Prologue

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣The girl in the purple school uniform stood on tiptoe, frowning. No matter how far she stretched, she could not reach the book she wanted. Of all things, it had been shelved at the very top of the bookcase. Inwardly, the girl cursed the academy librarian’s unhelpfulness.

‘What are they thinking, arranging books like this?’

A user cannot even take them out properly. The girl let out a deep sigh and lowered her heels. She had the feeling it might be because she was a girl.

All the academy’s facilities were designed to suit the height of the male students. Since it had not been that long since the school had begun admitting female students, in a way, it was only natural.

Still, considering that she was rather tall for a girl, there was clearly a problem with how the collection had been arranged. Resolving that she would definitely file a complaint with the library today, the girl stepped back.

“……?”

Just then, a shadow fell behind her. A boy who had approached without a sound, heaven knew when, stretched an arm out over her head. When his chest brushed her shoulder, the girl flinched in surprise.

The boy in the purple school uniform lightly took down the very book the girl had just been struggling so desperately to reach.

Then he lowered his heels and turned to look at her. In the girl’s caramel-colored eyes was reflected the boy’s cornflower-sky-blue gaze.

“Was this what you needed?”

The boy whispered. As his low voice sank into her ears, it somehow felt ticklish. The girl stared at him blankly, then hurriedly came back to herself and nodded.

“Yes, that’s right.”

The girl answered. The boy gave her a kind smile and held out the book in his hand.

“Here.”

“Ah…… yes. Thank you.”

He must have seen me struggling like that the whole time. How embarrassing. The young lady of House Millium blushed.

The boy quietly watched the faint flush spreading across her face, then steadied his breathing for a moment before greeting her politely.

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

“Ah, yes.”

The girl, still unable to escape her embarrassment, fumbled awkwardly. The boy, on the other hand, remained composed to the very end, bowing his head neatly before turning away with grace. The girl’s sense of shame deepened.

‘How annoying.’

It was not as though she had wanted to show such a foolish side of herself. Hugging the poor innocent book tightly, the girl grumbled inwardly.

If this had been someone she would see once and never again, that would have been one thing, but she did not like the thought that she had shown such a silly side to someone she would continue to pass by and meet from now on.

Holding the book the boy had taken down for her tightly in her arms, the girl thought back to him as he had approached earlier. The solid chest that had brushed her shoulder, his height, so great that she had had to tip her head back to look up at him, the faint scent of soap about him.

The girl’s cheeks reddened. It was no longer only from embarrassment. Why her face was burning like this, why her breathing trembled, why her heart was racing so wildly, the comparatively innocent girl of that time had no way of knowing.

Only much later did she realize that from that moment on, the fever of first love had begun to show its first signs.