For high school students, picking up a random stick on the street and acting out a fantasy battle wasn't anything unusual. Plenty of their peers had done the sa at so point.
The real problem?
The high school trio got caught.
It was still too early for most working adults to be out and about, so the street was mostly empty. However, just as fate would have it, Haru's kitchen had run out of ingredients. Yukino and Utaha had suggested stopping by the store to buy groceries.
And that was how the two groups ran into each other.
"Chuunibyou?"
Yukino's expression scread second-hand embarrassnt.
Utaha wasn't much better. "Chuunibyou."
Among them, Haru was the only one reacting normally.
anwhile, the three high school boys shrank inward, faces darkened in sheer embarrassnt. Heads lowered, they slowly turned around and began inching away, ostrich-style.
Clearly, they thought they had humiliated themselves beyond redemption and needed to retreat.
But—
"Wait a second!"
An idea sparked in Haru's mind, and he quickly walked toward them.
Yukino and Utaha exchanged glances, both seeing the sa confusion in each other's eyes.
They had no clue what Haru was planning, but they still followed.
The trio, reluctantly turning back, saw Haru casually pick up the wooden stick, inspecting it as he walked toward them.
"A perfectly straight stick like this is a rare find," he mused. "I've only co across two in my entire life."
The trio froze.
Their embarrassnt was still there, but now… there was a faint glimr in their eyes.
Their expressions practically scread: Wait… is he one of us?!
Still holding the stick, Haru gave it a closer look. "No joke—if I'd found this first, I probably would've called it the Sword of Kings too."
"You're kidding."
Their faces were a mix of disbelief and awe.
Especially when they noticed the two stunning girls standing beside Haru.
Two beautiful girls.
What kind of sick joke was this?!
This guy—clearly the epito of a "super normie"—could actually get the concept of the Sword of Kings?!
"You guys ever heard of Thirteen Stances of the Sword?" Haru asked, gripping the stick.
The three shook their heads in perfect sync.
Perfectly in sync—like pilots undergoing Pacific Rim drift training.
"It goes sothing like this…"
Haru suddenly shifted his stance, sinking his weight and angling his body.
Then—
With a burst of power, he lunged forward, thrusting the stick with such force that the air whistled around it.
The trio was stunned.
Yukino had been prepared for Haru to join in on the chuunibyou antics. Instead, she found herself unexpectedly impressed.
"That actually looks both fast and powerful. If that hit soone, I imagine it'd really hurt," Utaha voiced what Yukino was thinking.
But Haru wasn't done.
"That's not all."
Recalling swordplay videos he'd seen online, Haru fluidly transitioned into a series of elegant movents, finishing with a flawless wall-kick, flipping twice in midair before landing smoothly. He twirled the stick behind him in a reverse grip, completing the sequence in one seamless motion.
Thanks to his [Steel Body (Lv2)] skill, every move was precise, powerful, and—above all—aesthetically perfect.
Even Yukino and Utaha were left speechless.
"Thirteen Stances of the Sword is actually more refined than what I just did," Haru admitted with a smile. "I didn't morize all the techniques, so I could only demonstrate a few."
"Amazing!"
"That was insane!"
"So smooth!"
The trio practically shouted their praise.
For high school boys like them, those moves were definitely sothing they could use to flex at school.
If they could pull that off in front of their classmates, they'd instantly beco the coolest guys in the room.
"This technique is called Thirteen Stances of the Sword, right? Hold on, I need to write this down!"
The blond one was the first to react, pulling out his phone excitedly to take notes.
Haru helpfully added, "The full na is Wudang Swordplay: Thirteen Stances, from China. It was originally just a basic sword technique, but over ti, people have refined it into sothing visually spectacular."
"That makes sense!"
The other two also whipped out their phones.
Even Yukino, eyes filled with intrigue, took out hers.
She had assud Haru had just made it up on the spot, but when she searched online—
It was real.
"…It actually exists?" Utaha peeked at her screen.
Yukino nodded and even handed over her phone to show her.
At this point, the trio was completely convinced—Haru was one of them.
If even he had his chuunibyou monts, then there was no need for them to feel embarrassed anymore.
"Thanks for the lesson. We really learned sothing today."
The three boys bowed in gratitude.
Seeing that the timing was just right, Haru finally brought up his real reason for stopping them.
"By the way… are you guys interested in a part-ti job?"
"A part-ti job?"
The trio blinked, caught off guard.
"You can think of it as earning so pocket money. When I saw you guys just now, an idea popped into my head," Haru said with a nod.
The idea he was referring to was filming 'High School Return of a Gangster'.
It was a ridiculous, over-the-top cody with plenty of chaotic energy.
A long ti ago, Haru had done so research and found that neither a manga nor a live-action adaptation of this story existed.
Back then, he had been interested in producing it, but as his parents' business expanded and money was no longer a concern, he had put the idea on the back burner.
That is, until he witnessed the trio's overly dramatic roleplay just now.
If there was ever a perfect cast for an absurd, codic story, it was these three. They didn't even need to act—they could just be themselves.
Most importantly, 'High School Return of a Gangster' required a certain level of wild, over-the-top energy. And these guys had it in spades.
"Hold on a second!"
Hearing Haru's suggestion, the three finally realized he wasn't joking. They quickly sobered up, taking the conversation seriously.
The bespectacled boy was the first to speak, his tone cautious. "If you don't mind asking… what do you do for a living?"
"I'm a high school student. Just like you," Haru replied, fully expecting this reaction.
"Huh? A high school student… offering us a part-ti job?"
The three of them looked baffled, as if this was the most ridiculous thing they had ever heard.
That was when Utaha stepped forward, her expression serious. "Even though we're students, what he's saying is completely true."
Haru gestured toward her. "This here is a newly debuted author whose work is already a bestseller."
Then he turned to Yukino. "She's the vice president of our photography club. We recently fild a short movie that will be released online soon—and she was the director."
Finally, Haru pointed at himself. "As for … I happened to write a few scripts and know a bit about filming. My parents even helped set up a small production company, so I guess I'm semi-professional."
The three boys were stunned, their mouths hanging open in disbelief.
A full five seconds passed before the blonde boy slowly nodded, as if processing everything. "So… you guys are basically insanely talented."
The other two followed suit, nodding stiffly.
Haru chuckled. "You could say that."
After introducing himself, he went on to formally introduce the two girls standing beside him.
"I'm Shihara Tadakuni."
"I'm Tabata Hidenori."
"I'm Tanaka Yoshitake."
The three took turns giving their nas.
Then, Tadakuni, who had the most refined appearance of the trio, hesitantly asked, "Um… the part-ti job you ntioned… could it be…?"
"That's right. I want you to act in it." Haru confird with a smile.
"…Acting?"
"No way, we're not professionals."
"Although… I am kinda interested…"
Their reactions varied.
Watching this unfold, Yukino and Utaha finally understood why Haru had stopped these three in the first place.
"It's because they match the image you have in mind, isn't it?" Yukino mused after a mont of thought.
Haru nodded without hesitation. "Exactly. The energy they have is a perfect fit for what I envisioned."
Yukino instinctively glanced at the trio, her expression turning slightly odd.
Utaha, equally perceptive, pressed her lips together as a knowing glint flashed in her eyes.
The sa thought crossed both of their minds:
Does he an… their codic energy?
From what they had seen of the trio's overly theatrical behavior earlier, they definitely fit the goofy image.
Neither of them particularly enjoyed slapstick cody, but they were rational enough to recognize its appeal. There was an audience for this kind of humor, even if it wasn't to their taste.
That said, calling it "codic energy" outright felt a little too blunt, so they both chose to keep that opinion to themselves.
"Amamiya-kun… you're really serious about having us act?"
After a long pause, the trio asked once again, as if still struggling to believe it.
Haru t their gazes. "I know it sounds unbelievable, but I'm not joking. I genuinely think you guys have the right presence for it."
"…Presence, huh? I never thought I had any sort of presence before…"
The three of them looked slightly embarrassed, but also… a little pleased.
Haru raised a hand to interrupt them, smiling as he said, "There's no need to give an answer right away. Take your ti and think it over. Oh, and since you're all minors, your parents need to be inford about this."
"Understood, we'll keep that in mind."
The trio was still nervous, but Haru's consistently friendly attitude put them sowhat at ease. Instead of outright rejecting the offer, they decided to at least consider it.
After exchanging contact information, Haru handed the wooden stick back to them. "The Sword of Kings—returning it to its rightful owner."
The blond-haired boy, nad Yoshitake, blinked in surprise before accepting it with a grin. "Thanks."
With that, the trio bid farewell, and Haru and his group continued their trip to the supermarket.
"You chose them because of their codic potential, didn't you?"
Yukino finally voiced her guess.
"As expected of you—you figured it out so quickly," Haru praised with a smile.
"Cody skits may have low production costs, but they're not easy to pull off," Utaha mused, already analyzing it from a professional standpoint.
After spending so much ti with Haru, both she and Yukino had developed an understanding of the industry. They knew that cody was one of the best examples of achieving greatness with minimal resources.
However, because everyone's sense of humor differed, executing cody effectively was incredibly challenging.
"What do you think of their delivery? I an, the way they perford while holding that wooden stick," Haru asked instead of explaining.
Yukino and Utaha exchanged glances.
"It's not my style, but I'm sure a lot of guys at school would love it," Utaha answered first.
Yukino thought for a mont before nodding. "It's similar to the Kan Rider shows you like. I've seen other students act out scenes like that at school. If that's the case… then yes, they definitely have talent."
Haru nodded in agreent.
The lead character of High School Return of a Gangster!!'s live-action adaptation had blond hair, and among the three boys he'd just t, there was already a perfect candidate—one who didn't even need to dye his hair.
After finishing their shopping, they returned ho, where Haru once again took charge of cooking.
As usual, the two girls thoroughly enjoyed his delicious al, eventually entering a blissful, trance-like state.
Just like before, they didn't move an inch, simply savoring the comfort and relaxation washing over them.
The effect of his [Drugging] skill effortlessly lted away their accumulated fatigue.
In the days that followed, Haru frequently received ssages from Haruno.
She contacted him far more often than before.
Not that she always had sothing important to say—most of the ti, it was just casual greetings.
But Haru understood the underlying aning behind her words.
She was essentially saying: I haven't forgotten that you saw naked.
To that, Haru could only sigh. "What a ss I've made…"
A few days later, the high school trio reached out to Haru —they had decided to accept his offer.
He imdiately sent them the script so they could familiarize themselves with it in advance.
This wasn't common practice in the industry, as there were occasional cases of "script theft" or actors leaking scripts to competitors.
But Haru wasn't worried about them.
After all, every guy who appeared in High School Return of a Gangster!! was practically overflowing with kindness—genuinely good people through and through.
As for negotiating contracts with their parents, Haru left that to the professionals at the company.
He firmly believed in one thing: Leave professional matters to the professionals.
Ti passed, and soon, late September arrived.
With the photography club's planned trip to the ani convention drawing near, Haru headed out after school one day to buy a few power banks.
He knew from experience that bringing extra power banks was essential—not just for himself but also for Yukino and the other girls, who would undoubtedly take tons of pictures.
On his way back, dark clouds lood over the sky, and the wind picked up, howling through the streets and making the shop banners flap wildly.
Each gust carried the foreboding promise of an impending storm.
Haru quickened his pace.
Then, at a street corner, a beret was suddenly swept up by the wind and flew straight toward him.
His instincts kicked in—he reached out and caught it.
For a mont, he froze.
This scene… looked oddly familiar.
Following the direction the hat had co from, he spotted a familiar figure standing near an open space.
Sure enough, it was gumi Kato.
The girl was gently pressing down her tousled hair, her soft gaze falling upon a group of children nearby, who were crouched down, practicing their yo-yo tricks with great concentration.
Their eyes t.
A faint trace of amusent flickered in her gaze.
Haru approached, shopping bag in hand, and returned the hat. "What a coincidence."
"Thank you," gumi said, accepting it and placing it back on her head.
Just as Haru was about to ask, Are you out shopping too?, gumi turned to one of the children and spoke softly.
"You got it wrong again. That trick doesn't work that way."
"Oh! You're right… I ssed up again. Thanks for the tip, big sis!"
The child grinned sheepishly before pulling back the yo-yo to try again.
Only then did gumi look at Haru.
"So, are you out shopping too?"
Haru was montarily speechless.
What a good move to turn of tables!
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