Naoki was certain he had never seen Artoria Pendragon before today. Forget an official meeting—there hadn't even been a casual encounter, like passing her on the street.
Yet, the moment he saw her and heard her say her name, an inexplicable sense of familiarity surged from deep within his heart.
As if Naoki knew her well.
"Naoki?"
Noticing Naoki's persistent stare at Artoria on the podium, Manaka poked him with her finger. "Why do you keep looking at Pendragon-san?"
"Hm… it's nothing, just thinking about something."
"Thinking about something? What?"
"A small thing. Maybe I'm overthinking it. Could be because of that dream again last night, so I'm starting to imagine things. Sorry."
If Naoki said so, Manaka withdrew her hand. "Alright then. If you really feel unwell, remember to tell me. I'll stay with you in the infirmary, or we can go home early—it's fine."
"It's not that bad. Relax, I'm one hundred percent fine."
As if to reassure Manaka, Naoki gave her a light wink. The small gesture instantly dispelled all the worry in her heart.
"Hm, alright, I'm relieved then."
"—Now that introductions are done, it's time to arrange a seat for Pendragon-san. Let's see, the empty seat in the class… there's only one, behind Tiger!"
Taiga's loud voice drew Naoki and Manaka's attention from their little moment.
With a resigned sigh, Naoki looked at the podium. "Fujimura-sensei, I don't like people calling me Tiger either."
"Who told you to have that name? Accept your fate, Tiger! Pendragon-san can sit there—Oh, by the way, Tiger, take Pendragon-san on a tour of the school later!"
"Got it, I understand."
While responding, Naoki looked at Artoria, who was already walking to the empty seat behind him and sitting down. "Nice to meet you, Pendragon-san. I'm Natsukawa Naoki. About the school tour… how about during lunch break?"
"Alright, thank you for your help, Mas… Natsukawa."
(Did she almost call me something else?)
Naoki furrowed his brow slightly but dismissed it after a moment.
Meanwhile, Manaka tugged at Naoki's finger. "If you're giving a campus tour, want me to come along, Naoki?"
"No need, I can handle it myself. With the lunch break, there's more than enough time."
For a new transfer student, there were only a few places to introduce—the infirmary, storage room, cafeteria, club rooms, and teachers' office. The rest could be learned gradually during classes.
"Alright! Morning meeting's over! Get ready for the first lesson!"
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Classes at Homurahara Academy—or perhaps in Japan in general—weren't too demanding. The three morning lessons passed quickly amidst Naoki's daydreams and zoning out.
Taking a lunchbox from her bag, Manaka said to Naoki, "I'll head to the rooftop to wait for you, Naoki."
Manaka prepared lunch for two, and they ate together on the school rooftop every day, staying there until the lunch break ended. That's how they'd always spent their lunch breaks at school.
Nodding to her and watching her leave the classroom, Naoki turned to Artoria, still seated. "Let's go, Pendragon-san. I'll take you around the school."
"Alright, thank you for your help."
"No problem. I was a transfer student once too. It's only natural for a senior transfer to guide a junior one." Naoki said with a smile. "Let's see, in terms of distance… How about the cafeteria first? You must be hungry, right?"
"Cafeteria!"
The ahoge on Artoria's head shot up instantly!
Honestly, she was a bit hungry—
"No, the cafeteria can wait. Natsukawa, could I trouble you for a moment?"
"Huh?" Naoki tilted his head. "Sure… what's up?"
"There are a few things I'd like to discuss with you. It's best to find a place with fewer people… behind the school building, could you come with me? It'll take about five or six minutes."
(Going behind the school building to talk about something?)
Naoki's mind involuntarily conjured up plots from light novels he'd read—a beautiful transfer student appearing out of nowhere, an inexplicable sense of familiarity with the protagonist, and secretive matters to discuss…
(No way…)
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In the hallway leading to the school rooftop.
"Huh? You're alone today, Sajyou-san?"
Seeing Manaka appear by herself, some students in the hallway were slightly surprised—usually at this time, Naoki was always by Manaka's side.
It wasn't an exaggeration; few at school had seen them doing things separately.
Manaka smiled. "Yeah, Naoki's giving the new transfer student a tour of the school. I'll wait for him upstairs."
"The transfer student… Oh, you mean her?"
A student near the window suddenly spoke, looking outside.
"She's got blonde hair like you and is super pretty… But that direction, it looks like they're heading behind the school building? Is that part of the tour?"
"Behind the school building?"
Manaka, slightly puzzled, approached the window and looked down. As the student beside her said, she could see Naoki and Artoria walking together toward the back of the school building.
(Didn't he say it was a school tour?)
Usually, it's the cafeteria, infirmary, and places like that. Is there anything to see behind the school building? Maybe the bike parking area? Though you could get there from the sports field faster.
"Maybe Pendragon-san requested it. Who knows, she might want to check it out." Manaka said with a smile, heading to the rooftop.
"I'm going up to the roof. See you later, everyone."
"Yeah, see you, Sajyou-san."