Chapter 115 115: K-ON!

— — — — — — Private Sakuragaoka Girls' High School - Music Room "Hey everyone—new member coming through~~~!" A cheerful girl with short brown hair and a headband practically dragged another girl into the music room by the hand. The dragged girl had brown hair, brown eyes, and a cute hairpin. She looked a bit confused as she stumbled inside. "For real?" Hearing that, the two girls already in the room—one with long black hair and the other with blonde curls—turned around from their tea with excited faces. After welcoming the new arrival with tea and cake, the four of them took turns introducing themselves. The bubbly girl who brought the newcomer in was Ritsu Tainaka, the president of the Light Music Club and soon-to-be drummer of their band HTT, Ho-kago Tea Time (After-School Tea Time). The serious-looking girl with long black hair was Mio Akiyama, the bassist. The elegant blonde was Tsumugi Kotobuki, their keyboardist. Known as Mugi. And the girl who just got dragged in? That was Yui Hirasawa. She had joined thinking the club was all about casually messing around with music. For her, "light music club" meant "easy music club" (like whistling). She didn't know how to play a single instrument—not even the guitar or harmonica—and couldn't name a single famous band or musician. But since the club only had three members and would be disbanded if they didn't get a fourth by the end of April, the others had pulled out all the stops. They lured her in with promises of daily tea, cookies, muffins, and cakes. Then they even put on a mini performance just for her. Yui didn't think it was amazing exactly... but it was kind of fun. And so, she became the Light Music Club's fourth member. Basically, the plot of K-ON! anime. — — — Outside the music room window, floating in midair and hidden from sight, Fujiwara Chika had been secretly watching the whole thing unfold. "So these four are the destiny-bound people we need to build bonds with, huh?" she mused. "They're not exactly professionals yet," Chika added after a beat, "but if this club keeps that vibe going, I bet it's gonna be pretty fun..." "There are still some scattered individuals with fate elsewhere," said Veyron, who stood invisibly beside her. "But yeah, four of the five major strands of fate are definitely here." He withdrew his perception from a few other girls—some younger, some older—who also possessed fragments of destiny, then nodded to himself. Chika furrowed her brow in thought. "So... 'bonds'... How exactly do we build those?" "'Bonds,' in the literal sense, are things that tie or restrict someone, trapping them," Veyron explained. "But clearly that's not what this mission is talking about. Considering how pure and nostalgic the feelings in this world are... I think here, 'bonds' mean those rare, deep, irreplaceable connections between people." Chika said thoughtfully, "Yeah, it definitely leans more toward your second meaning." "So basically, I need to befriend them—really befriend them, to the point we're super close?" "That's the idea," Veyron nodded. "Hold on a sec. Let me see if I can buff you up a bit first." "...Huh?" Chika tilted her head as Veyron released a wave of energy. It was formless yet tangible, infused with his Divine Ki as it reached out into this world's reality. After confirming that someone was listening—a hunch he'd had ever since he suspected the mission came so conveniently timed after he rambled about "Hidden world" to Toyomi and Moeha—Veyron spoke directly, no fluff: "World, I need you to give Chika a legal, usable identity here—or at least a blessing that makes sure no matter where or when she shows up, no one questions who she is or where she came from." "...Eh?" Chika blinked. "Why're you doing this just for me?" "Because you're the one who's going to go make friends with them." "You're not coming with me, Mr. Veyron?" "...Do you realize this is an all-girls school?" Veyron gave her a look. "Even if it wasn't, this club's made up entirely of girls. You think it'd be appropriate for a grown man like me to insert myself into that?" "Uh..." Chika thought about it. Fair point. "So I'm leaving this world to you," Veyron said, casually. "I've already scanned this place—it's pretty clean. At least within the sixth ring of the solar system, there's nothing too bizarre or dangerous." "With that blessing that keeps people from questioning your identity, you can just focus on bonding with the Light Music Club. Meanwhile, I'm gonna go check out World-2." "Got it," Chika nodded, her eyes drifting back to the four girls in the music room. Then something clicked. "Wait—what do you mean by 'within the sixth ring of the solar system'?" "Exactly what it sounds like. Everything within Saturn's orbit." "!!!" Chika stood there in awe. Respect. True to form, the will of World-1 quickly responded to Veyron's request. Chika was granted a strange, powerful blessing—one that allowed her to freely appear anywhere in the world without ever needing ID, and without anyone questioning who she was. Once he'd tested the blessing to make sure it worked as intended, Veyron set off for the mysterious World-2. The default arrival point? Another school. Also... another all-girls school, just like Sakuragaoka. But unlike K-On!'s iconic setting, this one—Excellent Girls' Academy—was completely unfamiliar to him. Not something from the anime shows he'd binged before crossing over. Veyron wasn't too bothered though. His "Otaku Life" didn't offer a roadmap, but that didn't mean he was worried. As long as he didn't end up dumped into some high-stakes worlds like Marvel, DC, or Dragon Ball, his current strength was more than enough to handle anything with a normal power system. At this point, the only real "opponent" he had left in these kinds of settings was the world's own will. And even that was unlikely to become a threat. After acquiring the [Friend of the World (Gold)] trait, he'd confirmed something important: in every world connected through the dimensional chat group, the will of the world viewed all group members with a base goodwill rating of at least 70 out of 100. And him? like +90. So really, when he jumped into a new member's world, he didn't even have to lift a finger to gain the world's trust. It just defaulted to liking him. With that kind of relationship, as long as he didn't go full psycho and try to destroy the world, there was no way the world's will would ever turn against him. "Alright then," he muttered to himself, "let's see what this supposedly world-2 is all about." He released his Divine Ki outward, and instantly extended his awareness to cover the entire planet. "...Huh?" Veyron let out a soft sound of surprise. What the hell does 'the entire global population is made up of fate-bound individuals' even mean? Everyone's got protagonist-level destiny now? No... not exactly. It wasn't that everyone was special—fate itself was gathering. Following the shifting flow of this concentrated fate, Veyron's gaze locked onto a familiar road near Girls' Academy—one commonly used by students commuting to and from school. Sitting on a public bench along that road was a man. He looked young, but carried a dark, dangerous presence. And then—just as suddenly as a glitch in a video game—someone appeared in front of him. A woman, based on the silhouette beneath her long black cloak. She was holding a palm-sized silver pocket watch—just the right size to fit snugly in an adult's hand. She hadn't just arrived. She had manifested, right in front of that sinister-looking man. Veyron stared. "...No way." He had to admit—both the scene in front of him and that pocket watch looked really, really familiar. No wonder. He hadn't recognized the name of the school—after all, who actually pays attention to details like that in a world like this one? "Oh man... here comes another one." . . .