“Alright, I think this is good enough…”

It was early May, the last day of Golden Week. Akasaki Haruya was checking his appearance in the mirror before heading out.

His hair was styled casually with wax. He wore accessories from a minor yet popular brand, and his clothes, primarily in black and white, were neat and stylish without being too flashy or too plain.

He moved his limbs and stretched his facial muscles, making sure everything felt right.

++Posture good, expression good, clothes good…++

With a refreshing look on his face, Haruya finished getting ready and left the house alone.

After about a ten-minute walk from his single-person apartment, a large shopping mall came into Haruya’s view. That was his destination for the day; he had a particular item in mind. As the tall building came closer, Haruya noticed that his walking speed was slowing down.

++…It’s crowded today.++

Being a national holiday, and the last day of Golden Week at that, it wasn’t surprising that there were many customers at the mall. He guessed that most of the crowd were probably customers just like him.

Overwhelmed by the number of people, Haruya couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.

Confirming the people in front of him from a distance, Haruya changed his direction.

++…It might be better to take the back route.++

He turned into a side street, heading down a less crowded alley. He had discovered this alleyway, which he had named “the back route,” a while ago when he was heading to this mall. The back route was a narrow and dimly lit path, so he walked carefully. 

Perhaps because he wasn’t used to it yet, his body couldn’t get accustomed to the silence peculiar to this path. He fidgeted restlessly and realized that his face was unconsciously tense.

With heavy steps, as he made his way through the alley, Haruya sensed something ominous near the exit.

“…Miss, you should definitely become a model.”

“…N-no. I’m sorry… but I’ll have to decline.”

Haruya spotted a young woman, who seemed to be around his age, and a man who was persistently talking to her.

He observed them from a distance, his eyes filled with curiosity.

++A model scout? No, he’s too persistent. Is it some kind of pickup attempt?++

Haruya was inwardly excited to stumble upon a situation he’d only ever seen in manga. In his sixteen years of life, this was the first time he had witnessed a woman being hit on.

“Don’t say that… Look, once you hear the details, you’ll change your mind! So, how about we go to a nearby café—”

“…I-I’m not interested.”

“Come on~”

Even from a distance, it was clear that the man was being pushy with the woman. It didn’t seem likely that the man would back down on his own. However, whether it was a scout or something else, Haruya couldn’t quite grasp the man’s true intentions, but he could somewhat understand his feelings.

++…That girl is on another level.++

The girl in Haruya’s view was undeniably beautiful. She looked to be around the same age as Haruya, sixteen or seventeen. Her glossy hair seemed to shimmer even in the dimly lit alleyway. She had a somewhat childish look, but her features certainly held an alluring charm, and as proof of that, her voluptuous chest showed maturity even through her clothes.

Even so, Haruya tilted his head in thought.

++…I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before.++

The more he looked at her, the stronger the sense of déjà vu became. He wanted to get to the bottom of this strange feeling, but unfortunately, now wasn’t the time for that.

Haruya shook his head and started walking towards them. It seemed he’d decided to step in and intertwine.

++There’s no way… I have the guts to just walk past a situation like that.++

Besides, Haruya thought ignoring a beautiful girl in need would weigh on his conscience.

“…Um, excuse me.”

“Hm? What? Who are you?”

As he approached them discreetly and spoke up, a stern face appeared before Haruya’s eyes. Slicked-back blond hair and narrow, sharp eyes. Haruya couldn’t help but think that he looked like a stereotypical thug.

++…O-oh, but this is scary.++

Now that the man’s attention was on him, Haruya understood why the girl was trembling. Once he was face-to-face with the man, Haruya realized the guy had an overwhelming presence, with a gaze that allowed no argument.

Haruya instinctively wanted to run away, but he held himself back and kept staring into the man’s eyes. Unfortunately, fear paralyzed him, and that was all he could do.

──If only he were a prince on a white horse.

──If only he were a hero of justice.

He would surely fight bravely and defeat the villain. But Haruya was just an ordinary high school student. The best he could do was stare back at the man. Haruya felt pathetic and inwardly cursed his own powerlessness.

“……”

“…..”

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

For some reason, the beautiful girl’s gaze was fixed solely on Haruya, but he didn’t avert his eyes from the man.

++Oh… this is bad. I stepped in, but my mind is blank. What am I supposed to say in a situation like this…?++

Though it didn’t show on his face, inside, Haruya was mentally holding his head, almost on the verge of losing his nerve. His body started to tremble involuntarily, but surprisingly, it was the man who spoke first. And he sounded strangely frightened and shaky.

“…Eek!?”

Suddenly, the man let out an idiotic sound.

“Eh…?”

Haruya was dumbfounded, unable to understand what the man meant.

“++Tch.++ So you’ve got a guy…?”

The man started trembling for some reason and retreated from the scene as if he were running away. On the other hand, Haruya, who unfortunately couldn’t do anything, was left wondering what had just happened.

++…What was that? Huh, what the heck? Was that a prank or something?++

He would have believed it if someone told him it was a TV show prank, but that possibility was denied by the girl.

“U-um… Thank you so much!”

“…Eh? Ah, haha. No, I didn’t do anything at all.”

If he could, Haruya would have liked to play it cool, but all he could manage was to stare at the man. However, perhaps she was trying to be considerate of Haruya, who hadn’t actually accomplished anything. She politely refuted his statement with a sincere tone.

“That’s not true! Um… you didn’t hesitate in front of that scary person and chased him off… It was really cool.”

“Uh… haha. Thanks.”

Haruya let out a dry laugh and averted his gaze from her.

In truth, he was intimidated and terrified of that scary person, but being praised with such passionate eyes made it impossible for him to be honest. Feeling awkward, Haruya could only manage a forced smile…

The beautiful girl standing before him wouldn’t take her eyes off him, and Haruya started to feel uncomfortable. Since he couldn’t play cool, Haruya decided to be meddlesome, even though it might be unnecessary.

“It’s dangerous for a girl to walk alone in a narrow alleyway like this… Be careful.”

“…Y-yes!”

The beautiful girl nodded vigorously at Haruya’s warning and then bowed her head.

Haruya smiled wryly at her and then left the scene. He thought he’d never have anything to do with that beautiful girl again, but all that remained was an awkward sense of embarrassment.

++…But still, I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before.++

Once again struck by the sense of déjà vu, Haruya started walking towards the large shopping mall.

However, Haruya would eventually learn that the girl he had helped by chance was a classmate known as an “S-rank beauty”…

!next

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