Chapter 1: Admission to Hope Peak.

Hope's Peak Academy (private).

This is a school that upholds the philosophy that "with talent, the future is bright." To be successfully admitted, students must meet two conditions: first, they must be current high school students; second, they must possess outstanding talent in a specific field.

In other words, the students at Hope's Peak Academy are the cream of the crop in their respective fields. Awarded the title of "Ultimate Student," their abilities are undeniably top-tier, certified by Hope's Peak.

In today's increasingly competitive world, attending a school like Hope's Peak means a guaranteed path to immense success after graduation. In this respect, perhaps only highly successful high schools with near-perfect college and employment rates can rival it.

However, no matter what, compared to the relatively closed-off Advanced Education High School, the "Ultimate Students" admitted each year are obviously more often the subject of conversation and admiration in daily life.

A belief in "talent above all else" gradually spread along with the rise of Hope Peak.

Perhaps it's because many people find it hard to shake off the desire to admire the strong. Even though most people learned in childhood that "plains and hills are equally immortal," sometimes they still can't help but think things like, "If I had talent..." "Without talent, it's no good after all," and "Effort is important, but talent is also necessary to reach that level."

Conversely, another voice emerged, saying things like, "You guys are overestimating talent," and "It's nothing special." This is normal, isn't it? No matter what the issue, as long as it generates a certain amount of buzz—or perhaps not even much—there will always be opposing viewpoints.

But in any case—

"Eh?! Chiya, you're going to Hope's Peak Academy? Is it the Hope's Peak Academy I know?!"

Regardless, most people would have a similar reaction upon learning that someone they know is about to attend Hope's Peak Academy.

Tsukino and Chiya nodded at this completely easy question.

"That's amazing!"

Then he heard this exclamation.

At this moment, there are three people inside the Hidden God Detective Agency.

The one who just gave the "amazing" evaluation was a boy with such cute appearance that it was hard to tell if he was male or female. His eyes were bright and sparkling, his hands were clasped in front of his chest, and his long silver hair swayed slightly with his movements.

After generously congratulating his friend on his enrollment, the silver-haired boy named "Jing" turned to his friend, who was sitting on the sofa with a game console, seeking validation: "That's really amazing, isn't it, Zhi?"

The short-haired boy, who was engrossed in his game, sounded slightly impatient when he was suddenly called out: "Huh? What does a human high school have to do with me...?"

"This is the first time I've encountered someone I know going to school! I've learned a lot about regular high schools from movies and TV shows, but what are these amazing high schools that are generating so much buzz online really like?"

Zhi: "..." The game in my hand suddenly doesn't seem so appealing anymore. How should I respond to that?

The atmosphere seemed to freeze for a moment, but the silver-haired boy who caused this situation was not yet aware of it.

Jing's eyes were full of curiosity and anticipation. There was not a trace of self-pity in his words just now; he was simply curious about something he had only heard of but never experienced.

Tsukino and Chiya were well aware of this.

Jing was, after all, a child who had escaped from a closed-off place. Although he was surprisingly receptive to bustling Tokyo and absorbed new things quickly, he was still inevitably curious about things he hadn't actually experienced.

Faced with Jing's rather intense gaze, Qianye tilted her head slightly and casually tidied her black braid that hung down from her left shoulder to her chest.

"That (etta), I'm not really sure either."

Tsukino and Chiya spoke calmly.

“Jing, you’ve probably misunderstood. While I am indeed preparing to enroll at Hope’s Peak, I will be studying in the preparatory program, so I don’t know much about the undergraduate program.”

Unlike the Hope Peak Undergraduate program, which recruits exceptionally talented individuals, the Preparatory Course, established only a year ago, is a place where ordinary students without talent can also successfully enroll.

Although the preparatory program charges students an astonishing amount of tuition fees while recruiting students, its reputation as a "super high school" makes many people who yearn for "hope" and "talent" willingly empty their wallets.

However, in Tsukino and Chiya's view, Hope's Peak's undergraduate and preparatory courses are completely different in terms of faculty and learning atmosphere, and anyone who pays to study in the preparatory course is a huge swindler.

...Oh, he himself is about to become a Hope's Peak Preparatory Course student, huh? It's better not to think like that. Never mind then.

After briefly explaining the preparatory courses, Tsukino and Chiya looked at the disappointed boy: "Sorry."

"Huh? Ah, no, no! Chiya, you don't need to apologize to me! I'm just a little interested, it's not like I absolutely have to know."

The silver-haired boy quickly waved his hand.

"If I were really that interested, I couldn't possibly not know who this year's 'Ultimate High School Level' is..."

If she had glanced at the recent news about this year's Ultimate High School Championship on the Hope's Peak website while surfing the internet, she wouldn't have made the mistake of thinking that Chiya had enrolled in Hope's Peak's undergraduate program. — Akira thought to herself, tears welling up in her eyes.

Jing hadn't been away from her isolated hometown, where there was no internet, to Tokyo for very long.

So although he quickly got the hang of social networks, his understanding of Hope's Peak Academy, which was very popular online, was limited to seeing comments like "Ultimate High School level is so amazing." He was unaware of the Preparatory Course, which had been established for a year and was now largely unknown.

After all, that's how online trends are. Compared to the preparatory courses that ordinary students pay to enroll in, the focus of attention is on the dazzling "super high school level" students selected each year.

People are too lazy to talk about things that aren't interesting. Even if they are mentioned occasionally, they are quickly buried under other, more interesting topics.

Moreover, compared to Hope's Peak Academy, Akira prefers to find cute things online—that's what interests him more.

Tsukino and Chiya understood Akira's situation perfectly well and had no intention of blaming him. Of course, on the surface, Akira and Orihime didn't see any sign that Chiya was angry at all.

Throughout the entire process, Tsukino and Chiya's expressions and tone remained unchanged.

Whether he was pretending to be about to enroll in school or apologizing to Jing, his calm and collected demeanor made it impossible to discern his true thoughts.

However, for Jing and Zhi, Qianye is a friend they acknowledge, and the two young boys have long been used to Qianye's behavior.

If one day this guy with smooth black hair and a braid hanging down to his chest suddenly turned into someone with wildly fluctuating emotions, they would be surprised and wonder if Qianye had been possessed by something strange.

Tsukino and Chiya's voices were as calm as a gently flowing river: "However, although I am a preparatory student, 'that person' successfully received an undergraduate admission notice. So if Akira is curious, you can ask him."

Jing was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, not yet reacting. Zhi, holding the game console, stiffened, looking at her with a complicated expression: "Wait a minute, the 'person' you're talking about... could it be—"

Before Zhi could finish speaking, Tsukino and Chiya nodded decisively, looking quite certain.

After all, the only other "active high school student" that these two kids know who meets one of Hope Peak's undergraduate admission requirements, besides Chiya herself, is "that person."

However, faced with Tsukino and Chiya's confirmation, Ori's expression became even more conflicted: "Really? But that guy doesn't seem like it at all..."

"Yay! I'm back!"

The detective agency door was suddenly pushed open, and along with the sound of the door opening came a cheerful tone that unceremoniously entered the room.

Once again, Zhi was interrupted before she could finish speaking.

"Oh? What? I vaguely heard you talking just now. Why did it all go quiet as soon as I came in? Is there something I can't hear?"

A young man with purple hair walked in with light steps.

He wore a black and white checkered scarf and a white straitjacket that was hard to ignore.

"Ah, I understand!"

At this moment, the relaxed expression on the purple-haired boy's face vanished. He put on an angry look and indignantly accused, "You guys are definitely talking badly about me behind my back! This is outrageous! This is workplace bullying! Malicious slander! Verbal coercion! Sexual harassment! You guys are so mean, ganging up on me!"

Jing: "No, you've misunderstood. We were just talking about Hope's Peak..."

Zhi: "Ohma, you change your tune way too fast! And what the heck was that last one? Nobody bothered you! Wait, nobody did those first few either! Besides, you're not a member of the agency, are you? Wait, why are you crying?! Hey!"

Tsukino and Qianye: "..."

Tsukino and Chiya wisely kept silent.

His gaze wandered slightly until it landed on a pristine white wall.

He remained silent, pretending he didn't exist.

Sure enough, whenever this person appears, the scene easily becomes very lively.

A note from the author:

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Crystal, Ori, and the Invisible God Detective Agency are from "Monster Incident".

This article compiles a number of works related to the supernatural, monsters, and the supernatural. These works are generally from earlier periods and offer different interpretations of the supernatural. For ease of compilation, the timelines of these works will be adjusted, and some interpretations of the supernatural may be left open to interpretation.

Finally, I've started pre-orders for this book that's been sitting on the shelf for years! It's been such a long time! [Sprinkling flowers]

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Next, I'll recommend the pre-orders for what I'll probably be publishing next:

After My Life Restarted at the Asahina Family House

(Text)

I've transmigrated, or rather, I was reborn as a baby.

When I learned that I had many brothers in this life, and that they all had different hair colors and were all very good-looking, I realized that things were not so simple.

Later, as I was about to become a student at Seiyo Academy Elementary School, I held the egg that had just been "laid" the day before in my arms, watched the children's program "With Mom" ​​on TV, and fell into deep thought—

What is Totsuki Academy? What is Advanced Nurturing High School? Why do the names Hope's Peak, Raira, Ouran High School Host Club, and Teitan all sound so familiar? And some strange but very familiar urban legends... I guess I've really traveled to the wrong place!

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#Possible OOC Mini-Drama#

Years later, now a civil servant in the household registration department, I grabbed my younger brother by the scruff of his neck, who was on the verge of falling into danger, and said something only I could understand: "Kids should act like kids, study hard, and don't meddle in other people's business."

Younger brother: "What were you like when you were little, Shinji?"

Me: "..." Suddenly, I thought of some of my childhood memories that had been unlocked.

①The main text is written in the third person.