**Volume 1: Reality New Game of the Returned Hero**
That day, I had a long, long dream—a dream where I was summoned to another world and saved it.
「That dream felt way too real…」
I shut off the alarm that had started ringing, washed my face in the bathroom, and changed into my uniform—my usual morning routine.
「Morning, Mom.」
「Ara, Yuuki, you’re up early today.」
「Really? Feels about the same as usual.」
「Don’t lie. You always make Hikari-chan wait for you in the morning. Since you’re up early for once, why not try waiting for her instead?」
「Got it.」
-0-
After eating the breakfast Mom had made, I headed for the front door.
The moment I stepped outside and put on my shoes, Mizushiro Hikari, my childhood friend from the house across the street, came out as well.
(Feels like it’s been a while since I’ve seen her face… Wait, why does it feel like that?)
「Morning, Hikari.」
「Morning, Yuuki. You’re early today.」
「Woke up early for some reason. Figured I’d try surprising you.」
「Oh～? Bold of you to say that… Guess I’ll have to look forward to tomorrow too.」
「Yeah, leave it to me!」
We exchanged playful banter as we started walking to school side by side.
I’ve known Hikari since we first met in preschool, and our families have been close ever since.
Since she’s half-Japanese, she used to look like a cute little doll when we were kids, but now she’s grown into a stunning Nordic beauty. Right after we started high school, there was a secret popularity poll among the boys, and she won first place by a landslide.
Because of that, she gets two or three confessions every month. And since she always turns them down, people started thinking we were dating.
In the beginning, I got some flak for it, but since we were always together, by the time six months had passed, people were joking that we were basically married. Neither of us really cared, though.
(Hikari looks even cuter than usual today… Why is that?)
「Oh yeah, what’s today’s schedule again?」
「First and second periods are P.E., then Japanese and math. After lunch, we’ve got music and home ec.」
「Ugh, P.E. first thing in the morning? On a Monday, no less?」
「It’s supposed to be pretty hot today, so don’t forget to stay hydrated.」
「Yeah, yeah.」
Has it really been five years since we last talked like this? …Wait, five years?
「Why are you smiling like that? You look like you’re lost in thought.」
「Ah, no… It’s nothing.」
「Huh. You’re acting kinda weird, Yuuki.」
Feeling an odd sense that I hadn’t walked this path to school in years, I continued toward school with Hikari.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
「Alright, today the boys will play soccer, and the girls will play tennis.」
「「「「「Okay!」」」」」
The P.E. teacher announced it like it was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
「Soccer, huh… It’s been a while.」
「What are you talking about, Kaminagi? We played last week!」
「Areh? We did?」
A classmate whose name I couldn’t remember called out to me. Why did it feel nostalgic?
「Well, Kaminagi’s not really good at sports anyway.」
「Yeah, if you get hurt, Mizushiro-san will be sad, you know?」
「No way, Hikari wouldn’t—」
「「No, she definitely would.」」
「She’d probably come running, all worried about you.」
「Totally.」
For some reason, my classmates were all nodding in agreement. I don’t think that would really happen, though…
After warming up, the soccer game began.
「Well… of course this would happen.」
I was standing as a right defender, waiting for the ball to come my way.
「Let’s see… there’s offsides and stuff, right? I should probably stay lined up with my teammates.」
While I was thinking about that, the ball came flying toward me.
「Alright! Kaminagi’s no match for me!」
The opponent was someone from the soccer club—I’d heard his name earlier, but I couldn’t remember it.
(If I remember right, the defenders on the other team would stick close when the opponent had the ball…)
As the opposing player received the ball and stopped in place, I mirrored the defensive move I’d seen earlier, sticking close so he couldn’t get past me.
「Huh? Wait, you’re supposed to be bad at this!」
「I don’t really get it either, but I saw you doing this earlier!」
「Damn it! Then how about this?!」
He tried to slip past me on the right, but when I caught up, he spun around right in front of me.
「What the—」
「Heh! No way you can keep up with that!」
He got past me and took a shot, scoring a goal.
The girls and the other soccer club members watching from the sidelines started booing.
「That’s cheating! Don’t use fancy tricks!」
「Yeah! He’s just a regular student—take it easy on him!」
「What?! That was just instinct!」
「No way a beginner could react to a roulette like that!」
But the heckling from the soccer players didn’t seem all that serious.
「Don’t sweat it! Don’t sweat it!」
「Yeah, there’s no way you could stop that kind of move.」
「It’s not your fault—they’re from the soccer club, after all.」
「Still, what’s with you, Kaminagi? You were super quick just now.」
「Hmm… my body just felt light for some reason.」
Everyone stared at me, dumbfounded. Well, I’d probably have the same reaction if someone said that out of nowhere.
「Well, now that I’ve seen it, I think I can pull it off next time.」
「「「Huh?」」」
「Hey! Stop standing around! We can’t start if you’re not in position!」
「Ah, right!」
Everyone returned to their positions.
Not long after, the ball came flying toward the same soccer player from earlier.
(Let’s try that move from before…)
I dashed forward, intercepted the ball in midair, and mimicked the move he had used earlier.
「Here we go.」
「What?!」
「No way!」
I slipped past one opponent and started dribbling down the field.
「Hey! Somebody stop him!」
At the sound of his panicked yell, the other players rushed toward me. But I dodged one, then another, until only the goalkeeper stood in front of me.
「Yuuki! Kick it as hard as you can!」
As I prepared to shoot, I heard Hikari’s voice and swung my leg with full force.
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