Chapter 5: The first day of school is always like this

Having come out early in the morning, I walked cautiously towards the school.

There’s also the extreme option of refusing to go to school… but that’s honestly too extreme.

If I walk not too late, but not too early, I might be able to avoid those two.

‘Yeah, with this kind of pace, like a mob, being careful not to stand out.’

I mumbled to myself and focused on my steps.

‘They were interested in me yesterday because they saw me for the first time… They probably won’t show much interest today.’

I walked with my head down, only looking at my conscious feet, and before I knew it, I wasn’t looking ahead at all.

‘Please, I hope nothing happens today…’

And, my thoughts were betrayed so easily.

As soon as I felt something trip my foot, my vision flew through the air.

“Whoa!”

Losing my balance and falling forward, I dropped my bag, and the notebooks and writing utensils inside scattered all over the ground.

“Ah, ouch…”

As I hurriedly tried to get up to pick up my belongings, I saw my notebook stop at the tip of someone’s shoes.

And… in front of me were the silver hair of the owner of the shoes.

“Are you okay? You must have been really surprised. I’ll help you.”

A clear and soft voice came from the sky.

I looked up and saw the silver-haired, blue-eyed goddess standing in front of me.

Yukikawa Aya.

She was looking at me, picking up my notebook that had scattered from my bag.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

How can those blue eyes hold such a warm light?

I couldn’t get the words out, so I awkwardly nodded.

Aya quietly smiled at my reaction and picked up the notebooks and writing utensils one by one and handed them to me.

“Here you go.”

“Ah… Thank you…”

My voice, barely able to answer, was endlessly small.

“Kurosawa Rina, from the next seat, right?”

My heart dropped at Aya’s voice calling my name correctly.

“We decided to be friends yesterday, didn’t we? Was I the only one who thought so…?”

Aya’s voice was soft, but it contained a subtle sadness.

What Aya said yesterday wasn’t just a passing remark.

“Th, that’s…”

My mind went blank, not knowing what to say.

As I stammered and tried to make an excuse, Aya shook her head slightly.

“It’s okay if you’re uncomfortable, don’t rush. It would be better if we were friends, but…”

At those words, I couldn’t hurt Aya any longer.

“Ah, no! We’re friends. Hehe…”

When I said that, the faint sadness disappeared from Aya’s face, and a bright smile appeared.

At that moment, I realized how beautifully Aya was described in the novel.

I can’t dare to express it with my poor vocabulary, but, ‘really pretty.’

“Then shall we go to school together?”

“Ah, yeah, let’s go to school.”

I answered, putting the notebooks and writing utensils that Aya handed me back into my bag.

And I screamed inside.

‘An ordinary day, ruined.’

I had no choice but to walk side by side with Aya.

Feeling her silver hair fluttering in the sunshine on the road.

This wasn’t just awkward.

I was so anxious that it felt like I was carrying a cushion of thorns.

Sometimes I turned my head to look at Aya, and each time, our eyes met, so I hurriedly lowered my head.

That’s right. Aya was constantly looking at me.

Like looking at an animal in a zoo with curious eyes…

As I walked, I felt my face getting hotter and hotter under Aya’s gaze.

I reluctantly mustered up the courage to turn my head and meet her eyes, and Aya smiled slightly.

“Rina, are you okay? What are you thinking?”

“Ah, no! I wasn’t thinking anything!”

I hurriedly waved my hands and answered.

At that, Aya let out a small laugh.

A young lady’s laugh, or a goddess’s laugh itself.

“Rina is really cute, it’s hard to see that kind of reaction.”

I quickly turned my face, which was no longer just hot but on the verge of exploding.

But Aya gently asked, as if not caring about my reaction at all.

“By the way, Rina. Did you say your hobbies are reading and biking?”

“Ah, yes! That’s right…!”

“What kind of books do you like to read? Novels?”

Th, the fact that I came to this world after reading a novel was a secret I couldn’t tell anyone.

So I thought for a moment and could only nod my head awkwardly.

“Oh! I see, can I recommend a book I’m reading?”

‘Aya is recommending a book…?’

I felt my eyes widen reflexively, and I could only nod.

This is getting an event that even the male lead didn’t have! Not that.

I was purely curious about what book Aya was recommending.

Maybe my half-given-up feelings came out as they were.

“Ah, yes! Of course!”

Aya tilted her head slightly and said.

“Then I’ll bring it next time, I like books too.”

Aya’s bright smile sparkled under the sunlight.

I couldn’t come up with any answer and stared at her blankly.

So, how many steps did we take while looking at each other?

I heard another familiar voice that I didn’t want to get used to.

“Wow~ Ayarin, are you already hanging out with Rina?”

A girl with long brown hair approaching from across the street.

She, who instantly captures attention, was also the beauty described next to Aya in the novel.

Asakura Mizuki.

“Mizuki.”

Aya waved lightly as soon as she saw Mizuki.

Mizuki approached us and naturally stood next to me.

I already felt shorter since I was the shortest among us, but I felt even smaller.

“Rina, did you already become so close with our Ayarin? I’m going to be jealous?”

“Ah, no! It’s not like that…”

Mizuki smiled with a playful twinkle in her eyes.

“I’m just kidding~ Don’t be so flustered.”

“Ah… Yes… Yeah.”

Aya was smiling at me from the side.

“Mizuki always jokes a lot. You’ll get more comfortable once you get used to it, Rina.”

I felt my face get hot for no reason at Aya’s kind voice.

I barely calmed down… Why am I like this, really?

“But Rina, do you come this early every morning? It would be nice if we could all meet and go to school together.”

“Th, that’s not it! It’s just…”

I waved my hands and stammered, not knowing what to say.

Mizuki laughed, finding my reaction funny.

“You’re a cute one, Rina.”

So, we got closer and closer to the school gate, which meant that the probability of encountering other students began to increase.

And those many students, whether they glanced slightly or looked openly, were looking at us.

“Aren’t those Yukikawa-san and Asakura-san?”

“But who’s that girl between them? I’ve never seen her before…”

“She’s really cute too, is she a transfer student?”

For reference, the protagonist in this novel was also called a ‘transfer student.’

Most students from Takamari Middle School go on to high school, and it’s very, very difficult for outsiders to transfer or enter high school, so usually both are referred to as ‘transfer students’ at this school.

No, that’s not what’s important.

‘Me… cute?’

Next to me are two of the four beauties of Takamari Academy, and compared to these two, I’m endlessly ordinary… cute?

It must be a misunderstanding.

Compared to these two, I’m just an extra mob character.

But the murmurs grew louder as we approached the school gate, and in inverse proportion to the murmurs, I felt smaller and smaller.

Aya noticed the atmosphere and said quietly.

“Rina, don’t worry. It’s just that the kids at this school are peculiar.”

Mizuki also smiled and added.

“That’s right, you don’t need to worry. Everyone is interested in new faces. But, they all have good eyes, don’t they?”

Standing between the two, I was just a humble ant.

The two… just by existing, they overwhelmed their surroundings.

No, this place is the world inside the novel, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the school itself revolved around the two.

But the gazes of those two are on me.

‘Yeah, an ordinary school life, goodbye.’

I, who had given up everything now, made a vow in my heart.

First, I should open my notebook during break time and check if there are any events near the entrance ceremony.

Still, concentrating on other thoughts helped me finish the difficult walk to school.

Even while the three of us entered the classroom of Class 1-3 together, and even while the three of us sat down at the window seats.

The gazes of the school students towards me continued endlessly.

I turned my gaze towards the window to avoid the gazes of my classmates.

I thought I could calm my mind by looking at the blue sky and the cherry blossom petals remaining on the ends of the branches fluttering, but…

But the seat was the problem.

Aya is by the window, and I’m right next to her.

When I turned my head to look out the window, Aya’s figure naturally came into view.

I glanced without realizing it, and at that moment, my eyes met Aya’s.

Aya tilted her head slightly and smiled at me.

That clear and soft smile seemed to say, ‘It’s okay.’

But that smile was no longer comforting to me.

That smile that should have been directed at the protagonist.

That pure and transparent smile was frightening.

‘I’ll have to endure this for a day, a week, a month, a year…?’

The gazes towards me, and the presence of her felt from the window seat next to me.

All of that seemed like it wouldn’t let me go, today or tomorrow.