The Almighty Chuunibyou Expert

She continued.

"Is that so? But I can't sense any Sacred Heart or Dark Power from you at all."

He shook his head.

"If that's the case... do you want to see it?"

As she spoke, Takanashi Rikka turned serious and lifted her eyepatch, revealing her glittering golden heterochromatic eye.

"I still can't sense anything, but the title Wicked Eye of the Tyrant King User sounds pretty cool. It doesn't seem fake... Could it be that the Spiritual Energy in this world hasn't fully recovered yet, making it unable to bear overly powerful forces? Or have you simply not adapted to the laws of the Human World?"

Hasegawa Izumi stroked his chin, wearing a thoughtful expression.

Takanashi Rikka froze for a moment before quickly responding, "No matter what, you have already seen my eye. That means our contract has been formed. I passed through countless ages in search of you, and in the end, we met here. This must be the choice of Steins;Gate!"

That was certainly a very fateful way of putting it. Perhaps it was true?

The journey in search of the path would be less lonely with more companions.

"Although I don't know what kind of contract I made with you, we can indeed get to know each other. My name is Hasegawa Izumi."

He chuckled and extended his right hand.

"My other name is Takanashi Rikka. Starting today, we are 'allies.' You may address me directly by my name."

Girl slowly raised her right hand, paused in midair, then offered it to him.

One large hand and one small hand clasped together.

The nearby passengers noticed the scene and did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"Mom, what are they doing?"

"Don't look. They're just strange people for no reason. You mustn't become like them when you grow up."

"Nothing surprising. They just have eighth-grader syndrome."

"Hahaha, how nostalgic. I think I had a time like that too."

Shuuchuin Academy, based in Minato Ward, Tokyo, was an integrated school spanning kindergarten through university. Originally established as an institution for educating aristocrats and samurai families, it was a prestigious school with a long history.

Even now, after the abolition of the aristocratic system, many students born into wealthy and influential families—and destined to bear the nation's future—studied here. Only a small number of ordinary students from outside schools were admitted.

Therefore, aside from outstanding grades, admissions through connections and other backdoor means also existed.

To be honest, he had not originally planned to attend school here. However, because of the Sawamura family, he simply went along with it.

"Whoa, so this is the place Servant recommended to me? Not bad. It's a fine place to establish a base and carry out operations."

When they arrived at Shuuchuin's gates, Takanashi Rikka let out an impressed sigh at the academy's elegant, beautiful surroundings and expansive grounds. She clenched her right fist, her expression brimming with motivation.

Who Is It?

"Found it."

Under the class assignment board, Hasegawa Izumi scanned the list with his eyes and finally found his name in Class C.

"My ally, it seems we'll be able to fight side by side this time."

Beside him, the petite Takanashi Rikka covered one side of her face with a hand as she declared this with great conviction.

The two had been assigned to the same class, and their names happened to be right beside each other.

This only proved that it was all the choice of Steins;Gate.

He looked again but failed to find his Childhood Friend's name in the class, which was somewhat regrettable.

However, Eriri's health was much better than before, and she had also learned the skills of her diplomat father, so there was probably no need to worry too much.

"Let's go to the classroom."

He turned toward the teaching building on the other side.

Upon arriving in the classroom, he found that there were still quite a few empty seats. He simply chose a seat by the window in the very back.

The view was better there, and it was easier to secretly slack off without getting caught.

After all, he was not here to study properly.

Plop.

Takanashi Rikka followed closely behind and placed her schoolbag on the seat beside his.

"That way, if some incident suddenly occurs, we can stay in contact at any time."

That was what she said.

"Come to think of it, I still haven't asked for your electronic pact codename, Brave."

Seated in her chair, Takanashi Rikka suddenly remembered something. She took out her phone from her pocket and looked at him.

"Who's Brave?"

Hasegawa Izumi silently turned his head toward her.

He would rather not have such an embarrassing title.

Besides, it always felt like in the current trend, heroes were all gullible idiots who got manipulated by others and charged off to fight the Demon King with a sword in hand.

"You."

The girl's eyes were filled with pure sincerity.

"Don't call me Brave."

"Why? It's cool, isn't it? Brave and strong."

"It's a bit too common."

"Then, Sage? That feels more suited to your bearing."

"That works, but you should just call me by my name. They're only forms of address anyway."

After making their promise, the two exchanged Line contacts and phone numbers.

Meanwhile, as the students arrived, the classroom gradually became livelier.

In contrast to the quiet corner, everyone else chatted familiarly, as though they had known each other for a long time.

That was hardly surprising, since Shuuchuin Academy was an integrated school from kindergarten through university, and many of them had known each other since middle school.

Apparently, the school even had a class system where students promoted from the elementary division were called "Pure Academy Students," while those who transferred in midway were called "Mixed Academy Students."

"Taisuke, I didn't expect us to end up in the same class. This must count as fate, right?"

"Nothing strange about it. We're both Pure Academy Students, so the chances of being assigned with people we know are pretty high."

"By the way, are you planning to join a club now that we're in high school? I might try joining the Soccer Club."

"Come to think of it, the people over there are all Mixed Academy Students, right? I don't recognize any of them."

"Seems like it. But it has nothing to do with us. We're not on the same level, so there's no need to pay attention to them."

By chance, Hasegawa Izumi felt gazes sweep over from that direction.

He could clearly sense their meaning. It was not exactly malice; it was more disregard than anything else.

Those who considered themselves noble could not be bothered to build good relationships with people beneath them.

Visibly, the classroom had split into two distinct groups. One side chatted enthusiastically, while the other remained quiet.

For the time being, most people still had their pride.

The remaining handful of Mixed Academy Students did not volunteer to join the atmosphere over there, instead choosing to huddle together for warmth.

"This classmate, you took the entrance exam to get in from outside too, right?"

"That's right. You too?"

"Yeah. Then let's get acquainted."

A few minutes passed.

Just as Hasegawa Izumi rested his chin on one hand, gazing at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window while waiting for the entrance ceremony to begin, the front of the classroom suddenly became much noisier.

That was because a girl with cherry-blossom-pink hair and an ample bosom entered through the door. The black bow tied atop her head added a touch of cuteness to her beautiful, charming face.

"It's Fujiwara-san."

"I didn't expect to be in the same class as her. This is great!"

"You're not thinking of trying to woo her, are you? No chance."

The Pure Academy Students recognized the newcomer.

Fujiwara-san—Fujiwara Chika—was the daughter of a political family. Her great-grandfather had been a former Prime Minister, while her uncle served as a current cabinet minister. Her pedigree was exceptionally distinguished.

Even among Pure Academy Students, everyone's family background and status differed.

This girl's status was clearly far above theirs, to the point that they did not dare step forward to greet her casually.

"Huh?"

At that moment, Fujiwara Chika did not notice everyone's reactions at all. Her sparkling blue eyes swept across the classroom before locking onto the person she was looking for in the back row.

"Found you!"

Her face immediately lit up, and she jogged over in quick little steps.

"It really is Izumi-chan~!"

Feeling a lively presence approach, Hasegawa Izumi turned around. His gaze traveled upward from low to high, over the lofty peaks, until it reached a face brimming with delight.

"It's you, Chika."

His plain response held no surprise.

He had already seen her name when he checked the class assignment list earlier.

"Hehe, I heard before that Eriri was coming to Shuuchuin for high school, so I knew Izumi-chan would definitely come here too. But I never expected us to end up in the same class. This is so great! From now on, we can spar properly, okay? No refusing!"

Fujiwara Chika laughed foolishly. The lively atmosphere she brought with her seemed capable of making even winter bright and sunny.

"If there's time, sure."

He nodded.

He had actually met Fujiwara Chika at a banquet hosted by the Sawamura family. Like him, Chika had come with her family. At the elders' request, Chika and Eriri naturally had to get along well. And as Eriri's Childhood Friend, he naturally became friends with Chika as well.

They did not interact much, though; most of their exchanges took place through all kinds of games.

Because her family prohibited her from touching vulgar entertainment such as video games, Chika had developed peculiar interests while searching for loopholes in the family rules. For instance, German-style analog games and puzzle games—subcultures far removed from the mainstream of Otaku culture—were all her favorites.

But Chika often lost to him and had never once succeeded in getting revenge, which was why she had never been able to let it go and wanted to erase the humiliation of her defeat.

That was how their match came about.

The sight of the two being so familiar with each other utterly stunned everyone.

They had never imagined that an ordinary Mixed Academy Student would actually be good friends with the daughter of such a politician. It was truly eye-opening.

They all had the same question now.

"Who the hell is this guy?"

I Have No Interest in Ordinary Humans...!

After the joy of their long-awaited reunion.

"Could I trouble you to give up your seat for me, miss?"

Fujiwara Chika looked at Takanashi Rikka, who still seemed not to have processed what was happening, and clapped her hands.

She leaned her little face closer, wearing an amiable smile. With her bright eyes, white teeth, and beautiful features, it was difficult for anyone to think of refusing her.

"No."

Takanashi Rikka's gaze instantly sharpened.

"Why!?"

Fujiwara Chika asked in surprise.