“Huh? This place… is this… a s…school?”

The moment the statue of the goddess in the temple shone brightly, I found myself standing here. Looking around, I was surrounded by a familiar landscape.

No matter how I looked at it, this was unmistakably the entrance of the school I used to attend. Judging by the direction other students were heading, it was morning—time for school. Everyone was switching into their indoor shoes and heading to their classrooms.

“F-for now, let’s go to the classroom…”

After changing into my indoor shoes, I made my way to my classroom. When I opened the door and stepped inside, most of the students had already arrived. About half of them turned their eyes toward me. But that was only for a moment. Nobody was paying special attention to me. More importantly—

“…There he is.”

At the desk, second from the back by the window, a boy was slumped over.

“Shu…”

I murmured his name softly as I approached, still holding my bag. Just then, someone tugged on the hem of my uniform.

“Hey, Rio, where are you going?”

“Huh? Ah… G-good morning.”

“Yeah, good morning.”

It was Chino Yamashita, the only person in the class who talked to me.

Now that I thought about it, I had walked past my own seat and was about to call out to Shu. Chino’s seat was one row to the right and one seat ahead of Shu’s, while mine was right next to hers.

Reluctantly, I sat down at my own desk, placed my bag on top, and began putting my textbooks inside.

Thinking about it carefully, even if I called out to Shu, there was a chance he wouldn’t know who I was. Just a moment ago, I was in the middle of a wedding ceremony with him, but that didn’t necessarily mean the Shu here was the same one.

“Hey, your face keeps turning red and then pale. Are you okay?”

Chino’s voice snapped me back to reality.

“Ah, yeah… I’m fine.”

I had been so caught up in the fact that I had married Shu that I forgot the possibility that this version of him might not know me. I needed to observe him for a while.

“If you say so…”

I kept watching Shu for a while, but he showed no signs of lifting his head from the desk.

“Alright, everyone take your seats! Class is starting!”

Before I knew it, the teacher had arrived, and the first period began.

Perhaps unable to keep his head down the entire time, Shu eventually sat up. …But even though I had hoped for it, he didn’t look my way.

“You keep glancing outside. Is there something out there?”

“Huh? Ah, um…”

During the break after second period, Chino finally spoke up about my constant side glances. Reflexively, I glanced at Shu, and Chino followed my gaze out the window. …But of course, there was nothing there.

“There’s nothing, but… wait…”

Chino turned her gaze back to me, then shifted it toward the boy sitting by the window.

When she looked at me again, a sly smile formed on her face, as if she had discovered something amusing.

“Ohh, so that’s what’s going on?”

It seemed I had been found out.

Before, I might have been embarrassed that Chino had caught on. But now, I didn’t feel that way… well, maybe a little. I could feel my body temperature rising, but that was all.

“Yeah.”

“Oh my, you’re not even denying it.”

“I won’t. I love Shu.”

Even though Shu was still slumped over his desk, I thought I saw his shoulder flinch slightly at my declaration. Did he hear me?

“Huh… You never showed any signs of this before. What happened? And you’re calling him by his first name too.”

I had called him that without thinking, but it was only natural since I always did.

“Well… It’s a bit hard to explain…”

“What’s with the vague answer? Is it a long story? That’s fine! I’ll listen all the way through!”

I hesitated because I knew she wouldn’t believe me, no matter how I explained it.

“…Yeah, I guess so.”

Just then, the chime signaling the start of third period rang.

“Aw man, time’s up! But don’t worry, I’ll get the full story during lunch break!”

As Chino grinned mischievously, I started wondering how I would explain everything. Liking Shu wasn’t something I needed to hide, but still…

Class continued while I pondered. A quick glance toward Shu, and our eyes met. I fought back my racing heartbeat and smiled at him. He gave me a wry smile in return.

At lunch, Shu usually disappeared somewhere. I remembered him once saying that he ate alone on the rooftop.

I had planned to have lunch with him, but Chino caught me.

“Alright, spill everything.”

She leaned in eagerly, but my answer was already decided.

“…You could say it was love at first sight.”

“What? Seriously?”

Considering I had no prior connection with Shu in this world, that was the only explanation I could think of.

“After all that build-up during break time, that’s all?”

But I had spent so much time with Shu in the Forest of Illusions. I knew him well. Even without direct conversation, I ended up talking about all the things I loved about him.

By the time fifth period ended, I realized that I had barely spoken to Shu at all. That had to change. During the break after fifth period, I finally called out to him.

“Um… Can I talk to you for a second?”

Just as the chime signaled break time, I spoke before Shu could slump over his desk again.

“Yuzuki…san? Do you need something?”

His face turned slightly red, and he looked uneasy.

Ah… As expected, he didn’t know me. But I was prepared for this.

“I wanted to talk to you. Let’s walk home together after school.”

“Huh…?”

“See you later.”

I didn’t want to have this conversation in front of all our classmates, so I decided to talk to him after school.

“Oh wow, making a move already?”

When I returned to my seat, Chino was grinning excitedly.

I wasn’t normally the proactive type, so I understood why she was surprised. But if I wanted to stay with Shu—even in Japan—I needed to act now.

Shu was mine.

“Fortune favors the bold.”

“Haha, what even is that?”

After the sixth period ended, it was finally time.

Shu always waited until the classroom was nearly empty before packing up.

“I’ll be waiting for you at the entrance.”

“Ah, okay.”

Chino and I left the classroom.

“Hehe, tell me all about it later. Good luck!”

With a knowing grin, she patted my shoulder and left.

“Sorry, did you wait long?”

After a while, Shu arrived, looking a bit nervous.

“No, not at all.”

When I took his hand to ease his nerves, he flinched in surprise. His face turned red—was Shu always this cute?

I smiled at him, but then my vision slowly faded to white, and everything went dark.