**Chapter Four**
**Opening Day Explosion**
The next morning.
Yu Hisashi woke from sleep.
A fresh, delicate fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose.
The moment he opened his eyes, the familiar sight of silver hair filled his vision.
Kasugano Sora was curled in his arms like a pitiful, adorable ragdoll cat.
Watching her long, slightly trembling eyelashes, a trace of helplessness tugged at the corner of Hisashi's mouth.
Even though he'd assigned everyone their own rooms these past few years.
Kasugano Sora still sneaked into his room late at night.
And she'd say, with righteous conviction, that she couldn't sleep alone.
Patting the head of the 'sleeping' Sora, Hisashi got up to wash up.
By now, Sakura was already bustling in the kitchen, preparing today's lunch boxes.
'Sakura really is the most worry-free one!'
Hisashi felt immensely grateful for his risky decision to intercept Sakura all those years ago.
After breakfast, under Sora's reluctant gaze, Hisashi and Sakura left the Orphanage.
.........
Sobu High School.
As the high school closest to the Orphanage and one of the highest-ranked in the area, Soubu High had successfully dashed the hopes of the other girls from the Orphanage during the high school entrance exams.
They were forced to attend other boarding schools instead.
On opening day, the school gate was adorned with welcoming banners for new students.
First-year uniforms had a thin green ribbon tied at the collar, making them easy to spot.
Not to mention the barely-contained excitement plastered on every new student's face.
Hisashi glanced at Sakura beside him.
Sakura wasn't particularly tall, but her figure was slender and well-proportioned.
Especially that rule-breaking physique, perfectly outlined by Soubu High's JK uniform.
If not for the identifying ribbon color, no one would believe this young lady was just a first-year.
"Sakura, if it weren't for you, I'd never have known Soubu High's uniform could look so stunning."
"You're definitely going to become the new Unattainable Flower once you enter the school!"
Hisashi praised her sincerely.
His words reached Sakura's ears. A faint blush colored her delicate skin, and her beautiful eyes shimmered with barely suppressed sweetness.
"Being an Unattainable Flower isn't important..."
Sakura said softly, her gaze fixed on Hisashi's profile, full of expectation.
"Just being able to attend the same school as Hisashi-nii... I'm already very... happy!"
For Sakura, being with Yu Hisashi was the greatest happiness.
"Hisashi-nii, I'm heading to my classroom now!"
After entering the school, they parted ways.
Hisashi checked the class assignment list and found his own classroom.
Class 2-A!
He arrived quite early. The classroom was sparsely populated, less than a fifth full.
'Hmm, the King's Seat is still empty...'
Hisashi unhesitatingly walked to the back row, to the window seat—the King's Seat—and sat down.
Turning to look outside, this position offered a view of over half the school.
"What a coincidence. We're in the same class again."
A voice, cool yet tinged with tsundere pride, came from beside him.
Hisashi turned. A silver-haired, blue-eyed girl with a hint of mixed-race beauty pulled out the chair next to him and sat down without hesitation.
"Good morning, Eri. How fortunate, we're in the same class again."
The boy's straightforward words landed in Eri's ears.
The mixed-race beauty from Russia immediately averted her gaze, a little flustered.
Fortunate?
Did that mean he was looking forward to being in the same class? That he was happy about it?
The Russian girl's mind began to wander.
Eri's azure-blue eyes turned to Hisashi, trying to read his expression.
Only to find him staring intently at the classroom door.
Eri followed his gaze.
The girl known as the Unattainable Flower, Yukinoshita Yukino, came into view.
The Russian girl felt a surge of irritation.
A stream of Russian instinctively spilled from her lips.
"Hmph, I'm an Unattainable Flower too, why not look at me more..."
After saying it, she glanced nervously at Hisashi.
"Ah, Eri, what did you say?"
Seeing the boy's confused expression, Eri withdrew her gaze, satisfied.
'Hmm, he really doesn't understand!'
Then, she replied to Hisashi with a huff.
"Nothing. Just called you a dummy."
"Calling me a dummy is too much..."
Hisashi complained with feigned displeasure, inwardly sighing in relief.
Acting is hard!
Almost lost my composure there.
Come to think of it, his [Mastery of Russian] ability entry was leveled up precisely because of Eri. How could he possibly not understand what she said?
But the more Eri liked to speak Russian, the more Hisashi enjoyed the act.
He was waiting. Waiting for the moment of the hunt.
The more it accumulated, the more intense the feeling of social death would be!
Hisashi looked forward to Eri's expression when she finally learned the truth.
Yes, it would be absolutely delicious!
By the time the classroom was mostly full, Soubu High's famous beauty teacher, Shizuka Hiratsuka, walked in.
"For the next year, I will be your homeroom teacher. Now, let's start roll call!"
"Yukinoshita Yukino!"
"Here."
...
"Yu Hisashi!"
"Here."
...
"Rin Tohsaka!"
"Here!"
...
After roll call, Hiratsuka led the students to the plaza.
Next was the opening ceremony—something students in any country found tedious and boring.
Standing in line, Hisashi's gaze drifted away from Yukinoshita Yukino's back.
He hadn't expected to be in the same class as Yukinoshita Yukino.
'Pretty good luck... But Yukinoshita Yukino doesn't have much say in the Yukinoshita Family yet, does she?'
Hisashi recalled that in the original story, Yukinoshita Yukino didn't get along well with her mother. The one groomed as the heir was Yukinoshita Haruno.
'But I can use this to get closer to Yukinoshita Haruno.'
If possible, Yu Hisashi hoped to resolve things in a gentler way.
After all, a major conglomerate that could stand firm in this dangerous Composite Anime World wasn't some soft target to be squeezed.
His gaze swept across the plaza.
Even at a simple Sobu High School opening ceremony, he could sense several presences far beyond ordinary humans.
Probably security personnel hired by the school to safeguard the opening day.
'Should be professional heroes...'
Yu Hisashi thought.
The tedious opening ceremony dragged on.
He could already hear discontented murmurs from others.
"Why do they have so much crap to talk about? Damn, every time this happens I wish the school would just explode..."
The student's complaint hadn't even finished.
A piercing alarm suddenly blared.
**[WARNING: Special Quake detected. All persons in the affected area promptly enter the Shelter.]**
The entire crowd froze silent.
Then panic erupted.
"Seriously? It actually happened!"
Yu Hisashi's lips twitched slightly.
He lifted his eyes toward the sky.
A black dot had already appeared, swelling visibly.
He glanced back toward the freshman lines. Sakura was still there.
'No choice.'
He exhaled softly, focusing his attention on the first golden Ability Entry he'd obtained.
**[Imaginary Space]**