Observation and Fake Romance

Kanzaki Takuya was well aware of his own popularity.
Top of his year in grades, athletically versatile—though he wasn’t in any clubs, every sports team begged for his help.

Last year, he’d accidentally won a national karate singles championship, making it impossible for him not to be famous.
As for the girls swarming him, Takuya didn’t think much of it.

He could tell most were just star-struck, not genuinely interested in dating or marrying him.
So he let it slide.
After all, why not make people happy with small gestures?

But what if someone did genuinely like him?
Compared to academics or sports, his greatest confidence lay in observation.

He’d privately reject any girl who showed real interest—stringing someone along only led to mutual unhappiness.
He understood that much.

Why not try dating or getting to know someone?
Again, observation.

His standards for girls were higher than most, and they had to be interesting.
At least among the current second and third years, no one met his criteria.

But recently… things seemed to be changing.
The girl he’d suspected earlier said something strange today.

Her tone, her demeanor—it was as if she were his girlfriend.
Most people would dismiss it as a fan’s joke or delusion.
But not him.

He barely knew her.
In his memory, she was a rebellious delinquent-wannabe, her face plastered with fake smiles to fit in, her expression dripping with feigned disdain for others.

But today, she was dressed properly, her expression soft and kind.
Her smile was practiced, but her manners were impeccable—she clearly cared about him.
Yet for some reason, she seemed to carry heavy guilt toward him.

“Did something happen between us?”
No—unless he didn’t know, or had already forgotten.

He didn’t fully reject the expert’s analysis of his divine gift.
But he believed “avoiding accidents” was only part of it, not the core.

Don’t underestimate the difference.
If the expert was right, his power would be absurd—erasing accidents before they happened or wiping them from existence entirely.

That would mean he had both world-altering and future-predicting abilities.
Impossible.

If he were from the Tsuchimikado clan, maybe.
But the Kanzaki family was just a “prestigious” name in Chiba Prefecture.

But if accidents had occurred, only for the outcome to be rewritten—and everyone, including himself, forgot the process…
The core was still “altering the world,” but with memory loss and inability to use magic as the cost, it became far more plausible.

The problem was proving it.
He had no memory of altering the world.

Unless he found someone who retained memories despite the change.
And now… there might be such a person.

“Shizuki Yurina… Could it be that in a memory I’ve forgotten, she became my girlfriend?”

He felt nothing in particular about the old Yurina—just a classmate.
He’d help if she asked, but he’d never fall for that kind of girl.
But the girl he saw this morning…
His first impression of her was very good.
He liked girls who thought of others.

“Yurina, we’re in the same class again! This is great!”

As Mana approached the field lineup, a clearly rule-breaking Shibuya-style girl slung an arm around her.
From the intimacy, Mana instantly guessed this was the infamous “Rie Takashiro.”
No way—was this Yurina’s best friend?

But she quickly felt ashamed for judging by appearance.
Adjusting her mindset, she flashed a joyful smile, as if reuniting with a long-lost friend.
“Yeah, we get to be together again, Rie.”

Rie’s movements froze.
She stared at Mana suspiciously.
Oh no—had she gotten the wrong person?

“Yurina, why so formal all of a sudden? You always call me ‘Rie-chan’!”
Rie laughed loudly.
“Haha, just kidding! Didn’t expect you to see through it so fast, Rie-chan.”
Mana mimicked her laugh, trying to bluff her way through.

“You’re too much, Yurina… By the way, why are you dressed so properly today? Trying to play the good student on the first day?”

Huh? What was she talking about?
Mana was confused, but soon came up with an acceptable explanation—Rie seemed to want Yurina to go bad.
As her best friend, Yurina must be used to such teasing.
Mana quickly replied, “Really? I think this is fine. Students should look like students.”

“True, for some people, this has its own charm.”
Rie looked Mana over and nodded.
“So, wanna go ‘practice’ after school?”

“Sorry, I have a part-time job this afternoon. Next time.”
Mana didn’t know what Rie meant by “practice,” but the schedule conflict gave her an out.

“What? A job?”
Rie’s jaw dropped. She placed a hand on Mana’s forehead.
“Are you sick or something? If you need money, just ask me.”

What was this kid saying?
Relationships built on money were fragile.

And this was Yurina’s best friend—how could she borrow money over something like this?

Mana was about to refuse when Rie, as if struck by a funny thought, continued:
“Speaking of which, I was wondering why that creepy old guy handed over the cash so easily. Turns out he’s a respected university professor! Even wrote articles criticizing high schoolers’ declining morals. Isn’t that hilarious?”

What—the money came from extortion?
Mana wanted it even less.
She gave a polite laugh, then said tactfully,
“I still want to earn it with my own hands. No need to trouble you.”

“Yurina, you’re acting weird today. Did you hit your head while moving?”
Rie frowned.

“N-No, I just want to help ease Mom’s burden.”
Mana panicked slightly.

Rie’s expression shifted, looking almost betrayed.
“Huh? What kind of joke is that? Didn’t you say you hated—”

Her words were cut off as Kanzaki Takuya and his fan swarm passed by, their noisy chatter drowning everything out and drawing all eyes.
Rie was no exception.
“Wow, the big celebrity’s in our class! Yurina, wanna try confessing?”
She wore a mischievous grin.

Huh? Rie didn’t know they were dating?
That made sense—best friends were the biggest threat to secrecy, especially with someone as popular as Kanzaki.
An underground romance was the only way.
But for Mana, hiding this from a friend felt wrong.

“Maybe I will, if the chance comes up.”
So she left it vague.

Rie blinked in surprise, but the homeroom teacher arrived.
They ended the conversation, lining up with the others to enter the auditorium for the opening ceremony.

After the ceremony—mostly irrelevant to second-years—they returned to class.
Under the math teacher’s lead (also their homeroom teacher), they did the standard self-introductions.
Since Rie sat far ahead in the front row, Mana couldn’t tell if she’d messed up earlier.

The biggest issue now: Kanzaki Takuya was seated right in front of her, by the window.
Was he going to send flirty glances during class?
But based on current events, the chances they were officially dating seemed low—so she was safe…
Just then, Kanzaki secretly tossed her a note.

Opening it:
【Sorry for ignoring you.】

Aaaah—they were secretly dating!
Mana quickly grabbed a pen and replied—she’d spent the week practicing Yurina’s handwriting and was now 90% accurate.
【It’s okay, but I hope Kanzaki-kun properly rejects other girls. Otherwise, I’ll get jealous.】

She wrote it with a flushed face.
She had no dating experience and no idea what a lovesick girl would write to her boyfriend—she was running on pure imagination.
Folding the note, she flicked it with precision into Kanzaki’s palm.

Yes! The skill was still there!
She felt a small thrill.

Memories gone, body swapped—but the martial arts she’d trained in followed her soul.
The only catch: she couldn’t recall them consciously, only instinctively when needed.
‘Can trained martial arts become instinct?’

While Mana pondered, Kanzaki was startled by her reply.
After hesitating, he decided to go bolder.
【I know I was wrong. You’ll forgive me, right? My dear girlfriend.】

If he was wrong, even as the school’s star, he’d be labeled “pathetic” or “creepy.”
But—

【I’ll let it slide this time. Don’t do it again.】

He won.
Kanzaki clenched his fist in secret, then quickly wrote back to meet during lunch.

Assuming this was their usual routine, Mana didn’t refuse.
They stopped passing notes.
After introductions, the math teacher announced a placement test.

“No way—a test on the first day?!”
“Black-souled old man, are you even human?!”

The classroom erupted in groans, but Mana quietly sighed in relief.
Good thing she’d prepared—Yurina’s reputation was safe.

When the papers were handed out, she was overjoyed.
She knew every question. Full marks, guaranteed!

Unbeknownst to her, her relaxed expression was fully visible to Kanzaki.
He’d glanced at the questions—some were tough.

Maybe a handful in the grade could ace it.
But this was just a placement test to gauge levels for tailored teaching. He understood.

The issue: Yurina looked confident in a high score.
He didn’t usually care about others’ grades, but he knew the top students.
Yurina wasn’t among them.

Had he tutored her in a forgotten memory?
Kanzaki grew even more eager for their lunch meeting.