Chiba Academy, Year 2, Class 3.
A chorus of surprised, seemingly innocent voices rang out in unison before quickly devolving into a noisy buzz, like whispers being passed around secretly.
"Hey, did you see that news?"
"You mean about the CEO of ME getting arrested?"
"I heard all her assets were frozen."
"Bet all the money she used before was stolen by her dad!"
They called it whispering, but the girls' chatter was loud enough to be heard by nearly everyone in the classroom.
Each murmur was like a stab of despair. Raiden Mei curled up in her seat, lowering her gaze. Her long, curled lashes veiled the storm of emotion behind her eyes.
'No…!'
'My dad was framed!'
'He didn't do anything wrong!'
Mei clenched her jaw so tightly that her gums began to bleed. She wanted nothing more than to run up to those girls and scream the truth at them.
But she knew—deep down—it wouldn't matter. No one would believe her anyway.
It wasn't until the bell rang that the cruel murmurs finally died down. Yet, the cold stares remained.
Malicious intent surrounded Raiden Mei like a rising tide. For the first time in her life, she was drowning in pure, unfiltered hatred.
Having always lived under Raiden Ryoma's protection, she was completely unprepared. She had no way to fight back. All she could do was endure in silence.
The scorn of society, the disgrace of her family, and now school bullying… all of it weighed down on Mei, suffocating her.
She slumped forward on her desk, eyes instinctively drifting to the seat next to her.
That seat belonged to the girl who shone like the sun in her life—her only… no, her two only friends.
But today, the seat was empty.
Her mind couldn't help but drift to the other night, remembering how both that girl and a boy had come to comfort her.
The memory brought a slight improvement to her gloomy expression and warmed her heart with a trace of concern.
'Kiana… where is she?'
"Sorry! Sorry! I'm late!"
Just as Mei began to worry, a familiar energetic voice called from outside the classroom.
With an expertly executed apologetic expression on her face, Kiana hurried in, easily ignoring the teacher's scolding as she rushed to her seat.
She flashed Mei a bright, cheerful smile.
Seeing that smile, Mei felt her mood lift a little. I'm not alone after all…
Everything seemed like it would be a typical day—until the second period with their homeroom teacher.
"I'm sure you've all noticed—two of our male classmates are absent today. That's because they won't be coming back," the young, attractive teacher said as she tidied her materials at the podium, wearing a soft-toned dress.
"They've transferred out of the school."
As she spoke, her gaze briefly flicked to Raiden Mei.
"Whaaat?"
"You're kidding!"
Chiba Academy had originally been an all-girls school.
It only started admitting boys a few years ago—but even then, very few actually chose to enroll.
Most boys who scored high enough for this school had better options elsewhere.
Things changed when Raiden Mei transferred in.
One by one, boys from prestigious families followed suit—drawn to her like moths to a flame.
Before Mei's family scandal, the girls were secretly jealous.
But they kept quiet—because there were many boys and only one Mei.
Everyone thought they still had a chance.
No one expected that after her father's arrest, all the boys would suddenly transfer out.
To the girls who finally felt like they had a shot at "getting the prize," this was a betrayal of cosmic proportions.
The resentment in their eyes toward Raiden Mei deepened to new levels.
"All right, that's enough noise," the teacher said softly but firmly, keeping the class from spiraling into chaos.
She adjusted her glasses. "That said, we do have a new transfer student today. And yes, he's a boy~"
"Ooooh!"
"Yesss!"
Aside from Raiden Mei and Kiana, every girl in the classroom lit up like they'd just won the lottery.
Eyes sparkled, hearts raced—everyone was gearing up for the competition.
With Mei's "fall from grace," the playing field was suddenly level.
Now it was anyone's game.
Kiana, meanwhile, was too busy trying to cheer Mei up to care about some new guy.
'What could possibly be more important than her wife?'
"Let's welcome him in, shall we?"
All eyes turned to the door—except for the two girls who were still whispering among themselves.
Every other girl looked like she was about to pounce, smiles of anticipation plastered across their faces.
Then, a boy in black stepped into the classroom.
He walked slowly but confidently. His skin was pale, his features clean and handsome, with a calm softness that balanced his sharp looks.
But within that balance of charm and gentleness was something else—something subtle and mysterious.
For the record, that last part was thanks to the "C.C. character card" influence.
"Whoa~"
"He's so handsome!"
"He's mine—totally mine!"
Even the faintest whisper couldn't escape Nagami's enhanced senses.
Every word, every sigh, reached his ears loud and clear.
As he looked at the collection of beautiful girls—not quite on Kiana or Mei's level, but still stunning enough to be school idols in his past life—Nagami let out a long, weary sigh.
If girls in his past life had been like this, would he really have stayed single since birth?
From that perspective, maybe the Honkai world wasn't so cruel to guys after all.
Seeing that Kiana and Mei still hadn't turned around, Nagami cleared his throat twice, drawing everyone's attention.
"Hi everyone, I'm Kazomu Nagami. Starting today, I'll be your classmate."
As Kiana and Mei stared at him in stunned silence, Nagami couldn't help but smile, clearly enjoying their reactions.
"Oh, and by the way, I'm good friends with Kiana and Mei from this class~"
He didn't want to waste time dealing with the typical girl drama, so he made things clear from the start—hopefully enough to stop anyone from bothering him.
To think he'd actually get to say something like that… For a moment, Nagami felt like the Honkai world might just be a guy's paradise.
But that ridiculous thought passed in a flash.
Ignoring the dramatic, almost face-changing reactions of the girls below, Nagami simply smiled and nodded politely at the teacher, then walked straight to the second-to-last seat by the window.
Right in front of him sat Kiana. Diagonally ahead was Mei.
"Wh-Wh-Wh…"
Kiana looked completely dumbfounded, her face adorably blank.
"What? I leave for two hours and you turn into a stuttering mess?"
Nagami tilted his head with a teasing smirk, his voice light and amused.
Glancing over at Mei, he noticed her lips slightly parted and tears shimmering in her eyes.
Clearly, she was touched by what he said earlier.
Nagami's expression softened into a warm, gentle smile as he nodded at her.
"Nagami-kun, how come you transferred to Chiba Academy?"
Holding back the emotion in her voice, Mei responded with a bright, radiant smile of her own.
No one else in the room could understand what Nagami's public show of support meant to her in that moment.
"Me? Playing games at home was getting boring, and I don't have many friends… so I thought I'd just come to Chiba and hang out with you guys."
He answered without hesitation.
That was… part of the reason.
But the real goal was to support Mei's mental state as much as possible—maybe even delay the Honkai's eruption.
And just maybe, he could get a shot at analyzing the Conquest Gem inside her.
"Wait… did C.C. come too?"
Looking nervous, Kiana suddenly slung her arm around Nagami like a close buddy, leaning in to whisper by his ear.
Clearly, she was scared her "two-timing" behavior was about to be exposed.
With his usual dead-fish eyes, Nagami pulled away from her slim arm.
"C.C.'s still at home gaming."
Kiana's behavior was so obvious it was practically begging for the teacher's attention.
Seeing the teacher approaching, Nagami immediately straightened up, sitting properly and adopting a well-behaved posture.
He shot Kiana a look, silently telling her to shape up—but sadly, the airhead completely missed the signal.
And then…
"KI! A! NA! Stand up and answer the question on the board!"
Nagami turned his head slightly, watching as the teacher loomed behind Kiana like a dark storm cloud.
Kiana gulped, then shakily rose to her feet.
"I… I don't know…"
She said it with such a pitiful expression, but it was a bold move all the same~