My name is Makoto Akatani, and I am one of the chosen ones.

Being chosen, I have been admitted to the prestigious Hero High School this spring.

Hero High School is a place where young people recognized for their potential as explorers gather.

Explorers are professionals who deal with dungeons where monsters can appear at any time and place. It's said that you can make a lot of money.

Not just anyone can become an explorer. You can't become one just because you want to.

They are called the chosen ones. Modern-day heroes. Sounds cool, right?

There is only one way to become an explorer.

You must receive a black envelope sent by a mysterious and shady organization called the Dungeon Foundation. This organization, which is always surrounded by occult rumors, somehow identifies individuals with the potential to become explorers and sends invitations to them.

It seems like an urban legend.

However, I have no doubts about its existence.

Because I also received a black envelope! That was a few months ago!

From the day the black envelope arrived, the world surrounding dungeons, which seemed like a different world, came into my daily life.

"Do you have the potential to be an explorer? Is Hero High School a boarding school? Then go live there. If you go to that absurd school, the tuition and everything else should be free, right?"

I didn't get along well with my stepfather.

I lost my parents when I was young.

It was a distant relative, my stepmother, who took me in, but she also passed away a few years ago. The ones left behind were my stepfather, who had always opposed taking me in, and me, his stepson who hated him.

It's the worst kind of family situation!

I was planning to graduate from middle school, work part-time while attending school, and leave home as soon as possible.

The black envelope changed my plans to go to high school.

"Explorers make a lot of money, right? Then make money and pay back the money I spent raising you."

My stepfather is a jerk. A nasty guy. I really hate him.

But, I'm a man of honor. I can't ignore reason.

He raised me until I was 15.

I felt I owed him that much.

The amount my stepfather demanded was 20 million yen. An outrageous sum.

But, thinking that paying 20 million yen would free me from the contradictory feeling of owing something to someone I hate, I didn't refuse.

So, I graduated from middle school, left home, took on debt, and went to Hero High School.

It was a tough condition, but if I became an explorer, who is said to make a lot of money, the debt wouldn't be a problem. It shouldn't be.

Leaving my great hometown, the metropolis of Saitama that the world envies, I headed to Tokyo.

My luggage had already been sent to the dormitory, so I put on my crisp uniform and took the first train, transferring to a bus, and finally arrived at the gate of Hero High School.

At that moment,

"Meow"

A calico cat was trying to cross the road in front of the school.

It's not a busy road, but unfortunately, a black luxury car was speeding by.

Goodbye, cat. I bid farewell to the foolish little animal.

"Damn it, you stupid cat!"

I should have just said goodbye, but I have a bad habit of reaching out when it looks like I might have a chance. This has led to me confessing my feelings four times and getting rejected all four times. But that's not important right now.

I scooped up the cat with my right hand and tossed it towards the school.

The law of inertia. Or was it action-reaction? Because I threw the cat with such force, my body was propelled into the road. Is this the flow of being reincarnated in another world?

I closed my eyes, prepared for death.

Ouch, I fell on my back. It hurts so much. I hit my elbow too.

But it's strange, the death I was expecting doesn't come. I should have been run over a few seconds ago, but the impact never comes. Hesitantly, I opened my eyes.

There was the emblem of a foreign car in front of my eyes.

It seems the black luxury car had stopped just in time.

Someone got out of the car.

It was a female student with black hair, wearing the Hero High School uniform.

"Have a good day, Kami Hana-sama."

"Thank you for your hard work."

So she's a rich young lady. What a privileged position.

But, being picked up and dropped off?

No wonder the car stopped in front of the gate.

She didn't notice the cat, nor did she brake suddenly because she noticed me.

I was just panicking on my own, falling on my back. Moreover, the cat was also surprised by being thrown and suffered some damage.

"Are you alright, young man? It looked like you fell. Are you injured?"

Finally, the driver who had just seen off his mistress expressed concern for me.

"I'm fine. After all, I am one of the chosen ones."

"I see. It's good that you're not hurt."

"Thank you for your concern."

Well, I messed up the start, but let's pull ourselves together.

I straightened my uniform and walked through the school gate.

"Hero High School is huge."

A series of imposing black buildings lined up.

It was clearly not an ordinary high school.

As expected from a suspicious foundation built for suspicious professionals.

Today is the entrance ceremony.

There are many others in shiny new uniforms.

Seeing them looking around curiously, they must be new students.

I think the difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary shows in such places.

Looking around curiously is what ordinary people do.

The right move is to act composed.

Putting your hands in your pockets and walking without showing your agitation is the right move.

Hey, is that really okay, new students?

We are the chosen ones, right? Modern-day heroes?

This is Hero High School. It's not an ordinary high school.

It's already a given that some special entrance exam has started.

For example, teachers observing new students from the windows of the school building and only allowing elegant students to enter.

If you're getting flustered by a slightly unusual school building, you're not there yet── wait, where is this? Behind the school building? There's no one around? I need to go to the gymnasium for the entrance ceremony, but? There's really no one here? Am I lost? Hey, am I really lost? Damn it, I messed up. Acting cool got me to a place I don't understand. Please, let me restart from the school gate!

"To think that Hero High School would confuse me, Makoto Akatani...! To have the school itself become like a dungeon...!"

"Meow~ meow~"

"Huh?"

A strange voice.

That meow-meow voice must be from a cat.

Drawn to the voice, I moved towards it.

In a corner of the maze-like school building, a girl was crouching.

A cat was elegantly sitting at her feet.

"Meow~ meow~"

The adorable meowing echoed in the deserted area behind the school.

It was a perfect cat-like voice, but it wasn't from a cat.

"Meow~"

The girl, with an expressionless face, was desperately speaking to the cat with a drawn-out "meow."

Her languid, sweet voice made my spine tingle.

I was very curious about what she was doing, but my intuition told me.

This is something I shouldn't see──.

I silently stepped back, trying to leave without being noticed.

Snap. A dry sound echoed.

Why do people always step on a twig at the worst times like this?

The girl stopped speaking cat language, stood up, and turned to face me.

A beautiful girl with glossy black hair in a brand-new uniform.

She was short, probably less than 150cm.

The girl crossed her arms and gave me a cold look.

"Is it okay if I scream and call you a suspicious person?"

"I'd say you're the suspicious one here."

There was a quiet anger in her expressionless face.

A shadow fell over her eyes, and it looked like she would unleash terrible insults if I chose the wrong words. Being wise, I tried to change the topic.

"W-well, actually, I'm lost. Do you know the way to the gymnasium?"

"I'm a new student. I can't possibly know the layout of this school."

I see, she's a new student too.

Wait, then why is she here?

"Aren't you in trouble too if you don't go to the gymnasium...?"

"..."

"So, you're lost too──"

"If you say another word, you'll spend your high school life in discomfort. Physically."

Is such a terrifying threat even real?

"Forget everything that happened here and that you saw me. I'll forget I saw you too."

The girl said and quickly walked away.

What a strange person.

"Meow"

The cat rubbed its head affectionately against me.

Stop it. You'll get my uniform covered in fur.

"Huh? You're the cat that was almost hit by the car earlier."

"Meow~♪"

No, I was the one almost hit by the car.

"Sorry for throwing you earlier."

I gave the cat a pat and left the back of the school building.

After about 15 minutes of struggle, I finally reached the gymnasium.

The entrance ceremony had already started. While the elderly man, presumably the principal, was giving his lengthy speech, I quietly found my seat and sat down, trying to blend in.

I noticed that the seat across the aisle was empty.

It seems I'm not the only one late for the entrance ceremony.

──15 minutes later

As the principal's long speech was ending, someone quietly took the empty seat across the aisle.

A beautiful girl with glossy hair.

The same girl who was speaking cat language behind the school building.

She noticed me too and narrowed her eyes slightly.

I just have to forget. Forget everything. Especially the cat language.

The entrance ceremony ended, and we were assigned to our classes.

First-year Class 3.

Not many students were excited, as expected from the chosen ones.

A girl with a perfect poker face was assigned to Class 3, too.

"Now then, from today, we'll begin the school life of the chosen ones."

To my class, which was surrounded by a tense atmosphere, a middle-aged teacher entered the room.

"We'll start with self-introductions. Since you're all explorers, say something that will help everyone remember you."

One by one, the students stood up and introduced themselves.

Even though they were chosen ones, everyone seemed nervous.

"My name is Kuroki Reina. My hobby is, um, cooking."

"I'm Hoshino Kyoya. I like reading."

"My name is Inugami Kaho. I want to become an explorer soon and make a lot of money."

"I'm Shiroyama Kaito. I often get into fights, so I might be a bit of a troublemaker, but I look forward to working with you."

It was my turn next.

I stood up and faced the class.

"I'm Akatani Makoto. I saved a cat this morning."

The classroom buzzed slightly.

"You saved a cat?"

"A hero for animals, huh?"

"I'm not a hero. I'm a coward."

No one laughed at my joke.

Everyone was chosen for their talents. It seems there's no room for jokes.

"Next."

As soon as I sat down, the next student stood up.

"My name is Kami Hana."

The girl with the perfect poker face introduced herself with a calm voice.

Her name is Kami Hana.

She really does look like a beautiful girl from a wealthy family.

"I, um, like cats."

A hint of emotion crossed her previously expressionless face. Her voice trembled slightly.

"I like cats so much... that I even practice cat language..."

"Cat language?"

"Oh, is that so?"

"Like... meow-meow?"

The classroom buzzed.

"Meow~"

Her cheeks turned slightly red, and she looked away, trying to hide her embarrassment.

She said that with a somewhat shy voice.

Alright, I'm not forgetting this. Ever.

From that day on, the strange girl who loved cats and spoke cat language became Kami Hana-san, and my high school life at Hero High School began.