Natsume, Have You Forgotten Me?

April 1st was the first day of the new school term for most high schools in Japan.

Natsume Chikage emerged from Hibiya Station, carrying his schoolbag as he merged alone into the sparse flow of pedestrians.

Since he had only been to this school a few times, he had no choice but to rely on his phone's navigation.

Fortunately, the route was not complicated. A nearly straight road connected the station to the school.

Before he had fully come back to his senses, the gates of Moonlight Academy were already standing quietly before him.

"Ten minutes on foot..."

He repeated it softly, committing the time to memory.

Putting away his phone, he raised his head and truly looked at the school for the first time.

The campus buildings were grand yet elegant. Hanging from the stone gate pillars was a dark wooden plaque bearing the words "Moonlight Academy," its lettering dignified and powerful.

Natsume Chikage knew a little about this place.

In Tokyo, Moonlight Academy was a prestigious institution in every sense of the word.

Its operations were personally overseen by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and many of its students came from prominent political and business families.

Its reputation had been built on outstanding teachers, beautiful grounds, active clubs, and strict school discipline.

Naturally, its tuition was far higher than that of ordinary schools.

Even so, countless families competed to send their children here.

The many luxury private cars parked outside the gates silently revealed the backgrounds of some of the students.

At the entrance, students in uniform steadily entered the campus.

Student council members and teachers on duty stood on either side, maintaining order on the first day of school. When Natsume Chikage arrived, they could not help taking a few extra glances at him.

That was because Natsume Chikage's looks and bearing were completely unlike those of the ordinary students around him.

He entered through the gates with the crowd.

The cherry trees lining both sides of the road were in full bloom. A breeze swept through them, shaking loose a flurry of pale pink petals that swirled through the air like snow.

Many new students stopped and raised their phones to capture the dreamlike moment.

Though upperclassmen had long grown used to such scenery, some still gathered in twos and threes beneath the flowering trees, chatting and laughing softly.

On the baseball field to the left, students were already swinging bats and running in the morning light, their sweat glistening.

From the right came the mellow sound of an orchestra, where girls were rehearsing an ensemble beneath the cherry blossoms.

These vivid scenes of youth, beautiful as a painting, did not make Natsume Chikage stop.

He continued walking steadily through them, his expression calm.

Soon.

Natsume Chikage arrived at the bulletin board beneath the academic building.

The area was already packed with people, as students searched the notices for their classes and seats.

Japanese high schools had a tradition: starting from the first year, students were randomly reassigned to new classes every year.

Natsume Chikage did not yet know his class or seat, so he squeezed into the crowd as well, scanning the densely packed lists.

His eyesight was excellent, and before long, he found his name and seat assignment on the list for First-Year Class A.

Now that he knew where to go, he did not linger and headed straight for the First-Year Class A classroom on the third floor.

On the way to the classroom.

Kondo Miki noticed Natsume Chikage walking ahead of her.

After thinking it over for a moment, she ultimately decided not to greet him.

Her mother had told her to look after Natsume Chikage more at school, but at the end of the day, Natsume Chikage's family did not have much money. They might even be in debt. He might transfer after this term—or perhaps stop attending school altogether.

If she got too involved and he latched onto her, constantly bothering her, she would be the one inconvenienced. It might even affect her family.

Even with her mother's instructions, Kondo Miki did not want something like that to happen. Nor did she want to be Natsume Chikage's babysitter.

So she decided that she would keep her contact with Natsume Chikage to a minimum at school.

After giving it some serious thought, Kondo Miki felt that her reasoning was completely sound. It was better not to waste too much effort on someone with no future.

With that decided, she turned and left.

By then, Natsume Chikage had finally reached First-Year Class A.

The moment he pushed open the door and stepped into the classroom, the previously noisy room seemed to have been put on mute.

Many students' gazes turned toward him in unison.

Some of the boys who were fairly handsome narrowed their eyes the instant they saw Natsume Chikage, as though facing a formidable enemy.

Most of the girls, who had been chatting and laughing just moments earlier, also quietly fell silent. One after another, they unconsciously adjusted their posture, displaying an affected or natural air of gentle poise.

Yet Natsume Chikage paid no attention to the gazes around him. His eyes passed through the crowd and precisely settled on the window seat in the back row.

With his schoolbag in hand, he walked steadily through the classroom, reached his seat, pulled out the chair, and quietly sat down.

After setting down his bag, Natsume Chikage habitually reached for his pocket, intending to take out his phone and use the time before class to type a few more lines into the document for The Devotion of Suspect X.

But just as his fingertips touched his phone—

"Um... hello!"

A clear voice came from the neighboring seat, accompanied by a gentle poke on his shoulder.

Natsume Chikage paused and turned toward the sound.

Before him was a long-haired girl. A small braid had been tied into the smooth hair on the left side of her head, making her look especially cute.

Her face was exquisitely delicate, but the most striking feature was her large, round eyes, like clear springs held within them. Her long lashes fluttered like little fans as she stared straight at him without blinking, filled with curiosity and a pure desire to understand.

She seemed to realize only then that poking him had been a little abrupt. She hurriedly sat up straight and placed both hands properly on her lap, though the light in her large eyes did not dim in the slightest.

"H-hello!" she said, her voice clearer than before, carrying a natural, entirely unfeigned sincerity. "My name is Saionji Nanase. I'm your desk neighbor, so please take care of me from now on!"

Her introduction was simple and direct. Afterward, she held her breath slightly and waited earnestly, expectantly, with those expressive eyes fixed on Natsume Chikage.

Meeting those pure eyes, which seemed clear enough to reflect a person's image and now shimmered with curiosity, Natsume Chikage politely nodded.

"Hello. My name is Natsume Chikage. Please take care of me as well."

"Natsume Chikage?"

Upon hearing the name, Saionji Nanase tilted her small head slightly to one side. Her long lashes fluttered as her clear eyes stared unblinkingly at his face, as though she had fallen into deep thought while searching through her memories.

After several seconds of silence—

It was as if Saionji Nanase had suddenly found the crucial piece of information. She covered her small mouth with slender fingers in surprise.

"You're... Natsume-kun?"

Natsume Chikage raised his brow slightly in confusion.

"You know me?"

Saionji Nanase puffed out her cheeks a little.

"We used to be classmates!"

Natsume Chikage was even more confused.

"Classmates?"

With her cheeks slightly puffed, Saionji Nanase showed a small, pure and natural grievance at having been forgotten.

"We were in the same class for the entire first year of middle school."

"Don't tell me you've already forgotten?"

Only then did Natsume Chikage vaguely recall that there had indeed seemed to be such a cute girl in the class.

Back then, Saionji Nanase had been quite popular in class.

Unfortunately, the original owner of this body had been an outcast, addicted to games and indifferent to class matters and relationships with classmates.

Naturally, his memories of his schoolmates were extremely faint.

Moreover, Natsume Chikage had transmigrated into this body, and he had not gone through all of the original owner's memories.

So he genuinely did not recognize Saionji Nanase.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, he used the safest excuse—one that girls usually accepted.

"Sorry. You've become much prettier than before, so I didn't recognize you right away..."