Starting With The Sefirah Castle In The Anime World

After returning to her room, Sonoko flopped onto her bed with a groan.

"My dad found out after all…"

Honestly, she had expected this outcome.

In their family, moving large amounts of money required approval from her parents.

She had planned to keep it under wraps and negotiate with her father later.

But he had caught her off guard, blindsiding her with a trick question.

"Ugh… I need to talk to Amamiya first."

She picked up her phone and sent a message.

[Suzuki Sonoko: Sorry, my dad found out.]

[Amamiya Ren: Not surprising.]

[Amamiya Ren: The financial flow in your family has to be monitored by your parents, after all.]

[Suzuki Sonoko: I was going to negotiate with him, but he totally tricked me into spilling everything.]

[Amamiya Ren: Be more careful next time.]

[Amamiya Ren: Unlike me, don't expose things casually before you have the means to handle the consequences.]

[Amamiya Ren: Revealing information recklessly is just asking for trouble.]

[Suzuki Sonoko: Got it.]

Setting her phone aside, Sonoko buried her face in her pillow, still sulking.

"Hngh…"

"This morning, I was making fun of Kudo, but I ended up making the same mistake…"

After rolling around in frustration for a while, her exhaustion caught up with her.

Her eyelids felt heavier.

"Haah… Whatever. I'll just sleep. School tomorrow…"

Today had been far too eventful.

Between the unexpected revelations and the emotional rollercoaster, she was completely drained.

---

Meanwhile, in the Amamiya household, Ren was putting away the tarot cards on his table.

"The Suzuki family really has a strong investigative spirit."

"In that regard, father and daughter are practically identical, both drawn to dangerous yet fascinating things."

He shook his head slightly.

"Ignorance is bliss."

"No matter what kind of power someone gains, it always comes with a price."

"But so far, none of the diary holders have shared their abilities with those around them. The Suzukis will just have to wait."

Exhaling softly, he leaned back in his chair, preparing himself for sleep.

He reflected on the day.

"Dating a girl is a lot harder than I expected…"

"And being confessed to is even more difficult to process."

Despite his struggles in social interactions, today had given him a clearer perspective.

Even though he wasn't great at dealing with girls, he could tell when someone had feelings for him.

It was his first time realizing that girls could actually be… cute.

Removing his glasses, Ren gazed up at the ceiling.

"Suzuki… she's completely different from how she's portrayed in the story."

"Just like Ran."

"The accumulation of disappointment eventually made her let go."

"Maybe the records about Shinichi in the diary were what pushed Ran to make her decision."

"I can't keep treating people like they're just characters from a story."

"Stories are only references."

He knew his own problem.

He had been distancing himself from the world, observing rather than engaging.

Combined with his naturally introverted nature, that had only made things worse.

But it wasn't that he disliked people.

He just wasn't good at talking.

Still, he knew he had to take things one step at a time.

Running a hand through his hair, he sighed.

He had never really cared about his hairstyle before.

But now, for some reason, he found himself thinking about it.

As he pondered, drowsiness overtook him.

He was sleepy.

The clock read 8:43 PM—his usual bedtime.

Over the past year, he had developed a strict sleep schedule.

And habits like that weren't easy to break.

After a quick wash, Ren went to bed.

---

A full night's rest erased all traces of exhaustion.

The next morning, Ren followed his usual routine.

Waking up, washing up, eating breakfast, and heading off to school.

He assumed it would be another ordinary day.

But apparently, fate had other plans.

Just before the first class, the teacher walked in with two unfamiliar girls.

"Alright, class. We have two new transfer students joining us today."

Standing beside the teacher were two girls who looked far younger than typical high school students.

They appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen, practically junior high or even elementary school-aged.

Naturally, someone in the class raised their hand in protest.

"Uh, teacher? Are you sure you have the right classroom?"

"Sit down. No, I'm not in the wrong place."

The teacher shot them a glare before continuing.

"These two are indeed high school students."

In the back row, Ren felt his eyelid twitch.

He recognized them.

The blonde girl with twin ponytails—Sanzenin Nagi.

The black-haired girl with long, straight hair—Saginomiya Isumi.

Very familiar faces.

But what surprised him was that the eldest daughter of the Sanzenin family had actually chosen to attend school.

She was supposed to be a hardcore shut-in.

She shouldn't even like school.

Yet here she was.

And not only that, she hadn't even enrolled in the elite school she was supposed to attend.

Instead, she had transferred to Teitan High School.

When the teacher mentioned Hakuo Academy, murmurs spread through the class.

Everyone who knew the name instantly reacted.

Hakuo Academy was a prestigious institution, a school for the elite.

Almost every student there came from either wealthy or noble families.

There were some exceptions, genius students admitted through scholarships.

But those were rare cases.

"Hakuo Academy has a policy allowing students with exceptional grades to skip ahead."

"These two happen to be among the students who advanced early, something quite common in Hakuo."

That still didn't sit well with some students.

"Teacher!"

One student couldn't hold back.

"Why would students from Hakuo Academy transfer here?!"

The teacher remained firm.

"Transfers are a personal matter."

"Everyone has the right to choose their own school, including these two students."

That explanation was complete nonsense.

But it was clear the teacher had no intention of elaborating.

Only the people involved knew the real reason.

Still, the teacher remembered the principal's specific instructions.

Do not let anyone cause unnecessary trouble for these two.

"One more thing."

"I expect all of you to respect these new students and not cause any issues."

"Especially the overly enthusiastic boys—"

"And the gossip-hungry girls."

"Am I understood?"

The not-so-subtle hint was loud and clear.

The entire class immediately got the message.

***

You guys want to burn my stash out and I'm all for it lmao. Jokes aside your support has been immense, wasn't expecting this much turn out. Thank you very much, so this chapter is another bonus chp meant as a thank you.

Also I have a deal for you guys hehehe, we are currently at 14 reviews. If we hit 20 reviews I'll be dropping 5 bonus chps and subsequently for every 10 reviews I'll be dropping 2 bonus chps. This doesn't affect the PS bonus I'll be dropping everything together :) Once again thanks for your support.

***

For every 200PS = 1 bonus chp. Support me on patreon to read 20+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/Blownleaves.