Koganei Niko, Laugh at School! - Her Full Name is a Four-Character Idiom - Eko sows the seeds of laughter.

"Out of my way. You can't pass through here." 　Koganehi Eko pressed her lips tightly together and stared at the sea of people before her. 　Black blazers. Gray slacks. Brand-new leather shoes. Everyone wore the same uniform, yet there were tall ones, short ones, laughing ones, ones staring at the ground—all kinds. Their faces, each hidden behind a plain white mask as varied as casual clothes, were being swallowed up through the school gate. 　This was Kagetsuki Private Academy. 　Harunomiya City, Tokyo. Forty-five minutes by train from the city center. A private high school founded forty-eight years ago, built on the slope of the Komorebi Hills. Academic deviation score: sixty-two. Excellence in both academics and athletics. School motto: cheerfulness and openness. ...Or so she'd heard. 　"So she'd heard"—because Eko's memories still weren't connecting properly. 　Yesterday, when she woke up. In her own room, on her own bed. Her body felt heavy, like it wasn't hers. Her fingertips and toes were cold as ice. 　Inside her head, the memories of two lives were crammed together in a jumble, like canned goods all mixed up into a mess. 　One was the memory of an ordinary, slightly odd girl who had lived in this city of Harunomiya for sixteen years. 　The other was— 　Eko shook her head sharply. 　Her bob cut with orange and black streaks swayed wildly. The white streak by her left temple, shaped like a tiger's fang, bounced up with a little spring. "Well, whatever." 　She said it out loud and grinned. Her golden eyes narrowed into crescent moons. 　A small, delicate body. But inside her head, the memories of her past life had taken up residence. Memories of streaming as a VTuber for a company called Hololive, as the comedy act. 　She still remembered the techniques of laughter from back then, the instincts. The memories of thinking up all kinds of material to make people smile, practicing endlessly, failing endlessly. 　Eko tightened the flashy tiger-pattern scarf over her school uniform. 　Her body had just wrapped it on its own, somehow. It was definitely cold, but without the scarf, she couldn't settle down. Weird. 　The wind blew. 　Cherry blossom petals fluttered down, landing on Eko's shoulder. 　That's when it happened. 　Eko's nose twitched. "...What an incredible smell." 　Something was drifting from the school gate. Like deodorizing spray, or the smell of starch? No. Something heavier. The smell of school hallways. The smell of gym clothes. The smell of indoor shoes. —The smell of air that doesn't laugh. 　Eko narrowed her eyes. 　Beyond the gate, she could see the four-story main building standing on the slope of the Komorebi Hills. Morning light sparkled off the glass windows. 　So pretty, she thought. 　But from that beautiful building, not a single student's laugh could be heard. 　...No, she could hear it. Small, stifled, giggling sounds. 　Someone would start to laugh, then suddenly cover their mouth and glance around nervously. 　Eko tilted her head. 　Why? 　If something's funny, you should just laugh. 　Eko started walking with little pattering steps. Her brand-new leather shoes clicked against the asphalt. "...Something's weird." 　Those were the words that slipped out. 　An image floated into her mind: the whole school like a clown's mouth, a smile forcibly held shut. 　But Eko's heart, strangely enough, was thrilled. 　A place with air this ticklish, where everyone was holding back their laughter. 　Perfect for testing my comedy skills. 　Eko softly gripped the end of her scarf. 　A cherry blossom petal touched the tip of her nose—boop—and vanished somewhere. 　Eko passed through the school gate. 　The moment she did, the air seemed to turn sharply cold. "Whoa." 　Eko let the sound escape honestly. 　Lined up on both sides of the gate were upperclassmen wearing armbands. Every one of them had a face as expressionless as a statue. 　There was one person standing in the center. 　Long black hair braided into a single plait down her back, silver eyes fixed steadily on the new students. 　A braid reaching her waist. Sharp silver pupils. A crisp white shirt starched to perfection. A pleated skirt without a single wrinkle. 　The moment Eko saw her, a shiver ran down her spine. 　(Who... is that?) 　The person looked at Eko. 　Silver eyes and golden eyes met for an instant. 　The person's expression didn't change at all as she smoothly averted her gaze. 　That was all. 　And yet, Eko's heart started racing. 　(What was that? Scary... but also, kind of interesting.) 　Eko shook her head with a little shiver. 　Oh, right. She hadn't introduced herself yet. "I-I'm...!" 　She muttered under her breath. 　(I'm Koganehi Eko. Koganehi Eko!) 　When she said it out loud, she stumbled over it. 　Why? It was her own name. "...Eko. Koganehi Eko. Sounds like a four-character idiom, right?" 　She searched for her classroom, shoulders slumped. 　Second floor of the main building. Class 1-B. 　This was her new stage. —— 　The entrance ceremony was held in the gymnasium. 　Kagetsuki Private Academy High School in Harunomiya City. About two hundred forty first-years sat on folding chairs, buzzing with noise. 　Buzzing, yes, but it was somehow different from the buzzing at other schools. 　No laughter. 　Everyone was whispering to the person next to them. Hiding their mouths with their hands. Sometimes, they'd almost let out a giggle, then hurriedly put on a serious face. 　(Why? Is laughing not allowed?) 　Eko noticed that the collar of the girl next to her—whose name she didn't even know yet—was a little crooked. She debated whether to fix it. 　She decided not to. 　Because today was her entrance ceremony. The stars were the new students—them. 　That's when the air in the gymnasium changed with a crackle. "Stand." 　A voice rang out. 　A voice like ice, crystal clear. 　The voice through the microphone spread to every corner of the gymnasium, like cold water seeping in. 　Eko looked at the podium. 　That person from the gate. 　The one with long black hair and silver eyes. "I am Himuro Sumire, student council president." 　She stood perfectly straight before the entire student body. 　Her posture was ramrod straight. 　Himuro Sumire. Second-year. And the president of this school's student council—the "Seirei-kai." 　(Seirei-kai...?) 　Eko tilted her head. 　"Seirei" as in "pure and beautiful." A year ago, when Himuro Sumire became student council president, she had changed the council's name to that. 　...It fit her perfectly, somehow. 　She swept her silver eyes across the gymnasium. "This academy is an academy of dignity." 　Her voice was cold. "Dignity is refinement. It is applying oneself to one's studies, respecting discipline, and cultivating a rich spirit. To that end, we of the Seirei-kai devote ourselves fully to the observance of school rules and the maintenance of a pure and beautiful school environment." 　Eko felt her heart pounding. 　No. 　Those words were wrong. 　Deep in her heart, something ignited. 　The memories of her past life. The eight million gods of laughter. The rain of laughter in the stream chat. 　—Laughter brings peace to the world. 　That was what she had always believed. 　Her body felt hot. 　Himuro Sumire's words spoke of laughter as if it were something wicked. 　Eko clenched her fist. 　Sumire was staring intently at the rows of new students with those sharp silver eyes. 　Eko's and Sumire's gazes met again. 　For an instant. 　Sumire averted her eyes from Eko. 　(Ah...) 　Eko's heart was pounding hard, for some reason. 　This person hates laughter. 　But at that moment, Eko noticed something. 　Sumire's eyes had glinted, just for a second. 　As if she was waiting for something. 　(Does this person... not want to laugh? Or does she want to laugh but can't?) 　She didn't know. 　But deep in Eko's chest, something snapped with a small sound. 　The words she had always said at the end of every stream in her past life. 　"Laughter brings peace to the world." 　In this academy, those words would be put to the test. 　Eko's lips curled upward. 　She unclenched the fist resting on her lap. 　(Just watch, Himuro Sumire. I'll make your "academy of dignity" laugh.) —— 　After the entrance ceremony. 　Classroom 1-B. 　Their homeroom teacher, Mr. Shinozaki, said with a beaming smile: "Now then, please introduce yourselves. One at a time, in order of your student numbers." 　The classroom air turned whispery again. 　Everyone seemed to be half-listening to the person in front introducing themselves. 　But Eko understood. 　Everyone was thinking the same thing. 　(Hurry up and end.) 　(I'm nervous.) 　(Will I get in trouble if I laugh?) 　From her seat at the back of the classroom, Eko stared at the tips of her nails. 　The nails she'd tried to cut into funny shapes that morning and failed. 　...Kind of lopsided. "Koganehi-san." 　Mr. Shinozaki called her name. 　Here it comes. 　Eko stood up. 　A small body. A delicate body. But her feet planted firmly on the floor. 　She could feel every gaze in the room. 　Eko opened her mouth. "I'm Koganehi Eko!" 　The classroom went silent. 　Silence. 　A moment of silence. 　Eko smiled brightly and shattered that silence. "Sounds like a four-character idiom, right?!" 　The next instant. 　The classroom laughed. 　Like a dam breaking, all at once. 　The classmates who had been holding back their laughter just moments ago were now doubled over, clutching their stomachs, laughing uncontrollably. "A four-character idiom?!" "It really does!! Koganehi—it totally sounds like a four-character idiom!!" "Oh man, it really does!" 　A shower of laughter. 　Normally, this would hurt. Having your name laughed at would make you cry. 　But Eko was different. 　Eko hopped up and down with delight. "It landed! Best first day ever!" 　The classroom erupted even more. 　Eko bathed in the laughter with her whole body. 　Ah, this. 　This feeling. 　The rain of laughing stamps in the stream chat of her past life. 　Everyone wanted to laugh. 　Everyone in this school wanted to laugh, wanted to laugh so badly, and had been holding it in. 　(This school is starving for laughter. And yet, they've forbidden themselves from laughing.) 　Eko was certain of it now. 　The boy sitting next to her was still stifling his laughter, face-down on his desk. 　Seeing that, Eko wanted to do more. Much more. —— 　After school. 　The setting sun slanted through the classroom windows. 　No one was in the classroom. 　Eko sat at the very back, by the window, with a notebook open. 　She'd written it while packing up to leave. 　"Class 1-B, Eko's Material Notebook, Volume One" 　She clicked her mechanical pencil. 　Eko wrote material in the notebook. 　"Reincarnation Relatable Moments!" 　"① The goddess half-assed it and didn't give me any cheat abilities." 　"② I got reincarnated and my name sounded like a four-character idiom." 　Yeah. That's good. 　Eko began reading the material in a low voice. "Hey there! I got reincarnated and my name turned out to be a four-character idiom—Koganehi Eko here!" 　Her voice echoed through the classroom. "Today, I'd like to present some reincarnation relatable moments!" 　Her voice bounced off the walls and came back. 　...This is kind of embarrassing. 　But if she got embarrassed here, she'd never make anyone laugh on stage. 　Eko gripped the notebook tightly. "Reincarnation relatable moment number one! You go to another world, and everything—left, right, all of it—is fantasy! A world of swords and sorcery, and you're the only one fighting with modern Japanese comedy skills!" 　Eko paced around the classroom. "Number two! The goddess says, 'I'll grant you any wish,' so you say, 'Then please make the whole world smile!' and she snaps back, 'That's YOUR job!'" 　Eko almost laughed at her own material. 　She held it in, barely. "Number three! You come to this world with memories of your past life, but

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Name: Koganei Niko, Laugh at School! - Her Full Name is a Four-Character Idiom
Author: Novelia

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