yumekoi Academy Academy Director] Saionji Mesui
She straightened the position of her gold-embossed nameplate perfectly before flashing me a wide smile.
"You're Yu Sanghyeon, right? The top enrollee. And a transfer student from Korea, no less?"
"Yes, Academy Director."
The moment her gaze slid from my face down my body, her eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh...?"
She sprang up from her chair and approached me, boldly prodding my thigh with her fingers.
"I heard you were a genius with a deviation score of 90, so I figured you'd be scrawny... But look at these thighs. Hm... so solid..."
Tsk tsk.
Just as I'd seen in Koikan!, the pervy auntie trait was alive and well.
Squeeze, squeeze...
"Ahem. Thank you."
I cleared my throat deliberately, snapping Mesui out of it. She looked up at me with a sly smile.
"Ahh, look at me spacing out. Hehe. So, what brings you to see me on your very first day?"
I hadn't requested this meeting as top enrollee just to ogle her chest.
No, it was to button up the very first step in conquering the heroines properly.
"I'd like to switch the class I'm assigned to."
Her smile faltered at my words.
"...You mean you want to go somewhere other than the Elite Class?"
Elite Class.
It was basically a gifted program for kids guaranteed to become elites someday.
Once you're in, you get special treatment throughout the academy, and it's practically a free pass to dominate every field in the administrative district where Yumekoi Academy sits. That's the class assigned to me, the top student.
But I couldn't care less about that.
Long-term, I needed a position where I could cross paths with more heroines.
"Yes. I'd like to be placed in the Mid-tier Class."
Mid-tier Class.
The class housing the main heroine from Koikan!'s first scenario, and a convenient spot to encounter the other heroines later on.
"...Am I hearing this wrong?"
"No, definitely Mid-tier Class, Academy Director."
"Why would a student like you want to go to the Mid-tier Class?"
"I don't like special treatment. I'd rather experience more in a regular academic environment."
I rattled off my pre-prepared line, and she furrowed her brow.
"Hmm..."
She sat back down, crossed her legs, and stroked her chin with a finger.
"Class transfers are within my discretion, but..."
"But?"
"Yumekoi Academy has a custom: 'Students are placed in the positions befitting their grades and status.'"
I already knew all this.
"However... if you do me a personal favor, Sanghyeon, I might make an exception."
Her tone sounded serious, like she was about to propose something tough to handle.
But I already knew exactly what she was going to suggest.
Thud.
She pulled out a single sheet of paper and tossed it onto the desk.
[Unpaid Assistant Appointment Consent Form]
Right on cue.
"What's this?"
I played dumb and asked her.
"It's for the Practical Committee position overseeing Mid-tier Class students."
"What exactly does it entail?"
"Mm, various student autonomy activities. Simple cleaning or moving supplies, that sort of thing. Basically, think of it as 'assisting the Class President.'"
"A Practical Committee role with no pay and tons of grunt work. No wonder students hate taking it on."
"Exactly. Every student who's tried it so far has quit. The work itself aside, the Mid-tier Class President is just... so meticulous."
The Mid-tier Class President...
Meaning her.
Thinking of her snow-white face brought an involuntary smile to my lips.
Heh heh... Can't wait to see her.
"What do you say, Sanghyeon? If you can diligently lead the class as their Practical Committee member, I'll approve this exception. It'd look great on your portfolio as academy autonomy experience... if you can stick it out, that is."
Stick it out? Piece of cake.
Getting planted as Practical Committee? Music to my ears.
In Koikan!'s Act 1 scenario, most players get hopelessly lost right from the start.
Because you begin as an ordinary Student 1 with zero connection to the Class President heroine.
But the moment I'm slotted in as her assistant, I gain a strong link to her from scenario start.
The Academy Director doesn't know it, but this deal is all upside for me.
"I'll do it."
"Great. I'll contact your homeroom professor, so head straight to Mid-tier Class~"
"Thank you, Academy Director."
"No need to thank me. It'll probably be... tough? Hehehe. If you ever want to switch back to Elite Class, just say the word. They'll roll out the red carpet for you there?"
Fat chance.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇[2-Mid-tier Class]
Slide-
I opened the sliding classroom door to find students seated at wooden desks.
What kind of feeling is it to live a campus life in college that's barely different from middle or high school?
What a bizarre concept.
I'd never even consider attending a university like this, but for people born and raised here, it seemed perfectly normal.
That's when the professor spotted me standing at the open door and ushered me inside.
"Ah! The transfer student! Perfect timing, just before lunch."
"Sorry I'm late; I had a meeting."
"No worries. How about a quick self-introduction?"
"Sure. Nice to meet you all. I'm Yu Sanghyeon. Looking forward to working with you."
The students murmured.
They were probably intimidated by my size, way bigger than the average guy.
Korean men are already taller than Japanese men on average, and I'm built from working out.
Stick me among ordinary Japanese guys, and my head and shoulders would stick out. No surprise there.
But amid the whispers, a grating voice cut through.
"Yu... Sanghyeon...? That's a Korean name."
"From some backwater country... Must've gotten in on the international student quota."
One guy with a skinhead buzzcut.
Another with patchy, cheap bleached blond hair.
Classic NTR villain archetypes at a glance.
'Could those be the guys...?'
Due to the game's nature, it never reveals who stole your heroines by the end.
Honestly, I'd love to send anyone even slightly suspicious straight to the afterlife, but I can't cause a scene on my first day.
"And on that note, Yu Sanghyeon here will be taking on the Practical Committee role for Mid-tier Class, so please cooperate closely with him."
The students whispered again, the tone a bit different from before.
"Practical Committee...? On his first day as a transfer?"
One of the punks who'd been glaring at me piped up.
"Hey, look at that meathead. Bet he got in on the international sports quota. Probably traded grunt work just to squeeze in."
Mostly wrong, but kinda close. I did switch classes for the Practical Committee gig.
Guess he has a brain after all.
I shot him a relaxed smile, which twisted his face in annoyance.
"What're you grinning at, you little sh-"
Yeah, yeah, keep barking.
"Alright, everyone, quiet down! There's only one empty seat... Take that one. The student next to it is our Class President, so get along well."
"Yes, Professor."
"Enjoy your lunch, and make it to the next lecture on time."
The professor left, and I sat in the empty chair.
The moment I did, a thick lavender scent wafted over.
Lavender.
Her scent.
And there she was, gazing at me steadily from the seat beside mine.
Right there.
Within arm's reach, my girl.
Gleaming jet-black straight hair.
A bolo tie draping down her white nape.
An H-skirt hinting at the soft curve of her lower belly.
A white blouse and sheer black stockings hugging her slender legs.
A cute bunny hair clip in her hair.
'Ren...'
Our eyes met.
"..?"
We'd met.
Across worlds.
Over a year.
My heart pounded.
The fact that I was face-to-face with a lead character from the game I'd played set my chest racing wildly.
"Hoo..."
Then, a status window popped up next to Ren's face.
💖 Heroine Status 💖👤 Name: Tsumetai Ren🏫 Class: 2nd Year Mid-tier Class🎂 Age: 20🏛 Affiliation: Academy - Yumekoi💕 Relationship: ?💭 Mood: Locked❤️ Likes: ???💔 Dislikes: ???🔞 H-Status: Locked
Everything from the in-game implementation was showing up.
But checking the stats didn't reveal much useful info yet. Probably because I hadn't progressed any of Tsumetai's scenarios.
"...What are you staring at?"
She seemed uncomfortable with me drilling into her face.
Whoops...
Ren was the wary type around guys.
"Ah, nice to meet you. Ren, right? Looking forward to-"
"Yu. Watch how you address me."
True to Japanese form, she was sensitive about titles. Her tone was downright frosty, but I brushed it off with a smile.
High wariness from a first-meet heroine was par for the course. Getting offended over every little thing in her speech was rookie behavior.
"Haha, sorry, Ms. Tsumetai. Nice to meet you."
Tsumetai Ren eyed the hand I offered at chest level, then shook it stiffly—probably too awkward to refuse outright.
The soft palm texture.
That moist, lotion-soft feel unique to a woman's hand.
It's melting my hand...
If I lifted her cool hand to my nose right now, a calming lavender scent would surely drift up.
"...I think that's handshake enough."
Whoops... Held on too long.
Ren has a strong aversion to men; that was inconsiderate.
Thud!
That's when the punks kicked my chair from behind.
"Hey, barbarian. The girl's uncomfortable."
College students still stuck in their high school punk habits.
Are they begging to die?