Chapter 1
Nice to meet you. I'm Hinata Tsubakiya.
Tension fills the air.
The atmosphere changes with nothing more than a greeting.
Private Mominoki Academy Junior High. Second Year. Class A.
The season is spring. It is 11 a.m., right after the opening ceremony. A new classroom and new classmates. Self-introductions are an essential part of the first homeroom session.
I was in class C in my first year. I'm not in any clubs. I don’t have any hobbies in particular, but I do like to read a lot.
Her figure is gleaming.
All she is doing is just standing there, but her whole body seems to emit a faint glow.
Spring. It is a season of new beginnings. Rows of cherry blossom trees can be seen through the open window, their petals dancing in the gentle breeze.
I know some of you from my old class, but I see a lot of new faces too. I look forward to spending the year with you all.
She takes a smooth bow.
Her posture is perfectly straight and elegant.
The atmosphere in the classroom changes. Silent voices, held breaths—a jumbled cacophony fills the space among the students.
Whoever is up next has got it rough . . .
Homeroom teacher Tatsuya Onodera sighs inwardly. Whoever has to follow Hinata Tsubakiya's self-introduction will be compared to her no matter what.
She stands out, for better or worse.
Her lustrous black hair. Eyes that seem to draw you in. Long limbs and youthful skin.
Not to mention her height. She is quite literally a head above the rest. At 172 centimeters, she easily surpasses the average height of the male students.
She already looks like a grown-up, but her features retain a hint of childishness—a miraculous balance that gives off an allure not befitting her age.
Yes, everyone knows it. Everyone feels it.
Hinata Tsubakiya is not ordinary.
She might have been an ordinary child once, but there is certainly something different about her now.
In the near future, she is bound to become someone unattainable—no, she is already on her way there.
Front and center.
Their gazes meet right in the middle of the classroom.