CHAPTER 3: Encounter on the Rooftop

Chapter 3: Encounter on the Rooftop

As I stood there, door slightly ajar, I locked eyes with her—

Aoi Sakuragi.

The classroom's main heroine.

The goddess.

…Sitting alone on the rooftop, staring off into the sky.

For a brief moment, neither of us moved.

Should I say something? Maybe a simple "Hey" or a cool "Yo."

…Nah, too risky.

Instead, I did what any respectable mob character would do—I turned around and prepared to leave before I got involved in anything troublesome.

But—

"Wait."

Her voice stopped me.

Crap. Here we go…

Reluctantly, I turned back around.

"Uh… yeah?"

She tilted her head slightly, her sharp blue eyes narrowing as if analyzing my entire existence.

"You're in my class, right?"

"Oh, uh… yeah. Arata Kasaragi."

She stared for a second longer before nodding. "Figured. You're the one who finished the test in ten minutes."

Ah, so she noticed.

"Yeah, it wasn’t that hard," I said, scratching my cheek.

Her lips twitched. "Says the guy who slept through the morning lessons."

Tch. She got me there.

"Hey, I retain knowledge through osmosis."

"That’s not how it works."

"Well, it works for me."

She let out a small sigh and closed her book.

Now that I got a closer look at her, she really was insanely pretty.

Long black hair, silky smooth. Deep blue eyes, practically glowing. And her uniform? Perfectly crisp—meanwhile, mine looked like I had just crawled out of a trash heap.

Seriously, what kind of main character material was she?

"You’re awfully casual," she suddenly said.

"Huh?"

"Most guys get nervous when talking to me. You don’t."

Oh.

Wait, was this one of those flag-raising events?

"Nah, I’m just too lazy to get nervous," I replied, stretching my arms.

She blinked. Then, for the first time—

She smiled.

It wasn’t a big, radiant one or anything, just a tiny smirk.

But for some reason, it made my brain short-circuit.

Then, just as quickly as it came, it was gone.

"...Huh. Interesting."

She stood up, brushing off her skirt.

"Well, see you in class, Kasaragi."

With that, she walked past me, heading back inside.

I stood there, staring after her.

…What the hell just happened?

Later That Night – My Room

As I laid in bed, arms behind my head, I replayed the whole interaction in my mind.

Did I just have a rooftop event with the main heroine on day one?

Am I… actually one of the important characters in this story?

…

Nah.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Still, I couldn’t shake this weird feeling—

Like maybe, just maybe—

This really was the beginning of something special.

And there you go—Chapter 3!