"How much further to campus?"

  "Just around the corner all we have to do is make it through the gate before-"

  CLANG!

  A distant foreboding echo of the school bell rang across the campus just as Mako and Ashita finally reached the gates. Mako smmed headfirst into the metal bars before bouncing onto the floor with a defeated thud. He looks up to see a mocking little sign:

  GATES CLOSE 8:00 AM

  "Just my luck…" Mako muttered as he got up, rubbing his sore head. It was the first day of his final year and he was already te. "Thanks a lot, Boli…"

  Cursing the bully under his breath, he turned to Ashita, expecting her to share his panic. But much to his surprise, she seemed… oddly calm. Her gaze was distant, her lips twitching into the faintest of smirks.

  "What are you… pnning?" Mako asked, instantly suspicious.

  Ashita didn't respond. Instead, she marched to the campus's stone wall and leaped up, fingers barely grabbing the ledge. Her shoes scraped noisily against the wall as she struggled to pull herself up.

  "You're… actually climbing it?" Mako tilted his head in disbelief.

  "Do you have a better idea, Sir?" she shot back with a strained grunt.

  Just then her foot slipped, and she came tumbling back, right onto Mako.

  "Gwah!" Mako reflexively tried to catch her, but all he managed to do was cushion her fall with his body.

  As he y dazed from the sudden impact, he realized his arms were wrapped around her. Quickly withdrawing his hands, his face flushed red. "S-Sorry! I didn't mean-"

  Ashita, now sitting on his legs, tilted her head, her expression unreadable. From his angle, with his bangs obscuring his vision, he thought she looked… irritated? Or maybe just flustered. He wasn't sure, but he definitely thought it was some negative emotion.

  Expecting her to snap at him, he averted his gaze, but instead, she sighed.

  "... Shouldn't a gentleman like you help a dy like me?"

  Mako groaned, wiping a bead of sweat from his temple. "You're sure about this? We could get into a lot of trouble if we're caught."

  Ashita grinned mischievously. "If we get caught, we'll just say we had to use the bathroom."

  "... Works for me."

  After untangling themselves from their awkward heap, they approached the wall again. Ashita jumped and grabbed the ledge while Mako crouched, forming a foothold with his hands.

  Despite his best efforts, lifting her over proved to be a challenge. His legs trembled as he strained his breath, all while trying to avoid gncing up at her skirt.

  "Uh, excuse me, but are you actually doing anything?" Ashita asked, gring down at him.

  "I—I'm doing my best!" he replied through gritted teeth. "In case you didn't notice, I'm not exactly built for heavy lifting!".

  Ashita let out an exasperated groan. "Fine. Just grab the ledge, and I'll pull you up instead. But hurry before—"

  "Ahem."

  The pair froze at the sound of a deliberate cough. Turning, they found themselves face-to-face with a rge, burly man in a tracksuit, his arms crossed over his chest.

  Coach Faul.

  "Great…" Mako muttered. Of course, a teacher would show up now of all times.

  The two exchanged gnces, their unspoken agreement clear: They were doomed.

  In Unison, they turned back to the coach. "It was his/her idea."

  As their words overpped, they immediately whipped their heads toward each other in disbelief.

  The next thing they knew, they stood side by side in the school office, waiting awkwardly as the receptionist processed their te passes. Ashita tapped her foot in a chaotic rhythm, the erratic beat mirroring the tension in the air. Mako, meanwhile, let his gaze wander around the drab room mentally rehearsing what he was going to tell Ms. Fien once he got to css.

  "I can't believe you tried to throw me under the bus," Ashita muttered, breaking the silence. "You were the one who agreed to the whole bathroom excuse."

  Mako's mouth curled into a scowl. "Oh, like you were any better? You bmed me at the same time!"

  "Because it made sense," she shot back, rolling her eyes. "It felt brilliant at the moment."

  "Oh, brilliant," he said, scratching his head, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Guess we both had the same 'brilliant' pn, huh?"

  "That's what you're focused on?" Ashita gave him a side-eye, clearly unimpressed.

  The receptionist's printer hummed as it spat paper, filling the awkward silence that followed. Desperate to escape the discomfort, Mako stole a gnce at Ashita.

  "So, uh… what brings you to Sac High?"

  Her face lit up. With a proud grin, she jabbed a thumb toward herself. "You're looking at a new recruit for the Role Course!"

  Mako raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Role Course, huh? You must have a pretty good Role to transfer here…"

  "Hell yeah!" Ashita puffed out her chest, but then faltered, clearing her throat. "I mean, it's not, like, a huge deal or anything. Totally normal, really."

  Mako smirked at her sudden modesty. "Uh-huh. Sure."

  She huffed and crossed her arms. "What about you? What department are you in?"

  Mako's stomach tightened. Keeping his tone steady, he replied, "Standard Course."

  Ashita scrunched up her nose, giving him a pitying look. "Oof. My deepest condolences. What happened? Did you bomb the Role Test or something?"

  Mako stiffened, forcing a ugh. "N-no, nothing like that. I just…" He stopped short.

  There was no way he could tell her about his Role—Harem Protagonist. That was not a casual icebreaker, let alone with a girl he'd barely met. Hell, he didn't even know what it entailed yet, and trying to expin it would only make things worse.

  He shrugged, doing his best to appear nonchant. "I just didn't get anything exciting, that's all."

  Ashita narrowed her eyes like she didn't quite buy it but eventually shrugged. "If you say so." She flipped a strand of pink hair over her shoulder, and just then, the receptionist finally handed over their te slips without so much as a gnce.

  Ashita grabbed hers and turned back to Mako with a mischievous grin. As they left the office and headed toward their respective buildings, she looked over at him.

  "Well, I guess this is where we part ways… Mako, right?" She tilted her head as if double-checking his name. "Thanks for your help, by the way."

  He nodded. "Yeah, don't mention it. I suppose we won't be seeing much of each other, though."

  He gestured toward the grand Role Course building, towering over the comparatively drab Standard Course facility behind them.

  Ashita frowned, pretending to be offended. "Hey, don't be so down, did you fall in love with me or something?"

  "A-As if!" Mako shook his head frantically. "I just mean that we won't be sharing many csses since I'm a Standy and you're a Rolly!"

  Ashita tilted her head, confused. "A what now?"

  "Oh right— you're new. Standies are Standard Course students and Rollies are Roll Course students. It's just some campus sng, so don't worry about it."

  "Ahhh," Ashita said, drawing out the sylble. "It's kinda dumb, but cute in a way, Standy."

  "Yeah just don't use it too much around other Standies," Mako said, scratching his head. "Most of us don't love being called that."

  "Dully noted." She then leaned a little too close, studying him with a curious smirk, before finally stepping back.

  "Hey," she said casually, "I heard you can eat lunch pretty much anywhere on campus, so wanna meet up and grab a bite?"

  Mako blinked, caught completely off guard. "Uh… sure. That'd be cool."

  Ashita pumped her fist. "Sweet! See ya at lunch, Standy!" With a pyful wave, she turned and strode off toward the Role Department building.

  Mako stood there stunned, watching as she disappeared into the sea of buildings on the outdoor campus, half-expecting her to yell, "Just kidding, loser!" But nope. She was serious. She had actually invited him to lunch.

  This was, without question, the most normal interaction he'd ever had with a girl who wasn't his mom.

  "..."

  "..."

  "I talked to a girl… like a normal person!"

  He gave himself a mental high-five, tucking the te slip into his pocket as he headed to css. His footsteps felt lighter, and for the first time that morning, he wasn't dreading the day ahead.

  "Sac High isn't just the rgest high school in Sacramentokyo, the capital of Japanifornia—it's also one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in the entire region. At least, that's what we teachers like to remind you all every chance we get."

  The Senior homeroom buzzed with subdued chatter, the ambient hum barely masking the teacher's own tired voice as it droned over the room. Ms. Fien, Mako's Homeroom and Science teacher for this year, was perched at her desk like a dying owl. Adjusting her sungsses and clearing her throat, she continued her lecture in a tone that betrayed just how many times she'd given this very speech.

  "Sac High prides itself on tradition and innovation—a delicate bance that has defined us for generations. And no tradition is more integral than the Role Test. As you know, this annual event evaluates your potential and assigns you a Role, if you weren't given during birth, that reflects your destiny in the Grand Scheme."

  The mention of the Role Test sent a ripple of unease through the cssroom, with students shifting in their seats or exchanging wary gnces. A few muttered compints stirred in the back rows, but Ms. Fien pressed on, unperturbed.

  "For those who receive promising results, congratutions: you'll be enrolled in the Role Course, where advanced training awaits. You'll have access to specialized programs, exclusive resources, and a direct path to high-level careers." She punctuated this with a deliberate click of her ptop, the screen glowing with spreadsheets no one dared to gnce at. "For the rest of you…" She hesitated for a beat, her words hanging in the gloomy air like unwanted leftovers.

  "... Let's just say, the Standard Course offers a more practical foundation for the real world. You'll have all the tools you need to lead stable, responsible lives."

  The thin veil of optimism in Ms. Fien's voice didn't fool anyone. Students exchanged knowing looks; they understood what she really meant.

  A loud creak interrupted her speech as the cssroom door swung open. Heads turned as Mako stumbled in, te pass in hand and a sheepish grin that wavered as soon as he realized every eye in the room was on him.

  "Sorry..." Mako muttered, his voice barely audible. He shuffled toward an empty seat amid muffled snickers and the occasional judgemental stare.

  Ms. Fien rubbed her forehead as the Resident Disaster finally showed up. "Now, where was I...?" She squinted at the ceiling as if trying to track down the thought that had slipped away when Mako barged in like a spider on the fluorescent lights. "Ah, right."

  Her tone sharpened as she turned her gaze back to the css. "Welcome, bright-eyed students, to the Standard Course. This is your homeroom for the year. If you take away nothing else from this css, let it be this: Don't annoy me."

  A collective groan rippled through the students, but Ms. Fien ignored them. "Here, you'll focus on applying for schorships, choosing reasonable careers, and ensuring your transition to adulthood is as smooth as possible. But by this point, you should all know the drill."

  Mako slumped down in his seat, barely pretending to listen to the halfhearted lecture. His thoughts kept drifting back to the role that had been assigned to him less than an hour ago: Harem Protagonist

  The title alone was enough to make his stomach churn. He hadn't had time to properly read the details when the goat-headed angel assigned it to him, but he'd seen enough anime in his free time to have a vague—albeit very vague— idea of what it might mean. But nothing about his title seemed particurly... useful to society.

  He couldn't shake the memory of the angel's parting words: Your Role won't make you do anything you don't want to. It's all in your hands.

  Cryptic and not exactly reassuring. What did that even mean? How did his Role even work, anyway?

  Be charming?

  He wasn't exactly oozing confidence, not with his hair constantly falling over half his face like some creep.

  Get into awkward misunderstandings with girls?

  He was already nailing that one without even trying.

  Or maybe just survive long enough not to get stabbed by some jealous psycho?

  …Okay, maybe he shouldn't spiral into that scenario.

  Mako shook his head to clear the thought, gncing nervously at the other students. A bead of sweat trickled down his neck. He couldn't exactly whip out his Role Window here in the middle of css—too many eyes. Sure, there were ways to mask it, but he hadn't gotten around to figuring out those finer details yet.His thoughts shifted to Ashita—the first girl in a long time who hadn't tried to break his nose within three seconds of meeting him. That alone was bizarre. Normally, some kind of misunderstanding or spstick disaster would have led to a one-way trip to Beatdown Boulevard by now.

  But with Ashita?

  No sp. No insult. No flying kick to the Head.

  She didn't even set him on fire for accidentally hugging her this morning.

  The total absence of physical pain was so foreign it almost felt suspicious.

  "Maybe my Role is... passive?" he muttered under his breath, half convinced he was tempting fate just by saying it.

  Roles generally fell into two categories: Active Skills—abilities you could trigger, like spells or techniques—and Passive Abilities, subtle powers that worked in the background. If his Role leaned more toward the passive side, it might expin why nothing crazy had happened with Ashita so far.

  And if that's the case, then maybe the whole "harem" thing wasn't about cheesy pickup lines or ridiculous love triangles but something… subtler, more like the weird force that had brought him nothing but grief with other girls in the past.

  Yeah. That had to be it. Or at least, that's what he told himself to keep his sanity intact.

  But deep down, a nagging fear lingered. If his Role was passive, it would act on its own terms. He wouldn't have control over when or how it activated. Sure, the goat-headed angel had said it wouldn't force him to do anything against his will, but that didn't mean the Role wouldn't cause chaos in its wake.

  He'd have to stay on his toes, ready to adapt to whatever came his way.

  Before he could think too hard about what might come his way, the shrill ring of the school bell yanked him back to reality.

  Ms. Fien shut her ptop with a slow, deliberate click and massaged her temples, wincing as the bell assaulted her nerves. "Homeroom's over. Try not to ruin my day more than you already have."

  Her gaze then locked onto Mako. "As for you, Mr. Fisher, I need proof that you went to the office. Otherwise, I'm marking you absent"The muffled snickers of his cssmates followed him as they filed out, but Mako just sighed and shuffled up to her desk. He handed over his te pass.

  She scrawled her initials across it with a zy flourish. "Don't make this a habit," she muttered, not even looking up. "I've got enough headaches as it is."

  "Got it," Mako replied, forcing an awkward grin.

  Her eyes narrowed. "And don't get yourself in trouble. I've already heard about this morning's… incident."

  Mako winced. "I was trying to help—"

  "Uh-huh," she cut him off, taking a swig from her ever-present mug.

  Mako took the hint and made for the door. "Trouble?" he muttered under his breath. "Let's just hope it doesn't find me first."

  As he stepped back into the bustling campus, a faint trace of vanil lingered in the air.

  Back in the cssroom, Ms. Fien sniffed absentmindedly and frowned. "...Was Fisher wearing cologne?"

  She shrugged, taking another sip of coffee. "Weird."