Volume 1, Chapter 1, Part 2 ー Three People From the Future - April 13th

I walked through the school’s gates just in time for my new first-period class. Unsurprisingly, everyone else was already here, so it made sense that everyone looked at me as I came in. I looked at the seating chart up on the blackboard, and made my way to the seat in the front row, next to the window.

“Barely made it…”

Even though it wasn’t hot outside yet, it was still hard to run quickly. An elementary schooler laughed at me while I ran to school, but it looked like he was just as late as I was. I put my bag down and finally sat down. When I laid my head into my elbow, a voice called out from next to me.

“Shirasugi-kun, if you lie down like that at the start of the school year, won’t everyone think you’re some weird guy and avoid you?”

“Sasashino, huh? Looks like we’re in the same class again.”

Sasashino cheerfully waved her hand at me.

“Yup~”

A classmate of ours was watching us talk, listening in. It’s no surprise though, Sasashino was an eye-catching beauty. She was half-Japanese, half-French, and her unusual blonde hair reflects the light, which made her a ray of sunshine in every way. On top of her incredible looks, her cute and round face made her easy to talk to and softened the atmosphere around her. She was probably just above 160cm tall.

TN: 160cm is 5’3”.

Despite that, many of my classmates found her hard to approach, since her elegance and heritage made her feel almost like a goddess. But I thought her personality also played a part in this. Now that I think about it, we’d been in the same class five times in a row, since the first year of junior high school, but we’d hardly ever talked. It’s not so much that we didn't get along, but rather that we never cared to talk with each other.

I raised my head from my desk, wondering if she was going to say anything else to me.

“What do you want?”

Did the homeroom teacher ask her to pass something on to me because I was almost late?

Sasashino turned to face me, pretended to fix her skirt, and opened her mouth, as though she’d made up her mind about something.

“Shirasugi-kun, please go out with me.”

“…If you say it like that, the boys in the class will have name me an enemy of the public and executed. Is that what you want?”

“The hell?!”

“You’re making things weird! It’s like the winning numbers in a lottery suddenly changing to whatever you got!”

“Ah, so this conversation is like winning the lottery for you?”

“I guess I can’t deny it?”

It’s not like I dislike her, in the end.

“Eh, Ehh, I see…”

If you look so happy while saying that, I’ll only misunderstand you.

“So why the sudden public confession on the first day of school?”

To be honest, I wondered if this was a punishment game, but Sasashino didn't seem like someone who would play these silly games. And that’s why I just didn't get it. What on Earth was she doing?

Sasashino suddenly looked around the classroom with a serious face. Our classmates murmured to each other about her sudden confession. She looked around to see how much attention she's attracted then drew close to me. The girls around us talked among themselves excitedly, but Sasashino looked so serious that I couldn’t ignore her.

“White skin! Beautiful lips. Ehh, and this is without makeup? Seriously?”

She’s not beautiful in the same way that Misora-neesan is, but she’s undeniably a very pretty girl.

Sasashino whispered into my ear:

“I’ve come from the future to save you, Shirasugi.”

“...And now, my trust and distrust in you are about the same. Oh, what to believe?”

I’m from the future, she says. It just sounds like science fiction to me. There’s no way what she’s saying is true, right? Sasashino-san, are you perhaps an eccentric and mysterious protagonist?

She continued, still whispering softly.

“I know you’re skeptical, but hear me out. You’re going to start going out with me in the near future, but you’ll get hit by a truck and die. So, in order to save you, we’ll start dating now, even though it may seem sudden.”

“You know you sound completely ridiculous right now?”

Since I now knew that I would have gotten hit by a truck, the butterfly effect would have changed the future already. And for that reason, I couldn't see why I needed to go out with her all of a sudden.

“So let’s start off as friends, alright? If we become lovers and spend all our time together, I can help you directly. Doesn’t that make sense?”

“But what would us being friends change?”

“Ah, no. I thought that the timing was perfect for us to start going out.”

“Nah, I’m still too skeptical. I don’t know why you’re saying this, or if you’re even serious.”

Was that a real confession? I was confused. Sasashino sat back down, and pointed at my pockets.

“Keep your phone handy. She’ll call you soon.”

Just as she predicted, my phone vibrated, showing an incoming call. I looked over at the door to make sure the teacher hadn't come in yet and took out my phone. It was from my cousin, Misora-neesan.

“…Hello?”

ー “Ah, Tomoe. I’d like to ask you favour. Please work part-time at Miyano’s coffee shop after school. I’ll send you the address in a bit. If you have any questions, please ask Miyano directly. Alright, enjoy your time in high school.”

“…She wouldn't even let me say anything.”

Her pace completely steamrolled me. If I refused, she’d complain to one of my relatives, and since my family is a branch of hers, I’d be forced to do it anyway. That aside…

I looked at Sasashino. She acted as though she’d foreseen that a call would come in the future. She was twirling her index finger with a smug look on her face.

“You’re still a little skeptical, aren’t you?”

“And what if I told you I was?”

Sasashino giggled, and leaned in close again.

“There will be a supply teacher for homeroom today, because our usual teacher’s wife is giving birth. An out-of-season downpour at ten o’clock today. A stupid freshman will pull the fire alarm on the first floor as a prank.”

Those were surely just hopeful predictions. If Sasashino’s predictions come true, then this would be more like a future she’d already experienced, so it probably wasn't a prediction, but I didn't really care about technicalities.

After all, every single one of her predictions would turn out to be completely correct.

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