Chapter 1 – A Melancholy Day and a Magic Circle
・Morning, 7:30, a certain house in modern Japan
“Chii! Let’s go to school~!”
……
On top of being so noisy this early in the morning, why are you coming to get me like it’s the most natural thing in the world?
Speaking of which, what’s with that nickname? Are you in primary school?
I’m Saitou Chie.
I was named Chie(智慧; wisdom) in the hopes that I would grow up to be a woman who was aware of the world, and who had the insight to see the truth of things.
I’m a plain 17 year old girl in my second year at a high school near my house.
…Even saying it myself makes me sad.
I have shoulder length black hair, and single-fold black eyes; something common in Japan.
My face is neither beautiful, nor ugly.
It’s a truly normal face.
I’m 165cm, so I’m on the tall side for a girl.
My hobbies are appreciating anime and manga, browsing fantasy cellphone-novels, playing games, and collecting model swords.
I think you can tell from just this much, but I’m an otaku.
Or so I say, but I don’t collect figurines, nor do I want to cosplay.
I just do what I like.
My specialty is survival.
I’m an indoor type, but my parents and older brother like survival, so they often bring me mountain climbing.
Thanks to that, my studies are normal, but I have more confidence in my physical strength than average.
Leaving my hobbies and specialty aside, I’m just a plainer-than-average high school girl.
However, I have a childhood friend who isn’t normal.
He’s,
“Chii!”
the owner of the voice that’s shouting at me from the other side of the genkan.
His name is Takasugi Yuusuke.
He’s the same age as me.
Short black hair and smart, black eyes.
As for his face, he’s a super ikemen; enough that you can’t think of it as anything but a mystery.
His grades keep him consistently top place in our grade, and his physical abilities are above average as well.
He doesn’t belong to any clubs, but just seeing it once is enough for him to do anything well.
Honestly speaking, he’s a monster.
He has a gentlemanly personality, and is softhearted.
Amongst his own sex, he has a lot of trust.
Before anyone noticed, he had created a harem, and even though things went as far as a fanclub for him in our school, he’s a dull bastard that has no idea.
He’s a real life eroge protagonist.
I’ll say this just in case, but I have absolutely, not even a single, tiny grain of romantic interest in him.
On the contrary, I’m sick of him.
You’ll immediately see why.
“Haha, that guy never misses a morning, hey?”
My older brother Masato spoke sleepily from behind me, still in blue pajamas.
I’m his younger sister so you may be unsure about me saying this, but my brother is handsome enough that you wouldn’t think that we’re related.
He’s blonde and has a mean look like a delinquent, but he’s a kind older brother in his first year of university.
“He does this every single time, you know…”
In the genkan, I tied my hair into a ponytail, put on my navy, long-sleeved sailor fuku and skirt that didn’t quite reach the knees, put on black knee socks and brown loafers, and stood there with a fed up expression.
“Aahh~, I get the feeling that I shouldn’t head out the door right now.”
“I reckon. I had a look outside the window just now, but as usual there are five cute girls with him.”
“GEH-”
The number increased by one.
What kind of stupid woman is it this time?
This is one of the reasons.
This guy comes to my house every day with harem in tow.
“Haah~ …I’ll be going.”
“Try your best today as well~”
Resigning myself, with my schoolbag and the shoe bag with my indoor slippers, I headed outside the house.
Towards the first step of my melancholy day.
The moment I left the house, I saw him.
“Ah-, she’s come out! Chii!”
Yuusuke who was wearing his well-fit gakuran spoke with a splendid smile.
It’s a refreshing smile that probably fells any woman with certainty.
It’s not a face you should make while your harem is letting out a vicious aura behind you.
The first step of my melancholy day… Going to school with my childhood friend and his harem.
“You’re slow!”
“What the heck are you doing!?”
From early in the morning, I get showered with complaints.
“Yuusuke-senpai~ Why are you friends with such a plain girl~!?”
Said the cute, probably younger girl, on our very first meeting.
Hey you, that’s not something you would normally say to someone on your first meeting, right?
I’d like to see your parent’s faces…
“Saki-chan, don’t say something like that. Chii is my childhood friend.”
“If you say so senpai, I’ll bear with it~”
――――――――Squeeze!
The girl named Saki said this as she clung to Yuusuke’s right arm.
Seeing this, the harem,
“Hey, what are you doing!?”
“Yuu-kun is mineee!”
began fighting for Yuusuke.
I wish they would just cut out doing that in front of people’s houses.
“Haah~ I’m not going to wait for you.”
Saying that, I left them behind and started walking ahead.
If I waited with them, I’d be late.
“Ah~! Wait up, Chii!”
“Then walk faster.”
I spoke while walking.
“Chii!”
“…What?”
“Good morning!”
“Yes, yes, good morning~”
While feeling fed up, I replied to Yuusuke.
All while feeling painful stares behind my back.
..*
..*
..*
・At a certain school.
While being completely irritated by the noisy crowd behind me, I arrive at school.
However, my melancholy speeds up.
The second step of my melancholy day… The glares and harassment from the Yuusuke Fanclub.
The instant that I pass through the school gates, I’m stabbed by unpleasant stares.
They’re the threatening glares from the Yuusuke Fanclub.
Over half the girls in this school belong to the Yuusuke Fanclub, and in fact, the girls who come to school with Yuusuke each morning belong to this club.
That Saki girl was probably promoted by the management yesterday.
However, Yuusuke the man in question is ultra dense, so he has no idea this club even exists.
Of course, he has no idea about the girls’ love either.
Even though they’re approaching him that obviously.
As a result, even though they stick to him like glue he doesn’t dislike it, and thinks of it as skinskip, and I’m sick of Yuusuke as a result.
If he wasn’t my childhood friend, I would want nothing to do with him.
But, for some reason Yuusuke has always followed me around, and worries about me for some reason.
The result of that, is this.
I’m being bullied by the Yuusuke Fanclub of this school.
That’s the reason that I always bring my indoor slippers home with me.
Because of various things that have happened to me since primary school, I absolutely never leave my belongings at school.
Yuusuke hasn’t noticed this at all.
The members of the fanclub put in effort to cleverly hide this, and the teachers don’t know about this either.
More important than anything, I don’t discuss this with the main cause, and even if I did it’d be pointless.
This is him we’re talking about, so,
“There’s no way they’d do something like that. They’re all nice girls, you know?”
is obviously going to be his reply!
In the past when I told him to do something about his harem,
“Eh? I haven’t created a harem or anything, you know? And they’re all nice girls, so I’m sure you’ll get along with them too, Chii!”
is what he told me, refreshingly.
This guy can’t doubt people, so he doesn’t see the things around him at all.
And he really doesn’t notice his fans’ dreamy and passionate gazes, or the jealous gazes from a certain number of the boys either.
I seriously can’t handle it anymore.
I entered the school building, changed to my indoor slippers, put my loafers in my bag, and headed to class.
Of course, while all this was happening, Yuusuke was following behind me.
..*
..*
..*
・After some time has passed; after school
Presently, it’s one of those rare times when I’m going home together with only Yuusuke.
It seems that the harem can’t go home because of their club activities.
They’re probably actually gathering to discuss how to deal with me.
Up until now I’ve been called out to suspicious places, had people try to push me down stairs, and received various harassment, but because of my natural reflexes they ended without huge incident, but I seriously wish they would cut it out already.
And with no idea any of this is happening, my childhood friend who is like a god of misfortune to me only, is happily walking beside me, all smiles.
“You seem pretty happy, huh…”
“Mmn, because it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to slowly spend time with you, Chii.”
I want to hurry up and go home!
“Heyy, let’s go to a café! I’ll treat you to cheesecake which you like!”
“I obviously don’t wa- Don’t just go “Let’s go then“! Listen to me! Don’t pull on my arm~!”
Yuusuke ignored my unwillingness, and overbearingly brought me to a nearby café.
I seriously want to go home!
..*
..*
..*
・After some more time has passed; at a park with few people
I’m following behind Yuusuke and taking a stroll in the park.
Honestly, because the sun has almost set, there’s absolutely no one in the park.
“Hey, you have not a single bit of restraint towards me, do you…?”
“Eh? But Chii, you like the cheesecake there, right?”
“I do but, you know?”
I wanted to go home, you know!
“Then isn’t it fine? You never agree to go out and have fun with me after all.”
“Liiiike IIIIII saaaaaid, it’s because your harem glares at me!”
“Hey, it’s not something as exaggerated as a harem, you know?”
Yuusuke spoke about it like it was absolutely nothing at all.
He’s speaking for real, which is why it’s just way too unpleasant.
“And moreover, they’re really all nice girls, you know?”
They’re just acting nice, you know!
Honestly, maidens in love are terrifying…
But I have absolutely no sympathy for them.
Even now, I’m being completely harassed by them after all.
“Hahhh… Seriously, you’ll meet some harsh times one day, you know?”
“What the heck is this!?”
Having stopped walking, without giving a single glance to Yuusuke, I lectured him.
Even if I say all this, it’s probably pointless, but I can’t let it go unsaid.
I get the feeling that he’s saying something, but I pay it no mind.
“Uwahh~ It’s pulling me in!!”
“It’s because you’re like this that one day you’ll get backstabbed, you know. Even if you don’t yo-, “Save me Chii!“? Are you listening to m-…e-…”
Having judged that he wasn’t listening, I turned to face Yuusuke.
What’s with this scene?
Looking like it appeared right below Yuusuke was something like a shining magic circle.
No, that’s definitely a magic circle.
Everything below the stomach was buried into the magic circle, and having somehow or other moved to the edge of the magic circle, Yuusuke was desperately clinging on.
While gazing at this scene, I calmly analysed it.
O Yuusuke, having been dissatisfied with just being the protagonist of a Romance Game (18+), this time you even want to experience being the protagonist of a Fantasy World RPG?
“Aahh~ But I did get the feeling that this would happen one day…”
“What are you assenting to on your own!? Hurry up and help pull me out!!”
Don’t ask the impossible.
Despite looking skinny, he’s a 175cm guy with a fairly muscled build, and is impossible for a woman like me to pull up.
If I think about it more carefully, if only he wasn’t here, wouldn’t I be able to live a peaceful life?
There’d no longer be a reason for the girls in the harem or fanclub to harass me any further.
Moreover, it’s obvious at a glance that Yuusuke is being summoned as a hero.
He probably won’t be treated badly.
That’s why there’s only one option I should take.
“Yuusuke.”
“Chii, hurry!”
“This magic circle is probably a hero summoning. Isn’t that great? You’ve been chosen as the hero who will protect the people. Be a good kid and save lots of people in the other world.”
“Chii! What are you talking about!?”
Yuusuke’s face paled, as though in despair.
I pretended not to see, and turned my back on him.
“Well then, try your best, childhood friend of mine!”
I spoke with a smile.
With this, my days of peace have come!
However, the next instant.
――――――GASHI-!
“Heh?”
My leg was suddenly caught.
“Then you come too, Chii!!”
Without any time to think about what he had just done to me, I was sucked into the magic circle along with Yuusuke by a strong force.
It seems that there really is no peace for me.
I want to knock Yuusuke flying…
..*
To be continued
Chapter 1 – A Melancholy Day and a Magic Circle
・Morning, 7:30, a certain house in modern Japan
“Chii! Let’s go to school~!”
……
On top of being so noisy this early in the morning, why are you coming to get me like it’s the most natural thing in the world?
Speaking of which, what’s with that nickname? Are you in primary school?
I’m Saitou Chie.
I was named Chie(智慧; wisdom) in the hopes that I would grow up to be a woman who was aware of the world, and who had the insight to see the truth of things.
I’m a plain 17 year old girl in my second year at a high school near my house.
…Even saying it myself makes me sad.
I have shoulder length black hair, and single-fold black eyes; something common in Japan.
My face is neither beautiful, nor ugly.
It’s a truly normal face.
I’m 165cm, so I’m on the tall side for a girl.
My hobbies are appreciating anime and manga, browsing fantasy cellphone-novels, playing games, and collecting model swords.
I think you can tell from just this much, but I’m an otaku.
Or so I say, but I don’t collect figurines, nor do I want to cosplay.
I just do what I like.
My specialty is survival.
I’m an indoor type, but my parents and older brother like survival, so they often bring me mountain climbing.
Thanks to that, my studies are normal, but I have more confidence in my physical strength than average.
Leaving my hobbies and specialty aside, I’m just a plainer-than-average high school girl.
However, I have a childhood friend who isn’t normal.
He’s,
“Chii!”
the owner of the voice that’s shouting at me from the other side of the genkan.
His name is Takasugi Yuusuke.
He’s the same age as me.
Short black hair and smart, black eyes.
As for his face, he’s a super ikemen; enough that you can’t think of it as anything but a mystery.
His grades keep him consistently top place in our grade, and his physical abilities are above average as well.
He doesn’t belong to any clubs, but just seeing it once is enough for him to do anything well.
Honestly speaking, he’s a monster.
He has a gentlemanly personality, and is softhearted.
Amongst his own sex, he has a lot of trust.
Before anyone noticed, he had created a harem, and even though things went as far as a fanclub for him in our school, he’s a dull bastard that has no idea.
He’s a real life eroge protagonist.
I’ll say this just in case, but I have absolutely, not even a single, tiny grain of romantic interest in him.
On the contrary, I’m sick of him.
You’ll immediately see why.
“Haha, that guy never misses a morning, hey?”
My older brother Masato spoke sleepily from behind me, still in blue pajamas.
I’m his younger sister so you may be unsure about me saying this, but my brother is handsome enough that you wouldn’t think that we’re related.
He’s blonde and has a mean look like a delinquent, but he’s a kind older brother in his first year of university.
“He does this every single time, you know…”
In the genkan, I tied my hair into a ponytail, put on my navy, long-sleeved sailor fuku and skirt that didn’t quite reach the knees, put on black knee socks and brown loafers, and stood there with a fed up expression.
“Aahh~, I get the feeling that I shouldn’t head out the door right now.”
“I reckon. I had a look outside the window just now, but as usual there are five cute girls with him.”
“GEH-”
The number increased by one.
What kind of stupid woman is it this time?
This is one of the reasons.
This guy comes to my house every day with harem in tow.
“Haah~ …I’ll be going.”
“Try your best today as well~”
Resigning myself, with my schoolbag and the shoe bag with my indoor slippers, I headed outside the house.
Towards the first step of my melancholy day.
The moment I left the house, I saw him.
“Ah-, she’s come out! Chii!”
Yuusuke who was wearing his well-fit gakuran spoke with a splendid smile.
It’s a refreshing smile that probably fells any woman with certainty.
It’s not a face you should make while your harem is letting out a vicious aura behind you.
The first step of my melancholy day… Going to school with my childhood friend and his harem.
“You’re slow!”
“What the heck are you doing!?”
From early in the morning, I get showered with complaints.
“Yuusuke-senpai~ Why are you friends with such a plain girl~!?”
Said the cute, probably younger girl, on our very first meeting.
Hey you, that’s not something you would normally say to someone on your first meeting, right?
I’d like to see your parent’s faces…
“Saki-chan, don’t say something like that. Chii is my childhood friend.”
“If you say so senpai, I’ll bear with it~”
――――――――Squeeze!
The girl named Saki said this as she clung to Yuusuke’s right arm.
Seeing this, the harem,
“Hey, what are you doing!?”
“Yuu-kun is mineee!”
began fighting for Yuusuke.
I wish they would just cut out doing that in front of people’s houses.
“Haah~ I’m not going to wait for you.”
Saying that, I left them behind and started walking ahead.
If I waited with them, I’d be late.
“Ah~! Wait up, Chii!”
“Then walk faster.”
I spoke while walking.
“Chii!”
“…What?”
“Good morning!”
“Yes, yes, good morning~”
While feeling fed up, I replied to Yuusuke.
All while feeling painful stares behind my back.
..*
..*
..*
・At a certain school.
While being completely irritated by the noisy crowd behind me, I arrive at school.
However, my melancholy speeds up.
The second step of my melancholy day… The glares and harassment from the Yuusuke Fanclub.
The instant that I pass through the school gates, I’m stabbed by unpleasant stares.
They’re the threatening glares from the Yuusuke Fanclub.
Over half the girls in this school belong to the Yuusuke Fanclub, and in fact, the girls who come to school with Yuusuke each morning belong to this club.
That Saki girl was probably promoted by the management yesterday.
However, Yuusuke the man in question is ultra dense, so he has no idea this club even exists.
Of course, he has no idea about the girls’ love either.
Even though they’re approaching him that obviously.
As a result, even though they stick to him like glue he doesn’t dislike it, and thinks of it as skinskip, and I’m sick of Yuusuke as a result.
If he wasn’t my childhood friend, I would want nothing to do with him.
But, for some reason Yuusuke has always followed me around, and worries about me for some reason.
The result of that, is this.
I’m being bullied by the Yuusuke Fanclub of this school.
That’s the reason that I always bring my indoor slippers home with me.
Because of various things that have happened to me since primary school, I absolutely never leave my belongings at school.
Yuusuke hasn’t noticed this at all.
The members of the fanclub put in effort to cleverly hide this, and the teachers don’t know about this either.
More important than anything, I don’t discuss this with the main cause, and even if I did it’d be pointless.
This is him we’re talking about, so,
“There’s no way they’d do something like that. They’re all nice girls, you know?”
is obviously going to be his reply!
In the past when I told him to do something about his harem,
“Eh? I haven’t created a harem or anything, you know? And they’re all nice girls, so I’m sure you’ll get along with them too, Chii!”
is what he told me, refreshingly.
This guy can’t doubt people, so he doesn’t see the things around him at all.
And he really doesn’t notice his fans’ dreamy and passionate gazes, or the jealous gazes from a certain number of the boys either.
I seriously can’t handle it anymore.
I entered the school building, changed to my indoor slippers, put my loafers in my bag, and headed to class.
Of course, while all this was happening, Yuusuke was following behind me.
..*
..*
..*
・After some time has passed; after school
Presently, it’s one of those rare times when I’m going home together with only Yuusuke.
It seems that the harem can’t go home because of their club activities.
They’re probably actually gathering to discuss how to deal with me.
Up until now I’ve been called out to suspicious places, had people try to push me down stairs, and received various harassment, but because of my natural reflexes they ended without huge incident, but I seriously wish they would cut it out already.
And with no idea any of this is happening, my childhood friend who is like a god of misfortune to me only, is happily walking beside me, all smiles.
“You seem pretty happy, huh…”
“Mmn, because it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to slowly spend time with you, Chii.”
I want to hurry up and go home!
“Heyy, let’s go to a café! I’ll treat you to cheesecake which you like!”
“I obviously don’t wa- Don’t just go “Let’s go then“! Listen to me! Don’t pull on my arm~!”
Yuusuke ignored my unwillingness, and overbearingly brought me to a nearby café.
I seriously want to go home!
..*
..*
..*
・After some more time has passed; at a park with few people
I’m following behind Yuusuke and taking a stroll in the park.
Honestly, because the sun has almost set, there’s absolutely no one in the park.
“Hey, you have not a single bit of restraint towards me, do you…?”
“Eh? But Chii, you like the cheesecake there, right?”
“I do but, you know?”
I wanted to go home, you know!
“Then isn’t it fine? You never agree to go out and have fun with me after all.”
“Liiiike IIIIII saaaaaid, it’s because your harem glares at me!”
“Hey, it’s not something as exaggerated as a harem, you know?”
Yuusuke spoke about it like it was absolutely nothing at all.
He’s speaking for real, which is why it’s just way too unpleasant.
“And moreover, they’re really all nice girls, you know?”
They’re just acting nice, you know!
Honestly, maidens in love are terrifying…
But I have absolutely no sympathy for them.
Even now, I’m being completely harassed by them after all.
“Hahhh… Seriously, you’ll meet some harsh times one day, you know?”
“What the heck is this!?”
Having stopped walking, without giving a single glance to Yuusuke, I lectured him.
Even if I say all this, it’s probably pointless, but I can’t let it go unsaid.
I get the feeling that he’s saying something, but I pay it no mind.
“Uwahh~ It’s pulling me in!!”
“It’s because you’re like this that one day you’ll get backstabbed, you know. Even if you don’t yo-, “Save me Chii!“? Are you listening to m-…e-…”
Having judged that he wasn’t listening, I turned to face Yuusuke.
What’s with this scene?
Looking like it appeared right below Yuusuke was something like a shining magic circle.
No, that’s definitely a magic circle.
Everything below the stomach was buried into the magic circle, and having somehow or other moved to the edge of the magic circle, Yuusuke was desperately clinging on.
While gazing at this scene, I calmly analysed it.
O Yuusuke, having been dissatisfied with just being the protagonist of a Romance Game (18+), this time you even want to experience being the protagonist of a Fantasy World RPG?
“Aahh~ But I did get the feeling that this would happen one day…”
“What are you assenting to on your own!? Hurry up and help pull me out!!”
Don’t ask the impossible.
Despite looking skinny, he’s a 175cm guy with a fairly muscled build, and is impossible for a woman like me to pull up.
If I think about it more carefully, if only he wasn’t here, wouldn’t I be able to live a peaceful life?
There’d no longer be a reason for the girls in the harem or fanclub to harass me any further.
Moreover, it’s obvious at a glance that Yuusuke is being summoned as a hero.
He probably won’t be treated badly.
That’s why there’s only one option I should take.
“Yuusuke.”
“Chii, hurry!”
“This magic circle is probably a hero summoning. Isn’t that great? You’ve been chosen as the hero who will protect the people. Be a good kid and save lots of people in the other world.”
“Chii! What are you talking about!?”
Yuusuke’s face paled, as though in despair.
I pretended not to see, and turned my back on him.
“Well then, try your best, childhood friend of mine!”
I spoke with a smile.
With this, my days of peace have come!
However, the next instant.
――――――GASHI-!
“Heh?”
My leg was suddenly caught.
“Then you come too, Chii!!”
Without any time to think about what he had just done to me, I was sucked into the magic circle along with Yuusuke by a strong force.
It seems that there really is no peace for me.
I want to knock Yuusuke flying…
..*
To be continued
