My name is Amagiri Ayato, and I'm an ordinary high school student.
Well, I suppose "ordinary" isn't entirely accurate. In the eyes of normal people, members of the Starpulse Generation could probably be considered people with superpowers, right?
So maybe I'm not that ordinary...
But now isn't the time to be talking about that!
"I'm lost..."
Looking at the busy street before him, a cold sweat couldn't help forming on the forehead of the boy named Amagiri Ayato.
"This is bad..."
As an utterly ordinary boy, Amagiri Ayato originally hadn't planned on coming to Asterisk.
After all, this place was the center of the world. There were bound to be countless schemes and conspiracies lurking here!
Back when he had still been in his chuunibyou phase, the boy had also dreamed of saving the world and rescuing princesses, but by now, he had long since graduated from those fantasies and become a mature, dependable man.
Although he was only sixteen.
Because he had inherited his family's Amagiri Shinmei Style, Ayato's original life plan had been to attend an ordinary high school, progress through school normally, graduate, and eventually return to his family's dojo.
That was also the path his older sister had planned for him, but...
His sister had disappeared.
"For someone as strong as my sister to actually disappear..."
From childhood until now, Ayato had never once defeated his sister. In his understanding, even if she wasn't the strongest person in the world, she had to be extremely close, right?
But reality had slapped him hard across the face. Amagiri Haruka had disappeared, and contact with her had been lost a long time ago.
Back then, however, Ayato had been too young. Even with his sister missing, there had been nothing he could do except stay at home.
But things were different now. Amagiri Ayato was already sixteen and had reached high school age.
Originally, he could have gone to an ordinary high school and lived out an ordinary life, but in the end, he still came to this place of destiny.
"Seriously, even I don't know what I'm thinking anymore..."
Ayato scratched his head. Even he wasn't entirely sure why he had come here. Perhaps he simply wanted to try his luck and see whether he could find his sister.
"Seriously, why isn't there even a map?"
The purple-haired boy who had just arrived in Asterisk stood blankly at the roadside without moving at all.
A long while later...
Grrrrr...
A strange sound rang out, and a helpless smile appeared on the boy's face.
"Looks like I got up too early today. I'm hungry already."
"Can't be helped. I'll deal with my hunger first, then find my way. Sis definitely wouldn't want to see me like this."
Rubbing his still-protesting stomach, Ayato looked around. This entire area was clearly a commercial district, so finding somewhere to eat shouldn't be difficult...
And so, Ayato easily found a Western-style restaurant on the second floor of a nearby building.
"Thank goodness I brought enough money when I left. Are prices here really this high?"
The place Ayato had lived before wasn't exactly the middle of nowhere, but it wasn't a major city either, so prices had naturally been much cheaper than elsewhere.
But Asterisk was different!
You could tell from the name alone. This was the very center of the Asterisk War world! Naturally, prices were higher than in practically any country or city!
It was like comparing Washington to Detroit. How could they possibly be the same?
Although the Amagiri family wasn't particularly wealthy, they still had enough money to support Ayato through high school and university here.
Before long, the food Ayato had ordered was delivered to his table, and before leaving, the server gave him a sideways glance.
Faced with that look, Ayato could only sit there and smile bitterly.
There was nothing he could do about it. He was a grown young man entering such a high-class restaurant, yet he had ordered only a single portion the size of his palm... and it didn't even contain any meat!
It was understandable that others would react that way.
If it had been anyone other than Ayato, they probably would've lost their temper by now, right?
But unfortunately, the protagonist of this world was a hopelessly nice guy.
The very embodiment of that accursed kindness!
Naturally, he didn't pay much attention to such looks.
"Ahm!"
The moment he took a bite, the sensation of his taste buds being filled immediately rushed into his mind.
"It actually tastes surprisingly... good?"
"Then this was totally worth it!"
Who would've thought the cheapest thing he randomly ordered would actually be pretty worthwhile?
But there was no need to worry. Amagiri Ayato definitely wasn't the kind of high school student who would decide the food tasted bad and walk out without paying.
It didn't take long for that tiny portion of food to disappear into Ayato's stomach.
But his stomach didn't stop complaining afterward. Instead, it became even louder.
"Looks like I still need to find something else to eat..."
He definitely couldn't come to expensive restaurants like this again. Otherwise, he might not even survive financially until high school graduation.
However, at that moment, a commotion suddenly seemed to break out on the street below. Countless people gathered together, apparently watching something, and the unusual sight immediately caught Ayato's attention.
Soon, the figures surrounded by the crowd entered Ayato's field of vision.
Three children. Nothing worth mentioning there.
A maid who looked fairly professional.
And finally, one person who was somewhat special.
Even Ayato couldn't help widening his eyes, because in the nearly sixteen years of his life, he had never seen a girl this beautiful before...
Her beauty was enough to make people think she was a goddess descended from the heavens!
"That is...?"
Although she looked somewhat familiar, Ayato couldn't immediately remember who she was, until...
"Lady Saintess! It's Lady Saintess!"
A girl from the Starpulse Generation sitting at the neighboring table shouted excitedly, and only then did the memory surge into Ayato's mind.
"That person is... Elise?"
Elise, the Saintess of the Church, was known as a kind and beautiful person.
Many orphanages throughout the world had been established in the Church's name, but the person who had driven all of it forward was that very Saintess.
She had given countless war orphans homes and countless destitute people new hope.
Her background and influence ran so deep that even the Integrated Enterprise Foundation didn't dare act against her casually.
And that wasn't all. She also possessed an extraordinarily powerful Kotodama ability. Simply by speaking, she could use the vast majority of abilities, causing her to be regarded as one of the strongest Stregas in the world!
After all, even Banyuu Tenra of Jie Long had lost to her during last year's festival.
And during the Phoenix Festa, the other two Stregas had also been defeated by her.
At present, perhaps the only person who could defeat her decisively was the captain of Stjarnagarm.
Of course, that was merely speculation. Whether the two of them would ever actually fight was another matter entirely.
But just as Ayato was marveling at all this, the Saintess below suddenly raised her head and opened those sapphire-like eyes...
For a moment, their gazes met.
Ayato immediately became lost in that unimaginable beauty.
Meanwhile, the Saintess below gave him a warm, radiant smile like the sun and waved in greeting.
"Aaaah! Lady Saintess looked at me! She looked at me! I'm dying from cuteness!"
Everyone standing near the windows, men and women alike, screamed at that moment.
But Ayato somehow felt that the Saintess just now had actually been waving specifically at him.
"Was it just my imagination?"
Amagiri Ayato blinked.
Just now, the Saintess of the Church downstairs had seemed to wave directly at him.
That inevitably gave rise to a certain thought...
Does she know me?
Although the suspicion arose in his mind, he had no way to confirm it. He couldn't exactly run straight up to her and ask, could he?
And even if he asked the people beside him whether she had just been looking at him, they would definitely stare at him like he was some pathetic simp.
"Kid, it's broad daylight. Are you still drunk?"
So it had to be his imagination, right?
Just as Ayato thought, after that single glance, Elise completely closed her eyes again and began greeting the people around her, as though the moment she had looked at him had never happened.
At that, Ayato could only smile helplessly.
"After all, I'm just an ordinary member of the Starpulse Generation, not a Dante or anything. I guess there's no reason she'd pay attention to me."
The only things Ayato could really boast about were his family's inherited swordsmanship and his enormous reserves of Prana.
If he continued developing normally, Ayato would undoubtedly become one of the world's renowned powerhouses someday.
Unfortunately, that enormous Prana had been sealed by his older sister before she left years ago. At present, he could only temporarily release the seal to increase his combat power.
If he kept the seal released for too long, the release would forcibly end, and Ayato would lose consciousness, completely losing the ability to fight.
"So really, I'm not that strong..."
Beep! Beep!
At that critical moment, an email arrived in his inbox, instantly making Ayato perk up.
Who could possibly be emailing him at a time like this?
"So it's Seidoukan's student council president..."
It was precisely because he wanted to search for traces of his sister that he had come to Seidoukan Academy in Asterisk.
And yet he'd somehow gotten lost here!
"Thank you so much, President!"
After opening the email, what appeared before him was none other than a map of the Hexagonal City and Seidoukan Academy.
"Now I finally won't go the wrong way!"
The newly arrived boy let out a sigh of relief. With this map, he would finally be able to reach Seidoukan safely.
If some accident caused him to wander into the girls' dormitory, even jumping into the ocean near Fukushima wouldn't be enough to wash away the misunderstanding...
Meanwhile, on the other side.
So he's arrived at this exact time?
Elise was quite surprised, but after thinking about it carefully, it made perfect sense.
After all, this was enrollment season. New students and transfer students usually arrived in Asterisk around this time.
It was right in the middle of the hot season, so having a male protagonist suddenly pop up was only natural, right?
Originally, Elise had only intended to come out for a meal and walk around with Mana and the others.
To avoid attracting attention, she had even deliberately used a disguise.
However, the moment she sensed a certain passerby protagonist, her plans changed.
This is a great opportunity!
An excellent opportunity to leave a deep impression on the protagonist!
Although Elise's photos and videos had already spread throughout the world, she still couldn't be sure what sort of impression Amagiri Ayato had of her.
So, in the middle of this crowded public area, Elise chose to remove her disguise and walk openly through the streets as the saintess. Naturally, that was guaranteed to cause a commotion.
Ayato would definitely notice her too, right?
After all, Elise had already experimented with Kazehaya Kamito before. The Power of Faith generated by protagonists was far stronger than what ordinary people produced!
Although she no longer lacked Power of Faith, perhaps it had simply become a habit?
Elise had already begun collecting it subconsciously, so in front of other people, she deliberately adopted the image of a saintess.
That was why she had intentionally looked at Ayato earlier. Her goal was to leave such a strong impression on him that he would develop a favorable opinion of her.
Humans were visual creatures. When they saw something beautiful, they naturally developed positive feelings toward it.
For example, just now, Elise had already sensed Power of Faith flowing from Amagiri Ayato.
Judging from its quality, his feelings toward her were probably nothing more than the ordinary affection shared by the general public, without any other emotions mixed in.
As expected of that accursed kindness!
Actually, this was perfectly normal. After all, the Church's fanatical believers were still a minority in the world.
If Ayato had harbored any other feelings toward her, Elise would have had to consider changing her plan.
For example, perhaps she could become a thoroughly evil villain and lower his favorability toward her?
After carefully considering the idea, Elise ultimately gave up on it. After all, that wouldn't fit the image of the Saintess she held in her heart...
"But for now, I should figure out a way to get out of here first..."
Even Elise found it difficult to escape once she was surrounded by a crowd, especially since she had an image to maintain.
"I've still got a long road ahead of me."
But immediately afterward, Elise seemed to remember something...
Then failed to remember it again...
"Am I forgetting something important?"
Very quickly, Elise tossed the thought aside. After all...
If she couldn't remember it, then it probably wasn't anything important, right?
...
Saint Galahadworth Academy.
"Hey, did you hear?"
"Lady Saintess has returned to Asterisk!"
Because of Elise's return, she once again became the center of discussion. Even the arrival of several highly famous new students couldn't compare to the attention drawn by their academy's saintess.
The news spread rapidly in a short period and soon reached the student council.
"Seriously, she didn't even tell me!"
"Am I not her friend?"
A blonde girl with curled hair sat on the sofa in the student council room, sounding extremely displeased.
"Hahaha, maybe she just forgot because she was too busy?"
"After all, she's the Saintess of the Church, and one with genuine authority at that. She must have far more to deal with than someone like me, who's merely a student council president."
The blond young man sitting behind the desk wore a wry smile. He had already done his best to comfort her, but the results had never been particularly effective.
"You should try to be a little more considerate of her, Laetitia."
The two people sitting here were none other than the student council president and vice president of Saint Galahadworth Academy.
Ernest and Laetitia.
Ernest aside, Laetitia had countless connections with Elise.
"Of course I know that!" Laetitia pouted. "But it's been so long, and she hasn't even sent me a single message. Don't tell me she's already forgotten about me?"
"How could that happen? She's the universally renowned Saintess, and you're one of her most important friends. There's no way she'd forget you."
But Laetitia immediately rejected Ernest's words.
"You're wrong, Ernest!"
Ernest: ???
Just as Ernest was wondering what exactly he had said wrong, Laetitia spoke.
"Take out the 'one of'! I'm her most important friend!"
So that was the part you cared about?