“Good morning, Natsuki-senpai.” “Morning.” As he walked across campus, Natsuki smiled and returned the greetings of the girls passing by.
It was not as though he played the part of some cold, untouchable prince who kept everyone at a distance.
The “prince” part could stay, though.
After all, he was one of the most popular students at Toyogasaki Academy.
‘Wait…
Is that who I think it is?’ A particularly familiar figure suddenly appeared in Natsuki’s line of sight—a girl with long, straight black hair wearing the Toyogasaki uniform.
She looked as though she had seen something deeply unpleasant, and her expression had remained gloomy the entire time.
‘Yotsuya Miko?’ Natsuki raised an eyebrow.
“This world just keeps getting more interesting.” Miko possessed spiritual sight and could see beings that were invisible to ordinary people.
She was not a jujutsu sorcerer, however, so while she could see them, she had no real way to fight them back.
When Natsuki entered the Class he greeted Eriri as usual.
“Morning, Eriri.” “G-Good morning, Natsuki-kun.” Eriri lightly bit her lower lip, her voice sounding a little unnatural.
Because of what had happened with [Abyssal X-Ray Vision] the previous week, she still felt embarrassed whenever she looked at him.
There was also something else bothering her.
She desperately wanted to ask about Natsuki’s relationship with Gabriel, but what right did she have to question him about it?
Her thoughts were a complete mess.
On the surface, however, Eriri maintained the elegant manners of a proper young lady.
Only the faint flush creeping upward from her pale neck betrayed her.
Natsuki took his usual seat behind her.
Eriri lowered her head, disappointment flickering in her eyes.
‘Nothing again today…’ She pursed her lips, feeling strangely let down.
After returning home that day, she had even wondered whether the strange effect only worked at school.
Yet now that she was back, she still could not see anything.
A short while later, an aloof-looking female teacher entered the classroom.
She wore a professional suit with black heels, and her long pink hair fell neatly behind her shoulders.
It was their homeroom teacher, Mafuyu Kirisu.
The ever-hardworking Shizuka Hiratsuka was the homeroom teacher for Class 2-A, which was also Yukino’s class.
“Settle down, everyone.
Class is starting.” The noisy classroom immediately fell silent when Mafuyu appeared.
High school coursework posed absolutely no challenge to Natsuki.
As he watched Mafuyu teach with her usual stern, serious expression, he could not help remembering what she was like in private.
‘Gap moe really is the best!’ Living in an anime crossover world was wonderful!
…
The morning passed quickly.
Their second period was Modern Japanese, taught by Shizuka Hiratsuka.
Natsuki paid proper attention for the first two classes before giving up and letting his mind wander.
Naturally, the other teachers noticed him staring into space, but with grades as good as his, no one could really complain.
After school, Natsuki needed to visit Dengeki Bunko.
No Game No Life: Zero was nearing the end of its current release, and thanks to the novel’s success, Amamiya Natsuki—better known in the industry by his pen name, Natsuki—had become one of the hottest young authors around.
This visit was mainly to discuss the contract for his second series.
Back when he had first decided to shamelessly publish stories from his previous life, Natsuki had done plenty of research into the light novel industry.
Dengeki Bunko, Kadokawa Bunko, and Fujimi Fantasia Bunko were the three major publishers.
There were also smaller imprints such as Full Drive Bunko.
Fujikawa Fantastic Bunko, however, had apparently vanished from this world along with Aki Tomoya, as though neither had ever existed.
Kasumigaoka Utaha, now a second-year student, had published her debut novel, The Metronome in Love, through Dengeki Bunko instead.
Natsuki’s editor was Kagurazaka Ayame, while Kasumi Utako worked with Machida Sonoko.
Natsuki and Utaha were on fairly good terms.
Her debut novel had nearly been canceled because of several unfortunate circumstances, and it was only after Natsuki gave it a much-needed push that its sales recovered.
Once classes ended, most students headed off to their clubs.
Club activities were a normal part of school life in Japan.
Only members of the Going-Home Club left campus immediately.
Natsuki had never been interested in joining any of them.
He would rather spend that time wandering around town.
The only reason he had not left right away today was because he was waiting for someone.
While eating lunch on the rooftop, he had mentioned to Utaha that he needed to visit the publisher that afternoon.
She happened to be meeting with Machida as well, so they had agreed to go together.
Natsuki naturally had no reason to refuse.
It was not as though he could not make the trip alone, but pleasant company was always welcome—especially when that company was beautiful.
The classroom gradually emptied.
Eriri was cleaning because it was her turn on duty.
As she worked, Natsuki noticed an English textbook in her hand.
Every so often, she glanced down at it and quietly muttered words to herself, apparently trying to memorize vocabulary.
Natsuki silently watched the blonde, twin-tailed tsundere losing heroine.
Eriri might look like a refined English young lady, but her English was terrible.
If he remembered correctly, they had an English quiz coming up soon.
Eriri was also busy after school.
She was the star member of Toyogasaki Academy’s Art Club, and once she got home, she still had doujin deadlines to deal with.
That meant she had to squeeze in every possible moment of study.
As for getting up early tomorrow to review because mornings were supposedly the best time to learn…
That would be asking far too much of her.
Eriri could barely drag herself out of bed in the morning.
As a secret hardcore otaku, she had already maxed out her oversleeping skill.
Perhaps she had become too absorbed in studying, because her foot suddenly slipped.
“Ah!” Eriri pitched forward.
She had just unlocked the classic anime ability of tripping over absolutely nothing.
If she hit the floor or crashed into one of the desks, she might end up with a scar even if she avoided seriously injuring her face.
Fortunately, just before squeezing her eyes shut, she saw Natsuki standing directly ahead of her.
‘He’s close enough…
Natsuki-kun will catch me, right?’ Eriri’s feelings toward Natsuki were special.
That was precisely why she had felt so disappointed when she realized she could no longer “see” him.
The ripples the incident had stirred in her heart still had not fully settled.
‘This is going to be one of those romantic scenes where the hero catches the girl, isn’t it?’ Her imagination immediately produced several thousand words’ worth of doujin material.
Unfortunately, reality did not follow the version she had written in her head.
Natsuki reacted quickly and grabbed the back of her collar.
Eriri hung there like a cat being held by the scruff of its neck!
She was tiny and hardly weighed anything, so with Natsuki supporting her, she soon regained her footing.
Then she turned and gave him a resentful look.
Forget the more extreme humiliation scenarios she sometimes drew—this alone was nothing like the rescue she had imagined!
What kind of hero saved a beautiful girl by picking her up like a chicken?
“Th-Thank you,” Eriri muttered, lowering her head.
“Studying vocabulary?” Natsuki smoothly changed the subject.
“Yeah…” Eriri pursed her lips.
Tomorrow’s quiz was giving her a headache.
Her father might be a British diplomat, but her English grades were so terrible that even a dog would shake its head at them.
She was practically a fake English girl!
“You can ask me about anything you don’t understand,” Natsuki said with a smile.
“I’m pretty confident when it comes to English.” “You’re confident in every subject,” Eriri shot back.
That little accident brought the two of them closer once again.
And the strange incident with the X-ray vision had been what started it all.
“Natsuki-kuuun~” A voice suddenly called from the classroom doorway.
Standing there was a tall girl with long, straight black hair and a white headband.
She wore a gentle smile, and her wine-red eyes were as striking as roses covered in morning dew.