In a daze, as the teacher finally announced the end of the lesson, the morning classes came to a close.
Seated somewhere in the classroom was a girl—an exceedingly beautiful young lady, the kind you'd count on one hand.
A refined lady of grace, with every movement exuding the air of an honor student or noble. Not only was she beautiful, she also excelled academically and in other aspects—an almost flawless individual.
Her name was Yukinoshita Yukino, and just as her name suggested, she was as cold as snow—so icy that others dared not approach her. A natural aura of mystery surrounded her, giving off an impression of being unapproachable.
Due to her personality, she had few friends.
Her cold and ruthless demeanor was like a blizzard blowing through the social circles of girls—earning her the image of a perfect, unapproachable beauty, encased in walls of iron.
Usually, someone like her would never lose focus in class and would always answer the teacher's questions perfectly.
But today… she seemed a little off.
Now that class was over, the other students gathered in groups of threes and fours, chatting about what to eat and where to go. No one came near her—as if a wall of cold wind surrounded her, warding off any attempts to get close.
Most students saw her as a high-class, mysterious, untouchable ice princess—someone to admire from afar, not to approach.
However, a few—particularly girls—looked at her with eyes full of hostility.
Eyes filled with jealousy.
"…Sigh~"
That sigh came from none other than the beautiful Yukino, who was staring out the window, lost in thought.
The strange incident from the morning still lingered in her mind. Just how should she repay the person who saved her?
She was not someone who liked owing favors, and so she had spent the entire morning pondering how to properly thank her neighbor, Yayuki, for saving her life.
She thought of several ways, but most seemed insincere.
In fact, she found herself disgusted with the kinds of meaningless ideas she had come up with.
Forget it. She might as well just ask him directly. No point overthinking it.
"You heard about it? Yazuki from Class F actually…"
"…Gross. What a shame. That girl is so pretty, too…"
"Maybe they're…"
Whispers from nearby girls floated into her ears. The name they mentioned made Yukino frown.
These girls were crossing the line with their gossip.
"Don't you know it's incredibly rude to talk behind someone's back? If you have a problem, why not say it to their face?"
With no regard for classroom camaraderie, she sharply rebuked them.
The gossipy girls—clearly envious and petty—were stunned by her bluntness. Though they bit their lips, looking like they wanted to retort, her intimidating gaze made them fall silent.
Gritting their teeth, they left the classroom in frustration.
In a flash, the classroom was empty—except for Yukino.
No—wait, there was one more person.
Standing at the door was a girl with wavy, shoulder-length pink hair. Her school uniform shirt had three buttons undone, revealing a bit of cleavage with a dangling pendant.
Upon closer inspection, her hair showed signs of bleaching, and her face was clearly made up.
She was the flashy kind of high school girl—the type who clearly didn't follow school rules and liked to show off her individuality.
Normally, Yukino would never associate with this type. But after a recent sleepover, she had come to understand the girl's true nature a little.
Despite her seemingly airheaded appearance, the girl was actually quite sensitive to others' feelings and often tried to adapt to people's moods.
Yukino wasn't particularly fond of such traits—but at the very least, she recognized that this girl had a kind heart underneath it all.
This girl was none other than Yuigahama Yui, Yayuki's classmate.
"Haai!"
Yuigahama greeted Yukino in her usual quirky tone.
"Do you need something?"
Yukino sighed as she asked.
"Huh? What? Is Yukinoshita-san not happy to see me? Do you hate me or something?"
Yuigahama's face drooped slightly at Yukino's weary tone.
Yukino paused, seemingly in thought, before replying in her usual cool voice,
"I wouldn't say I hate you. I just find you somewhat annoying. You're a bit of a bother."
"Ugh, that's basically the same thing! When a girl says that, it basically means she hates you!"
Yuigahama had only been teasing a little, but now she looked flustered. She really didn't want Yukino to dislike her.
"So, what is it that you want?"
Yukino cut to the point.
She didn't want to keep talking aimlessly with Yuigahama, who was only going to drag the conversation into chaos.
Especially given how blunt she could be—she didn't want to end up hurting her by accident.
"Oh? I just wanted to have lunch with you, that's all."
Yuigahama gave her a goofy, slightly silly grin as she pulled out her lunchbox from behind her back.
"Fine. Just pick an empty seat and sit wherever."
"Eh?"
So cold! Yuigahama quickly dragged a nearby desk over and placed it right next to Yukino's, seating herself right beside her.
"Yukinoshita-san, did you make your own lunch?"
Ignored.
"…Yes."
Eventually, faced with Yuigahama's teary puppy-dog eyes, Yukino sighed and gave a curt reply.
That kind of stupid question really irritated her.
Normally, she'd probably fire off a biting remark. But she knew Yuigahama was just trying to strike up a conversation—trying to be her friend, trying to keep her from being so alone.
"By the way, I saw those girls who were gossiping about Kiryu-san. They were from your class, right? Seriously, what's wrong with them? They don't even know the truth and go around talking like that. Kiryu-san isn't anything like what they said."
While opening her bento box, Yuigahama grumbled indignantly.
Then, noticing Yukino's expression, she flashed her usual airheaded smile.
"But Yukinoshita-san, you stood up for Kiryu-san, didn't you? You really gave those girls a piece of your mind! They even looked pissed when they heard your name!"
"I didn't do it to defend that guy. I was just pointing out their bad behavior."
"Isn't that basically the same thing?"
"It's not."
"There's no real difference! Oh, right—since Yukinoshita-san makes her own lunches, could you teach me sometime?"
"Sorry, I don't have time lately."
"No worries! I can just come over to your place. You don't mind, right? I'll just sit quietly and watch you cook."
"Ugh."
Yuigahama's persistence was relentless, leaving Yukino with no choice but to feel exhausted. This girl really didn't give up easily.
Then—suddenly—a chill crept up her spine. Yukino noticed something glowing on the floor beneath her feet.
A magic circle?
And strangely, Yuigahama didn't seem to notice anything. No—she couldn't see it.
The glow intensified. Yukino instantly thought of those fantasy light novel tropes. Her face turned pale.
In the next moment—just as the startled Yuigahama looked on—Yukino pushed her aside, shoving her out of the magic circle's range. She then tried to leap out herself—
But it was too late.
A blinding light swallowed her whole.
"Y-Yukinoshita-san?!"
Yuigahama's terrified voice rang out.
Her mind was in complete chaos.
After being shoved aside and falling painfully to the floor, she looked up to see Yukino vanish without a trace.
What the hell just happened?