Transfer Students from Another World Are All My Bride Candidates?! - Transfer Student and the Hungry Princess

Until the moment the classroom door opened, my morning had been the worst. No, to be precise, it had been since late last night. July 1st. A morning before the end of the rainy season, with humid air clinging to my skin. Tokiwazaka Academy, in Hinagawa City, western Tokyo. Third floor of the main building, Class 2-3. I, Satou Masato, sat at my desk by the window in the very back row, with eyes like a dead fish. I was sleep-deprived. "Whoa, Satou. Pulled another all-nighter gaming?" The classmate in front of me turned around and said, exasperated. "No. It wasn't a game. …Probably because of a game, though." "What do you mean, 'probably'?" "I had a bad dream." I answered while slumped over my desk. A dream. To be precise, a dream I had in the early hours of July 1st, around three in the morning. The sky tore open. The darkness of night split apart as if clawed by something, and light spilled out from the rift. A strange light—bright enough to wake me, yet visible even with my eyes closed. From that tear, five shadows fell. People. Probably. Five of them, someone. I couldn't see their faces. But one of them had strikingly platinum-blonde hair, and she turned back toward me and shouted something. —Aruji-sama! …At least, that's what I thought I heard. "So when I woke up, my phone was glowing on its own." "Sounds like your phone's on its last legs." "Shut up." I didn't even have the energy to retort, so I just closed my eyes. To tell the truth, the phone hadn't just been glowing. A game app had launched itself. The popular mobile game, Princess Connect. A god-tier game for hardcore players that I'd been grinding for nearly two years. An RPG set in a sword-and-sorcery isekai called Landsol, where you adventure with a cast of uniquely charming beautiful girl characters. That app had been running when I woke up. And not just that. Rare characters I shouldn't have had—characters I'd never once pulled from the gacha—were lined up in my party. The dream, and the phone. When the two overlapped, the creepiness doubled too. "Well, anyway, let's get through another day." "Yeah." I gave a half-hearted reply and looked out the window. From the Tokiwazaka Academy school building, you could see the whole of Hinagawa City. This city, located in western Tokyo, was an ordinary suburban town with a population of about 120,000. A small river called the Amano River ran through its center, lined with cherry trees. In front of the station was a shopping street called Nanairo-dori, which at this time of July was filled with Tanabata bamboo decorations. Yes, Hinagawa City was known as the "City of Tanabata," and from July 1st to the 7th, the whole city entered a festive mood for what they called Tanabata Week. This year especially, July 7th coincided with the final day of our school's culture festival, the "Tokiwa Festival," so the entire town was buzzing with anticipation. Well, not that it had much to do with me. "Haaah." I let out a sigh and tucked my phone into my pocket. Around my neck hung a strap with a keychain of my favorite game character. A kind of good-luck charm I always carried around. "…I just hope today ends normally." At that moment, I genuinely meant it. Five minutes until the classroom door opened. That was the beginning of everything. —Clatter. The classroom door opened right as the morning homeroom bell rang. In came our homeroom teacher, Minase Yukari. Twenty-eight years old, taught Japanese. Long black hair, looked serious, but she occasionally said outrageous things, so you couldn't let your guard down around her. "Okay everyone, take your seats. Today I'll be introducing a transfer student." A transfer student? The classroom buzzed. A transfer student in July was pretty irregular. "Come on in." The teacher called toward the door. …That was the moment. Through the gap in the door, something wafted in. A sweet scent, like butter and sugar melted together—the smell of sweets. No, there was no way there'd be a smell like that. But the girl who walked in was that striking. Platinum-blonde long hair. Twin buns tied softly on either side of her head. Her bangs parted slightly to the side, and beneath them peeked large, bright sky-blue eyes. Her eyes sparkled. Like twinkling stars. Her height was probably around 158 centimeters. Her uniform was the Tokiwazaka Academy girls' uniform—a navy blazer with a checkered skirt. It suited her almost too well. "I'm Pecorine! Pleased to meet you all!" She gave a polite bow at the podium. Pecorine. …Pecorine? That name, that voice, that face. I knew all of it. No, wait. This was impossible. Alarms were blaring in my head. Because Pecorine was a character from Princess Connect. The guild master of the Gourmet Guild—a glutton, innocent, cheerful. One of my oshi characters, the very first one who became my companion. Why? Why was she in reality? Cosplay? No, this was beyond cosplay. Her voice was the same. That voice from the game, ringing directly in my ears. "I'm Pecorine, and I'll be joining everyone from today. Please be kind to me." Pecorine said with a beaming smile. That smile matched the game's illustrations perfectly. —Something's wrong. I was in chaos. A game character, existing in reality. And as a transfer student, no less. "Um, Pecorine-san is… ah, apparently she doesn't have a surname, just a given name. She came here due to family circumstances… well, various things happened and she transferred in, so everyone be nice to her." The teacher's explanation was vague. Family circumstances? What the hell? Was that even possible? No, maybe it was. But then why was her name Pecorine? "Alright, as part of your introduction, your seat…" The teacher started to say. That's when it happened. Pecorine looked this way. By the window. The very back row. My seat. Sky-blue eyes pierced straight through me. The air in the classroom froze in an instant. Her lips curved into a soft smile. "—Aruji-sama!!" She shouted. Loud and clear, echoing through the entire classroom. Pecorine started running. Straight from the podium. "Eh—" Before I could even get a word out. "Aruji-sama! I've wanted to see you so much!" —Thud. It was a full-body tackle. She threw herself into my chest with all her might. I thought I'd fall backward, chair and all. "Whoa!?" "Aruji-sama, Aruji-sama, Aruji-samaaa…!" Her arms wrapped around my back. Tightly. I was hugged with incredible strength. Platinum-blonde hair swayed right in front of my nose. A sweet scent. Warm. Soft. My heart jumped. "G-get off—" "I missed you. I wanted to see you so, so much." She buried her face in my chest and said it as if wringing the words out. Her voice was trembling. She might have been crying. The classroom erupted. "What's that?" "Satou, you know her?" "Wait, what's going on!?" My classmates' voices sounded distant. I was far beyond caring about that. Pecorine from Princess Connect. The Pecorine who, in the game, calls the protagonist "Aruji-sama." The setting was the same. Her behavior was the same. I knew this girl. Game knowledge spun through my head at full speed. Pecorine. Guild master of the Gourmet Guild. Cheerful, gluttonous, a bit of an airhead. —No, that's not the point. Why was I "Aruji-sama"? "Hey, seriously, can you let go?" "No. Just a little longer… Ah, but I heard Aruji-sama's stomach growl. Could it be you haven't eaten breakfast?" "You didn't hear anything. And even if you did, it has nothing to do with this situation." "Aruji-sama, you're hungry. Me too." "I know. You're always like that." The moment I said it, I realized I'd messed up. "Omae" wasn't right. It was way too rude for a classmate I'd just met. But Pecorine didn't get angry. Instead, her face lit up. "I knew it—Aruji-sama does know me!" She said it with a sparkling smile. —Yeah, I know you. I've watched you in the game for hundreds of hours. But I couldn't say that out loud. What would the relationship between me and this game character become in reality? I had no idea, and my head felt like it was going to explode. "…Pecorine-san, could you please take your seat?" The homeroom teacher said, looking a bit troubled. "Okay! But I want to sit next to Aruji-sama!" "The seat next to Satou isn't open." "Then the closest seat possible, please!" "…Well, if an open seat is fine." Then Pecorine stared intently at the seat in front of me—the seat where my classmate had been sitting until just now—and spoke to him. "Um, this seat is the closest one to Aruji-sama. Could you please give it to me?" "Eh, no, that's my seat." "Please. I can't calm down unless I'm near Aruji-sama." She looked at my classmate with genuinely apologetic eyes, but with a gaze that absolutely would not back down. The result: That classmate was moved to an empty seat nearby. Pecorine secured the seat in front of me. On day one, the power balance of the classroom had already collapsed. "Aruji-sama, once again, please take care of me." She sat down, turned around, and smiled at me. "…Y-yeah, likewise." That was all I could say. —This is some kind of event. My new daily life, armed only with game knowledge, was about to begin. Lunch break. I found Pecorine collapsed in the classroom. No, not exactly collapsed. She was slumped in the hallway. "…I'm hungry." "Why are you dying in the hallway?" "Aruji-sama… white rice is… no, it's floating in my vision…" "How hungry are you?" "I couldn't eat breakfast… The dorm? No, my home had no food…" "'No food,' seriously?" "I thought I'd eat lunch at the school cafeteria. But when I looked in my wallet, the money… I don't even know if this is money…" Pecorine opened her coin purse and showed me. Inside was a single card with a bread pattern on it, labeled "Bread." "…That's a bread card for the school store. Not cash." "Bread…! Aruji-sama, I can buy bread with this!? What a wonderful system! Then I simply must go buy some!" "Wait. Is that thing even loaded?" "Loaded…? You mean charged? Then Aruji-sama, how do I charge it?" "Don't ask me. More importantly, stand up. I'll share my lunch with you." Reluctantly, I took out my lunchbox from my desk. Rice balls, tamagoyaki, and sausages—made by my mom. "Eh, Aruji-sama… is that okay?" "It's fine. Here, open up." "Yes, aaah." I put a piece of tamagoyaki into her mouth. —Chew chew. Pecorine's sky-blue eyes went wide. "…It's delicious." "Yeah." "It's delicious! This is Aruji-sama's food. Warm, sweet, soft… I'm so happy." Tears welled up in her eyes. Big droplets, on the verge of spilling over. "Aruji-sama's food is so good…" "H-hey, don't cry. It's just normal tamagoyaki." "Normal tamagoyaki being this delicious… I'm so glad to be alive." "You're exaggerating, seriously." But I knew. The Pecorine in the game also always cried tears of joy like this when she ate something delicious. The character's settings were manifesting in reality, exactly as they were. Every time I saw it, my heart ached just a little. "…Here, eat the rice ball too. It's salmon." "Salmon! Aruji-sama, thank you! Then, don't mind if I do!" She accepted the rice ball with both hands and bit into it like it was precious. My classmates watched with warm, knowing looks. "Satou, did you get a girlfriend?" "That transfer student is super cute." "She was hugging him this morning, right? They're definitely dating." "No! We're not!" I corrected them. But Pecorine just smiled happily while stuffing her cheeks with the rice ball. After school. I left the school with Pecorine in tow. Our destination: the shopping street in front of Hinagawa Station, Nanairo-dori. The purpose: picking up a new game I'd been asked to reserve at the game shop "Pixel Base," plus one more thing. —To confirm this girl's true identity. "Aruji-sama, where are we going?" "My usual shop. I'm going to look into you." "I

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Episode 1

Name: Transfer Students from Another World Are All My Bride Candidates?!
Author: Novelia

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