"A ceiling..."
The pink haired boy, about sixteen or seventeen, woke up on a soft bed.
His slightly confused face carried a hint of sleepiness, and he stared blankly at the ceiling.
After a few minutes in a daze, the boy finally came to his senses, his bewildered eyes gradually clearing.
He had confirmed one thing.
He had transmigrated.
His name was Roy Flott, and he hailed from UK on Earth.
The boy whose body Roy now inhabited was also named Roy Flott.
According to the memories of this body, he was currently in a city in the United Kingdom.
However, those memories revealed something else.
This world was slightly different from the one Roy had known.
It harbored extraordinary powers.
Yes.
Just as depicted in light novels and animes, this world had people who wielded supernatural abilities.
In his memories, Roy could vividly recall the moment he witnessed such power.
During a summer vacation, the original Roy had traveled to Japan.
One night, he saw a shrine maiden use magic to repel a shadowy creature.
That scene was etched deeply in his mind.
"A parallel world? Or was I just too sheltered in my past life to notice these things?"
Roy fell into deep thought.
In his previous life, the internet occasionally buzzed with reports of supernatural events.
Though most were debunked as hoaxes, some, in hindsight, seemed plausible.
After Roy had started working, he often heard that wealthy CEOs or high-ranking officials believed in those things.
They'd visit temples, pray to deities, or treat mystics as honored guests.
Could those practices have been more than superstition?
Roy was both shocked and puzzled.
But the next moment, his expression shifted, as if recalling something dreadful.
"Damn it, I should've burned everything in that house."
Thinking of the hard drive and browsing history on his old computer, Roy's face darkened.
If that got exposed, his reputation would be ruined forever.
He silently prayed that his house would catch fire, reducing everything to ashes.
No evidence, no shame.
Besides, he'd already transmigrated.
If the house burned, so be it.
After wallowing in gloom for a bit, Roy rubbed his temples and pushed those thoughts aside.
Roy got out of bed and headed to the bathroom, intending to wash up and splash cold water on his sluggish mind.
"Well, at least I'm as handsome as I was before. I can live with that."
Looking at the face in the mirror, Roy let out a long sigh, reluctantly accepting his new reality.
"Wait, I have to go to high school again?"
A horrifying realization hit him.
His new identity was that of a high school student who would just start his first year.
Waking up earlier than roosters and sleeping later than dogs.
As someone who'd long since graduated and endured the grind of adult life, staying up late was easy.
But waking up at dawn?
That was torture.
Thankfully, it was still summer vacation, giving him a buffer to prepare for his new life.
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
The doorbell suddenly rang.
His heart skipped a beat, worried it might be someone familiar with this body.
He wasn't ready for social interactions.
Steeling himself, Roy wiped his hands and walked to the door.
Opening it, he saw a man and a girl.
By Roy's standards, both were striking—handsome and beautiful.
But something about their demeanor rubbed him the wrong way.
Especially the man, with his blond hair.
Roy couldn't help but think of certain study materials stored on his hard drive.
The man appeared to be in his twenties.
His face was handsome, but a fierce glint in his eyes marred his charm, making a poor first impression.
He wore an expensive-looking red suit, flamboyant and bold.
Beneath it, a white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, deliberately exposing toned muscles.
At a glance, the man seemed like a brash, aggressive type.
Maybe even a delinquent.
Beside him stood a girl who looked adorable.
She, too, had golden blond hair.
Her hairstyle, however, was less appealing—a pair of twin tails styled into drill-like curls.
Her outfit leaned heavily into anime aesthetics: a lace-trimmed Gothic lolita dress in red.
Roy had to admit, the ensemble gave her an undeniable charm, brimming with youthful cuteness.
"Move it, brat!" the man snapped impatiently the moment the door opened.
"Who are you?" Roy shot back.
He searched the original Roy's memories but found no trace of these two.
They weren't acquaintances.
Yet, for some reason, they seemed vaguely familiar, though he couldn't place where he'd seen them.
"Excuse me, you're Roy Flott, correct?" the blond girl asked, her tone far more polite than the man's.
"Yeah," Roy nodded.
"You're even more ordinary than I expected," she muttered, sizing him up with her dark blue eyes.
Roy's expression darkened.
These two blondies weren't exactly winning him over.
"He's just a human. What were you expecting?" the man sneered, his voice dripping with disdain.
"If you've got something to say, spit it out. Otherwise, get lost," Roy retorted, not bothering to hide his irritation.
He wasn't one to coddle strangers.
Especially not ones who showed up at his door with such arrogance.
Besides, he lived in an upscale community with top-notch security.
Guards patrolled 24/7.
If these two had ill intentions, help would arrive quickly.
He wasn't worried.