Chapter One: The Villainous Protagonist Becomes a Beautiful Girl
The morning wind in April is slightly cool.
Kagami Nagi, dressed in a brand new middle school uniform, is combing her hair in front of the mirror in the washroom.
Today is the day she officially becomes a junior high school student.
With her slender, snow-white fingers gliding through her hair, her smoothly flowing, jet-black hair slips through her fingers like water.
Whether it’s her long, black hair that feels as smooth as high-quality silk or her stunningly beautiful features, perfectly shaped beneath her innocent-looking bangs, all of it astonishes her.
“As expected of the female protagonist of ‘Hoshi no Yori 2,’ she’s so beautiful at just 13 years old,” Nagi can’t help but murmur to herself.
She poses in front of the mirror at the washstand, reflecting the figure of a cute black-haired girl with an emerging feminine silhouette.
Nagi is not from this world; for her, this is just a galgame world called “Guidance from Starlight,” abbreviated as “Hoshi no Yori,” a campus fantasy game with supernatural elements.
Her soul belongs to a male office worker in his early twenties who loves to play trashy games, with a hobby of completing trash game strategies and a specialty in creating strategy videos using unconventional methods.
At this moment, she is wearing a navy blue suit jacket, a gray and dark blue plaid skirt, and a red ribbon tied at the chest of her white shirt, looking like an undeniably cute girl.
After being reborn into the world of “Hoshi no Yori,” Nagi initially started as the male protagonist of “Hoshi no Yori 1,” using her extensive knowledge and skills as a hardcore player to save the world.
Despite being in a galgame world, she ended up single and died from overwork while playing the role of a high-stakes office worker protagonist.
The next moment she closed her eyes and opened them again, she was reborn once more into the world of “Hoshi no Yori 1’s” sequel, “Hoshi no Yori 2,” and the life of an overworked employee had not yet left her!
Moreover, this time she became the newly added female protagonist, “Kagami Nagi,” at the start of “Hoshi no Yori 2.”
When she realized her situation, the hopelessness about her future life as an employee overwhelmingly surpassed the sadness of parting with her little brother who accompanied her for two lifetimes.
Because the “Hoshi no Yori” series is renowned for being trash games, completely mismatched with the galgame genre’s core development systems, featuring extremely difficult combat, harsh plots, and obscure worldviews.
“Hoshi no Yori” often appears as a punishment game in various live streaming platforms, with titles like “Challenge to Clear Without Modifiers” and “No Live Stream Completion, Don’t End the Stream” being common.
Even for someone like her, a player adept at unconventional RTA speedruns, the outcome in the first cycle ended up being a single, solo demise.
Thus, Nagi has made up her mind and decided to gamble her dignity as an unconventional player, vowing to never live a tragic life where “protagonist” is written and pronounced as “overworked employee.”
The last straw she grasped was—
“Nagi, Kanade-kun is here to pick you up~”
Nagi’s mother’s voice came from outside the washroom.
Nagi opened the door and looked towards the entrance, where a boy dressed in the same uniform was standing at her front gate.
Tsukimi Kanade.
He has short black hair and light yellow eyes. At first glance, he appears to be an inconspicuous boy, but his strikingly handsome facial features exude a subtle charm that suggests he could become exceptionally handsome with just a little grooming.
Nagi and Kanade have been childhood friends since kindergarten.
Between normal boys and girls, this childhood friendship might wane in middle school as they become more aware of their differing genders.
However, thanks to Nagi’s careful planning, Kanade has maintained the habit of coming to pick her up for school every morning.
“Good morning, Auntie. Little Nagi.”
Kanade politely greets her, but his slightly bowed head and habitually downward glance emphasize his introverted and timid personality.
But Nagi has provided plenty of visual cues.
Currently, her straight, shapely legs are clad in black stockings.
While this choice is merely a compromise for Nagi to avoid the chilly feeling of her lower half while wearing a short skirt, for a junior high boy in the prime of puberty, it might evoke an unexpected distortion of preferences, turning into a love for black stockings.
As expected, Kanade’s habitual gaze downward got firmly captured by her long, black-stocking-clad legs.
His gaze couldn’t help but trail upward along her tantalizing curves.
It moved over the length of the short skirt that Nagi had adjusted, her slim waist, and her gradually developing feminine curves, finally landing on Nagi’s angelic, adorable face.
“Good morning~ Kanade-kun~”
The moment their eyes met, Nagi quickly adjusted her demeanor, her pitch-black eyes sparkling with countless dazzling stars as she beamed a smile that could evoke love at first sight.
Nagi playfully watched as Kanade was rapidly overwhelmed by the cute image she had specially prepared.
From his hurriedly averted gaze and flushed cheeks, it was clear just how effective it was.
“Hoshi no Yori 2” is a game that allows players to choose either a male or female protagonist at the start.
“What do you think, Kanade-kun?” Nagi seized the opportunity, pressing her advantage.
She gently lifted her skirt that she had adjusted to expose her thighs without appearing lewd, showing off her strong, well-proportioned legs wrapped in black stockings, and gracefully twirled in place.
“… It suits you, quite a lot,” Kanade forced himself to remain calm, but his flickering gaze betrayed his admiration.
“Is that all?” Nagi pouted, leaning her face closer.
“Ehm… Little Nagi? You’re too close, your face is too close! You’re, you’re cute, very cute!”
Seeing that cute face so close in the early morning is quite detrimental to his heart.
Kanade muttered under his breath, barely audible.
In this newly transformed world of “Hoshi no Yori 2,” the male and female protagonists co-exist.
“Thank you, Kanade-kun, you’re very handsome as well~” Nagi slightly pulled back, flaunting another radiant smile.
If this world needs a protagonist to save it,
Then handing over that role to another protagonist, the male protagonist of “Hoshi no Yori 2″—Tsukimi Kanade, would be perfect.
“Ah, playing around so early in the morning is fine, but today is the new student enrollment ceremony; being late wouldn’t be good!” Nagi’s mother said with a smile, peeking her head in from behind.
“Mom, please don’t say weird things to Kanade-kun…”
Nagi meticulously controlled every millimeter of her facial muscles and quickly directed blood to form a light blush.
In the blink of an eye, her face naturally took on a shy expression.
“Kanade-kun, my Nagi can be a bit annoying sometimes. If you find her bothersome, do let me know.”
“Mom, seriously… Kanade-kun, let’s go!”
Nagi said, deliberately gripping Kanade’s hand, wrapping her soft palm around his fingers.
“L-little Nagi, wait…”
The sudden skin contact clearly flustered Kanade.
“Hm? What’s wrong?” Nagi glanced back at a calculated angle, her flowing hair brushing past Kanade’s face.
Combined with the fragrance from the “top-rated shampoo for teen boys” Nagi had purposely used, it effectively tugged at the heartstrings of this innocent boy.
However, Nagi naturally displayed an innocent persona, feigning ignorance of how her small actions were causing Kanade’s heart to race.
“We… we’re middle schoolers now, so we shouldn’t hold hands anymore…” Kanade said, looking quite conflicted and hesitant.
It was evident that his youthful desires were battling fiercely with reason.
“But we used to hold hands on our way to school, didn’t we?” Confusion appeared on Nagi’s adorable face as she tilted her head slightly.
Her black hair flowed down from her shoulder as she tilted her head, highlighting the bare whiteness of her neck.
If this were a fighting game, one could see Kanade’s HP decreasing at an astonishing speed.
“That was when we were kids! We’re grown up now… physical contact between the opposite sex is… a bit…” Kanade made a final stand with the tiny bit of rationality left.
Well, don’t struggle any further. How about indulging in the slightly excessive skin contact with your cute childhood friend instead?
Nagi quickly adjusted her facial muscles and tear glands to display a look of dejection while skillfully controlling her voice to create a trembling effect.
“… Kanade-kun, do you really think I’m annoying, like mom said?”
Using the height from the stairs to create a height difference, she looked up at him through tear-filled eyes.
It felt like hearing a loud K.O. as Kanade was completely overwhelmed.
“N-no, that’s not it! I never thought Little Nagi was annoying…” When he came to his senses, Kanade was already explaining anxiously.
“That hand…”
“I, I understand! Holding hands is fine, right?” Kanade, though he pretended to be nonchalant, had a burning blush on his face and tightly held onto Nagi’s hand, clearly enjoying the moment.
Hehehe~ Nagi’s inner self revealed a sinister smile as if it carried the words “Master Plan.”
Refusal? That option simply doesn’t exist.
Having lived two lifetimes as a male, she could confidently assert that no male would refuse such a beautiful girl childhood friend, especially in this scenario!
The super beautiful girl’s appearance, paired with her male understanding of what boys desire, put Nagi in complete control over the pure and upright Kanade.
“Hehe, I love Kanade-kun’s hand~”
“L-love!? … Don’t say things that could be misunderstood!”
“Misunderstood? What do you mean?”
“… Nothing, alright, let’s hurry or we’ll be late.”
Kanade muttered under his breath: So this girl’s natural charm is really a headache, looking so cute, she’ll definitely attract those with ulterior motives…
Right? It’s understandable to worry about your adorably cute childhood friend who has no defenses against the opposite sex…
Nagi, out of Kanade’s sight, couldn’t help but smile.
This is the path Nagi, as an unconventional player, has ultimately chosen.
To lead a life completely free from the burdens of being overworked.
To accompany Kanade, the protagonist, since childhood and gradually nurture him into a character capable of taking on the duty of saving the world!
The “Reverse Hikigaya Plan”? No, that’s not it.
Because the strength of a protagonist comes from the amount of obsession and hatred they feel towards the world.
Therefore, what she must become is a “bad woman” who one day dies in front of him, leaving him with lifelong regrets~
