Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Time Stop?! How Is That Even Fair?!

From the school gate all the way to his seat in Class 2-3, Oreki Gen's brain had been stuck in a stunned, blue-screened state.

How long the girls' legs were, how short their skirts — none of it registered in Oreki Gen's vision anymore. All he could see was an endless abyss of darkness.

He hadn't expected that just as he'd started to believe the texts' predictive function was real, he'd receive a message like that.

Someone wanted to taste his lips? The phrasing sounded like it belonged to one of the characters in his orbit.

How could this be possible? Sure, he'd actually found the 1,000 yen and really hadn't been able to buy the tuna sandwich, but something like this couldn't possibly happen, right?

For this entire week since transmigrating, he'd avoided all contact with every heroine.

There shouldn't be any random reason for them to come seeking him out. Under these circumstances — a kiss? How?

Could it be one of those narrow-corridor encounters where they bump into each other, trip and fall, and their lips just happen to collide in that classic cliché?

...That was actually plausible as hell, because after running through every possibility, only this absurd scenario seemed the most logical.

Looked like he needed to minimize any unnecessary movement today. Maybe these strange texts existed to warn him so he could take evasive action, rather than being prophecies that were guaranteed to come true?

Besides, it was written in such a weird, almost first-person kind of phrasing...

"Hey, Oreki!"

A voice came from the neighboring seat.

Oreki Gen turned his head and found himself looking at a face sporting a goofy grin.

This was his classmate, Matsuyama Shota.

Unremarkable looks, a somewhat square and honest-looking face, but he was no fool. Oreki Gen actually thought this guy was more the mischievous-sidekick type — street-smart with plenty of little tricks up his sleeve. He was also one of the few students in class who was on decent terms with Oreki Gen.

"What's up, Sho-bro?"

Oreki Gen looked over, and Matsuyama Shota blinked.

"I've told you to stop calling me that weird nickname... Whatever, suit yourself. Who else is going to be the sole ray of light in your lonely little world?"

"Do guys really have to be this gross when they talk to each other?"

"Conversations between guys are supposed to get progressively more degenerate as the friendship deepens. You don't get that, Oreki?"

"Forget it, forget it. What did you want to say?"

With some time before the first period, Matsuyama Shota leaned in with a grin. "Did you see Sakuraba-san this morning?"

Oreki Gen paused, then shook his head. "Didn't see her. Why?"

Sakuraba Mitsuki was like a celebrity at Sakurato High. An outstanding family background paired with unforgettable, breathtaking beauty meant she was the center of attention wherever she went. Naturally, she was a hot topic around school — there was even a fan club for her on the school forum. This was something Oreki Gen could barely wrap his head around, but then again, that was Sakurato for you.

Matsuyama Shota adopted a look of pure reverence.

"Sakuraba-san was really beautiful today..."

"As opposed to when? When has she ever not been beautiful? ...But why are you paying so much attention? Are you a fan of hers?"

Matsuyama Shota shook his head vigorously. "No way. I'm eighteen — I'm not doing something that juvenile."

"So when you were seventeen, you were her fan. Got it."

Matsuyama Shota's face instantly flushed red. Oreki Gen had clearly hit the mark.

He scrambled to defend himself. "I just like the paintings she does, that's all! Don't you think it's incredible that a girl who already has a great family background and doesn't even need to try hard also has that kind of artistic talent? Liking Sakuraba-san isn't anything to be ashamed of, right?"

Whether you guys should be ashamed, this bro has no idea. But this bro might very well lose his life over it.

Watching Oreki Gen heave a hollow sigh at the void, Matsuyama Shota laughed. "Want me to send you some of Sakuraba-san's artwork? She's seriously talented. Guaranteed you'll become a fan."

"I'll pass. I have zero interest in becoming anyone's fan right now. The meaning of my life is to work hard for myself and become my own idol."

"That's actually pretty inspiring. But didn't your entrance exam scores end up lower than mine?"

"Who says working hard has to mean studying? Shallow."

It seemed like every morning held these kinds of meaningless conversations, but it was exactly these conversations that gave many people's youth its meaning.

Oreki Gen didn't feel much of anything about it. He just wanted to keep his neck attached to his shoulders.

The morning classes proceeded normally. The balding teacher stubbornly clung to his last strands of hair, combing them across his scalp into what looked like a bullet-train track.

The same drowse-inducing lecture droned on, punctuated by the occasional scratch of pen on paper.

During breaks, students from other classes sometimes passed by the window, but Oreki Gen stayed firmly planted in his seat.

As long as he got through today safely without the text's prediction coming true, he should be in the clear.

Then came the midday lunch break.

"Come on, time to eat. What are you still sitting there for?"

Matsuyama Shota called out to Oreki Gen, who'd been noticeably off all day. Oreki Gen had actually been planning to sacrifice his lunch hour and stay glued to his seat.

But on second thought, a growing teenager skipping a meal was pure torture. The energy burned during morning classes was no joke.

And with Matsuyama Shota by his side... It should be fine. He just had to stick close to Matsuyama Shota. His buddy would serve as a human shield.

Hold the line, Sho-bro!

"It's nothing, my leg just fell asleep. Let's go."

Since he lived alone, Oreki Gen had never gotten into the habit of bringing a packed lunch, which meant he had to buy something from the cafeteria.

Someone like Sakuraba Mitsuki — an ojou-sama like her -- wouldn't eat cafeteria food, right? That made it seem one degree safer.

Oreki Gen stuck close to Matsuyama Shota, all the way down to the ground floor of the teaching building.

Close enough that even Matsuyama Shota started feeling uncomfortable.

"Dude, Oreki, why are you practically glued to me today? Don't tell me you're..."

Oreki Gen maintained a perfectly normal expression.

"Don't overthink it. The hallway's narrow and it's crowded, that's all."

"Yeah? It better just be the crowd..."

And it was crowded. At this hour, students were pouring out like a river. Sakurato High's lunch break wasn't long, but the afternoon dismissal was early, which made the midday window all the more precious. Everyone wanted to make the most of it.

Watching the stream of students still flooding out from behind them.

"..."

Suddenly.

Oreki Gen's gaze seemed to freeze.

He'd sensed something deeply wrong.

His eyes were still facing the hallway, not yet turned away, but his ears had already gone completely silent.

The surging tide of students — silenced in an instant. Oreki Gen's eyes clearly saw his classmates mid-stride through the hallway, their footsteps halted, their bodies locked in place, feet hovering above the ground!

What was happening?

Oreki Gen tried to turn his head and look around, but found that he couldn't move either. Beyond being able to see the scene before him, he could do nothing — couldn't even speak!

He could even see a leaf suspended in midair, frozen mid-fall!

This situation... could time have actually stopped?!

He didn't remember the doujin having a time-stop element!

Oreki Gen tried to struggle, but then he spotted something moving in his field of vision.

A distant figure.

She slipped effortlessly through the gaps between the frozen students in the hallway, walking toward him one step at a time.

A tall silhouette, long and slender legs, and a face as cold and emotionless as a glacier...

Sakuraba Mitsuki...

How was she still moving?!

Nothing about the bizarre scene around them seemed to register in her eyes. She simply walked forward — calm, elegant, and unerring — heading straight in his direction.

Oreki Gen was beginning to realize.

Don't tell me... the one who caused this time stop was her?!

This can't be real — who's going to explain to me why a doujin heroine can stop time?! How is that even fair?!