[30 June 2053]

“For the next section, we are inviting the first person who found the rare meteor that we now call Crista, Professor Magus!. What do you think about the development of Crista now, Professor?”,  a woman voice welcoming in the show.

The echoing sound of the television accompanies me as I wash the dishes and cookware that were used during breakfast just now.

While listening to the news on television, I put away the plates and spoons that I finished washing after breakfast.

And after that, I grabbed the prepared bag, turned off the television, and then left for the campus.

It's a cold morning with a slightly foggy atmosphere. Today marks the beginning of the new academic year. And since I've just been transferred here in my second year, the campus authorities have asked me to come earlier for administrative purposes.

Five years have passed, and finally, I'm back here. This place is an artificial island that was built by the central government specifically for use as a research center for Crista Meteoride. Since the discovery of this mineral compound and its global impact, technological advancements have increased dramatically. And because not everyone can use this meteorite crista, that's why this special island was built.

“And I’m just…”

Suddenly, there’s a loud scream. “Kyaaa!!”

My steps halted upon hearing a shout. Feeling uneasy, I eventually searched for the source of the recent shouting. Pondering over it, it's nearly impossible that early in the morning someone could be causing trouble. But the recent shout wasn't just a fabricated one.

“Aaaaa!! Don’t come close!!”, the scream continue.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

The second shout was very clear, but there was no one on the street I was passing through as far as the eye could see. I looked around once again to make sure of the source of the sound. On the right side of the road, I saw a house with its second-floor window open. Suspecting that the sound was coming from there, I used a bit of my crista skill to jump closer to the window.

As I reached near the window, I stealthily crept closer to it, peering inside assuming that perhaps I could discreetly incapacitate the person who was disturbing the woman who had screamed earlier

However, when I peeked into the room, it turned out my assumption was completely wrong.

“Ha…. turns out it wasn't a serious problem”

I, who was just prepared to attack, immediately sighed and shook my head because what was in front of me now was a woman, who was probably around the same age as me, panicking in her room. She is climb on the chair and cornered by insects.

The insects were slowly creeping towards the woman, and she became even more panicked, almost hysterical as if being chased by a demon. Seeing that, I finally intervened to help her.

“Sorry, I just want to help you”, Without saying much to explain why I was at her window, I used my crista skill to freeze the insects and then threw them out. The panicked woman just watched silently as I did all that, not a word coming out of her mouth.

With the problem resolved, I jumped back to the window sill and prepare to jump out. But as I was about to leap, the woman suddenly screamed again. This time, the scream was directed at me, as she added “There's a pervert!” to her shout.

Hearing her baseless reasoning, without responding to her words, I immediately jumped out of there and continued my journey. Here, I could still hear the woman screaming, thinking I was fleeing because of suspicious behavior, when in fact, I had helped her for no reason at all. I didn't have time to deal with this situation because I had administrative matters to attend to at the campus this morning.

Upon reaching the campus, my intention to arrive early for administrative matters ended up with me arriving at the usual time. This could be seen from the students already starting to come in through the campus gates. The first reason for my lateness was helping someone who was afraid of cockroaches, and the second reason, for some reason, I ended up taking a bus with a detour in the opposite direction before reaching the bus stop near the campus.

"Only the first day here and already such incidents.", I reach my phone in the pocket and view what time is now, "...well, never mind, as long as I'm not late”

As I entered the gate, another unexpected event occurred. This time, there was a student standing in the middle of the path leading into the building. Her face looked  familiar to me, although her hair was slightly different, perhaps because she had styled it differently. And then it hit me. It was the girl from earlier.