In a twenty square meter apartment barely large enough for six tatami mats, a young man with medium short hair and a clean, handsome face sat slumped against the bed, fast asleep on the floor.
Suddenly, his brows knit tightly, pain flashing across his face.
“Hiss… my head hurts.”
Yuhan felt as if his skull were splitting open.
He instinctively raised a hand to press his forehead, only to freeze at the soft, warm sensation beneath his palm.
“What is this?”
Forcing his heavy eyes open, the first thing he saw was the rear end of a white cat.
“Meow…”
The cat, which had been comfortably sprawled across his forehead, stirred awake and turned to glare at him with clear dissatisfaction.
A habitual, indulgent smile immediately surfaced on Sorata’s face.
“Sorry for waking you up, Hikari…”
“Hikari? What is that? How do I know… ugh…”
Before he could think further, an overwhelming torrent of memories flooded his mind.
His already muddled thoughts were overturned completely, as if his consciousness were being stirred into chaos.
After a long while, clarity slowly returned to his eyes.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile curved at the corners of his lips.
He lifted the white cat off his head and cradled it in his arms, leaning back against the edge of the bed.
Turning toward the window, he watched the sunset dye the world crimson.
The sinking sun bathed everything in quiet stillness.
He inhaled deeply.
“The scent of freedom… it truly makes one nostalgic.”
So I did not die in that battle after all.
Should I consider myself lucky?
The cool evening breeze drifted in through the window.
Yuhan greedily breathed it in.
At this moment, his entire body felt loose and languid.
He did not want to move at all.
For decades, he had existed within the Nightmare Space, traveling through increasingly terrifying worlds to complete missions, surviving on the razor edge between life and death.
A moment without pressure like this had once been nothing more than a distant dream.
His life had been nothing but fighting and killing.
Darkness and death had followed every step.
From an ordinary person, he had climbed over mountains of corpses and seas of blood until he stood at the peak among gods and demons.
Then came the siege.
Several Primordial Level beings joined forces with dozens of Universe Level existences to surround and attack the notorious Nightmare Space.
That battle shook countless worlds.
Time and space twisted under its force.
Even the Nightmare Lord behind it fell.
To survive, Yuhan had revealed strength he had long kept hidden.
Resting both hands behind his head, he thought lazily, The power of detonating my true body was greater than I expected.
It nearly shattered the True Spirit I concealed to escape.
This was not transmigration.
Not possession.
His True Spirit had descended and reincarnated into this world.
What had happened just now was simply the awakening of past memories.
As he sorted through more than ten years of this life’s recollections, a strange look surfaced in his eyes.
In this world, his name was Kanda Sorata.
Sixteen years old.
Living in a district under Kyoto, Sakura nation.
A second year student at Suimei University of the Arts High School.
An ordinary course student.
Last summer, because he adopted a white cat named Hikari, the one currently in his arms, he had been moved into a special dormitory called Sakurasou.
Every detail matched an anime he once watched after exchanging data in the Nightmare Space: The Pet Girl of Sakurasou.
That alone would not have interested him.
He had encountered many parallel worlds resembling familiar films and novels.
What caught Yuhan’s attention was how…
illogical the history was.
In the Sakura nation he remembered, the 1940s were a time of tragedy and rebuilding.
But here, the history books described a miracle that felt like a lie.
In 1942, at the height of a global conflict, every nation on Earth had abruptly laid down their arms.
No explanation was given in the texts other than a “spontaneous realization of global peace.”
It was absurd.
Nations don’t just stop fighting mid-battle because they feel like it.
Following this “Great Armistice,” the world had reorganized into the Global Union.
The Dragon Kingdom and Sakura nation hadn’t fought for nearly a century; instead, they had formed the Pacific Concord, a partnership so seamless it felt artificial.
There was no decline of the East, no “Century of Humiliation”, and no post-war occupation for Sakura nation.
Instead, there was a sudden, forced leap in technology and cooperation.
To the average citizen, it was a utopia.
But as Sorata flipped through the pages, he noticed the gaps.
Why was the military budget of the Global Union higher than ever if there were no enemies left to fight?
Why were there “Dead Zones” in the Pacific marked as Scientific Research Areas that no one was allowed to visit?
The history he studied as a child was a story of human progress.
The history in front of him now felt like a massive, world-wide cover-up.
In scattered folk legends and leaked online information, there were also hints of supernatural forces active in the shadows.
“But none of that concerns me.”
For so many years, his mind had never known rest.
Now, after understanding his circumstances, he finally relaxed completely.
He did not want to think about anything.
He only wanted to lie down and be quiet.
“Meow…”
Several hungry cries interrupted him.
Sorata opened his eyes and looked over.
Seven cats of different colors and breeds stood nearby.
Black, calico, ginger, and more.
All of them had been picked up last year by Kanda Sorata.
No, by him.
Today should be the last day of spring break.
The thought drifted lazily through his mind.
He picked up his phone.
It was already past four thirty, nearly five.
No wonder the cats were hungry.
He had stayed up all night gaming and never fed them in the morning.
They have been hungry half a day already.
A little longer should not matter, right?
The thought was irresponsible, but he truly did not want to move.
“Meow. Meow.”
The black cat Nozomi and the calico Kodama padded over and looked up at him, calling one after the other.
The remaining cats followed, surrounding him with quiet persistence.
With so many expectant gazes fixed on him, continuing to pretend was impossible.
“Alright, alright. I’m getting up.”
He was not about to argue with a group of cats.
Yawning, Yuhan slowly pushed himself off the floor.
His eyes were dull, as though he had not slept in days.
He walked to the window and drew back the half closed curtains.
Cherry blossoms bloomed outside.
A few pedestrians moved along the street.
The scene carried the fresh vitality of early spring, washing over him.
He stretched his back.
“From today on, I am Kanda Sorata.”
With the memories of this life integrated, Kanda Sorata was Yuhan.
But Yuhan was not Kanda Sorata.
Compared to the existence who once stood at the peak of countless worlds, these ten peaceful years were like a drop in the ocean.
His dominant consciousness remained Yuhan’s.
For now, he had no intention of changing anything.
He would live using the identity of Kanda Sorata.
Grand ideals meant nothing to him.
He had seen too much.
Right now, he simply wanted to enjoy a free and unrestrained life.
In simpler terms, he wanted to drift.
As for quickly recovering world destroying power or ruling the heavens, he had no interest.
At least not for now.
“As for the future… we’ll see once I regain some strength.”
He turned and looked toward the bed.
A girl lay there, wrapped in a quilt, sleeping on her stomach.
His lips curved slightly.
“I doubt my days here will be that peaceful.”
Sakurasou was a two story, aging wooden dormitory.
The boys lived downstairs, the girls upstairs.
There was a shared kitchen and bathroom.
It took ten minutes to walk to school or the station.
There was no cafeteria.
Everything was self managed.
Five people currently lived here.
Three boys, one girl, and a female supervisor teacher.
Among the four students, aside from him, all were well known problem children at Suimei High.
Searching through the blurred memories of the anime, he looked at the girl on the bed.
Kamiigusa Misaki.
A calm gaze that did not match his age flickered in his eyes.
After recalling the twelve episode series, he remembered how harsh life had been for the Kanda Sorata in the story.
Surrounded by geniuses among geniuses, he had struggled to catch up, only to watch them move farther away.
Failure after failure.
Frustration.
Disappointment.
And this time…
“Aha…”
Leaning against the wall, he yawned lazily.
“But that is Kanda Sorata’s life, not mine. For me, geniuses…”
“Mmm… geniuses? kohai, are you talking about me?”
The girl on the bed stirred.
Wrapped tightly in the quilt like a cat, she poked her head out and looked at him sleepily.
“Do not flatter yourself, Senpai. You’re not a genius. You’re an alien.”
Sorata replied irritably.
“And get up already. You took the bed and made me sleep on the floor all day. My whole body aches.”
“Mmm…”
She stretched like a cat and sat up.
She wore only a loose shirt.
As she raised her arms, her slender waist was revealed.
Below was a short skirt that barely covered her thighs.
Her figure was far too mature for her age.
Her hair was messy and flipped outward at the ends.
A girl who would make people turn their heads without fail.
Yet she seemed completely unaware.
She widened her eyes at him.
“I want to become a bride in the future.”
“Sure. You can become a bride. Now put your clothes on properly and go back.”
Sorata brushed her off lazily.
“Then if I’m the bride, kohai is the husband. Let’s start with the husband coming home…”
Ignoring him, Misaki hopped off the bed and hurried over.
“Welcome home, darling. You’re back early today.”
She stopped in front of him, bowed slightly, and smiled sweetly.
“Yes, yes. If you want to play loving couple, go find Jin senpai. Senpai, please spare me.”
Sorata placed a hand against her forehead to stop her from leaning closer, then pushed her out of the room without hesitation.