The third-year girls from Chroma High School on Sepia Island.
The reason they ended up in Academy City was because of Lethe, who had decided to pursue a future at Orion Academy.
Academy City was already a place they wanted to visit at least once, so once the opportunity arose, there was no way they could resist.
With the graduation ceremony approaching in the distance, they wanted to forget the lancholy that would co when it was all over.
The girls, showing their usual boldness, decided to go on a trip during the school’s anniversary and the national holiday, not hesitating to make the decision.
Although the trip was supposed to be smooth, a dinsional rift disaster overlapped, but surprisingly, it quickly faded into the background and disappeared from their conversations.
The topic of conversation as the girls returned to their accommodations, guided by the peacekeepers, was only one thing.
“Lethe! Did you get a reply?”
“I just introduced myself…”
“What was his na again?”
“…Rohan.”
The girl covers her blushing face with the back of her hand. It was a mont when her short hair felt lacking.
And she couldn’t take her eyes off her phone.
It was hard not to feel a flutter in her chest when her friend, who usually appeared so cool and carefree, reacted so adorably.
One girl, lying on the bed and tapping her phone, suddenly widened her eyes.
“I found him right away with a search. He must be famous.”
“Really!? Show !”
The girls, stacked like hamburgers on one bed, focused their gazes on the internet news.
“Criminal organization crackdown...?”
“This is a whole different world. It doesn’t feel real.”
“Is this what Orion Academy students are like?”
Lethe, who grew up in a warrior family, was the only one staring at the article with sparkling eyes.
Curiosity flew toward Lethe, who was savoring every word.
“Lethe, do you prefer strong people?”
“It’s not just that…”
“Huh? Then?”
“Well... he’s handso... and cool…”
The once noisy room now fell into silence.
The girls stared seriously, recalling their ti at the shopping mall.
“He looked fierce before I even noticed how handso he was… You know, the student council president who confessed to you, Lethe, was famous for being handso.”
“That guy looked like he’d break if you hit him, so I didn’t like him.”
Lethe’s blunt judgnt.
Her friends laughed as if they were used to it, continuing their chatter.
“I still don’t get Lethe’s tastes.”
“Even so, I admit he’s cool. It’s like a strong, decisive vibe?”
“Ah~ Finally, Lethe is having her first crush. I was worried you’d finish school without having one.”
“Who’s the mom? Don’t stick to , get away!”
One of the girls was thrown onto the opposite bed by Lethe.
“Alright, Lethe, the love hearing begins now.”
“Everyone, sit down. Quickly!”
As the girls got ready for their usual gossip, they began opening snacks.
The signal that the real gossip was about to start.
“I didn’t expect you to charge in like that, Lethe. You never seed interested in boys before.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Lethe as if they were waiting for an answer.
Lethe fidgeted with her short hair and gave a response.
“If I don’t do it now, I might never see him again. I don’t want to regret it later…”
“Oooooh~ So bold~”
“It was funny when you used honorifics because you were nervous.”
“...”
“If you focus on the charm points, it’ll be fine. As long as you’re not faking it, I think he’ll like it.”
“Really? It’s just a habit from the dojo…”
The first useful advice ca, and it wasn’t a mistake.
Lethe, seemingly interested, joined the conversation.
From detailed topics like posture and attire, the conversation stretched on.
One girl suddenly looked around in confusion.
“Is he stronger than Lethe?”
“Yeah. Right now, there’s no way I can beat him.”
“Wow, there’s soone stronger than Lethe?”
“There are lots of people like that.”
Lethe, the only one who knew, thought about how her friends didn’t even know that Rohan was the one who directly saved her from the monsters.
She had been holding back the monsters, and everyone had been huddling in fear, but his movents were beyond what a normal person could analyze.
‘...’
It suddenly hit her.
The way he handled multiple monsters with fluidity, his decision-making in saving people, it was as if he had completely adapted to the battlefield.
At that mont, Rohan’s values beca crystal clear to her.
Her heart began to pound harder the more she thought about it.
“But there were so many good-looking people around him. Just classmates?”
“Pfft, if he had a girlfriend, he wouldn’t have given out his number.”
“Hey, it’s better to ask about these things straight away. Lethe! Hurry up!”
All eyes were on her, and Lethe desperately tried to speak.
“If you suddenly ask sothing like that, it’s rude!”
“Since you’ve already gotten his number, I think it’s okay to ask.”
“I don’t know! No interruptions! I’ll go at my own pace with this!”
Avoiding her mischievous friends, Lethe hid under the covers.
Even when they tried to pull the blanket off, they couldn’t do anything to Lethe, who had a strong grip. Even a group of normal schoolgirls was helpless against it.
“...Anyway, your answer is the sa, right?”
Had she made up her mind under the covers?
Lethe peeked her small head out and spoke.
“‘Your answer?’”
“About whether there are pretty girls around him and whether he has a girlfriend.”
The girls in the room naturally gathered their attention.
“If you don’t ask and just assu based on what you see, you’ll regret it later if you’re wrong…”
Lethe spoke softly, revealing her true feelings.
It wasn’t the usual loud voice, but her ssage still got through.
“How touching... I’m usually soone who doesn’t cry, but now, I’m tearing up…”
“If there are so many competitors, Lethe’s at a disadvantage due to the distance. We’ll have to stay in touch as much as possible while you can’t see him, huh?”
“No, I’m not going to obsess over the contact.”
“Hmm?”
“I just... have a feeling that we’ll et again soon. I’ll focus on training and just check in occasionally.”
It was unheard of for soone to act so passively after getting a phone number, but sohow, it felt just like Lethe.
Her friends, wishing her the best for her first love that had co so suddenly, continued to support her.
***
"Hey, sis...! Co on, wake up...!"
"..."
Clara wanted to lose herself in the mont and shut down. However, she was too late.
Shion had already lost herself first.
Her face looked like it was overwheld with thoughts. Even her pointed ears drooped slightly.
Holding the shopping bag she had retrieved, she walked silently.
She continued walking toward the first floor, where Rohan was waiting, but there was no energy in her steps.
"Shion, sis..."
Clara, watching her worriedly, started to think logically.
Her eyes widened at the sudden realization.
‘Could this be the trigger...?!’
Was this the mont Shion recognized her feelings for Rohan?
In truth, it was almost a miracle that Shion hadn’t noticed her feelings until now.
Thinking about it that way, it wasn’t the ti to console soone else.
What position should Clara take now? Unlike in combat, where she had experience, this situation felt like an unsolvable puzzle.
‘And that person, too...’
Clara’s gaze shifted to Ichinose Yui.
Noah Frozenheart, happy to have her belongings back, was jumping around and laughing as usual. But Ichinose Yui was clearly different.
After seeing the girl who had shown clear affection for Rohan, Ichinose’s posture beca more rigid, and she seed to lose so of her usual composure.
With slow steps, they finally reached the first floor.
Rohan, who had finished speaking with the peacekeepers, approached.
“Did you get everything? Is everything okay with your things?”
“Yeah…”
While Clara was still pondering whether it was okay to ask about the girl she saw earlier, Noah, maintaining clear focus, happily hopped over to Rohan.
“Rohan!”
“Huh?”
“Let’s all go have lunch!”
Rohan pulled out his phone to check the ti.
Due to the dinsional rift, ti had gotten all ssed up, and now it was already the afternoon. If they missed this window, things would definitely get awkward.
“But will there even be any restaurants open?”
He’d heard from the peacekeepers that the situation outside had stabilized, but he wasn’t sure. Plus, he was concerned that Shion and Clara might be uncomfortable.
“Well, it’s Academy City, right?”
Is this the common sense of this world?
Rohan rubbed his chin and looked at Shion and Clara. He directly asked them, creating a situation where it would be difficult to refuse. Saying he would talk and co back was awkward too.
“Noa, I’m sorry.”
“Huh?”
At the attention, Shion erased her troubled expression and walked briskly toward Rohan, linking her arm with his right.
Clara, startled, quickly moved to grab his left arm and snuggled up to him.
“We have an appointnt to look at a house together.”
Ichinose, who had been quietly listening from the side, stood there, mouth agape.
“Really? That’s a sha. I was going to treat you to a special Tigrova dish.”
“I’m really sorry. But I’ll make sure we do it next ti,” Rohan said, although he was flustered by the sudden closeness from the girls, he didn’t miss the chance.
He had concluded this was a clear signal from them.
“Shion, has the person you were supposed to introduce to contacted you?”
“Not yet. But the ti we agreed on is getting close. If we don’t leave now, we’ll be late.”
“Right, even with the situation like this, it’s best to wait until the scheduled ti.”
“Oh, you’re right, oppa...!”
With Shion and Clara pulling him along, Rohan started heading outside the shopping mall.
“Be careful on your way! We’ll have lunch next ti!”
He turned his head and waved as he passed through the shattered glass door, disappearing.
“Ugh, what a waste. I wanted to hear what kind of relationship they have.”
Noa’s tail swished back and forth, looking disappointed she had missed out on sothing fun.
“Th-they’re looking for a house...!?”
Ichinose, finally coming out of her daze, slowly processed what had just happened.
She was a little late to grasp the conversation’s context.
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