Chapter 38: A New Beginning

The day was still dark, or perhaps it could be described as early morning. A gentle breeze blew through the open window.

The curtains swayed with the wind, allowing the moonlight to enter the room and illuminate its interior.

The moonlight eventually reached the bed, where someone was sleeping. His hair was messy, and he was wearing his usual sleeping clothes.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. They were blue like the ocean. He then began to wake up.

The young man gently rubbed his eyes while looking around. He eventually got out of bed and slowly approached the open window.

He reached for the window handle, but the moment his hand touched it, the moonlight fell upon him, revealing his face.

He slowly pulled the handle and closed the window.

He was Haruki, a young man who loved novels dearly. Even at the age of seventeen, he had already read countless novels.

However, there was one particular webnovel that had stopped updating without any notice from its author. It was also one of Haruki’s favorites.

He had waited for years for that novel, until one day, a game-like notification appeared, dragging him into the very world of the novel whose next Chapter he had been eagerly waiting for.

"Uwaaaf..."

Haruki yawned in the quiet room.

The room he was currently in was his actual bedroom in the real world.

Haruki had been back in the real world for a day now, following the successful defeat of the invasion threat posed by the kingdom known as Frostval.

He slowly sat down at his study desk and picked up his smartphone. He then opened the novel, *The World Beneath the Arcane Throne*.

And sure enough, a new Chapter had been released. However, he was the only one who could read it.

He read it carefully, even though he already knew how the story would unfold.

As he continued reading, he noticed that his name in the novel was not written as ’Honma Haruki’, but was instead referred to as ’The Unnamed Extra Character’.

"How strange. But what can I do about it..."

He continued reading until the sunlight began to shine brightly, slowly entering through his window.

"Ah, it’s morning already."

Today was Saturday, so he decided to go out for a walk after what felt like an eternity of not seeing his own world.

Haruki slowly stood up from his chair and stepped out of his room. As usual, his house was incredibly quiet. There was no one else’s voice except his own.

He then made his way to the bathroom to freshen up.

Haruki turned on the shower, and the water slowly began to pour down, soaking his body.

"Ah... This is much easier compared to taking a bath in that dormitory."

After finishing his shower, he put on some casual clothes and prepared to go out and see the world he had once lived in.

He stepped outside and booked a taxi using his smartphone.

...

Upon arriving in the city, Haruki simply admired the scenery of Tokyo, which felt as lively and modern as ever.

"It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen this modern world."

Behind him, someone seemed to be reaching out to touch his shoulder.

However, just as that person managed to reach his shoulder, Haruki quickly turned around and saw that the person was none other than Takeru.

"Yo, Haruki."

’Why does it have to be him of all people?’

The two eventually went to a restaurant and chatted like friends, although Haruki did not consider Takeru to be a particularly close friend.

"You haven’t changed at all, even after the invasion."

Takeru, who had been drinking, suddenly stopped for a moment.

"Huh? What do you mean by ’after the invasion’?"

Haruki was slightly taken aback, realizing that he had just mentioned something only he was supposed to know.

"A-ah, it’s nothing."

Takeru continued drinking his beverage.

After that rather uninteresting conversation, Haruki said that he had to leave because he had other things to do.

Several hours later, after wandering around the city, he finally returned home by taxi.

Upon arriving home, Haruki decided to enter the world of TWBTAT once again.

"*The World Beneath the Arcane Throne*... The Arcane King is dead. Does that title even make sense anymore?"

Haruki chuckled softly before opening his system. He then activated the access that allowed him to enter the other world, a place he considered to be his second home.

After defeating the Frostval faction, the system had granted him more freedom to enter that world. He no longer had to wait until midnight, nor was there any time limit. Haruki could now stay in the novel’s world for as long as he wanted.

Shortly after, his consciousness was transferred into the novel’s world, while his physical body in the real world collapsed onto the floor of his bedroom.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and noticed that Philip seemed to be having a conversation.

"Oi, are you even listening, Haruki?"

"Huh? Were you talking to me?"

Philip let out a slightly frustrated sigh.

Only then did Haruki remember that the last time he had been in this world was at the coffee shop that was still under construction, where he had been accompanied by Philip and Magnus.

"Haruki wouldn’t listen to your nonsense anyway, idiot."

"What did you say, Magnus?"

"Nothing~"

Philip grew even more annoyed by Magnus’s attitude.

After that, they finished their drinks and left the coffee shop.

Only then did Haruki remember that following the destruction caused by the Frostval faction, the kingdom had slowly begun rebuilding itself.

The same was true for the academy and the palace, both of which were currently undergoing reconstruction and were expected to take quite some time before completion.

’Ah, right. I almost forgot. After that night, I decided to stay in this world for a few more months.’

The three of them then headed towards the tents where all the students of Arcane Academy, including the teachers, were currently staying.

Even though the academy and dormitories were still under reconstruction, classes continued as usual, with each tent being assigned its own responsibilities.

However, as usual, Philip never bothered to complete his assigned tasks and was constantly punished by being forced to help the workers with the academy’s reconstruction.

Just then, Vila appeared, seemingly wanting to tell the three of them something.

"What’s wrong, Vila?" Magnus asked.

She was slightly out of breath. After catching her breath, she informed them that the principal would be making an important announcement that afternoon.

The three of them did not think much of it.

After that, Philip went off to find somewhere comfortable to spend his time. Magnus did the same, wanting to explore the city because he still hadn’t had enough of seeing its reconstruction.

And now, only Haruki and Vila remained.

Vila then shyly invited him to go for a walk as well.

Haruki, who had no particular destination in mind, accepted Vila’s invitation.

The two of them eventually made their way into the city, where they saw people beginning to show greater respect for one another. However, they also knew that some people still refused to fully accept commoners.

"Ahh, the reconstruction of this city is progressing quite quickly over the past few months."

"Yeah," Vila replied, lowering her head slightly.

The two of them eventually arrived at a fountain that had already been rebuilt. They sat down on one of the available benches.

"By the way, how have things been for you?"

Vila looked confused.

"I mean, have you become comfortable living in this kingdom?"

"Yes... I feel much better now, especially after getting to know you and the other two."

*The other two Vila was referring to were Philip and Magnus.*

Vila also told Haruki that she still hadn’t been able to forget what had happened in her kingdom of Vyber.

Haruki then apologized, feeling that he might have brought up an inappropriate topic.

"Ah! No, it’s fine. I’m the one who suddenly brought it up, so you don’t have to apologize!"

Haruki felt slightly relieved.

Suddenly, a man approached them and handed Vila a flower, wishing the two of them happiness as they enjoyed the fountain together.

The man then walked away, handing out more flowers to other people who appeared to be couples.

Vila noticed that the man was giving flowers to people who were together with their partners. She immediately assumed that he had mistaken the two of them for a couple.

Vila’s face quickly turned red, while Haruki innocently asked why her face had become so red.

Vila quickly hid her face from Haruki’s view. However, to her surprise, even her hands had turned red.

Haruki then gently touched Vila’s hand.

Vila quickly turned towards him, and the two of them ended up looking into each other’s eyes.

"What’s wrong, Vila?"

Vila quickly pulled her hand away while holding the flower she had received.

"N-nothing... I-it’s just a little hot today."

After that, Haruki invited Vila to continue walking somewhere else. Vila simply nodded and followed him.

"Vila, if you’re feeling unwell, just let me know."

"O-okay."

As they continued walking around, Haruki suddenly heard a voice that sounded very familiar to him.

"Hey, miss, please accept my—"

The man was immediately splashed with water by the woman he had been trying to flirt with.

"O-oi, Magnus!"

Magnus then turned to his right and saw Haruki and Vila standing there.

The three of them eventually sat down at a drink stall and started chatting.

Magnus, who had just been rejected, admitted that he also wanted to experience what it was like to have a girlfriend.

Haruki chuckled softly.

"What’s so funny, Haruki?!"

"Hah... I can’t imagine what would happen if Philip found out about this. He’d probably laugh the loudest."

Magnus immediately told them to keep their mouths shut and not tell Philip about what had happened.

Magnus also noticed that Haruki had gone out with Vila and decided to tease the two of them.

"And you two... Don’t tell me you’re dating?!"

"Shut up, Haruki!"

Magnus had completely misunderstood the situation.

"Keep it down, you brat!" the shopkeeper shouted.

Vila’s face turned red once again, while Haruki explained that he had only gone out because he was bored.

Magnus seemed suspicious of the two of them but simply accepted Haruki’s explanation.

"Haruki, shouldn’t we head back to the tents? The principal is going to make an announcement."

"Oh, right."

The three of them left the shop and quickly made their way back to the students’ tents.

...

Upon arriving, Haruki noticed that everyone had already gathered and formed lines, waiting to hear the principal’s important announcement.

Then, Philip suddenly appeared from behind Magnus and startled him.

"Don’t scare me like that, you bastard, Philip!"

"Sorry, idiot."

They then joined the others in line and waited for their principal to arrive.

’I wonder what this important announcement is about,’ Haruki thought.