[The Next Day]
It was currently lunchtime during the school hours of Shinjuku Pillager Academy, and Hajime Nagumo wasn't having the best of times right now. Normally he would as Lunchtime was the time he could just sit alone and play some games or read manga. There was however, something stopping that usual routine. Or rather, someone.
"Oh come on Nagumo-san! Can't you tell me the title of the manga you were reading? I really want to know!"
That someone was in the form of one of Shinjuku Pillager Academy's "2 Goddesses," Kaori Shirasaki. Ever since she had started hanging around him, it's been nothing but trouble. Due to the amount of attention garnered. Very uncomfortable and unwanted attention.
"Why do you want to know so badly," Hajime asked exasperated.
Kaori, in response, said with sparkles in her eyes, "It just looked so cool. The character on the front with orange hair, black clothing, and big sword interested me."
Hajime looked skeptical and raised an eyebrow, 'Why would someone like her be interested in manga,' he thought.
"Well well, this is quite interesting," spoke a random voice.
Hajime and Kaori looked up to see who the owner of the voice was, and to their surprise, it was the recent transfer student himself, Sargon Kaze.
"Hello you 2. Mind if I sit here? You're the only ones I feel more comfortable being around than others," he said.
Kaori, without any hesitation, nodded happily and smiled, "Of course! I was trying to get Nagumo-kun here to tell me about the manga that he was reading before class."
Hajime looked at Kaori and sighed. Sargon raised an eyebrow as he sat down with his lunch, "Oh? Manga you say? Interesting."
Hajime in response bemoaned, "Not you too. Why are you interested in manga?"
Sargon, after taking a bite of his lunch, said naturally, "Well I'm not interested per se, but I've heard a lot about these types of books that are quite popular for some people. I would like to know just a little bit why they find it so appealing as one who's never read one before."
At that, both Kaori and Hajime's eyes widened in shock, "You've never read manga before," Hajime shouted.
The shout travelled around the lunchroom and everyone turned around to the source. They then immediately glared at Hajime, "Keep it down, you otaku freak!" "Yeah, most people have lives to live and jobs to fulfil, unlike you!"
Hajime immediately regretted being so loud and shrank back down, ashamed. Sargon looked back at the table who said that and gave them a look of cold disappointment. In response, they flinched and looked away, getting back to their meal.
"Sorry for being so loud. But is it really true? You've never read manga before," Hajime asked again, this time a little more quietly.
Sargon turned his head back and nodded, "Yes, it is. I've never read a manga before. Mostly because I was busy attending to other matters. I just simply want to know why some people, like yourselves, would go to such lengths for these manga."
If it were anyone else who said this, Hajime would've felt as though they were mocking him. But since it was Sargon who said it, he felt as though the man was genuinely curious about it. Not to mention the small act of protection he offered against those 2, which gave him a nostalgic feeling that he couldn't quite pinpoint.
"That may be a bit of a problem man. You've got to at least see or read one manga in your life, otherwise, it'll never be complete! Here, you can take a look at this one," Hajime says as he pulls out one from his bag.
Kaori, however, proceeds to pout, "Really Nagumo?! You're going to show him what you were reading earlier, but not me?! You're so mean," Kaori said with tears in her eyes.
Hajime sighed once again, "Alright alright, I'll show you both. Here," he said as he pulled out the manga from yesterday.
"That's the one! Hmm? Detergent? That's what it's called," Kaori said with her head tilted.
"Hajime smirked and huffed a bit, "Don't be fooled by its name now, it is nothing like the title says. This manga has a lot of cool scenes and battles, even cool names too," Hajime said with pride.
Sargon looked at the cover with an analyzing look and an eyebrow raised, "I see, so this is one of those 'Don't judge a book by its cover' scenarios then," he asked.
Hajime nodded with a smile, "Oh very much like one of those scenarios."
Kaori looked on with small sparkles in her eyes, "Can I take a look at it," she asked.
Hajime nodded, "Sure, but make sure to let Kaze see it too. He must see what a manga is," he reminded her.
Kaori nodded as she picked up the manga, "I will." She then opened the book and started looking at the pages.
Sargon looked on, a little surprised at the structure of the book, "Oh? The places where the cover and back info are currently on this book are switched from normal books. Is that by choice," Sargon asked intrigued.
Hajime nodded, "Yeah, that's the standard structure and order for all manga and their novels."
"I see," Sargon responded.
"Whoa! This looks pretty cool," said Kaori excitedly on one particular page.
Hajime looked over, "Where specifically?"
Kaori leaned over to show him, "Here!"
Hajime, caught off guard by the sudden close contact, reminded Kaori of that fact, "Hey, you're so close!"
"How else am I supposed to show you what I'm talking about," she asked innocently.
Sargon meanwhile, looked on with a gentle smile, 'Hmm, these 2 are quite the pair, even though they're not technically friends. Well, to Nagumo, at least. I hope we'll build a good rapport with each other soon,' he thought fondly as he continued eating his lunch while looking at the amusing display of Hajime trying and failing to get some distance from Kaori.
[Transition - At Night]
Sargon was lying on his bed, thinking about the day he had with Hajime and Kaori while smiling, "Those 2 are quite amusing to be around. I'm glad I sat at that table specifically. However," his smile soon turned into a frown when remembered the comments to Hajime.
'That was completely uncalled for. They seriously think that targeting him is going to make Shirasaki-san like them back? *Sigh* People can truly be so vain. Especially that one person,' Sargon thought darkly.
A vision of a certain man with a mocking smile came into view, 'Daisuke Hiyama. Most notably known for bullying Hajime severely, and since the latter isn't well liked by the school, no one really cares what happens to him. No one except me and Shirasaki,' he continued.
He then closed his eyes as he drifted off to sleep.
[Timeskip]
A week had passed since Sargon had acquainted himself with Hajime and by extension, Kaori. Of course, being so close to one of the most popular girls in school literally a day after transferring didn't sit well with the others. But they gave him grace thanks to being a transfer. Well, except one.
Daisuke Hiyama, of course, had a problem with this arrangement. In his mind, Kaori hanging out with a loser like Hajime and a stranger like Sargon filled him with immense jealousy. Why not him? What do they have that he does– ok, maybe the transfer student looks like he has a little more going for him thanks to his looks, but so does Kouki, and Daisuke himself doesn't look too bad right?
Needless to say, Daisuke, along with some of his pals, walked up to Sargon during his first week to remind him of the "Hierarchy" so to speak. Sargon didn't take him very seriously, of course, and that rubbed the bully the wrong way. He then, as one would expect, tried to teach him a lesson, along with his pals.
…..
One can guess how that plan went.
Sargon made sure not to hurt them too much, but it would seem the supposed humiliation of losing to a 1v5 while having the numbers hurt a lot more than the actual beating.
Needless to say, Sargon managed to get himself on Daisuke's hitlist, though he knew he couldn't deal with him like he would Nagumo.
Speaking of which, said person in question was walking down the hallways with a tired look on his face, inwardly cursing school, especially on Mondays.
Half of the reason he was tired and hated school was due to spending the last night playing games. The other half?
"Good morning Nagumo-kun. Nearly late again huh? Perhaps you should come a bit earlier to avoid this happening again," said Kaori Shirasaki.
Hajime looked startled and nervous, "Ah ha, right," he said as he felt the intense gaze of hatred and jealousy directed at him.
"My my Nagumo. Cutting it close yet again. What's the story this time? Video game all-nighters or manga marathons," said another voice with an amused tone.
Hajime turned around and saw Sargon walking up to him, "Hey Kaze-san," Hajime said.
"Morning Kaze-kun," said Kaori happily.
Sargon returned the smile and greeting, "Morning you 2."
Then, one more voice was heard, "Honestly Kaori, why do you even bother with him?"
The 3 looked around and saw 3 more individuals approaching; Shizuku Yaegashi, Rintaro Sakagami, and Kouki Amanogawa.
"Cutting it close yet again huh, Nagumo," said Shizuku.
"You really shouldn't be wasting your time with a gutless guy like him," said Rintaro.
"You truly are kind, Kaori," said Kouki.
He then walked, looked and said to Sargon, "You too have a kind heart to be associating yourself with Nagumo, but you truly are better off without him. As for you Nagumo, Kaori can't keep giving you attention forever," he said, almost chidingly.
Sargon waved his hand dismissively, "I thank you for your concern, Mr. Amanogawa, but I shall be the one who decides who's a waste of my time or not, and Nagumo here certainly isn't," he said with a gentle look.
Kouki sighed, "Are you sure?"
Sargon nodded, "Positive."
Hajime looked at Sargon with a thankful gaze, but he still couldn't help but think to himself, 'Honestly, they all should just go to another world or something.'
As soon as that thought surfaced, Sargon's eyes widened in shock and a huge magic circle was formed on the floor.
"What the?!" What's happening?!" "What is this?!"
Sargon, not being able to dispel the circle in time or without attracting attention, instead sent a small, coded magic circle out of the classroom. He and the rest of the people in the classroom were then enveloped in a column of light that reached the sky. After it passed, they too, were gone.