"Whose hat is this?"
Izumi Kotomi held the white beret in her hand, looking around. For so reason, the hat seed familiar.
At that mont, a light, almost imperceptible voice ca from behind her, "Excuse , did the hat hit you? It was sitting on my head just fine, but then the wind blew it off."
The light and sowhat faint voice sent a small shock through Kotomi. She turned to see a girl running towards her.
The girl had short black hair and deep, captivating black eyes, though one wouldn't notice their depth and allure without careful observation. She was wearing the sa Sobu High School uniform as Kotomi, and her clear, bright skin was evident with every movent.
If she had to describe her in one sentence, it would be: where she should be curvy, she was curvy; where she should be slim, she was slim—a very cute type.
The mont Kotomi saw her, she imdiately recognized the owner of the white beret—gumi Kato.
"It's fine, it's just a hat. There's no way it could have hurt ," Kotomi said with a smile, handing the beret back to gumi Kato.
gumi Kato took the hat with both hands and bowed several tis in thanks.
"Thank you."
This was the third ti gumi Kato had thanked her.
Kotomi waved her hand dismissively, thinking that if she didn't stop her, gumi Kato might continue thanking her indefinitely. "No problem, it was just a small favor. Kato-san..."
gumi Kato looked at Kotomi with a puzzled expression and asked, "How did you know my last na is Kato?"
Kotomi inwardly berated herself for letting that slip and then awkwardly smiled, "You're right, it's strange, isn't it? Even though this is our first eting, it feels like there's a subconscious urge in my mind to call you Kato-san."
Darn it, I'm really bad at making up excuses, Kotomi thought to herself.
gumi Kato was montarily surprised, then she gave a beautiful smile. "You're quite an interesting person."
Seeing her smile up close, Kotomi couldn't help but marvel at how soone with such a lovely smile could have such a weak presence, like a background character.
Perhaps that was part of her charm.
"My na is Izumi Kotomi. It's nice to et you, Kato-san," Kotomi introduced herself formally, her eyes inadvertently drawn to gumi Kato's white, slender hands holding the beret.
Hmm... If possible, I'd really like to shake hands with gumi Kato!
"Then I'll call you Izumi-san? Since you already know my last na, I'll tell you my first na. It's gumi."
"gumi Kato."
Kotomi parted her lips and said the na of the beautiful yet seemingly ordinary girl standing before her.
After hearing Kotomi say her na, gumi Kato's lips curled into a faint smile. "Izumi-san, are you also a first-year student at Sobu High School?"
"Yes, that's right," Kotomi nodded.
"Oh? What a coincidence. I'm also a first-year student at Sobu High School. Although we won't know our class placents until after the opening ceremony, maybe we'll end up in the sa class," gumi Kato said calmly.
"If that's the case, I look forward to it, Kato-san."
"Mhm. I'd be happy if we were in the sa class, Izumi-san."
"Oh? Why?" Kotomi asked, a bit excited.
Could it be that gumi Kato's affection for is maxed out from the start?
gumi Kato's response quickly dispelled that notion. She put the beret back on her head and smiled as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "Because, like , Izumi-san also has short hair. Seeing a girl with the sa hairstyle always brings a sense of familiarity, right?"
"Uh, does it?" Kotomi responded with an awkward laugh, ntally chastising herself. What was I even hoping for just now? There's no way soone's affection for would be maxed out from the start. Even if that were possible, it's not guaranteed to happen to .
But do girls really feel a sense of familiarity when they see soone with the sa hairstyle?
Kotomi didn't quite understand.
anwhile, the God-Level Heroine System, like a sports comntator, chid in:
[Alright! We can see gumi Kato's smooth maneuver here, firmly taking the initiative and control of the conversation. And Ko, our protagonist, is left floundering like prey in the clutches of a skilled hunter!]
"What are you even talking about? And who's Ko? Are you referring to ?!" Kotomi couldn't help but retort.
[Yep, it's a nickna I made from the 'Kotomi' in your na. Ko, my dear Kotomi.]
Kotomi suddenly felt that one of her daily tasks was engaging in intense debates with the God-Level Heroine System.
"Izumi-san, you're about to walk past the entrance," gumi Kato gently reminded her.
Kotomi snapped back to reality. She was supposed to turn right into Sobu High School's gate, but she had been so caught up in ntally arguing with the system that she had kept walking straight.
Luckily, gumi Kato noticed and reminded her; otherwise, she might have walked right past the entrance.
"Thanks, Kato-san. I was just lost in thought..." Kotomi said with an embarrassed smile.
"It's nothing."
The two of them entered the Sobu High School campus and headed toward the school auditorium.
At Sobu High School, every sester's opening ceremony was held in the auditorium.
Though the ceremony was lengthy, the routine was always the sa.
First, the principal gave a speech, welcoming the new students to Sobu High School. Then, the grade director spoke, introducing the school's various rules and regulations. Finally, the student council president and student representatives took turns giving speeches.
Kotomi found herself nodding off after just a few minutes.
"Izumi-san, are you falling asleep?" gumi Kato asked softly from beside her.
Kotomi nodded without thinking.
"If you're tired, you can rest your head on my lap," gumi Kato suggested seriously, before smiling, "Just kidding."
"Thanks for the joke, Kato-san. I feel much more awake now," Kotomi said, rubbing her eyes and smiling.
After enduring several more minutes, the principal finally wrapped up his closing remarks, and the lengthy opening ceremony ended amidst applause from students and teachers alike.
As the first-year students left the auditorium, they gathered around the notice board by the school building to find out which class they had been assigned to.
Kotomi stretched up on her tiptoes to look at the board.
One of the most inconvenient things about being reincarnated was being shorter than before!
How short? Even with shoes on, she barely reached 160 centiters.
This left Kotomi wondering more than once why, during her pri growth years, she ended up so short.
She hadn't skimped on als...
Could it be that all the nutrition went to her chest?!
"Izumi-san, you're in Class 1-F," gumi Kato said, pointing to a spot on the list.
Kotomi followed gumi Kato's direction and saw her na there.
Class 1-F: Izumi Kotomi.
Three nas below hers was another na.
Class 1-F: gumi Kato.
"Kato-san, it looks like we're in the sa class."
"Yes, Izumi-san, what a coincidence. Do you think we might end up as desk mates?" gumi Kato asked, her serene smile exuding a calming presence.
"Probably not; I think the horoom teacher assigns seats. By the way, who's our horoom teacher?"
"The other list has it written down. The horoom teacher's na is Shizuka Hiratsuka."
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