Whichever I chose, it would be hell.

So, with some out-of-the-box thinking like Columbus, I just wouldn’t choose at all.

Here, I’d opt for a strategic retreat.

“Alright! My stomach’s hurting…”

Grab.

“I’m not letting you get away.”

Too strong.

Reina and Kaguya grabbed my shoulders, making escape impossible. It hurt, it really hurt.

Right, both of them were soldiers, and their physical abilities were actually higher than mine.

Kenya realized that running was out of the question.

His only option was a desperate measure.

“H-How about… the three of us practice in the simulator?”

It was a half-baked idea tossed out casually, but it didn’t sound half bad.

The two exchanged glances, then looked at Kenya before answering.

“If it means I get to fight you, I don’t mind.”

“W-Well, if it means I can practice, I’d be happy too…”

Kaguya genuinely wanted to get better at piloting KOG.

Reina didn’t care about her being second-class or anything like that. If Kenya was her opponent, she was fine with it.

It went surprisingly smoothly, and the three headed to the simulator room.

“I’m really glad Reina’s here. They never would have lent it to just us.”

“Saying second-classers are wasting time and all that. I really hate them.”

“It’s the national policy… but lately, I feel like it’s gone too far.”

Discrimination was the national policy.

The emperor himself had declared that ruling over colonial citizens was the righteous path for Earthguard Empire subjects.

The people, having lost their restraint and blinded by a sense of justice, had spiraled into harboring outright malice.

Humans might just have that tragic flaw—tell them it’s okay to bully, even that they should, and they’ll do it.

“Anyway, how about Kaguya versus Reina first?”

“Huh? Me?”

“I’m not really interested in fighting her…”

“Reina, Kaguya’s going to get strong. As strong as you.”

“!?! …I can’t believe that.”

“W-What are you saying? Me, as strong as the Ice Princess!?”

Reina eyed him suspiciously, while Kaguya was stunned by Kenya’s words.

“Come on, come on, just get in.”

He ushered them aboard.

The match started, but as expected, it ended in Reina’s overwhelming victory.

They switched it up—Kenya versus Reina, Kaguya versus Kenya—and tried various combinations.

The three lost themselves in the simulator for a while.

Before they knew it, it was dinnertime. They’d been at it for three or four hours, probably.

“Let’s call it here for today. I’m starving.”

“…Running away after winning?”

“Haha, I’m not running. Challenge me anytime, anywhere, and I’ll take it.”

“Then let’s do one more.”

“No, give me a break. Tomorrow’s a day off, so next time?”

Reina’s enthusiasm reminded him of his own all-nighters back in the day—endearing, but it was time to wrap up.

Kenya had plans after this and couldn’t just play around forever.

“…Fine, I get it.”

(Good, looks like she’s letting me go.)

Reina, who hadn’t scored even a single win against Kenya, grudgingly agreed despite her sour mood.

“It was good practice for me. Thanks, I guess. Reina.”

“It wasn’t practice for me at all.”

“Hah!?”

(Stop it, why do you always have to pick a fight?)

Kenya panicked, thinking this was what they meant by dogs and monkeys not getting along.

But then Reina said something unexpected.

“Still, in that last match… I’ll give you credit for landing that one hit on me. Nice move.”

Kaguya’s face, which had been glaring, instantly flushed red with surprise.

She hadn’t expected praise and was caught off guard.

“Th-Thank… you…”

She mumbled her gratitude bashfully, head down.

She still couldn’t fully accept it. The racial wall built by war wouldn’t come down overnight.

But.

(Good. Looks like they might actually get along?)

Kenya wanted the two to become friends.

That was why he’d suggested this in the first place.

“Well, if you can pull off moves like that last one, you’ll at least be good finger exercise from now on.”

“Hah!?”

(Stop it, why do you always have to pick a fight?)

Kenya jumped between them again as tensions rose.

This role was way more exhausting than piloting KOG.

Reina flicked her silver hair and turned away crisply.

“Well then, I’ll be going. I’ll return the card for you.”

“Thanks, Reina. Kaguya, let’s head out too.”

“Huh? Where to?”

“Where? On our date.”

“D-Date!?”

(She said it herself, but now she’s tripping over her words… So cat-like. I wanna put cat ears on her.)

Kaguya, panicking with cat-like eyes, was utterly adorable.

She already had that feline vibe—cat ears would suit her perfectly.

“Come on, let’s go.”

Without giving her a moment, Kenya dragged her along forcefully.

There was something he had to tell Kaguya today.

No time for holding back.

“It’s getting late anyway. See ya, Reina!”

With that, he grabbed Kaguya’s shoulder and hurried out of the classroom.

“D-Don’t touch me so casually! H-Hey!”

Bickering like that, Kenya and Kaguya left the simulator room.

To an outsider, they looked like a flirty couple having fun.

Reina watched their backs, arms crossed, tapping her foot restlessly with a glare.

(Huh? Why do I feel so unsettled?)

But not knowing what the emotion was, she quickly brushed it off and forgot about it.

“Now, to return the card.”

However, one man watched the scene from the shadows.

“Should I report this to Zeke? Including that irregular…”

The man was Instructor Alfred.

Reina’s father, her superior, the principal, and the top military figure known as the Military God.

He considered reporting the three to Zeke Silfield.

…

“You said dinner, but there aren’t any places we can go nearby!”

“Huh?”

All restaurants were for first-class citizens only.

Sure, outside the capital, there were spots second-classers could enter, but here in Tokyo—or rather, the 13th Special District capital—mostly first-class and second-class military folks lived.

Third-class citizens commuted from afar daily, slaving away at low-wage jobs like city cleaning from dawn till dusk.

And all eateries were for first-class.

It was custom that they wouldn’t eat in the same places as second-classers.

So, for dinner…

“The supermarket’s open.”

There was one near the school.

Of course, the staff were third-class Earthguard citizens—former Japanese.

Dumped with every menial task, treated worse than in any black company.

Treated like they could drop dead for all anyone cared, but in this world, there was no labor law like the 36 agreements to protect third-class Earthguard citizens.

“Even if we buy ingredients, where do we eat them?”

“My place, obviously.”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Silence fell as Kaguya stared at him.

Then she bolted away like a startled rabbit.

She hugged herself protectively, shooting him resentful looks.

“T-Taking me to your room out of nowhere! What’s wrong with your sense of decency!?”

“N-No! Just for a bit! Just to rest a little!”

“Stop, don’t touch me!”

“C-Come on, don’t make a fuss now! Just a little! Just the tip!”

Kenya thought he sounded just like a guy trying to drag a woman into a hotel after she got cold feet at the door.

After some intense back-and-forth, Kaguya finally relented.

“Y-You absolutely won’t do anything weird, right?”

“You want me to? Ugh!”

(Isn’t ‘don’t push’ the signal to push…?)

He’d heard that was a rule back in his old world, but apparently not here.

Kaguya kneed him in the gut, and he doubled over.

For a shut-in, getting invited on a date was a huge hurdle to begin with.

He wanted to believe he wasn’t socially awkward, but talking to people wasn’t his strong suit.

With Kaguya and Reina, though, it was effortless—probably from talking to them endlessly in the game.

Don’t talk to game heroines? Shut up.

“Curry sound good?”

(Good, I was worried if there’d be weird ingredients I’d never seen.)

The supermarket was more normal than expected.

Except for the dead-eyed staff.

Working nonstop with no entertainment.

How agonizing must it be to live like that until death?

“…”

Kaguya made a sad face watching them.

At checkout, she thanked them properly—Kenya thought she really was a kind girl.

She worried about Japan’s current state as part of the resistance, so even knowing it was hopeless, it probably saddened her.

After shopping, they headed to Kenya’s place.

He paid with his KOG device.

The military gave some stipend, and this world seemed more cashless than his previous one.

…

“So this is your room.”

Arms crossed, looking down at him.

“It’s not even messy—it’s just empty.”

Like his old world’s room.

“But… it feels kinda relaxing.”

Probably the tatami.

Kenya’s room was a 6-mat Japanese-style space.

Tatami touched a Japanese soul, so Kaguya might feel nostalgic too.

Kenya started cooking.

Long-time solo liver, cooking was second nature.

“Huh, you can actually cook.”

“Yeah, curry’s easy—no need for help. Kaguya, you…”

A sudden thought: boyfriend-girlfriend banter.

When she visits his place, there’s a classic line.

“Take a shower first.”

He delivered it with a smug grin.