Isla had come to celebrate with a few girlfriends. Like Jitto, she’d earned a special recruitment slot—but she was heading to a top Ability Academy.
"School‑flower Isla is also here..." Jitto muttered, half awed, half pained.
Fenric glanced over. "Didn’t you say you were going to be classmates with her? Go say hi."
"Don’t." Jitto’s ears reddened. "I wanted to... but I’m not going to her school. Yeah, I hit E‑rank, but her base attributes crush mine. The tester said she’ll break D soon. So she got picked up by one of the best Academies."
"So that’s how it is." Fenric clapped his shoulder. "Still, you did great. Way better than me, right?"
That worked. Jitto grinned. "Honestly? I’m satisfied."
Sensing he was drifting into self‑pity, he shoved a menu at Fenric. "Enough about that. Order. Don’t hold back."
They ate until the plates emptied and the sighs started.
"Full?" Jitto asked, toothpick between his teeth.
"I stopped ages ago. Been waiting on you." Fenric stood.
"Then let’s roll!"
Bill paid, they headed out and walked to the bus stop. Deli Restaurant was three stops from school. Walking was doable—but Jitto, now belly‑loaded, declared his legs on strike. Taxi? Too luxurious for students who’d just blown money on a celebratory spread.
They joined the small crowd at the stop. After a moment Jitto elbowed him. "Ten o’clock—look. Isla and her friends."
Sure enough, Isla stood with several girls, laughing as they waited for the same route.
Fenric’s figure—now taller, broader, and cut from training (and serum)—drew their eyes.
"Whoa, that guy’s handsome. Look at that build!"
"He’s from our school, right?"
"Since when did we have that kind of hidden stock?"
"Isla, what do you think?"
"It’s... fine."
"Oh please, your standards are sky‑high. I’m calling dibs. I want to see if he’s got abs."
Fenric: "..."
His mental power boosted every sense; their whispers were as clear as if they’d been shouting in his ear.
Jitto couldn’t hear words but caught the glances. "Damn it, Ric—tell me what you eat. Why do you get the physique upgrade and not me?"
The bus arrived. Light midday load: a few elderly passengers, plenty of empty seats. The girls headed straight to the back row. Jitto hesitated to trail them alone and plopped beside Fenric instead.
"You should’ve sat closer," he hissed. "Rare chance for proximity to school‑flower Isla! Wasted!"
Fenric gave him a look that said grow up. More and more he felt how out of step he was with ordinary campus life.
The bus pulled away, climbed the long span of a bridge over a fast river.
Halfway across, an elderly aunt up front suddenly cried out, "Driver! Stop! I missed my stop—let me off!"
The driver didn’t even look back. "We’re on the bridge. Next stop."
"Why can’t you pull over? You’ll die if you stop for two seconds? I said let me off!"
The driver still didn’t stop, but he kept it civil. "Ma’am, the route has regulations. We can’t stop mid‑span. We’d get written up and docked. Next stop is close. Please wait."
"Regulations, my ass! I’m getting off now! Make me walk back? No way!" She lurched forward and grabbed the driver’s sleeve.
The driver’s jaw clenched. "Don’t touch me."
"Oh? You gonna hit me?" she shrilled—and lunged for the steering wheel.
Fenric’s face changed. He’d seen viral clips of this kind of nonsense in his previous life. Apparently some behaviors transcended worlds.
He surged to his feet, but the driver—whether rattled or spiteful—failed to shove her off in time.
Screech!
The wheel yanked hard. The bus swerved, clipped a sedan, smashed through the bridge guardrail—and plunged toward the river.
"Ahhhh!"
BOOM!
Water exploded. The bus hit nose‑first, glass crazing, metal screaming. River water surged through shattered panels. The world turned sideways.
Most passengers were flung like rag dolls. Younger ones who grabbed rails fared better; several seniors slammed hard, bloodying foreheads. One or two slumped unconscious.
Fenric remained braced, body hardly jostled. With his attributes, the impact was nothing.
The steering‑wheel aunt clutched her shoulder, wailing. When she saw water rising over the windows, the color drained from her face.
Only now did she understand she’d made a disaster.