Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

Kita Ikuyo had never felt such intense grief and indignation before.

After much thought, she realized that besides ignoring it, there was nothing she could do. After all, if Takami didn't want to, Goto Ichiri wouldn't be able to hear her, and she had no means of resistance. No, what means of resistance? If Pochi-chan was truly willing, what could she do even if she could resist? Even if Takami's life was promiscuous, he was still her savior in effect. She couldn't possibly do anything to him just because he and Pochi-chan were having an affair. After all, she wasn't Pochi-chan's mother; she had no right to interfere. But such a terrible scumbag, such a man—could it be that Pochi-chan really…

Time passed by minute by minute.

In Kita Ikuyo's mind, Takami once again became that crazy, lewd man who single-handedly turned the world upside down.

Gao Hai came to his senses a little better, checked the time, and found that it was almost 11 o'clock.

Why hasn't she arrived yet? Hmm, wait, that voice... she's already here?!

His superhuman senses spread rapidly, and the next moment Gao Hai saw Goto Ichiri pacing back and forth outside the door.

Yes, the girl had actually arrived long ago, but she didn't go inside or ring the doorbell. Instead, she kept pacing back and forth at the door. One moment she looked extremely frustrated, the next she was grinning foolishly, and then she looked like she was having angina. If she weren't a beautiful girl, a passing neighbor would probably have called the police. Oh wait, his neighbor was Miko, and she knew Ichiri's behavior, so she wouldn't call the police.

squeak-

open the door.

What Gao Hai saw was a pink-haired girl who quickly woke up, her face pale as she realized how long she had dawdled, and instinctively prepared to give Gao Hai a full prostration.

"Alright, come in. I'm not some monster that'll eat you. Why are you so nervous?"

However, before that, Gao Hai grabbed Yi Li's arm, pulled the girl into the house, and closed the door.

He found the spare slippers that Chika had bought a month ago and threw them in front of Ichiri. He watched as the girl followed him timidly into the living room and sat down on the sofa with great restraint. Takahashi couldn't help but laugh out loud for a moment, but strangely enough, after he laughed, Ichiri calmed down a bit. It seemed that she had often seen Takahashi laugh like that when they traveled through time together before, so she regained some sense of normalcy.

"Well, anyway, I'm sorry to bother you tonight. I... I brought my toiletries, pillow, and bedding. Anyway, Mr. Hai, I'm very sorry and I hope you'll take good care of me."

The girl lowered her head again and said.

"Tell me what happened first. Why did you suddenly decide to stay overnight at my place?"

Gao Hai glanced at Kita, who was hiding in the corner, looking both nervous and indignant, then sat down next to Ichiri and asked.

After some time, Takahashi learned that Goto Ichiri, having grown accustomed to sharing a room with Takahashi, was unable to sleep alone. This strange occurrence made Takahashi laugh again, while Kita, for a moment, felt his brain was running out of steam and couldn't quite figure out what was going on.

Then, Takami and Ichiri casually watched a movie on TV while snacking and chatting. As they talked, Ichiri gradually relaxed, becoming even more relaxed than when the band had ended, which made Kita stare in disbelief.

Then, around 11:30 PM, Gao Hai and Yi Li went to wash up. Although Yi Li had a slight difficulty using Gao Hai's bathroom, the two finished washing up smoothly without any strange fan service or ambiguous developments. Even when Yi Li suggested "sleeping in Mr. Hai's bedroom," they simply laid out two makeshift beds about 1.5 meters apart on the floor and lay down to sleep without any apparent issues.

Kita couldn't believe that these two people had actually just slept in the same room like that, and nothing had really happened. She couldn't help but suspect that something might have happened that night, so she fought off her sleepiness and tried to find out if Takami had any plans. As a result, time passed by, and both Takami and Ichiri fell into a deep sleep, while Kita floated alone in mid-air, watching the clock in the room tick from 12 o'clock to 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock... until 7:30, when Goto Ichiri's phone rang. She yawned and got up, but there was nothing explicit.

"Hmm, are you going to school?"

"Yes, Mr. Hai, I apologize for disturbing you last night."

"It's okay, it's okay, you go ahead, I want to sleep a little longer."

"Well then, goodbye Mr. Hai, and goodbye Kita-chan too. I don't know if you're awake yet, but goodbye anyway."

Rubbing his eyes, Gao Hai yawned and said a few words to Yi Li after getting up, then closed his eyes to continue sleeping.

Um? wrong.

He opened his eyes again and looked at Kita Ikuyo on the ceiling, whose figure had become blurred.

What's wrong with her, causing such a tired and flustered state of mind?

hum-

She had only glanced at it twice, and before she could even ask what was going on, Kita vanished right before Takami's eyes. Judging from her perception, her clone had completely disintegrated, seemingly because her main consciousness was too tired, so she suddenly relaxed and fell asleep... or rather, fainted.

She wasn't fully recovered to begin with, and then she didn't sleep a wink last night? What was she thinking?

Gao Hai felt a little confused for a moment, but because he hadn't had enough sleep, he didn't think too much about it and just lay down to continue sleeping.

Interlude 3-60: The Doll KP of the Void Threads and the Opening of the Sports Meet

It seems I had another dream.

A vague, indistinct dreamscape where I couldn't tell where I was, a dreamscape filled with darkness.

However, a faint light could be seen appearing.

Not far away, you can see a stage illuminated by stark white lights, splattered with red and black paint, and emitting a pungent, putrid odor.

There is a puppet on the stage.

A wooden puppet, its body tattered and worn, held together by white strings nailed to it.

At this moment, the puppet is dancing silently on the stage, controlled by strings, its steps light and graceful, accompanied by the clear sound of a piano in the darkness.

Gao Hai slowly walked towards the doll.

He could hear faint breathing sounds and suppressed cries of pain amidst the piano music.

The smell of paint is getting stronger and stronger, more and more pungent, to the point that it's almost unbearable and makes you want to vomit.

The doll continued to dance, spinning on the stage, lifting its legs, flipping over, its limbs moving flexibly under the control of the lines, until Gao Hai walked to the front of the stage. It finally stopped and bowed slightly to the darkness in front of the stage, as if someone was watching its performance.

clap clap clap-

Then Gao Hai really heard applause and cheers. Even though it was pitch black all around and he couldn't see anything outside the stage, he could clearly hear the voices of the audience coming from who-knows-where.

The doll's crudely made head, which still had movable joints, had turned towards Gao Hai.

There is no such thing as true freedom in this world.

It was impossible to tell whether it was a man or a woman; all one could sense was a detached, emotionless voice, as if it were spoken by a machine.

Morality and law construct the norms that bind humanity.

Animals and plants that live apart from society must constantly evolve and change their forms in order to survive.

Even basic matter and elements, which lack self-awareness, must operate according to mathematical laws and cannot change out of thin air.

Everything in this world is manipulated, manipulated by visible lines and by invisible lines. Everything must follow corresponding laws, and everything must conform to corresponding rules. These lines have many names in your human mouths: God, deity, science, natural law, great being... but I particularly prefer the word "fate."

Yes, regardless of whether there are spectators or whether anyone is actually watching us, we still have to live and survive under the control of the online world and the interference of external forces. And this thing that controls us, which we can never escape, is fate.

That thing seemed to be sighing, or engaging in some kind of philosophical reflection.

But from beginning to end, Gao Hai could not detect any emotion in its voice. The only emotion it displayed was absolute indifference and a strong sense of alienation that was not human.

That's right, that feeling is unmistakable. This thing is the KP, a non-human entity like the writer, the Faceless One, and the clown. It exists behind the [Sacrifice Game], a dark force guiding the formation of each instance under the command of some unknown power.

This must be the second person, after the Joker, to visit my Keeper (KP) in my dream, right? Is this some kind of weird team-building game? Couldn't they have chosen a more normal way to make their entrance?

Gao Hai really wanted to complain, but after dealing with the heavyweight KP of the [Writer], he felt it was best to be cautious before figuring out the other person's style. Therefore, he didn't speak immediately, but carefully observed the thing, watching it get up again, dance again, and then silently float to his side.

Compared to the KP that Gao Hai had seen before, which was not much different from a human in terms of size, this KP was less than half a meter tall. However, under the control of those unknown lines, it was able to float in mid-air and drift around like a ghost.

...To be honest, I wanted to look up and see where these lines came from, but I had a feeling that doing so would have very bad consequences.

[You're suppressing your curiosity. Even in a dream, your reason remains so strong, able to effortlessly restrain your instincts. So that's it. No wonder the Joker is so infatuated with you, and the Faceless Ones speak so highly of you. You truly are a chosen one; surely, those who manipulate your destiny are far greater than all the mediocre beings on this planet combined.]

The dilapidated puppet was almost pressed against Gao Hai's face in the next moment.

On that pockmarked face, which looked like it had been haphazardly sculpted by a child with an eraser, the eyes, drawn like crayons, slowly began to rotate, as if scrutinizing Gao Hai.

However, immediately after Gao Hai blinked again, it had already moved away from Gao Hai and returned to the stage.

[I forgot to introduce myself. You can call me "Doll," the chosen one.]

Its voice suddenly took on a subtle emotional tone, as if the thing had suddenly become a different person... No, that's not right. The voice didn't come from the puppet; it came from the top of the thing's head. In the darkness, something else was talking to Gao Hai.

I am fascinated by the dramas that life, under the control of fate, unfolds on the stage, whether it be an ugly struggle or a beautiful one; to me, they are all invaluable sources of beautiful inspiration.

Therefore, I will choose your next stage; the chosen one.

Having gone through that idiot writer's script and the revised script shown to you by the Joker, choosing a suitable script for you is a very challenging task for me. Therefore, after a comprehensive evaluation of you, I have decided to choose a stage for you that you might find familiar and nostalgic.

Fate, ha! I am controlled by visible lines, while you are controlled by invisible ones. Everything in this world is destined to be controlled by something on a higher level. Some lives unwilling to accept being controlled by fate often try to break free from these shackles, but these people usually don't end well. Of course, there are also those who can truly break free from their own shackles to a certain extent. I admire and respect such beings. However, whether one breaks tangible or intangible lines, in my opinion, makes a huge difference. Hahaha, chosen one, what kind of lines can you break?

[Regardless, the stage is set, the supporting cast has been selected, and the audience has taken their seats with anticipation. How far can you portray this play about ignorance, madness, and struggle? What kind of ending can you give it? I look forward to the ending you will personally bring to life.]

……

After the hazy dream ended, I opened my eyes to find my bedroom bathed in sunlight.

Gao Hai lay motionless on the mattress on the floor. After lying there for a while, he slowly got up and stretched.

"Can't even get a peaceful holiday? Do you have to come over and chat with me beforehand? Fate's Thread? Dolls? Ugh, this looks like it's going to be a really, really troublesome situation..."

With a helpless sigh, Gao Hai got up and headed to the washroom with a disgruntled expression.

As he passed through the living room on the second floor, he was somewhat surprised to find a thermal lunchbox left on the table. After reading the note on it, Gao Hai realized that Hayasaka had come to his house that morning and, seeing that he was still asleep, hadn't woken him up but had secretly made him breakfast.

This feeling is actually quite nice.

Although it was just a trivial matter, Gao Hai felt a little warmth in his heart, and then continued to wash up.

After a few days of doing nothing, the Shuchi High School Sports Festival, which Kaguya and the others had been busy with, finally began.

Based on Gao Hai's memory of the original Kaguya-sama manga, the sports festival arc seemed quite important, containing many key plot points. However, in this crossover world where the student council president's family is absent, and Ishigami and the others are nowhere to be seen, the so-called sports festival isn't really that important. In fact, if it weren't for the desire to retain their ordinary selves and not get too deeply involved in their player identities, Kaguya and the others wouldn't have participated in this sports festival at all.

As for Gao Hai, his only memory of school sports meets was the fact that the whole school was on holiday and could play to their hearts' content. After all, he really had no interest in school activities and had always been a rather detached type of person. However, later when playing games, he did find himself quite fond of the "sports uniform" thing. After all, those who know about reskinned second-hand games understand; although it's called sports uniform, it's actually full of all sorts of risqué and provocative content, so it's perfectly normal for Gao Hai to like it.

However, now that he's transmigrated into the world of anime, well, how should I put it, the reskinned sportswear in the game doesn't really excite Gao Hai anymore. You see, now if he wanted to see something, he could actually see the real thing, so compared to that, the paper dolls and such are naturally not that important.

Of course, it must be admitted that such an atmosphere does indeed evoke a sense of nostalgia.

"Only at this moment can I truly realize that I have graduated."

Standing under the shade of a tree, watching the lively students not far away, Gao Hai suddenly uttered a sigh like an old man.

After a clear whistle, a group of girls started running, while people on the sidelines began shouting encouragement.

"come on! Come on!"

High school girls dressed in cheerleading uniforms were shouting and dancing.

After watching for a while, Gao Hai suddenly noticed footsteps behind him, and then felt something soft pounce on him from behind.

"So, what do you think of those girls? Aren't they pretty?"

A voice, tinged with a hint of mockery and complaint, then reached Gao Hai's ears.

Interlude 3-61: The girl who went first and the girls who followed closely behind