'Another failure... How can I properly utilize Mana!?'

  Ryoshu failed miserably once again. He y helplessly on the floor of his room.

  Meanwhile, Fumiya... was still Fumiya, cute, pyful, and mischievous. Though the tter qualities were more dominant. It flew around the room exploring every corner of its master's new room.

  Ryoshu smiled wearily at the adorable creature. After watching its actions for a while, he looked around the room. The floor was now covered with tons of books that he had "borrowed" from the Temple previously.

  What he had been eagerly studying was the Rank C Lightning Magic book. It was the most special book because he had obtained it as a reward for successfully challenging the Trial of Courage.

  Unfortunately, even with its help, he still couldn't understand its basic principles.

  'But I think it's still worth trying. If I master Lightning Magic, my fighting style will become much more diverse.'

  Easier said than done, Ryoshu had practiced for over an hour but had made little progress in transforming his pure Mana into Lightning Mana.

  'I feel like I'm somewhere... at step 1 out of 100 steps in total... I hope I'm wrong.'

  Ryoshu continued practicing a bit more. Until he checked the time.

  06:18 Friday, August 25, 2023

  'Is it this te already? So fast?!' - After looking at the clock, Ryoshu hurriedly grabbed his uniform hanging on the wardrobe.

  "Fumiya, get ready too! I'll be done changing in a moment!"

  After reminding his friend, he rushed into the bathroom. And in less than five minutes, his preparations were complete.

  Fumiya had been waiting for him outside the room door for ages. Ryoshu raised both arms for it to fly straight onto him.

  The patterns on his clothes gradually appeared. He had previously told Fumiya not to make him stand out too much, so those lines were very subtle.

  Ryoshu entered the elevator and adjusted his colr once more. Of course, he didn't forget to carefully examine himself in his ordinary uniform.

  'Not too bad, right? Fumiya is quite skilled despite appearances. And probably because of the effect of 0.3 points in Charm stat too? You can only see such a big change up close... I'm quite excited to see how handsome I'll be after reaching 40 points!'

  He looked at his reflection and adjusted his clothes to make them less disheveled.

  'First time in 6 years... I'm wearing a uniform again... I never thought I'd go to school... like this again.'

  Images of his parents appeared in his mind again. Ryoshu remembered moments when his gentle mother would fix his clothes every morning before school. His father would pat his head, making his hair completely messy.

  "I'm off to school, mom and dad."

  But now there were no longer the warm goodbyes from the two of them.

  When the elevator number changed to 1, a strange sound startled Ryoshu.

  Beep.

  'Geez, that scared me.'

  The elevator door slowly opened. But when it fully opened, what was behind it stunned him more than ever.

  'Why is he standing in front of the elevator???'

  It was the blue-haired young man named Takahashi Haruki, the protagonist of the game Rainfall Disorder. Today, the boy was wearing a uniform custom-made by his family's decision.

  'The price certainly wasn't cheap at all.'

  But indeed, the uniform really suited the protagonist. Even someone with as critical an eye for beauty as Ryoshu couldn't deny this.

  "Ah! Amemura!"

  After catching Ryoshu's gaze, the boy innocently waved at him with a characteristically charming smile.

  "Hello Takahashi."

  He had to admit that whenever he met or interacted with main characters, he always felt something that made him want to befriend them. Especially this friendly and talented male protagonist.

  Haruki looked at the clothes of his quiet friend.

  "You look handsome today, don't you?"

  Hearing that, Ryoshu felt some warmth in his heart. But he decided not to ruin his cool image and stayed in character.

  "You too. Where's your friend Ryan?"

  He pretended to adjust his clothes while asking about other things.

  "Ryan?" - But contrary to his expectation, Haruki seemed not to know that name.

  A feeling of worry appeared deep in his mind that he himself didn't expect. An invisible drop of sweat rolled down his forehead.

  'Don't tell me... they haven't met each other yet. This.'

  Haruki still maintained his surprised expression and answered his question:

  "My neighbor friend? How do you know? I just met him yesterday."

  Ryoshu sighed with relief internally.

  'Damn. I shouldn't have blurted it out like that? But thank goodness... I thought the plot had gone way off track.'

  "Oh, because you were talking quite loudly yesterday so I accidentally overheard it." -

  He already had an excuse ready in his head.

  After hearing the expnation, Haruki immediately believed it. He quickly apologized with a remorseful expression.

  "Ah... sorry. I tend to get excited when talking to new friends. I'll keep it down next time."

  "It's okay. I don't mind that much."

  The blue-haired boy looked quite surprised but then a smile gradually appeared on his lips. His eyes suddenly became more affectionate.

  "Thank you, Amemura."

  His eyes looked toward the distance out there. This unconsciously caused Ryoshu to follow the boy's gaze.

  "Finally..." - Suddenly, Haruki whispered something very softly, seemingly inaudible if standing any further away.

  Those eyes the same color as the deep blue sky. They contained a multi-yered sadness. The bck-haired young man standing nearby seemed to understand the implication of those words.

  "Today is the academy's opening ceremony... Time flies, doesn't it?"

  Ryoshu fully understood what the boy was implying but he couldn't say anything.

  'Anyway... right now I'm just an NPC. I should keep our retionship as mere acquaintances. Because if I interfere too much... I'm afraid Haruki might change his worldview...'

  Thinking this, he only replied with a cold and somewhat emotionless tone.

  "Is that so? I find it rather long."

  The two stood together for a while without saying anything. Each person contempted different matters in their minds. Two people from different worlds, belonging to different csses and possessing different worldviews.

  One wanted to save the world because he wanted to take on the great responsibility and protect those he loved.

  The other reluctantly had to protect the world for his own survival.

  But at this very moment, the look in their eyes was strangely simir.

  "So... why are you standing at the elevator door?" - Ryoshu had been wondering about this since earlier.

  The atmosphere suddenly became a bit awkward.

  "Oh that's because I'm waiting for Ryan. But it seems he's taking a bit longer to prepare..."

  "Then I'll head to the auditorium first."

  "Okay. Bye." - The blue-haired boy waved goodbye to him once more.

  He also helplessly had to wave back in response to the protagonist's friendliness.

  ----0w0----

  The opening ceremony would take pce in the academy's auditorium. The auditorium was located right next to the multipurpose room. It had only one function: to host the school's rge conferences.

  But first, to get to the multipurpose room, he had to go from the dormitory campus at the foot of the mountain and go straight through the school in the middle. Ryoshu initially pnned to take the academy bus to get there.

  But unfortunately, he had missed the bus so now he could only wait or walk there himself.

  'And... of course I choose to walk...' - Ryoshu sighed internally while still walking steadily.

  Suddenly when approaching the school, he felt a shiver. It seemed that in front of him was some troublesome force. He immediately stepped into the garden arranged around the school.

  Swish.

  The sound of wild grass taking turns crowding into the serene atmosphere of that poetic garden.

  'Isn't this the garden where Esther and I talked? No wonder it looks familiar.' - Roses of all colors budding and sprouting had captured his full view.

  After running frantically for a long distance, Ryoshu finally turned back to where he had come from. Then he walked backward while observing carefully.

  'Not sure if it's right... but it's better to avoid death fgs. What if it's Alice or those bullying nobles?' - Ryoshu breathed a partial sigh of relief.

  But the old saying is never wrong, avoid one trouble and you'll meet another. While walking backward, he suddenly bumped into something a little smaller than him. Ryoshu turned pale with fear and immediately jumped forward a bit then turned around to see.

  'Why... am I meeting her again!?'

  "Why are you in this pce!?"

  That was the clear voice of the White family princess and female protagonist of the game Rainfall Disorder, Esther White. The girl possessed the trademark ash-white hair of her family and of course, not to be overlooked were those deep red eyes as red as blood, one of a kind in the world.

  Ryoshu didn't expect to meet her again here so he was a bit suspicious.

  "What about you? Why are you here?"

  Her face turned as red as a tomato.

  "B-because I want to avoid that damn Alice."

  'So you're still afraid of her...' - He remained silent without saying anything, just thinking to himself.

  Before he could finish his next sentence, Ryoshu was already cut off by the white-haired girl.

  "I-I'm not afraid of her! D-don't misunderstand!"

  "I didn't say anything."

  "S-shut up! Who told you to be so nosy!?"

  He also gave up on the irrationality of that arrogant girl. Therefore... just this once he decided to yield to her.

  "Yes, my dy."

  "Drop that way of speaking right now, commoner." - Esther somehow became even more irritated than before.

  Ryoshu's head spun at the incomprehensibility of the child in front of him. He ignored her and left without saying anything.

  "Hey? Where are you going! I'm talking to you."

  'Is your definition of talking one side shouting, oppressing the other side not letting them say anything?' - A somewhat cynical wrinkle gradually formed on his forehead.

  Ryoshu gritted his teeth silently for a moment... but then he took a long breath and tried to calm down again.

  "I'm going to the auditorium first."

  "Hey! If you ignore me, I'll tell everyone your secrets!"

  He was walking but suddenly froze his whole body. After a while, Ryoshu changed his mind and turned back to look at Esther with seriousness.

  'Should I teach this girl a lesson?'

  gggg