The Almighty Chuunibyou Expert

Kōko had not expected her to arrive either, and her smug expression turned to stunned disbelief.

"Kōko has chuunibyou too? We're doomed!"

Eriri's expression immediately turned grave as she realized the seriousness of the situation.

Dealing with Izumi alone was exhausting enough, okay?!

Now it was double the fun... ah, no, double the suffering.

As the saying went, one who kept company with vermilion became red, while one who kept company with ink became black.

So...

"This is all Izumi's fault!"

She turned her accusations on her childhood friend.

"Kōko has seen the true face of this world. As an elder, Eriri, you should be happy for her instead of blaming... Also, this isn't because of me. Kōko merely received a 'Divine Revelation.'"

Hasegawa Izumi retorted.

"Huh, so I'm the one with the problem?"

Eriri froze.

At this rate, she would not even be able to tell reality apart anymore.

"I'll head home first."

She did not stay at the Hasegawa family home for long, worried that this environment would affect her sooner or later.

"Sorry, Kōko. I only went out with Eriri to buy books."

His answer disappointed his little sister.

"Hmph hmph hmph, wasting time on foolish mortals... Thou hast truly fallen."

Kōko huffily turned away and continued watching TV.

Early in the morning, while the sky was still dim.

In the room, the ceiling's incandescent light suddenly switched on.

The person who had been asleep had opened his eyes at some point. A faint gleam flickered within them as he reached out to touch the brilliantly radiant light in his eyes.

"All of this is coincidence, yet this coincidence is also a will long decided by the world."

"The universe has an origin, yet no end—Infinity."

"Planets too have origins, yet gradually perish through their own power—Finitude."

"Those who possess wisdom are also the greatest fools. History shows that fish living in the sea do not know of the world on land. Once they gain wisdom, they too shall head toward destruction."

"And humanity's desire to surpass the speed of light is even more laughable than fish wishing to live on land."

"Then, may I conclude that the greatest thing in this world is to ascend from the finite human body to the realm of infinity?"

After a while, the light in Hasegawa Izumi's eyes gradually faded.

As though nothing had happened, he threw back the covers, changed clothes, and headed out the door.

Today was the first day of school. He had to go to the kitchen and prepare breakfast and lunch for the day.

About a month ago, his father, an archaeologist, had needed to go abroad for work, and his mother had planned to go with him. However, he had no intention of leaving and chose to remain in Tokyo, while his little sister Kōko also chose to stay with him.

After discussing it, and after their parents had tested his ability to live independently, they entrusted the responsibility of guardianship to their acquaintance, the Sawamura family.

Although he had had much more work to do since then, needing to take care of himself as well as his useless little sister, it also meant he had much more freedom.

"Kōko, time to get up."

After setting breakfast on the dining table, he called toward his little sister's room.

"Kukuku... Because of My other half's prayers, I have awakened from my long slumber."

Her left shoulder strap hung loose as Kōko, still in her pajamas, rubbed her sleepy eyes and walked out, speaking to him in her affected tone.

"I wasn't praying."

He glanced at his little sister.

Outside the house, within the walls.

Hasegawa Izumi pulled up his bicycle. Just as he was about to ride it, he heard a creaking sound from below.

"Huh, is it broken?"

He lowered his head to inspect it, muttering to himself.

It must have been going too fast during that last race, nearly shaking it apart.

But this was troublesome. He had planned to take Kōko to school first, but if he repaired it now, they would definitely be late.

So he turned to Kōko and said, "Sorry, it looks like I can't take you to school today."

"Kukuku, My other half, dost thou think I still need thy escort? I can manage on my own."

Kōko answered defiantly.

"I see. Then Kōko can go to school by herself from now on, okay? At least I won't have to worry about this sort of thing anymore, right?"

He smiled with narrowed eyes.

"Uh... of course! I am the True Ancestor Vampire Resis. No matter what enemies I encounter, I can deal with them with ease."

Kōko bit her thin lip, but still spoke firmly.

"Have a safe trip~!"

Hasegawa Izumi watched Kōko walk away in the other direction.

Her middle school was not far from home, so there was nothing for him to worry about. Besides, it was time to train her courage a little.

Otherwise, when would she ever become a True Ancestor Vampire?

He smiled and headed toward the train station.

As for the high school life ahead of him—the new stage of his life—he hoped to find like-minded companions and set foot together into that unknown realm!

Open Sesame

Did something seem to be changing in this world?

Perhaps it had begun long ago, or perhaps it was happening right before his eyes.

Even the air felt much fresher, like a sea fish that had come ashore returning to the Vast sea... No, at the moment, it was probably more like entering an oxygenated fish tank.

As Hasegawa Izumi walked down the street, his thoughts suddenly became more active.

When he stopped at the train platform, he suddenly felt a gaze fall upon him. Turning his head, he found its owner to be a petite, fair-skinned beautiful girl. She wore a black sleeveless dress with a red ribbon at the collar. Beneath her uniform were a Gothic belt and black thigh-high socks. A long ahoge on her head and the white eyepatch over her right eye were her most striking features.

That uniform was clearly the girls' uniform of Shuuchuin Academy, the school he would soon be attending. It seemed that this girl was also a first-year freshman like him.

The green eye looking at him carried a trace of cold, piercing wisdom.

The girl did not shy away from the gaze he returned.

He was looking at her, and she was looking at him.

For that instant, it was as if their eyes had confirmed something.

Until—

"Bzz..."

The train they had been waiting for finally approached from the other side of the tracks.

At that moment, the girl moved.

"Hehehe, let me show you my power!"

Takanashi Rikka was secretly pleased, though her expression did not reveal it at all. She spread her five fingers toward the train door before her.

With a hiss, the train doors opened in response.

She turned to look at him, seemingly expecting a reaction from him.

However, Hasegawa Izumi showed no response whatsoever, leaving her quite disappointed.

"Just an ordinary human?"

Takanashi Rikka sighed and walked into the train.

When the doors closed, he did not seem to have any intention of following her aboard.

Then, a voice suddenly came from behind her. "Open Sesame!"

Immediately afterward, the train doors, which had already closed, opened once more, and a figure stepped into the carriage.

"Eh!?"

Takanashi Rikka's face filled with disbelief, a bead of sweat forming on her forehead as she turned around.

"Yo."

The boy gave a slight wave.

Behind him, the train doors closed again, and the scenery outside the windows began to blur past rapidly.

"What happened? Did the train malfunction just now? Did the doors close twice?"

"Did they? Maybe there was some system lag?"

"Could something be wrong?"

"It shouldn't be anything serious. They're just train doors."

"If you think there's a problem, go get someone. I'm in a hurry to get to work."

"Maybe you just imagined it."

Inside the carriage, the passengers briefly voiced their thoughts on the somewhat startling scene from earlier.

As for Hasegawa Izumi, who had boarded afterward, everyone simply ignored him.

Without a fuss, he found an empty corner and stood there.

No one would have thought this was his doing. After all, this was reality—there was no such thing as superpowers.

But one person thought otherwise.

"I finally found you."

"Hm?"

"Was that your ability just now? Telekinesis? Word magic? Machine control? Or something like magnetic field manipulation?"

After mentally preparing herself and taking a deep breath, Takanashi Rikka walked up to him and fired off question after question.

"That was just an accident."

He answered calmly.

"No! My intuition tells me this has something to do with you!"

Takanashi Rikka stretched out her right hand and pointed a finger at him.

Was it spiritual intuition?

It seemed she had good potential. Perhaps she could become one of their kind.

"Why do you think special powers exist in this world?"

His gaze shifted slightly as he carefully sized her up, continuing to probe.

"Because the moment I saw you, this Wicked Eye of the Tyrant King told me all about the chain of cause and effect."

With one hand pressed over her eyepatch, she answered with a stern expression.

"The Wicked Eye of the Tyrant King?"

He looked puzzled.

"The Wicked Eye of the Tyrant King uses the Sacred Heart to command Dark Power, and I, who possess the Wicked Eye of the Tyrant King, am a being known as the Wicked Eye of the Tyrant King User."