Is This Really the Church of Reality?

"My name is You En Tiandai, a transmigrator. Age? If you ask, I'm forever eighteen.

I live in a small villa district near Shimokitazawa Station, unmarried.

I work from home, eat one meal a day, and at most buy breakfast and head back before 8 AM.

I never spend money on gacha pulls, and I only sip cola lightly.

The world is cruel, so I slack off. I sleep at 11 AM, wake at 5 AM, ensuring a full 18 hours of rest.

Before bed, I drink a bottle of iced cola, then do half an hour of piston exercise before sleeping, which lets me slumber soundly until dawn, like a baby, never leaving fatigue or stress for the next day.

The Plague Doctor says I'm normal."

You En leaned against the window. He was on the bus heading to Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, mentally rehearsing a self-introduction he might need.

A female voice drowned out all the noise in the carriage, along with the engine's hum.

"Don't you think you should give up your seat?"

A chestnut-haired girl with a rather impressive bust said this to a golden-haired young man.

You En looked up, his eyes brightening slightly as he perked up. He'd been unsure from the school's name, but with Kushida Kikyo's voice ringing out, he could now confirm with 100% certainty that this was the Classroom of the Elite world.

Next up...

He'd just sit back and watch the show.

You En leaned against his seat. He knew this was a test arranged by the school, observing their reactions, likely with some scoring involved.

But so what? Play the good student and give up his seat?

No need for that.

He'd only come to this school out of curiosity, to see if the world he'd transmigrated into was Classroom of the Elite. He might drop out after a few months.

Ever since his transmigration all these years, relying on his old web novel skills, he'd entered the light novel industry and become a master of the craft. From now on, he didn't need to worry about survival.

Facing Kushida Kikyo's challenge, the so-called Handsome Brother, Koenji Rokusuke, grinned, lifting his head without moving, as if too lazy to respond.

At that moment, a woman in an OL uniform standing beside him spoke up, "Sitting there like that, can't you see this old lady is troubled?"

The attention of everyone else in the carriage focused entirely on this group, an invisible pressure bearing down on Koenji Rokusuke.

"What a crazy question. Why must I give up my seat to this old woman?"

Koenji Rokusuke's tone was light, but he emphasized the word "must" slightly.

"What do you think?"

Just as You En was watching the commotion with interest, the black-haired, straight-haired girl sitting by the window on his right suddenly spoke up.

"Me?"

You En answered honestly, "I'm looking at a high school girl with a nice figure."

As soon as he said this, the girl's cool gaze turned a bit sharper.

"Are all you boys like this?"

"I am. If you want to draw a conclusion, you'll need to interact with more people. Don't generalize from one example."

You En looked at Horikita Suzune, whose face was growing colder by the second, almost afraid she'd freeze him with a cold. He coughed, "Alright, you just asked what I think? I'll tell you. Want to hear it?"

Horikita Suzune didn't respond, just glared at him.

"This is nothing but a farce, a play."

Horikita hummed in acknowledgment.

You En continued, "Handsome Brother is sitting in a priority seat. There's an elderly person who seems to have trouble moving. He didn't voluntarily give up his seat, which means he's already thought about it. Not giving it up is his choice."

"Wait... you're calling that guy Handsome Brother?"

"Isn't it fitting?"

"Your skill at giving nicknames is as bad as your skill at checking out girls."

Horikita Suzune jabbed, "So what? Are you saying that Handsome Brother isn't wrong?"

"Where's the right or wrong? If you don't want to do something, you don't do it. What's the big deal? It might just put you on the low ground morally, and getting criticized is unavoidable."

You En shook his head, "The key is the approach. That well-meaning girl, more than helping people, seems to be showing off her persona.

She could have spoken quietly with him, asking if he was willing to give up the seat, "If you're unwilling, you could ask some of the other students who seem easier to talk to."

With that, Horikita Suzune understood instantly.

"I see. You mean if she really wanted to find a seat for the old woman, that... Handsome blonde wasn't a good choice, and her method was wrong too—not choosing to communicate, but trying to pressure him through atmosphere..."

You En didn't answer. He'd been prone to motion sickness since childhood, and reincarnating hadn't changed that fact. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat.

"I'm tired. Think it over yourself."

"Huh?"

Horikita Suzune blinked. Was this just an excuse to avoid talking to her?

Seeing that his complexion really did look somewhat unwell, she turned her gaze back to the scene.

"Everyone, please listen to me for a moment. Is there anyone willing to give up their seat for this elderly woman? Anyone at all. Please."

Before talking with You En, Horikita Suzune might have thought, like everyone else in the carriage, that she was speaking out of courage, determination, and consideration.

As he had said, maybe there was some of that.

But the fundamental issue was that even now, including this plea for help to everyone in the carriage, this was all a scenario the short chestnut-haired girl had anticipated.

She knew from the start that pressuring the blonde through atmosphere or morality would most likely fail.

Of course, if it succeeded, all the better. If it didn't, it still achieved her goal.

Under this atmospheric pressure, a female working adult eventually stood up to offer her seat.

The chestnut-haired girl's helpful, courageous image was surely etched into the minds of the students here. It would probably become a talking point spreading through the campus in the days to come.

"..."

Horikita Suzune's head ached a little.

Before school had even started, just on the way there, she'd encountered such a calculating student. What exactly was this school trying to do?

"Why recruit students like this?"

"You still haven't figured it out?"

You En opened one eye. After resting a moment with his eyes closed, his motion sickness had eased slightly.

"What?"

"Why are you only thinking about Handsome Brother and Kind-Hearted Sister?"

"Then who else—"

Horikita Suzune furrowed her brow. She vaguely grasped something, but couldn't quite pin it down.

You En smiled. "Think it over slowly. Thinking is also a kind of enjoyment. The conclusions you reach yourself are always better than what others give you."

Horikita Suzune's brow relaxed. She nodded, her gaze no longer so sharp.

"I agree with that."

In the seat behind the two, directly behind You En, a calm, indifferent boy with vacant eyes—Ayanokoji Kiyotaka—listened to their entire conversation.

He understood what You En meant in an instant.

The chestnut-haired girl thought she had the whole picture, but she hadn't realized that the OL woman was school staff, likely sent to test the blonde.

In fact, not just her—the old woman and the working adult who finally gave up her seat were all personnel arranged by the school.

Because before coming here, Ayanokoji had investigated. This bus, from its starting point, was already in a non-residential area. Within five hundred li of the school, there were no unrelated parties.

Hmm, interesting.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at You En ahead of him. He himself had some prior intel to guess this much. What about the other guy?

Should he get in touch with him more?

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka pondered how he might strike up a connection.

"The bus is about to arrive. Terminal stop: Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. All staff and enrolled students, please disembark."

You En stood up first, quickly moving to stand by the door.

Horikita Suzune glanced at You En, lowered her head, then looked up at him again before rising and following.

Ayanokoji watched the two. He wasn't in a hurry. He'd learned quite a bit about tracking, so he wasn't worried about losing them.

Besides, as long as they were in the same school, there would be chances to meet again.

After the others got off, only four people remained on the bus.

The driver, as if unable to see those three people, restarted the bus.

A woman in an office lady uniform plopped down onto a priority seat, crossed her legs, and lit a slender cigarette for herself.

"How many of them do you think will survive?"

The office lady chuckled softly. The woman sitting next to her, also in business attire, smirked and gave her thigh a firm pinch.

"How many D-Class years have made it to the end?"

The OL woman expertly slapped the other's hand away. "Come on, it can't be a total wipeout. At least the first-years should be able to tough it out, right?"

The businesswoman wasn't annoyed. She just said calmly, "You really think everyone's as lucky as your year? Having a benevolent top-tier carry thirty percent of the entire grade to graduation? Let me tell you, in this school's countless generations of students, not a single D-Class has ever survived to the end. And in the school's history, it's common for all four classes—including A-Class—to be completely wiped out. Graduating from this school, or even withdrawing safely, is nowhere near that simple."

The OL woman fell silent. As a graduate from the previous year, she hadn't relied on herself for most of it. A classmate—one who couldn't even be described as a mere genius—had basically carried her through to graduation. She had some idea of the difficulty, but she'd never truly faced it. She'd always been protected, just following orders.

"..."

The old woman, who had remained silent the whole time, gazed through the window. Her sky-blue eyes focused on the back of the boy that Horikita Suzune had just caught up to.

"Maybe," she said, "a 'miracle' is about to arrive."