Kiriya fell silent for a moment before finally letting out a small chuckle and shaking his head. "Haaah... You're really strange, Ren," he said with a wry smile. "But I guess that's exactly the kind of answer I'd expect from you."
Ren merely shrugged and reopened his book. He didn't hate romance, but he viewed it from a more realistic—and perhaps slightly skeptical—perspective. However, he failed to notice that nearby, Hana, who was still pretending to read her manga, was secretly listening to their conversation, her face slightly flushed—whether from embarrassment or from feeling challenged by Ren's way of thinking.
'Also… somehow, everything feels boring now, even though I used to find it exciting.'
Ren let out a quiet sigh, his gaze drifting outside the window, watching the vast blue sky stretching over the school grounds. This world was too peaceful. No threats, no enemies lurking in the shadows, no situations that pushed someone beyond their limits. In the past, he had felt passionate, driven to become more than just an ordinary human. But for some reason, as he grew older, everything just… lost its spark.
His mind wandered back to his childhood, when he was obsessed with high-tech superheroes. Iron Man, Super Sentai, Kamen Rider—all those characters filled his imagination with dreams and aspirations that words couldn't fully capture. He wanted to be like them—someone who protected the weak, someone who stood between danger and peace. Every time he watched them fight in advanced armor or wield incredible devices, something inside him stirred—a desire that felt as if it had been ingrained in his soul since birth.
But the real world wasn't like movies or comics. There were no secret evil organizations controlling society. No grand threats requiring a hero to save the day. Just an ordinary, uneventful life. That was why, over time, his passion shifted toward mechanics—because it was the only field where he felt challenged. Even though his understanding far exceeded that of his peers, he chose to hold back. Waiting for the right time.
A small thud on his desk brought him back to reality. Kiriya had placed a drink bottle on the table, his expression inquisitive. "Hey, what's up with you? Spacing out again?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ren turned slightly, looking at his friend with a neutral expression before shaking his head. "It's nothing. Just thinking… about how boring this world is."
Kiriya chuckled. "Hah! That again? You should be enjoying your youth, not brooding over stuff like that."
Ren didn't reply, only offering a faint smile before turning his attention back to his book. Youth, huh? He wondered… was there something out there that could reignite the passion he once felt?
The classroom gradually became livelier as students gathered in their seats. Conversations, laughter, and complaints about schoolwork filled the air, but everything came to an abrupt halt when the bell rang just as their homeroom teacher stepped in. As usual, the teacher adjusted his glasses, preparing to start the lesson. However, before he could speak, something unusual happened.
From the classroom speakers, an unfamiliar voice echoed, disrupting the atmosphere. It wasn't the school staff or a regular announcement—it was the voice of a girl, cheerful yet… unnatural. There was a distortion in her tone, as if it came from somewhere it shouldn't.
The entire class fell silent, all eyes turning toward the speaker above the whiteboard in confusion.
"Ahem... Hello, this is God speaking!" The voice sounded like a child playing around, but there was something about it that sent chills down their spines.
Kiriya, sitting beside Ren, turned to him with a skeptical expression. "Hey, Ren, this has to be some kind of prank, right?" he whispered.
Ren narrowed his eyes, sensing the strangeness creeping into the room. "I don't know, but something feels off," he replied in a low voice.
Before anyone could react further, the classroom was suddenly engulfed in visual distortions—the walls trembled, a radiant white light shimmered around them, and the air grew heavy, as if gravity itself had increased. Some students screamed in panic, while others remained frozen in place, unable to comprehend what was happening.
"Ara~ ara~? Oh, you're starting to notice, huh?" The girl's voice returned, this time with a teasing tone, as if she was enjoying the chaos she had caused. "Don't worry, all of you have been chosen for a grand adventure! So… get ready, because you'll be transported to a new world in... 3... 2... 1!"
Before they could process her words, their bodies suddenly felt weightless—as if gravity had vanished entirely. The classroom they knew dissolved into an endless white void. One by one, their bodies disappeared into the light, until nothing remained but darkness.
And then, everything faded away.
In an infinite white void, a group of students and their homeroom teacher floated weightlessly, their consciousness slowly returning. Some began to move, trying to grasp their surroundings, while others were too overwhelmed to react. The fear that had consumed them moments ago now shifted into deeper confusion.
In the middle of this empty space, a small figure hovered gracefully, clad in a dazzling white dress that emitted a gentle glow. Her golden hair cascaded in soft waves down to her waist, and her large, amethyst eyes gleamed with both mischief and laziness. In her hands, she held a magical tablet that projected information about each individual who had just been transported.
"Hmm… 22 people, including the teacher…" she murmured, her eyes scanning the floating list before her. "No issues, all of them are average humans with standard potential… But—" Her eyes suddenly widened.
Her gaze locked onto a single name on the list. The information that was supposed to display race, status, and abilities was a jumbled mess, as if the system had failed to analyze the individual. She furrowed her brows, tapping on the screen multiple times with her tiny fingers.
"Arclight race? But isn't he just a human? Why can't I scan him?" she muttered, her expression shifting from curiosity to frustration. She tapped the screen again, trying to retrieve more data, but Ren Takamura's information remained distorted, unreadable.
After several seconds of trying, she finally let out a long sigh and flopped backward into the air as if lying on an invisible sofa. "Aah… whatever, this is too much of a headache," she mumbled lazily, then casually tossed her magical tablet into the void, where it vanished in a burst of light.
"It's not like they'll change this world significantly anyway," she continued, stretching as if preparing for a nap. "Just like before—defeat the Demon King, then I'll send them back home. Simple!"
With a snap of her fingers, golden magic circles appeared beneath each student, glowing and slowly rotating. An unseen wind swirled around them, signaling that the transfer process had begun.
Without understanding what was happening, the students could only glance at each other with tense expressions. However, among them, there was only one person who showed no fear or surprise at all. Ren Takamura remained silent, his face expressionless, but in his mind, he had already begun analyzing every possible outcome of this event.
And then, in an instant, golden light enveloped them—
And the world changed.