The sight of the black-haired girl before him, and especially the system notification text in front of him,
immediately took Asaba Kotone somewhat by surprise.
He hadn't expected to run into Asa Mitaka so soon.
"Sorry."
Knowing she had been distracted, Asa Mitaka bowed slightly to the boy before her in apology.
Then she noticed that his eyes were rather unusual.
She had originally intended to apologize, bow, and leave, but his unusual blood-red eyes caught her attention, making her take another couple of looks.
"It's fine. You didn't bump into me."
Asaba Kotone responded normally.
He made no particular attempt to strike up a conversation with Asa Mitaka or get friendly with her. Even running into her here had been unexpected.
Trying to get friendly with her too deliberately certainly wouldn't work either.
"How is that fine? I really was distracted, and I nearly bumped into you."
Asa Mitaka suddenly grew a little insistent.
But she soon realized that this was their first meeting, and there was no need to say so much.
No one cared who she was anyway, much less what she thought.
"Anyway, that's that."
With that, Asa Mitaka headed up the stairs.
"..."
Asaba Kotone fell silent and said nothing.
This was no different from his impression of Asa Mitaka. She was very particular and stubborn about certain things. While that had its good side, such as following rules and obeying the law, it also had a less desirable side: she could be rigid in her thinking at times.
Various other factors also contributed to her not fitting in.
Of course, in Asaba Kotone's eyes, whether someone fit in wasn't actually important, as long as they were happy with their life.
But Asa Mitaka wasn't the kind of person who could be happy despite not