The next day.
As the door opened, the spring breeze flowed into the room, carrying with it the faint fragrance of cherry blossoms, instantly filling the room with their delicate scent.
"Kanna, let's go."
"Okay."
By the time Sato brought Kanna downstairs, Doma Umaru and Nishimiya Shouko were already waiting.
"Hold on, we're waiting for one more person."
"Hm? Is it Gabriel? Has she finally decided to get up early now that the new semester's starting?" Umaru asked in surprise.
"No."
Shouko stood quietly beside them. Hearing that, the figure she had met yesterday surfaced in her mind.
Is it her?
Then she suddenly remembered what Nishimiya Yuzuru had said yesterday, and unconsciously looked up at Sato, who was checking his phone.
"Hm? Shouko, is something wrong?"
Sato noticed her gaze and asked curiously.
"N, no!"
Startled, Shouko quickly forced a smile and shook her head.
[I'm coming down.]
After seeing the message on his screen, Sato put away his phone and turned toward the apartment staircase.
A moment later, Asuna walked down.
Umaru stared blankly at her, completely bewildered.
"W-who is this?!"
When did the apartment get a new resident?!
Just then, Asuna walked over to them with a smile.
"Hello, I'm Asuna. I just moved in."
Umaru hurriedly returned the greeting.
"Hello, I'm Doma Umaru."
After the introductions, Sato said,
"You can get to know each other on the way. It's getting late."
Everyone nodded and set off together.
Umaru was still confused.
When had another neighbor moved in? Why hadn't she heard a single thing?
And...
The name Asuna sounded strangely familiar.
...
At most schools, students are reassigned into new classes in their second year based on whether they choose the humanities or sciences.
However, at this private high school, students had already been sorted into those tracks during the entrance examination, so their classes were assigned from the very beginning. There was no second round of class assignments.
That said, second-year students who felt their current class wasn't a good fit were still given an opportunity to transfer.
After arriving at school, Asuna separated from Sato and Nishimiya Shouko.
She still needed to visit the principal's office to complete some paperwork.
"Shouko."
After changing into his indoor shoes on the first floor, Sato suddenly looked at the absent-minded Shouko beside him.
"Huh?"
Shouko looked up at him blankly.
Seeing her expression, Sato couldn't help but smile. The quiet girl's absent-minded look was especially adorable.
"You've seemed distracted the whole way here. Did something happen recently? Did Yuzuru and your mother argue again?"
"Uh... well... yes."
After hesitating for a moment, Shouko nodded with a faint blush on her face.
Sorry, Yuzuru.
"I see. Yuzuru's still the same, huh? If I get the chance, I'll have a talk with her."
The two chatted as they walked toward the classroom.
Although they had advanced a grade, their classroom hadn't changed. Only the sign on the door had been replaced with Class 2-A.
The moment they entered, a wave of chatter greeted them.
Many students had already arrived and were enthusiastically sharing stories about their spring break with their friends. Every now and then, exaggerated exclamations rang through the room.
"Good morning, Nohara-kun!"
"Good morning, Nishimiya-san!"
Quite a few classmates greeted Sato and Nishimiya Shouko.
Although they were only particularly close with a handful of people, that didn't mean Sato never interacted with everyone else. It was simply that those relationships weren't especially deep.
On the contrary, thanks to his outstanding appearance and several impressive performances in the past, he had become fairly popular both in the class and throughout the school.
After taking his seat, someone who had been chatting with a small group noticed him. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately walked over.
"Good morning, Sato!"
"Long time no see, little Iroha."
Saiki Kusuo hadn't arrived yet, so Isshiki Iroha naturally sat down in his seat. Looking a little dejected, she gazed at Sato with her bright eyes.
"How was the cherry blossom viewing party a few days ago?"
"It went pretty well. Everyone had a great time."
After thinking for a moment, Sato smiled.
Isshiki Iroha had originally been invited to the gathering, but she happened to be staying in the countryside during that time and had missed it.
Thinking of that, Sato looked at her with interest.
"So, how was planting rice?"
"It was exhausting. My back was so sore I could barely straighten up!"
Iroha pouted.
"My grandpa's rice fields are too small. He says buying a rice transplanter isn't worth it, so we've never gotten one."
Then she changed the subject with a grin.
"But we agreed that when the rice is harvested this autumn, they'll send me the rice I planted. When that happens, I'll give you some of the fruits of this young lady's labor."
"Sounds good."
Sato accepted without hesitation.
"Oh, right. Do you know about this?"
Iroha suddenly looked around before leaning close to Sato and whispering mysteriously into his ear.
"What is it?"
His curiosity was immediately piqued. Iroha often managed to dig up surprisingly interesting rumors.
"I heard our class is getting a transfer student this semester. Apparently she's a rich young lady!"
By this point, Sato had already guessed that the "rich young lady" Iroha was talking about was Asuna.
Without giving anything away, he simply blinked at her.
"A real rich young lady? Not a fake one like you?"
Iroha often referred to herself as "this young lady," and Sato frequently teased her about it. Normally she didn't mind, but now that there really was a genuine rich girl transferring in, she felt a little embarrassed.
"Keep talking and I'll stab you!"
She picked up the pen on Sato's desk and made the fiercest expression she could.
Sato didn't even flinch.
"Besides that, have you heard any other interesting news?"
Iroha's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You seriously don't care about that? This is every guy's favorite kind of development! A transfer student who's a rich young lady, then she suddenly falls in love with you!"
Why would I care about someone I already know?
Sato looked at Iroha with amusement.
Brothers, it's a holiday today, so I'm taking the day off.