'This isn't what I imagined!'
Altair sat on the rooftop of the school, deep in thought.
After raiding the cafeteria, Altair brazenly returned to the infirmary with Shizuka Marikawa, preparing to wait for the story to start. However, after waiting in the infirmary all day, nothing happened. On top of that, due to Altair's previous actions, someone at the school noticed the situation and called the police.
Fortunately, no one saw Shizuka Marikawa with Altair, so they didn't track him through her. The unconscious store clerk was sent to the hospital, and the vending machine was sent for repairs.
The whole school knew about the incident. Students were talking about it, saying that there was a brazen thief who smashed the vending machine, stole everything inside, knocked out the cafeteria store clerk, and stole a lot from the shop as well.
The school quickly increased security, with some gym teachers patrolling with wooden swords. This left Altair dumbfounded as he waited in the infirmary.
'Damn, I was ready for everything, and now you're telling me the story hasn't started yet?'
Feeling helpless, Altair decided to hide on the rooftop for a while. The school even set up nighttime patrols with flashlights, making it impossible for him to wander around.
Looking down at the moving flashlights in the dark academy, Altair shook his head.
"This is my fault. No one said the story would start right away."
It was wishful thinking. His earlier actions made him look like a fool.
"Whatever, I'll find somewhere to sleep. Staying on the rooftop overnight is not an option."
Although it wasn't raining, staying on the rooftop the whole night would be too much. Altair's armor was light and didn't provide much warmth. Even though it was summer, lying on the rooftop at night would still get chilly.
Shizuka Marikawa had gone home after school, leaving Altair alone. Now that it was dark, it was time to move.
Watching the lights fade from the corridors, Altair started descending from the rooftop. Although he was now at level 2, his physical abilities weren't enough to jump straight down. Instead, like Tom the cat, he found a drainpipe, holding onto it as he quickly slid down to the ground.
After landing silently, Altair sprinted toward the school's perimeter wall. With a burst of speed, he ran up the wall and leaped over, landing gracefully outside the school like a cat.
"There should be some street punks out at this time."
It was well known that when you were broke, asking street punks for money was a safe bet, so Altair decided to find some troublemakers.
But after turning a corner, instead of finding punks, he encountered an unexpected person.
A green-and-white school uniform, a long skirt reaching past the knees, long purple hair, black socks, and a vibe of a model student... this was a character Altair was very familiar with; Saeko Busujima, one of the female leads in this world.
"It's so late, why hasn't she gone home yet?"
Saeko stood not far away, her back to Altair. This confused him... what was she doing?
Altair liked her character in the anime, so with nothing better to do, he figured he'd chat with her for a bit.
Curious, Altair approached her from behind and greeted her as he got close.
"Hey! You-"
Whoosh!
A gust of wind and Altair's pupils shrank as he quickly leaned back, narrowly dodging a swift sword strike that flashed in front of him.
And that was just the beginning. After missing the first strike, Saeko Busujima immediately turned, gripping her wooden sword with both hands and swung it down at Altair from above.
Still in a backward-leaning position from his dodge, Altair had little room to maneuver. Quickly, he planted his hands on the ground and kicked back, spreading his legs wide to avoid the blow.
Thud!
The wooden sword slammed into the ground, missing its target.
Taking the opportunity, Altair pushed off the ground, flipping backward into a crouch. He looked at Saeko with a bemused expression.
"Whoa, hey, what's with the hostility? I didn't do anything to you."
"Yes, you haven't done anything to me." Saeko smiled with a wooden sword in her hand.
"But, I saw everything you did at school today."
"Ugh…"
Altair was stunned. He hadn't expected to be seen. He thought he had been stealthy, with no one around. But it turns out someone had been watching. This was a bit awkward.
"If you saw it, then why didn't you… call the police this afternoon?"
Well, there wasn't much point in asking that. After all, the girl standing in front of him wasn't an ordinary girl. She had the potential to become a killer.
Despite living in a normal world, Saeko Busujima had a heart filled with violent tendencies. She craved combat... craved it to a degree that bordered on the pathological. In the past, when she realized someone was stalking her, she pretended not to notice and lured the person close, only to beat them so badly they were left disabled, all with the wooden sword in her hands.
It was clear that this time, she had seen everything Altair did at school and had come to find him.
She hadn't told the police but had instead kept an eye on him. She waited until everyone else had left for the night before showing herself. Just like the previous incident, she was trying to lure him in so she could fight him.
"What a terrifying woman."
Altair knew all about Saeko's backstory, but he hadn't thought about it until now. After all, 70% of the time in the anime, she was a gallant warrior, wielding a katana and slashing zombies like a maniac. The other 29% of the time, she was gentle and nurturing, the perfect wife standing behind her man. Only 1% of her backstory had touched on her bloodthirsty side.
"Seems like you figured something out."
Saeko looked at Altair, noticing the change in his expression. Her instincts told her that he knew something. Had her dark history been discovered?
No matter. All she had to do was defeat him here, and the Busujima family's influence could handle the rest.
***
Keeping a precious item like the Power Stone is hard, so for your own sake, drop the Power Stone here, otherwise I can't guarantee your safety!