Tokyo, Ikebukuro.
At the live show of some nameless band, the gray short-haired vocalist was singing that song known as the song that “became human.” Whether she was pouring her whole soul into it was hard to say, but she was definitely performing with plenty of feeling.
“To be fair, the live version of Haruhikage really does sound a little better.”
Below the stage, Hayashi Makoto thought to himself.
Of course, while watching a girls’ band perform was nice, there was something on-site that interested him even more as a transmigrator.
Just a few meters away from him, Togawa Sakiko was staring fixedly at the stage.
Her petite body kept trembling, and the tears in the corners of her eyes could not be held back no matter how hard she tried.
She looked as if she was watching the murderer of her father.
Finally, the moment Haruhikage reached its climax, the young lady of the Togawa family could no longer hold it in.
She burst into tears and fled, panicked and miserable, like a stray dog that had lost its home.
“Anime worlds really are the best. You get to see all kinds of rare scenes.”
Makoto finally failed to hold it in and let out a short laugh.
He was not exactly taking pleasure in Sakiko’s suffering.
He simply found it interesting to witness one of MyGO’s famous scenes with his own eyes.
As a transmigrator, he naturally had a bit of bad taste when it came to moments like this.
After watching “Saki-sensei” flee in tears, Makoto silently withdrew his gaze.
Then he looked toward Wakaba Mutsumi not far away, and a hint of admiration flashed through his eyes.
Soft pale-green hair, delicate features, and cool-toned porcelain-white skin.
Togawa Sakiko’s childhood friend was just as some people online had described her: like a beautifully protected doll, carefully preserved yet tightly restrained.
Just looking at her made people want to protect her and give her a hug.
Mutsumi really was beautiful.
Thinking that, Makoto walked over to her.
“Wakaba-san?”
“…”
Mutsumi had been completely absorbed in worry over Sakiko.
Hearing a stranger suddenly speak to her, she looked up as if waking from a dream.
A faint trace of surprise appeared in her pale-gold eyes.
The person in front of her was not a boy her age, but a young man around twenty.
He had a mature air about him, with black hair and black eyes.
In this world, where hair and eye colors were usually as colorful as a rainbow, he actually seemed rather rare.
“Are you Wakaba Mutsumi-san?”
“…I am.”
The young man wore just the right amount of polite social smile.
“So it really is you. I’ve been a fan since you debuted as a child actress. As a fan, may I have the honor of inviting you to dinner?”
“…”
“Wakaba-san, why not think of it as making a friend?”
That was a lie.
Being a fan was just an excuse.
He simply thought Mutsumi was pretty and wanted to hit on her.
Whether it worked or not was another matter.
There was no loss in trying to strike up a conversation.
He was not some awkward sixteen- or seventeen-year-old virgin who lacked even the courage to talk to a beautiful girl.
Wakaba Mutsumi silently looked at him.
Just as Makoto was about to run out of patience, she finally shook her head slowly.
It was a very stiff refusal.
“What a shame.”
Makoto did not feel embarrassed or angry.
He simply gave her a polite nod, then left the live house.
Wakaba Mutsumi had refused him.
That did not mean her parents would refuse.
There would be plenty of chances in the future.
After leaving the lively live house, what greeted him was the bustling evening of Ikebukuro, Tokyo.
The neon lights of themed stores and game centers had already begun to glow.
Under a giant poster of an idol group, many girls carrying instruments had gathered, and the excited chatter in the air mixed with the smell of fast food.
The spring sunlight was gradually sinking into the shadow of night.
Makoto looked up at the sky and felt how wonderful it was to be alive.
He had transmigrated into this world more than three months ago.
He could no longer remember how he had crossed over.
All he remembered was that the moment he arrived, he had been thrown straight into a deadly space-start opening.
A human body in outer space had only about a minute between life and death.
Swelling flesh, boiling body fluids, oxygen deprivation in the brain… even now, whenever Makoto recalled those terrifying few dozen seconds, a chill still ran through him.
Thankfully, his cheat had activated in time.
Otherwise, he really would have died in space.
After arriving on this world’s Earth, Makoto discovered that this was actually a slice-of-life mixed anime world.
It mixed together many daily-life anime he had once watched.
Not only were there girls’ bands packed with god-tier weirdos, there was also Sobu High, Toyogasaki, Shuchiin…
Then what else was there to say?
He settled in Tokyo, Japan without hesitation.
He was going to pick up beautiful anime girls!
As for issues like identity and household registration, Makoto used the underworld connections of the Hiratsuka Group in Chiba.
As long as enough money was paid, those things were easy to handle.
His current identity was a half-Japanese whose parents had both passed away.
He had inherited a huge fortune from relatives back in his homeland and bought an entire floor in a luxury riverside duplex apartment in Roppongi.
No educational degree.
No job.
But plenty of money.
And he was currently dating a beautiful high school girl.
“Makoto-kun, school’s over!”
A sweet, clear voice came from behind him, filled with a smile.
A very cute girl with honey-colored long hair tied into a high ponytail hugged his arm intimately.
The two Haneoka students walking with her were surprised.
“Kei, who is this…?”
“Ah, this is my boyfriend.”
Karuizawa Kei looked a little shy.
Still, while holding Makoto’s arm, she introduced him to the friends she had made at school.
In return, he received the curious gazes of two first-year girls.
After her friends left, Kei pressed even closer to him, as if she wanted to hang her whole body off him.
Even her gaze seemed sweet enough to pull threads of honey.
It was obvious that she had truly fallen into the heat of first love.
It also seemed that she had finally walked out from the shadow of the bullying she had suffered in middle school.
“Didn’t you say you were practicing instruments at school after class? Why did you come here?”
“They said that if you’re learning an instrument, you have to watch a live show. They also said I needed to experience the atmosphere myself, so they brought me here…”
Kei gave a small sigh.
“I have to say, the band culture at Haneoka High is really strong.”
I also have to say, Haneoka’s uniform color scheme is really weird!
“Let’s go. Time for dinner.”
Since he had failed to invite Wakaba Mutsumi, he might as well take his cute girlfriend instead.
The reservation had already been made, after all.
Makoto, who had resolved to build a massive harem in this world, thought this without the slightest psychological burden.
Naturally, Karuizawa Kei had no idea what her boyfriend was thinking.
Her eyes lit up, and she leaned against him as she cheered softly.
“Yay! The Mont Blanc from that place tasted so good last time. I’ve been wanting to eat it again.”
But soon, the excitement in her voice faded.
“Makoto-kun.”
“Hmm?”
“Eating there… isn’t it really expensive?”
Karuizawa Kei was a girl who needed to “cling” to someone strong in order to survive.
She needed protection.
She needed a sense of safety.
She needed someone to prove to her through action that everything she had suffered from being bullied was already in the past.
But that did not mean Karuizawa Kei was a gold digger.
If she could stay by her boyfriend’s side, then even plain meals every day would make her happy.
“I guess it is expensive.”
“Th-Then maybe we should just go home and eat? There are still so many things to do in the future. Spending money recklessly isn’t good.”
Noticing the unease in Kei’s eyes, Makoto took her soft, warm hand.
He could not help feeling that this girl really was just like in the Classroom of the Elite storyline.
Once she acknowledged someone, it felt like raising a well-behaved, clingy golden retriever.
“There’s still plenty of money at home. Besides, you don’t need to worry about me sitting around and burning through my savings. I have my own ways to make money.”
Makoto glanced at the air in front of him.
There, only he could see a data panel.
[Name: Hayashi Makoto]
[Race: Human]
[Spirit: 15]
[Constitution: 22]
[Energy: 0]
[Skills: None]
[Passive: Mind Teleporter]
[Remaining Points: 0]
…
…
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