April 1st was the first day of the new semester for most high schools in Japan.
Natsume Chikei walked out of Hibiya Station, carrying his school bag, and merged into the sparse flow of people.
Since he hadn’t been to this school many times, he had to rely on his phone’s navigation for guidance.
Fortunately, the route wasn’t complicated—a nearly straight road connected the station to the school.
Before he had fully processed it, the gates of Private Gekko Academy quietly stood before him.
“About a ten-minute walk…”
He muttered the time to himself and committed it to memory.
He put away his phone and looked up, truly taking in the school for the first time.
The campus buildings were grand and elegant.
A dark wooden plaque hung from the stone gate pillars that read “Private Gekko Academy” in dignified, powerful characters.
Natsume Chikei knew a little about this place.
In Tokyo, Private Gekko Academy was a true elite institution.
It was personally overseen by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
The student body included children from prominent political and business families as well as distinguished lineages.
Top-tier faculty, beautiful surroundings, active clubs, and a strict school atmosphere all contributed to its reputation.
Because of that, the tuition was far higher than average schools.
Even so, countless families still fought to send their children here.
The many luxury private cars parked outside the gates at that moment silently spoke of the family backgrounds of at least some of the students.
At the main entrance, students in uniform streamed into the campus.
Student council members and duty teachers stood on either side, maintaining order on the first day of school.
When Natsume Chikei arrived, they couldn’t help but glance at him a few extra times.
It was because Natsume Chikei’s appearance and presence were completely different from the ordinary students around him.
Following the flow of people through the gates.
The cherry trees lining both sides of the road were in full bloom.
A gentle breeze shook loose a light pink flurry of petals that swirled and danced through the air.
Quite a few new students stopped to capture the dreamlike moment with their phones.
Although the upperclassmen had seen this sight many times before, some still gathered in small groups under the flowering trees, chatting and laughing softly.
On the left, the baseball field already had students swinging bats and running in the morning light, sweat glistening.
From the right came the melodious sound of orchestral music—the girls were rehearsing an ensemble under the cherry blossoms.
These picturesque scenes of youthful vitality didn’t make Natsume Chikei pause.
He continued walking at a steady pace, his expression calm.
Soon.
Natsume Chikei arrived at the bulletin board in front of the school building.
It was already crowded with students searching for their class assignments and seat numbers.
Japanese high schools had a custom: starting from first year, classes were randomly reassigned every year.
Natsume Chikei didn’t know his class or seat yet, so he squeezed into the crowd and scanned the densely packed lists.
His eyesight was good.
Before long, he found his name and seat number on the Class 1-A list. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
With his target clear, he didn’t linger and headed straight for the third-floor classroom of Class 1-A.
On the way to the classroom.
Kondo Miki noticed Natsume Chikei walking ahead of her.
After thinking for a moment, she ultimately decided not to greet him.
Although her mother had told her to look after Natsume Chikei at school, at the end of the day, Natsume Chikei’s family didn’t have much money.
He might even have debts.
He would probably transfer schools or even drop out after this semester.
If she got too close and ended up being pestered or having to deal with his problems every day, the one who would be troubled was her.
It might even affect her own family.
Even with her mother’s instructions, Kondo Miki didn’t want that to happen.
She had no desire to become Natsume Chikei’s babysitter.
So she decided that at school, it would be best to minimize contact with Natsume Chikei.
After thinking it over, Kondo Miki felt her reasoning was sound.
For someone with no real future, it was better not to waste too much energy on them!
With that thought, she turned and walked away.
At that moment, Natsume Chikei finally arrived at Class 1-A.
The instant he pushed open the door and stepped into the classroom, the previously noisy space seemed to have the mute button pressed.
Quite a few students’ gazes immediately landed on him.
Some of the boys who were relatively good-looking narrowed their eyes the moment they saw Natsume Chikei, as if facing a formidable enemy.
Meanwhile, most of the girls who had been chatting and laughing just moments ago suddenly fell quiet.
They unconsciously adjusted their postures, displaying a hint of deliberate or natural ladylike composure.
However, Natsume Chikei paid no attention to the surrounding gazes.
His eyes swept past the crowd and locked precisely onto the seat by the window in the back row.
Carrying his school bag, he walked steadily through the classroom, arrived at his seat, pulled out the chair, and sat down quietly.
After putting away his bag, Natsume Chikei habitually reached for his pocket, intending to take out his phone and type a few more lines in The Devotion of Suspect X document before class started.
But just as his fingers touched the phone—
“Um… hello!”
A clear voice accompanied by a light poke on the shoulder came from the neighboring seat.
Natsume Chikei paused and turned his head toward the sound.
What met his eyes was a girl with long hair.
The soft hair on the left side was tied into a small braid that looked very cute.
Her face was exceptionally delicate.
The most striking feature was her large, round eyes, which seemed to hold a clear spring of water.
Her long eyelashes fluttered like little fans as she stared straight at him without blinking, filled with curiosity and a pure sense of inquiry.
She seemed to realize that poking him just now had been a bit forward.
“Hello!
Um, hello!” she said, her voice clearer than before, carrying a natural, unpretentious sincerity.
“My name is Nishizonoji Nanase.
I’m your seat neighbor.
Please take care of me from now on!”
Her self-introduction was simple and direct.
After finishing, she held her breath slightly and looked at Natsume Chikei with those big, expressive eyes, waiting earnestly and expectantly for his response.
Meeting those pure eyes that seemed capable of reflecting a person’s image and were currently sparkling with curiosity, Natsume Chikei nodded politely.
“Hello.
My name is Natsume Chikei.
Please take care of me as well.”
“Natsume Chikei?”
When Nishizonoji Nanase heard the name, she tilted her little head slightly.
Her long eyelashes fluttered as her clear eyes stared unblinkingly at Natsume Chikei’s face, as if deeply searching through her memories.
After a few seconds of silence.
Nishizonoji Nanase suddenly seemed to retrieve the key data.
She covered her small mouth in surprise with her slender fingers.
“You’re… Natsume-kun?”
Natsume Chikei looked slightly confused and raised an eyebrow.
“You know me?”
Nishizonoji Nanase’s cheeks puffed out slightly.
“We were classmates before!”
Natsume Chikei was even more bewildered.
“Classmates?”
Nishizonoji Nanase’s face puffed up a little more.
Her expression showed a naturally pure, slightly hurt complaint at being forgotten.
“We were in the same class together for the entire first year of middle school!”
“You really don’t remember me at all?”
Hearing this, Natsume Chikei vaguely recalled that there had been such a cute girl in his class back then.
At the time, Nishizonoji Nanase had been quite popular in the class.
Unfortunately, the previous body had been a loner in class, addicted to games, and completely indifferent to class affairs and relationships with classmates.
Naturally, his memories of his classmates had been very faint.
On top of that, since Natsume Chikei had transmigrated in body, he hadn’t fully reviewed all of the previous owner’s memories.
So he really didn’t recognize Nishizonoji Nanase.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, he used the safest excuse—one that girls could usually accept:
“Sorry.
You’ve become much prettier than before.
I didn’t recognize you right away…”