It was twilight, and the sunlight was just right.
Shuchiin Academy.
A gentle breeze caressed the new leaves on the treetops. The sunlight was sliced into pieces by the swaying foliage, leaving a pool of shimmering, fragmented gold on the ground.
"Gomen, gomen, Mr. Principal..."
"Hai, hai, hai, I will definitely be there before four."
Wearing a classic Japanese Onmyoji's Kariginu, Roser responded with a sincere tone while hitching up the troublesome trouser legs of his outfit and walking briskly.
"How could that be? That is a request from Shinomiya-sama. Even if I have to risk my life, I, your humble servant, will not hesitate."
"I'm almost there. That's all for now, Mr. Principal. Let's talk more when we meet. I'll be rude and hang up first..."
As soon as Roser hung up the phone, his face instantly collapsed.
"Psychopath. It's just a job to put food on the table, are you playing for keeps? The original protagonist barely survived that, an entire class nearly died out, and you want me to serve as some Folklore teacher? Like hell I will."
I finally managed to transmigrate, and into a 2D world full of various anime heroines, no less!!
Which bastard mixed in supernatural horror elements?
Roser felt a heartache so intense he couldn't breathe.
He had only awakened his past life's wisdom half an hour ago.
When he first saw familiar names like Toyonozaki, Sobu High, and Shuchiin in his memories...
At that moment, he had even thought of names for his future children with his wives.
As a dignified transmigrator, even without a cheat, he had the advantage of foresight.
Just predicting the dissolution of the Shinomiya Group—how much value would that hold?
Even if others ate the meat, him picking up some scraps and cold leftovers would still be a massive profit.
Moreover, in this life, he was considered a talented youth.
In his early twenties, he already owned his own paranormal detective agency in the city center.
Relying on psychology, basic materials science, chemistry... and other professional skills.
Since his debut three years ago, he had handled countless cases, such as the sound of marbles at midnight, ghostly shadows at night, and so on. He had even earned the reputation of the "Abe no Seimei of the Reiwa Era" in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
Now he had awakened his past life wisdom; his future was limitless.
But then you tell me this world has the Himuro Mansion, the Saeki House, Mt. Hikami, and Minakami Village?
What a scam! How has humanity in this broken world managed to survive until now without going extinct?
Oh, and living next door to him is a golden-eyed beautiful girl with extremely high looks, the heroine of an anime named Miko Yotsuya.
In that original anime worldview, the world is filled with terrifying vengeful spirits invisible to ordinary people—the kind that drains a bar of sanity points just by looking at them.
And once they discover someone can see them, the boundary between life and death is broken, and they can eat that person.
So, Roser didn't even dare to show any abnormalities now.
To avoid the vengeful spirit big brothers that might exist around him mistakenly thinking he could see them and gnawing him directly.
Sure enough.
The more one knows, the more painful it is.
What was even more of a pain in the ass was a big order Roser accepted a few days ago.
The remuneration was a full ten million yen, worth half a year of his revenue.
And the request was simple: go to the aristocratic school, Shuchiin Academy, to serve as a Folklore teacher.
One class a week would suffice; the main task was to investigate accidental death incidents.
Even as a staunch atheist, Roser would still investigate clearly before accepting an order. Relying on professional-grade forensic autopsies and on-site trace analysis, he confirmed they really were all accidental accidents.
So he accepted it decisively.
Then... there was no then.
Because after awakening, he discovered a place name in his memory... called Yomiyama.
Hiss~
Roser felt his whole body itch.
As a senior otaku in his past life, how could he not have watched Another?
The story of Another is simple.
In 1998, which is more than twenty years ago in the current timeline, the male protagonist transferred to Yomiyama North Middle School.
Then, through a series of events, he discovered that the legend of [The Substitute] was real.
Basically, a group of idiots couldn't accept the accidental death of a friend, so they pretended he was still alive and prepared everything for him.
The students messed around blindly, and the teachers followed suit.
This resulted in the completion of some bizarre ritual; something really did come back from death and mixed into Class 3.
To correct the boundary between life and death, anyone related to Class 3 began to die accidentally.
Unless the class chose to treat a certain person as if they didn't exist, restoring the number of living people to the correct amount, only then could normalcy return.
The second method is to kill the dead person mixed in among the living, which can also end everything.
And after the protagonist's group had almost died out, they used this method and killed the dead person.
Yes, it was the protagonist's aunt.
But looking at it now, things haven't ended...
The curse has transferred, and it is no longer limited to Year 3 Class 3; it has run all the way from Yomiyama to Tokyo.
Damn it, no wonder there have been so many accidental deaths of students in Tokyo in recent years.
"Wait... in the contract, it asks me to start in Year 1 Class 3. They aren't waiting for me there, are they?"
Suddenly, Roser noticed the key point.
As everyone knows, the teacher is also a member of Class 3. Wasn't the dead person in Yomiyama the teacher?
Those big shots were clearly killing two birds with one stone.
If he's a charlatan, he deserves to die.
If he's a real paranormal expert, they drag him into the water too, not fearing that he won't work his hardest.
Roser suddenly felt the world was too dark.
Can't there be a little sincerity?
Is he the kind of person who has the ability to save others but refuses?
But isn't this because he has no ability?
And what's wrong with charlatans? do charlatans deserve to die?
He also studied psychology bitterly to solve the psychological problems of those aunties, okay?
If they switched to a psychiatrist, the price wouldn't be much cheaper.
Anyway...
Can't afford to provoke it, can't save them, farewell!
Just as Roser made up his mind to run away and absolutely not touch this weird stuff.
His vision suddenly blurred.
[Ding~, Source Essence fluctuation detected, Matrix starting... Starting up... Startup complete!]
The next moment.
Data cascaded down like a tidal wave, slowly operating to assemble a simple panel.
.————
Creator: [Roser]
Life Level: [Mortal (Normal)]
Theoretical Lifespan: [79]
Traits: [Strong (F)] [Dexterous (F)] [Forced Calm (D)]
Skills: [Acting (B)] [Riding (D)] [Glibness (C)] [Driving (F)]....
Function: [No Source Essence, Not Unlocked]
Heavenly Dao Jades: [0.37]
———
"I... have a cheat?"
Right, can one be called a transmigrator without a cheat?
That would be called an unlucky bastard.
The corners of Roser's mouth slowly grinned open, hooking into a reckless arc, and his back straightened instantly.
The traits were easy to understand, nothing more than passives or talents.
His strength was indeed a bit greater than the average person, and [Forced Calm] probably referred to a warrior gene.
Meaning he could remain calm even when his adrenaline was skyrocketing.
Among the skills, [Acting] and [Glibness], being his professional skills, naturally wouldn't be too poor.
He rarely drove, so it was understandable that his [Driving] skill level was low.
As for [Riding]?
Surely no one thought that a young, promising talent like him wouldn't have a few romantic histories, right?
In fact, one of the reasons he took this order was that his ex-girlfriend Haruno Yukinoshita's younger sister ran off to study at Shuchiin Academy.
As for the most critical function item...
"Matrix, the Source Essence you mentioned wouldn't be..."
Roser's gaze was burning.
"Ding, Source Essence is the origin of the world's laws, manifesting as rules-based abilities. Source Essence reaction detected within a thousand-meter radius of the Creator."
That settles it.
Roser lowered his head in contemplation.
It definitely is that curse, or rather, the urban legend [The Substitute].
And it certainly isn't [The Dead One], but the root cause that allows [The Dead One] to mix in with the living.
This urban legend shouldn't be called [The Substitute], but should be called [Class 3].
How is one supposed to catch such a thing?
Roser looked up and asked, "Matrix, you don't expect me to catch that thing myself, do you?"
The mechanical voice had no fluctuation.
"Not necessary. As long as the Creator can touch the anchor of the Source Essence in the real world, it can be absorbed directly."
Bet on it!
A man dies with his junk facing the sky, or lives for ten thousand years.
Roser lacked no decisiveness.
With the advantage of foresight regarding the urban legend's rules, plus a cheat to protect his body—if he was still afraid of this, he might as well go home and sell fish balls.
Looking down at the expensive outfit he was wearing, Roser turned his steps directly and intercepted the most beautiful one among the passing girls.
"Good afternoon, this classmate. All alone?"
.......
Three o'clock, after school.
Hitori Gotoh (Bocchi), just like every day, walked in the most inconspicuous corner of the shade in a posture bordering on "invisibility".
Her posture was a textbook example for extreme introverts: shoulders buckled inward, spine slightly curved, shrinking into a tiny dot.
Her lowered bangs covered her smooth forehead, and hugging her schoolbag nearly blocked half her face.
Revealing only a pair of crystal-clear, timid, slightly trembling eyes.
Unfortunately...
Roser, originally named Roser Kin, taken from the poetic zither sound of the Jin Se.
However, after he became sensible, he strongly requested his parents to change it.
He possessed an intuition for beautiful girls that exceeded common sense.
At this moment.
As if on automatic navigation, a large hand passed through layers of "invisibility" and pressed precisely onto Bocchi's slender shoulder.
"Good afternoon, classmate. All alone?"
____
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