In the end, after screaming about the unreasonableness of it all from the bottom of my heart, I rode my bike home, feeling the wind. I ate dinner with my whole family, but honestly, I think I was spacing out. I was grateful that today was Friday. Going to school in this state was something I'd rather avoid. To be frank, nothing about my future had been resolved. I needed to think about what lay ahead to some extent, or I wouldn't know where death flags might spring up.
The fact that my head suddenly became clearer was definitely due to memories from my previous life. The moment I realized this world was the world of High School DxD, I was able to properly recognize my past life. However, I had simply inherited the knowledge and memories of my former self; my own soul remained unchanged. I was still the same second-grade elementary student who loved manga and games and enjoyed playing outside and moving my body. Well, my understanding and sensibilities seemed to be quite influenced, so I decided to think of it as a fusion. At least, I think I'm still me.
I don't know what triggered me to remember my previous life, but I'm grateful for it this time. Otherwise, I would have continued living carefree without knowing I possessed a Sacred Gear. Of course, if I could have lived my entire life without ever getting involved with Sacred Gears, it would have been better not to have memories of my previous life. But that possibility might be even lower. In that case, it's better to have knowledge.
"Hmm, but first, what should I do?"
I brushed off my father, who wanted to take a bath together, with "I'm going through puberty," and muttered to myself while enjoying a solo bath. My sister was in our room, and this was the only place where I could be alone and relax a bit. Also, I'm going to pretend I didn't see my father's shocked expression. The phrase "going through puberty" is super convenient.
"Am I in the position of an original protagonist? One with knowledge of the original work. But what do original protagonists do?"
I tried to think of the actions of protagonists who were reincarnated into the world of High School DxD, but they were mostly fighting. I understand that this original work centers on battles and erotica, but isn't there a peaceful slice-of-life original protagonist story somewhere? ...I know, I know. Writing about an original protagonist going overpowered in battle is definitely more exhilarating than slice-of-life. The ones I used to read were mostly that type too. Still, I couldn't help but sigh.
If I'm being honest, I do have admiration for it. I have a Sacred Gear too, so wouldn't it be amazing to coolly defeat enemies? There are lots of cute and sexy girls too, and I could appear gallantly before them and save them like a hero. Maybe they'd come to like me. If they became my girlfriend, I'd be happy.
But can I risk my life for that?
"Probably impossible. It's pathetic, and it might be an amazing opportunity, but... it still seems impossible."
Because I know the flow of the original story, I might be able to help people who seek help. But is that something I need to do even if it means throwing away everything I have now? My kind family, the society that protects me, peaceful and enjoyable daily life. Looking at the big picture, it might be temporary peace. Even so, I don't want to deliberately break with my own hands a peace that I know won't return to normal once broken.
More than anything, I don't even know if I can adequately protect my own life. It's cold, but I don't have the luxury of worrying about others. Moving for someone whose location and timing of meeting are unknown would be suicide in this world. It's inflated, a super-inflated world. No matter how I move, I need to secure a solid foundation first.
"So what I should do first is gather information."
What relieved me most was that where I live isn't Kuoh Town. Just this alone allowed me to avoid many of the crises from the original work. Yeah, the death flags for Kuoh Town residents are way too dangerous. Too many flags concentrated in one place.
Does Kuoh Town really exist? Does Kuoh Academy exist too? And when in the original timeline we are now is also important. Whether it's before or after the three great factions made peace changes the enemies greatly. In fanfiction, protagonists are often born around the same age as the main character, but I wonder how it is here. If possible, I'd prefer it to be decades after the original story ended. I'd be happy if the world had become a bit kinder to mob characters.
I'm seven years old, so it's still tough without parental protection. I have no money and can't live alone. This means I absolutely cannot let any faction know that I possess a Sacred Gear. I don't want to be killed or kidnapped. But I can't escape either. If my family were taken hostage, there'd be nothing I could do.
I'll be careful when investigating too. Even if Kuoh Town really exists, I won't set foot there immediately. Since devils definitely exist, if they detect Sacred Gear wavelengths or something, it's over. As for the original characters, I won't go meet them myself. They're all too quirky. Well, there's no one in a position where I could casually meet them anyway, so this is probably unnecessary worry.
"And then... what should I do about my Sacred Gear?"
Should I follow the example of other original protagonists and train? Like the original protagonist, running while carrying rocks? Certainly my Sacred Gear isn't a support or special-type like Asia's or Gasper's. Systematically, it's probably an attack-type. So physical training might be necessary.
But realistically, how do you train? I could take martial arts classes like karate or judo to build my body, but that's probably not right. I can't find someone to teach me practical combat techniques so easily. Training on my own would be even more impossible. I don't know the first thing about martial arts.
If this were still a world kind to mob characters, training wouldn't need to be so serious. But unfortunately, this is a brutal world for mobs. Stray devils might come saying "I'm hungry!" Fallen angels might come saying "Sacred Gear discovered! Time for disinfection!" The Church's bad treatment of Sacred Gear users, human experimentation, and fanatics are scary. Terrorists might kidnap me saying "More fighting power!" and I might even suffer mental breakdown.
If I escape reality and end up regretting it, it would be terrible. Therefore, training to master my Sacred Gear is probably necessary. Having physical strength won't hurt either, so I'll start running and building my body.
Still, I honestly wonder about my Sacred Gear. Should I think it's strong because it has similar power to the Mao called a transcendent being, even if he's a siscon? Or will it end up in an ambiguous position like Switch Princess(Rias) with "Huh, any achievements besides her tits...?" No, no, she was amazing too, with special moves and all. So why do I only remember that part? Anyway, my Sacred Gear is probably below the Longinus-class Sacred Gears. I've never heard its name.
For now, let me learn more about my own Sacred Gear. Thinking this way, I got out of the bath, glanced at my dejected father, and got into bed. Perhaps because I'd thought too much, or maybe because I was actually dizzy from the bath, my consciousness quickly sank into darkness.
"In conclusion, isn't this less user-friendly than the Gremory siblings?"