Tatsuya set off for school as usual, accompanied by Miyuki.
Along the way, they ran into Erika, Mizuki, Honoka, and Shizuku.
"You're all up early," Tatsuya remarked, casting a subtle glance toward Erika.
Erika immediately planted her hands on her slender waist. "What's that supposed to mean? If you've got a problem with me, just say it to my face."
Tatsuya offered a broad smile. "You're overreacting, Erika. I don't have a problem with you; I'm just surprised you managed to get out of bed this early."
"Hey! For your information, I'm always an early riser!"
"But Erika-chan, you were almost late yesterday," Mizuki interjected.
"Ah—yesterday doesn't count!"
"Hahaha!" The light, melodic laughter of the girls echoed in Tatsuya's ears.
Tatsuya couldn't help himself; he found their laughter as enchanting as the chiming of silver bells.
'So, this is what a harem protagonist feels like,' he thought. 'Not a bad feeling at all.'
Five hundred meters away from Tatsuya's position, Morisaki stood frozen behind a wall, half of his body visible. He wore a wicked smirk as a faint, dark mist began to seep from his body.
"!"
Tatsuya spun around abruptly, startling the girls who had been chatting idly.
"Tatsuya-san?" Honoka called out.
"..."
"Onii-sama?" Miyuki asked.
"..."
"Tatsuya, what's wrong?" Erika pressed.
"...It's nothing. Let's keep moving."
Tatsuya replied with a perfectly composed poker face. Honoka, Erika, Mizuki, and Shizuku were fooled, but Miyuki was not.
As Tatsuya walked past her, Miyuki reached out and grasped his hand. Tatsuya's heart skipped a beat for a split second before returning to its steady rhythm.
"Onii-sama, let's walk together!"
Miyuki beamed with joy as she pulled him along. Honoka watched them with envy, her eyes fixed on their joined hands. Erika remained silent, though she stole occasional glances at them—a faint trace of jealousy flickered in her eyes before vanishing without a trace. Mizuki turned bright red, clearly flustered by the display of affection. Only Shizuku remained unfazed, her cute, small face wearing its usual expression of lethargy.
...
(Individual Mission Released: Defeat Morisaki without killing him!)
Tatsuya's attention shifted to the chat group that had just issued his new objective.
Tatsuya Yotsuba: I just received a new mission.
White: What kind of mission? I just finished one involving the extermination of a monster possessed by the dark mist.
Time Eater: My mission was simply to teach a lesson to a group of thugs who were trying to harass some high school girls.
Tatsuya Yotsuba: Did you kill them?
Time Eater: Ara~ ara~ Tatsuya-san, what kind of person do you take me for?
Tatsuya Yotsuba: A beautiful but dangerous fairy.
Time Eater: ...
Sword Princess: I didn't get a new mission today, but I did save a rookie adventurer from a Minotaur.
Tatsuya Yotsuba: Do you like the adventurer you saved?
Sword Princess: Like him? No. I'm more interested in you than I am in him.
Tatsuya felt a pang of pity for Bell Cranel, but he had no intention of helping the boy win over Ais. To be honest, Tatsuya wasn't a fan of Bell's character; the boy made countless heroines fall for him only to leave their feelings hanging. If given the chance in the future, Tatsuya wanted to give Bell Cranel a piece of his mind—specifically on how to treat women who love him.
Tatsuya Yotsuba: What about you? @Makoto?
Makoto: ...
Tatsuya Yotsuba: Hello? You're there, right?
Makoto: Forgive me, I'm busy over here, so I can't check the group constantly.
Tatsuya Yotsuba: If you're busy, just focus on your own world.
Makoto: I understand. See you tomorrow.
Makoto's profile immediately dimmed, indicating he had logged out.
White: Back to the topic—what mission did you get?
Tatsuya Yotsuba: Defeat a classmate without killing them.
Time Eater: Why aren't you allowed to kill?
Tatsuya Yotsuba: That's what I'm wondering. Have any of you ever received a mission that explicitly forbade killing?
Time Eater: Now that I think about it, when I got the mission to take down those thugs, I was also forbidden from killing them.
Sword Princess: I believe I had something similar yesterday.
White: I haven't. But then again, my opponents are dangerous monsters that have lost all control.
Tatsuya Yotsuba: I see. The "no-kill" condition seems to apply when the target is human.
White: So, what will you do? The magic you possess is hardly suitable for a non-lethal mission.
Tatsuya Yotsuba: Hahaha, don't worry. I just bought a skill from the Market yesterday. Even though it's only D-Rank, it should be enough to take down Morisaki.
Time Eater: You already bought something from the Market?!
Tatsuya Yotsuba: I did. Haven't you?
Time Eater: It's not just me; none of the others have either.
Tatsuya Yotsuba: Why not? There are plenty of valuable skills and items for sale there. You can also check your skill levels in the character window.
Time Eater: Really? When I checked the character window yesterday, there was nothing like that.
White: Same here.
Sword Princess: +1.
Tatsuya Yotsuba: That was yesterday. Why don't you check again and show off your attributes here?
Time Eater: Ara~ why don't you go first?
Tatsuya Yotsuba: With pleasure. Take a look.
Tatsuya displayed his four types of magic to the group members. For a moment, the chat went silent—until Kurumi shattered the peace.
Time Eater: EX-RANK?!
To be continued...
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