As soon as the first round began, the character controlled by Eriri launched a fierce attack. Judging by the action, it was an almost one-sided beatdown.

His little sister still wasn't mature enough.

So he waited. The moment he was waiting for—the day she truly awakened—had yet to come.

"You really are hard to kill, Resis! To survive an attack like that... I guess it's only to be expected of a True Ancestor Vampire?"

"You Magical Girls are the hard ones to deal with. You're like cockroaches that just won't die. No matter how powerful the attacks, you keep stubbornly surviving... I'm starting to tire of fighting you."

"Too bad. You'll have to keep fighting us until one side or the other falls."

"You'll be the ones to fall. I am the King of Vampires, creator of darkness. By opposing me, you're only digging your own graves!"

On the screen, after a brief intermission, the True Ancestor Vampire and the Magical Girls resumed their fierce battle. Their various magical powers intertwined, creating a dazzling spectacle.

"Haah~"

At that moment, Hasegawa Izumi lazily yawned.

"What a boring fight. If this were real, that blood blade would've cut the charging Magical Girl's head right off. There's no impact at all. So it really is just a make-believe cartoon, huh?"

"What do you think, Kōko?"

He turned to ask his little sister's opinion.

"Huh? C-cut... her head off?"

Kōko was horrified, her voice trembling, as if she couldn't even imagine such a scene.

In his eyes, this was proof that his little sister was still immature.

A battle wasn't child's play!

Mami Senpai had taught everyone that lesson through firsthand experience.

Still, Kōko was young, after all. She had a lot of growing up to do.

He silently turned back to the screen.

That evening.

"Kōko, don't watch too late. Don't stay up all night. You're still growing, you know."

"Ku ku ku, I have always kept the company of the night. It can only be my ally."

"Sure."

After taking a bath, Hasegawa Izumi put on his pajamas and reminded his sister, who was still watching TV, not to stay up too late. Then he returned to his room.

He went over to his computer desk, turned on his computer, and logged in to his social media account.

Almost immediately, he received a voice call invitation.

"Hurry up, hurry up, get on the game! My time is precious! Today, I'm going to beat you until you're crawling!"

He accepted, and Eriri's urging voice came through his headphones.

The two of them had agreed to play a newly released fighting game today.

"You sure you can?"

Hasegawa Izumi couldn't help but laugh.

Of all the games he and Eriri had played together, she'd won only a handful of times.

Almost every time, she'd demanded a rematch to make up for her loss, only to get thoroughly humiliated again.

She was terrible, but she loved playing anyway.

"Why don't you find out?"

Surprisingly, Eriri didn't argue. She wanted to let her skills speak for themselves.

Could she have some kind of secret strategy?

He wondered where her confidence came from, but he wasn't worried in the least. He accepted Eriri's invitation and joined the match.

It was the classic 3v3 mode. Eriri picked three characters almost without hesitation, while he chose three at random.

As soon as the first round began, Eriri's characters launched a fierce assault. The match looked almost completely one-sided, with her dominating him.

"See that? This is what I'm capable of! Izumi, face the gap between us!"

The girl sounded so pleased with herself, and the smile on her face must have been radiant.

"Eriri, you've definitely been playing this on the sly."

Hasegawa Izumi chuckled.

"I have not! I'm just naturally talented. What, are you jealous?"

Eriri immediately denied it.

Did you learn that from Chika?

He snarked to himself. The health bar of the character he controlled was almost empty, but he remained completely unruffled.

"Ready, Eriri? I'm starting now!"

"What?"

Eriri hadn't even had time to mock him when the match took a shocking turn. His character unleashed a string of fluid attacks on hers, draining her health to zero.

She fell silent and focused on playing.

But in the next two rounds, she was defeated with barely any chance to fight back.

Wait, was Izumi really this good?

The game had only come out today, and she'd spent the whole day playing to secure this victory!

And she'd still lost—gotten completely crushed, no less?

"I don't believe it!"

Eriri couldn't help protesting.

"Izumi, are you cheating?"

"Why would you think that?"

"This game just came out today. Even if you got up early and started playing, just like me, there's no way you could've gotten this good!"

"Do you know, Eriri... The King of the Quincy, once sealed away, took 900 years to regain his heartbeat, 90 years to regain his consciousness, 9 years to regain his power, and 9 days to regain the world..."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I've broken my seal. I'm not who I used to be."

"I don't believe you!"

"You don't have to believe me. In that case, I'll put it plainly."

He paused, then lowered his voice and continued:

"If you suck, practice more. If you can't handle losing, don't play."

11 Want to understand the meaning of life? Want to truly live?

"Damn it!! Who do you think I am?! How dare you talk to me like that!"

In her room, the blonde girl with twin tails seethed with anger, unable to stop herself from cursing.

How could she, the Young Lady of the Sawamura family, be mocked so shamelessly? It was absolutely humiliating.

If they weren't Childhood Friends, she would've stopped playing with that annoying guy ages ago!

"Want to keep playing, Eriri?"

Hasegawa Izumi's nonchalant voice came through her headphones.

"Of course not!"

She had no interest in getting beaten up again.

So the two of them found a new co-op game and played until the early hours of the morning.

"So, what happened after that? You weren't ostracized by everyone, were you?"

Eriri suddenly asked.

"What do you mean, ostracized by everyone? I ostracized everyone. Thank you very much."

To her, his retort sounded like stubborn denial.

For a moment, the girl didn't know what she should say to comfort him.

After all, Izumi had come to Shuchiin at her request.

Then her Childhood Friend went on, "But it actually feels pretty good. I've gained another ally, and I've also reunited with someone who shares my path after a long time. I'm really glad I took your advice and came to Shuchiin, Eriri."

"What!? A guy or a girl?"

Eriri's expression changed abruptly.

"Gender doesn't matter when it comes to fellow travelers."

"Give me a straight answer!"

"They're both girls. One's a Wicked Eye of the Tyrant King User, and the other's a magician."

Suddenly, the call ended.

The only sound left in the room was someone grinding her teeth.

Getting Izumi to come to Shuchiin had been the worst decision ever!

Monday.

A gentle spring breeze blew by.

Hasegawa Izumi stepped out of the train station and headed straight for Shuchiin High School.

Today was an exciting day.

Starting today, the Far East Magic Society would officially begin recruiting members.

How many people in this place, filled with all kinds of talent, had what it took to step into another world?

"I can't wait."

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. As his spirits lifted, the book spinning in his hand went faster and faster.

"Izumi, that's amazing!"

Takanashi Rikka stared at the book spinning like a fan, looking dumbfounded.

Then she tried it herself, but the moment she pressed down with her finger, she sent her math book flying.

Hasegawa Izumi reached out and caught the math book before it could hit him.

"Hehe."

Takanashi Rikka gave an awkward smile.

"Mastering this skill is harder than I expected," she said.

"I'll teach you."

He tossed her math book back, then demonstrated as he explained, "Use your index finger to support the book at its center of gravity. Then use your other fingers to make it spin. Your finger shouldn't stay fixed at the center of gravity; move it around the center in the direction the book is spinning..."

"I see! As long as I understand how gravity moves, I can master this skill!"

Little by little, Takanashi Rikka got the hang of it, and the book spun for longer and longer.

The two of them drew plenty of attention. Everyone here was a "good student," after all, and they'd never seen anyone play like that. Some of them were tempted to try.

But nobody did. It would look as if they were following a Mixed Academy Student around, wouldn't it?

"I want to try too!"

Only Fujiwara Chika had no such reservations. She immediately gave it a go.

"Huh? Is it really that hard?"

Suddenly, the book flew out of her hand, and the girl froze in surprise.