But really, I never thought I’d see the day when the coolest guy in school would know my name! That basically means we’re already friends! All the girls are gonna look at me with hearts (daggers) in their eyes tomorrow when they see us together.
“Does that mean I can call you Usato-kun too?” asked Inukami.
“Uh . . . s-sure!”
It wasn’t only the girls, now I also had to worry about the envious stares from all the guys at school. The most beautiful girl in school was calling me by my name! I could die a happy man.
Man, here I was thinking what a rotten day this was but it’s actually the opposite. Now I’m friends with the most popular students in school! A real once in a lifetime opportunity. Rain is the best. I say keep it coming!
I was busy apologizing in my head to the rain.
“Well then, what do you say we head home?” said Kazuki. He invited me to tag along.
Kazuki seemed a little more excited than normal, possibly because we’d just become friends. At first, I was worried that he liked me in that kind of way, but I soon realized that he was simply happy to have another guy to hang out with. I cursed myself for having doubted him and apologized to him in my head.
Inukami didn’t seem to mind that I was there, so we all left school together.
“Have you thought about what you want to do after you graduate, Usato-kun?” Inukami asked abruptly.
I gave her a vague answer. “Not really, I’m only a second-year after all.”
“You asked me the same thing the other day, senpai,” Kazuki noted.
“Heh. That’s because I don’t have any plans. I can’t help but wonder what other people want to do.”
The sounds of rushing rain and our footsteps echoed around us. I thought about how peaceful it sounded.
Talking to them felt strangely reassuring. Were those two giving off real-life good vibes? Talking to my friends felt totally different. My friends were always so insufferable, yet I felt somewhat refreshed talking to Inukami and Kazuki.
As I basked in that feeling, I decided to ask Inukami a question.
“Do you know what you want to do after you graduate? Since you’re a third-year and all.”
“Nope.”
“Aren’t you cutting it kinda close?”
It might have been rude, but it was honestly what I was thinking. Inukami was already a third-year and graduation wasn’t far off.
She smiled wryly in response. There was something very masochistic about it. The smile didn’t look right, especially not on the distinguished face of the student president who was idolized by all the students.
“Yeah, but I don’t know what I want to do with my life. Once I set a goal, I achieve it immediately. It makes me feel like I don’t belong here or something.”
“You’re so talented, senpai,” I marveled.
“Seriously,” said Kazuki.
The impression I had of her was that she can play sports and study hard—that she could do anything. Yet here she was worried about something that I never worried about. The things we worried about may have been different, but I was sure we were both worried about something, nonetheless.
“Oh, I didn’t mean for that to come off as arrogant or anything,” she quickly interjected.
Kazuki and I looked at each other and smiled, as if to say, “Don’t worry, we know.”
Inukami’s cheeks turned bright red. She turned away as if she was angry at something.
“By the way, is it true that you two are . . . dating?” I asked.
“What? Um, no. Me . . . with senpai? No way,” answered Kazuki.
“What he said. People often mistake us for a couple, but that’s only because we work together for the student council.”
Wait, really?
As someone who also thought they were dating, I was speechless.
“You’re kidding,” I said.
“Why would I joke about that? Senpai and I are just friends.” He smiled wryly.
I stared at him with a dumbfounded expression.
The rumor was totally false.
But the truth was that Kazuki was much friendlier than I’d ever thought. He would make the same uneasy, wry smile whenever he talked to a girl from our class. My friends and I used to glare and call him a stupid normie because we were jealous, but I didn’t see him that way anymore.
I told him that I used to think he was hard to approach.
“Looks who’s talking,” he said, flashing another wry smile.
I only talked to a few friends at school, so maybe I really was hard to approach. Still, knowing that people thought that didn’t make me feel good. We kept walking, talking about whatever was on our minds, when suddenly Kazuki and Inukami froze in place.
I stopped a step later and turned around to see what was happening. They were both cupping their ears with their hands as if they were trying to hear something more clearly.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked.
“Usato, did you hear that just now? There was a ringing sound,” Kazuki asked me.
“I didn’t hear it,” I said.
“I heard it too. Was that . . . the sound of a bell?” asked Inukami.
But there were no buildings around us that had any bells.
I was the only one who couldn’t hear it. I felt a little left out.
“Are you okay?” I started to take a step toward them. I was curious as to what might have happened.
But the moment I took a step toward them, geometrical shapes suddenly floated up to our feet—no, to the concrete below us. Working at the speed of light, the few gray cells I had in my gamer brain translated these shapes into words.
“Is this . . . a magic circle?” I inquired.
There’s no way that magic circles exist. Not in a world where science rules!
I watched the situation unfold around me. I was so panicked that it actually had the opposite effect, and I began to feel calm. The light from the magic circle on the ground flickered.
Leaving an ordinary world.
Switching to fantasy.
Walking a different path in life.
Starting a heart-pounding adventure.
These thoughts spun around in my head.
“Kazuki! W-What do you think of other worlds?” I shouted.
“What? What’re you talking about, Usato?! And what’s going on? Is this a prank show or something?!”
Crap. It was too early for him to understand what I’d meant.
I felt optimistic, at first. But seeing Kazuki panic made me realize the gravity of the situation.
“Usato! Do other worlds have magic and monsters . . . and heroes?!” Inukami shouted with a calm smile on her face.
Inukami is surprisingly nerdy, like me!
She must read light novels.
I heard they’re dirty!
Feeling calmed by her words, I responded.
“I feel like you and I are going to be really good friends, Inukami!”
While all this was happening, the magic circle shone so bright it was blinding.
I closed my eyes at the overwhelming light and started feeling nauseous and dizzy. Then I lost consciousness.