Arc 1:Chapter 1: a story of dreams

A lot had happened between the time I was reincarnated and when I reached my third year of high school. A lot had really happened.

　First of all, to get stronger, I worked hard on weight training and running from a young age. Muscles never betray you, and I thought that without stamina, you wouldn't be able to survive in the harsh environment of Abydos, and you wouldn't be able to fight.

 I also thought that even if it was Kivotos, a three-year-old child wouldn't be able to get their hands on a gun. I was a strange person who devoted myself to training from the age of three.

When I turned six and started elementary school, I decided it was about time, so I went to buy a gun. I was worried about whether I would be able to get a gun at that age, but I was able to buy one at a gun shop without any problems, and the store clerk didn't say anything. In fact, I was often praised for being so polite and impressive for my age. This made me realize the difference in perceptions of guns. When I later started elementary school, I realized that 70 to 80 percent of the kids my age had guns, which made me realize once again how abnormal Kivotos was.

By the time I was in my fourth year, my accuracy with a handgun had improved a bit, so I decided to decide on a weapon to use seriously. There's probably a limit to how strong I can get with a handgun, after all. And why doesn't Yume-senpai in the original character's character portrait hold a gun? I can't decide based on my knowledge of the original.

Surprisingly, elementary school also had classes on how to handle guns, so even a former Japanese like me who had no prior knowledge of guns was able to acquire some knowledge about guns. If you think about it objectively, it was only natural that in a society with so many guns, they would teach how to handle guns for self-defense.

　When deciding which gun to use, the first thing to consider is that I'll probably be able to obtain the strongest shield in Kivotos, the "IRON HORUS," which can even block Binah's heat ray, in the near future, although I'm not sure when that will be. I want to get something that will make it easy to make use of the shield. The second thing is that I'll probably need to fight alone until Hoshino enrolls. The third thing is that Abydos is in financial difficulty and will be reluctant to buy ammunition, so it's better to use each shot carefully. It's true that my shooting accuracy has improved, but in practice I didn't really feel like I could keep hitting moving opponents accurately.

For the first and second reasons, i rejected the sniper rifle for the time being. The future Abydos School Closure Countermeasures Committee doesn't have any snipers, and I think a sniper would be very useful in future battles, so honestly, I wanted to use it, but reluctantly gave up. For the third reason, I also gave up on the assault rifle.

    Then, while I was thinking about the original work, I realized something. Yume-senpai was carrying a shield, and from her character illustration, she always had a bandage on. Considering Hoshino's hyper-aggressive tactics, she must have been a decoy tank. And while it may have been because she was carrying a shield, I thought that since she was a tank, her body might have been stronger than the other students. In fact, when we had a shooting class with my classmates, I felt like I was the only one who clearly took less damage when I was hit.

     Also, thanks to the constant training I've been doing since I was little, I have very high physical abilities. The power of the people of Kivotos is truly amazing. The more I move, the more power I get, so it's easy to stay motivated. I've digressed a bit, but what I wanted to say is that I have very high physical abilities. In combat, this is synonymous with excellent mobility.

    I want you to imagine someone who is strong and carries a shield. What's more, they're also highly mobile. You can probably think of one student who has these characteristics and is also one of the strongest in Kivotos. That's right, Takanashi Hoshino herself. So I decided to use her as a reference

        In addition, no matter how bad the accuracy of the shots may be, I figured that within the effective range of a shotgun, I could still get away with it to some extent, so I decided to use a shotgun

    By the time I was in my second year of junior high school, I started getting  mugged by the Helmet Gang and delinquent girls. Even the delinquents probably felt hesitant to muggle elementary school students. Perhaps I was becoming a target because I was getting older. The law and order situation in the Abydos Autonomous Region was already bad at this time. Of course, I wasn't going to just quietly pay the money, so I picked fights. At first, I was just using my physical prowess to get ahead, and I was getting injured a lot, so although I was winning, it didn't seem like I could continue in the future. However, whether it was good or bad luck, I continued to get into trouble with delinquents often, so I was able to gain a lot of combat experience. After living like that for a while, I was getting used to gunfights and getting injured less and less, which made me happy. I was steadily getting stronger. At the same time, I was losing my sense of Japanese ethics and sensibility.

    Just as i was about to graduate from middle school and enter Abydos High School, something bothered me. That's right, my chest armor, one of Yume-senpai's distinctive features in the original work, was getting bigger. This wasn't a problem in normal life, but it was extremely annoying during combat. When i moved violently, it shook so much that it hit my body with a bang, making it difficult to concentrate on the fight. I also felt like the opposing Helmet Gang members were a little drawn to my chest. Well, even though they were the same gender, there weren't many students with chest armor this impressive, and with it swaying so much, they couldn't help but look. I took advantage of that opportunity and defeated them. I might get in the way of those without breasts, but when they started to grow, they were really annoying. Well, after a while I got used to it and it stopped bothering me.

   I easily enrolled in Abydos High School and joined the Abydos Student Council, but I was the only student there, let alone anyone who joined the student council. All of my friends from middle school had gone to autonomous regions outside of Abydos, which made me sad. But if I thought about it objectively, it was the natural decision. I enrolled because I knew that important juniors would be coming in the future and that Abydos would be saved to some extent, but of course no one else knew this. If that were the case, I came to the conclusion that there was no reason to stay in an autonomous region with no clear future, so everyone apologized to me for leaving Abydos, but I couldn't blame them.

　Then, about four months after I entered the school, a senior in her third year spoke to me.

"You seem to be quite good at fighting, and since you use a shotgun, I'm sure there will be many situations where you can put it to good use, so I'll give you this. It's the only inheritance from the Abydos Student Council."

And so, i finally obtains the "IRON HORUS" shield, which Yume-senpai would have used in the original work.

    Since I got this shield, combat has become a lot easier. Until now, I'd relied on my physical abilities and dynamic vision to avoid the enemy's bullets, forcing my way into their arms and firing a shotgun at them, a ridiculously muscle-brained strategy, but now I have more options, like using the shield to cut off their line of fire or as a decoy to attack from a different direction. This has not only broadened my tactical options, but also meant I was hurt less simply because I was hit less, so I was very grateful.

More time passed, and the seniors their third year graduated, and a little while after I became a second-year student. Perhaps because I had worked harder than anyone else to repay my debts, I became student council president. Then the seniors left Abydos. This was also a plot development in the original work, so I had somewhat expected it, but it was still very painful. Actually, when I think about it, Yume-senpai in the original work, who didn't know the future, managed to get through this difficult period on her own. If I didn't know the future, I would definitely have given up. Yume-senpai must have been mentally too strong.

　It was so painful that I went to Shibaseki Ramen, which had already opened that day, to devour the ramen. I cried a little while eating the ramen.

"What's wrong? It's rare to see you crying, Yume-chan. Not since the first time you came here."

    Since there were no other customers, Shiba Taisho spoke to me. I had been a regular customer since my first year, so we were good friends. The first time I came to Shibaseki Ramen, I was so happy to meet a character from the original work, and so moved by how delicious Shibaseki Ramen was, that I cried, which confused and worried Master Shiba. Of course, I couldn't tell him the name of a character from the original work, so I told him that I was so moved by how delicious it was that I cried. It's not a lie. Shiba Taisho then laughed shyly and gave me a complimentary bowl of pork rice bowl.

"Well, it's just that all the other students are gone, and that's what's sad..."

I didn't want to worry him too much, so I wanted to lie, but i was crying so much that it was impossible to lie, and I didn't have the mental capacity to try to cover it up, so I just told him the truth.

"I see...that's tough. My old friend and I both have stores that are closing soon, so I can understand how you feel.

"But, except for me, does that mean Yume-chan doesn't want to give up on Abydos yet?"

　That's what Shiba Taisho asked me. That's right. For the sake of my future juniors and for Hoshino's sake, I can't give up at this point.

"Of course! I will never give up Abydos!"

 i declared this with tears stil in my eyes.

"Hahahaha! Yume-chan is really strong. Ever since her first year, she's worked harder than the other girls in Abydos, paying off debts and patrolling to maintain peace."

　So Shiba Taisho knew about it. It was the first time I'd been praised for my hard work by someone other than my seniors, so I was happy, but also a little embarrassed.

"Abydos won't end until Yume-chan gives up. I guess all I can do is cook and listen to you talk like this, but I'm rooting for you!"

　Shiba Taisho said this with a smile as he handed me the fried rice. My tears hadn't subsided, but rather intensified. But these weren't the cold tears of sadness I'd felt earlier. They were warm tears of joy.

　Shiba Taisho pats me on the back. I knew he was a saint before I came to Kivotos, but he's even kinder than I imagined. I never expected that just talking to him like this would make me feel so much better. Even though my face is a mess of tears and snot, I somehow manage to force a smile and declare my gratitude.

"Thank you very much. I will never give up until Abydos is restored!"

"Yeah! If you get hungry again, come by! You're welcome."

　He handed me a tissue as he said this. After that, i somehow managed to stop crying, finished my meal, and left the restaurant. By the way, the fried rice was free as a service. It occurred to me that maybe he also has the potential to be a teacher?

Without him, Master Shiba, my heart would have been broken without a doubt. But he not only comforted me, but motivated me as well. This practically saved not only me, but Abydos, and even Kivotos. He was a hero who saved the students and Kivotos, so it was hard to see any difference between him and my teacher. The Federation Student Council President should have had her eyes on Shiba Taisho.

　I headed home thinking about such things.

As time passed, I had two thoughts. The first one is about Yume-senpai from the original work. Yume-senpai is an incredible person, born in Abydos, a place with a particularly harsh environment even within Kivotos, yet possessing the sensibilities of a kind-hearted Japanese person. I'm certain that if I had lived in Abydos without any memories of my past life, I would never have been able to think like her.

This is somewhat related to the second point, but there are a lot of so-called bad adults who try to deceive us. Furthermore, the security situation is poor, so fighting with the Helmet Gang and delinquent girls is unavoidable. Despite this, she understands that rough dealing alone isn't enough, and yet she is so energetically helping people, which is truly amazing. She's also a saint. As a fake, when I'm deceived, I can only resolve things peacefully with violence, and if I hadn't known about Yume-senpai's words and actions, I might have stopped helping people. No... Perhaps it's precisely because she's experienced such hardship that she can't abandon people in trouble. She's such a good girl. I guess I just can't be her.

　And the second one is what Hoshino said in the original work:

"Adults can't be trusted"

　I really related to this line. There are so few decent adults that it makes you wonder if there really are any decent adults other than Shiba Taisho. Every adult who comes along deceives you. Living in such an environment, I thought it was only natural that Hoshino would be wary of the teacher when she first met him. I knew from the original work that there were a lot of bad adults, but I didn't think it would be this bad.

　While thinking about this, I was reading my notes about the original work, and I realized I had forgotten one important thing.

"I haven't bought the student council handbook yet."

　Yes, it was the key figure that restored Hoshino back to normal from terror, which was not perfect in the original work, and was the one who kept Hoshino connected. I hadn't bought the "Fun Banana livings" Diary. I felt like I didn't really need to buy it as long as I was going to survive, but if something were to happen to me, I'd be in trouble without it. I also thought it might be nice to write in a diary, so I decided to go buy one.

　Well, it doesn't have to be a banana-livings diary, but I wanted to stay as close as possible to the original. I'm not sure if it makes sense, though, since I've already become a character far removed from Yume-senpai in the original. There will come a time when I regret this choice, but at this point I don't know that yet...

I found it while looking for it at a department store.

"But this is sold in the elementary school section..."

　Sad news: Yume-senpai's taste was at the elementary school level. Well, I also think this is cute, so maybe I have the same taste... Anyway, I managed to buy it, so I went home that day.

   That's what happened... I was sitting in the waiting room of the gym, reminiscing about my life up until now. I'll stop reminiscing and face reality.

　I'm finally in my third year, and it's time for the entrance ceremony. The reason I'm reminiscing so much about the past is because I'm trying to escape from the stress. The reason I'm nervous is because I'm afraid Hoshino might not be there. Of course, Hoshino's application had arrived, and as the student council president, I accepted it, but when I was in my second year, there was a student who had only submitted the application but never attended school. That's why I'm so scared. If Hoshino isn't there, if she doesn't enroll, my heart will definitely break. Even Shiba Taisho, no matter how great he is, won't be able to heal this emotional wound. I prayed in the waiting room in the gym that Hoshino would be there, and then I went up to the stage to give my speech as student council president.

    So I stood on the stage, hoping that Hoshino would be there. I looked at the folding chairs in the gymnasium, staring back at me. Then my eyes met hers.

　A freshman with short pink hair, a distinctive ahoge, and beautiful heterochromatic yellow and blue eyes.

　There, I finally found a glimmer of hope.

    By the way, Yume is so overwhelmed with joy that she doesn't notice at all, but she is crying a little from happiness and relief as she gives her congratulatory speech for the new students. Hoshino was shocked when the person giving the speech in front of her suddenly started crying. After the entrance ceremony was successfully completed, she reported to Shiba Taisho, also crying, that the new students had come.