It was afternoon, just after classes had ended at Mitakihara Private Middle School.
Golden sunlight spilled across the corridors.
Crowds of students walked along the hallways in small groups, chatting and laughing as they headed in different directions toward their respective clubrooms.
A school that normally prioritized academic studies seemed to transform, almost instantly, into a genuine paradise for its students.
The Detective Club, the Paranormal Club, the Friendship Club, the Culinary Research Society, the Basketball Club, the Baseball Club, and countless others.
The students moving through the corridors had cast aside the restraint they displayed during morning classes and were now behaving much more freely.
Makoto Tsukimi walked against the flow of students, heading toward his intended destination.
If university had been the happiest stage of student life in Makoto’s previous world, then in this world, middle school and high school were the happiest years.
Perhaps because technological development had been so rapid, society was constantly suffering from a shortage of workers.
Consequently, students in this world faced far less academic pressure than those in Makoto’s previous life.
This was a world experiencing growth in practically every field.
Economics, culture, and everything else still possessed enormous untapped potential because so much had only recently been discovered or developed.
As long as someone worked hard, they had a reasonably good chance of obtaining whatever they wanted during this era.
Everything seemed immersed in an endless atmosphere of prosperity and happiness.
However, Makoto himself wasn’t particularly optimistic about this development.
After all, neither happiness nor economic growth could continue forever.
“In a peaceful era of flourishing prosperity, population growth can become terrifyingly exponential. Before long, every available space will be packed to capacity.”
According to the various materials Makoto had collected, Mitakihara itself was already showing subtle signs of moving in that direction.
The labor surplus across various industries caused by a population explosion would soon become a serious problem.
In Makoto’s previous world, where technological progress had been achieved gradually, step by step, societies still struggled enormously with such issues.
And this world seemed to have obtained advanced technology through some sort of miraculous shortcut.
How much worse would things become here?
This world had reached its current stage of development without experiencing an Industrial Revolution, a Renaissance, or even a financial crisis.
Even its wars had ended far more quickly and abruptly than anyone would have expected.
How should he describe it?
It possessed the beautiful appearance of a flower cultivated in an artificial greenhouse.
But what would happen if such a flower were suddenly transplanted into the natural environment?
In Makoto’s eyes, this entire society, racing forward at breakneck speed, was no different from someone walking along a tightrope.
It didn’t even possess a large, unified, centralized government or nation.
Makoto could almost imagine what would happen when economic growth began slowing, the population became increasingly excessive, and an economic crisis finally arrived.
When enormous numbers of people went bankrupt…
When countless people fell into despair…
When large portions of the population could no longer even afford food…
The countless countries, large and small, scattered throughout the world would instinctively turn to the most primitive and straightforward solution available.
— War.
Plundering another country’s resources was the simplest way to satisfy the demands of one’s own population.
Hundreds of thousands of countries would descend into an enormous free-for-all.
Hundreds of thousands of countries would begin waging war using modern technology.
Just imagining that kind of spectacle was enough to make one’s imagination run wild!
However…
“Then again, it’s hard to say. Maybe just before everything reaches the breaking point, someone will suddenly dig up another incredible piece of technology.” The source of this chapter is novelping dot com.
“Technological development could leap forward again, triggering a massive explosion in productivity and solving all those problems in one go.”
“Considering this world’s history, maybe someone will suddenly discover a spaceship or something? After all, these people practically jumped straight from the age of horse-drawn carriages into the electrical age.”
From his perspective as an outsider, human society as a whole resembled a powder keg that could explode at any moment.
He had a strong feeling that its collapse would inevitably occur within the next ten years.
“A developmental process that completely violates objective economic and historical principles… This is a textbook case of forcing growth before its time.”
“It’s as though this world has borrowed all its hope from the future in advance, leaving nothing but despair ahead.”
“At this point, the only thing people can rely on is another miraculous technological breakthrough falling from the sky.”
“But can miracles really continue arriving so conveniently forever?”
As he exchanged greetings with classmates passing through the corridor, Makoto continued reflecting on these matters.
Eventually, he arrived at his destination.
Near the entrance on the first floor of the school building stood a bulletin board covered with various notices and club recruitment advertisements.
As Makoto scanned the board, he immediately spotted the recruitment notice he had posted not long ago.
[Dreamweaver Club — Recruitment Notice]
[The Dreamweaver Club warmly welcomes everyone who longs to weave their own dreams.]
[In a fantasy world, you can possess anything. In a fantasy world, nothing need ever be lost. Dreamweaver Club President Makoto Tsukimi sincerely invites you to immerse yourself in dreams.]
[Create a world that belongs entirely to you, and discover the direction you wish to pursue.]
[Let the happy share their happiness, and let the suffering share their burdens.]
[Share your beautiful experiences to comfort those in pain. Share your suffering to find understanding in others. Fantasy is humanity’s greatest natural gift.]
[Members of this club will receive personal financial support from President Makoto Tsukimi. Every member is eligible for funding to weave their dreams through novels, games, or any other creative medium.]
[What are you waiting for? Dreams wait for no one. Come and weave your very own beautiful dream!]
[Interested applicants should visit Class 2-B, where Club President Makoto Tsukimi will personally conduct interviews.]
Standing before the bulletin board, Makoto carefully reread the announcement he had written.
After nodding in satisfaction, he reached out and tore down his earlier recruitment notice.
The club advertised on the board was precisely the one Madoka Kaname had applied to join during physical education class earlier that day.
However, just as he was preparing to sell the NicoNico website, there was now little reason to continue recruiting members for this club.
“Did you put up that recruitment notice today?”
A clear voice suddenly sounded beside him.
Having grown somewhat familiar with this particular pattern, Makoto turned his head.
Sure enough, standing before him was a girl with long black hair reaching her waist.
Homura Akemi’s cool expression revealed not the slightest emotional fluctuation.
This made it difficult for Makoto to determine whether she had actually run away earlier because he’d touched a nerve, or whether she genuinely had been running out of time.
Then again, it wasn’t particularly important.
So he simply discarded the thought and acted as though nothing unusual had happened.
Makoto Tsukimi: “Finished taking care of things with Madoka?”
Homura Akemi: “More or less. I’ve finished installing a listening device and a tracking device on Madoka.”
The girl delivered this rather criminal-sounding statement with complete straightforwardness.
For a moment, Makoto didn’t even know how to respond.
However, before he could comment on Homura’s questionable behavior—
Homura Akemi: “Tsukimi, you still haven’t answered my question.”
When something concerned Homura herself, she might choose to run away.
But when it involved Madoka’s safety, Homura would never retreat in the slightest.
She needed to know whether the recruitment notice that had attracted Madoka to Makoto’s club had been deliberately posted after Makoto met her.
Perhaps he had put it up without Homura noticing, specifically to draw Madoka closer to him.
Otherwise, why would the timing be so convenient?
On the very same day Homura transferred into the school, Madoka had submitted an application to join Makoto’s club.
Makoto Tsukimi: “Actually, Homura, you shouldn’t be asking me about this. My testimony isn’t exactly reliable, considering I’m one of the people involved.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just stop a random student passing by and ask them?”
Homura Akemi: “That’s true. I’ll verify it afterward.”
Her violet eyes met Makoto’s for half a second before she nodded in agreement.
However, judging from her expression, Makoto could tell that her suspicions hadn’t diminished in the slightest.
Makoto Tsukimi: “Oh, forget it. I’ll just take you to check myself.”
To be fair, after interacting with Homura for a short time, Makoto had begun noticing something.
The beautiful transfer student whom everyone else regarded as extremely dependable, talented, and attractive was actually far less reliable than she appeared.
The simplest example was her ability to interact with other people.
It might be considerably worse than Makoto had initially imagined.
For instance, he strongly suspected that the reason Homura hadn’t simply stopped a random classmate to ask about the notice was that she subconsciously resisted establishing contact with people she didn’t know well.
Rather than interacting with strangers, she apparently preferred communicating with Makoto, someone with whom she had already become unavoidably involved.
So underneath that cold, aloof mask, is Homura actually just a girl with severe social anxiety?
Although he continued making these sarcastic observations internally, Makoto didn’t stop moving.
He directly led Homura toward several randomly selected students passing through the corridor and personally questioned them.
Finally, to make absolutely certain there could be no misunderstanding, he even accompanied Homura to the student council office.
There, they verified the exact date and time when he had submitted his club recruitment application.
By the time everything had been settled…
Homura Akemi: “Thank you for your trouble.”
They were walking along the road home when the long-haired girl suddenly expressed her gratitude.
Apparently, she had realized that her earlier behavior had been somewhat inappropriate.
Makoto Tsukimi: “It’s fine.”
He shook his head and waved the matter away as though it were nothing important.
In truth, clearing up the misunderstanding with Homura was also necessary for Makoto himself.
After all…
Makoto Tsukimi: “According to your suggestion, Homura, the two of us are going to be living together for the next month.”
By this point, the two had reached the riverside near their school.
The setting sun bathed them in warm evening light, casting long shadows behind them as they walked side by side.
Homura held her schoolbag with both hands in front of her.
Maintaining her usual cool expression, she gave a slight nod, showing no intention of contradicting Makoto’s statement.
Previously, Makoto had merely been someone Homura considered worthy of attention.
But the moment Madoka chose to join his club, his priority level had risen without limit.
Homura needed to be absolutely certain that he posed no danger to Madoka.
And as far as she was concerned, the simplest way to ensure that was—
Never let Makoto Tsukimi out of her sight.