Break Time – Magia Veritas Academy
The magical bell rang three times from the central tower. That signaled: break time had begun.
Kazuki slowly rose from his seat, slipped his hands into the pockets of his cloak, and turned to his two official side characters, Lucien and Rean.
"Alright, time to hunt for lunch," he said flatly, as if this were a dangerous infiltration mission deep within enemy territory.
Lucien immediately lit up.
"I've been eyeing the dragon meat bun! But the line's probably insane!"
Rean looked panicked. "I don't want to eat leftover stale bread again! Let's hurry before it's gone!!"
The three of them dashed out of the classroom like a trio of starving kids just released from prison.
The Academy Cafeteria.
Crowded. Packed. Crowded.
Students from various classes and noble houses stood in long winding lines. Some sat elegantly while fanning themselves with magical fans, while others shoved each other using their wands to fight over trays.
Kazuki stood at the end of the line, gazing forward like a general surveying a battlefield covered in spikes.
"This line… is inefficient."
"The academy's food distribution system… lacks proper emergency magic management."
Lucien panicked. "Oh no! My favorite lunch only has two portions left!"
Rean was sweating. "We… we're going to starve…!"
Kazuki remained silent. Then smiled faintly—so slight, it was nearly invisible.
"Relax... I already prepared Plan B."
He raised his finger slowly. Just slightly. Then moved it through the air, tracing delicate patterns like invisible threads.
And then—
FLASHHH!!
A blinding light erupted from the cafeteria ceiling. The flash looked like a short-circuited magic crystal—and threw the entire room into chaos.
"What was that?!"
"Magic explosion?!"
"Ruuuun!!"
Panic ensued.
Some students bolted. Others dropped flat to the ground. Even the cafeteria staff dove under tables.
But only one person… remained calm amidst the madness.
Kazuki.
His eyes scanned the area. Everyone's attention had shifted. And no one realized that the source of the magic… was him.
He walked casually to the serving counter, grabbed a large plate of magic rice, two pieces of lava-glazed chicken, and a glass of citrus elixir.
He didn't pay.
No one stopped him.
Lucien and Rean followed with hurried steps.
"Bro! That was insane! Was that divine lightning descending from the heavens?!"
"I thought we were all gonna explode!"
Kazuki didn't answer. He simply smiled faintly and walked toward the farthest corner of the cafeteria. The most unnoticed. The darkest. The most… background.
He sat down slowly, eating with the calm of a disgraced noble.
As he chewed, he muttered in his heart:
"Sometimes… justice only applies to those who can't hide."
"And I… am the exception."
Lucien plopped down beside him, still out of breath. "Dude, good thing we still got our food!"
Rean bit into the lava chicken. "I almost cried back there… Thought we were gonna starve for a week!"
Kazuki didn't react.
He simply stared forward…
…with a faint smile, like a devil who just stole an apple from the gods' garden.
"That line was way too long…" he whispered to himself.
"Better to just take it directly."
---
After Lunch – Magia Veritas Academy Corridor
Kazuki's footsteps echoed quietly in the back corridor of the academy. This place was silent, far from the crowds of other students.
He wasn't walking with his two usual side characters, Lucien and Rean. He had "released" them for free time, like NPCs not currently needed.
Kazuki strolled along the path lit by sunlight filtering through tall glass windows. His hands in his pockets, his expression calm… as if the world itself was just a stage for him to perform upon.
"Peaceful… tranquil… ideal for a background character pretending to go unnoticed…" he muttered inwardly, almost like an actor enjoying a private monologue.
But right at the corridor corner—
THUD!
Someone bumped into him.
Kazuki's body lightly fell to the floor. A classic background character fall.
"Ugh…" he muttered while holding his shoulder, his voice flat but just pathetic enough to seem weak.
A girl stood in front of him, startled. Her clothes were worn, clearly not from a noble family. A steel collar hung around her neck—a slave.
Her eyes widened, and she immediately panicked.
"I-I'm sorry! I… I wasn't watching where I was going!" she stammered, bowing deeply. Her breath was shaky, like she feared being whipped.
Kazuki looked at her. His violet eyes carefully observed. He could sense fear… pressure… forced obedience.
Yet…
He didn't rise quickly. He remained sitting on the floor for a moment, lowering his head like an unimportant extra.
"I'm sorry too… I was too lost in thought… about the injustices of this world…" he said softly, almost like a philosopher's whisper.
The girl blinked. But she wasn't angry. Instead, she looked at Kazuki with uncertainty.
"It's okay… Just… don't do it again, alright…" she said gently, but her voice carried the tone of someone long used to suppression.
Kazuki slowly stood. He brushed the dust off his cloak.
"Very well… I shall remember you… the mysterious girl who appeared like a storm in this background character's life…" he said, gazing toward the sunlight through the window with exaggerated flair.
The girl looked confused. "Huh?"
But Kazuki simply walked away without explaining.
In his heart, he smiled faintly.
"A slave girl, huh…? This world is still full of irony."
"Sometimes… even a background character must fall… to maintain the illusion."
---
On the Way to Class 1-C
The academy hallway felt empty, only Kazuki's footsteps echoing. The afternoon light cast long shadows of his figure across the white stone floor.
But suddenly… Kazuki stopped.
A small smile formed on his face. His gaze sharpened, like an actor who just remembered his grand role on the world's stage.
He touched his chin with one hand, then slowly looked up at the ceiling.
"Heh… I understand now."
He chuckled quietly, soft yet deep… then muttered as if speaking to an unseen entity.
"Very well, tonight… I shall act personally. A stealth operation… a crucial target… and you already know who it is, don't you?"
A breeze passed by, making his academy cloak flutter dramatically.
Kazuki resumed walking with slow yet determined steps, letting the theatrical atmosphere wrap around him like a veil of mystery.
His target… was the slave girl who had bumped into him.
Not out of vengeance.
Not out of anger.
But because Kazuki had seen something behind her eyes.
"Those eyes… don't lie. She's hiding something."
Kazuki glanced to the side—at his own shadow on the wall.
"From tonight on… you'll be part of this story. Prepare yourself, nameless girl…"
His footsteps vanished at the end of the hallway.
This chapter closes.
But tonight, a secret mission will begin.