"Morning, Mr. Yamaguchi!"
"Oh, paper route this time? Working hard, Tomo-kun."
"The Empire’s Golion Blu-ray box set is coming out next month! The Nend*roid only comes with the first-press edition, so I’m fighting for my life here!"
"...As always, you say such intense things with such a cheerful face, kid. I don’t have the slightest clue what you’re talking about."
"Well, I’ll come by to spread the gospel sometime, so just make sure you have a player ready! See ya!"
After exchanging a brief morning greeting with a familiar neighbor, I stomp down hard on my pedals.
Then, accelerating as I follow the road in a left turn, I approach a steep downward slope where my field of view suddenly opens up in all directions.
Commonly known as Detective Hill.
It’s a three-hundred-meter, lung-busting hill that leads to an oasis on the way out, and a desert on the way back.
By the way, the reason for the name was the curiosity of elementary school students, drawn to a faded old sign halfway down that read Sakashita Detective Agency.
"Whoaaaa..."
The moment I reach the top of the hill, a strong gust of wind from behind pushes both me and my bicycle forward.
With spring break more than half over and April starting tomorrow, the morning air is no longer cold.
The cherry blossom petals fluttering down from the trees lining the street make it feel all the warmer.
Pushed by that pleasant breeze, I rapidly accelerate down the slope as it suddenly steepens...
"...Whoaaaa—whoops!"
...But just as I do, I squeeze the levers with all my might to brake hard.
"Pedestrians clear, cars clear, speed good... everything’s clear!"
A complete stop and a finger-point confirmation.
With that, I resume slowly heading down the side of the road.
After all, since around last year, the public scrutiny on bicycles has been ridiculously harsh.
Nowadays, you can’t get that thrill-and-speed-filled pleasure in the middle of town anymore—like racing cars like we did when we were kids, or leaning our machines over to round corners at full speed.
But...
"Rules are rules, after all. Yep."
I have no intention of grumbling like some old man about how the world’s gotten hard to live in or whatever.
Even if I’m fine with wiping out or flying off my bike, there’s no telling if some random bystander would be okay.
Well, I guess that means I’ve climbed the stairs to adulthood at least that much.
Besides, riding at the same slow pace as the falling cherry blossom petals feels like the perfect way to enjoy this season.
"Ooh, they’re fluttering, and it’s so warm..."
I relax every muscle except for my hands gripping the brakes and stare blankly up at the sky.
The sky, now completely filled with spring, is a bright blue trailed by thin white clouds, with the pink of the petals scattered across it.
Along with that is the sun, slightly stronger than in winter, and the shrunken moon, which hadn’t finished setting before dawn.
And then, an unidentified, perfectly round flying object, passing through my field of vision—larger, closer, and faster than either the sun or the moon.
"...Excuse me?"
An unidentified, perfectly round flying object, passing through my field of vision—larger, closer, and faster than either the sun or the moon...
"C-Could it be?! Is that a U-F... o-oh."
But before I can finish crying out in disbelief, the unidentified flying object plops down right in front of me and goes rolling down the hill.
It would have had more of an aesthetic flair if it had stayed airborne a bit longer, though.
"Ah, it’s a hat..."
The Identified Rolling Object seemed to be a white beret, rather than a bright red straw hat.
I see. As an unidentified flying object, its surface area for catching the wind and its structural integrity were insufficient, which is why it didn’t fly very far.
Well, the color has nothing to do with it, though.
Just as I’m lost in these incredibly trivial reflections...
"A-Aaah! Please, wait a minuuuute!"
Carried by a gust of wind that has grown stronger before I realized it, a voice reaches me.
"Eh...?"
In that instant, my body reacts on its own.
My hands squeeze the brakes so hard my muscles bulge, and I whip my head back with enough force to sprain a neck muscle.
Perhaps it’s to see with my own eyes the owner of that beautiful, clear, yet resonant voice echoing from the top of the hill...
"My haaaat!!!"
"Ah..."
At the top of the hill I’ve turned to look at, standing there completely at a loss, is a girl about my age.
And then, dazzlingly filling my vision: a white dress, white legs, white...
No, the color has nothing to do with it. Probably.
She reaches out her right hand toward the hat, which is rolling down the hill with surprising agility and showing no sign of stopping, while holding down her wind-blown hair with her left hand—meaning she’s one hand short of holding down her skirt.
...Well, anyway, the owner of that hat was right there.
"It’s gone... Ah."
"Ah..."
And when she brings her gaze back from the distant hat to her immediate surroundings, her eyes inevitably lock onto mine, since I’m right in her line of sight.
With that same troubled expression, she looks back and forth between me and the hat.
"Just wait there!"
"Eh...?"
I had no idea what her gaze was trying to convey.
But well, right now, I have no choice but to ride this sudden wave of development... this big wave.
"Whoooooaaaa!"
And so, I stomp down on the bicycle pedals with all my might toward the descent...
"...Whoaaa—whoops, up we go."
Then, rethinking my options, I dismount my bicycle and carefully put down the kickstand...
"And once again, whooooooaaaaaa!"
And I sprint down on my own two feet.
Doing it this way lowers both my speed and my coolness, but it can’t be helped.
This is the proper way to give chase, in strict accordance with this country’s traffic laws.
Sprinting at full speed is dangerous, but as a pedestrian, it probably won’t be treated as a violation.
All hail the vulnerable pedestrian!
* * *
That night...
Well past midnight, while the hum of two HDD recorders, busy capturing the night’s anime, roared as usual, the sound of a keyboard being pounded with a heat that rivaled the machines' exhaust echoed throughout the room.
Title:
TBD
Project Concept:
A story of encounters, feelings, and lovey-dovey romance.
...Maybe the ‘lovey-dovey’ part ruins the balance?
It was because I was still reeling from that ‘fated’ encounter this morning.
Because a narrative that rivaled reality had set my creative spirit ablaze.
...Because the passion was overflowing from my entire body, and I couldn't help but put it into text.
‘Actually, if you don't use ‘lovey-dovey’ as a selling point, what's the point of a galge?’
In the end, I had managed to rescue that hat about a dozen meters before it would have tumbled onto the main road.
After I’d run halfway down the hill, she thanked me so profusely that I had to stop her, saying, ‘It's fine, really,’ as she bowed her head over and over.
The pain in my scraped elbow felt like a small badge of honor.
Prologue:
On a certain spring day, I encountered destiny...
A long slope where gentle sunlight poured down, a warm breeze blew through, and cherry blossom petals danced in the air.
And there, standing at the very top, was a single girl.
A girl whose name I didn't know, whom I had never met before.
In that moment, my heart leaped with a new premonition...
At that time, I fell in love for the second time.
Yes, I had fallen in love again.
I couldn't stop myself from liking someone.
Even if I were to get hurt. Even if I were to hurt the other person.
Even if the feelings of the two of us were never to be realized...
And so, the new semester begins with the premonition that something is about to happen.
...Is that a bit too cringe?
For a little while after that, the two of us had walked side-by-side back to my bicycle, which I'd left halfway up the hill.
But after that, I got on my bike and headed down the slope, while she continued back up the way she’d been going.
During that time, we hardly spoke.
We didn't introduce ourselves, nor did we make any promises.
‘No, a bit of cringe is better for a hook. Bring on the misunderstandings!’
But that was fine.
No, that was better.
After all, this kind of story only truly shines because of the drama of a connection that might have been severed once, only to be miraculously reconnected by chance.
Like, for example, her showing up as a transfer student in my class starting the new semester.
Or perhaps our fathers are bitter enemies, and we find ourselves tossed about by waves of love and hate.
Furthermore, the shocking truth is revealed that we share the same mother and are half-siblings, leading to a total quagmire...
...Setting aside the fact that I've veered into a completely different dimension from ‘lovey-dovey’ in just a few seconds, well, that's the gist of it.
Project Selling Points:
Fresh, frustrating, and so embarrassing you'll writhe in agony.
A pure love adventure novel chronicling those days of youth.
‘...Now it's gone past cringe and just sounds like a geezer wrote it!’
Regardless, I'd never had this kind of abnormal motivation before.
It was as if the heat that had been dormant until now had suddenly erupted.
When was the last time my feelings burned like this?
Maybe... ah, it was when I got so obsessed with Metronome in Love that I forgot to eat or sleep...
‘‘Youth’ is definitely out. It's not like I'm making a joke game.’
...That was only one year ago.
Project Selling Points:
Fresh, frustrating, and so embarrassing you'll writhe in agony.
A pure love adventure novel chronicling those everyday days.
Note) To be reviewed.
‘‘Everyday days’... that's redundant, man!’
And so, my game project planning continued until late at night, when the HDD recorders finished recording all their programs.
...The next morning's newspapers would end up being delivered to each household thirty minutes late.
The first day of April.
And, the second day of plot creation.
Character Settings:
Heroine A (Name TBD)
The main heroine. The girl met on the slope where cherry blossoms danced.
‘...Since I'm at it, maybe it would work to incorporate the cherry blossoms a bit more into the setting.’
Fighting with the proposal without getting bored, creating the story's heroine, I found myself remembering that girl I met in real life again today.
Just like the character settings in the plot I'm writing now, she's someone whose name I don't know and whom I've never met.
Since I've lived in this town my whole life and had never seen her before, she probably moved here recently or was just passing through.
A white dress and a white beret.
And that expression as she held her hair against the wind with her hand...
Actually, I didn't remember her face all that well.
Apparently, because the situation of our meeting was so intense, I hadn't even looked at the crucial part—her face—clearly.
I remember the white, though...
No, wait, the color doesn't matter.
I mean the white color of the dress.
Character Settings:
Heroine A (Name TBD)
The main heroine. The girl met on the slope where cherry blossoms danced.
A large, ancient cherry blossom tree that blooms alone at the top of the slope.
Bound by a curse placed on that great tree, she lives for eternity as a cherry blossom spirit.
A promise the protagonist made to her when he was a child...
When that promise is kept and her wish is granted, the curse will be lifted.
At that moment, her existence will vanish from everyone's memories.
...Is it just my imagination, or have I circled back to the beginning like some musical term?
And so, I got lost in a maze of thoughts many times today, and the planning didn't progress at all.
I'll have to make up for it tomorrow.
The night of the second day of the new month.
Just around the time the footsteps of the new semester could be heard approaching.
Story Summary:
TBD
‘Crap, every site has ended their April Fools' jokes. I guess I'll just have to dig through summary sites the old-fashioned way.’
Today, I made two lines of progress.
April 3rd.
‘Spring anime starts today... For the first episodes, I'll watch every title in real-time for now.’
I checked three series, but for now, I've decided to drop the last one.
April 4th.
‘The new semester starts tomorrow... In the end, nothing happened this spring break either.’
Well, that's reality for you.
* * *
‘Hey, Tomoya, you have Amber Concerto, don't you?’
‘Amber Concerto... you say?’
It was around 3:30 PM, just as classes had ended and I was about to open my locker to head home, when my classmate Yoshihiko Kamigo spoke to me.
‘Yeah, they say it's one of the best galge to come out this year, and it's based on an eroge too. I figured you'd definitely have checked it out.’
‘...And what if I did?’
‘Lend it to me. You've probably already cleared it anyway, right?’
Furthermore, for him to stop me when I was in a hurry to get home and catch up on the anime I recorded last night, his reasoning was just too much.
Apparently, in his mind, I'm the kind of person who buys every single galge ported from a well-reputed eroge, and buys them on the day they're released.
‘Like I care. Buy it yourself.’
‘I don't have money like you do, Tomoya.’
I mean, sure, I bought it.
At 10 AM sharp on the release date.
The 9,800-yen First Press Limited Edition with the original art book and a five-disc soundtrack, weighing a total of 1.8 kilograms.
I pre-ordered it instantly at the store I chose after agonizing over it once all the store-exclusive bonuses were announced.
And for the record, I cried four times before I finished it.
“Look, the reason I have money is that I work my ass off at part-time jobs so I can buy games and anime. Don't make it sound like I’ve confused the means with the end.”
After all, my dad is just a salaryman at some mid-sized company. We’re a perfectly average middle-class family with a mortgage that’ll comfortably last until it’s my problem to deal with.
I’m not like some galge protagonist who lives alone in a massive house while his parents are on overseas business trips, never having to worry about cash.
“Come on, I thought for sure you’d have bought it, Tomoya.”
“Even if I had, lending and borrowing is strictly forbidden. At least offer to play it at my place or something.”
“No way, your constant commentary is annoying as hell.”
“That is the right of the person providing the venue and the software! Do you have any idea how blissful it is to have someone to discuss the same work with...?”
“Dude, you spoiled the ending for me before I even finished last time.”
“...My bad. Seriously, please just forget I said anything.”
Kamigo’s words pierced right through my unintended hypocrisy.
Man, sometimes you end up deeply hurting people without even realizing it.
Spoilers are the absolute lowest thing an otaku can do... Honestly, it’s right up there with piracy and cracking.
“Anyway, try somewhere else. I really don’t have it.”
“Seriously? Akiba’s totally wiped out, and it’s going for over ten thousand yen everywhere online. Even if I want it, I can’t get my hands on it.”
“That’s why I’m always telling you until I’m blue in the face to pre-order. If the pre-orders don’t pile up, the manufacturers won’t get orders from the shops. If you complain about not being able to find it later, you’ve got no one to blame but yourself.”
“Why do you always sound like a corporate shill?”
Well, truth be told, if he’d asked a day earlier, I could have lent it to him.
...Though in that case, I have no idea what kind of verbal abuse I would’ve been subjected to later.
“Well, that’s that, so just go home. See you tomorrow.”
“You’re leaving too, right? Let’s walk to the station together.”
“Ah, no... that’s a bit...”
“Oh, I know! Since we’re here, why don’t you help me hit the shops? You’re a pro at finding stuff that’s out of stock, right?”
“Oh, you bet I am! ...Ah.”
“Alright, it’s a date. Hurry up and get your stuff, Tomoya.”
I’d reflexively jumped at the “I’ve been waiting for this” kind of invitation...
But thinking back, wasn’t I currently scheming to keep this guy as far away from my locker as possible?
“H-Hey, Kamigo, actually, I—”
After all, right now, inside my locker is...
“What are you dawdling for? Honestly, you’re hopeless, Tomoya.”
“Aaaaaaah!!”
“Here, your bag. It’s not like you’re taking your textbooks home anyway, right?”
“Right! Let’s get going!”
“...Why such an over-the-top reaction?”
“Hurry, hurry!”
I slammed my locker shut—the locker that, aside from my bag, was completely empty—and started shoving Kamigo by the back to get him moving down the hallway... then I remembered the school rules and settled for a walk.
All while feeling a wave of relief that the 1.8-kilogram Amber Concerto Limited Edition I’d tucked away in there this morning had completely and utterly vanished.
“Oh, by the way, Kamigo.”
“Yeah?”
“Stop talking like you’re some meddling girlfriend I’m stuck with. It makes me want to punch you.”
“Don’t say that after you’ve already kicked me.”
I couldn’t help it; he was annoying.
Private Toyogasaki Academy.
The scenery isn’t particularly beautiful, nor is it right in the heart of the city.
It’s not a combined middle/high school, it’s not a university affiliate, and therefore, it’s not a “School City.”
The student council doesn’t rule with an iron fist, the disciplinary committee doesn’t carry weapons, and there isn’t any political drama between the board chairman and the principal.
It’s a “non-metropolis”... well, a relatively new high school located within the Tokyo metropolitan area, founded less than ten years ago.
It’s the kind of school you’d typically see in a galge or a bishoujo anime where they didn’t put much effort into the world-building.
“The problem is you always look at the big-box retailers.”
“What’s wrong with that? They have tons of stock and the discounts are huge.”
Honestly, I really didn’t care. This wasn’t a conversation worth putting effort into.
“That’s fine for standard products that are overflowing everywhere. But what you’re looking for right now is a hot, rare item that’s vanished from the market, right?”
“So? What about it?”
“For titles like that, which have created a massive number of ‘refugees,’ any restock will be snapped up instantly for a while. The main targets for that are the big-box stores where casuals like you flock in droves.”
“So I’m a casual just for buying games at Yodo-shi...?”
I didn’t even say the store name. This is why casuals are the worst.
“The sweet spots aren’t the mass retailers. But going to a specialty game shop is too obvious, too.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
“You need to look for shops where the main product is clearly something else, and games are just an afterthought.”
“Main product? Like what?”
“The most common one would be adult DVDs. A shop in a narrow six-story building where almost everything is adult content, but one tiny corner of one floor just happened to have some general games sitting there...”
“Ah, like Lam-ta-ra.”
I told you, no names... As we were having this unnecessarily heated discussion in the hallway, a cool, refreshing greeting brushed pleasantly against our ears from the side.
“Oh, hi Otaku-boys! Bye-bye!”
“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
“Wait a second, what’s with that nickname!?”
“Ahaha, see ya~!”
Setting aside the designation—which was a bit much if you thought about it calmly—Female Classmate A was a perfectly friendly girl. Her voice and attitude were normal, and she responded to Kamigo’s retort with a refreshing smile before making a quick exit, showing no sign of wanting to get any further involved.
“Good grief. Just because I ended up in the same class as Tomoya in second year, now I’m being treated like a creepy otaku too.”
“You should consider yourself lucky she even spoke to you. Normally, otaku like us are just targets for persecution and being ignored.”
“What era are you living in...?”
“Seven years ago.”
“Why are you being so specific? Besides, I’m not some deep-seated otaku beyond the point of salvation or social reintegration like you, Tomoya.”
“Whether you’re deep or shallow, in the eyes of a non-otaku, you’re a full-blown otaku. And in the eyes of a deep otaku, a ‘light’ otaku is nothing but an object of contempt. But don’t worry, Kamigo. Even if you’re living a dry, sterile life with no fruits or fulfillment, I’m the one person who’ll never abandon you.”
“...I really wonder why I’m still friends with you after you dragged me down this path.”
Rather than being moved by my passionate declaration of friendship, Kamigo just tilted his head, looking unconvinced.
This is why casuals... well, that has nothing to do with being a casual.
“Anyway, you guys were too slow to jump on it. The original eroge came out two years ago, and even now, the lines for the dakimakura covers at the Comiket booth are so long that even the first-train crowd can’t buy them. On top of that, official mail-order slots didn’t even last five minutes. It’s an incredibly popular title.”
“Hey, Tomoya, we’re minors, right?”
“Don’t worry. I never set foot into 18+ content. Everything I just said is information released for the general public.”
That’s right. I’ve never passed through those 18+ curtains on the top floors or in the basements of shops.
So, naturally, I’ve never played a game belonging to the eroge genre, let alone the original Amber Concerto.
“As always, you’re strangely prudish in the most pointless ways.”
“Nothing is ever truly meaningless. You’ll be deeply indebted to them once you turn eighteen. Until then, following the rules and not causing trouble for the other side is for the benefit of both parties, right?”
“The ‘Rin’ in Tomoya is the ‘Rin’ in Sofurin—the Software Ethics Board.”
“Don’t call me by that nickname. It makes me want to kick you.”
“Not the back! Anything but the back!”
As we deepened our flimsy bond of friendship at the shoe lockers, a boisterous, stifling voice once again pierced our ears from the side.
“Yo, Team Tomoya! Heading home now?”
“Yeah. See ya.”
“Don’t make me repeat what I said five minutes ago! What’s with that group name?!”
“You guys always seem like you’re having a blast... Anyway, later.”
“Good luck with club practice, later.”
The burly Male Classmate No. 2—wearing a filthy, oversized rugby jersey that he managed to make look skin-tight—dismissed Yoshihiko’s string of nonsensical quips with a deep, gravelly voice and headed toward the schoolyard, the sound of his cleats echoing behind him.
“Good grief. Being called an otaku is one thing, but why am I always treated like I’m just an accessory to you, Tomoya?”
“Well, it’s like you accidentally admitted yourself—it’s because you aren’t ‘deep’ like me.”
“I can’t accept that there’s a hierarchy on the otaku stage in the first place.”
“But look at us. In every other category, our grades and athletic abilities are so average that it’s impossible to tell who’s better, right? That only leaves our level of otaku-ism and our looks. But don’t worry, Yoshihiko...”
“Don’t go adding weird vanity points like it’s nothing. Our faces are on the same level, too.”
My passionate declaration of friendship... was promptly interrupted again.
“Besides, they announced that the upcoming console port isn’t just a plain vanilla version with the adult scenes cut out. They’re promoting the legendary little sister—whose route-less status in the original almost caused a riot—to an official heroine. How could that lineup be anything but the strongest? I don’t see a single way this can lose!”
“That sounds like a massive death flag... but anyway, Tomoya, were you always into the ‘little sister’ archetype?”
“What are you talking about? Little sisters, big sisters, childhood friends, seniors, juniors, the energetic types, the silent types, the mysterious types, the violent types... they’re all equally the best. Obviously.”
“O-Oh...”
“However, I have one rule... I refuse to fall for a heroine I can’t conquer. I mean, no matter how much you come to love someone, a romance where your feelings will never reach them is just too painful, isn’t it?”
“...Listening to that coming out of your mouth is even more painful for me.”
“But it’s finally happening! This time for sure...!”
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this kind of additional content is a major reason why I deeply love galge... especially titles ported from eroge.
People complain about it being a shady way to make users pay multiple times, but thinking logically, no one loses when an attractive sub-character becomes a romanceable heroine. Apparently, there are some original creators who refuse to get involved in ports because they’re obsessed with the idea that forcing in extra scenarios will break the story's consistency, but I think they’re wrong...
“Man, I can start grinning just thinking about when I played Rikka-tan’s scenario.”
“I can start getting nauseous just looking at that expression on your face.”
As we enjoyed our profound discourse on galge by the school gates, once again...
“Ah, there you are, Aki-kun.”
“I’m telling you, stop calling us as a set!”
“E-Err...”
“No, you were completely ignored that time.”
Female Classmate No. 2—who had called out to me without adding ‘and company’ or ‘team’—looked straight at me, though she seemed a bit bewildered by Yoshihiko’s unreasonable anger.
“Ms. Hasumi was looking for you, Aki-kun. She said she wants you to come to the faculty room right away.”
She was merely there to deliver a message from our homeroom teacher.
“Kano-chan? Why?”
“She wants you to help carry some teaching materials to the audiovisual room. Apparently, she’s using them for tomorrow’s class.”
“Ugh... why me? I’m not a class rep or anything.”
“That’s because you’re always holding your personal anime screening parties in there without permission.”
“It’s not without permission. I get the teacher’s approval every single time.”
And for the record, I check with the manufacturers for screening rights every single time, too.
“By making trip after trip after trip after trip after trip after trip to the faculty room. Of course they’d give in eventually.”
“What’s wrong with sharing the emotional impact of a wonderful work of art?”
There are even anime and games that give you a reason to think seriously about life. After all, there's that beautiful story about a shut-in boy who was so moved by an eroge that he overcame his truancy and started attending middle school again. Wait, middle schoolers shouldn't be playing eroge.
“Regardless, shouldn’t you pay back the favor for letting you use the room? It’ll be a pain later if you get banned, right?”
“C-Could you maybe help me out...?”
“I’m just Generic Male Classmate No. 1, so I won’t interfere with the bittersweet moment between the galge protagonist and the beautiful teacher heroine.”
“...The ‘teacher’ in question is 3D and in her late twenties, you know.”
“I’ll pray that your unnecessary commentary doesn’t earn you a one-week suspension on top of the ban. Later.”
“H-Hey, Yoshihiko...!”
So much for that twisted sense of camaraderie from earlier; Yoshihiko abandoned me in my time of need and scurried out the school gates. I was left standing there in despair, along with...
“U-Um...”
Female Classmate No. 2, who had seemingly missed her chance to slip away.
“Oh, you can head home too. I’m not going to ask you to help.”
“Ah, okay. Well, I wasn’t planning on saying yes even if you did.”
“Oh, really...”
That coldness... as expected of someone who’s only been my classmate for half a month.
“Well then, see you tomorrow.”
Whatever. Ms. Kanoko Hasumi, my homeroom teacher, isn't exactly the type I’m bad with.
She’s in her late twenties—closing in on thirty if you round up—but you could still call her a beauty among our school’s faculty. She’s a good, understanding teacher who doesn’t get angry even if I call her ‘Kano-chan’ casually.
Of course, because I’m so casual with her, she dumps chores on me left and right.
“Oh, by the way, Aki-kun.”
“Hmm?”
I turned on my heel toward the school building with a stride that was neither light nor heavy.
Well, the ‘Trigger Teacher Route Flag’ event is a high-level challenge in many ways, but it's not like there aren't other things to look forward to.
“Thanks for the other day.”
“Huh? For what?”
For example... yeah, I’ll go to the faculty room and find a girl in a different uniform standing by Kano-chan’s desk.
“You’ve come at just the right time, Aki-kun. Actually, this girl is a transfer student joining our class tomorrow. I’m a bit busy right now, so could you show her around the school?” As I stand there bewildered by the sudden request, the transfer student girl will give me a little smile.
“You know, during spring break. You picked up my hat. The white beret.”
“Ah, right... was that it? Sorry, I don't remember at all.”
Then the moment we look into each other’s eyes...
The memory from a month ago will come rushing back, and her eyes will go wide with a brand-new expression of surprise...
“Wait a miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinute!?”
I spun back around on the heel I’d just turned and sprinted toward the school gates at full speed.
“Hmm? What?”
...Heartless Female Classmate #2 had already seemingly lost interest in me and was walking away briskly.
"It was you... It was you!"
"What did I do?"
"Back then... the white..."
"White?"
"The dress!"
"Oh... ahh... was it?"
"'Was it'...? Wait...?"
"I mean, you don't normally remember what you were wearing a month ago."
"I guess you're right... normally, at least."
Chapter 1: On a spring day, I reunited with destiny...
The dim evening sun shone down, a slightly chilly breeze rustled, and dust danced along the road home.
And there, standing at the top of that hill, was a single... a single female classmate number two.
A girl whose name I knew, a girl whose face I'd seen every day for the past month.
"Uh... it was Megumi Kano, right?"
"It's Kato."
Ah. I guess I didn't know her name after all.
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