Chapter 23: Inspiration for the new series.
Morofushi Sora'aki was afraid of insects, for no particular reason other than simply disliking them.
After being tricked by Matsuda Jinpei, Morofushi Sora'aki was unhappy and began to seriously consider what his good friend was afraid of.
Upon further reflection, it seems the other person doesn't have anything concrete to fear. At most, they might get annoyed when embarrassed, but most of the time they're surprisingly good-tempered.
...Hmm? The more I think about it, the more I feel like it's my fault? Morofushi Sora'aki sat cross-legged on his bed in his room, thinking to himself.
It was springtime, the start of the school year, and Morofushi Sora'aki had already changed into lighter pajamas. He woke up shortly after dawn, so he had plenty of time to continue daydreaming.
Morofushi Sora'aki recalled how he and Hagiwara had done something naughty, but only Matsuda had been scolded. He also thought about how he had happily joined in when Hagiwara was teasing people.
In that instant, Morofushi Sora'aki's mind was filled with countless reactions of Matsuda Jinpei, such as being furious, angry, depressed, complaining, and feeling stifled.
Morofushi Sora'aki has confirmed it.
"…Poor Matsuda," he muttered to himself.
Let's call this a draw, referring to the incident where Matsuda swatted the bug away and Matsuda chased after him with the bug.
Since it's a draw, it means the matter is settled – in other words, "we can continue playing together in the future."
Morofushi Sora'aki nodded in satisfaction, glanced at the calendar on the table, picked up his schoolbag hanging on the chair, changed into his school uniform, and walked downstairs in a fairly pleasant mood.
"Good morning, Mom." Morofushi Sora'aki greeted Mother Morofushi, who was standing in the kitchen. After finishing breakfast, it was almost time.
Morofushi Sora'aki changed his shoes and opened the door: "I'm going out."
"Be careful on the road." Mother Morofushi stood at the door, looking at her child gently as he slowly began to integrate into the outside world, much slower than usual.
The cherry blossom trees on the campus of Rouman Academy are in full bloom, and the falling petals fill the entire campus with a beautiful pink hue, truly living up to the school's reputation for "romance".
Morofushi Sora'aki, carrying his schoolbag, slowly opened the classroom door and walked towards his seat.
Most of the students had arrived, forming small groups in twos and threes since the beginning of the semester. They chatted casually, but it wasn't very lively, and their attention wasn't focused on Morofushi Sora'aki.
The atmosphere was different. Morofushi Sora'aki put down his schoolbag and keenly noticed this.
A couple of days ago, the atmosphere in the class was unusually harmonious. There seemed to be no awkwardness or unfamiliarity at all. Everyone could strike up a conversation with each other. It's rare to see such a situation in a completely unfamiliar class.
The situation today, where everyone seems a bit unfamiliar and engages in tentative exchanges, should be the normal state of affairs for new students.
At that moment, Nozaki Umetarou patted Morofushi Sora'aki on the shoulder. As the cat-eyed boy turned around, Nozaki Umetarou said, "I'm sorry, I wasn't fully awake yesterday and said some very rude things to you."
Nozaki's attitude had changed. Morofushi Sora'aki looked into Nozaki Umetarou's eyes, noticing the slightly cold apology in them, and pursed his lips.
If yesterday's conversation with Nozaki Umetarou felt like talking to a good friend he'd known for years, then today's Nozaki Umetarou felt like he was talking to a complete stranger.
To be precise, today's situation is normal. Yesterday, everyone's overly familiar attitude was "abnormal".
At that moment, the students who had just arrived at the next table put down their bags and tentatively joined the conversation: "What are you guys talking about?"
In a new class, most people will prioritize talking to the classmates around them.
"Ah, I'm apologizing for what I said wrong yesterday." Nozaki Umetarou wasn't as cold as he appeared; he answered every question.
"Yesterday?" The classmate seemed a little confused.
Nozaki Umetarou explained, "It was yesterday... that 'young lady'."
In fact, Nozaki Umetarou himself was also very confused. Although he was used to drawing inspiration from his daily life, he would not go so far as to directly ask other people about their preferences, since they were not close enough to talk about such topics.
Unfortunately, the fact is that he said such an impolite line, so Nozaki Umetarou decided to attribute it to him not being sober at the time and making a mistake.
But his classmate gave him a strange look: "What young lady?"
Nozaki Umetarou: "...!"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "..."
Realizing something, Morofushi Sora'aki lowered his eyes and calmly repeated his classmate's words: "What young lady?"
Nozaki Umetarou froze, his eyes widening slightly: "It was after I woke up from class yesterday... um?"
Could it be that what happened later was actually a dream, and that he hadn't even woken up yesterday? Nozaki Umetarou blinked, his head full of question marks almost materializing.
The classmate didn't understand what Nozaki Umetarou was struggling with. After confirming that Nozaki Umetarou wasn't as difficult to get along with as he seemed, he laughed and said, "By the way, since you fell asleep during the self-introduction, you probably don't even remember my name, right?"
"Yes." Nozaki Umetarou nodded without hesitation.
"…No, you could have hesitated a little." The classmate sighed, then smiled and introduced himself, "My name is Kawauchi Yuuki, just call me Kawauchi!"
"But Nozaki, you're something else! I think the teacher will definitely remember you now." Kawauchi Yuki patted Nozaki Umetarou on the shoulder: "Sleeping in class for two days in a row, it really makes people wonder if you're a bad student!"
"...So, I was sleeping yesterday too?" Nozaki Umetarou asked, bewildered.
"Yeah, you slept all day. But then you suddenly stood up like you were sleepwalking, which startled us! It was Morofushi who had to push you back down! Speaking of which, did you two know each other before?" Kawauchi Yuuki seemed a little puzzled, but didn't seem to care much. After the teacher opened the door and came in, he immediately sat back down in his seat.
The more Nozaki Umetarou tried to recall, the more blurred his memories of yesterday became, as if some kind of blurring filter had been applied.
"Was it really a dream?" He was probably too fixated on the female lead's character, which is why he had such a strange dream.
That's good, though. Nozaki Umetarou was relieved that he hadn't actually been so rude as to say something like that directly to the prototype he was referring to. He then nodded slightly to Morofushi Sora'aki, who had been staring at him, and said, "Sorry to bother you. I wasn't fully awake. And yesterday's...sleepwalking? Anyway, thanks."
"By the way, classmate, I still don't know your name?" Nozaki Umetarou remembered this question again.
"Morofushi Sora'aki." Morofushi Sora'aki nodded to Nozaki Umetarou, then turned around and picked up his schoolbag.
Morofushi Sora'aki tapped the amulet hanging on his schoolbag and whispered, "You made this, didn't you?"
The amulet lit up, and he wasn't sure if Morofushi Sora'aki was mistaken, but he had a feeling that the other party seemed to be feeling guilty.
...Yes, it wasn't an illusion. He seemed to be able to sense the thoughts of the stone inside the amulet.
Morofushi Sora'aki carefully discerned the stone's emotions and meaning.
It wasn't language, nor did an image appear in his mind; it was an indescribable feeling. Even though there was no sound, and the stone didn't convey anything to him, Morofushi Sora'aki understood what it had done.
The reason why such an anomaly occurred a couple of days ago was simply because... his parents and older brother all hoped that he would meet good classmates during the school entrance ceremony and that the incident of being locked in the warehouse would not happen again.
So the little stone fulfilled this wish; it could even modify human emotions, thoughts, and even memories.
So, even though the other students knew they were meeting for the first time, they still instinctively felt a strong sense of camaraderie with each other.
For some reason, Nozaki Umetarou stands out.
He probably considered Morofushi Sora'aki as a close friend he had known for several years and who could talk about anything, ignoring the fact that this was their first meeting. In addition, he was still half asleep and his mind was not clear, which is why he made such thoughtless remarks.
Now, Little Stone realizes he made a mistake and has "corrected" the situation. For Class 1B of the first year of high school, it was just two normal days of classes, during which Nozaki Umetarou also slept for two days.
However, Morofushi Sora'aki was concerned about something else.
"...Did you tamper with the friendship between Matsuda and Hagiwara and me?" Morofushi Sora'aki's lips curled down, and his expression turned serious at this moment.
The amulet flickered twice, denying it. Because during the process of making friends, the amulet wasn't directly by its side; separated by a world, it couldn't do it even if it wanted to.
"...You really thought that way?" Morofushi Sora'aki became wary: "You're not allowed to do that."
The methods of altering memories and emotions are terrifying, and Morofushi Sora'aki, who completely trusts his own memories, is extremely wary of such methods.
Moreover, he absolutely did not want his friends to be deceived.
The amulet flashed again, responded to Morofushi Sora'aki's light, and then went out completely, turning back into an ordinary ornament as usual.
Morofushi Sora'aki unhappily poked the amulet that was avoiding the problem and sleeping soundly, propped his chin up and ignored the teacher lecturing on the podium, staring out the window in a daze.
Meanwhile, Nozaki Umetarou, sitting in the back seat, was completely different from his frivolous attitude of the previous two days. He was seriously holding his textbook, his eyes fixed on the blackboard and the teacher.
This performance deeply moved the teacher who had been sleeping for two days, and the teacher's tone became even more passionate during the lecture!
Even Nozaki is taking this so seriously, how can the others not take it seriously?!
So on this day, which should have been the most relaxing time of the semester, the students in Class 1B were unusually serious, much to the satisfaction of all the teachers.
Nozaki Umetarou was completely unaware of his role in it and wondered if he was imagining things, otherwise why did he always feel like all the teachers were staring at him?
So Nozaki Umetarou lowered his head to check, and only after confirming that he hadn't forgotten to zip up his fly did he breathe a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness."
Kawauchi Yuuki: "...I suddenly don't really want to know what you're thinking anymore."
Kawauchi Yuuki seems to have a very cheerful personality, but he couldn't quite handle Nozaki Umetarou's energy, so he naturally gave up on deeper communication and went to find a new group.
Nozaki Umetarou didn't mind being disliked. No one talked to him, so he started to seriously think about the female protagonist's image.
The female protagonist I initially envisioned with cat's eye was indeed too aggressive and unsuitable as the protagonist of a long story.
Moreover, when he drew the princess braids, he already had a general image in mind.
...It's definitely better to be cute. Nozaki Umetarou drew a simple sketch in his notebook. The girl in the school uniform had delicate and cute features, and her princess braids were adorned with a large bow.
"Let's call her... Mamiko," Nozaki Umetarou thought with a slight smile. Then, in a few quick strokes, he drew his favorite handsome male character: "Hmm, let's call him Suzuki-kun!"
After confirming the main character here, Nozaki Umetarou was still a little reluctant to part with the previous cat-eye image. Speaking of which, what was the answer Morofushi gave in his dream yesterday?
Nozaki Umetarou tapped the notebook with the tip of his pen, leaving a faint gray pencil mark on it.
Cartoonists thrive on flashes of inspiration; if they can't come up with the male protagonist's image...
Nozaki Umetarou's eyes lit up, and he wrote a title next to the draft: "Miyamoto-sama Wants to Fall in Love."
Setting...Miyamoto, the aloof and unattainable young lady, is the school's undisputed campus idol. However, unexpectedly, despite everyone believing she's hopeless in matters of the heart, she secretly yearns for romance... Thus begins a lighthearted romantic comedy comic set in a school!
Morofushi Sora'aki suddenly sneezed.