To the Person I Fell in Love with at First Sight!

Morning light filtered through thin clouds, casting dappled shadows across Moonlight Academy's courtyard.

A gentle breeze brushed past the cherry trees lining the path, sending pink-and-white petals dancing through the air before they slowly drifted onto the shoulders of passing students.

Yukimura Suzune had long since vanished from sight.

A few petals landed on the shoulders of the solitary Natsume Chikage, but he did not notice them at all, simply walking forward with focused steps.

When he reached the shoe lockers, he happened to run into Fujiwara Aoi, who was changing her shoes.

The instant she saw him, Fujiwara Aoi's face bloomed with an energetic smile.

"Good morning, Natsume-kun."

Natsume Chikage replied softly, "Good morning, Fujiwara-san."

As she untied her shoelaces, Fujiwara Aoi said with a smile, "What a coincidence. I can't believe we ran into each other here."

As she spoke, Natsume Chikage's gaze was involuntarily drawn to her sports watch, his eyes revealing an unconcealable longing.

He only needed one more special piece of equipment to receive the attribute point reward.

He was extremely curious about how his body would change after his attribute points increased, so he desperately wanted to obtain another special piece of equipment as soon as possible.

Fujiwara Aoi noticed that Natsume Chikage seemed to keep looking at her hands from time to time, and her cheeks reddened slightly.

She had always felt that Natsume Chikage seemed especially interested in her hands. That couldn't be her imagination, could it...?

It had to be her imagination. Someone as proper as Natsume-kun couldn't possibly have a hand fetish...

Probably not...

Fujiwara Aoi shook her head, tossing the strange thought from her mind before quickly putting on her indoor shoes.

Natsume Chikage sighed inwardly.

He was still too poor right now.

If he had money, he would have bought a new sports watch for Fujiwara Aoi long ago, then found a way to keep this special piece of equipment.

Unfortunately, his café wages were clearly not enough, and he still needed that money for everyday expenses.

If he dared touch it, his little sister would definitely scold him mercilessly.

As for the novel, not only had he not finished writing it yet, but even after finishing it, he would still have to submit it and get it published.

As a result, royalties were still a distant prospect for now.

At the moment, Natsume Chikage felt that he could only pin his hopes on the prize money from the shogi tournament.

He had heard the tournament would begin in the next few days, though he still did not know when the exact date would be announced.

Once the tournament began, it should ease his current financial situation. He might even be able to use the money to buy a new sports watch and exchange it for Fujiwara Aoi's current one.

At that moment, Natsume Chikage opened his shoe locker.

In an instant, five or six love letters came into view.

If they had merely been ordinary love letters, Natsume Chikage might not have reacted much.

But when he saw that one of them was emitting a special glow, he froze for a moment before a surge of wild joy rose in his heart.

[To the Person I Fell in Love with at First Sight]

[Quality: White]

[Effect: After equipping it, there is a slight chance of making someone feel the echoes of first love in their heart.]

[Description: Every case of love at first sight is just lust at first sight!]

Natsume Chikage picked up the love letter, his expression becoming somewhat strange.

Love letters can be special equipment too?

And this letter looks so new. It was probably written in the last couple of days, yet it can become special equipment?

Just how are special pieces of equipment formed?

Although he could not figure it out, his mood truly did brighten.

This was a case of finding something without even looking for it.

When he actively tried to find special equipment, he could not find any no matter what. Yet when he was not looking, one had delivered itself right to his door.

But this equipment effect actually made people recall the feeling of first love?

Natsume Chikage had no problem collecting the special equipment, but as for actually using its effect, he would rather not...

In fact, he had known since childhood that being too popular was not necessarily a good thing. For example, in class, he was always surrounded by girls.

That was why he often avoided doing anything too conspicuous.

If he equipped this love letter... things would probably only get worse.

As for replying to these love letters, Natsume Chikage had no plans to date at the moment, so he intended to turn them down one by one.

[You have obtained ownership of this special equipment. Would you like to register it?]

[Yes/No]

Natsume Chikage chose yes without hesitation.

[You have successfully registered this equipment. Would you like to store it in the panel?]

[Yes/No]

For the time being, Natsume Chikage chose no.

Fujiwara Aoi and the other students were still nearby. If the love letters suddenly disappeared, it might cause unnecessary trouble.

[You have successfully collected three pieces of special equipment. Reward: 1 attribute point!]

Seeing that he had really obtained an attribute point, Natsume Chikage felt a surge of excitement. He planned to find time later to use it and see what would change.

[You need three more pieces of special equipment before your next attribute point reward!]

The notification on the panel did not surprise him.

Just as he had guessed, after collecting three pieces of special equipment and receiving an attribute point, the requirements reset and began a new cycle.

In other words, he needed to collect another three pieces of special equipment to receive the next attribute point reward.

At that moment.

The first-year boys who had witnessed the stack of love letters in Natsume Chikage's shoe locker all felt terrible.

Why could someone receive five or six love letters right after starting school?

Where were their love letters?

Just where were they?

Why were their shoe lockers still completely empty after checking them over and over?

Could World OL have bugged out?

The upperclassmen felt even more conflicted.

They had been at school for one or two years, yet had rarely—or never—received a love letter.

And this Natsume Chikage had received so many on only his second day of school?

It was enough to make anyone mad with envy!

The upperclassmen left while grumbling and cursing.

When Fujiwara Aoi saw the love letters in Natsume Chikage's shoe locker, she unconsciously bit her lower lip, a trace of bitterness rising in her heart.

She knew Natsume Chikage was more popular than other boys, but she had not expected him to be this popular...

It was only the second day of school!

He had already received so many love letters on the second day—what would happen in the future?!

Fujiwara Aoi secretly groaned, feeling as though she would have many rivals in the future...

Still, she knew very well that what mattered most now was how Natsume Chikage would respond to these love letters.

If he planned to accept one of the girls' confessions, then she would have no chance at all!

Fujiwara Aoi was panicking inside, but she could only force herself to remain calm and tease him, "That's some serious pressure, Natsume-kun... Receiving so many love letters right after school starts."

"But with so many girls confessing to you at once, how are you going to handle it? Will you choose to date one of the girls you like...?"

After saying that, she looked at him nervously.

Natsume Chikage shook his head. "No, I don't have any plans to date right now."

"I see!" Fujiwara Aoi first looked delighted, then blinked in confusion. "Huh... Why don't you want to date right now?"

"Mm." As Natsume Chikage changed his shoes, he explained softly, "My family's financial situation isn't very good right now. Food, clothing, housing, transportation—everything is a problem. I also have a younger sister to take care of. So until our finances improve, I really don't have the time or the state of mind to think about dating."

Fujiwara Aoi froze where she stood, as though she had been turned to stone.

She had originally been planning to find a chance to confess to Natsume Chikage...