Academy SP 〜An Ex-Mercenary Reincarnated as a Mob in a Gal Game. I Ditched My Bodyguard Job to Enjoy High School Life, but When the Ultra-Rich Heroines Were About to Get Killed, I Stepped In… and Somehow Built a Harem Powerful Enough to Control Japan〜 - Chapter 02

Chapter 02

Alright. There were quite a few things I had figured out by now.

First, the mob I had reincarnated into was apparently named Yuuji Takahashi. A painfully ordinary name—perfectly fitting for a mob.

Next, my father worked as an executive at a major trading company. He liked to call his position “a stingy post,” but by normal standards, he was definitely on the winning side of society.

I took a look around the house, and yeah—this was clearly a household pulling in well over ten million yen a year.

With Mama being a full-time housewife and me as the only child, they had more than enough savings to support the family.

It was nothing like the poor home I had grown up in during my previous life.

“Here you go, Yuu-kun. Today’s an important day. Make sure you eat properly.”

With that, Mama placed breakfast in front of me.

A very Japanese breakfast.

White rice. Miso soup. Rolled omelet. Sausages. Pickles.

Ohhh… this felt nostalgic.

Back in the Middle East warzones, meals were mostly beans, bread, and other bland stuff.

“Itadakimasu.”

Papa and Mama put their hands together and said it, so I followed along.

Yeah… this was Japanese too.

I’d seen people pray to God before meals overseas, but putting your hands together and saying itadakimasu was uniquely Japanese.

Come to think of it, it had been a while since I last used chopsticks.

Strangely enough, my body remembered how to use them.

I quickly dug into the rice.

Maybe it was freshly harvested, because each grain sparkled like a jewel. Every bite spread a gentle sweetness through my mouth, making the back of my brain tingle.

“Delicious…”

The word slipped out without me even thinking.

Mama looked surprised at my reaction and laughed it off with, “You’re exaggerating~,” but she still seemed kind of happy.

I casually glanced at the TV, where a news report was playing.

『Starting today, the Seitei 12 academic year begins nationwide…』

『Attention is focused on the students entering Yushu Girls’ Academy through the newly established special admission system—the ‘Academy SP.’ These are outstanding male students expected to lead the future, receiving training in martial arts and mental discipline—』

Right.

The official purpose of Academy SP was to act as bodyguards for the ultra-rich heroines and suppress any trouble that occurred on campus—but that part was kept hidden.

From a public image standpoint, it would look terrible if students whose main job was supposed to be studying were openly tasked with protecting rich girls as their top priority.

Because of that, the media carefully avoided going into detail, clearly tiptoeing around the influence of those powerful families, and deliberately kept the true nature of Academy SP out of the spotlight.

Instead, the topic was blowing up on social media. Some people were already calling it a blatant abuse of privilege by the ultra-rich families.

—Yeah. That was exactly how it was explained in the game’s setting.

After all, I had played the gal game Academy SP almost twenty years ago.

Back then, I’d been pretty gloomy and friendless, so I poured an unhealthy amount of time into it and played the hell out of it.

Still, with that much time having passed, I couldn’t remember everything clearly anymore.

“Sniff…! H-Hic…! Yuu-kun has really grown up…!”

With that, Papa from this new life suddenly burst into tears.

“My son, stuck with a cheap executive position like mine, not only managed to get into the prestigious Yushu Girls’ Academy—but he’s actually going to be classmates with the daughters of the four ultra-rich families…! Hngh…!”

“Now, now, dear. All he did was get into a school and just happens to be classmates with some rich girls, that’s all~”

“You idiot! Do you have any idea how incredible that is!?”

“My! If you’re going to talk like that, I won’t make you breakfast anymore!”

“I’m sorry…”

Watching the back-and-forth between the two, I gave a small shrug.

Looks like Mama definitely held the higher position in this household.

“Still, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, Yuu-kun! Even if it’s just a little—if even one of those young ladies remembers your face… your future will be set!”

Seeing Papa from this new life give me a happy thumbs-up, I let out a wry smile.

Yeah.

Thinking about it calmly, there probably weren’t many high schoolers who actually wanted to spend their precious three years acting as bodyguards.

And yet, applicants flooded in.

Apparently, the competition ratio shot past ten-to-one.

Why was Academy SP that popular?

Because in this world, there was a very real reward for putting your body on the line to protect them.

That was how huge the privilege of “becoming schoolmates with the daughters of the four ultra-rich families” really was.

By the way, in this world’s Japan, those massive family conglomerates were never broken up.

You could call it an if-Japan setting.

Strictly speaking, Japan avoided war with the United States, which meant it never went through postwar reforms—and as a result, those powerful families survived intact.

Because of that, their influence still ran deep here.

Any kind of business required you to read their mood first.

But on the flip side—

If you got on their good side, life went into easy mode.

Becoming classmates with their daughters meant your future in this Japan opened up ridiculously wide.

“But you know, Mama kind of admires it too. When you hear Yushu Girls’ Academy, you think of an elite ladies’ school where even noble families send their daughters, right? Every girl dreams of it at least once~ Well, I’m not exactly a girl anymore, though.”

“What are you saying~? Mama is always cute! You’re a princess to me too!”

“Oh my, saying something so sweet first thing in the morning~ Want a kiss then? ♡”

“Yeah, gimme~ ♡”

While watching the two of them flirt back and forth, I kept eating with my chopsticks.

By the way, the Japanese-style nobility—basically the old aristocratic class—still existed in this world too.

In the past, they apparently had special privileges, like easily becoming politicians through inheritance, but those had been completely abolished under the idea of equality.

That said, their influence in politics and business was still huge even now, and many politicians still came from noble families.

“Anyway, the judo you’ve practiced since you were little was highly praised, Yuu-kun. And you really worked hard in your studies too!”

“That’s right. But since this is your student life, make sure you enjoy it.”

“Oh yeah. Youth only comes once!”

Papa and Mama smiled warmly at me as they said that.

Youth only comes once… huh.

My youth in my previous life had been painfully bland.

I hadn’t had friends—let alone a girlfriend.

Even after becoming an adult, marriage had been far out of reach.

As a mercenary, I was basically a contract worker. When a mission ended, we disbanded. There was no time to build deep relationships.

…No, more than that, anyone I did get close to ended up dying in the war.

I didn’t even have time to grieve.

I had spent my life doing nothing but fighting.

Yeah… my previous life might have been a pretty lonely one.

But still…

Even inside the world of a gal game, for some reason, God had given me a second chance at youth.

My heart thumped loudly in my chest.

It wasn’t the sharp, nerve-grinding tension of a battlefield.

It felt more like a warm light of hope had been lit inside me—a comfortable, exciting heartbeat.

—Alright! If I’ve come this far, then I’m going to fully enjoy the youth called school life that I never got to have in my previous life!!

I clenched my fist under the table and made that declaration in my heart.

I had never felt this excited before.

It was fine.

Even if I was a mercenary, I had lived as a working adult.

I wasn’t as socially awkward as I used to be!

“Kukuku…!”

Just imagining the future made a laugh rise up from my throat.

At that, Papa and Mama from this life both shuddered at the same time.

“H-Hey, Yuu-kun… what’s with that dark, creepy look on your face…!?”

“I-Is something wrong with you!? Are you okay!? That’s not a face a human should be making!?”

Oh crap—this was bad.

After military operations, my face always turned scary.

Even though I’d reincarnated into a different body, that habit apparently stuck.

I really needed to be careful not to let it show in front of people…

“Hahaha… sorry, sorry. I was just excited about my new school life.”

I scratched my head and brushed it off.

But yeah—I really was excited.

To be honest, my memories of the game were still pretty fuzzy, but I trusted that I’d remember things little by little.

And with that, Papa from this life drove me to school.

Today, my entrance ceremony was waiting for me.