I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

The transfer student from Osaka, Hattori Ayame, had quite a cheerful personality.
The moment she sat down in the seat assigned to her, the classmates swarmed her and threw all sorts of questions at once, but she accepted them all without the slightest sign of displeasure.
In that process, she quickly became friendly with both boys and girls alike, proving she was nothing short of a natural-born social butterfly.

“The transfer student’s super popular.”
“Right?”
“But why do all the transfer students come to our class? Don’t the other classes have enough empty seats?”

Satoru’s question was literally pointing out an unspoken rule.
But the only answer to that was, ‘Because this is a romcom.’
Anyway, a transfer student was just a transfer student. What bothered me more was Ryuji, who still hadn’t shown up.

Homeroom had already ended, and it was almost time for the first period to start, yet he hadn’t arrived at school.
‘Did something happen?’
Just as I was starting to get worried, the back door of the classroom opened.
Clatter!

“Sorry for being late!”
Maybe because he had run all the way to class, Ryuji was panting heavily, catching his rough breath.
They say protagonists always make a late entrance—this guy set a new record on the very first day of the new semester.

If he had been any later, it would have been ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) cutting it close.
Ryuji, the center of this commotion, sighed in relief when he realized that the first period hadn’t started yet.
“Phew, the teacher isn’t here yet.”

「Ryu-chan!」
And Saya, who was behind me, lit up with joy when she saw Ryuji.
She zipped toward him.

But then, spotting another ghost entering right after through the back door—Mahes—she slammed on the mental brakes.
「Who are you?!」
「What?」

Mahes seemed just as startled.
Well, of course—he had probably never seen another ghost inside a classroom.
“Mahes? Why are you acting weird all of a sudden?”

But since Ryuji couldn’t see ghosts like Saya, he tilted his head in confusion.
「No, it’s nothing. I just saw someone I didn’t recognize.」
Mahes brushed it off, but then looked at me, who was sitting behind Saya, with an expression asking for an explanation.
I gave a wry smile and pointed to the clock.

‘Class is about to start, so let’s talk later.’
Mahes seemed to get what I meant and nodded before following behind Ryuji.
「Kim Yu-seong! Who’s that foreigner?! Hurry up and explain!」

Of course, Saya—who had been dying for this very moment—unleashed a barrage of questions on poor me.
***
After the first period ended, during the break.

Saya, Mahes, and I gathered on the rooftop for a private talk.
「So, Kim Yu-seong. Who is this girl?」
「And who exactly are you to be sticking to Ryu-chan?」

「Answer me.」
「Answer me.」
“Stop!”

With both ghosts bombarding me from either side, I felt like my ears would start bleeding, so I yelled at them to shut up.
And just like they had agreed on it beforehand, both ghosts went silent at the same time.
“Your voices are overlapping, I can’t even tell what you’re saying. Ask one at a time.”

Clearing his throat, Mahes spoke first.
「I don’t have many questions. I just want to know who this girl is, why she’s calling the contractor’s name so familiarly, and how she’s withstanding my power.」
“Power?”

「Tut-Ra. The power of the sun. Just like you have something called Polar Yang Body inside you, I possess a similar power, which makes it impossible for any average spirit to even get close to me.」
Ah, so that’s what it was.
Understanding what he meant, I decided to answer his questions first.
“She’s Ryuji’s childhood friend. They were separated when they were young. She was born with a weak body and stayed in a mansion deep in the mountains for long-term treatment. But she passed away there at a young age. By chance, I met her, and she said she wanted to see Ryuji again, so I brought her here.”

I gestured toward Saya as I spoke. She looked down with a reluctant expression.
Unlike when we first met, she at least seemed willing to talk now.
“And to answer your other question—Saya’s strong enough to withstand your power.”

「Strong? This frail-looking girl?」
“She might look delicate, but she has an immense amount of spiritual power. She died young because her body couldn’t handle the enormous yin energy she was born with.”
「I see. That makes sense. I’ve heard of people born with natural talent as shrine maidens who couldn’t control their power and died early.」

Mahes crossed his arms, nodding in understanding.
「Then it’s my turn now.」
Saya, who had been quietly waiting for her turn, finally spoke.

「So, who is he? And why is an Egyptian ghost possessing a Japanese guy like Ryuji?」
“Well… that’s a long story.”
Honestly, I didn’t know much about their relationship either.

If this wasn’t a world based on a manga, it would have taken me a long time to accept it, too.
Frankly, the sentence “An ancient Egyptian ghost possessing a modern Japanese guy” sounded absurd.
At least Mahes answered her directly.

「I was once a pharaoh and a great warrior of the sun, resting peacefully in the afterlife without being disturbed. But one day, someone trespassed into my tomb. That someone was my current contractor. In exchange for saving his younger sister, he promised me battles with strong opponents, which I desired. And so, here I am, together with him.」
“You saved Ryuji’s younger sister?”
This was news to me.

「The tomb raiders who invaded my grave didn’t hesitate to attack not just the contractor, but also his little sister.」
Well, in that situation, even I would have offered my body to Mahes.
Saya’s hostility seemed to fade as she processed that Mahes had saved Ryuji’s sister.

Seeing the mood soften, I decided to wrap things up.
“Alright, you two are done talking, right? Class is going to start soon, so let’s head back to the classroom.”
「Agreed.」

「Fine.」
Both ghosts obediently accepted my suggestion.
As we walked down from the rooftop to the third floor, Saya suddenly asked, as if remembering something.

「Oh, right. Ryuji can’t see me, can he? Why’s that?」
I gave her an incredulous look.
“Normal people can’t see ghosts.”

「But you can.」
Then Mahes chimed in.
「He doesn’t look like an ordinary person, does he?」

「Ah, good point.」
…What do these guys think I am, exactly?
***

Maybe because it was the first day of school, most students spent class time goofing off.
Sitting still at a desk to study after so long probably triggered some kind of bodily rejection.
Finally, after the fourth period ended, lunchtime arrived.

Bang!
A familiar redhead I hadn’t seen in a while appeared.
“Kim Yu-seong! Let’s go eat!”

It was Karen from the neighboring class.
“Oh, long time no see, Karen. Come to think of it, this is the first time since the beach trip, right?”
I had seen Rika and Sasha at least once since then, but not Karen.

After exchanging greetings, we headed to the cafeteria, chatting about recent events.
Today’s lunch group consisted of me, Rika, Karen, and Sasha—four people in total.
Satoru went off to eat with other friends, while Ryuji was having a “married couple” moment, eating the homemade bento his childhood friend Maiya had prepared.

Saya, of course, followed those two and disappeared.
When we entered the cafeteria, eyes naturally turned toward us.
“Look over there. Kim Yu-seong and his girls.”

“Damn, I’m jealous. I want a girlfriend too.”
“What kind of blackmail do they have on him…”
Even with the new semester starting, rumors about me were still going strong.

Not that it was anything new, so we naturally took a table in the corner.
“Ryu-chan, didn’t you bring a bento today?”
“No, I decided to buy food today.”

I stood up to get a meal ticket.
“Then I’ll come too.”
Unlike Rika and Sasha, who had brought bentos, Karen planned to buy her lunch as well.

We got our tickets from the vending machine, picked up our food at the counter, and returned to the table, where the two girls waited patiently.
“You could’ve started eating first.”
“It’s fine to wait a bit. Food tastes better when you eat together.”

“Same here.”
We were just about to start eating when—
“Hi.”

“Huh?”
I turned my head at the sudden voice.
“We’re in the same class, right?”

It was Hattori Ayame, the transfer student who had just arrived today, standing with her tray.
“Uh, yeah, we are.”
Caught off guard, I answered, and she smiled warmly.

“Do you mind if I eat with you? I don’t have any friends yet since I just transferred today.”
“Well, I don’t mind…”
Honestly, I didn’t expect her to ask me of all people. Usually, people judged me by my looks and kept their distance.

“Thanks! And once again, nice to meet you!”
Smiling brightly, the tanned girl sat down right next to me.