The Bus Where Dreams Began

April was the season of blooming cherry blossoms, and also the season when new students enrolled.

Tatsuya Sakuya sat by the bus window, watching the cherry blossoms streak past outside to pass the time.

He had been transported to this world for some time now. By controlling his scores, he had received an acceptance notice from Class 1-D.

Advanced Nurturing University.

The appeal of this university was that as long as one graduated successfully from Class A, nearly any career goal could be achieved.

But as a transmigrator who already knew the original story, Sakuya understood all too well the cruel reality of this school.

This was no paradise. It was clearly a dark forest where the strong preyed on the weak, built from points. From the moment they stepped through its gates, everyone became a chip laid out on the gambling table.

Still, what did that have to do with him?

His reason for coming here was simple.

In this world, he would exploit the information gap to earn enough points, enjoy a comfortable university life, and perhaps have an easygoing romance along the way.

The bus came to a stop.

An elderly woman with a head full of silver hair slowly climbed aboard, leaning on a cane.

Many people stood in the bus, yet not one of them took the initiative to offer her a seat.

Meanwhile, a particularly eye-catching blond young man was already seated in the priority seat beside the old woman.

Kouenji Rokusuke.

Sakuya glanced at Kouenji.

Despite clearly possessing terrifying physical abilities, he sat there with one leg crossed over the other, carefully grooming his hair, turning a deaf ear to the old woman beside him and the criticism from the surrounding passengers.

Was he pretending not to hear? Or was he simply self-centered?

Probably both.

"Hey, you brat!"

A middle-aged man's furious roar suddenly erupted through the bus.

A man in a suit with a briefcase tucked under his arm, looking like a typical office worker, pointed at Kouenji and shouted.

"Can't you see an elderly person standing there? What kind of person hogs a priority seat meant for the elderly? Are young people these days really this badly raised?!"

The office worker sprayed spittle as he spoke, looking ready to devour Kouenji at any moment.

That condescending expression looked less like an overflowing sense of justice and more like he had found an outlet for the stress from his everyday work.

Kouenji continued looking into his mirror, not even intending to acknowledge the office worker.

"You damned brat, can't you understand human speech?!" Seeing that he was being ignored, the office worker raised his voice.

The atmosphere shifted.

"Um..."

A sweet voice broke the deadlock.

An orange-haired girl with a cute face and a gentle aura stepped forward.

Kushida Kikyou.

"Sir, please don't be angry. I can give my seat to Grandma." She tried to calm the situation with a smile.

Sakuya narrowed his eyes as he appraised the "angel" before him.

Standing up in a situation like this certainly took great courage, but that damned yasashii attitude... Should he say that this really was an "angel" with a story?

"This isn't about whether someone gives up their seat anymore!" The office worker refused to let it go. "It's about this brat's attitude! Sakura Nation is being ruined by trash like him, who don't understand respecting the elderly and caring for the young!"

The situation fell into a stalemate.

"Young people these days really are worse with every generation..."

Seeing that no one stepped forward to argue with him, the office worker began criticizing young people with even greater vigor.

So noisy.

Tatsuya Sakuya rubbed his temple, his last shred of patience finally exhausted.

He had not wanted to meddle, but this noise was already seriously ruining his mood.

Ignoring the raging office worker, he raised the latest Fruit phone in his hand to eye level, aiming its camera at the man.

"Sir." His voice was calm, his manner condescending.

The office worker's shouting expression froze. The sudden approach of the tall young man and the camera right in front of him made him nervously swallow hard. He retreated half a step, his heel bumping into the handrail behind him.

The office worker's voice instantly lost half its force. "What are you filming? Are you trying to defend him too?!"

"No, no. I have no interest in who sits in that seat." Tatsuya Sakuya slowed his speech. "I merely wish to remind you of something."

"Under Sakura Nation's laws, making rude remarks or engaging in other conduct that disrupts passengers on public transportation may result in detention or a minor fine."

The office worker froze, then pulled out his phone and searched for it. There really was such a regulation.

"Furthermore," Sakuya said, waving the phone in his hand, "you just insulted a female university student after losing control of your emotions. If this video gets uploaded online..."

He deliberately paused.

"Your company name is printed on the badge attached to your clothes, isn't it, sir? If you end up trending online tomorrow, you wouldn't want to lose this job, would you?"

Though he spoke with polite honorifics, every word struck straight at the heart.

How did he know legal provisions so clearly? If that video really spread...

The office worker saw flashes of his wife's furious face, his colleagues' mockery, a future without promotion, and his family falling apart.

He stared fixedly at the young man before him, swallowing as a layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead at some point. Instinctively, he used his briefcase to cover the company badge on his chest, as though it were something shameful.

This brat was no hot-blooded young man. He was a complete lunatic!

"Y-You... don't try to scare me with that thing. I wasn't raised to be frightened." The man put up a brave front, but his voice had begun to tremble.

"Then you may choose to take a gamble." Sakuya continued smiling. "See whether teaching young people a lesson matters more to you, or your job."

Ding.

The bus happened to arrive at a stop.

As though he had grasped his final lifeline, the office worker hurried off the bus without hesitation.

The doors closed, and calm returned to the bus.

Tatsuya Sakuya slipped his phone into his pocket. Just as he was about to close his eyes and rest, a citrus fragrance drifted before him.

He opened his eyes and saw that a girl with long golden-orange hair had somehow appeared beside his seat. She wore the same Advanced Nurturing school uniform, with both hands naturally held behind her back and her body slightly leaning forward. Her clear, bright eyes shimmered with undisguised curiosity and admiration.

Ichinose Honami.

"You handled that beautifully just now. Since we're wearing the same uniform, we should be classmates."

Ichinose's brows curved as she gave a radiant, sunlike smile.

"I'm Ichinose Honami from Class 1-B. What about you?"

"Tatsuya Sakuya. Class 1-D."

His expression remained composed as he leaned comfortably against the padded seatback, without the slightest flustered reaction.

"Sakuya-kun, then? I'll remember that."

Ichinose blinked playfully.

"You resolved the conflict in such a clever way and protected someone else. You're a very kind person."

Kind?

Sakuya chuckled inwardly.

Still, if making someone break out in a cold sweat counted as kindness, then perhaps he really was a great philanthropist.

"You flatter me," Sakuya replied blandly.

After some brief small talk, Sakuya closed his eyes.

At the very back of the bus, a chestnut-haired boy with an intensely robotic air silently took in everything that had just happened through the reflection in the window.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

Without any unnecessary movements, he had swiftly reached the optimal solution.

Expressionless, he withdrew his gaze.

The bus finally arrived at its terminal station: Advanced Nurturing University.

Sakuya opened his eyes, slipped his phone into his pocket, and followed the crowd off the bus.

The gears of fate began to turn. Tatsuya Sakuya's life was only just beginning.