Crossover Anime: How a Shameless Person Lives

Lying on a bed in the orphanage.

Mercury's mind was still replaying the old headmaster's words.

As they say, experience counts, and the old fox pointed out a detail he hadn't considered.

Of course, I just haven't noticed it yet. As I use it more often, I'll eventually be able to notice it.

It's just that taking shortcuts back then was definitely not as enjoyable as it is now.

With hands outstretched, palms facing up, it's as if they're holding something invisible.

"The king is not a user of tools, but a rule maker."

"The rules... are the same as the vortex?" Mercury murmured, his fingertips curling slightly.

He recalled that on his way here earlier that day, he had casually "salted" a frog.

The creature disintegrated into a pile of tiny white crystals the moment it made contact, without any struggle.

He didn't think about it in detail at the time, just treating it as a kind of superpower.

But now I realize that it wasn't "killing," but rather "defining."

He identified the frog as salt.

So the frog died.

Just as a painter writes "This is a mountain" on a canvas, the mountain exists.

He wasn't "using" his ability; he was "declaring" it.

"If..." Mercury closed his eyes, trying to construct a thought in his mind, "the air here is the Salt Plains."

No response.

He opened his eyes; the air was still filled with the gentle warmth of a summer night.

"Novels are all lies after all; being a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur) is not advisable."

He turned over, facing the wall, trying to fall asleep.

But his thinking became increasingly clear.

……

Early the next morning.

Mercury, sporting dark circles under his eyes, got up very early.

At this moment, the old headmaster was already having breakfast with a group of children.

They say it's a group of children, but there are actually only eight of them.

The oldest child is over ten years old, and the youngest looks only five or six.

He clearly showed surprise when he saw Mercury come out of the room.

"Holy crap, where did you find this bunch of weirdos?"

Who knows? I saw a colorful little pumpkin as soon as I went out this morning.

White, blue, pink, gold...

There's only one normal black one!

"You bastard! What do you mean by 'misfits'? These are all your younger brothers and sisters!"

The old dean gave Mercury a whack on the head and pulled him to sit at the large dining table.

"Come, let me introduce you. This is Kasugano Sora."

The old dean pointed to a girl with white hair and said.

The girl didn't seem to care about the old dean, and just kept quiet and ate her meal.

"This is Yoshimura Eto."

Call me Takatsuki Sen.

The green-haired child being pointed at said indifferently.

He looked at Mercury and revealed a sinister smile.

"Haha, this child was entrusted to me by an old friend. Although he has a slightly awkward personality, he is a good kid."

"Mmm." Mercury remained silent, only nodding repeatedly.

"That pink-haired girl is Matsuzaka Satou...this is Hoshino Ai..."

Each time the old headmaster introduced a child, the children would look up and glance at Mercury, their expressions varying—some curious, some wary, some indifferent, and some with undisguised affection.

Mercury leaned back lazily in his chair, his gaze sweeping over the group of "younger brothers and sisters".

"Old Dean, really, there aren't many people I admire in my life, but you are definitely one of them."

Looking at those orphans, each with some degree of mental instability, Mercury was truly speechless.

Does the dean have some kind of gacha system?

It's amazing that so many oddballs can gather here.

"Hey, Mercury!" The old headmaster slammed his hand on the table. "What are you daydreaming about? Come on, say hello to everyone."

Mercury slowly sat up straight, a smile playing on his lips.

"Hello~ You can call me Big Brother, Mercury, or whatever, I don't really care."

"Alright, alright, now that we've gotten to know each other, as the older brother, if you meet any younger siblings outside, please take good care of them."

"OK."

Mercury readily agreed to the dean's request.

Not to mention, one of these orphans is a future superstar.

If this is to fool that Hoshino Ai, and list himself as the beneficiary of the inheritance.

After she dies, won't I be able to inherit a large sum of money?

At that time, countless fine wines will beckon to him.

As he was making plans, the pink-haired Matsuzaka Satou suddenly leaned closer, blinking her big eyes.

"Brother Mercury, you just said 'I don't care anyway,' does that mean you don't like us?"

Mercury was taken aback, then grinned: "Of course I don't like you bunch of burdens."

Matsusaka Sato was taken aback, seemingly not expecting him to say that.

Standing up, Mercury slowly walked around the dining table, his gaze sweeping over each child's face.

Finally, he stopped in the middle, put his hands in his pockets, and his tone suddenly became flippant yet confident.

"If any of you want to go outside and have some fun now, just let me know!"

Embarrassingly, only two or three people quietly echoed him.

"Okay, it seems you guys are quite wary. That's a good thing, definitely a good thing."

……

After finishing his meal in silence, Mercury was called away by the dean.

After leaving the orphanage, I hailed a taxi.

Mercury didn't ask what the purpose of this trip was; he simply followed in silence.

They only started asking questions after the taxi stopped in front of a two-story house.

"Where is this?"

Looking at the two-story attic, Mercury asked.

They're just an ordinary family, why were they so silent the whole way?

"Sigh, I wasn't planning on inviting you..."

"Stop, just tell me what it is, old man. If it's too difficult, I'm leaving."

Mercury interrupted the old dean's speech.

Anyway, coming here is definitely not a good thing.

"You brat, if it weren't for the fact that you happen to possess some special abilities, I really wouldn't want to bring you here."

The old dean sighed, his eyes beginning to reminisce.

"You know, there are always a few lucky people in this world who acquire some strange abilities, some good and some bad."

But most of the time, the ending isn't good, because you often don't realize that this suddenly acquired ability is a trap set by the monster or demon.

"So?" Mercury asked.

Did this old man bring his fussy, indecisive habits from his detective days with him?

Suddenly, the old director's eyes narrowed, and he said, "After you left, another girl came to the orphanage, a very beautiful girl."

He began to tell the story of an orphan.

The story of a girl with innate charm, named... Tomie.