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He turned.
A bob-cut girl with gentle features leaned on the desk, brown eyes studying him curiously.
Megumi Kato.
First-year, Class A at Sobu High—and one of the few people Rosen actually knew in this world, thanks entirely to her friendly nature.
They'd met because she'd spoken to him first.
When Rosen turned to respond that day, she'd looked genuinely surprised.
With her near-invisible presence, she'd made it through months of school without once being called on in class. Even her cleaning partner only noticed her after the classroom was already spotless.
On most days, her presence was so faint that not a single classmate bothered to talk to her.
Sure, Japanese schools were prone to forming little cliques and isolating people, but Megumi Kato wasn't exactly being targeted—people just subconsciously overlooked her.
Rosen, however, was immune to that effect.
After a few conversations, his unusual personality had already left a lasting impression on her.
What Rosen himself didn't know was that, at some point, the number of people Megumi looked forward to seeing at school quietly increased by one.
"Something wrong?"
Rosen glanced at himself.Nothing seemed different from usual—same Sobu High boys' uniform, neat enough.Maybe it was just his height making him look a bit more imposing compared to his peers.
"Mm, something's definitely different. I've been watching you all morning," Megumi nodded seriously.
"If I borrow an old saying from the East, you used to just be tall before, but now you're like a crane standing among chickens."
"Feels like you've stumbled into some kind of rare encounter."
Rosen didn't dwell on the "I've been watching you all morning" part—what caught his attention was her unexpected insight.
There's that saying: people who are more solitary often have sharper powers of observation.Seems it wasn't wrong.
If she wasn't joking, maybe she really had noticed something.
"You caught me. I'm actually the First Emperor of Qin. Send me a hundred bucks and I'll make you a founding general."
"…That's such an ancient joke."
"Alright, seriously now—if one day you had the chance to become extraordinary, but only by signing a contract to give your mind and body to someone… would you do it?" Rosen asked with a faint smile.
Megumi propped her chin up with both hands, studying him closely. When she realized he was serious, she gave the question serious thought herself.
After about ten seconds, she answered slowly, word by word:"If the person I had to sign with was you, Rosen… maybe I'd agree. If it were anyone else? Forget it."
"…Why?"
Rosen was genuinely surprised—not at her view on the supernatural, but at the fact her deciding factor was who she'd be bound to.It was flattering, sure, but now he really wanted to know why.
"Well… maybe it's because when I told you about my weak presence, you didn't get any weird ideas. Most people would've thought I was joking, but you took me seriously—and you didn't do anything creepy."
"Like… I don't know, secretly kidnapping me to your basement to keep me as a personal possession just because I'm easy to overlook."
"That's a joke. But I really was happy you believed me." Megumi smiled lightly.
But then she noticed the way Rosen was staring at her, thoughtful.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
"No, not at all. It's just… now that you've mentioned it, I kind of regret not thinking of that. If I had another chance, I'd definitely bring you home."
"And then?"
"Do the things I love doing."
"…."
If this conversation had happened months ago, Rosen would've been instantly branded a sleazebag.
But after months of knowing each other—and with him being her only friend—Megumi just brushed it off as a joke.
Still, once the meaning sank in, even she couldn't stop her face from turning pink."Things I love doing"? Simplified… wasn't that basically doing… that?
"I've got something to do. See you later."
Rosen gave a casual wave and left the classroom in long strides.If his guess was right, Miko Yotsuya was probably already on the rooftop.
"..."
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