My youth story, a crossover anime, turns out, is FGO!

"Aoki-sensei's latest masterpiece, 'The Devotion of Suspect X,' won the Naoki Prize! A puzzling exoneration method beyond imagination, a selfless love story—can you uncover the truth?"

"Renowned mystery novelist Yusaku Kudo, author of 'The Duke of the Night,' commented on 'The Devotion of Suspect X': This is the most worthwhile novel to read this year!"

"The Shinomiya Group has issued a statement..."

As he flipped through the newspaper again, the pages closed. Having found no useful information, Makoto Aoki took a deep breath and tossed the newspaper aside.

Although smartphones are now widespread, Japanese people have a peculiar obsession with flip phones, coupled with their fondness for printed books and newspapers, which means that most important content is still published in newspapers.

"Aoki-kun!"

Perhaps every school has such a remarkable character, naturally charming, energetic, and outgoing—a standard second male lead who even manages to chat with Makoto Aoki, a socially awkward person.

"That's amazing! Aoki-kun, your latest masterpiece, 'The Devotion of Suspect X,' won the Naoki Prize! And it received such high praise from Mr. Kudo. Although I was already captivated when I first read the book, I'm still incredibly excited right now!"

"It was just a fluke, Naoki-kun."

Makoto Aoki replied with great humility and sociability.

In reality, I felt it was only natural, since the book had won many honors in the original world, including the Naoki Prize. In this world that highly values ​​mystery novels, it would be only right to receive even higher praise.

“Still so flawless, Aoki-kun.” Naoki Hiroshima crossed his arms. “You’re so outstanding yet so humble. Don’t most great writers have some quirks? But Aoki-kun is different. You can’t find a single flaw in him from head to toe.”

He said in an admiring tone: "A brilliant and gentle young master of deduction, he has captivated millions of young men and women. He is one of the most accomplished novelists of the 21st century. He is simply perfect!"

"Please don't add any strange terms to me without my permission." Makoto Aoki had long since outgrown his chuunibyou phase and felt utterly embarrassed by those odd nicknames.

"By the way, why do you always call me Aoki-kun?"

While it's normal to address someone by their surname in Japanese social interactions, Hiroshima's social scene is so sophisticated that people of the same sex call each other by their first names.

"Of course it's out of respect!" Naoki Hiroshima said frankly. "Aoki-kun, you're not like my peer at all. You're more like someone several years ahead of me, or even a senior who has entered the workforce. I really can't bring myself to offend you like that."

Very perceptive.

Are all naturally intuitive men really?

"Thank you for the compliment."

Makoto Aoki still maintained the hypocrisy and politeness of an adult. Unfortunately, even if he lived another life, he would never be able to find the straightforwardness and recklessness that belonged to a boy.

After chatting with Hiroshima for a few minutes and seeing off the overly enthusiastic man, Makoto Aoki opened his phone again, seemingly browsing the messages inside.

The smartphone's smooth screen reflected the boy's earnest gaze and half of his handsome face, but Makoto Aoki knew that his mind was not on the phone at all.

In a world unseen by others, right next to a minimalist phone, there is another smartphone.

Compared to the latest smartphones, which are all made of plastic, this one looks much better. Its smooth body and curved screen make it clear to industry insiders that it is a mature product, surpassing the latest smartphones by several levels.

This is Makoto Aoki's cheat code: a cell phone he brought from his previous life that only he can see and touch.

This virtual phone doesn't even need to be carried around by Makoto Aoki; he only needs to raise his hand and silently recite the name, and the phone will appear in his hand. Makoto Aoki discovered this cheat ability by chance when he was a child, bored and longing for the phone he used to pass the time in his previous life.

While it's called a cheat code, there's not much actually useful content in it, since it can't connect to the internet. The only truly valuable parts are the novels Makoto Aoki downloaded and the technology inherent in the phone itself. The former served as Makoto Aoki's starting capital, and by relying on mystery novels by authors like Keigo Higashino on his phone, Makoto Aoki quickly became a sought-after genius mystery novelist.

In fact, most of the novels written by Makoto Aoki are online novels from Qidian Tomato. However, considering the situation in Japan, where there is a strong aversion to online literature and a preference for print literature, and where light novel writers are almost at the bottom of the literary hierarchy, Makoto Aoki had to give up making money from other novels on his phone and only occasionally reminisce for his own amusement.

Incidentally, Japanese people greatly admire writers, who hold a very high status. Writers, especially those who have created works like "Detective Conan," hold an even higher status, as exemplified by Yu Kudo. This explains why Makoto Aoki, despite coming from an ordinary family, was able to attend a top-tier private academy like Shuchiin.

Makoto Aoki deeply regrets this; why didn't he download more anime series back then?!

Makoto Aoki was extremely frustrated by this. He wasn't a hardcore anime otaku; his only obsession was a gacha game. It was easy for him to know that this world was a crossover anime world—he could tell from the colorful hair. He knew about "Detective Conan" because the show had been airing repeatedly since he was a child. As for other anime, even though he had been consciously recording the content he could remember on his phone, very few of them were of any value.

such as……

"Good morning, Shinomiya-san."

The newcomer had beautiful long, straight black hair and fair skin. Compared to her jewel-like red eyes, she possessed a breathtaking beauty that was completely impossible to find in reality—a two-dimensional anime girl.

Good morning, Aoki-kun.

Kaguya Shinomiya, the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya family, known as "Ice Kaguya," gave a cold and polite reply, then pulled out the seat next to Makoto Aoki and sat down, tidying up her textbooks on her own.

After a brief social greeting, the two went back to their own thoughts, showing no intention of engaging in conversation.

Kaguya Shinomiya is a beautiful girl who is flawless except for her less-than-ideal figure. She has a cold and aloof personality and is the young lady of the leading Shinomiya Group. She has no shortage of admirers at school, but because of her icy personality, she is called "Ice Kaguya".

This is what Makoto Aoki has learned over this period of time.

This was certainly not because Makoto Aoki had taken a liking to Kaguya Shinomiya. Although she was indeed beautiful, he didn't like flat-chested women. In comparison, Kaguya's friend, Chika Fujiwara, was more in line with his aesthetic.

His only purpose in paying attention to Kaguya Shinomiya was that he suspected she was the female lead of an anime from his previous life!

Makoto Aoki doesn't watch many romance anime, but that doesn't mean his roommates don't. That guy is a typical otaku who often recommends them to Makoto Aoki from his past life, fantasizing about those beautiful girls.

So it should be that guy who should have traveled through time, right?

Makoto Aoki sighed more than once.

After realizing he had been transported into the world of anime, Makoto Aoki, from a very young age, desperately tried to recall all the anime he knew, writing the information down on his absolutely confidential cheat phone. Although, to this day, Makoto Aoki hasn't found much of value.

The reason why Makoto Aoki is interested in Kaguya Shinomiya is simple: he wants to know when she will start dating.

By comparing scattered pieces of information, Makoto Aoki learned that Kaguya Shinomiya was the female lead, and the information also indicated that the original manga seemed to be a comedy anime with the male and female leads being obsessed with romance...

Makoto Aoki, who was unclear about the specific plot, had an idea.

Aren't they usually the same in anime? Poor boy and rich girl.

Through his observations over this period, Makoto Aoki realized that Kaguya Shinomiya was no pushover, and if the Shinomiya family disapproved of her relationship with that unknown poor boy, she certainly wouldn't give up easily.

Makoto Aoki casually imagined that this would definitely cause turmoil in the Shinomiya Group, and he could take the opportunity to make a fortune! —Completely unaware that the plot was anything but ordinary.

That said, paying attention to pretty girls for this reason is hardly a man's idea. No wonder you're single.