Chapter - 1

"Ha~"

On a sunny morning, an ordinary-looking boy in a school uniform was walking down the street.

"So sleepy~"

"Turns out, loving sleep is a human instinct. Guess that means I'm still human."

Just as the young man finished yawning, someone tapped him on the shoulder and said:

"In a way, you don't have to consider yourself human. After all, you're a notorious, lucky pervert."

Hearing this, Bai Ye glanced at the speaker. The other boy also had black hair, an average build, and a pair of lifeless, dead-fish eyes. He spoke in a distinctly displeased tone:

"Kyosuke, if you can't say anything useful, just shut up. Thanks."

"And let me make one thing clear: stop holding a grudge over what happened last time. What happened between me and Kirino was just an accident." As soon as Bai Ye said this, the hand on his shoulder tightened with crushing force.

The tired expression on Kyosuke's face vanished, replaced by a look of sheer frustration as he gritted his teeth:

"You lucky pervert, how dare you even say that? You deserve to be wiped off the face of the earth."

"Only by eliminating you can all girls feel safe."

Kyosuke couldn't forget the day this jerk came over to play games, and his cursed luck struck again. He ended up falling over with his sister, and that filthy hand of his somehow ended up where it shouldn't have.

It was the biggest regret of his life—inviting Bai Ye over, letting him meet his adorable sister, and then watching the two of them tumble together in that way.

And it wasn't just his sister. Countless girls at school had fallen victim to Bai Ye's absurdly fortunate accidents. If Kyosuke weren't so familiar with him and aware of his peculiar circumstances, he'd have sworn Bai Ye was a deliberate pervert.

"What's even going on with you? You're always falling into these ridiculous situations, but somehow you come out smelling like roses every time."

Kyosuke couldn't help but speak through gritted teeth, his voice dripping with envy and resentment.

"I'd like to know the answer to that myself."

At that moment, another hand landed on Bai Ye's other shoulder. He turned to see a pair of equally iconic dead-fish eyes.

"Hachiman, it's no use knowing. You'll never make it ashore in this lifetime. By my estimation, your single status will last from birth to death."

As soon as Bai Ye said this, the hand on his shoulder also tightened.

"You damned protagonist, you damned harem king. You deserve divine punishment."

Hikigaya Hachiman also spoke through clenched teeth. Though he usually reveled in a world where only he suffered, it seemed that after making friends in this anime-like reality, his personality had softened slightly. Of course, to the outside world, he was still the same old Hachiman.

Bai Ye could only sigh at his two friends' behavior.

After all, it wasn't his fault he had the aura of an anime protagonist.

As for how he knew about the concept of an anime protagonist—well, Bai Ye himself was a reincarnated individual. He couldn't help but recall the events of two years ago, when an unexpected crisis triggered the awakening of his memories.

At the time, Bai Ye had been utterly confused. Once his memories returned, he quickly pieced together his life story and circumstances.

He wasn't sure if it was because he was a reincarnated person, but shortly after his parents arrived in this world, they went on a business trip together and died in a plane crash. He was left alone with a stepsister who wasn't related to him by blood.

It was classic protagonist treatment, but back then, his memories hadn't awakened, so he had no idea what it all meant.

The only silver lining was that he inherited enough property and a house to live comfortably. Otherwise, he'd have been in serious trouble.

But that wasn't the main issue. The real problem was that he had been caught up in an attack.

To be honest, it was the most devastating feeling. When he regained his memories, he realized just how chaotic his life had become.

At the time, he had a gaping wound on his head, bleeding profusely. It was that injury that triggered the return of his memories.

When he opened his eyes, he saw three menacing figures accompanied by shikigami and dressed in red robes. The sight terrified him.

But that wasn't the worst part. The real issue was that he overheard them discussing kidnapping their target, breaking out by force, and killing everyone else.

Honestly, he wanted to scream that these people were insane. Most of the people around him were either seriously injured or unconscious, and these lunatics were planning to finish them off.

To make matters worse, they noticed him when he opened his eyes.

They decided to take him along as a decoy, someone to die in their place.

As he was being dragged away, he noticed another captive—a girl with wide, terrified eyes. His memories told him this was likely an anime world, but he hadn't expected to meet a heroine so soon. And certainly not under these circumstances.

After all, she was the one they were after, and he was just collateral damage. How was he supposed to explain that?

While being hauled away, Bai Ye's mind raced as he recalled more details from his awakened memories.

He had never heard of supernatural powers before, but they clearly existed in this world. It seemed to be a hidden world of the extraordinary, something ordinary people knew nothing about.

In this world, skilled chefs held high status, and there was a place called Totsuki that stood out in his memories.

He even wondered if cooking skills could grant special abilities at a certain level. Otherwise, it was hard to make sense of it all.

This bizarre world also allowed legal polygamy, though it was restricted to those with significant status and wealth. Ordinary people still practiced monogamy.

But none of that mattered at the moment. The real issue was the immediate crisis.

Bai Ye glanced at the black-haired girl beside him and forced a bitter smile.

"Looks like you've dragged me into quite the mess."

The girl was none other than Kirishima Shoko, a popular character from an anime about, well, idiots.

Noticing the blood on Bai Ye's forehead, she looked at him with guilt and said:

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to get you involved."

Bai Ye remained silent, not because he didn't want to respond, but because he heard a ding in his head.

"Congratulations, Host. You have successfully awakened your past-life memories."

"The Daily Sign-In System is now binding."

"System binding complete."

Bai Ye was stunned. His cheat had finally arrived. He immediately called out in his mind:

"Brother System, you're finally here! If you'd come any later, you'd be collecting my corpse."

"These bastards are planning to use me as a decoy!"

Ding! "If you're truly scared, this system might actually believe you're crying for help."

Bai Ye felt a little embarrassed. Some things were better left unsaid, weren't they?

"Can't help it. When I first regained my memories, it felt like I was in a game. I didn't feel very immersed."

"And for some reason, I'm not as scared as I thought I'd be. At most, I just don't want to die after coming here."

Ding! "That's normal. The reason you're like this is due to a glitch during your reincarnation. It's why you ended up this way after your memories awakened."