A ramen stall located in the district of Shinjuku. A good place for me to relax whenever I had the time to do so. Eating out at restaurants such as this one is one of the few methods that I use in order to indulge myself after receiving a surplus of cash from missions as an assassin. It's one of the few ways that I know that would help me pay the rent as well as hone my fighting skills in this new world of mine. 

Grabbing my pair of chopsticks, I proceed to gulp down another portion of noodles and meat before paying attention to the television screen in front of me that's propped up above the counter for the rest of the customers to see for their own discretion. 

A red-haired girl seemingly within the same age range as I am appeared on the screen as News commentators began to describe news of her affairs to the public. 

"Tomorrow will be the day that the second princess of the Vermillion Empire, Stella Vermillion finally arrives in Japan! She achieved the highest scores on her exams in history and was accepted into a Knight school in Tokyo, Hagun Academy!" 

Here's the interesting thing about the world I'm in. It's far different from the Japan of my old life with technology that would make you think it were a science fiction story, yet here I am in the flesh. 

The Japan in my previous life was one filled with cursed spirits, beings that are generally malicious and formed via the negative energy of regular humans while a multitude of humans with special abilities known as Jujutsu were born to fight against those cursed spirits. This is a world filled with magic in which chosen individuals are able to use their souls and manifest a special weapon known as a device, those individuals become known as Blazers. 

In my previous life, I had a unique constitution known as a Heavenly Restriction. In short, it's what you would describe as a trade made with the world itself, albeit against your will. I gained a superhuman body with superhuman capabilities as well as a high resistance to cursed energy and spells while the trade-off in this case was that my cursed energy was reduced to absolutely zero. 

That same Heavenly Restriction followed me to this new life to a parallel world which also determined your worth based on your potential power. You could call me a bit of an anomaly since I was a Blazer with my own device, yet I also had zero magic. The zero magic was what determined my status in the Kurogane clan as the crane tail. I wasn't particularly surprised by the treatment I received; in fact, I would say that the Kurogane family was actually much nicer to me than the Zenin clan ever were. 

The person being shown on the television screen is an example of what it's like to be favored by the entire world. The absolute cream of the crop. Perhaps not as exaggerated as Satoru Gojo, the so called honored one and the very man that took my life but still, her status is incomparable to the rest of us. When it comes to the Blazers around my age that are often mentioned in the media, Princess Stella Vermillion is definitely among them. 

In fact, I can confidently say that I too have built a reputation for myself despite completely skipping the Mage Knight academies and going straight to work as an assassin despite my young age. One of the main reasons are that I didn't have a choice if I wanted to make money quickly and hone my skills to become stronger and the other reason is that if I made attempts to go to an academy or attempt to climb into the official world of Blazers, there would be hinderance from the Kurogane family. It's behavior that I would expect due to my past life experience with the Zenin clan, so I decided to completely skip those obstacles altogether. 

Therefore, much like my last life in which I earned the moniker of "The Sorcerer Killer", I had achieved the title of "The Knight Killer" in my present life. I mainly rely on guerilla style tactics in my various missions as well as the help of my device and various hot and cold ordinary weapons in order to gain an extra edge on my targets. On the bright side, it seemed that the Kurogane family had left me alone on that particular aspect of my life. Very few people actually knew that I, Toji Kurogane had the identity of the Knight Killer, I'm the type of guy that keeps business separated from my personal life. Though I can't say no to money, either from this life or my last.

Of course, I never actually denied in public that I was the Knight Killer, but I never confirmed the suspicions of anyone either. Still, the least I could say is that anyone who was able to place two and two together could easily tell that I was the Knight Killer, a mercenary and assassin well known for getting the job done in terms of killing. 

Is this the destiny for a monkey like me? Rather than to take the honorable path of a Blazer? "I'm sorry old man, the path of a swordsman was never suitable for me to begin with. I'm an assassin, through and through." I mutter to myself, thinking back to some of my earliest memories in my current life in which I had met the famous samurai, Ryouma Kurogane after leaving the Kurogane household. 

As expected of the news story being reported on Stella Vermillion, the screen quickly switched with the narrator proceeding to highlight her various battles and accomplishments as well as the records she had broken and her myriad achievements. 

Reaching over to grab my glass of soda that was next to my bowl of ramen, I soon hear a voice from behind me that seemed to be addressing myself.

"I was wondering where the famous Knight Killer would be, but casually relaxing at a ramen shop? Aren't you worried that will destroy your image as the big bad mercenary that teenage girls swoon over on the media with how much they talk about the mystery teenage assassin?" 

From the sound of the voice and the smell of cigarettes and other details from the enhanced senses of my physique, even without turning to look at her directly I could tell exactly who the speaker was. 

"I was wondering who was following me all this time, but who would've thought that it was the number three ranking Blazer in Japan, Kurono Shinguuji. Was there anything you were looking for with me?" I quipped to her as she sat down onto the stool next to mine, turning to her with a wry smile on my face. "Or is the famous World Clock planning to be an old cow looking for tender grass?" I ask, quoting an idiom often used in China. 

"It's a bit too late for that offer, Mr. Kurogane. I'm afraid I'm a married woman with a daughter now." The brown-haired woman with a ponytail hairstyle dressed in business wear replied to my question. 

What a coincidence, I was also a married man who had a son and a stepdaughter. Of course, that wasn't a sentence I would say out loud as my age now was 16 years old. "Personally, I think someone like you would make a great addition to Hagun Academy. After all, you won't have to pay tuition fees and is highly reliant on skill-based evaluations. Besides Stella Vermillion, I have to admit that we're a bit in need of talent." Shinguuji began as if attempting to make a sales pitch to me. 

"Really?" I ask with a raised eyebrow and my curiosity somewhat piqued. "You ask this considering the reputation I have to the surface in Blazer society? A decadent waste, a monkey that indulges himself in illegal gambling and restaurants and leeches off women and changes them like pieces of clothing. A man with the title of the 'Worst One' besides the 'Knight Killer' title that I'm known as in the underground? I'm sure that there's far better options, unless I'm right about my last speculation and you'd like to add more entertainment to your... private life?" 

Kurono Shinguuji was somewhat taken aback by my statement, giving me a glance before coughing as if attempting to change the topic. Was it my imagination or did I see a blush on her face? "I do know a bit of your reputation on the surface. The waste of the Kurogane clan, and the only Blazer in recorded history to ever have zero magic power on their stats. But that's only on the surface, right?" Kurono Shinguuji began to ask, to which I didn't give a verbal reply but that simply affirmed her own speculations. 

"If anyone were in a similar situation to you, they would be in utter despair, but from what I've seen, I think you're quite the strong person, Toji Kurogane." Kurono Shinguuji said with an expression that I could detect was definitely sincere, which caused me to be taken aback somewhat. "The first time I've heard of you was during one of the visits my sensei had made to the Kurogane household, and I ended up joining along with him for that trip. At that time, I'd heard rumors about the Worst One and wanted to see for myself, but I saw a child with a will of iron that wouldn't succumb to fate despite what the world threw at him. Eventually, I encountered you again during one of the missions you had taken and during our skirmish, I could say for myself that there was quite a bit of close calls on both sides of the matter. I think it would be a shame if someone like you were wasting away in the underground, never to be discovered when you could thrive at a place like Hagun academy. I'd even cleaned up a bit of the staff when I took over the place, so you won't have to worry about professional discrimination. At least... think about it for a bit and I could easily arrange the transfer paperwork."

After she finished her statement, she stood up with a sigh to walk away, leaving her business card as I was left to ponder her words for myself and make my own considerations. 

~~~

"Hey, what's your name?"

"Fushiguro..."

"Not Zenin, huh? Well, good for you."

~~~

"I still can't do it after all..." I mutter to myself, shaking my head as I find myself approaching the campus area of Hagun academy. I made a vow that I would never respect myself or anyone else. I was so sure that I promised to throw away my pride and honor, yet here I was, attending Hagun Academy as a prospective Blazer student.

Was it because of what happened back then, or was it because of what she said back there? No, perhaps it was an accumulation of negative emotions that the few times I received any attitude that had an ounce of affection, respect, or positivity became the straw that broke the camel's back. Would it be correct to call this behavior of mine as pathetic? I would say so. That must have been what it felt like to be an ordinary salesman in modern Japanese society. But I'm not the type of guy who is suitable for an ordinary life, I'm too far gone. 

Pulling out my cellphone and reading the instructions sent over by the staff, I eventually head over to the dorm rooms of the academy campus building in order to make my way over to my new place. Grabbing the keys, I unlock the door before entering and closing the door behind me. Taking off my shoes and leaving them in the front, I head down further into the room as I eventually stumble upon a girl my age with red hair and European features as well as a pronounced personality. As a person who is used to being around women, I have enough experience to not be fazed about this, but I wouldn't be able to say the same about the girl in front of me. 

She seemed to be in her undergarments, right in the middle of changing. "It seems there's a stripper in my room but today's not my birthday.... What's the occasion here?" I try to make a joke before a blush of embarrassment grew on her face. Glaring in my direction, she seemed to quickly get into an attacking stance as the mana surrounding the atmosphere began to quickly heat up around me.  

Reacting quickly, with the help of my heavenly restriction I quickly manage to sneak up behind her before she pulls out her device and grab onto her arms in an attempt to restrain her. 

"How did you-" She gasped in surprise.

"There might be a misunderstanding here, miss.... Perhaps we could talk this out?" I ask with a sheepish grin as I attempt to defuse the situation. Leaning closer, I attempt to speak in a more calm and gentle manner so as not to worsen the situation even further. "I promise I'll let you go if you promise not to attack me immediately." I say with an attempt of negotiating diplomatically. 

"Hmph!" She replies with a huff, looking away from my direction but she at least seemed to agree with my suggestion, so I released her arms. 

"You beast.... now I'll never be able to get married!" She says with a glare before heading to the bathroom to finish changing, leaving me alone in the living room of the dorm room. 

"This is supposed to be my room, isn't it?" I couldn't help but ask myself doubtfully as the red-haired girl closed the bathroom door behind her.