Lately, I've been feared.
By nearly every student at the Magic University.
At first, I didn't understand why.
I thought I was simply being avoided.
For example, if a bunch of rough-looking types were heading my way down the hall, I'd think, "Maybe I should stick to the side so they don't mess with me."
But for some reason, they were the ones who noticed me first and moved aside to let me pass.
Some would even glance out the window and start going, "What nice weather today," even though it was raining.
I figured I was lucky not to get bothered.
I never imagined they were thinking the exact same thing about me…
I realized the truth on my way back from a detoxification magic class.
Lately, I'd been taking a third-year intermediate detoxification magic course.
Anyway, that's beside the point.
When I stepped out into the hallway after class, I spotted Goriede.
Goriede.
Yes, that's right—the muscular girl who'd accused me of being the panty thief on my first day. She stood out because of her large build.
At the same time, she apparently spotted me too, since our eyes met.
We'd spoken before, and she was technically my senior. It would be rude not to at least say hello.
So I approached, figuring I'd take the opportunity to properly apologize for the first-day incident as well.
The moment I drew near, she flinched and averted her gaze.
She hunched her broad shoulders, fidgeting nervously, eyes fixed on the floor.
"Goriede-senpai. About what happened on the first day—"
The moment I brought it up, she started trembling visibly.
And then, in a tiny voice, she said: "Th-that day… I'm sorry… I-I'm really sorry, please forgive me…"
A completely different attitude from the first day.
I was caught off guard.
It made me look like some kind of extortionist or something.
"Um… no, I'm the one who should be apologizing.
I've learned the dorm rules now, so, uh, I won't do anything like that again…"
While I was stammering, a crowd of onlookers started gathering.
--- "Hey, look—it's
"Is he still holding a grudge about the first day…"
"Poor Goriede…"
"He's the one who broke the rules, what kind of guy is he…"
"Shut up, what if he hears you?"
--- The murmurs around us were a mixture of sympathy and criticism.
Goriede's eyes started brimming with tears.
I was about to start crying too.
What the hell was going on?
These stares were killing me.
"What's aNyong, what's aNyong, you guys fighting?"
"Getting all feisty in the middle of the day~"
Just then, Linia and Pursena happened to walk by.
From what I heard later, they were in the same year as Goriede.
They took one look at me, then at Goriede on the verge of tears.
And they nodded knowingly, as if the whole situation suddenly made sense.
Then, wearing smug grins, they pushed their way in.
"Boss, let her off the hook already, meow.
Goriede didn't mean any harm, meow.
As fellow beastfolk, you gotta give us face on this one, meow."
"Now then, hurry along. Let this be a lesson—never cross the Boss again, okay? You're lucky the Number Two here happened to walk by, or you'd be torn to shreds, okay?"
"Y-yes…!"
Grateful to have been rescued, Goriede bowed to the two of them, then scurried away, trying to make her broad back look as small as possible.
"Now scram, you lot!
This isn't a circus, meow!"
At Linia's words, the onlookers scattered like spiders fleeing in every direction.
I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Pursena, what was that just now?"
"What do you mean, 'just now'?"
"That I'm the Number Two, meow."
"Recently the Boss's underlings have been multiplying, so a dunce like Linia isn't fit for the job, okay?"
"Pursena's grades are about the same level, meow."
I turned to ask what this was all about, but the two of them had already launched into their usual comedy routine.
"Come on, don't fight—there can be two Number Twos, can't there?"
"The Boss just doesn't get it, meow. You need to keep the hierarchy of an organization strict!"
"That's right, it's important, okay?"
Hmm. For beastfolk, hierarchy really does seem to matter.
But I never intended to start an organization in the first place.
Either one can be Number Two for all I care.
Regardless—I owed them both for that. I should get them a thank-you gift sometime. Some fish, maybe.
"But to touch the Boss's reverse scale… what an idiot, meow.
What did she do to you, meow?"
"Oh, on the first day she mistook me for a panty thief and—"
"Ohhh! That! So the panty thief was the Boss?!"
"…Fuck."
I was met with an immediate look of contempt.
Let me finish. It was a false accusation. A false accusation.
Should I serve them another helping of despair and humiliation?
"Now that you mention it, Goriede was bragging about it before. How some cowardly first-year hid behind Fitz. That coward was you, how hilarious."
"Letting someone who insulted you go like that—the Boss sure is magnanimous… But you can't let that slide, so next time I'll properly put her in her place, meow."
"Put her in her place"—aren't you supposed to have reformed from your delinquent days and become model students?
"Please don't. What's the point of making more enemies?"
"Ugh, the Boss lacks ambition, meow. If you partnered up with us right now, we could take down Ariel and seize control of the dorms!"
"That's right, the Boss could beat Fitz and become the top of the school, okay?"
These beastfolk really do have a thing for being on top.
They might genuinely be suffering from a severe case of New Leader Syndrome.
"Even if I took over the dorms and became the top of the school, then what?"
I couldn't care less about being on top.
Besides, my policy was to avoid fights as much as possible.
Standing above others just meant making more people who resented you.
In this world, you could be walking down the street and suddenly have your heart pierced.
So the right amount was to be humble with everyone you met.
"If you became top of the school, meow? Hmm… how about collecting one pair of panties from every girl in the dorms at the start of the year, meow?"
"That's perfect. The Boss loves panties enough to display them on shelves, so he'd definitely be happy, okay."
"Happy… like hell I am?"
I mean, I do like panties.
B-but it's not like I put them on display because I like them.
And I wouldn't exactly be happy getting them from girls whose faces I don't even know…
Even if I knew their face, Goriede-senpai's wouldn't make me happy.
Although, some of the girls really were cute from time to time.
Even if they weren't my type…
Like, I'd probably be a little happy if it were Linia's or Pursena's.
These two smelled a bit beastly, but despite everything, they were genuinely pretty. And when you petted them, they smelled like a girl.
No, wait, hold on.
Right—Fitz-senpai.
Fitz-senpai would never approve of something like that.
So that settled it.
Yep.
That's right.
I won't be swayed.
Begone, Mara!
That was a close one, you unseen female students.
If I'd been consumed by the disease, it could've been really dangerous.
"I have no interest in the panties of nameless girls. If you want to do it, go ahead yourselves. However, if it causes trouble for Fitz-senpai, I'll have no choice but to become your enemy."
"Ugh… w-well, if the Boss says to stand down, then I guess we have no choice, meow."
"…That's right, we'll do as you say, okay."
And so, it happened.
That was when I finally understood.
I had been feared.
Once I realized it, I no longer wondered "why."
I had defeated the most powerful fighter in the school.
I had brought the troublemakers to heel.
And I had defeated the Demon King who had plunged the school into terror—with a single blow.
That last part especially did the trick.
Of course people would be afraid.
According to Badigadi, the only way to wound his pitch-black body wrapped in fighting spirit was with swordsmanship on the level of the King Rank, specifically in the Sword God Style.
King Rank.
That meant it took someone at the level of Ghislaine or
That was why Badigadi was essentially useless against anyone with a certain level of offensive power, despite his physical approach…
But that's beside the point.
If I took his word for it, then my stone cannons already packed King-Rank-level destructive power.
Without even realizing it, my stone cannons had gained some serious firepower.
Of course, that was only in terms of raw power.
I wasn't wrapping myself in fighting spirit the way Badigadi described.
Fighting spirit was something top swordsmen seemed to manifest naturally.
But no matter how much I trained, my body would never match the speed and strength of
My muscles would grow, but that was it.
In the end, the only thing I excelled at was destructive power.
I could beat most opponents with my Magic Eyes or other tricks.
My total mana reserves rivaled Laplace's (apparently).
But my physical body was perfectly ordinary.
Of course, the average student would have no way of knowing that.
If my offensive power was King Rank, they probably assumed my body was on par.
A being beyond the Demon King.
If I were an average student, I wouldn't want anything to do with me either.
"You should have more confidence, Boss! Surely that thing will be resolved too once you believe in yourself, meow!"
"That's right, but even if it gets resolved, I want Linia to be the only one who attacks, okay."
Those were Linia and Pursena's words.
Confidence, huh.
Was my son's hikikomori nature caused by my loss of confidence?
Now that they mentioned it, it did seem that way.
I had been defeated by
If I regained my confidence, perhaps I could get back on my feet.
Right now really might be the perfect opportunity to reclaim it.
The students feared me.
When I walked with Linia and Pursena in tow, the sea of students parted.
In my previous life, I had never held a position like this.
It was novel.
I suppose you could call it strutting through the hallways.
It felt like the headmaster making his rounds.
Or maybe Moses.
It felt really damn good.
Out of my way, don't stand in my hallway— I was just starting to get carried away when.
A thought suddenly struck me.
What if, in my past life, the people who bullied me had felt exactly this same rush of ego?
…………
………
That brought back some unpleasant memories.
I should dial it back.
I'm not going back to being a NEET.
--- One day, during this stretch, I was in the library as usual, doing research.
The more I looked into it, the more commonalities I found between teleportation and summoning.
Calling something toward you versus sending it away.
Despite that fundamental difference, everything from the shape of the magic circles to the light they emitted was remarkably similar.
I was going to need to study summoning magic seriously.
That was what I thought, but there were no instructors at this university who specialized in teaching summoning.
There were apparently capable people at the Magic Guild, but at best they were beginners or intermediates—able to summon only harmless familiars or spirits with barely any will of their own.
There was no way to get expert knowledge from them.
There was a senior-level enchanter, but enchantment and summoning were quite different fields, and even if I asked about teleportation, I wouldn't get useful answers.
Zinas had bragged about the teaching staff at this school, but it was all talk.
Though, well, in a world like this, maybe that was just how it was.
Thinking back, I hadn't encountered a single summoning specialist during my days as an adventurer either.
Summoning mages were probably extremely rare.
Or maybe, like barrier magic and divine strikes, some country was hoarding the technology.
But somehow, I felt like I knew one person who was knowledgeable about summoning.
Where had I heard about them?
I figured the memory would come back if I ran into them.
Well, if I couldn't remember, it probably meant we'd never actually met.
Anyway, I'd read just about every significant text on summoning that the library had to offer.
There was nothing more I could learn on my own.
So I'd been feeling somewhat stuck.
That was when Fitz-senpai came to the rescue.
"Rudeus-kun! I finally found one—I was told there's actually someone at this school who researches summoning magic professionally!"
"Oh!"
"I asked Vice-Principal Zinas and Principal Georg. Guess who it is?"
Fitz-senpai asked with a mischievous grin, as if they'd just thought up a prank.
Someone at the school.
Well, probably not a teacher.
There were students studying summoning, but once you got to advanced or saint level, there had been none.
Where on earth could this person be?
"…Someone at the Magic Guild?"
The Magic Guild would have people who used summoning as their primary discipline. Maybe one of their researchers was using this school as their base of operations.
"Hmm, I heard they're a Magic Guild A-Rank member."
"Oh?"
From what I'd researched, A-Rank in the Magic Guild corresponded to a branch master, and S-Rank to an executive.
Georg was apparently S-Rank, and Zinas was B-Rank.
"Isn't A-Rank the same level as a Magic Guild branch master?"
"Yep. Pretty surprising, right?"
I vaguely recalled hearing that B-Rank members could receive support to establish magic schools, things like funding and know-how.
"So who is it?"
"You've definitely heard the name before, Rudeus-kun."
I've heard the name before…?
Hmm, I didn't know any A-Rank Magic Guild members.
But the name Fitz-senpai mentioned was one I had indeed heard several times before.
"The special student Silent."
--- The special student, Silent.
The contributions he made to this school were immeasurable.
First, the improvement of the cafeteria menu.
He established a food transport route from the
He also created a unique dish called Kiris Soup.
You boiled ingredients like potatoes, carrots, and onions in a pot, then mixed in a blend of over a dozen different spices.
You dipped bread into the thick, brown soup and ate it.
In other words—it was curry.
The taste was far from what my tongue remembered as curry, but the recipe bore a striking resemblance to one.
He was also the one who designed the school uniform.
He had connections with a designer and workshop from the Asura Kingdom and had them produce it.
By creating uniforms, he eliminated the impression of the school as a crude gathering of miscellaneous races.
He succeeded in elevating the school's image overall.
The thing called a blackboard—that was Silent's invention too.
A board painted jet-black, with letters written using chalk made from limestone.
It was a simple thing, but it made classes run more smoothly and was very well-received.
If you kept looking, there were even more.
Truly, even the smallest details of this school had something Silent had conceived.
In recognition of these contributions, the Magic Guild had awarded him the title of A-Rank member.
And now, everything he had created— I recognized it all.
Things the inhabitants of this world didn't know, but I did.
Even someone as dense as me could piece it together.
I could already guess what Silent truly was.
But at that point, I still hadn't said the word out loud.
I didn't know why.
Maybe I wanted to see myself as special.
Maybe I wanted to believe I was the only one in this world who carried memories of another.
But when I thought about it logically, there was no reason I'd be the only one.
Honestly, the truth was that I was scared of Silent.
I didn't want to make contact if I could avoid it.
I didn't want to meet someone who, under the same circumstances, had done better than me.
And if I actually ran into such a person and they said, "You had such a blessed environment—what were you playing around for?" I wouldn't be able to handle it.
But the moment Fitz-senpai spoke that name, I made the decision to go see Silent right away.
Maybe I was getting carried away.
Yeah. I had been getting carried away lately.
I'd been taken on as a disciple by a godlike being and called "Master."
I'd defeated the school's biggest delinquent and been called "Boss."
I'd earned the pitying gaze of the school's greatest genius.
I'd defeated a Demon King from the Demon Continent and been called "friend."
Every student in the school feared me.
I had been getting carried away.
Of course, in my heart, I told myself not to.
But bit by bit, without realizing it, I'd grown cocky.
As long as I could do all this, no one would look down on me from above.
Maybe that was what I'd been thinking, subconsciously.
--- I got the location from Vice-Principal Zinas.
The research building, third floor.
The very back.
Silent had rented out all three rooms at the end of the hall.
He'd knocked out the walls between them to create a single large lab and supposedly lived there, rarely stepping outside.
I went alone, deliberately.
I didn't know why.
Normally, I should have gone with Fitz-senpai.
But for some reason, I felt I had to go alone.
I stood before the door and took a deep breath.
I was prepared.
Even if Silent was a reincarnator like me— I would not falter.
I gave a light knock.
"…Come in."
A short, somewhat irritated voice answered.
I placed my hand on the door and slowly pushed it open.
Deep inside the room, stacks of books and papers lay scattered everywhere, magical devices of unknown purpose were strewn about, and mountains of mana crystals and magic stones were piled high.
And sitting behind it all— The moment that person turned around, I was struck speechless.
"Oh my, we meet again."
They had black hair.
They were a woman.
And I would never forget this.
Never, ever forget.
They were wearing a plain white mask.
"GYAAAAA!"
I screamed and ran.
That white-masked girl.
She had been with Orsted.
I couldn't remember her name.
That's right—Orsted. Orsted.
I had been prepared to face a fellow reincarnator.
But I was not prepared to face Orsted.
The terror of nearly dying came flooding back vividly.
The fear I had barely felt at the time—rebuilt in full the instant I saw that white mask.
The agony of having my lungs crushed.
The helplessness of being rendered powerless no matter what I did.
The pain of having my heart pierced.
And the sheer terror of staring death in the face.
It all came rushing back, and I ran.
I ran, and ran, and ran.
I had no idea where I was going.
I glanced back.
She was chasing me.
The white mask was chasing me.
I ran harder.
Tripping, stumbling, fleeing with the unsteady gait of a drunk.
I had trained my running speed specifically for moments like this, but my legs wouldn't obey.
They hadn't even trembled when I faced a Demon King.
"…!"
I suddenly spotted Fitz-senpai at the bottom of the stairs.
If it was Fitz-senpai—Fitz-senpai would protect me.
Thinking that, I let my guard down for just an instant.
"Geez, screaming and running away the moment you see someone's face—how rude."
A hand tapped my shoulder from behind.
I turned around, and there she was.
My body seized with shock and terror, and in the next instant, my foot slipped, I tumbled down the stairs, and passed out in the most undignified way imaginable.
--- I woke to the sensation of someone stroking my head.
It was a gentle hand.
Something flowed from that hand into me, as if dissolving the poor circulation in my blood.
That was the feeling I got.
I shifted my gaze to the hand's owner and saw Fitz-senpai.
It was Fitz-senpai stroking my head.
Fitz-senpai's hand was warm.
And impossibly slender and delicate—not what you'd expect from a man.
I instinctively grabbed that hand.
"Oh, Rudeus-kun, you're awake?
I was worried. You came tumbling down from above out of nowhere…"
"I… had a terrible dream. A dream where a woman in a white mask tried to kill me."
"Well, um…"
Fitz-senpai looked troubled.
Wait a minute.
Where was this, anyway?
It wasn't my dorm room.
Actually, it wasn't the dorm at all.
But I'd seen it before.
Behind Fitz-senpai, beds were lined up in rows.
Right—the infirmary.
I sat up and looked around.
There was no one else in the infirmary.
Just Fitz-senpai and me.
No, there was a healing mage on staff.
I looked further— "Whoa…!"
On the opposite side of the bed— I saw the person sitting there.
The woman wearing the white mask.
I reflexively tumbled off the bed.
She sighed and glared at me.
"How rude… Why are you so terrified?
I saved your life before, remember? Oh, right, you were dead, so you wouldn't know."
Before. I had been dead.
So it was true. This was definitely the same person from back then.
The one who'd been at Orsted's side.
"Or—Orsted—is Orsted here?!"
"He's not here. He's busy, you know."
The masked woman answered matter-of-factly.
He's not here.
Orsted isn't here.
Really?
Well, there'd be no point in lying.
So he really wasn't here.
"Relax. He won't be targeting you for a while."
"A while? So after some time passes, he'll come to kill me again?"
"I don't think he has any plans to… but I suppose the possibility exists. It depends on you."
There was nothing I could do about it right now.
The moment I understood that, I noticed how obviously relieved I felt.
I really was something else.
Watching my reaction, Fitz-senpai scratched behind their ear and turned to the masked woman.
"I'm a little lost here—could you explain what's going on?
First of all, what is your relationship with Rudeus-kun?"
"None whatsoever."
The masked woman shot back curtly.
I could tell Fitz-senpai was visibly annoyed.
"But this is the first time I've seen Rudeus-kun so rattled. You must have done something to him, haven't you?"
Fitz-senpai's tone was firm.
They were trying to protect this useless junior of theirs.
Thank you. Truly, thank you.
"When we last met, the Dragon God handed him to me on a platter, so he remembers it."
"The Dragon God…? One of the Seven Great Powers?"
"That's right."
"You were with the Dragon God?"
"No, we just traveled together for a bit."
The masked woman brushed the question aside as if it were trivial and tucked her hair back.
I'd just noticed—she was wearing this school's uniform.
"I have to say, I didn't expect to run into you here."
Her gaze, visible beneath the mask, was sharp.
"But meeting at the 'Dragon's Lower Jaw,' setting up the flag, and reuniting at this school— It's just that kind of causality, isn't it?"
She pulled a sheet of paper from her coat.
"I have three questions for you.
Answer honestly."
Her tone left no room for refusal.
I swallowed and nodded.
"First—does this look familiar to you?"
She handed me the paper.
Written on it were: "Shinohara Akito Kuroki Seiji"
In Japanese.
I recognized immediately that they were names.
And at the same time, a feeling of certainty took root.
Just as I suspected—she was…
"'Second, do you understand these words?
Third—which one are you?'"
This question was also in Japanese.
At this point, there was no doubt.
She was the same kind of existence as me.
But then I thought.
This paper.
These names.
…I had absolutely no idea who they were.
Still, despite my confusion, I was prepared.
I answered slowly.
In Japanese.
"'Neither. I don't recognize those names.'"
"'So—you do understand the language.'"
"Huh? What language? Rudeus-kun?"
Fitz-senpai peered at the paper with a flustered expression.
"Nothing. We're just from the same hometown, that's all."
"Same hometown? That's impossible!"
Fitz-senpai denied it flatly.
I had no idea what basis they had for that claim.
But that didn't matter right now.
"'So you're one too?'"
I asked cautiously.
She nodded.
"'Yes. I realized what was happening and the next thing I knew, I'd been dumped into this ridiculous world.'"
As she spoke, she removed the white mask.
In that instant, a memory clicked into place like a puzzle piece.
A memory from my previous life.
The final moment.
The man and woman who had been fighting.
One half of that pair.
The woman.
Standing before me was a girl with exactly that same face.
At the same time, a question surfaced.
The exact same face.
Fifteen years had passed, and yet here was a girl who looked exactly as she had back then.
And I noticed something slightly off.
It didn't add up.
Why— After fifteen years— Did she still look the same?
No, more fundamentally—why did she look the same at all?
If she'd been reincarnated, her face should have changed.
My question.
The answer came from her own lips almost immediately.
"'It's what you'd call a trip.
I tripped into this worthless world.'"
Trip.
The meaning was subtly different from reincarnation.
I was a reincarnator—born into a different body, carrying only my memories into this world.
A trip was different.
A trip was essentially a warp.
Same age, same body, transported to this world as-is.
She was… different from me?
"'My name is
Lately I've been going by the alias Silent Sevenstar.'"
Questions and confusion.
My mind was an utter mess.
As I stood there unable to speak, she pressed on.
"'By the way, where are you from originally?
America? Or somewhere in Europe, perhaps?
You're white… but you understand Japanese. Maybe you're half? A foreigner living in Japan, or something like that?'"
I had no objection to the idea that it wasn't three questions anymore.
I didn't answer.
But she continued talking regardless.
"'In any case, this moves things forward one step.
Keeping you alive was the right call after all.
The moment Orsted said he didn't know…
I had a feeling about that…'"
Nanahoshi's words came faster now, her excitement growing.
She paid no attention to my confusion.
"'Nice to meet you properly—um, what's your name?'"
"'R-Rudeus. Rudeus Greyrat.'"
"'That's your alias here, right? What's your real name?'"
I didn't want to speak my name from my previous life.
So I kept my mouth shut.
Nanahoshi nodded, as if she completely understood.
"'Ah, I see. You're being cautious.
I understand. That feeling.
After all, that's what happened.
But don't worry. I'm on your side.'"
"…"
"'Still, so there's someone else besides me…
This is the first time I've met someone from Earth since coming to this world.
Somehow, it makes me feel a little less alone.'"
Nanahoshi took my hand.
Fitz-senpai's brows furrowed.
And then Nanahoshi said— In a voice that sounded almost happy: "'Let's work together to find a way back to our world.'"
To find a way back to our world.
Those words brought order to the jumbled mess of my thoughts.
Only one word came out.
"'No.'"
I pulled my hand away immediately and said: "'I don't want to go back to my old world.'"
"Huh…?"
Nanahoshi was dumbfounded.
"Rudeus-kun, you and Silent… could you at least speak a language I understand…"
And there was Fitz-senpai, who couldn't understand a word of Japanese.
In the infirmary, a thoroughly awkward atmosphere settled over us all.