Editing This title is too long!:Volume1 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 2===

The first time I met that girl was--

About a month and a half ago.

It's April 7th , the first Monday of this month, and the first day of the new High School year.

It has been a year since I went to school.

During that prior year, I took leave from school. I should be in the second year of high school from my 16th to 17th spring, but I was unable to attend school the entire time.

Now, I'm finally in my second year of high school.

And with the return to school, I transferred schools, from the Public High School where I studied in year 1, to a private High School.

In this new school, the school won't question me on the lack of attendance as long as I've an appropriate reason and pass the exams.

And from this moment onward, I have to take leave from school once every week.


On that morning.

I stepped into the school for the second time ever since I completed the transfer. I found my name on the large class allocation board, and entered the classroom for the first time.

Naturally, I don't know anyone in this classroom.

This school's a co-ed, with an equal percentage of boys and girls. I heard that there'll only be a rearrangement of classes when entering our second year, so it's not a rarity to see people unfamiliar with others, sitting alone, like me here.

Soon after, the form teacher who's going to take care of us for 2 years entered. He's a middle-aged male teacher.

The opening ceremony's viewed from the television installed in the classroom.

And the principal conveyed his message through the footage. I think that this method of not requiring students to move to the gym really is comfortable and good.

Following this, my classmates begin with their self-introductions, which is not to be omitted.

I'm seated at the right side of the blackboard, the row closer to the corridor, and the second seat from the back. After waiting for a long time, it's finally my turn.

Once the girl sitting in front of me finished her line, she sat down.

I stand up, state my name, and the foods I like, something I definitely had to say.

There are a lot of foods I like, and I chose coffee in this case. It's ordinary, but the other students did mention stuff like Ramen or Sushi, and the girls mention sweets. It's really ordinary.

Most of the students would add on, saying some things about their club activities or hobbies to spice up the atmosphere in class. It seems everyone has a hidden understanding that they could not let it end up this.

As for me, there's nothing much I could say. Once it's my turn to speak up, I ponder seriously for a brief moment, but was still unable to think of anything to talk about.

And so, I accidentally,

Blurted out what I should not have said.

“Well...I transferred into this school during this semester, and it's my second time wearing the uniform and entering the school. It feels like everything seems so new, like a new student.”

It's still fine till this point.

I feel that my classmates are starting to show concern for me, and I think I hear some voices of the heart, like ''I see'', ''so you're a transfer student'', ''that's rare''.

And what I said next was inappropriate,

“I took leave from school for a year before this, so I'm very happy to be able to return back to a high school life.”

These were my true thoughts.

However—

My classmates start to rumble.

“Eh? Older than us?”

“A retainee?”

This time, what I heard was not the voices of the heart, but actual whispers I could hear from my ears.

Even though I realized it was a bad situation, it was all too late.

The atmosphere in class changed from the understanding of ''there's a transfer student' to a 'so there's a senior who's supposed to be our upperclassman'.

It was only a while later did I realize that there were no retained students in this school, that there were as many goldfish that could speak as there were classmates older than them.

I've left school for a year, and during this time, I was always in contact with people older than me--

I have already lost the natural feeling of 'a year difference' for a high school student.

I felt that I said something I should not have.

This was the wish I set for myself when I arrived at this school, and the promise I made with my mother.

That I have to handle my studies well, make good friends even if they are few, and enjoy the high school life I will only have once.

In other words, being a 'high school student'.

But—

I ended up grounding myself regarding this matter. I made a miscue right from the first day.

“...That's how things are. Please take care of me...”

What's with that ' That's how things are. Please take care of me' line? That's ridiculous.

I was the one who said 'I'm a year older than you!'. Wasn't I the one hiding this fact until a while ago?

After ending this greatest failure in my life, I slump weakly on the chair, feeling myself to be so foolish that I don't have the strength to sigh.

“Hm, well, next. You must be the last one, I suppose?”

The teacher did not follow up with this, but this was probably to prevent the wound from expanding any further.

“Yes!”

And then, I hear a cheerful voice from the girl seated behind me, coupled with both the sound of her pulling her chair back and standing up. At this moment, I realized that she's a girl.

[[File:Toolong012.png|thumb]]

I didn't have the strength to look back, so I continued to maintain this position, despite it being rude to her.

“Eri Nitadori. My given name and family name both rhyme with 'ri'.”

Her voice was intriguing.

She surely wasn't loud, but I can hear her clearly. The voice seems to pass through my ears and reach the brain directly.

“I transferred into this school last Autumn, and I was in the second class. My favorite foods are basically all kinds of them, but the one I really want to eat for all 3 meals a day is—”

I begin to guess her answer.

Is it a sweet befitting a girl? Cake or parfait? Or was it some ordinary curry or ramen? Maybe some unexpected katsudon with sauce on it?

I started to challenge her.

And I began thinking all sorts of possible dishes she could mention before she answered.

What she said next was,

“Horse sashimi!”

She said.

I lost.

This was overwhelmingly, or I should say, something not many would say to be a favorite food, and so my classmates laughed heartily. Even the teacher laughed.

It's splendid.

She was able to blow aside the unnecessary heavy atmosphere caused by the carelessness of the student right before her.

Even though this prefecture is the producer of horse sashimi, I really couldn't fathom a second year high school girl eating horse sashimi for every meal.

“I'm not good at sports, so I'm not in any club activity. However, I do bring my dog out every single day. Our dog's called 'Gonsuke' (TN: Basically means 'manservant'), 3 years old—”

I continued to hear her chat happily about her pet dog, curious as to how this 'horse sashimi girl' looked like, and so, I slowly turned my head around.

And then, I look up.

I saw a bespectacled girl who's rather tall, and had quite long hair.

She's probably about 1.7m tall, I guess? For a girl, she's really rather tall.

She's definitely not plump, but for some reason, she doesn't seem delicate either. She said that she's not good at sports, but I thought she should be a talent heavily recruited by the volleyball or basketball club.

The evenly long black hair of hers is so long it passes her chest and reaches her abdomen. Her bangs are in evenly straight, and to summarize, it's a long bob haircut, and on both left and right side of her hair are button-like hairpins, probably made of felt?

Her skin's white, her facial features are distinct, the face lines and nose bridge are rather straight, and she has quite the pretty face.

She's wearing cell-framed glasses, colored pale blue-green like the haoris of the Shinsengumi. The face lines behind the lens were not contorted in any way, so maybe it's either a decoration or that the spectacles degree isn't that much. The irises in those large eyes were a thick brown.

If she's a character in a novel, this is probably how I would describe her.


She's blessed with a fine body figure and face, a plain Yamato Nadeshiko hairstyle, one who looked so unbalanced, and yet befitting of her.

That was what I thought.

She was a beauty.

One of these days, I'll take that saying and 'make use of it'.


This classmate of mine called Nitadori adjusted her sights moderately as she continued to chatter about her pet dog Gonsuke. It is clear that everyone in class is paying attention to the cute episodes.

If it were me, I probably won't end up doing such stupid miscues. I wondered as I heard her words. We're seated rather close, so Nitadori wasn't looking at me. If she's looking at me, I probably will be looking away.

Nitadori ended her proud introduction of her dog at the opportune time, and then said that anyone who wished to see the photos could check out her smartphone. This really is a wonderful appeal.

And looking at this—

Anyone who likes dogs, no matter whether boy or girl, can talk to her regarding that. From there, she would be able to converse with others. Her self introduction's a stark contrast to a certain somebody before her, a classic sample.

And in the end, she adds on, “Please take care of me for the next two years”.

She lets her long hair dangle to a side of the chair's backrest, and slowly sat down.

At that moment, she was right in front of my sights, and our eyes met for the first time.

I intended to look away, but I couldn't.

“Eh!”

For the earnest face she showed till this past suddenly froze, and she let out a soft shriek. She turned her face to the corridor, seemingly evading my sights.

This action was ostensibly one of somebody who saw something she should not have. It felt to me that she would not be this petrified even if she saw a ghost.

After seeing her actions, I slowly turned to the front, and sighed in my heart.

I wondered that if my first day was going to be like this, I might as well not repeat my year after all.


That was why—

“Can I sit beside you?”

I was really shocked when that Nitadori suddenly spoke to me so earnestly.

It was April 10, a Thursday, 3 days after the opening ceremony.

I was seated on the Limited Express back then.

From the town where I live in, this train ride allows me to reach the metropolis in about 3 hours. I was seated at the last row of the free seating carriage car, at the left side, leaning by the window.

It's the evening, and the train carriage is still empty after having left the station, so there shouldn't be a need for anyone to sit beside me. Even if the reason of wanting to sit at the back row is 'my luggage's too big for the rack', or 'I want to adjust my reclining chair', there is still the right side of the aisle that's empty.

That's why I was surprised to hear the meaning of those words, despite not knowing who it was. I lift my head up from the printouts of the drafts, and when I found it to be Nitadori, who's seated behind me every day, I was further taken aback.

“Hi! Good afternoon.”

“...”

I remained silent as I stared blankly at this taller girl standing on the aisle.

Naturally, Nitadori's not dressed in a uniform, and I'm not really sure of the details, but I could clearly see that it's a posh looking one-piece dress.

Nitadori seemed to have assumed that I may have forgotten about her,

“Erm, we're in the same class. I'm Eri Nitadori, seated right at the back.”

And so, she introduced herself again.

“Ah...y-yes—”

I barely managed to force out a reply somehow. And then, I slowly spoke,

“I knew that, actually.”

I knew about all those till this point. What I didn't know what why she would talk with me.

Nitadori then gave an amused snicker,

“Hm? Honorific language? Even though you're an upperclassman?”

“Ah, no...it's nothing, Miss Nitadori.”

“Adding a 'Miss'? Even though you're older?”

“...”

I took a breath to calm my heart down.

“No...erm, is 'Nitadori' fine?”

And then, I pretended to remain as calm as possible while conversing with her normally. I wondered how many years it had been since I talked to a girl of a similar age, but having realized that I may need a long time to derive that answer, I gave up.

“Of course. Can I sit beside you then?”

At that time, I had my backpack on the seat beside me. Inside it were my favorite laptop, books and a change of clothes.

My backpack was wide open inside, so while reaching out to zip it with one arm, I blurted my honest opinion,

“Well, I'm fine with that...but why here? Aren't there empty seats everywhere?”

It might had been rude of me to say that, but that was what I truly thought. I had no idea at all why Nitadori insisted on sitting beside me.

It had been 4 days since school started, but I never conversed with her in class. Rather, I never spoke to anyone in class.

Everyone in class viewed me as 'an older classmate', and treated me with caution, so naturally, there wasn't any who would speak to me. I guess they were all wondering if they should be using honorifics with me. If one were to do so, so would the rest, and vice versa. However, nobody dared to be the first one up to the challenge.

I too was worried if my classmates would shun me if I tried to approach them, and never did so in the end. The gap of a year was too large for me, who's already ineffectual at communicating.

I felt it is merciless of me to be saying 'there are still other seats' to a person wanting to sit beside me. While pondering that it was expected of her to be angry, I awaited her answer.

“I want to talk with you.”

And then, she said this. She was not smiling, but it did not seem like she was angry.

“Erm...talk about what?”

I place my backpack on my thighs as I asked this, dumping the rolled-up manuscript into my back. It was just information I printed from home, so it was fine for me even if it was wrecked.

“Thanks.”

Nitadori tied her long hair to the back of her neck in a polite manner, and let it drape from her right shoulder to her chest, quickly sitting down beside me.

She turned to the left, and with our shoulders practically touching each other, she stared at me right in the eyes, and answered my question with a hushed voice,

“I want to talk about work.”

“Huh? Whose?”

“Whose? Ours.”

“...?”

I did not understand what she meant at all. What work was there for two high school students to talk about? I placed my bag at my feet.

And then,

“Sorry but I don't understand what you're saying here.”

I answered honestly.

Nitadori then showed a serious look immediately.

“I see...I thought you would have realized it already.”

“...Realized what?”

“About me.”

“...”

“I seem to be mistaken about something. Sorry."

I stare at Nitadori, who looked to be a little disappointed.

“...”

I started to wonder if she was an ill-natured girl after all.

Perhaps she wanted to tease this 'older' classmate she coincidentally met, and would leave the seat with a cackle.

I had that image flashing through my mind at that instant, and I even had the image of her saying some harsh, sharp words at the end.

Even if that were the case,

“Hey, hold it there! What do you mean by that? Explain to me!”

I probably would not be raging and chasing after her with such amazing manliness.

I probably would feel a little hurt, and would probably end up being 'used' by her

“But I'm not trying to tease you here, you know?”

Nitadori said, completely denying my thoughts. I wonder if she's an esper.

And so, what she said next,

Caused my heart to stop in shock.

“Are you going for the After Record for 'Vice Versa' tomorrow, sensei?”


Normally, the slight quiver and tremors on the fast moving Limited Express feel comfortable. I did at times treat the carriage car as a cradle and slept soundly on it.

But at this point, I felt that the sounds and tremors were akin to a massive earthquake.

It was rumbling away, and I felt it was trying to throw me out of my seat.

This was the first time in my life that I wondered why there was no safety belts on the train. My hands were grabbing onto the armrest.

“Wh-why...ho-ho-how...?”

I stared right into Nitadori's eyes as I barely eke out these words, and the rest ended up as gibberish.

I actually wanted to say,

“How did you know about this?”


“Ah, I guess from your expression that you want to ask 'how did you know', right?”

I was unable to say anything, dumbfounded for 5 seconds like a doll, and Nitadori took the initiative to speak up.

I nodded.

“How, did you know...?”

And then, since it did not matter at this point, I said this line.

“Pfft!”

Nitadori let out a little chuckle, and I forgot my current predicament as I saw the smile of the pretty girl up close. However, there was no way I could forget about that. I immediately got up from my seat, and surveyed the carriage.

There were 5 heads I could see.

Two of them were seated at the front-most, side by side. They definitely must be the middle-aged couple waiting for the train behind me a while back, and from their hiking getup, I suppose they went to the hills visible from my room, and were on their way back. There was a lot of snow on the hilltops as the weather was still cold.

A young man, probably a salaryman, was seated a few seats behind them at the window side. Seated at the row behind him at the right window side was a college male who seemed to be traveling. I did see them on the platform.

Closest to me was a young female seated alone near the aisle in the middle of the carriage car, dressed in gray pants and suit. I did not see her on the platform, and she seemed to be of the working class who just finished a dispatch job.

Since there was no one else nearby, I did not have to worry about others eavesdrop if I were to speak at with a normal audible voice. It seemed Nitadori realized my thoughts as she said,

“You're really worried about other people noticing it? Don't worry. I'll make sure that nobody else will overhear us.”

“Thanks...”

I sit down as I listen to her slightly hushed voice, and turn my face to the right, seeing Nitadori's face that was extremely close to me, and asked,

“How did you know?”

“Well then, what do you think?”

She answered my question with a question.

“It's easy for me to tell you the answer, but that's no fun now, isn't it? You'll soon know, so think about it.”

[[File:Toolong013.png|thumb]]

That definitely was what she meant.

And so, I began to ponder, carefully listing out all the possibilities I could eliminate, and the possibilities I could consider.

I spent 2 minutes on that. I didn't know whether that was too long or too short.

And during this time, I continued to stare at the back of the seat in front of me, not knowing what sort of expression Nitadori was showing. Perhaps she was enjoying herself, maybe she was bored, or maybe she was surprised.

“I see...”

After staring at the back of the seat in front of me for two minutes, I let out these words,

“So that's what it means by 'our work'."

“What do you mean?”

Nitadori asked. Clearly, what she meant was,

“Please look at others in the eyes when talking to someone.”

I slowly turn my face to Nitadori.

And so, I stared at Nitadori, the bespectacled girl—

Giving me a victorious smile.

I spoke up,

“Nitadori...you're a voice actress, participating in the animation of my light novel.”