บท 23: Witness Megumi Kato
{Transitioning to Shin}
The next morning, when Shin arrived at the classroom, he found that Megumi Kato was already there.
The classroom wasn't very crowded yet, as Shin had come fairly early. The students who had arrived ahead of him were mostly gathered in small groups chatting, leaving Megumi Kato alone at her seat, going over her lessons.
On the one hand, this showed that Megumi Kato was a studious girl. On the other hand, it highlighted her low presence—few people seemed to notice her enough to strike up a conversation.
But Megumi seemed used to it, quietly studying on her own as though nothing was amiss.
"Good morning, Kato."
Shin greeted her as he sat down at his desk—since no one else was talking to her, he might as well fill that role.
After all, Megumi Kato was quite a beauty, and chatting with her was far from unpleasant.
"Huh? Good morning, Ran..kun."
Megumi gave a small start, almost as though Shin's greeting had surprised her. She turned to look at him, her expression slightly taken aback.
Although Megumi always appeared calm, she was far from expressionless; her emotions were still clearly discernible.
Of course, Shin suspected her calm expression was due to her low presence—without people to talk to, she probably saw little need to show a wide range of emotions.
If Megumi Kato kept up this isolated routine, he wondered, would she actually become expressionless in a few years?
"Why do you look so startled? Am I that scary?"
Shin chuckled as he pulled a textbook out of his bag and placed it on the desk.
"No, it's just... I didn't expect you to notice me today as well. I thought yesterday was an exception."
Megumi shook her head, her gaze filled with curiosity at Shin's continued attention.
Yesterday's brief conversation with him had been enough to satisfy her, but now it seemed he might talk to her regularly from now on.
"You said it yourself, didn't you? That we should talk more."
Shin recalled Megumi's words from yesterday. Now that he had developed the ability to sense energy, Megumi's low presence no longer affected him.
"That was just polite talk."
Megumi's expression softened slightly, though at a glance, she still seemed as composed as ever. A closer look revealed a small smile at the corners of her lips.
She was rather cute. Though Megumi wasn't the kind of girl who took one's breath away, she had a unique charm.
"If you talk to me often, though, Yukinoshita might get jealous."
"Yukinoshita?"
Shin blinked in mild surprise at Megumi's sudden mention of Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Why bring her up?"
"Aren't you dating Yukinoshita?"
Megumi looked at Shin curiously, her eyes shining with a thirst for knowledge.
"Where did you hear that?"
Shin's mouth twitched. He'd only met Yukinoshita for the first time yesterday—how did Megumi already know about their interaction?
Had rumors about him and Yukinoshita spread so quickly? That couldn't be, could it? They'd only met after school yesterday, and already this morning Megumi knew about it?
It wasn't like the soccer team members had stayed up all night spreading gossip, was it?
"I saw you with her by the field after school yesterday. You looked quite close."
In fact, Megumi hadn't heard any rumors; she had seen it firsthand.
"…Did I misunderstand something?"
"Oh, that. I was just helping a friend with his romantic pursuit."
Shin realized why Megumi thought he and Yukinoshita had something going on.
"You probably know him—Akagi. He asked me to go with him to the Service Club yesterday…"
Shin went on to explain how Akagi had dragged him to the Service Club, where Yukinoshita had enlisted their help to set up Akagi with Tamiya Shion.
"Oh, the Service Club. I see. I didn't expect Yukinoshita to have that side of her."
After hearing his explanation, Megumi understood what had happened and gained a new perspective on Yukinoshita Yukino.
As a self-proclaimed "ordinary student," Megumi had heard of Yukinoshita, the high-achieving, beautiful girl, but she hadn't known about Yukinoshita's helpful nature.
However, her approach to helping others… Megumi, despite her lack of romantic experience, sensed that Yukinoshita's plan might not be very reliable, much like Shin.
"Do you have any suggestions, Kato? You could tell me, and I'll pass them on to Yukinoshita."
Noticing Megumi's discomfort after hearing Yukinoshita's plan, Shin could tell she found it less than reliable.
Leaving two shy people alone together and expecting romance to blossom was the kind of thing that only happened in manga.
"Well... I mean, people without any dating experience wouldn't have much useful advice to offer, would they?"
Megumi pondered Shin's request but, realizing she had nothing to offer, could only express her own helplessness.
After all, none of them—Shin, Yukinoshita, or herself—had any dating experience, so they weren't really qualified to give Akagi or Tamiya advice on love.
Of course, Shin and Megumi were aware of this limitation, while Yukinoshita had a mysterious confidence in her plan.
"But it's admirable that you're willing to help your friend, Ran-Kun."
Megumi smiled at Shin, giving him a small compliment.
After all, he wasn't part of the Service Club; he was only involved because Akagi was his friend.
To Megumi, that was praiseworthy.
"It's just a small favor… Plus, if Akagi has a girlfriend, maybe he'll settle down a bit."
Shin shook his head, thinking it was no big deal.
Akagi had done plenty of silly things in the past to meet the school's well-known beauties, so if he could actually start dating Tamiya Shion, she might keep him from causing trouble.
"What about you, Ran-kun? Have you thought about getting a girlfriend?"
With the topic turning to dating, Megumi blinked curiously, looking at Shin
To be continued….
It is a new story guys so please donate your power stones, I wish that the fic reaches to a maximum number of audience.
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