(Brain storage area!)
Inside a bus.
"Hm? Where is this? Am I still in my own country? Where the hell am I?"
Amakusa U was completely bewildered. Who knew how he'd ended up here?
One moment, he'd been sitting on the toilet at home; the next, he was on a bus.
All he'd done was play a round of Naruto while on the toilet. What was this, a crime against the heavens?
Fortunately, Amakusa U was a longtime reader of a certain fruit-themed webnovel platform, so he was familiar with this sort of thing. Transmigration—it was nothing new.
Amakusa U calmly rummaged through the original owner's backpack and found an admission notice.
Advanced Nurturing...
Oh no, had he really transmigrated into the world of Classroom of the Elite? Amakusa U was sweating buckets.
At least the original owner was also named Amakusa U. As for how he got that name...
His father's surname was Amakusa, and his mother's name was U. That explained it, right?
There was also a phone in the backpack. Thankfully, it unlocked with facial recognition. He hadn't thought much of it, but the moment he unlocked it, he was stunned.
Every photo of himself was of an award certificate. There were certificates for math competitions, physics competitions, and all sorts of other things.
Fortunately, he clearly remembered all the knowledge covered in them. Unfortunately...
Amakusa U let out a deep sigh. He'd only just passed his graduate school entrance exams, damn it!
As he thought this, Amakusa U put the phone away. There wasn't much point in fiddling with it any further. After all, Classroom of the Elite used phones specially issued by the school.
He rummaged around some more, wanting to see what else was in the backpack.
There didn't seem to be anything strange inside, just the things a student would normally have, except...
"This is unbelievable... He actually has something like this? Just who was this guy?"
But all he could do now was accept reality. Amakusa U looked around.
An elderly woman got on the bus. The familiar scene startled Amakusa U.
Well, he'd been overthinking it. Plenty of people stood up to give the old woman their seats.
There was no yellow-haired girl, nor any vain, muscular man.
Clearly, this wasn't that bus.
Amakusa U let out a breath, but quickly sucked it back in.
Someone was sitting beside him, but that wasn't the point. Was it because the person next to him was a girl?
No, that wasn't the point either.
The point was, there was something above the girl's head!
A few large characters were clearly written above her head.
[...expand]
What was this?
Amakusa U was puzzled. He instinctively wanted to tap the girl on the head, but stopped himself.
"Um... classmate, I think there's something on your head." Amakusa U decided to make an excuse before reaching out.
"Hm? Is there?" The girl stopped reading and began fixing her hair.
"Over there. No, not that side. The left. No, no, the right. Sigh, let me do it."
Plan accomplished.
Amakusa U gave a sly smile. Before the girl could say anything, he stood up and pretended to fix her hair, while actually trying to touch the text.
But something unexpected happened. His hand passed right through the words. He couldn't touch them, and nothing happened.
What was going on? What was this thing?
Though Amakusa U was still confused, all he could do was sit back down.
"Thank you. Classmate, what's your name?"
"Hm? I'm Amakusa U." Amakusa U casually answered the girl, his thoughts still focused on that text.
"I'm Shiina Hiyori."
"Oh... Hm? What did you say your name was?" Amakusa U suddenly came to his senses.
"...Shiina Hiyori. Is there something wrong with my name?" Shiina shifted a little farther inside.
"Ahaha, it's nothing. It just sounds a lot like the name of a friend of mine." Amakusa U tried to hide his embarrassment.
"Is that so? What a coincidence." It was obvious Shiina didn't believe him.
"It's true! Her name's Mashiro Shiina!"
"Sure, sure."
"..."
Silence settled over them again. Amakusa U could only sigh. More than anything, he wanted to know what was going on with the text above Shiina's head.
Then the turning point arrived.
The bus suddenly jolted violently, and the book in Shiina's hands slipped to the floor.
Amakusa U picked it up and handed it back to Shiina, catching sight of the title.
He'd read this book before.
"Oh? This one? I've read it." Amakusa U said it casually.
At that, Shiina perked up. She really wanted to discuss it with Amakusa U.
Shiina had always wanted a friend who liked books.
"This book is mainly about human nature. The criminal exploits people's weaknesses to commit crimes," Amakusa U offered.
"I think so too. The detective who solves the case at the end is amazing. Even with so little evidence, he still managed to reason it out correctly. And another thing..."
Once Shiina started talking about books, she couldn't stop.
Amakusa U simply fell quiet and listened. People often had a lot to say about the things they loved.
After talking for quite a while, Shiina finally realized she'd been doing all the talking. Her cheeks turned a little red.
"Sorry, I got a little carried away."
"It's okay. We're on the bus, so it's not like there's anything else to do, right?" Amakusa U shrugged to show that he didn't mind.
Seeing that Shiina was still a little embarrassed, Amakusa U took the initiative and started talking about the book with her. Shiina reined herself in a little, too.
She couldn't do all the talking, after all, so Shiina made herself pause now and then to hear Amakusa U's thoughts about the book.
The two of them chatted like that for a long, long time, until they forgot the time and their surroundings.
Some of the other passengers noticed them: students wearing the same uniform, white-collar workers in suits, and a frail old woman.
Just as they were deep in conversation, Amakusa U felt something strange in his hand. A pair of glasses slowly materialized there out of thin air, leaving him stunned for a moment.
Seeing Amakusa U freeze, Shiina asked with concern, "Amakusa, what's wrong?"
"Shiina, can't you see these?" Amakusa U waved the glasses in his hand.
"What? Oh, Amakusa, you can do magic?"
So that was how it worked. Shiina couldn't see the glasses until they had fully materialized.
Without hesitation, Amakusa U put them on and pushed them up the bridge of his nose with his index and middle fingers.
His ability: Super Deduction.
Just as he'd expected, the information above Shiina's head [...expand] changed.
[Shiina Hiyori
Gray hair, purple eyes, over-the-knee socks, Aquarius, bookish girl, airhead.
Birthday: January 21,
Measurements:...
Family relations:...
A quiet girl who enjoys solitude, a regular at the library, and especially fond of mystery novels.
Recent activities: Will enter Class C after enrolling and join the Tea Ceremony Club.]
"Amakusa? What is it?" Shiina asked in confusion.
After putting on the glasses, Amakusa U had stared at Shiina without saying a word, leaving her puzzled. Had her opinion been too hard to understand?
Clearly, Shiina hadn't considered that possibility. She only tilted her head in confusion.
Suddenly, the bus took a sharp turn.
Amakusa U was focused on examining the information and lost his balance, falling toward the side.
Fortunately, he braced himself with his hand in time and didn't fall, but...
"Amakusa... you're too close..."
Shiina blushed and held her book up to shield herself. Wasn't this moving a little too fast? They were only book friends.
Only then did Amakusa U realize how close his face was to Shiina's.
So cute—no, what was he doing? He wasn't a pervert!
"Sorry, Shiina. I didn't mean to. I lost my balance when the bus turned..."
"It's okay... As long as you're not hurt."
Shiina's voice sounded a little unnatural. It was clear the incident had shaken her.
As a well-bred young lady, she'd never been so close to a boy, face-to-face, before.