Prologue: Seven-year-old High School Girl
The first time I recognized her was during the entrance ceremony of high school.
"I am Hoshimiya Hime. I will be a first-year student here starting today, just like all of you."
I was captivated by her as she stood on the stage.
Her translucent, snow-white skin. Long, dazzling silver hair. Her deep crimson eyes that shone brightly... Everything about her was striking, and she was an incredibly beautiful girl.
She possessed a beauty that felt unreal, as though she had jumped out of a picture book.
But the reason my gaze was fixed on her wasn't entirely because of that.
(...She's small.)
Not in terms of height.
All of her body parts were small.
In other words—she looked like a child.
"I am seven years old, as you can tell by my appearance, but I am skipping grades and enrolling in high school."
She wasn't even a high school student who merely appeared younger than her age.
Hoshimiya Hime was genuinely a child.
Because of that, the students, who had been quietly observing until then, began to murmur.
"Now, I will give the speech as the representative of the new students. I apologize for causing a commotion... Please take care of me."
She bowed politely and began to speak about her aspirations as a new student.
Her voice was calm and measured, slightly lisping, but very composed.
As soon as she began speaking, all the students who had been whispering to each other fell silent.
Everyone, including myself, was silently listening to her speech, and I found myself focusing my attention on her without even realizing it.
—Ah, this girl is special.
It felt as though I was looking at someone from a different world.
I finally understood why I couldn't take my eyes off her.
I was probably feeling something close to admiration.
I wanted to keep watching Hoshimiya Hime, this special girl, for as long as I could.
"The fact that Hoshimiya Hime has graduated from a foreign university,"
"That she is still collaborating with a research team overseas and is very busy,"
"That despite her position, she has come to this school as part of a special case and is skipping grades,"
"That she took first place in the entrance exam, which led her to give this speech."
The facts revealed during the introduction of Hoshimiya Hime by the teacher, after her speech, served to back up the extraordinary nature of her existence.
What that meant, then, was clear:
(I’m totally different from her.)
I—Ozora Youhei, a normal high school student—was in no way connected to her.
After all, Hoshimiya Hime and I lived in entirely different worlds.
There would be no way for us to get close, or even interact much.
As I watched her slowly walk away from the stage, bowing politely, I thought about all of this.
However, much sooner than I expected, I would find myself involved with Hoshimiya Hime in a way I hadn't anticipated.
(…What is she doing here?)
After the entrance ceremony and the homeroom for our new class were finished, I was walking around the school, planning to go home, when a teacher stopped me and told me to take out the trash in an empty classroom.
Grumbling about my bad luck, I made my way to the designated trash area and found a silver-haired girl there.
Hoshimiya Hime…? No, since she's a classmate, I should probably call her Hoshimiya-san.
She was sitting on the block that divided the trash area. She had her knees hugged to her chest, sitting on the ground in a small, child-like posture, and looked even smaller than she already was.
"……"
Without saying anything, she stared blankly at me, her expression neutral.
It didn't look like she had anything she wanted to say... It almost seemed like she was just watching me because I was there.
"Sorry, I'm just going to pass by."
I thought I should say something, so I spoke up.
"…Go ahead."
She nodded quietly, but her expression was somewhat stiff. I probably made her feel wary by speaking to her suddenly.
I quickly moved toward the trash area and placed the bag I was holding down. There were several bags even on the first day of school, so I took care to arrange them neatly, so that the next person wouldn't have trouble.
Now, I could finally go home. But despite that, Hoshimiya-san’s presence lingered in the back of my mind.
(…Why is she here?)
This was the second time I was thinking the same thing. The situation felt a little unnatural, and the question wouldn’t leave my mind.
She’s not sick, is she?
I was curious… but I also got the feeling that Hoshimiya-san didn’t want to be followed around.
So, just one more question. If she seems reluctant at all, I’ll leave right away.
With that decision in mind, I stopped walking.
"Um… what are you doing?"
"……"
Hoshimiya-san was in the same spot as before.
She didn’t move an inch, still staring at me blankly... and there was a few seconds' delay before she responded to my question.
Maybe I’m overthinking this. Perhaps it would be better to leave quietly so I don’t cause trouble for her. Just as I began to consider that, Hoshimiya-san slowly opened her mouth.
"That’s a difficult question."
"A difficult question? What do you mean?"
"The answer to the question of what I am doing."
"Well… sorry, you don’t have to answer if it’s hard."
"No, it’s not that it’s difficult. It’s just that I’m wondering whether it’s better to use the phrase 'I am lost' even though I know the Japanese expression is wrong."
First, I was surprised by the calm way she spoke.
Her choice of words, the smoothness of her sentences, her rich vocabulary—everything about it was far beyond her age.
I had thought so during the entrance ceremony, but now I was sure—her speech and behavior were very mature for a seven-year-old.
Thanks to that, I quickly understood the situation.
"So… you’re lost, then."
It may not be the most accurate Japanese, but it was certainly easy to understand.
"I was heading toward the school gate, but since it was my first time here, I didn’t know the way."
"That’s unfortunate."
"It was just poor planning on my part. Even though I was lost, it’s still within the school grounds, so I figured I could just walk around and eventually find the gate. However, it seems I didn’t have enough stamina to make it."
"That’s why you were sitting and resting."
As a high school student, I didn’t think walking around the school grounds would tire me out. But Hoshimiya-san, being only seven years old and small and delicate in appearance, likely had less stamina.
I see… now that I knew her circumstances, things started to make sense.
Also, I was relieved that I hadn’t been wrong to speak to her.
"Well, if that’s the case, want me to walk with you to the school gate? I’m heading home anyway."
"…Is that okay? I wouldn’t want to be a bother."
"I don’t see why it would be a bother."
I shook my head to deny it. Hoshimiya-san looked at me, her eyes widening a little. Was she surprised?
Her reaction was subtle, so it was hard to tell, but I think that was it.
"No… I noticed some people came to take out the trash before you, and when they made eye contact with me, they quickly left. I thought maybe they didn’t want to get involved."
"I don’t think that’s the case."
I could understand how she might feel hesitant to talk to someone, especially someone like me.
I also had my doubts before speaking to her. But my concern for her won out, and I think that’s why I was able to talk to her.
I’m glad I did. I’m happy I could be of some help.
"Well then, shall we go?"
"Yes… thank you."
With those words, Hoshimiya-san stood up and started walking a few steps behind me.
I was conscious of her small stride, so I slowed my pace to match hers.
"…………"
We both walked in silence the entire way.
It wasn’t so much because the silence was awkward, but rather because, considering the distance between us, I judged that staying quiet was the safest option to avoid anything happening.
If we didn’t speak, nothing would come of it.
Neither bad things, nor good things.
However, from time to time, when I glanced back, our eyes would meet, and that made me a little self-conscious.
Had she been staring at me this whole time? If so, maybe I should have said something to her.
But no matter how much I regretted it, it was too late now.
If I knew the way, it wouldn’t take more than ten minutes to get to the school gate. Before long, the silence was over.
"Well, I’m going to head home now."
I said as we arrived at the gate, and Hoshimiya-san bowed politely.
"Thank you very much."
"No problem. Just be careful not to get lost next time."
"Yes, I’ll be more careful not to get lost."
Her calm demeanor was still so mature that it didn’t seem like a behavior of a seven-year-old.
"The directions... they really helped."
But immediately after, she showed an expression of relief that seemed more fitting for her age.
Her face, once expressionless, softened. Her sharp eyes became narrower as the corners of her mouth lifted. Even her translucent skin seemed to have a faint blush.
Perhaps she was relaxed now, or maybe she just felt relieved. Either way, her expression was much gentler than before.
Looking at her, I couldn’t help but think—although it might be rude—how cute she was.
And yet, that moment didn’t lead to me and Hoshimiya-san becoming close... of course.
Maybe if we had been in the same class, something might have developed.
But since we were in different classes, we never saw each other again after that day.
On the rare occasions I did catch a glimpse of her, I only observed her from a distance. Our eyes never met, and she remained a "stranger" as time passed.
Then, a year went by, and we became second-year students... and this time, Hoshimiya-san and I were in the same class.
"Hey, I’m the one who showed you the way that day! Let’s be friends!"
I wasn’t the type to say something like that energetically, and besides, the reason for starting a conversation—something that happened a year ago—was too insignificant to bring up.
That moment of showing her the way had almost become a forgotten event.
The one and only connection between me and her had long since faded.
I couldn’t help but wonder how things would have turned out if I had decided to speak to her back then.
...But wondering about "what ifs" wouldn’t change reality. Our relationship would likely remain as strangers until the end of our second year.
Just as I thought that, a miraculous second encounter would happen.
It was in mid-June.
An event that took place during the damp, muggy rainy season.
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