The Boy of the Starry Vein Generation

In the previous century, the world underwent a drastic change due to an unprecedented disaster called the "Invertia," in which countless meteorites rained down.

Existing nations declined, and instead, numerous companies merged to form integrated corporate entities that began to rise to power.

Additionally, the Invertia brought about the crystallization of Mana, a mineral called "Manadite," and the birth of the "Genestella," a new generation with extraordinary physical abilities from birth, which brought new possibilities.

This story is about a boy from the Genestella generation.

The time was still early morning when the sound of an alarm clock suddenly echoed inside the room.

In response to that sound, the boy woke up.

"...Morning, huh."

The boy got up from bed and stepped down onto the floor.

Having prepared in advance, he changed out of his pajamas into a T-shirt and shorts.

Once dressed, he left the room and headed to the bathroom to wash his face. Then he looked outside.

He stepped out of the house through the front door and looked up at the sky. It was a cold autumn morning, and the wind was chilly.

While enduring the cold wind, he performed some light stretches.

Since the sun hadn't risen yet, the surroundings were enveloped in darkness, but thanks to the streetlights, he had clear visibility.

"Well, let's go."

He clapped his cheeks lightly, pumped himself up, and started running.

The boy's name was Hachiman Hikigaya, a second-year student at Sobu Middle School.

After finishing his daily running routine, he returned to the front of his house, where he noticed the presence of a girl.

The girl's name was Komachi Hikigaya, Hachiman's younger sister.

Komachi seemed to have noticed Hachiman's presence as well.

She briefly widened her eyes but quickly returned to her expressionless state and tried to pass by him.

"...Good morning, Komachi."

"... ..."

Although he spoke to her, there was no response.

Komachi bypassed Hachiman and tried to leave. While seeing her off from behind, Hachiman continued speaking.

"...Is it the training camp starting today? ...Do your best."

"... ..."

There was no response until the end.

He took a quick shower and changed into his school uniform.

While having breakfast and eating a piece of toast, he opened the spatial window on his portable device to check the news.

"Special feature on Team Lancelot, the winners of the Phoenix Star Festa held in Asterisk last month."

"Who will be the potential winners of the upcoming King Dragon Star Festa in Asterisk next year?"

"Asterisk's new student application acceptance begins, applications pouring in from all over the world."

"The aggressive poaching and true nature of Asterisk's Scout Squadron."

"Numerous incidents of robberies committed by Genestella gangs across the country."

Most of the news articles focused on Asterisk and the Star Festa.

Water-locked City Academy Rikka, also known as Asterisk.

It was an academy city built on a mega-float in a crater lake in northern Kanto.

The six corners of the hexagonal mega-float formed the shape of six flowers, which led to its nickname, "Rikka."

The Star Festa was a large-scale martial arts tournament held among students at Asterisk once a year.

Divided into three stages, it consisted of the Tag Tournament, the Phoenix Star Festa, held in the summer of the first year, the Team Tournament, the Gryps Star Festa, held in the autumn of the second year, and the Individual Tournament, the Lindburus Star Festa, held in the winter of the third year.

Just last month, the Gryps Star Festa of the second year had taken place.

Hachiman had watched the Gryps Star Festa through a live broadcast and witnessed its tremendous excitement.

"...Asterisk, huh."

Hachiman recalled such things while finishing his breakfast and headed to school.

Upon arriving at Sobu Middle School, he parked his bicycle at the bicycle parking lot.

As he was about to head straight to the classroom—

"Hey, it's that guy. The one from the cultural festival."

Malicious words reached his ears.

Hachiman Hikigaya was not someone who would usually attract attention.

He considered himself a loner, and since entering middle school, he rarely interacted with others.

However, things changed after he advanced to the second year and was forcibly recruited into the Service Club.

He fulfilled his duties by supporting the executive committee chairperson of the cultural festival and resolving the love troubles of the Hayama Group during the school trip. Although various troubles occurred and it nearly fell apart, he managed to find a temporary resolution.

...Thanks to Hachiman's self-sacrifice.

As a result, he became the most noticeable figure in the school, but in a negative sense.

Ignoring the murmurs around him, Hachiman headed towards the classroom.

Even on his way to the classroom, various gazes and whispers didn't cease.

"Isn't he the one who made the executive committee chairperson cry at the cultural festival?"

"Yeah, that's right. I heard he made her cry with his abusive remarks."

"I heard that he also interfered with a confession during the school trip."

"Seriously! How much can he do?"

(Hearing all of this...)

Hachiman couldn't hear their whispers, intentionally or not.

But as a member of the Genestella generation, he could hear everything clearly.

"By the way, I heard he's also a Genestella."

"Wow, so the Genestella are doing whatever they want."

"Recently, there have been news reports about robberies by Genestella gangs. Maybe he's part of one too?"

"That might be true. His eyes give off a criminal vibe."

"Eeek, scary!"

(...It's irrelevant.)

Ignoring those voices, Hachiman continued on his way to the classroom.

He arrived at the classroom and took his seat.

Since he arrived just before the start of class, most of the seats in the class were already filled.

"Hey, did you see the feature this morning?"

"Yeah, I did. Asterisk is amazing, as expected!"

"If only I were a Genestella too."

"Oh, come on, you wouldn't stand a chance!"

"Hey, hey, who's your favorite in Team Lancelot?"

"For me, it's definitely the Holy Knight!"

The whole class was buzzing with excitement over the news featured that morning.

Thanks to that excitement, only a few people noticed Hachiman entering the classroom.

Those who did notice were more focused on Asterisk-related discussions than on Hachiman.

Feeling somewhat relieved that he didn't have a topic of conversation, Hachiman absentmindedly waited until the chime signaling the start of class.

Once the classes ended, he promptly left the classroom. He felt several gazes as he left the classroom but ignored them.

Although most of the gazes were filled with ill intentions, he also noticed a few different gazes mixed in.

Gazes that seemed like they wanted to ask him something.

Gazes that showed concern for him.

However, Hachiman had no intention of interacting with anyone from the school at the moment.

He didn't even talk to his only friends, Ayaka Totsuka and Saiki Kawasaki, despite feeling their concerned gazes multiple times. He understood his current position well, so he deliberately ignored them.

For him, involving his precious friends and classmates was something he couldn't allow.

Leaving the classroom, he quickly headed to his shoe locker. Since classes had just ended, there were still fewer people compared to the morning.

He briefly stopped when he saw the entrance and thought about what to do next.

...I don't like your way of doing things.

...Think more about other people's feelings.

After the school trip, he hadn't shown up at the Service Club.

The other two members of the club rejected his way of doing things.

He knew his way was wrong, but it was the only method he could think of.

(...Should I go home?)

Once again, he decided not to visit the Service Club today.

Remembering that the refrigerator was almost empty, he made a stop in town.

He quickly secured some groceries and checked for new book releases.

"...I've got everything, so I should go home. It feels like it would be bad if I stayed out any longer."

Considering taking a leisurely stroll for a change of mood, he cut off that thought.

A sense of unease had begun to creep in, so he decided to go home right away—

He sensed a presence from behind and swiftly dodged it.

(...Wasn't fast enough, huh?)

There was no need to ask who it was. It was someone he had encountered almost every day recently.

A unique individual who would try to cling onto Hachiman from behind—Yukino Yukinoshita, the Demon Empress, appeared.