(Pickup point for handsome guys. Free upgrade services. Backed by the Gray Room.)
Tennoji Kaede had waited for ages at the station before finally seeing the private bus he'd been waiting for slowly pull up—
The dedicated bus to Advanced Nurturing High School.
Tennoji Kaede gathered his thoughts and stepped aboard. The bus was filled with students wearing bright red uniforms.
His gaze swept across the seats, and he quickly spotted a striking blond man with a sturdy build sitting in a priority seat near the front.
Tennoji Kaede knew his name: Kouenji Rokusuke, known among readers as Birei-go.
He might have been the only character in the original work who stayed true to his character from beginning to end...
[Host has entered the story.]
[The Haiya Causal System is now online. Functions are being installed...]
As expected, his Haiya System needed the grand stage of Shijiao to unlock.
Tennoji Kaede was a fairly typical modern-day transmigrator. In his previous life, he'd been Jiang Feng, from a mysterious ancient country in the East.
When he'd first transmigrated to the island nation, the Haiya System had popped up.
At first, he couldn't figure out what "Haiya" meant in the system's name.
And the system had never reacted at all. It had just sat there with a name and nothing else.
Tennoji Kaede had nearly assumed it was one of those useless systems that wouldn't unlock until ten years later. He'd even been ready to give up and throw himself in front of a truck in hopes of reincarnating again.
It wasn't until he received an admission notice from a school where the strong ruled that he finally understood: he'd arrived in a world with Shijiao's setting.
He immediately stopped his daily routine of a hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, and a hundred squats, and cheerfully prepared to enroll and test his strength.
The Haiya System had indeed unlocked because he'd entered the story. The truth was finally clear!
Shijiao had the Black House and its greatest creation, the White Room. So what was wrong with him having a Haiya System?
Tennoji Kaede picked an empty seat near the front. The bus shifted gears and set off.
[Function installation complete!]
[This system is dedicated to making its host the greatest creation of the Haiya System!]
[Detected Black House 100-point creation: "Kouenji Rokusuke."]
[Kouenji Rokusuke's Causal Mark has been applied.]
[Causal Mark: When the host encounters a character from the original work, this mark can be applied. The more "causes" the target focuses on regarding the host, the more "effects" the host will receive.]
[Example of a "cause": Kouenji Rokusuke was pleased by the beauty he spotted among the bus's many passengers the moment you boarded, and approved of your taste.]
[Example of an "effect": Charisma +5, eyesight +5.]
[The basic stat value for an ordinary human is 10.]
Tennoji Kaede immediately felt refreshed, his vision clear.
An ordinary person's stats were only 10. He'd gained 50% in both charisma and eyesight just by earning a sliver of Kouenji Rokusuke's approval?
No wonder he was the Black House's perfect creation. Birei-go, you're just too good!
Tennoji Kaede subconsciously glanced at the blond man on his left again, but this time, no "effect" appeared.
As expected, the blond man only paid attention to ordinary people for a fleeting moment.
Tennoji Kaede didn't feel the slightest bit disappointed. Once he got into Gao, would he really be short on characters from the original work to help him raise his stats?
Heh heh heh...
After the bus had been moving for a while, passengers began to come and go.
Tennoji Kaede realized that this wasn't a bus exclusively for students. It also picked up ordinary passengers along its route, which was perfectly normal.
They were just trying to make more money. A service that was supposed to be exclusive had lost its exclusivity. Understandable.
After a few stops, he noticed that several future members of First Year Class D had boarded, too. The iconic scene would probably start soon!
"Um, would you mind giving up your priority seat?" A soft, tentative request reached the passengers' ears, and several people's expressions changed when they heard it.
Here it comes! The classic Shijiao opening: "the seat-giving dilemma"!
Tennoji Kaede quietly watched the written scene become reality.
This ridiculous dispute over a seat began when Kushida Kikyo's fake persona came out. She wanted Kouenji Rokusuke to give up the priority seat he was sitting in for an elderly person, but Birei-go refused with the flawless reasoning that "standing makes people tired."
Meanwhile, the protagonist of the original work, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, was sitting toward the back of the bus. In his lofty judgment, he concluded:
Let the elderly suffer a little and give the benefits to the young. It was for the good of society's future. Birei-go was in the right.
Hiss... Recalling this, Tennoji Kaede drew a sharp breath.
He suddenly found himself at a loss for words over Ayanokoji's unusual judgment.
Compared to Ayanokoji's take, Horikita Suzune, who was sitting in the seat next to him and seemed like the heroine, was truly something else!
She genuinely thought that anyone who gave up their seat was an idiot.
A normal person's first thought in that situation would be that they didn't want to give up their seat, but felt too awkward to refuse.
All he could say was that Horikita Suzune was something else.
In reality, the absurd scene on the bus predictably reached an impasse. Kushida Kikyo looked around helplessly, searching for a way to retreat with dignity.
An opportunity! Tennoji Kaede seized the moment.
Getting the system to apply a Causal Mark was actually very simple. A greeting or a self-introduction would probably do the trick.
But he guessed that if he wanted to get more high-quality "effects" later, making a good first impression would matter.
This was a perfect opportunity. If he helped the scheming girl out of a tight spot, Kushida Kikyo would surely remember him for a long time during their school life.
Tennoji Kaede stood up and said to the flustered Kushida Kikyo:
"I boarded pretty early, so my legs have gone numb from sitting. Please." He gestured to the seat, offering it to her.
[Detected Black House 95-point creation: "Kushida Kikyo."]
[Kushida Kikyo's Causal Mark has been applied.]
["Cause": Kushida Kikyo felt a little grateful when you gave up your seat so promptly. She was then amazed by your looks and charisma, and her affection for you shot up.]
["Effect": Charisma +20, disguise ability +50.]
Good grief, she was a world-class actress... No wonder it was her!
Tennoji Kaede's ability to disguise his facial expressions had just increased fivefold over an ordinary person's!
It perfectly concealed what he was really feeling at that moment.
"Thank you." After the incident was over, Kushida Kikyo stood beside Tennoji Kaede, a delicate fragrance surrounding her. "I'm Kushida Kikyo, a new student this year. Thanks so much for helping me out just now... Um, if you don't mind..."
A beautiful girl who introduced herself and acted cute right off the bat was seriously dangerous. Good thing I'm from the Gray Room. I'm not familiar with anyone from the Black House.
"My name is Tennoji Kaede. I'm also a new student at Gao this year. I just happened to be able to help, so don't worry about it, Kushida."
["Cause": Kushida Kikyo's affection for you increased again. The school life she'd been looking forward to after her rebirth now filled her with beautiful fantasies.]
["Effect": Charisma +1, disguise ability +1, memory ability +1.]
It even improved his memory this time?
Was the Haiya System trying to tell Kushida: Stop dreaming about a fresh start. Your old classmate Horikita is sitting in the back. Hurry up and remember?
Heh! Tennoji Kaede chuckled to himself.
Sure enough, who needed the Black House or the White Room when his Gray Room was better than both!
Before you continue