The Almighty Chuunibyou Expert

The Almighty Chuunibyou Expert

Author: Chi Meng Yu Ren

Synopsis:

The good news: he had transmigrated into a 2D world and awakened an ability that could practically do anything.

The bad news: he was sick.

Takanashi Rikka: O most trusted ally of the Wicked Eye of the Tyrant King User, let us witness the world's ultimate truth together!

Busujima Saeko: Please let me become your disciple and learn Supreme Swordsmanship!

Kōko: Kukuku, My other half, come awaken my power!

Eriri: Idiot, don't go nuts here!

Natsukawa Masuzu: Your first kiss wasn't with Eriri, but with me, Natsukawa Masuzu~

Dekomori Sanae: Please, grant me power! I'll do anything, death!

Opening arc: the founding of the Far East Magic Society

Chapter 1: I'm not a chuunibyou

"I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!"

"People's dreams never end!"

"Lin, I'm going to create a world with you in it!"

"My pain surpasses yours!"

"No one stood in the heavens from the beginning, not you, not me, not even the gods. But this unbearable vacancy upon the Throne of Heaven is about to end... From now on, I shall stand at the top!"

"At the Peak of Immortality, Defying the World—with me, An Lan, the heavens endure!"

"Those who chant my true name shall find eternal life within reincarnation!"

"Fortunes rise and fall. Never look down on a poor young man!"

"You have already given me cause to kill you!"

For as long as he could remember, Hasegawa Izumi had been dreaming, endlessly dreaming. His dreams held countless stories, vivid and lifelike, but whenever he woke, they left him with an indescribable sense of loss.

Could these all be memories of his past life?

At some point, Hasegawa Izumi had come to firmly believe that.

During his final vacation after graduating from middle school, he posted a message online, hoping others could give him an answer. The results left him deeply disappointed.

[I have a secret I've always kept. I'm actually reincarnated from another world. There was battle qi developed to its pinnacle, wuxia knights roaming freely through the martial world, evil wizards, National Martial Arts with blood and vitality surging into the skies, Devil Fruit Users, ninja, and shinigami... But ever since I came to this world, I've found that my powers are gone. So I'd like to ask everyone: how can I recover my powers? How can I return to that world?]

[Bro, I have dreams like that all the time too, just not as many varieties as you.]

[Genshin Impact, launch!]

[With that imagination, you could write a novel.]

[Seriously, you've crammed way too much into this!]

[May I ask how long you've been experiencing these symptoms?]

There was another reply below, from someone whose verified credentials identified them as a doctor.

"Hmph, don't tell me these people think I'm a chuunibyou?"

He gave a little snort and closed the website.

Apparently, seeking answers from the ignorant was nothing but foolishness.

Suddenly, a notification chimed on his phone. He looked down at the message: an invitation from his Childhood Friend to go buy Ms. Kasishiko's light novel, Love Metronome, together.

Strange. That name feels oddly familiar. Have I seen it somewhere before?

Whatever. It doesn't matter anyway.

"Eriri, what's with that outfit? Going out to rob someone?"

He had barely stepped outside when he rounded the corner and spotted a girl in a green hoodie and jeans leaning against the wall, looking as though she had been waiting for ages.

This was his Childhood Friend, Eriri, the Young Lady of the Spencer family, a stunning beauty known as the "delicate maiden of Shimamura Middle School." Granted, that nickname referred to her history of taking sick leave, and she hated it, but in a certain sense, it fit her perfectly: an exquisite yet fragile piece of porcelain...

Beneath that public image, however, she hid another identity: a doujin artist with the pen name Kashiwagi Eri, whose rapidly rising popularity was making her a sensation in the industry!

But compared with her dazzling appearance at school, today she had not only hidden her usually brilliant golden hair, but also put on a pair of black-framed glasses she rarely wore.

"Don't play dumb. I don't want other people finding out about my other side."

Eriri's attempt at a cool pose, one foot braced against the wall and arms folded over her chest, faltered. Her mouth twitched as she muttered.

"Okay, enough nonsense. Come on."

Without giving him time to argue, she grabbed his arm and led him toward the other end of the street.

Over half an hour passed.

"Ah, finally got it! I've been following this ever since the Fujikawa Bunko Newcomer Award. Now that it's officially being published, I hope Ms. Kasishiko writes an even more captivating story~ If she does, I'll keep supporting her."

On the way home, Eriri held the light novel lovingly in her hands and spoke with complete satisfaction.

The person beside her, however, kept walking without showing the slightest inclination to respond.

Feeling as though she was talking to herself, Eriri frowned and couldn't help asking, "Izumi, why do you seem so out of it? Were you up all night gaming yesterday? Or are you just ignoring me?"

Gaming without me? Guilty!

Ignoring me? Doubly guilty!

She had the air of a judge passing sentence.

"No, I was thinking about something."

Hasegawa Izumi raised his head.

"About what?"

Looking puzzled, she immediately pressed him.

"Well, I've been dreaming really often lately. There's all kinds of weird stuff in them, and it feels like things that actually happened. Do you think I've 'awakened'? Like some powerful person reincarnating, and their memories suddenly becoming unsealed..."

Hasegawa Izumi spoke with a completely serious expression.

Since she was his closest Childhood Friend, surely she was the best person to discuss this with?

Eriri was instantly struck speechless.

They walked a little farther.

Has Izumi's condition suddenly gotten worse?

Her heart grew heavy.

As his Childhood Friend, she knew that a doctor had once diagnosed Izumi with "intermittent insanity." He could go off the rails at any moment, and had caused quite a stir before.

His episodes were just a little strange: every so often, he would spout lines meant to sound cool or say things nobody could make sense of.

In the ACG culture she was familiar with, this was usually called chuunibyou: a frightening yet endearing condition that tended to strike during the adolescent second year of middle school, when a developing sense of self mixed with childish daydreaming and made people do all kinds of bizarre things... or something like that.

If that was all it amounted to, plenty of people had it. Even she had imitated lines and gestures from Magical Girl anime while watching them... How embarrassing.

That was why she knew perfectly well that Izumi definitely wasn't a chuunibyou.

"Uh... um..."

Just as Eriri was trying to figure out how to brush this off, something happened.

As though he had suddenly remembered something, Hasegawa Izumi raised a finger and spoke.

"I think you were in my past-life memories too, Eriri."

"Really?"

The girl brightened at first, then her face flushed like a steaming engine as "Kashiwagi Eri's" way of thinking took over.

"What past-life memories? Y-you... Don't tell me you had a wet dream?"

I knew it! Izumi likes me! After all, I'm so cute...

Everything before that was just a lead-in to this!

W-what do I do? Is Izumi going to confess now? How should I answer?

At that moment, her heart rose into her throat.

Someone with serious mental problems obviously wasn't an ideal choice for a boyfriend, but what could she do? Who besides her, his Childhood Friend, would bother with this idiot?

I can't let Izumi stay single his whole life!

To her surprise, her Childhood Friend burst out laughing.

"You mean you're the girl in my wet dreams? As if. Average girl, sky-high confidence. What a turnoff. Dial it back!"

The girl's smile vanished in an instant, and her mood hit rock bottom.

"I don't understand what you're even saying, but I feel deeply insulted... Take it back!"

Eriri bared her fangs, raised a fist, and thrust it toward her right.

Her marshmallow-soft fist struck his stomach.

"Maybe I remembered wrong. I think her name was Airi or something..."

After taking the blow, Hasegawa Izumi raised an eyebrow and teased her.

"Don't lump me in with characters from adult stuff! Idiot! Take my Star Explosion Desperate Slash!"

The girl bristled even more, pushed back her hood, and shook her head, launching dozens of consecutive strikes at him with her twin tails.

Chapter 2: From finite to infinite

Their chase continued until a sharply curving slope, roughly three hundred meters long, appeared before them.

It was called Detective Slope, a name born from elementary schoolers' curiosity about a sign halfway up that read "Sakashita Credit Agency." That wasn't important, though. What mattered was that his home was a short distance below Detective Slope, while Eriri's villa and grounds lay farther uphill. Usually, the crossroads here was where they parted ways.

"Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo..."

Hasegawa Izumi spat the golden hairs out of his mouth and turned to look at her. "Why are you still following me? Time to go home."

"What's with that attitude?"

Eriri looked annoyed at first, then gave a little huff. "Can't I come over for a while today and see Kōko? What if Kōko's living conditions are terrible? I promised your parents I'd take care of you two after they went abroad for work. In a sense, that makes me your guardian now!"

"Aunt Sayuri is our acting guardian. Don't steal her identity. And even if I mistreated someone, it would never be Kōko. My little sister absolutely loves my cooking now."

Hasegawa Izumi spoke with narrowed eyes.

"You can cook? When did you learn? How come I didn't know?"

Eriri eyed him suspiciously.

"In my dreams."

He answered offhandedly.

And so Eriri followed him to a small two-story house not far from Detective Slope.

Hasegawa Izumi took out his key and opened the door, and they went inside together.

"Kukuku, I have waited long. No wonder I could find no trace of thee within the Blood Nest. Thou hadst gone out hunting! Hast thou prepared the offering..."

The girl speaking was his younger sister, Hasegawa Koharu.

The blonde, blue-eyed girl wore a maid-like Gothic Lolita outfit. As she turned around, she made a V with her right hand and held it across her right eye.

Eriri, who had been about to greet her, froze on the spot in awkward silence.