Chapter 1: Hanazawa Miyuki

The chirping of sparrows grates on my ears.

The blazing sunlight also pierces my eyelids, disturbing my sleep.

It was strange. I always sleep with blackout curtains drawn.

Frowning, I sat up, still with my eyes closed, my upper body rustling.

The feel of the blanket is strange.

Unlike the usual fluffy and thick one, it felt rough, like touching a blanket made of hemp.

Even the area around my hips felt heavy. Like a futon laid out on the floor, not a bed.

‘What the…’

Forcing open eyes that wouldn’t open, I looked around.

A spacious room, with several green-bordered mats laid out on the floor, seemingly woven from straw.

Are these tatami mats? The faint smell of rice straw I remember from a trip to a Japanese ryokan confirms it, I think.

Groaning, I sat up, and everything felt unfamiliar.

The interior, furniture, and house layout were all new to me.

It felt like I was in someone else’s house.

‘What on earth is this…’

Thinking I might be having a lucid dream, I climbed over the open sliding window.

Stepping onto the brown wooden veranda directly connected to the living room, a small garden caught my eye.

Plants were mostly dead, clearly not well-maintained.

Looking around, I saw several houses similar to the one I was in… appearing to be traditional Japanese houses, lined up.

I don’t know anything. My mind is a mess.

Where am I right now?

As I tried to pull myself together, thinking this, I focused on a young man walking past me.

A man, mouth full of toast, bag slung over one shoulder, was running somewhere, sweating.

The basic cliché of a school drama. A protagonist sprinting while munching toast to avoid being late.

Seeing it happen in reality, my tension eased, and I chuckled, then whipped my head around with a surprised expression.

Because the man’s face was incredibly familiar.

‘Th-that guy…’

I knew that guy, clearly, absolutely.

‘Isn’t that Tetsuya…?’

Miura Tetsuya.

He, the protagonist of the frustratingly dense Tokiakka, had just passed right in front of me.

Tall but with a slender build, and that frustratingly messy hair.

Even from the back, the features were unmistakable. That guy was definitely Miura Tetsuya.

In my shock, I rushed out barefoot, scrambled over the house wall, and stared endlessly at the receding Miura Tetsuya,

Slap-!

I slapped my own cheek hard.

It hurts. It hurts like hell, enough to see stars.

I’m in a dream, so why do I feel pain?

Was the saying ‘dreams don’t hurt’ a lie?

“Haa… haa…”

My breathing grew ragged. I couldn’t comprehend the current situation at all.

As I swallowed dryly and moved, I saw the firmly closed front gate of the house I had just come from.

And the nameplate fixed next to the gate caught my eye.

Kanji carved in elegant handwriting, with Japanese syllabary kana written in small letters next to it.

Although I don’t know Japanese at all, strangely, the name on the plate read naturally.

‘Matsuda Ken…?’

I know this name too.

Matsuda Ken was a minor character whose role ended after he tried something with the main heroine, Miyuki, and received a ‘proper education’ from Tetsuya, who got a crisis buff from ‘my woman’…

A disposable item meant to solidify the bond between Miura Tetsuya and Miyuki.

He was an orphan like me, and inherited quite a large fortune, so I felt a strange sense of kinship.

It was also a pity that a character with more potential was only used as a minor role.

So, am I currently experiencing Tokiakka through Matsuda’s eyes?

The moment I thought that,

“Kuhuk…! Kuaaak!”

Immense pain ravaged my mind.

And it flowed in naturally.

Matsuda Ken’s memories.

“Huh-uhuk… huh…!”

While I was catching my breath and trying to calm down, a middle-aged woman walking down the street recognized me and asked,

“Matsuda-kun? Are you alright?”

With no time to answer, I ignored her and stumbled back home.

---

Fortunately, the pain subsided quickly.

The memories, which settled in as quickly as synchronizing a phone, drastically improved my adaptability after being dropped into this unfamiliar place.

Thanks to that, I had perfectly adapted here and calmly looked into the bathroom mirror.

Short hair, average head size, and distinct facial features within it.

Broad shoulders, a moderately muscular body, and slightly tanned skin.

Checking my appearance, I couldn’t close my mouth in surprise.

‘This is me…?’

The person in the mirror was me.

Not Matsuda Ken from Tokiakka, but my real self.

Although I had gained a bit more muscle than before, it was definitely me.

“Ah… Aaaaaah…”

Trying out my voice like a singer warming up, it sounded exactly like my real voice.

So, did Ken become me?

No, I am the subject of this body, and I’m currently in Japan, the setting of Tokiakka… so it’s correct that I’ve become Matsuda Ken.

Besides, when I was clutching my head from the headache, some lady definitely called me ‘Matsuda-kun’.

That means she recognized me as Matsuda Ken.

To sum it up… I’ve possessed Matsuda Ken while remaining myself.

Unbelievably.

Taking a deep breath, I went into the living room and opened the refrigerator door.

Then I took out water and gulped it down.

I don’t know why this happened to me.

Maybe the developers of Tokiakka are gods, and they got angry after reading my posts.

It’s an absurd thought, but seeing as I ended up here, it’s not impossible.

But what reason would those bastards have to get angry?

I only cursed a game and a writer that anyone would call trash.

Anyway, the thought of living as this guy from now on made me feel strange.

At the same time, my heart pounded.

Why? Because being in the world of Tokiakka meant I could meet the heroines, including Miyuki,

It meant I could romance them.

Watching those beautiful girls, experiencing academy life with them, each with their unique personalities, made my boring life truly enjoyable.

Although I had to eat a whole lot of sweet potatoes because of the clueless Tetsuya.

Think about returning to reality? Not at all.

I have no intention of finding a way back.

I’m going to live happily here.

With whom? With the heroines, of course.

Honestly, it’s better for them to like me than to suffer heartache liking a dense idiot like Tetsuya.

I chuckled slyly and suddenly snapped back to reality.

‘Let’s go to the academy.’

Ken… no, I am a delinquent who cuts class and is late as often as eating meals.

Hanging out with delinquent students, my image is bad.

Naturally, I have a bad reputation among the heroines too.

The only fortunate thing is that the timing of my arrival is before I make a move on Miyuki.

This alone was enough.

As long as I haven’t messed up yet, I know plenty of ways to build favor.

In all dating sims, events occur to increase affection levels.

And I know all the events that happen between Tetsuya and the heroines.

From now on, I will intervene in those events.

And I will make Miyuki, Renka, and Hiyori… make these three girls’ hearts turn towards me.

Of course, if I intervene, the future will change, and new events might emerge.

It didn’t matter. Because I would be the protagonist of those new events.

Naturally, I opened the sliding closet, put on my uniform, and stepped out of the house. The path from this house to the academy unfolded in my mind as if it were a familiar route.

I knew exactly where to catch the bus and where to transfer to the subway.

“Hmph…”

I let out a carefree laugh and walked down the street with light steps.

Even though it’s summer, it’s not hot at all; it feels refreshingly cool.

I have been reborn.

In the best world, as a person I quite like.

---

In the Tokiakka universe, the academy was mandatory education.

A place one had to enter immediately after graduating high school.

One step above high school, one step below university.

This was the academy’s ambiguous status.

And I was attending a prestigious private school called [Yebeni Academy] located in Tokyo.

Recalling how I, who couldn’t even study, managed to enroll here, I found the answer immediately.

Disappointingly, it was just a lottery.

Well, the setting of this universe isn’t important, so let’s move on…

As I came here, I seriously considered what attitude I should adopt.

There’s also the method of acting like Tetsuya to gain the heroines’ favor.

But I didn’t want to do that.

Why should I imitate that idiot who, despite dating for a long time, couldn’t even hold hands?

How pitiful the heroines felt thinking about the clueless Tetsuya… Imitating such a herbivore type was overkill.

Nor is it acceptable to aggressively hit on them like a playboy. My score would just plummet.

After deep consideration, the answer I reached was… to maintain Matsuda Ken’s persona but arrange it slightly in my own style.

He’s incredibly irresponsible, but he also has a warm side…

Occasionally showing unexpected sides, gradually reforming according to the heroines’ guidance…

My goal is to act in that manner.

Of course, I’ll have to act differently depending on the situation, but this is the basic framework.

‘Class 1-A… Class 1-A…’

Having found the classroom I should be in, I opened the door without hesitation.

Creak-!

As the wooden door slid open with a creak, all eyes in the classroom turned towards me.

From the professor to the students… everyone was looking at me with their pair of eyes.

Among them, I saw some glaring at me, and others trying to avoid my gaze out of fear.

And… among the former group, there was one person glaring most intensely, as if wanting to kill me.

Long, light brown straight hair, eyes of the same color, a sculpted nose bridge, and a delicate jawline.

Breasts that looked like a size E, which I wanted to run up and touch immediately, and a slender waist…

The model student sitting in the front row, exactly as I knew her.

She was Hanazawa Miyuki, the class president of Yebeni Academy’s Class 1-A, Tetsuya’s childhood friend, and the main heroine of Tokiakka.

My impression upon seeing her in person was perfection itself.

Truly, her looks and figure were insane.

Barely suppressing the urge to jump for joy, I greeted Miyuki only in my mind and avoided her gaze.

It wasn’t easy to ignore Miyuki, whom I had longed to see… but I had to endure it for the future.

“Matsuda-kun, at least you came today.”

I vaguely replied ‘Yeah’ to the aging professor’s words and went to sit in the very back row.

Glancing sideways, I saw Tetsuya concentrating on the lesson.

Come to think of it, this guy was in the same class too. How utterly useless.

While trying to calm my trembling heart by looking at Miyuki’s back with a slouch, the bell rang not long after.

After confirming the professor left, I looked at Tetsuya, who was diligently scribbling with his pencil.

He’s the type who likes drawing, so he used to draw various things during breaks; seeing it in person felt nostalgic.

I glanced sideways at Miyuki, then nodded towards Tetsuya with my chin.

“Hey, Miura. What are you doing?”

“Ah, this… it’s nothing.”

Tetsuya shyly covered his notebook with his arm.

Snorting as if seeing the most insignificant guy, I was about to get up to tease Tetsuya.

Just then, Miyuki pulled out her chair, stood up, and approached me.

The reason Miyuki dislikes me isn’t just because I’m a delinquent, but primarily because I sometimes play mischievous pranks on Tetsuya.

For example, snatching his drawing and sticking it on the blackboard, or mocking him by saying he smells like poop when he goes to the restroom… things like these childish pranks.

Each time, Tetsuya would laugh it off, but inwardly, he truly hated me.

Anyway, Miyuki seemed to have come to stop me again, thinking I was about to do something to Tetsuya.

Turning my eyes towards her approaching strides, I thought.

‘The way I address her… should I go with what I know?’

The aspect I’m currently most concerned about is the way of addressing people.

It’s about the titles used when calling someone in Japan.

Of course, there are standard rules, but the criteria vary by situation and person, which is a headache.

In Miyuki’s case, the only one allowed to call her solely by her name is Tetsuya, her long-time childhood friend.

Close friends call her ‘Miyuki-chan’, while casual friends or classmates can call her ‘Hanazawa’.

And for the rest of the riff-raff, it was probably ‘Hanazawa-chan’ or ‘Hanazawa-san’?

From her perspective, I’m riff-raff, so calling her Hanazawa-san or -chan would be appropriate…

‘-san’ looks cold, and ‘-chan’ is fucking cringe, so I can’t do that.

Let’s call her Hanazawa. Matsuda Ken also called Miyuki that, so there shouldn’t be a problem.

Quickly thinking it through, I said to Miyuki, who had approached my desk.

“What? Hanazawa.”

As expected, Miyuki overlooked the way I addressed her.

However, she clearly showed her displeasure.

“Matsuda-kun, if you’re going to be late, you could just come in after class; why deliberately disturb the students?”

Ah… her voice was so beautiful I almost lost my composure for a moment.

Endure. I must endure.

Calming my pounding heart, I replied curtly.

“Because absences deduct more points than tardiness? I should start focusing on my studies soon too.”

“You never cared about that. You gave up on studying.”

“It hurts when you say it so directly…”

“I know you don’t get hurt. Please don’t do that anymore.”

I desperately wanted to say ‘Okay’ and ‘I’ll be absolutely loyal’.

“When the class president speaks with such conviction, I have to listen. Alright.”

“I wish you’d listen properly instead of mocking me.”

“I said I got it.”

At my slightly annoyed reply, Miyuki glared at me once, just like when she entered the classroom, then said to Tetsuya.

“Tetsuya-kun, I want to go to the canteen, want to come along?”

“Ah… yeah. Let’s go.”

The two soon disappeared from the classroom.

Now, Miyuki will probably gossip about me, and Tetsuya will just go ‘yeah, yeah’ in response.

The distance between Miyuki and me was long and arduous.

Her attitude speaks volumes, even though she’s the class president who should be observing her classmates carefully.

I understood, given the karma I had accumulated.

But it’s okay. As I thought earlier, I know everything that happens to Miyuki.

It means I’m confident I can get close to her quickly.

It’s currently July 10th. The timing of my sudden arrival here was absolutely perfect.

Why? Because tomorrow, a tired cliché from a romantic comedy will occur.

Originally, it’s an event that strengthens Miyuki’s feelings for Tetsuya… but I intended to intervene.

From that point on, Miyuki’s attitude towards me will become much gentler.

And Tetsuya… naturally, he shouldn’t be part of our affection events.