Early morning, the air carried the damp scent of dew.
Taking a deep breath felt like it could wash away the weariness deep in one’s soul, refreshing the spirit.
Ziteng Sayaka had once again arrived at the classroom early, yet she sat at her seat doing nothing, leaning against the window by herself, lost in thought.
She seemed to come earlier each day, though she herself didn’t know why.
It couldn’t possibly be just to have a few more words with Hoshino before class started, right?
That would be too ridiculous.
Young girls often have all sorts of fantasies—dreaming of being a princess in a fairy tale, meeting her own Prince Charming.
Almost every girl, when she was little, had similar daydreams.
But Ziteng Sayaka was different.
When she was a little girl, she would always wonder what her life would be like if her parents hadn’t passed away.
Maybe she wouldn’t have become a Magical Girl.
Ziteng Sayaka became a Magical Girl when she was very, very young.
It had been nearly ten years now.
And now, she too had to start thinking about the future.
Ziteng Sayaka was already sixteen years old.
In another two years, three at most, she would reach the age where she should retire.
What would she do then?
Setting aside those Magical Girls who sacrificed their lives in battle, over the years, Ziteng Sayaka had also witnessed the retirement of many seniors and juniors.
But after they retired, they all lost contact.
No one knew where they went or what they were doing.
Maybe she could try becoming a manga artist in the future.
She quite liked reading shonen battle manga.
The protagonist grows through various hardships, makes many friends along the way, and finally defeats the main villain relying on friendship and bonds.
Even though she had heard that being a manga artist is incredibly hard work, she still wanted to give it a try.
What should the protagonist she draws look like?
While the girl was still lost in her future fantasies by the window, she completely failed to notice that Hoshino Gen had already arrived beside her.
“Good morning.”
Hearing the familiar voice, Ziteng Sayaka quickly turned around.
“Good morning.”
Hoshino Gen took his textbooks out of his desk drawer and placed them on the desk.
“I have a question about you that I’ve been curious about for a long time. I just don’t know if I can ask.”
“Huh?”
Ziteng Sayaka was a bit puzzled and answered without thinking.
“Of course you can. Why wouldn’t you be able to ask?”
Hoshino Gen looked into her eyes and asked, “Ziteng Sayaka, what do you do every day when you arrive so early?”
“Some people come early to study hard, some come early to finish leftover homework from yesterday. But no matter what, everyone has their own reason for coming early.”
“Yet, Ziteng, you come this early every day, but I never see you actually doing anything specific. So I’m very curious.”
“What is it that makes you come so early every day?”
Ziteng Sayaka turned her face away.
“N-no reason, really. It’s just a habit of waking up early.”
“Since there’s nothing else to do anyway, I just come to the classroom first and wait.”
Hoshino Gen nodded thoughtfully.
“Oh, I see.”
Ziteng Sayaka secretly glanced at what Hoshino Gen was doing.
She found him, as usual, taking out his books and previewing the material the teacher would cover today.
“I actually admire you, Hoshino. I can’t believe you can read such boring books, and even study first thing every morning.”
Unexpectedly, Hoshino Gen blinked and asked in return, “Boring? I actually find it quite interesting.”
“Every time I learn a little knowledge, I feel like I understand the world a bit more deeply. It’s like playing an exploration game. How could that be boring?”
Ziteng Sayaka: “…”
Alright, this guy really has a unique way of thinking.
She had no idea how to argue with that.
“If you, Ziteng Sayaka, find studying boring, it’s probably because your starting point for learning is wrong. Someone told me from a young age that you study for yourself.”
To be considerate of Ziteng Sayaka’s feelings, Hoshino Gen deliberately avoided the word “family” and instead used “someone.”
“There are three purposes to learning. First, to understand the world through learning. Second, to understand yourself through learning. Third, after understanding both the world and yourself, to become the person you want to be through learning.”
“I simply enjoy learning new knowledge. As for exam scores and such, good is good, bad is bad. They don’t affect my enthusiasm for learning.”
Stop, master, please stop chanting.
Ziteng Sayaka rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
Every time Hoshino Gen talked to her about these strange theories, she felt like her brain was about to grow.
Even though she couldn’t understand it, it still felt impressive in an inexplicable way.
“Hoo—”
A gentle breeze swept in, carrying a swirl of petals and a rich floral fragrance that rushed into the classroom through the window.
The window swung open and shut, and the pages of the book Hoshino Gen was reading were ruffled.
Ziteng Sayaka exclaimed excitedly, “Hoshino, do you smell that? The flowers are so fragrant!”
Hoshino Gen, of course, smelled it too.
His senses were naturally sharp. In fact, he had already noticed this unusual fragrance on his way to school.
It seemed to be because the cherry blossoms planted around the school and nearby roads were blooming.
But the cherry blossoms had already bloomed once before.
Why would they suddenly bloom again right before summer vacation?
Besides, cherry blossom fragrance wasn’t like this.
This was overwhelmingly strong.
Ziteng Sayaka stood up and stretched by the window, thoroughly enjoying the sensation.
Turning back, she suddenly noticed Hoshino Gen staring straight at her.
Then, she saw Hoshino Gen also stand up from his seat and begin walking toward her, step by step.
“You… what are you doing?”
If it were any other boy doing this to Ziteng Sayaka, she would have already thrown a punch.
But when it was Hoshino Gen, she found she couldn’t muster any intention to resist.
Why do I even feel a little…
Expectant?
In the empty classroom, Hoshino Gen drew closer and closer, gradually shrinking the girl’s space to move.
Finally, he couldn’t resist and extended his “claws” toward her.
Ziteng Sayaka’s mind was a mess.
She didn’t know what to do, didn’t dare to look at what was happening behind her, and instinctively closed her eyes.
Thump-thump.
Thump-thump.
The world suddenly became very quiet, so quiet that Ziteng Sayaka could hear her own heartbeat.
However, after a long while, the expected “assault” never came.
Ziteng Sayaka felt nothing.
When she cautiously opened her eyes again, she saw a small…
Petal?
Pinched between Hoshino Gen’s fingertips?
So when he walked over and reached out…
He wasn’t going to do anything to me, but was just picking a petal that had landed in my hair?
Hoshino Gen seemed completely unaware of Ziteng Sayaka’s inner turmoil, intently examining the petal in his hand.
It looks very much like a cherry blossom, but is it really one?
The color was overly vivid, and the base of the petal was somewhat plump.
Pressing it with a fingernail even squeezed out some moisture.
Is there a cherry blossom variety like this?
Hoshino Gen suddenly remembered something Kunimitian had mentioned when reporting his research findings a few days ago.
Kunimitian had discovered a mutated plant that lured prey by emitting a fragrance, hypnotized them with pollen, and finally consumed them as nutrients.
Could the petal in my hand have a similar issue?
Caution was Hoshino Gen’s consistent style.
Since this possibility couldn’t be ruled out, he had to take precautions.
Hoshino Gen’s gaze shifted from the petal to Ziteng Sayaka, whose expression seemed a bit off.
“This petal was blown into your hair by the wind just now. I wanted to pick it off to take a closer look… Achoo!“
Before he could finish, he suddenly turned his head away and sneezed.
Achoo!
Another one.
The successive sneezes startled Ziteng Sayaka.
“What’s wrong, Hoshino? Do you have a cold? Do you need to go to the Nurse’s Office?”
Ziteng Sayaka took out her handkerchief and handed it to him.
“No,” Hoshino Gen waved his hands repeatedly.
“I just remembered… I seem to have a slight pollen allergy… Achoo!“
Ziteng Sayaka froze upon hearing this.
Doesn’t that mean I caused his allergy?
“I’m sorry, Hoshino Gen! I’ll close the window right away!”
Hoshino Gen, rubbing his nose, said in a stuffy voice, “It’s the peak blooming season recently. Try not to open the windows if possible.”
“I understand.”
Ziteng Sayaka apologized repeatedly.
“Hoshino Gen, I’m really, really sorry.”
“It’s okay, it’s not your fault. This issue doesn’t flare up often, so even I forgot about it.”
Thus, a rather minor incident passed.
More and more students filled the classroom, and many remarked on how they had smelled an incredibly strong, almost dizzying fragrance on their way to school today.
Where there’s an anomaly, there must be a cause, Hoshino Gen thought silently.
It seemed he needed to investigate this matter.