Chapter 1: Prologue

In the darkness, a light rapidly shrinking away.

Instinctively, he reached out his hand, but there was no way he could grasp it.

While enduring an overwhelming sensation of falling that made his groin tighten, Nagumo Hajime stared at the vanishing light with a face twisted in terror.

Hajime was currently in the midst of plummeting down a deep abyss-like cliff.

The visible light was the glow from the surface.

During a dungeon exploration, Hajime had fallen into a massive fissure in the earth, and now he continued to plummet toward depths where even light could no longer reach.

In the pitch-black darkness, with the roaring sound of wind rushing past, he saw his life flashing before his eyes.

How he, a Japanese person, had come to this world—one far too harsh to be described with the dreamy, hopeful word “fantasy”—and all the unfairness he had tasted since then, right up to the misfortune he was experiencing at this very moment.

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

Monday.

The most depressing day to start the week.

Surely most people sigh at the thought of the week ahead and long for the heaven of the previous day.

And Nagumo Hajime was no exception.

In his case, though, it wasn’t just simple reluctance.

A large part of his gloom came from how extraordinarily uncomfortable he felt at school.

As usual, Hajime arrived at school just barely before the starting bell rang.

With a body swaying from staying up all night, he somehow managed to open the classroom door.

The instant he did, most of the boys clicked their tongues or glared at him.

The girls didn’t show friendly expressions either.

Indifference would have been preferable; some openly directed contempt toward him.

Trying his best to ignore it, Hajime headed to his seat.

But, as always, someone had to pick on him.

“Hey, gross otaku! Staying up all night gaming again? Bet it was an eroge, right?”

“Eww, so gross～. Pulling an all-nighter for eroge is seriously creepy～”

For some reason finding it hilarious, the boys burst into loud laughter.

The one who called out was Hiyama Daisuke—the ringleader who never tired of bothering Hajime every single day like clockwork.

The three laughing idiotically nearby were Saitou Yoshiki, Kondou Reiichi, and Nakano Shinji.

Roughly speaking, these four were the ones who most frequently picked on Hajime.

As Hiyama said, Hajime was an otaku.

That said, he wasn’t so unkempt or obnoxious in appearance or behavior that he deserved to be called “gross otaku.”

His hair was kept short and neat, with no bedhead.

He wasn’t socially inept either; while he lacked initiative, he spoke clearly when addressed.

Quiet, yes, but not gloomy.

He simply liked creative works—manga, novels, games, movies—that was all.

In general society, the wind against otaku is certainly strong.

Normally one might expect mockery at worst, but not this level of outright hostility.

So why did every boy in class show such enmity and contempt?

The answer was her.

“Nagumo-kun, good morning! Cutting it close again today. Come a bit earlier, okay?”

Smiling brightly, one girl walked up to Hajime.

She was one of the very few in this class—no, in the whole school—who treated Hajime in a friendly manner.

And at the same time, she was the root cause of the current situation.

Her name was Shirasaki Kaori.

She was an overwhelmingly beautiful girl, one of the school’s two great goddesses, adored equally by boys and girls.

Long, glossy black hair reached down to her waist.

Her large, slightly downturned eyes looked terribly gentle.

A straight nose bridge, small nose, and pale cherry-colored lips—all arranged in perfect harmony.

She always wore a smile and was extremely caring with a strong sense of responsibility, so she was relied upon by students of all grades.

She accepted every request sincerely without ever making a displeased face—an astonishing maturity for a high-schooler.

And for some reason, Kaori frequently paid attention to Hajime.

Because he often dozed off in class due to all-nighters, he was seen as an unmotivated student (though his grades were average).

People assumed Kaori simply couldn’t help looking after him thanks to her naturally caring personality.

If Hajime’s attitude improved because of her attention, or if he were at least handsome, perhaps the others could accept it.

Unfortunately, Hajime’s appearance was utterly average, and since his life motto was “life is just something to do between hobbies,” there was no sign of improvement.

The fact that such an ordinary guy could be close with Kaori was unbearable to the other ordinary boys.

“Why him of all people!”

The girls, meanwhile, simply felt annoyed that he kept troubling Kaori and showed no intention of changing.

“Ah, ahh, good morning, Shirasaki-san.”

Exposed to glares so sharp one might say “Is this killing intent!?”, Hajime returned the greeting with a twitching cheek.

Kaori looked delighted at his response.

“Why are you making that face!?”

Even more piercing stares stabbed into him; Hajime broke out in a cold sweat.

He always found it strange.

Why would the school’s number-one beauty pay so much attention to someone like him?

In his eyes, there seemed to be something more than just her kind nature at work.

Still, he had absolutely no intention of getting conceited and thinking she might have romantic feelings for him.

Hajime was well aware he had sacrificed many things for his hobbies.

Average looks, average grades, average athletic ability.

There were plenty of far better guys around her.

That was exactly why her behavior puzzled him so much.

More importantly—please notice this storm of murderous glares!

He begged internally.

But he didn’t say it out loud.

The moment he did, he’d surely be dragged behind the gym…

Just as Hajime was timing an escape from the conversation, three more people approached.

Including one of those “better guys” he had just thought about.

“Nagumo-kun. Good morning. Must be tough every day.”

“Kaori, taking care of him again? Seriously, you’re way too kind.”

“Totally. I think talking to a guy with zero motivation is pointless, though.”

Among the three, the only one who properly greeted him in the morning was Yaegashi Shizuku—Kaori’s best friend.

Her long black hair tied in a ponytail was her trademark.

Sharp, slit eyes, yet with a softness hidden within; she gave more of a “cool” impression than a cold one.

At 172 cm she was tall for a girl, with a toned body and a dignified air that evoked images of a samurai.

In fact, her family ran the Yaegashi-style swordsmanship dojo, and Shizuku herself had never lost a kendo tournament since elementary school.

She was occasionally interviewed by magazines as a modern beautiful swordswoman and apparently had passionate fans.

It was a common sight to see her twitching her cheek while being called “Onee-sama” with heated eyes by her junior girls.

Next, the one who spoke to Kaori with a somewhat cheesy line was Amanogawa Kouki.

His sparkling “hero” name suited him perfectly: handsome, top grades, all-around athletic—a perfect superhuman.

Smooth light-brown hair, gentle eyes, nearly 180 cm tall, slim yet toned build.

Kind to everyone, with a strong sense of justice (though sometimes overly self-righteous).

He had trained at the Yaegashi dojo since elementary school and, like Shizuku, was a national-level powerhouse.

Childhood friends with Shizuku.

Supposedly dozens of girls were in love with him, but many hesitated to confess because of Shizuku and Kaori always being around him.

Even so, he received confessions more than twice a month regardless of school events—a bona fide lady-killer.

Lastly, the boy who spoke in a half-hearted tone was Sakagami Ryuutaro—Kouki’s best friend.

Short-cropped hair, eyes that somehow combined sharpness and cheerfulness, 190 cm tall with a bear-like bulky frame.

True to appearances, he was the muscle-brain type who didn’t sweat the small stuff.

Ryuutaro loved effort, hot-bloodedness, and guts, so he apparently disliked people like Hajime who came to school just to sleep and showed zero motivation.

Indeed, after one glance at Hajime he snorted through his nose and blatantly ignored him.

“Good morning, Yaegashi-san, Amanogawa-kun, Sakagami-kun. Haha, well… it’s my own fault, so no helping it.”

Hajime returned their greeting with a wry smile.

Stares sharper than the words “Who the hell do you think you’re talking to, huh!?” stabbed into him.

Shizuku was just as popular as Kaori.

“If you understand that, shouldn’t you fix it? It’s not good to keep taking advantage of Kaori’s kindness forever. Even Kaori can’t spend all her time looking after you.”

Kouki gave Hajime some advice.

In Kouki’s eyes too, Hajime apparently looked like an unmotivated student who was wasting Kaori’s kindness.

Hajime desperately wanted to shout, “I’ve never taken advantage of anything! Just leave me alone!”

But if he did, forced bathroom trips would surely follow.

Kouki also had a tendency to be overly convinced of his own righteousness, so arguing would be pointless—that was another reason Hajime kept his mouth shut.

And even when told to “fix it,” Hajime had zero hesitation about making hobbies the center of his life.

After all, his father was a game creator and his mother a shoujo manga artist.

He already worked part-time at his father’s company and his mother’s workspace to prepare for the future.

His skills were already treated as ready-to-work level.

His future plans centered on hobbies were perfectly on track.

In Hajime’s mind, he was living seriously, so no matter what anyone said, he felt no need to change his lifestyle.

If Kaori hadn’t paid attention to him, he would have simply remained a quiet, unremarkable student for the rest of his school life.

“Ahaha…”

So Hajime tried to laugh it off.

But today, as usual, their goddess dropped an unconscious bomb.

“? Kouki-kun, what are you talking about? I’m only talking to Nagumo-kun because I want to talk to him.”

The classroom buzzed.

The boys audibly ground their teeth, glaring at Hajime as if they wanted to curse him to death.

Hiyama’s group of four had already started discussing where to drag Hajime during lunch break.

“Eh…? Ah, yeah, Kaori really is kind, huh.”

Apparently Kouki interpreted Kaori’s words as her being considerate toward Hajime.

He was a perfect superhuman, but perhaps because of that he sometimes lacked doubt in his own correctness—that was the troublesome part.

While Hajime mentally escaped reality by gazing at the blue sky through the classroom window…

“…Sorry about that. Neither of them means any harm…”

Shizuku, who understood the human relationships and feelings in the room better than anyone, quietly apologized to Hajime.

Hajime just shrugged and gave another wry smile, as if to say “Can’t be helped.”

While all this was happening, the starting bell rang and the teacher entered.

Perhaps grown used to the strange atmosphere in the classroom, the teacher carried on as usual, conveying the morning announcements.

And, as always, Hajime departed for the land of dreams, and class began normally.

Watching him, Kaori smiled gently.

Shizuku gave a wry smile, thinking “She really is something.”

The boys clicked their tongues.

The girls directed contemptuous glances.

～～～～～～～～～～～～

Amid the classroom chatter, Hajime felt his consciousness slowly returning.

As a chronic napper, his body remembered exactly when he should wake up.

Judging by the sensation, it seemed lunch break had started.

Hajime lifted his head from the desk and rummaged for his standard ten-second-charge lunch.

When he casually looked around the classroom, the group that went to the school store had already rushed out, so the number of people had decreased.

Even so, his class had many who brought bentos, so about two-thirds of the students remained.

Additionally, the fourth-period social studies teacher, Hatayama Aiko-sensei (25 years old), was chatting with several students at the teaching podium.

――Slurp slurp, pop!

Having quickly charged his afternoon energy in ten seconds, Hajime was about to flop back onto the desk for another nap.

But our goddess—no, to Hajime, in a sense a demon—would not allow it.

Smiling brightly, she approached his desk.

Hajime inwardly groaned, “Crap.”

Because it was Monday, he had apparently been too sleepy.

Normally he would leave the classroom before Kaori and the others could approach and nap in some inconspicuous place.

But two consecutive all-nighters had clearly taken their toll.

“Nagumo-kun. Rare to see you still in the classroom. Is that your bento? Want to eat together?”

Once again an ominous air began to fill the classroom.

Inside, Hajime screamed.

Seriously, why do you keep bothering me of all people?!

He almost blurted out some nonsensical dialect in his panic.

Hajime tried to resist.

“Ah～, thanks for the invitation, Shirasaki-san. But I already finished eating, so why don’t you eat with Amanogawa-kun and the others?”

Saying so, he fluttered the now-empty lunch package that looked like a mummified husk.

Refusing outright might make him seem arrogant, but it was still better than sitting on pins and needles the entire lunch break.

However, that level of resistance meant nothing to the goddess; she pressed the attack.

“Eh! That’s all you ate for lunch? No way, you have to eat properly! Here, I’ll share some of mine!”

(Please, just stop already! Notice! Notice the atmosphere around us!)

As the pressure mounted moment by moment and Hajime broke into a cold sweat, salvation arrived.

It was Kouki and the others.

“Kaori. Let’s eat over here together. Nagumo still looks half-asleep anyway. I can’t forgive him eating your delicious homemade food while he’s still drowsy, right?”

Kouki flashed a dazzling smile and spoke a cheesy line.

Kaori just blinked in confusion.

Apparently his handsome smile and smooth talk had no effect on her—she was somewhat dense, or perhaps just naturally airheaded.

“Eh? Why would your permission be needed?”

Hearing her genuine question, Shizuku couldn’t help but “Pfft” and burst out laughing.

Kouki smiled awkwardly and tried to explain various things, but in the end the fact remained: the school’s most famous quartet had gathered at Hajime’s desk.

The pressure of all those stares did not lessen.

Letting out a deep sigh, Hajime grumbled inwardly.

(Just summon them to another world already, would you? These four totally give off the vibe of people who’d get caught up in something like that… Come on, some god or princess or shrine maiden from somewhere—anyone—please just summon them～～)

Sending telepathic pleas to another world as an escape from reality, Hajime was about to stand up with his usual wry smile to slip away when…

He froze.

Right in front of him—at Kouki’s feet—a pure white glowing circle with geometric patterns had appeared.

The other students quickly noticed the abnormality as well.

Everyone stared at the shining emblem—what people commonly called a magic circle—as if paralyzed.

The magic circle gradually grew brighter, expanding until it filled the entire classroom.

When the anomaly finally reached their own feet, the students snapped out of their stupor and began to scream.

At the same moment that Aiko-sensei, still in the room, shouted “Everyone! Get out of the classroom!”, the magic circle’s light exploded outward in a blinding flash.

Whether it was a few seconds or a few minutes later—when the classroom, painted pure white by the light, regained its colors…

There was no one left.

Overturned chairs, half-eaten bentos left open, scattered chopsticks and plastic bottles, classroom supplies exactly as they were—only the people who had been there had vanished.

This incident would later cause an enormous stir as a mass mysterious disappearance that occurred in broad daylight at a high school.

But that is another story.