When I stood alone at the end of the world, watching the natural rise and fall of that civilization, I often wondered.
If everything in the world had already been destined, then... what was the point of effort?
Just like these foolish subjects.
They spent their entire lives without even understanding... why they had to keep running forward.
Morishita Ai squatted on the ground without a care for her image.
She was currently holding a magnifying glass, observing the vibrant patch of land before her.
She had maintained this pose, known as the Asian squat, for nearly twenty minutes.
For someone wearing such a short skirt, she did not care in the slightest whether squatting would expose anything.
Because... she was wearing safety shorts.
"Was that?"
Morishita noticed a graceful purple figure flash past in the distance.
"Kamuro Masumi?"
She was no stranger to the class's pairing of the "tsundere knight" and the "mischievous princess."
Unlike the princess stories of old, the mischievous princess lived up to her name.
Fortunately... the princess only directed her pranks at the tsundere knight.
As the hero destined to slay the Demon King—
As long as the princess did not target ordinary people, she could turn a blind eye and pretend not to notice.
Though she did not really understand what kind of mindset allowed the tsundere knight to devote herself wholeheartedly and unwaveringly to that mischievous princess.
Still, there was probably some unforgettable memory between them.
With that thought, she suddenly lost interest in the Ant Kingdom before her.
She rose to her feet and casually brushed the hem of her skirt.
Then... she slowly began walking straight toward the classroom.
The hero had set off upon the path of pursuing the Demon King...
"Ugh... I got ignored again."
A hint of dejection lingered on the girl's pretty face as she leaned against the corner of a wall and sighed.
Ever since childhood, she had always been overlooked by the people around her.
Because of that... she was not good at interacting with others.
She often remained silent, afraid that if she voiced her thoughts, everyone would laugh at her and spread them around.
The girl let out another deep sigh, her dark teal eyes filled with frustration.
Although she had long grown used to loneliness, that did not mean she liked this quietness.
She often envied peers who were warm and cheerful, good at communicating and expressing their thoughts.
Just as she was cosplaying as a vending machine—
"Oh my~"
An elegant female voice suddenly rang out beside her.
"You're Yamamura, right?"
"Why are you sighing here all by yourself?"
Yamamura Miki turned her head and looked at the silver-haired little girl before her, who leaned on a cane.
Sakayanagi Arisu!
During the class introductions, everyone had recognized the name right away.
She was the daughter of the current Chairman, Sakayanagi Narimori.
Everyone in class respectfully called her the "princess." She and someone as unnoticed as Yamamura belonged to entirely different worlds.
A trace of panic inexplicably flashed through Yamamura's eyes. Even her mouth stopped obeying her, and she stammered incoherently,
"Um... I... I'm Yamamura Miki. P-Please... take care of me!"
What a terrible self-introduction. Even Yamamura herself could not bear to listen to it.
Her face instantly flushed red, like the crimson sunset at the horizon.
"Hehe... no need to rush. We have plenty of time."
Late May. (Damn, school starts in April, but I wrote March. Should I change it, guys? Or should I just skip June altogether? There's no Classroom of the Elite plot in June anyway.)
As usual, Suzuki Tsubame walked alone along the road back to the Dormitory.
Unlike usual, a girl with slate-blue hair sitting by the roadside caught his attention.
She wore a side ponytail, with blunt bangs across her forehead.
Her eyes were lowered, as though she were indifferent to everything around her.
The Shallow Shadow gathering intelligence? (Kamito gave her that name. Kamito is Morishita Ai.)
It seemed Sakayanagi felt Kamuro was too familiar with him, so she had specifically switched to someone else to monitor him.
Suzuki Tsubame did not stop.
It was still a little too early to speak with her now.
Over the next few days.
Suzuki Tsubame's life was filled everywhere with the figure known as Shallow Shadow.
As soon as class ended, the girl would reliably spawn in the corridor near Class D.
After school, she would be sitting on the bench along the route to the Dormitory.
Even on days off, whenever Suzuki Tsubame went downstairs, she could steadily follow behind him.
Suzuki Tsubame did not know whether to laugh or cry.
This girl was far too confident in how little presence she had.
Did she really think no one could see her?
Another day, during break.
Suzuki Tsubame crept toward the rooftop as quietly as Kamuro herself would have.
Ten minutes later.
A small blue-green head cautiously poked out from the rooftop access door.
"Classmate, were you looking for me?"
A warm, large hand seized the girl's slender shoulder in an instant.
"Waaahhh!!!"
The girl was so frightened that she curled up and squatted on the ground.
She looked a little like a pangolin, or perhaps an armadillo.
No wonder people always said that when someone was doing something bad, they had endless strength.
Suzuki Tsubame had deliberately waited a few extra minutes just to scare her at her most nervous moment.
Why did his teeth suddenly feel a little hot? For some reason, he wanted to open a window and let in some air.
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