" Who would've thought I'd end up in the same school as manga characters?" I murmured quietly. Right now, I'm on my way to school. Almost every time I leave the house, our family's private driver, Thomas, takes me. I'm actually a bit embarrassed by the attention, especially since the car used to drive me around is a luxurious one.

[Chapter 1: Meeting With the Heroine

Mandatory Quests: 

1. Meet Rosemary

2. Ensure Rosemary knows your name

Bonus Quest: 

Befriend Rosemary

Penalties will be given if you fail the mandatory quests. The mission will automatically end when the school end]

I read what was written on the screen. Just like in a game, I'm given sub-quests. I'm curious about the penalties, but I don't want to take the risk. It would be troublesome if something were to happen to me. I don't want to cause trouble for my parents.

"Close screen," I said quietly. The floating screen then disappeared. After trying a few things, I found some information about this screen.

Here are the details I discovered:

1. Like in many system-themed fictions, no one else besides me can see this screen.

2. To close the screen, I just need to say "close screen" and to open it, "open screen". Interestingly, others won't hear or see me saying it.

3. There's no concept of leveling up, raising stats, or inhuman superpowers. Although disappointing, I understand. Realistically, it would be difficult to implement such things in the real world.

4. I can see people's statuses, but its use is limited and the amount of information I can see depends on my relationship with that person. I can only check the status of three people per day. To see someone's status, I just need to stare at them and say "check status".

There's still a lot I don't know about this system, but I think I don't need to rush. I can find out more in the future. What's most important now is to complete the given quests.

"Young master, we have arrived at your school," Thomas's voice brought me back to reality.

"Alright, thank you for driving me, Thomas," I said to him. I opened the car door.

"No problem, I hope you have a pleasant day," Thomas replied to me. He smiled warmly.

"You too, Thomas," I waved my hand as I said that. Soon, Thomas left after making sure none of my belongings were left in the car.

I walked towards the school gate. A large and luxurious gate welcomed me. There were several guards in front of the gate, watching everyone who entered. I took out my student card and placed it on the scanning machine, the barrier in front of me lifted. Every student must carry their student card for self-verification.

"It feels a bit strange...," I murmured. I walked towards the school building. The overlap of my experiences in this life and the knowledge I gained from manga sent shivers down my spine. Until this morning, I didn't know that this world was inside a manga. My feelings were mixed upon realizing that there was a slight possibility that the reality I was experiencing now was fiction and "myself" was just someone's imaginative creation.

"Hah...," it's no use thinking about that now. I have to focus on my mission. I glanced around.

"How do I approach Rosemary without looking suspicious?" Just as I said that, a girl walked past me. My eyes automatically focused on her.

A girl with long magenta hair and a pair of beautiful teal eyes. She was slightly taller than girls her age and had a well-proportioned body. Her skin was fair and bright. In short, a beautiful girl. That girl was Rosemary Lovelace.

"I knew she was beautiful when I read the manga, but...," I was amazed. She's even more beautiful in real life. Yes, she's as beautiful as-

*Bhuk*

"Ugh...," my body collided with something. Immediately my eyes turned to the "something" that had just bumped into me.

"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention," a girl said. She smiled awkwardly.

"Oh, it's okay. I was just a little startled," I replied to her.

"Again, I'm really sorry! Um, I'm in a hurry right now, so as an apology, I'll treat you next time. Bye~," after saying that, she ran straight into the school building.

"I haven't even replied to her...," I murmured quietly. I looked back at the girl.

She was Bertha Briar, an energetic and cute girl. She's Rosemary's friend in the manga. Bertha is the only character who sincerely stands by Rosemary's side, even when Rosemary is cornered by the antagonist. Rosemary's death deeply affected her.

Seeing them both in person, I immediately remembered the fact that I, Dillon Hart, never appeared in the manga. But, if I remember correctly, I vaguely recall the name "Hart" appearing in the manga, I don't remember why. It seems like my family and I are just unimportant side characters, which is why I have trouble remembering. Well, I'll think about that later.

I continued walking towards the school building. My steps stopped in front of the notice board, there were many people here. Like me, they were looking for which class they were placed in.

"I hope I'm not placed in their class...," it would be troublesome if I were in the same class as the antagonist character. Not just the antagonist character, I want to avoid problematic people as much as possible.

"Let's see, Dillon Hart...," my eyes scanned the class placement list.

For the first year, class placements are random. Starting from the second year, each student is placed according to their performance in the first year. So, there's a good chance I'll be in the same class as important characters.

Rosemary is in class A, Bertha is in class C, two of the potential love interests are in class E. My mission would be easier if I were in the same class as Rosemary, at least then I'd have a reason to approach her with the intention of wanting to get to know a classmate.

"Dillon Hart... Absent number 10, class A...," I breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness! I'm in the same class as Rosemary. To make sure we are indeed classmates, I looked for Rosemary's name on the class A roster. Sure enough, her name was listed there.

After confirming that, I walked straight to my class. Rosemary should already be in class by now. Before long, I was standing in front of class A.

"Okay, just relax. Don't be nervous, Dillon...," honestly, my heart was pounding wildly right now. I felt tense.

I opened the classroom door and walked in. Just as before, my eyes immediately focused on Rosemary. The seat next to her was still empty. With a bit of awkwardness, I walked over to that seat, placed my bag on the desk, and sat down.

Rosemary didn't seem to notice me sitting next to her. She seemed to be focused on her phone and writing something on paper. Having read the manga, I knew what she was doing. She was jotting down the names and classes of people she found suspicious.

I didn't want to disturb her, but I wanted to complete my quest right away. Should I try to greet her?

"Hello," I greeted her. I tried to give my best smile. I hoped I didn't look too awkward.

Rosemary, who hadn't paid any attention to me before, finally turned to me. Our eyes met, a small smile appeared on her face.

"Hello, you're Dillon Hart, right? I'm Rosemary Lovelace, nice to meet you," although she seemed to be smiling, I knew it wasn't genuine. Knowing Rosemary, she's not the type to easily get close to others like Bertha. The smile she gave was merely a formality.

Wait, she knows my name? Don't tell me...

"You know me?" I said with surprise in my voice.

"Of course, you're from that prominent Hart family. It's not surprising that people know you," still with her formal smile, she replied to me.

"Oh, right. Hahaha...," so awkward. My face isn't turning red, is it?

"Sorry, but let's continue our conversation some other time. There's something I have to do," she then went back to what she was doing earlier, as if our conversation just now never happened.

As expected, she's not very interested in me. Besides, I'm not one of the people she suspects. How could I befriend her, then? After her family's death, she became much more cautious with new people. I don't think befriending her will be easy...

*Ding*

[Congratulations! 

All quests have been completed! 

2 Points awarded]

"Close screen," I'll check my points later.

"Fortunately, befriending Rosemary was just a bonus quest, not mandatory...," I murmured quietly. I glanced at her again.

*Sigh*

This might be more difficult than I imagined.

Bonus

Illustration by Namunamnam on Fiverr. I commisioned this, please don't steal or claim this artwork as yours.