Chapter One

My Name is Nero Silverwing, a fourteen-year-old boy and I had quite possibly the most depressing week ever. first, my parents died when our home slash bakery blew up. then I met my grandfather for the first time, he then told me he like me to continue the family business by replacing him as the head of the two-tailed fox Financial Combine, the two-tailed fox is one of the top five families in the world of the rich and the elite. I told him that I have no interest in the family business, and as far concerned I'm it was his fault for my parents' death; I left him and haven't been seen him again. Oh, don't worry about me I make money in the stock market. Today like every day I barely managed to arrive just before the bell for the first period rang. I somehow managed to steady my sleep-deprived body and opened the door to my classroom. then I had found myself on the receiving end of a multitude of scornful glares and annoyed tongue clicks from a majority of the male students as soon as I set foot in the classroom. None of the female students seemed all too pleased to see me either. It would have been fine were they simply ignoring me, but they too gave me stares of contempt. I did my best to ignore my classmates and went to my seat. But as always, there were a few students who couldn't resist the opportunity to needle me.

"Sup, you gross otaku! Stay up all night playing video games again? I bet you were playing porn games the whole time!"

"Wow, what a creep. What kind of disgusting pervert stays up all night playing porn games?"

The boys all laughed as if they found that statement somehow hilarious. The student who'd first called out to me was Joseph Wheeler, the ringleader of my tormentors. Joseph never seemed to tire of teasing me, as he went up to me daily. The ones who were laughing wickedly next to him were Tristan Taylor, and Tetsu Trudge, It was those three who'd always made my life miserable. As Joseph had stated earlier, I am indeed an otaku. But I wasn't particularly ugly or obnoxious, so the moniker gross otaku hardly did me justice. my hair was cropped short and kept tidy. Plus, it wasn't as if I had a communication problem of any sort either. Sure, I wasn't the most talkative guy around, but I had no problem responding to people who talked to me. I was a quiet person overall, but not to the point where it could be considered gloomy. I just happened to have an interest in a very specific set of media—namely manga, novels, video games, and movies.

While it was true that public opinion of otakus hadn't been very positive as of late, at most being an otaku usually earned you a few looks, not that kind of targeted bullying. So why did all the male students hate me so? The answer was simple. "Good morning, Nero! You barely made it on time today too. I think you should at least make an effort to come earlier." One of the girls smiled softly as she walked up to me. She was one of the few people in the whole school who treated me kindly, and also the reason everyone hated me. Zelda Aran is one of the most popular girls in school, and beautiful enough to be considered a goddess by many. She had sleek, black hair that went all the way down to her waist, and large alluring eyes filled with kindness. Her small nose sat perfectly upon her face, and her pink lips were the epitome of perfection. She always seemed to have a smile on her face, and her knack for looking after others combined with her strong sense of responsibility made her one of the most respected students at my school. Moreover, she was tolerant and understanding to a fault, to the point where no one had ever even seen her look unhappy before.

And, for whatever reason, Zelda had taken an interest in me. Most people assumed I was a terrible student because I always slept in class due to my frequent all-nighters (in truth, he had pretty average grades). And, since Zelda was always looking after other students, they believed that was the reason she talked to me.

Had her overtures convinced me to become a better student, or had I naturally been a better-looking guy, the other kids might not have minded Zelda's interest in me as much. As it was, though, I was as average looking as one could get, and my favourite motto was "hobbies are life," so obviously my attitude toward school had shown no signs of improvement either. As it was, the other average-looking male students of his class couldn't stand the fact that I was so close to Zelda. "Why him and not us!?" they thought. Meanwhile, the other girls simply thought he was being rude to Zelda. They were unhappy that I wasn't even attempting to reform my habits. "Ah, good morning, Zelda." my face stiffened up as I felt the bloodthirsty glares of my classmates, and returned Zelda's greeting.

In contrast, Zelda's smiled happily as she looked at me. Why do you always look at me like that!? I despaired as I felt the gazes of my classmates burn into me.

I was honestly bewildered. I didn't understand why the most beautiful girl in school cared about a guy like me. To me, it seemed like there had to have been something more than just her natural disposition to help others.

Of course, I wasn't so conceited as to believe she might have any romantic interest in me. I was well aware of the fact that I'd given up plenty of things to live a life fully devoted to my hobbies. I knew my appearance, grades, and athletic ability were all utterly average. There were a whole host of guys better than me who were far more suited to be her partner, even just among her acquaintances. Which was why I found her behaviour so puzzling.

Honestly, I just wish you'd realize you're the reason everyone hates me right now! I screamed inside my head. However, I didn't give voice to my thoughts. I knew that some of my classmates would no doubt drag me out behind the gym once classes were over if I ever dared to do so... The moment I finished my conversation with Zelda, three new people walked up to them. They'd been watching the two of them like vultures, waiting for me to finish talking. Among this new group was of course one of the "better guys" who'd been mentioned previously.

"Good morning, Nero. Must be rough staying up that late every day."

"Looking after him again, Zelda? You're too nice for your good."

"Seriously. Talking to a failure like he's a total waste of time."

The only person who'd greeted me out of the three was Koyori Gunblade, Zelda's best friend. Koyori's black hair was tied back in her trademark ponytail. Her almond-shaped eyes give her a rather sharp look, but deep within her gaze dwelled a kindness that made her seem cool rather than cold.

She was a good deal taller than most of the other girls in his class. That, combined with her well-built body, made her seem like a dignified samurai. And samurai made for a rather apt analogy as her family ran a dojo, and Koyori herself was a peerless swordswoman who'd never lost a single kendo tournament. She'd been featured in magazines before and had a rather rabid fanbase. The press even took to calling her the modern samurai beauty. Many of the younger female students had started calling her sister in an almost worshiping manner.

The guy who'd greeted Zelda with that rather cliched line about her kindness was Kouki Amanogawa. He was perfect in almost every way. Great at sports, handsome, and had outstanding grades to boot. Even his name sounded heroic. Written with the characters for "light" and "radiance," it gave off a rather dazzling impression.

He had flowing brown hair and soft features, and despite his slender frame still had noticeable muscles. He was kind to everyone he met and had a strong sense of justice (or so he thought anyway.)

he'd attended Koyori's family dojo since he was in elementary school and was skilled enough to have competed in national tournaments. He and Koyoi were childhood friends. Dozens of girls had fallen for him, but because he was always hanging around Koyori and Zelda, very few had ever worked up the courage to confess. However, he still received at least two confessions a month from girls that didn't go to my school. A real Casanova through and through.

The last guy, who'd lazily added his comments to Kouki's line, was Ryutarou Sakagami, Kouki's best friend. Ryutarou had short, trimmed hair and a gaze that seemed at once both cheerful and stern. He had a massive, bear-like frame. As his build suggested, he was a musclehead who didn't have much delicacy.

Because of his love for hard work and hot-blooded actions, he disliked me, who spent all his time in school sleeping. Ryutarou gave me no more than a single glance before huffing disdainfully and ignoring me.

"Good morning Koyori, Kouki, and Ryutarou." I smiled wryly as I greeted Koyori and the others. The two guys glared daggers at me, their eyes all but screaming, "What gives you the right to talk to Koyori so casually like that, huh!?" Koyori was nearly as popular as Zelda, after all.

"shouldn't you try and fix that problem? I don't think it's fair to Zelda to keep letting her spoil you. She doesn't have time to always be looking after you either." Kouki warned me sternly.

Kouki also clearly thought I was a failure of a student who was simply squandering Zelda's kindness. I desperately wanted to shout out She hasn't been spoiling me! And in fact, I'd rather she leave me alone! but I knew if I did my classmates would "escort" me somewhere quiet after school. Kouki was the kind of person who always thought he was right too, so I simply keep my mouth shut and didn't utter a single response.

Besides, there was nothing to "fix." even before the bombing, I was already making money from the stock market. What I need to do is invest money, sit back, and watch it grow. It was easy—just like a game, all I need is to acquire the right information, and then collect the money that flowed right in. I'm fourteen, I have money, I'm am an adequate cook, and living in a luxury condo. I'm perfectly fine. I firmly believed I was taking my life seriously already, which is why I see no need to change my habits regardless of what anyone said to me. And if Zelda hadn't started poking her nose into my affairs, I would have been able to quietly graduate school without attracting any attention to myself.

"Yeah, Ahaha..." I simply laughed off Kouki's words. But, of course, the school's goddess had to go and unintentionally drop another bomb.

"What are you talking about, Kouki? I'm talking to Nero because I want to." The whole classroom broke out in an uproar at those words.

If looks could kill, I would have died a hundred times over from the withering glares I received from the male students. They ground their teeth as they glowered at me, while Joseph's crew took it a step further and began discussing what place would be best to drag me during lunch break.

"Huh...? Ah, I see. You are far too kind, Zelda."

It seemed Kouki interpreted that as Zelda being nice to not hurt my feelings. Though he was perfect in many respects, or perhaps exactly because of that fact, he had one rather glaring flaw. Namely that he was a little too convinced of his righteousness. Deciding that correcting him would be too much of a pain, I instead chose to escape from reality by staring out the window instead.

"I'm sorry about that. They don't mean any harm by it..." Koyori quietly apologized to me, as she was the only one present that was astute enough to grasp everyone's feelings. I simply shrugged his shoulders and smiled wryly in response.

Meanwhile, the bell signalling the start of classes finally rang, and the teacher walked into the classroom. The teacher began the morning announcements, seemingly too used to the turbulent atmosphere in the classroom to care.

Zelda smiled as she was looking at me slumber. Koyori stared at me, amazed, and amused that I was quite the celebrity in a certain sense. The guys all scoffed at him while the rest of the girls stared, gazes full of scorn.

After a while, the classroom began to grow noisy that it was lunchtime. I rummaged through my bag and brought out my lunch, a simple convenience store lunch box but still fully sated me. It seemed that most of the lunch buying group had already left for the cafeteria, as some people were missing from the classroom.

A majority of people in my class usually brought their lunch, though, which was why around two-thirds of the class remained. Additionally, it seemed that some of the students had questions for the fourth period social studies teacher, Aiko Hatayama, and were milling about the teacher's podium.

Having finished recharging my energy I laid down on my desk, planning to get some shut-eye. However, the school goddess, perhaps more of a devil in my case, smiled happily as she scooted her seat closer to me, preventing me from my slumber.

I groaned inwardly. Monday must've made my take leave of his wits. Normally I would've quickly eaten my lunch and bolted out of the classroom to find a secluded place to read some manga, but two straight days of all-nighters had taken their toll on me.

"That's rare, Naro. You're still in the classroom. Did you not bring lunch? If you'd like, you can have some of mine." As the frigid atmosphere descended upon the classroom once more I screamed internally.

I'm tired a yer shit, I exasperated mind screamed out in some strange dialect. I attempted to resist the inevitable as that thought crossed my mind.

"Ah, thanks for the invitation, Zelda. But I've already finished eating my lunch, so why not eat with Kouki instead?" I showed Zelda the remnants of my convenience store lunch box as I said that. The rest of my classmates would probably have hated me for refusing to, but at least it was better than spending my lunch break walking over a bed of nails.

However, such a feeble resistance meant next to nothing in the face of the great goddess, so she continued relentlessly. "Huh!? That's all you had for lunch? That won't do at all, you need to eat a proper meal! Here, I'll give you some of mine!"

Please, please, just give me a break! Why can't you realize already!? Read the mood for once! With each passing moment, I could feel the pressure mounting, and my saviours finally appeared as cold sweat started running down my back. Kouki and Ryutarou.

"Zelda, let's all eat lunch together. It seems that Naro needs some more sleep. And I won't allow anyone to eat Zelda's delicious handmade lunch while half-asleep!" Kouki flashed Zelda a dazzling smile as he said that pretentious line, but Zelda simply looked annoyed. Zelda was a bit slow, or rather just an airhead, so Kouki's handsome guy appeal was lost on her.

"Huh? Why do I need your permission to share my lunch, Kouki?" Koyori let out an involuntary snicker as she heard Zelda ask that question in such an earnest manner.

Kouki began laughing awkwardly and tried to change the subject, but the important point was that the four most famous people in school were sitting together with me and the rest of the class was not at all happy about it. I sighed deeply and continued grumbling to myself.

I wish these guys would all just get summoned to another world or something. I mean, just look at them, they're the perfect party of four. They even feel like the kind of group that'd get sent to another world. Can't some god or princess or priestess or something just summon them away from here? Trying to escape from reality, I sent his thoughts out to whatever other worlds were out there. I stood up and was about to give his usual evasive answer when I froze.

There was a glowing silver circle engraved with various geometric patterns glowing in front of me, at Zelda's feet.

The rest of the students all saw the strange circle as well. Everyone was frozen in place, staring at the weird glowing pattern that, for lack of a better word, looked just like a magic circle.

The magic circle began to glow brighter and brighter until its light enveloped the entire classroom. The circle itself began expanding as well, and when it finally grew big enough to cover my feet, everyone finally became unfrozen and started screaming. Aiko-sensei, who had remained in the classroom, yelled "Everyone! Get out of the classroom!" at the same time the magic circle flared up in a brilliant explosion of light.

After a few seconds, or maybe a few minutes, the light finally began to fade, and colour returned to the classroom. However, the room was now deserted. Some chairs were knocked over, half-eaten lunchboxes were sitting on desks, and chopsticks and plastic bottles were scattered across the room. The classroom had everything still left in it except the people.