Dusk.
Seiji checked in with his private security company.
The name: Aegis Security... a firm offering worldwide security consulting and bodyguard services.
Naturally, the best team served only one client... him.
Ding.
His phone buzzed.
"The principal of Toyogasaki?" Seiji raised a brow.
He'd almost forgotten about that person.
No, more accurately... he'd almost forgotten he was still technically a Toyogasaki student.
"They want me to give a speech as an outstanding graduate?" he murmured.
He glanced at the calendar. So it was that time of year already.
"Sure," Seiji replied.
At Toyogasaki Academy, the school bell rang to signal the end of the day.
Most students were off to club activities or heading home.
In Class 1-B, however, one girl still sat quietly at her desk.
Her features were delicate, her complexion fair... yet for some reason, a faint veil seemed to dull her presence, making her blend into the background.
"Looks like I got ignored again…"
Megumi gazed out the window, her tone calm and matter-of-fact.
She'd always been easy to overlook... so much so that even the students cleaning the classroom had forgotten she was still there.
Not that she was surprised. Or upset.
Just a quiet sigh.
She'd long since grown used to it.
At that moment, the sound of cheerful girls chatting came from the hallway.
They'd just finished club and were on their way home.
"Hey, hey, did you hear? That legendary senpai from our school... Seiji Fujiwara... he's coming back to give a speech!"
"Really?!"
"For real! I can't believe someone like him still remembers Toyogasaki!"
"Right? I heard he owns multiple insanely successful companies... and he's hot, too! Like, straight out of a shoujo manga!"
"Ahhh, I wanna see him in person!"
"Same! If I could get his contact info, I'd die happy!"
Megumi listened silently.
Her calm eyes rippled faintly at the name... Seiji.
Of course she'd heard of him.
No one at Toyogasaki hadn't.
"Fujiwara-senpai… He really stands out."
Looking out the window, she whispered, "I'm jealous… If only I had even one percent of his presence…"
It was just a passing thought.
Megumi quickly composed herself, packed her things, and left school for the day.
Time passed, and March arrived.
Graduation season. Sakura petals rained down like soft snow.
The auditorium at Toyogasaki Academy buzzed with bittersweet emotion... nostalgia for the past, hope for the future.
The fresh-faced boys and girls wore expressions of reluctant farewell.
Of course, Seiji, a man who'd lived two lifetimes, felt none of it.
Sitting in the front row, he idly toyed with his phone, utterly bored.
The excitement, the melancholy, the nervous energy around him... none of it stirred him in the slightest.
To him, their so-called "future" was nothing more than another predictable cycle: study hard, get a job, grind under KPIs and endless overtime until their youth and passion faded away.
He'd already lived through that once.
"Next, please welcome our distinguished graduate representative... Toyogasaki Academy's pride! A prodigy writer who was admitted early to the University of Tokyo... Seiji Fujiwara!"
The emcee's voice rang out, followed by thunderous applause.
"So it's my turn," Seiji muttered, shutting off his phone and straightening his uniform collar.
Under countless gazes... admiring, jealous, curious... he walked to the stage with effortless calm.
Under the spotlight, his sharp features looked even more striking.
He didn't glance at the printed speech. Instead, his eyes lazily swept across the crowd, and a faint smirk curved his lips.
His gaze found Utaha Kasumigaoka... elegant as ever, her black stockings and white hairband giving her that serene, refined beauty.
A few seats away, Eriri glared at him playfully, pulling faces like a mischievous child trying to provoke him.
Cute, as always.
Seiji smiled inwardly, then looked back at the sea of faces below... those students lost in the illusion of "graduation."
"Congratulations on graduating," he began. His clear voice echoed through the hall.
"Starting tomorrow, most of you will spend your entire lives proving one simple truth... "
He paused.
"... that everything you've worked so hard for up to this moment… means absolutely nothing."
Silence.
The applause died instantly.
Every pair of eyes locked on him in stunned disbelief.
Teachers looked uneasy. Students froze in confusion.
Seiji didn't care.
"You'll go to college, enter the workforce, and realize the world you face is a dull machine... one that's long since been programmed by rules and expectations. Your dreams, your passion, your individuality… will all be crushed beneath something called 'reality,' until you become another canned product labeled 'adult.'"
He paused again, smiling faintly.
"Of course, there are exceptions. People like me, for example."
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You can read up to chapter 165 on patreon.com/NiaXD.