> "He said, 'The bell echoes where truth hides.'
Now half the student body is searching the music room for cursed sheet music!"
— Kiba, halfway into a side quest chain that never ends
---
[Location: Kuoh Academy – Day Zero of Normalcy]
MC had said exactly four words during homeroom:
> "The silence is shifting."
That was all.
By noon, the school had fallen into a full RPG-style quest loop.
---
[Scene: Side Quest #1 – "Retrieve the Whispering Lunchbox"]
MC complimented Asia's cooking with:
> "It tastes like memory."
Now Issei, Asia, and three confused underclassmen were in the library hunting for a "recipe that brings back the dead."
The lunchbox was… humming.
---
[Scene: Side Quest #2 – "The Broom Closet of Destiny"]
MC disappeared into the janitor's closet again.
Rias followed.
Sona followed Rias.
Now the entire student council was trapped in a metaphorical puzzle dungeon, where the exit required "emotional vulnerability."
They've been stuck for hours.
Tsubaki confessed to liking spreadsheets.
Sona hasn't recovered.
---
[Scene: Side Quest #3 – "The Lost Chair"]
MC once stood up and whispered:
> "This chair has seen more than any of us."
Now Akeno, Xenovia, and a magical artifact club were interrogating a broken stool for hidden knowledge.
The chair did, in fact, glow briefly.
Xenovia:
> "We're through the looking glass."
---
[Scene: Koneko's Observation Log]
Log Entry 39:
> "He told a bird 'Not yet.' The bird nodded.
I no longer know if I'm alive or just part of his narrative structure."
---
[Meanwhile: MC, Watching Chaos Calmly]
He sipped tea.
A student ran by screaming about "the locker puzzle that leads to enlightenment."
A teacher chased an origami swan that spoke riddles.
Deadpool sent him a message from the chat:
> Deadpool: "Bro.
You created Skyrim but in high school."
MC (texting back):
> "They asked questions.
I gave answers.
They forgot to check if they were quests."
---
[System Notification]
> Trait Gained:
"Side Quest Catalyst (Lv.1)" – Your vague commentary triggers multi-phase personal arcs in those around you.
All rewards are emotional growth or emotional damage.
---
[Final Scene – Principal's Office]
The principal opened a file labeled:
> "Daily Incidents Caused by One Student's Cryptic Nonsense"
He looked at the security footage.
Saw MC sipping tea… again… while fireworks and water spirits fought in the background.
The principal whispered:
> "He's not in the system.
He is the system."
---
End of Chapter 53: The Side Quests Have Side Quests