The notification disappeared, but the uneasy feeling remained.

The story was changing.

Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, I had no idea.

The others continued talking while I looked down at the catboy uniform in my hands. Now that I was examining it properly, I realized it wasn’t as ridiculous as I initially thought.

It was still ridiculous.

Just slightly less ridiculous.

The outfit resembled a formal butler’s uniform with a black vest, white shirt, gloves, and polished shoes. The only reason it qualified as a catboy costume was because of the black cat ears attached to a headband and the tail that came with it.

Unfortunately, the tail somehow made everything ten times worse.

I held it up between two fingers.

"Do I really need to wear this?" I asked.

The laughter in the room died down.

Ryan glanced at my cheek before answering.

"The slap mark is still there."

I immediately understood what he meant.

Ethan nodded in agreement.

"If you want Bianca to beat the hell out of you, then sure, don’t wear it."

Marcus folded his arms and grinned.

"Personally, I think the cat ears suit you."

I stared at him.

"Nobody asked for your opinion."

Marcus looked completely unbothered.

"I’m just being honest."

"You are enjoying this way too much."

"A little," Marcus admitted.

Ryan burst out laughing.

Unfortunately, they were right.

Thanks to Adrian’s memories, I already knew how these situations usually ended. Refusing rarely accomplished anything. Most of the time, it only gave Bianca an excuse to make things worse.

The original Adrian had learned that lesson years ago.

I was beginning to learn it too.

With a defeated sigh, I started changing.

The butler uniform wasn’t actually uncomfortable. In fact, it was surprisingly well-made. The fabric felt expensive enough that it probably cost more than my monthly rent from my previous life.

Which somehow made the entire situation even more absurd.

Only at Sinners Academy would people spend a ridiculous amount of money creating a catboy outfit purely for someone else’s humiliation.

I placed the cat ears on my head first.

The moment I looked at my reflection, I regretted it.

"No."

Ryan immediately pointed at the mirror.

"Oh yes."

I looked away.

The tail was even worse.

Much worse.

I held it in my hands for nearly a minute.

The costume would have functioned perfectly fine without it.

Unfortunately, everyone had already noticed my hesitation.

Ryan leaned against a locker and smirked.

"Just put it on."

Ethan nodded.

"You’ll get used to it."

Daniel looked up from where he was sitting.

"You won’t get used to it."

Marcus laughed.

"That wasn’t very helpful."

Daniel shrugged.

"I’m trying my best."

I closed my eyes.

This was for survival.

Not dignity.

Dignity had already abandoned me.

With all the enthusiasm of a man signing his own execution papers, I finally attached the tail.

The room suddenly became silent.

That immediately made me suspicious.

I opened my eyes.

Ryan had already pulled out his phone.

I pointed at him.

"No."

Ryan grinned.

"Yes."

"No."

"Absolutely yes."

"If you take a picture, I’ll throw you out the window."

Ryan stared at me for a moment.

Then he slowly lowered the phone.

"...Fair enough."

Beside him, Ethan was trying so hard not to laugh that his entire face had turned red.

Marcus wasn’t even attempting to hide it anymore.

Daniel simply looked at me and shook his head.

"You somehow make the outfit look normal."

I narrowed my eyes.

That definitely wasn’t a compliment.

Before I could respond, a translucent notification appeared in front of me.

______

[Main Objective Updated]

Attend First Period

Time Remaining: 00:11:34

Failure Penalty: Unknown

______

My expression immediately changed.

Unknown penalties were rarely a good thing.

Ryan noticed almost instantly.

"Something wrong?"

I quickly shook my head.

"No. I just remembered something."

Fortunately, Adrian’s memories made situations like this easier to handle.

The memories weren’t simply information. They included years of habits, relationships, speech patterns, and social interactions. As long as I remained careful, nobody should notice anything strange.

At least, that was the theory.

Whether reality agreed with that theory remained to be seen.

A bell suddenly rang throughout the academy.

Everyone immediately started moving.

Ryan grabbed his bag first.

"Come on. If we’re late, the teacher is going to make us stand outside again."

Ethan groaned.

"I still think that punishment is stupid."

Marcus shrugged.

"It worked on you."

"Only because I got caught."

Daniel stood from the bench.

"That statement is not helping your defense."

The group left the dressing room together.

I followed a few steps behind.

The moment we entered the hallway, I understood exactly why the boys disliked this place so much.

Heads turned.

Everywhere.

Girls stopped talking.

Several pointed directly at me.

Others immediately started laughing.

A few had already pulled out their phones.

Apparently, the cat ears were attracting more attention than I would have liked.

One girl covered her mouth.

"Aww, he actually wore it."

Another smiled.

"Good morning, Adrian."

A third student waved from across the hallway.

"Nice costume."

Someone else added, "This year’s outfit is adorable."

I resisted the urge to walk directly into the nearest wall.

The worst part was that Adrian’s memories told me this wasn’t unusual.

The original owner of this body had endured years of treatment like this.

Years.

The fact that he hadn’t completely lost his mind was honestly impressive.

As we walked through the academy, I paid closer attention to the students around us.

The girls weren’t simply wealthy.

They carried themselves differently.

Confident.

Elegant.

Proud.

Most had spent their entire lives at the top of society. They were people accustomed to getting what they wanted.

Many of the disasters from the game’s story suddenly made a lot more sense.

When people like that became obsessed with something, they didn’t simply move on.

A chill ran down my spine.

The bell rang for a second time.

Students began entering classrooms.

Another notification appeared.

______

[Objective Progress]

Attend First Period

Current Status: In Progress

______

At least this objective seemed simple.

All I had to do was survive a normal school lesson.

Considering everything that had happened so far, however, I had a feeling nothing inside Sinners Academy was ever that simple.

And somehow, I suspected my first class was about to prove it.