Living with a Magical Girl, but as a Monster Executive

Cong Yu said that, for all sorts of reasons, he did not sleep much every day... but he still really wanted to sleep until he woke naturally.

And there were exams too. Although his grades were decent and he did not particularly hate exams, he still found them troublesome.

Troublesome things were troublesome things. Saying whether you hated them or not would not make them any less troublesome.

Amid Cong Yu's sighs, the two soon arrived at the school gates.

Yaochuan Guang immediately looked around curiously, observing the school she would be attending from now on... How should she put it?

The words "Wind City High School" were engraved into the marble on either side of the gate, and cherry blossom trees planted inside could be seen from the entrance.

It looked exactly like a stereotypical Japanese high school.

Countless students around them, some excited and others as dispirited-looking as Cong Yu, entered the campus in twos and threes.

"Good morning."

The Discipline Committee members standing at the gates greeted different students, and chatted briefly whenever they encountered someone they knew.

Naturally, quite a few new students were drawn to Cong Yu and Yaochuan Guang.

In fact, more of them were looking at Cong Yu.

Well, if they had to describe it, Yaochuan Guang was a beautiful young girl, while Cong Yu beside her... was a handsome Chinese-looking boy with long hair tied back.

In a place like a school, the latter was naturally far more shocking.

Still, Yaochuan Guang realized that Cong Yu seemed to be fairly well-known at school.

"Morning, Cong Yu... Why do you still look so listless?"

A student wearing a Discipline Committee armband stopped Cong Yu. With a sigh, he helped straighten Cong Yu's collar and warned him, "There may not be an explicit rule, but if boys keep their hair long, they should tie it up, right?"

Cong Yu was speechless. He slapped the other's hand away and adjusted his casual clothes himself... The school rules did not require uniforms, so he was naturally wearing a T-shirt and jacket.

The T-shirt was some merchandise he had bought at some unknown time. On the front, black brushstroke characters danced like dragons and phoenixes: [Monster!], while the back read: (Exorcise!)

It was comfortable, so he wore it often.

The male student's words also drew the attention of the other new students. They all looked toward Cong Yu in amazement, wondering how he had managed to grow hair "down to his waist."

Cong Yu knew his outfit was not very formal. A T-shirt and casual pants made him look less like a student.

But he was used to being lazy and truly could not be bothered.

"Yo, morning, Cong Yu... Huh?"

Another passing student seemed to notice Yaochuan Guang, then gave Cong Yu a knowing grin that all men understood.

Then, amid Cong Yu's sigh, he walked away.

"Well then, I'll go report to the Academic Affairs Office first... Oh, right, Cong Yu, which class are you in? You should come hang out in my class often."

In response to Yaochuan Guang's question, Cong Yu walked with her toward the school building and said, "I'll take you to the Academic Affairs Office... I'm in Class A. What about you?"

Hopefully, he would not be in the same class as Yaochuan Guang.

"Huh? I'm in Class A too! What a coincidence."

"..." I'd rather not have that kind of coincidence...

Sighing inwardly, Cong Yu could vaguely sense that his high school life might not be peaceful.

Young Minato

Each grade at Wind City High School had five classes—A, B, C, D, and E. Aside from the ratio of male to female students, assignments were random upon enrollment.

Under such circumstances, the odds of Yaochuan Guang being assigned to Class A, where Cong Yu was, were not absurdly low, but they definitely were not high either.

Being assigned together really could be called fate. But Cong Yu would rather that kind of fate had never existed in the first place.

From the beginning, Cong Yu's goal had not been to live some exciting and unusual school life, but to live an ordinary, normal daily life.

He did not necessarily need to disappear into the crowd, but he did not want too many connections to the world of the "Inner Side."

Then, depending on the situation, he would see whether he returned to his old profession.

Or perhaps he would spend a long time on the "Surface Side" of the world until Cong Yu himself grew bored.

When he entered the classroom, noise and chatter hit him head-on without question. That was only natural.

Everyone was talking about what had happened during the break, while some had already begun playing the role of their "new persona for the new semester."

Cong Yu ignored the noisy surroundings and casually tossed the bag in his hand onto his seat.

This seat was the legendary protagonist's seat... minus one row.

The "protagonist's seat" in front of Cong Yu, the last seat by the window, had originally been occupied.

But it seemed that student had died during a monster attack.

That showed that not just anyone could sit in the protagonist's seat, just as one could not casually get Guan Yu tattooed on their body.

Come to think of it, Yaochuan Guang transferring into my class was practically inevitable...

It was precisely because Class A had an empty seat that she had transferred here.

Realizing that, Cong Yu sighed as he looked at the empty seat in front of him... Still, to be fair, Yaochuan Guang suited the role of a protagonist quite well.

She really was as dazzling and eye-catching as the sun.

As Cong Yu thought that...

"Yo, Cong Yu!"

A greeting came from his left. Cong Yu turned and saw a blond-haired guy.

This was his... friend?

How should he put it? This friend had the standard image of the "best bro" in many anime—namely, blond hair.

Cong Yu had always thought blond-haired men were potential cuckolds, and quite a few blond-haired men in this world were cuckold enthusiasts too.

Of course, that did not include Yaochuan Guang... This stereotype only applied to men.

Thinking such outrageous nonsense to himself, Cong Yu nodded, counting it as a response to the other's greeting.

Still, this friend of his always gave off the aura of a sunny young man and all-around good guy. He did not feel like a cuckold at all...

That might have had something to do with his spiky hedgehog hair.

"Good morning, Minato Namikaze."

Cong Yu greeted him for the time being... Yes, this friend of his was a handsome guy named Minato, with Namikaze as his surname.

He also looked exactly like Minato Namikaze himself.

Except he was an utterly ordinary civilian with no mastery of magic, so naturally he could not use things like Flying Raijin or Rasengan.

Last year, after learning that name, Cong Yu had briefly suspected this world was a crossover anime setting, so he deliberately investigated.

He searched for alternate-world counterparts who resembled characters from other anime that might exist in this world.

But Cong Yu had failed.

Perhaps it was because he had not watched that much anime in the past, or perhaps the "Minato Namikaze" before him was an exception.

Minato Namikaze was the only one familiar enough to stand out.

Even Kushina Uzumaki did not exist.

Still, that was probably a good thing... Otherwise, one day Cong Yu might see someone like Yoshino Takemura or Masaomi Arichi at school.

With a name like Cong Yu, things would become somewhat awkward one way or another.

"Ahaha, you still have that habit of calling everyone by their full names."

Minato Namikaze smiled gently. Then, very quickly, he quieted down and looked toward the homeroom teacher entering the classroom.

Class A's homeroom teacher was a pink-haired loli.

Because of her hair color, Cong Yu had once worried that this homeroom teacher, who liked drinking alcohol, might have been given Madoka's script.

After all, he had black hair!

But later, he realized he had been thinking about it wrong from the start. Middle-aged people did not become magical girls.

"Everyone, quiet down a little."

The pink-haired loli homeroom teacher spoke as she stood atop a pile of discarded books, making herself taller than the podium. She looked over the classroom as it gradually quieted down.

"I don't know whether everyone has heard, but starting today, our class will be welcoming a transfer student."

As soon as she said that, the students immediately began clamoring.

"Woohoo! Is it a cute girl?"

"A mysterious transfer student! Is it a handsome guy?"

"If it's a handsome guy, Class A already has Cong Yu and Minato. Add another, and the other classes will cry, hahaha—"

"Is he a cute little boy?"

"Eww..."

"..." The loli homeroom teacher ignored the commotion and informed the person outside the door, "Yaochuan, you may come in now."

Then, under Cong Yu's dead-fish stare, Yaochuan Guang entered the classroom.

"Wow! It really is a girl!"

"Yes! Yaochuan—"

"Great, everyone in class likes Cong Yu. Maybe Yaochuan will go blind and end up liking us."

"That is way too pathetic! Wuwuwu—"

"..." In response to the clamor below, the homeroom teacher continued the process. "Please introduce yourself, Yaochuan. I hope everyone gets along well over the next two years."

Then Yaochuan Guang, who was curiously looking down at the loli homeroom teacher, wrote her name on the blackboard. "I'm Yaochuan Guang! Please take care of me!"

The classroom immediately erupted again.

The loli homeroom teacher was already used to this situation. She pointed at the seat in front of Cong Yu. "You can sit there for now. Cong Yu's grades are very good, so if there is anything you don't understand, you can ask him."

As she walked over, Yaochuan Guang stared at Cong Yu in surprise... She had truly not expected his grades to be good.

Seeing how much he seemed to hate going to school on the way here, she had thought, Young Cong Yu's grades probably aren't great...

"Ruaa—"

Yaochuan Guang sat down, stuck out her tongue, and made a face at Cong Yu. All she received in return was a speechless look.

"Alright, I hope everyone gets along well in the new year, helps Yaochuan fit into the group, and enjoys a happy school life."

"Yaochuan's textbooks have not been issued yet. We may not officially start classes today, but if necessary, I hope someone will lend her theirs."

After saying that, the loli homeroom teacher turned and left the classroom... She had no class today, so she was probably heading back to the office to drink.

Was that really alright for a teacher?

As Cong Yu pondered this, the classroom had already become noisy. Yaochuan Guang sat where she was, looking eagerly as she waited for someone to come talk to her...

But no one did.

That was right. Although everyone had been noisy before, cheering and seemingly welcoming Yaochuan Guang, things were different when it came to a transfer student.

Cong Yu rested his chin on his hand, watching classmates clustered together in twos and threes as they chatted, along with the transfer student whom no one paid attention to at all.

She had been temporarily isolated... Yaochuan Guang.

She's Really Not a Tsundere

Even though Yaochuan Guang was a beautiful girl, as a transfer student, she had still been temporarily isolated... Temporarily.

After all, she was pretty and fairly outgoing, so she would be able to fit into the group eventually.

That was certain... But for now, it was still not possible.

If Yaochuan Guang did not take the initiative to talk to others, it would take a long time for her to join a small circle first, then integrate into the larger group.

And judging by the looks of it, Yaochuan Guang still had the shyness expected of someone her age, so this was probably inevitable.