Silence.
Looking at the blood-red notification that popped up on the screen, everyone in the group fell still. After a long while, the message bar on the group chat interface began to scroll again.
Skirt-Lifting Maniac: "Dead? Just like that? That new guy is really dead? Are you kidding me?"
This is an Actor: "I don't think the group rules would play such a cruel joke on us."
After sending the message, Aizen looked at the member list in the interface. Behind the nickname Makoto-kun laughed at you, a large black skull logo had appeared. The group chat was certainly detailed in its bookkeeping.
Book Artist: "So pitiful... we didn't even get to know his name."
Scarlet Snake Fairy: "Indeed."
Shark-Faced Guy: "Didn't Anran-san say this newcomer was terrible? If that's the case, there's no need for us to lament his passing."
Skirt-Lifting Maniac: "No matter how bad he was, the person is still dead."
Book Artist: "A little empathy is a good thing."
[System Message: This is an Actor has uploaded the memory file: "School Days"]
Scarlet Snake Fairy: "?"
Curly-Haired Boy: "Hey, could the newcomer who died be this stupid protagonist?"
He was two-timing, deceiving people's feelings and their bodies—which was bad enough. But he was also jumping back and forth between two girls? Not only that, but he was flirting with a fourth and a fifth person during the process? And after consuming everything they had to give, he had the gall to say, "Actually, I like Kotonoha"?
"My god, what a legendary scumbag!" At this moment, even the worldly Sakata Gintoki couldn't help but feel a surge of genuine anger.
Skirt-Lifting Maniac: "Ito Makoto... Makoto-kun... it must be him."
Book Artist: "Damn it, this scum who cheated on young girls! He deserved to die! No wonder Anran-san wanted to kick him. We really can't allow a bastard like that to be one of us."
Shark-Faced Guy: "Eriri-san, what happened to your empathy?"
Book Artist: "That emotion is for humans, not animals! I'm truly disgusted by this guy! This animal is a total scumbag!"
Eriri was so angry that her entire body was shaking; the hand holding her pencil was unsteady. She felt that compared to this disgusting Ito Makoto, even those harem protagonists who usually made people envious and hateful seemed handsome by comparison.
This was only because the memory Aizen had uploaded was the version suitable for all ages. If he had uploaded the original game footage, the girl would have likely gone into a localized supernova.
Angel of the Hidden Rain Village: "Eriri, don't be angry. The person is already dead."
This is an Actor: "Yes, there's really no need to get angry with the dead. It's just a pity he died so quickly. Otherwise, I might have been able to extract more information about his world."
Shark-Faced Guy: "So that's how it is. Was Anran-san's last question just an attempt to gather intelligence?"
This is an Actor: "At that time, I was more than eighty percent sure he was Ito Makoto. But it wasn't a hundred percent until he finally handed in a satisfactory answer."
Sakakino Academy.
When the other party had typed those two words, Aizen was certain. The events of School Days took place at Sakakino Academy.
Skirt-Lifting Maniac: "Extracting information? I thought you asked for his location because you actually intended to rescue him."
Scarlet Snake Fairy: "Without the travel function, there is no way to save him. Not to mention, Master Anran had no desire to save him anyway."
Angel of the Hidden Rain Village: "I'm more curious about what information Anran-san was trying to find. Didn't you already know the plot of that world?"
This is an Actor: "Knowing the plot isn't everything. A single small change can cause an entire timeline to collapse. And Ito Makoto's world likely suffered more than just a small change."
Book Artist: "What do you mean?"
This is an Actor: "Remember what he said when he called for help? 'They will kill me.' Who are 'they'? The group chat uses thoughts as projections to send messages. Unless it was intentional, there is no chance of a typo."
Angel of the Hidden Rain Village: "So the thing that killed him wasn't a single person?"
Skirt-Lifting Maniac: "If it wasn't human, what could it be? He was still in school; it's not like a wild beast would be prowling the halls."
Book Artist: "Is it a ghost?"
Curly-Haired Boy: "Stupid! Idiot! Ghosts and the like are absolutely impossible! They don't exist; they're just something humans imagined to scare themselves!"
Book Artist: "Are you the idiot? Our chat group exists, so why can't ghosts? Wait, I get it! You're scared, aren't you?"
Curly-Haired Boy: "No kidding! I'm not scared! I'm just analyzing things rationally. Perhaps... perhaps the one who killed that idiotic protagonist was actually an Apocalypse from the MU Continent?"
Book Artist: "Your 'rationality' is utterly ridiculous! The MU Continent? That is way more outrageous than a ghost! Besides, why would a being like an Apocalypse travel across worlds just to kill a mere jerk? Even high-ranking gods don't get that kind of treatment!"
Skirt-Lifting Maniac: "So sharp! Although I don't fully understand the reference, I feel like Eriri-chan's complaints are incredibly sharp today!"
Book Artist: "Damn it, am I really being forced to become a professional critic? I didn't have that attribute before!"
Curly-Haired Boy: "Eriri-chan, people change."
Book Artist: "And who do you think is responsible for this? How dare you make sarcastic remarks like that?"
Curly-Haired Boy: "Hehe, young girl! You probably don't know this yet, but a real man is someone like me. Even if I lose my face, I can survive as long as I have my butt!"
This is an Actor: "Oh? Then why don't you show me how to eat with your butt?"
Skirt-Lifting Maniac: "Pfft!"
Book Artist: "Hahahaha! Yeah, come on, give us a show!"
Shark-Faced Guy: "I'm also curious to see how Gintoki-san survives using only his butt."
Curly-Haired Boy: "Ugh... well... the warden is here for rounds. Goodbye!"