Allen straightened his posture.
"I'm sorry!!!"
The red-haired woman, Stella, Rika, and Kuroichi all stared at Allen with sharp eyes.
"I'm just here to visit Stella and Rika since they're sick," Allen said, holding up a fruit basket.
"That dumb face of yours—can you get rid of it?" said the red-haired woman.
"He's had that face since the first time we met," Stella added.
"It's so annoying, I feel like punching it!" Rika chimed in.
Kuroichi remained silent, but from her expression, it was clear she was holding back laughter.
"Is my face really that bad?"
The red-haired woman sighed and introduced herself.
"I'm Lina, Stella's older sister."
Allen was shocked.
"Ah, no wonder… You both have red hair."
"Yeah, something like that."
"I almost forgot—this fruit is for you two," Allen said, placing the basket on the table.
Just as Allen was about to leave the room, Kuroichi called out to him.
"They can't chew solid food yet. Why did you bring them something that's hard to eat?"
Allen turned around without saying a word. He grabbed an apple, took a bite, and started chewing.
He walked up to Rika. Once the apple was soft enough, he leaned in and kissed her, passing the chewed apple into her mouth.
Rika tried to resist, but Allen's strength was overwhelming. She swallowed the apple reluctantly.
Allen pulled away. Rika's face turned bright red, speechless.
"Alright, one down. Now it's your turn," Allen said.
As he approached Stella, he was suddenly pulled back by Kuroichi.
Kuroichi and Lina beat him up together.
"Die, you perverted NPC!!!"
After being beaten up, Allen returned to class, bruised and battered.
While treating his wounds in the classroom, he muttered,
"Of course I'm unlucky… I am an NPC."
A woman approached Allen.
She extended her hand toward him.
"Heal."
Allen's wounds vanished instantly.
He looked up at her.
"Thank you."
For a moment, he was speechless.
---
SYSTEM
PLAYER
Name: Erina
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Job: Guidance Teacher
---
"Why aren't you out training?"
"Haha… I kinda forgot there was sword training today."
"What are you doing here?"
"I just visited my friends."
"How did you get those injuries?"
"It's a long and complicated story," Allen replied, striking a dramatic chuunibyou pose.
"Well, get to the training field then."
Allen hurried to the field.
When he arrived…
"Hey, you! Why are you late?" one of the instructors called out.
---
SYSTEM
PLAYER
Name: Ian
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Job: Training Instructor
---
"I was visiting my friends, sir."
Ian sighed.
"Alright then. Your task now is to find a sparring partner for the upcoming tournament in two days."
"Yes, sir."
Ian pointed at Kuroichi.
"She'll be your opponent."
"Oh great, the perverted NPC is my opponent?"
"Yeah, I'm your opponent."
Kuroichi disappeared and reappeared right in front of Allen, sword at his throat.
"Your reflexes suck."
"Is that so?"
---
SYSTEM
Skill Activated: Demon Eyes
---
"Sir, can we begin our sparring now?"
"Yes. But wait for my whistle."
Allen kept his distance and readied his stance.
Kuroichi scoffed.
"Seriously? You change your eye color and strike a martial arts pose? What a clown."
Allen grew irritated.
"THEN WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO, WOMAN!?"
"Where's your sword?"
"You sure you want me to use it?"
"Yes."
"You won't regret it?"
"Just hurry up, you dog."
Allen summoned the Sword of the Shinigami.
Both of them got into position.
The whistle blew.
They clashed.
Kuroichi moved swiftly and aggressively, but Allen deflected each strike with one hand, calmly swinging his sword.
As time passed, Kuroichi's stamina began to wane.
She was panting heavily.
But Allen stood firm, his left hand resting behind his back.
"So reckless," he said.
"What did you say?!"
Kuroichi dashed at Allen again.
But in a flash, Allen appeared behind her and slashed.
Kuroichi barely blocked it in time—but her sword snapped.
Ian blew the whistle, signaling the match's end.
"So, satisfied with the result?"
"What the hell was that?"
"You just lost to an NPC with a trash-tier job."
Kuroichi stood frozen in disbelief.
"How… how could I lose to someone like you?"
"The answer is simple," Allen paused.
"Our power levels aren't even close."
As Allen walked away from the field, Erina approached him.
"You. Can you come with me for a bit?"
Allen looked confused.
"Okay."
"Follow me to my office."
Allen followed her.
"Please, take a seat."
He sat on the couch across from her.
Erina prepared tea.
"Here, drink this."
Allen sipped the tea.
"So, why did you call me here?"
"Let's get straight to the point. When I saw your combat skills… I have to ask. Are you one of the Seven Divine Members?"
The Seven Divine Members were students with overpowered abilities.
In the game, they appeared as support characters during the Sword Master event—an event meant for the main character, Stella.
Some things had changed in this version of the game world.
Because of Allen's previous battle, Stella was severely injured.
Also, due to that same battle, the timeline shifted. In the original story, the MC was supposed to fight Kazutora before facing one of the Seven Divine Members.
But because the previous fight destroyed the world, Allen recreated it and erased Kazutora's existence. Only those connected to the incident can remember him.
"No, I'm just an ordinary guy."
"Is that so?"
Erina smirked slyly.
She stood and went into the back room.
Allen didn't know what she was retrieving—but in the original storyline, Erina was a cunning figure and the main antagonist of the event.
She returned with a mysterious scroll.
"Allen, I have an interesting offer for you."
Allen looked puzzled.
She sat down, opened the scroll in front of him.
Allen's eyes widened in shock.
To be continued.