Unnecessary Concerns

Getting up from his bag and sitting down, Lucas noticed the presence of a young girl on the lower steps of the bleachers. She stared at him with her brown eyes, displaying a slightly doubtful expression.

— What's up? Do you want something from me? — Lucas asked, with a questioning look.

— I was just curious about why you're there, lying down. — Lara replied, climbing the steps.

— Don't you have anything better to do?

— Actually, no.

Lucas noticed that the girl, upon reaching his side, carried a bag almost overflowing with materials. This reminded him of his past when he used to carry all his books with him, avoiding the hassle of sorting them for each day.

— Hey, isn't that bag almost bigger than you? — Lucas commented, finding amusement in the situation.

— No, it's not! — replied Lara, a bit annoyed.

— How about buying a locker? Or a backpack with wheels, it would suit you perfectly.

— Why would a backpack with wheels suit me!? Wait, don't even bother to answer! — Lara retorted, even more irritated, before calming down and continuing. — ...And a locker is too expensive.

— True, but you could just share with someone.

— ... No, I prefer to take the books with me.

Having said that, Lara sat on the bleachers and took the backpack off her back, massaging her shoulders.

— You know, we don't have anything else to talk about, so why are you sitting next to me? — Lucas asked, still not understanding why the girl had shown up.

— It's not like you own this place, right? So I can sit here! — Lara replied, presumptuously.

— Yeah, so bye. — Lucas said, getting up.

— Oh, wait! — the girl called out, grabbing the young man's wrist. — How can you just leave like that?

— And how am I supposed to leave? Flying?

— You know what I mean!

Seeing that Lara didn't intend to let go of his wrist, Lucas sighed and sat back down. He had thought a bit about how he should interact with the characters, but this girl seemed to be the most problematic.

The young man didn't remember much about the anime, but he had a vague memory that she had many friends, including the heroine, who was one of her best friends. That was the reason he couldn't understand why she wanted to keep talking to him after the mystery was solved.

— So, why did you come here? Aren't you leaving with your friends? — Lucas asked, stretching on the stone bench of the bleachers.

— I managed to make them leave without me. — the girl explained, looking at the court. — Anyway, I live in a kitchenette, so it doesn't matter to me if I leave late.

— Hee... Hm? What's this? — Lucas questioned, with a salmon-colored bag in his lap.

— What... Hey! Why are you snooping into my bag!? — Lara exclaimed, quickly pulling the bag away.

However, in doing so, Lucas involuntarily took out something that was inside her bag. Looking at the object in his hand, the young man saw a slightly old battery-operated radio.

Seeing that Lucas had taken something, Lara quickly took the radio from his hands and put it back in her bag. She was so fast that the young man was surprised by her agility.

— ...Just what do you carry inside that bag? — Lucas asked, with a strange look. — You're not going to tell me you're carrying useless things to the point of filling it up like that, right?

— That's my problem! — replied the girl, holding the bag firmly, as if protecting something valuable.

Lucas looked at Lara, not knowing how to react. The amount of things Lara carried in her bag was enormous, and if most of it was useless things like that radio, there was no reason to carry it.

Both remained in a strange silence for a while until one of them decided to leave.

— ...Yeah, the chat's over, so I'm out. — the young man said, getting up again.

— I also have to go since the school is closing. — the girl spoke, standing up with the bag on her back.

Without waiting for Lara, Lucas walked into the school and entered one of the open classrooms. He planned to hide until the girl left and then return to the court.

While spending time sitting on top of a desk, the young man decided to talk to the system.

— System, I've noticed something... Isn't this school somewhat familiar to me? — Lucas asked, remembering everything he had experienced in the school until that moment. — It certainly reminds me a bit of the high school I used to go to.

[The school is a recreation, merging some elements from the owner's original school and the anime school.]

— If that's the case... Then this isn't the world of the original anime? — the young man questioned, always considering that he was in the anime.

[The world of the anime is a fictional creation, so the system sought a world as similar as possible, with some adaptations.]

— So why can't I leave!?

[As the anime mainly takes place in the current school where the owner is, the system considered it unnecessary to load additional information about the world.]

— ...Huh?

Hearing the system's response, Lucas became even more confused.

— Wait, explain that better!

[The system has already provided excessive information, so it will not answer any more owner's questions for an indefinite period.]

— Darn it...

Disheartened, the young man looked at the system's response screen and decided to leave this topic aside. He already knew he couldn't expect anything from the system, so his frustration quickly dissipated after a few seconds.

— How long am I going to have to spend in this world until I can return... — Lucas murmured, still unsure of how to meet his basic needs.

However, his concerns were unfounded because the next day...

[To be continued...]

S — So the story is finally about to begin!?

??? — ... In fact, it has already begun.

S — But what I want to see is Lucas leveling up!

??? — Even if you want to see that, he learned something very important in this world.

S — And what would that be?

??? — Never trust the system.

S — ... Wasn't that obvious already?