The Next Morning…
The magical bell rang from the academy's tower.
Blue sky. The morning wind pierced gently.
Kazuki slowly opened his eyes.
"…Oh no. I'm late."
His voice was flat, calm, unbothered. But his face was made to look panicked, like a second-rate actor practicing a 'late-for-school' scene.
He got up, straightened his academy uniform in exactly two and a half seconds, and rushed out of his tiny room. His cloak fluttered dramatically—obviously on purpose.
He descended the dorm stairs at speed, crossed the back courtyard, heading toward the magitrail station—the magical train that would take him to the academy's main building.
But just as he ran along the small cobbled path—
"Hey! You're late too!?"
The voice of a boy came from behind.
Kazuki turned slightly… two boys appeared, both running with messy bags in hand.
One was tall with spiky black hair and round glasses. The other was shorter, with messy silver hair and an expression full of suffering, like he'd just been chased by a dragon.
Kazuki looked at them like a chess master evaluating enemy pawns.
Then his expression changed… to panic. Fake nervousness.
"Don't talk in the middle of the road… we'll be even later!" he said, pretending to be worried.
Kazuki's voice sounded ordinary. Innocent.
But in his mind—
"…Step one: appear as an unremarkable late student. Then… form contact with minor characters. Enemy data: collecting. Side role: initiated."
The boy with glasses chuckled.
"Haha! I knew this would happen! I didn't even have time to pack properly!"
The other one grumbled with a tortured look.
"It's our first day, bro! How are we late already!?"
Kazuki let out a stiff, very unconvincing laugh.
"Hahaha… yeah, I didn't expect this either…"
And so, the three of them ran together.
The two boys thought they were just late and had made a new friend.
But what they didn't realize…
They had just entered the shadow plot—far greater than a simple school tardiness.
Kazuki looked forward.
The wind blew.
Their footsteps echoed on the cobblestone road.
"Now… let this charade begin."
---
Inside the Magic Train…
The interior was quite luxurious—at least for students from the lower-class dorm. Velvet-covered benches (cheap ones), dusty magic-stained windows that were never cleaned, and a mechanical growl from the engine every few minutes.
Kazuki sat calmly, gazing out the window.
His thoughts flowed slowly, calculating.
"Next step… figment social interaction. This is where many characters fail. But I won't repeat their mistakes. I will be flawless."
Suddenly, the voice came.
"By the way… what's your name?"
It was the boy with glasses, speaking quickly and innocently. The other one just stared, waiting for an answer with a hungry-kitten kind of face.
Kazuki turned slowly, adjusting his tone, expression, and breath pattern to match that of a shy student.
"Just Kazuki…" he replied softly.
Simple. Subtle. But every part of it was calculated.
The glasses boy's eyes lit up.
"I'm Lucien! Lucien Grayfield! But my friends call me Luci!"
The other one joined in.
"My name's Rean Velhart! No need to be formal, we're all newbies here!"
Kazuki looked at the two of them.
Chaotic. Innocent. Irrelevant.
Perfect extras.
He nodded slightly.
"Oh… nice to meet you," he said with a polite, NPC-like smile.
But in his mind…
"They're dumb, irrelevant, weightless… and that's exactly why they were chosen." "I need innocent, forgettable friends… to reinforce my identity as a lowborn noble."
Kazuki crossed his arms, leaned back in his seat, and smiled faintly.
"These two… are now officially… my 'supporting cast friends.'"
Lucien and Rean had no idea they'd just become pawns in a global-scale shadow drama.
All they knew… was they'd made a new friend.
"Yosh! Let's help each other starting today!" "Yeah! We gotta make sure we're not split during class placement!"
Kazuki nodded lightly.
"Yeah… of course…"
Outside, the train began to slow. The academy building rose magnificently in the distance.
Sunlight pierced the foggy glass, shining on Kazuki's face.
He stared ahead.
"Step by step… this stage… will be mine."
---
Upon Arrival at Magia Veritas Academy…
The magic train stopped with a heavy hiss, like an old man exhaling his last breath before collapsing.
The doors opened.
Clear sky. The academy gates towered like a fortress of the gods.
Students from noble families stepped out one by one—elegant, refined, fragrant with expensive perfume and inflated egos.
And in the unnoticed corner…
"Alright! Let's go!" Lucien cheered.
Kazuki stepped out slowly, alongside Lucien and Rean—his official supporting cast.
But—
Crack!
One step out, and all three of them tripped on a small stone.
THUD!
They fell flat on the academy's front steps, faces kissing the gravel.
The next second—
SLAM!
THUMP!
CRUNCH!
A flood of students poured out behind them in a rush, not noticing them at all, and—
They were stepped on.
Lucien's back was stomped by a luxury shoe. Rean got crushed under a thirty-kilo suitcase.
And Kazuki… ah, Kazuki… lay still beneath the heel of another noble student.
Everyone passed by without a word.
As if… they didn't exist.
As if… they were just extras.
Perfect.
"Hehe…"
Kazuki chuckled softly, his face still pressed to the ground.
In his mind, a narration echoed:
"This humiliation… this trampling… is the perfect symbol of a background character's existence."
"The world steps on them without noticing. The world forgets them without guilt."
"And I… choose this path."
Lucien stood up, face full of dust.
"Kazuki… are you okay!?"
Rean crawled, laughing bitterly.
"Damn… we really looked like sewer rats just now…"
Kazuki slowly rose.
He didn't clean the dust from his uniform. Left the small cut on his chin untouched.
Even his white hair was left messy.
He stood tall… like a tragic hero who just lost a war.
"Don't worry…" Kazuki said softly.
"This… was all part of the script."
Lucien and Rean exchanged confused looks.
"Huh? What do you mean…?"
Kazuki looked up at the sky, like a student trying to stay strong.
But in his mind…
"This is the opening stage of the shadow invasion script…"
"Shadows don't appear from above. Shadows rise from below, trampled, mocked, and forgotten…"
"But that's exactly where their true power shines."
He stepped slowly toward the academy gates, passing by students who didn't even glance at him.
"Come… time for the extra to enter the elite school."
His cloak fluttered in the breeze.
His footsteps made no sound.
No one welcomed him.
No one cared.
Perfect.
---
Class 1-C, Magia Veritas Academy.
The room was spacious and lined with magical carvings. Crystal lights hung from the ceiling, glowing softly. Desks were arranged neatly in a semi-circle.
Just as Kazuki planned, he and his two official background friends—Lucien and Rean—sat in the far back row, in the corner no one paid attention to.
The most irrelevant seat on the grand stage of magical education.
"This place… is perfect for a forgotten character," Kazuki thought, lounging in his seat.
While the teacher explained basic magic theory at the front, Kazuki… was in his own world.
Beneath the desk, his fingers moved slowly. Delicately forming complex, unseen patterns.
And under the shadow of his desk…
A sliver of pure light appeared… flowing like golden thread, swirling in unidentifiable ancient runes.
He was… playing with high-level light magic.
No chant. No magic circle. No sound.
"If only some villains attacked this class right now… that'd be cool," Kazuki thought while gazing out the window.
But his fantasy was cut short.
"Kazuki Altherion!" the teacher's voice sliced the air.
Kazuki flinched. "Eh… Me, sir!?" he replied with the confused expression of a side character who even forgot his own name.
The teacher sighed deeply.
"Yes, you! Who else? Come forward. Show your magic to the class!"
The entire class turned.
Some faces laughed. Others sneered. Some looked curious.
After all… Kazuki was a "noble."
"Ugh… this is too soon. I'm not ready to appear in episode one…" Kazuki muttered, getting up from his seat.
His steps to the front felt like walking to a public execution.
Truthfully, Kazuki could destroy the whole room with a snap of his fingers. But—
"A background character must never shine. The light must be sealed… the shadow must remain hidden."
He stood at the front. Stared at everyone with a blank, harmless face.
Then took a deep breath, raised his hand, and shouted with forced, awkward enthusiasm…
"FIREBALLLLLL!!!"
...
Nothing happened.
...
Silence.
No fire. No light. No explosion. Not even a spark.
Kazuki remained still with his hand raised, as if hoping something would magically appear.
One second. Two seconds.
Then…
"Pfft…" "WHAT WAS THAT!?" "HAHAHAHA! FIREBALL?! WHAT EVEN WAS THAT?!"
The whole class burst into laughter.
Kazuki just stood still, pretending to be confused.
But in his mind…
"They all fell for it. Classic."
The teacher's face turned red.
"Kazuki! This isn't playtime! Even farmer kids can spark a flame!"
Kazuki lowered his head slowly. Then whispered in a soft, nearly inaudible voice…
"Um… sorry, sir…"
"Actually… I don't have any magic at all… hahaha…"
"I sealed it myself this morning… with an ancient rune I made."
The whole class went silent for a moment…
Then laughed twice as hard.
The teacher clenched his magic board in frustration.
"Sit down! Now! And no more jokes in my class!"
Kazuki walked back to his seat, wearing the expression of a failed student.
But in his heart…
"Perfect. Now they believe I'm weak."
"Now I can continue… playing my role as a powerless extra."
Lucien whispered,
"You… really don't have magic, Kazuki?"
Kazuki turned and replied with the flattest expression humanly possible:
"Maybe… I'm just a walking curse."
Rean panicked.
"Crap! What if we catch it too!?"
Kazuki held back laughter in his heart.
"Innocent, foolish background friends… perfect shields from the spotlight of the world."
And with that…
The chapter closed.
The shadow returned to its place.
The scenario proceeded exactly as planned.