Chapter 1: A Brand-New Week Begins
Monday Morning, the Start of a New Week
In the bustling streets of town, there stood a beautiful girl.
Her long, silky hair was a shade of ash gray, her eyes glimmered like sapphire blue, and her features were flawless from every angle—360 degrees of perfection. She was as pristine and radiant as an unblemished flower.
Her attire consisted of a navy-blue blazer, a wine-red sweater, and a deep navy skirt. In short, she was in her school uniform, on her way to class.
Now, let’s take a brief detour. Are you familiar with the phrase “a demon with a steel club”? If not, I suggest consulting your nearest dictionary. There, you should find the definition: Elaina in a school uniform. If not, feel free to add it yourself. Her presence was so striking that anyone passing by couldn’t help but turn their head for a second look.
Surely, her personality must be just as refined and graceful. There’s no way someone this beautiful could have a dark side, right?
“Hm…”
Soon, she came to a halt mid-way down the street and focused her gaze intently ahead.
In front of her was a bakery. A popular establishment that opened early in the morning, its sweet aroma of freshly baked bread drifted irresistibly to her.
Her eyes locked onto the display window, where an array of bread gleamed enticingly. They seemed to call out, “Elaina-chan, eat me!” Or at least, she thought she heard them say that. Maybe it was just her imagination—after all, she did have a bit of a habit of eating too much bread, and her thoughts tended to... stray.
The one and only flaw in her otherwise perfect self was her utter weakness for bread.
But isn’t that endearing and cute in its own way?
“Hehe…”
Eventually, she chuckled softly to herself.
Perhaps one of the breads displayed in the bakery had cracked a funny joke directed at her.
“I really am adorable today, too—”
No, that wasn’t it.
She had simply been admiring her reflection in the shop window.
This flawless girl, a high school student with an undeniable love for bread, was even more enamored with her own face. In the middle of debating whether or not to buy some bread, she caught sight of her reflection and promptly forgot about everything else.
But isn’t that endearing and cute in its own way?
Anyway, who exactly is this girl, still standing in front of the bakery with a soft smile on her face?
That’s right—it’s me.
“Good morning, Elaina!”
Clink, clink. The sound of a bell echoed beside me.
I turned to see another high school girl, wearing the same navy blazer as I was. Her short black hair was as dark as charcoal, and her smile was radiant.
She was my classmate.
One of my close friends with whom I often spent my time.
It was Saya.
……
When did she even come into the store?
Could she have seen me grinning at the glass, lost in my own vanity?
No, no, that couldn’t be.
Surely not… right?
“Hmm? Is something wrong, Elaina? Your face looks kind of stiff,” Saya asked, tilting her head as she maintained her usual cheerful expression.
…From her demeanor, it seemed like I might be safe.
“Saya, by any chance, did you… just now… see anything?”
I asked cautiously, my voice trembling slightly.
In response, she tilted her head further and replied, “Huh? See what exactly?”
Great. She didn’t see anything.
“Oh, it’s nothing! If you didn’t see anything, then it’s fine,” I said, letting out a sigh of relief from the depths of my soul. The thought of anyone witnessing me admiring my reflection in the glass was too embarrassing to bear.
I’d narrowly avoided making a complete fool of myself this morning.
Meanwhile, Saya, my dear friend, moved closer to my side, her usual energy on full display. “Forget that! Look at this! This!” she exclaimed, holding up her smartphone.
Saya had a habit of showing me interesting things—articles she’d found online, amusing videos, or funny pictures from social media.
"Alright, alright. What is it today?"
"It's a super shocking image I got through some back channels," Saya said, her tone dripping with mischief.
"Super shocking image?"
What could it be?
I leaned in to take a look at her screen.
"Do you know who this is?"
Displayed on the screen was a beautiful girl, gazing at a glass window with a dreamy, self-satisfied smile.
"That's right—it's you, Elaina."
………
"Wow, you're right! Amazing," I said flatly before promptly deleting the photo without hesitation.
"AAAAHHH!! What are you doing, Elaina?!"
"Oops, my hand slipped."
So, she had seen me. Not only that, but she'd gone so far as to take a picture.
"It was such a cute shot, too…" Saya mumbled, looking utterly dejected.
Hands on my hips, I puffed out my cheeks.
"What are you talking about? You don't need to sneak pictures—I’m cute regardless," I declared. "And for the record, taking candid photos is a crime, Saya."
"Weren’t you just saying two completely different things at the same time?"
"Not at all. I don’t know what you mean."
Well, let’s leave the jokes at that.
It’s not like I’m always full of myself or anything.
I only make those kinds of remarks when I’m in an especially good mood. It just so happened that today, someone caught me at the wrong moment.
"What were you doing in front of the store, anyway, Elaina?"
"I was just fixing my hair."
"I'm pretty sure I heard you saying something like, 'I’m adorable today too—'"
"And what about you, Saya? What are you doing here?" I interjected, swiftly cutting off the inconvenient line of questioning.
With a raised eyebrow, Saya responded, "Huh? What else would I be doing? Buying something from the bakery, of course."
She held up a paper bag, presumably from the bakery.
Ah, I see.
"A tribute for me, then?" I asked, tilting my head with a teasing smile.
"No, it's just my lunch!" Saya retorted, her tone flustered.
"Your lunch consists of a croissant, sausage bread, curry bread, and melon bread? Isn’t four all at once a bit much?"
"How do you know what's inside just by looking at the bag…?"
"Because I’m me," I replied, puffing out my chest proudly.
Incidentally, I also informed her, with a smug smile, that the croissants here were the shop’s most popular item.
As I was explaining, the bell at the shop’s entrance jingled once more.
Emerging from inside was another girl in the same uniform as us. She had short white hair adorned with a headband. Another classmate of ours.
Another friend I often spent time with.
"Amnesia," I greeted.
As I waved, I casually asked, "You’re here too?"
With her usual cheerful expression, Amnesia replied, "Yeah, I was shopping with Saya."
"For offerings to me, perhaps?"
"No, it’s just my lunch!" she exclaimed, visibly confused.
"Why would I need to buy offerings for you…?" she muttered, thoroughly bewildered. Not to pile on, but I glanced at the bag in her hand and added, "Is just one chocolate cornet enough for lunch? That seems a bit light… Are you okay?"
"How do you know what’s inside just by looking at the bag…?" she asked, her confusion only deepening.
Why, you ask? Simply because I’m me. There’s no other explanation.
"Amnesia, Amnesia," Saya called, tapping her shoulder from beside her.
"Hm?" Amnesia tilted her head.
With a shrug and a slightly exasperated sigh, Saya-san said, "That reaction? It’s exactly the same as mine."
"And so what…?!"
"Since you’re the second one here, could you at least make your comebacks a bit more original?" Saya teased, her tone lighthearted.
"I didn’t come here to do a comedy routine, you know…?" Amnesia-san retorted, clearly at a loss.
She lets out a sigh.
Although Saya, Amnesia, and I haven’t explicitly planned it, we seem to share the same route and timing for our commute to school.
Both of them have younger sisters, so the group sometimes grows to five, or sometimes not, as we spend our weekday mornings together.
This week, which has just begun, started the same way.
“Shall we get going?” I call out.
Engaging in light conversation, the three of us line up and start walking down our usual path.
Most of the words we exchange are accompanied by laughter. A glance around shows familiar faces. Passing behind us are the unchanging streetscape. What surrounds us is our everyday normalcy.
What kind of events will unfold today? What encounters await us?
With our hearts swelling in anticipation, we walk through yet another peaceful, slightly lively day.
“By the way, Elaina, do you recognize this person?”
Amnesia shows me her smartphone screen just as the school building comes into view.
Hmm.
Is it some kind of funny picture?
“What is it?”
I peek at the screen.
“…”
On it is, as expected, a perfect image of a beautiful girl, no matter how you look at it.
"Wow, amazing!"
Without hesitation, I deleted the image.
"So, what was it again?"
"Hey, you deleted it way too fast!"
I had a vague sense that there had been a high school girl looking smug and saying something incomprehensible like, 'I really am adorable today, too' But since it was only for a moment, I couldn’t quite grasp it.
What was it about, again?
"Geez! I went through the trouble of taking a cute picture of you, Elaina, and this is how you treat it?"
Amnesia puffed out her cheeks, clearly sulking in an exaggerated way.
Good grief.
"Since you're the second one today, Amnesia-san, I wish you'd put a bit more thought into your jokes."
"I'm not here to perform stand-up comedy, okay?!"
And so, the three of us continue our peaceful daily walk.
Just like always.
Chapter 1 END
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