The apartment balcony window stood open, and the spring breeze brushing past carried a slight, cool sting.
It was a fine day.
With the start of a familiar new semester came a premonition that a peaceful life was finally within reach.
'Is my luck finally turning around?'
After finishing his morning routine and breakfast, Xuegu You rummaged through the apartment for a while before locating his school bag. With nearly an hour left before the opening ceremony, leaving now would put him at school right on time.
He paused before the mirror to tidy his appearance, nodding with satisfaction at his reflection. It was no longer a stranger's face, but his own. Though ordinary, it was truly him.
He stepped out into the hallway and headed for the elevator. Just a second before the doors slid shut, they slowly parted again. Then, a refreshing, elegant fragrance wafted inside.
The person who had pressed the call button was a girl wearing the same school uniform as him. She had long, raven-black hair and a quiet, beautiful face. Her curvaceous figure was complemented by black tights and a form-fitting skirt. Without a doubt, she was the kind of beauty who would command a high turn-rate on any street.
As the elevator was a public facility, someone entering wasn't cause for concern, even if it was a rare beauty. Xuegu You originally thought so too, but upon seeing the girl's face clearly, his eyes widened.
Why was she here?
——Utaha Kasumigaoka.
A third-year student in Class C at Toyogasaki Academy, the school's top honors student, and a best-selling light novel author under the pen name Utako Kasumi. Xuegu You was perhaps more familiar with her than almost anyone else.
"Is there something I can help you with?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka noticed the strange expression on the face of the elevator's only other passenger. She gripped her bag strap slightly tighter, looking at Xuegu You with a mix of confusion and wariness.
Suddenly addressed by her, Xuegu You's heart leaped, but he quickly regained his composure. Recalling the countless scenes he had rehearsed in his memories, he chose the optimal response. He rubbed the back of his head with a practiced, silly grin, putting on an innocent smile. It wouldn't seem abrupt, nor would it arouse her suspicion.
"Sorry... I just didn't expect Kasumigaoka-senpai to live here as well."
"I see."
Utaha nodded slightly. As a well-known beauty at school, she was used to the gazes of others. An ordinary adolescent high school boy who accidentally discovered they lived in the same building would likely make that exact face.
Silence fell within the elevator. Utaha wasn't the type to strike up conversations with strangers she met for the first time, and Xuegu You's mind was a mess; he felt a secret sense of relief at her silence.
The elevator stopped on the first floor. Xuegu You stepped out and hurried away. As if a wild beast were chasing him, he vanished around the corner of the hallway in an instant.
Utaha was accustomed to this as well. Most boys acted this way upon seeing her; youthful shyness kept them from daring to stay in her presence. The few who wanted to initiate a conversation often hesitated, intimidated by her past reputation.
Rather than worrying about an underclassman from the same building, she was more concerned about the news she saw online last night.
"So sleepy..."
Rubbing her bleary eyes, Utaha walked toward the school at her own leisurely pace.
Only after Utaha left the apartment building did Xuegu You emerge from the corner of the first-floor hallway. A complex mix of expressions hung on his face: confusion, guilt, despair, and fear. Watching Utaha's retreating figure, he opened his mouth, but it took a long time for a sound to leave his throat.
"I think I'll skip school today."
Returning to his apartment, Xuegu You sat at his computer desk without even changing his clothes. Utaha's appearance had completely thrown his mind into chaos; he desperately needed to find the answer he hoped for.
Although Xuegu You was a transmigrator, this wasn't his first world. He had visited many worlds, staying for varying lengths of time in each. Originally, he was just an ordinary office worker and an ACG enthusiast.
But perhaps as a divine joke, or because a bored god wanted to watch a show, he was sent into the worlds of the anime he had once watched. Furthermore, in these worlds, he became the male protagonist of the story.
For instance, in Utaha Kasumigaoka's story, he had become that controversial protagonist, Tomoya Aki.
Initially, Xuegu You didn't intend to live his life like the original protagonist, but a god controlled everything. Every time he performed an action inconsistent with the original lead or changed the story's direction, time would reload and reset, returning to the moment before he made the change.
Only by conforming to the original development and doing what the protagonist was supposed to do would time continue to flow. Otherwise, it was a cycle of endless reloading.
Once the original story concluded, Xuegu You would head to a new world, become that world's protagonist, and continue performing a new script. He was like a marionette, acting according to the screenplay. He hadn't been without thoughts of resistance, but the countless resets acted like an inescapable cage, crushing all his efforts.
That god told him that as long as he did his part, he would eventually be sent back to his own world. After that, Xuegu You continuously became the protagonist of various stories as required. By now, he couldn't even remember how many worlds he had experienced or how many protagonists with different personalities he had played.
And this world was the "rest area" the god prepared for him. In this world, he no longer had to play a lead role. Until his rest ended and he left this world, the god would no longer force any requirements upon him.
A week had passed since his arrival. Just as the god promised, there were no heroines to contact, no plots that had to develop, and no need for reloads.
Out of a habit formed from countless transmigrations, Xuegu You had searched for information about this world online after arriving. He was certain he hadn't found any information regarding known anime characters. The Toyogasaki Academy where Utaha originally studied didn't even exist in this world.
This world was extremely ordinary—so ordinary that Xuegu You truly believed it was a place for him to rest.
But why?
Why was Utaha Kasumigaoka appearing in this world?