During the break, as he went to get a snack offered by the school, Lucas walked with the cheerful young man by his side. He wanted to distance himself, but no matter what Lucas said, the young man wouldn't leave.
— Seriously, what do you want? — Lucas said, tired.
— Well... I need you to help me find a bracelet. — murmured Alexandre, carefully observing their surroundings. — It seems to have been lost in this school, and its owner is going crazy looking for it.
— And do I look like a lost and found department!?
— Please, you're the only one who can help me!
Seeing Alexandre's desperate expression, Lucas sighed before starting to gather more information.
— First, what does this bracelet look like? And when was it lost? Also, who does it belong to?
— About that... The bracelet looks like a dog collar and was lost a few days ago. — Alexandre replied, recalling the details. — Its owner is Lara.
— ...Who?
— Hm? You don't know her? She's quite popular in the school. — Alexandre asked, clearly in doubt.
— Don't tell me you just want to impress this girl by finding the bracelet... — Lucas said, looking straight at the young man.
— N-No, I just saw how desperately she was looking for it these days and wanted to help!
— Then figure it out yourself! I have better things to do than look for a bracelet that can be bought anywhere.
— Hey, let's talk a bit more!
Tired of hearing more about this, Lucas returned to his classroom after grabbing his snack, leaving Alexandre behind. He didn't remember such a scene in the anime, so it probably wasn't of great importance.
— Wait, the reason that guy asked me is because I might be able to think differently from the others... The protagonist took it.
Lucas remembered that no ability worked on the protagonist, and therefore, any hearing ability would be useless. Additionally, as people in this world blindly believed in "whispers," they wouldn't consider the possibility that such an ability couldn't be used to find an object.
— Well, sooner or later, they'll find out... Right? — he asked himself, still unable to remember this scene in the anime. — But wait, if he had found it, why didn't he take the bracelet to the lost and found?
As he thought, Lucas grew increasingly puzzled. Something seemed wrong with his theory, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.
— Leaving that aside, I'd better focus on ways to make money and improve my comfort.
The day at school continued without major incidents after Alexandre's strange approach. Lucas needed to find ways to make money, but no ideas came to mind.
After another afternoon of training, in which he only warmed up with the others and then took a shower, Lucas roamed the school, noticing that there were still some students around.
— I need clothes, soap, shampoo, a toothbrush, toothpaste... Why can't I go out! — he lamented in his thoughts.
Although it had only been three days so far, Lucas's sense of hygiene was bothering him. Moreover, he would soon start to smell due to his clothes.
— Even if I wash them, just splashing water won't be enough to clean them...
While walking down the hallways, Lucas spotted the beautiful girl he had noticed earlier, the heroine's friend from the anime. Although he couldn't remember her name, he still had a vague recollection of the character, as she was frequently seen with the heroine.
Despite not wanting to get deeply involved in the plot, he couldn't help but admire the girl approaching. His eyes watched her with curiosity because it was the second time he had the opportunity to behold characters that could only appear in anime.
— ...If only I could live a normal life in this world. — Lucas murmured, dejected.
— Hey, you're Lucas, right? Alexandre told me about you. — the girl said, looking seriously at Lucas as she approached.
The girl approached him with an authoritative look, exuding a gentle floral fragrance that filled the air with its subtle essence, momentarily leaving Lucas paralyzed.
— ...No, wrong person. — Lucas replied, trying to regain his composure while wondering if the fragrance was a perfume or something natural from the girl.
— Don't lie to me. — she said firmly, still fixing her gaze on Lucas. — I came to ask for your help in finding Lara's bracelet.
— Well, I don't know where it is, so I can't help you...
— But you can't think of anything? No ideas? — she asked, with an expression showing her frustration.
— None.
— That's a lie!
The girl suddenly cornered Lucas against the wall, refusing to accept his answer and insisting on confronting him.
— ...Ah, she can detect lies, can't she? — Lucas thought, understanding why she could deny some of his responses.
— Why don't you cooperate with us?
— ...Hey, don't you get it? If some random person appeared and said that you're the only one who can help them because their "whisper" told them so, what would you think?
— ...I'd be suspicious.
— Exactly.
With that said, the girl stepped back a bit and looked somewhat embarrassed. She had approached Lucas without even introducing herself, making her even more suspicious than Alexandre.
— I'm sorry, it's just that Lara hasn't been doing well since she lost the bracelet, so I wanted to find it as quickly as possible. — the girl said apologetically. — And I should introduce myself, my name is Verônica.
Lucas looked at her with a slightly gentler expression now that she had apologized.
— Seriously, why doesn't she just buy a new one or something? It's not like it's valuable, right?
— I don't know, she never told me about the bracelet, but I know Lara is always wearing it.
— So how did she lose it?
— It seems she took it off because of the rain the other day and couldn't find it afterward.
— On a rainy day... — Lucas thought, remembering that it happened on the first day he arrived.
While watching the young man ponder, Verônica took out her phone and checked the time. Realizing it was getting late, she hurried off.
— I hope you'll help us!
Lucas said nothing and just continued walking to the school entrance, which he had barely looked at since the first day. The entrance had a gate that almost always remained open, closing only at night.
— Sigh... What's going on with this anime?
As he approached the gate, where there was a security structure with a guard monitoring the entry and exit of students, Lucas noticed a caramel-colored dog entering the school. The dog seemed quite comfortable, and the guard was affectionately petting it.
— Does this dog always come into this school?
Thinking whether he should ask the guard or not, Lucas decided to just return to the school building as he passed the parking lot.
— If I'm lucky, maybe I'll find some money around here...
While walking among the cars, Lucas spotted a boy and a girl who were walking and surveying the surroundings. Without thinking much, Lucas hid behind a car and tried to eavesdrop on their conversation, curious about what they were doing there.
— Why am I encountering these characters one after another!? — Lucas thought, surprised to recognize the two main characters of the anime right in front of him.
— Hey, Enzo, whose cars do you think these are? — the girl asked, with a slight smile on her face.
Just observing from a distance, Lucas noticed how relaxed she was and saw the difference between her current state and how she had been when she entered the classroom. Her facial features displayed a genuine smile, in contrast to the fake smile he had seen earlier.
— …I-I don't know, but you shouldn't be trying to see inside them. — the boy replied, watching the girl eagerly peering inside a car window.
— But... What if the bracelet is inside one of the cars? Oh, this one looks suspicious.
While the two talked, Lucas discreetly backed away so the girl wouldn't notice his presence.
— The progress of these two... It's going faster than I expected.
Turning to leave the parking lot and escape their view, Lucas was surprised when the girl called out to him, as if she knew he had been there the whole time.
— You there, what are you doing? — she asked, trying to approach.
Seeing this, Lucas, a brilliant strategist who never plans anything, realized the situation wasn't in his favor and ran out of the parking lot, leaving the two in shock.
— I hope she didn't hear my thoughts...
[To be continued...]
??? — So many characters trying to contact Lucas...
S — Was there a scene like this in the anime?
??? — Of course not.
S — So did the system change something?
[Despite having created this world and transferred the owner's, the system tried to recreate it as closely as possible]
S — I can't understand anything.
??? — ...Well, if Alexandre's ability doesn't work on the protagonist, wouldn't Lucas be the second option? Since he doesn't have an interference ability similar to Enzo's?
S — Hm... So just by having Lucas in the world, the story changed.