Hello there, beautiful and cute girl—Aria is here!
…Wait, does that sound narcissistic? Eh, whatever. Confidence is key, right?
Anyway, it's back to school time. Speaking of which, have you ever noticed those big, flashy "Back to School" sales? The ones with shelves stacked high with notebooks, pens, and backpacks, all with bright red discount tags? In my previous life, I used to scoff at that stuff—who needed a themed sale to buy school supplies? But now, in this life, every single item I own comes from those very sales.
My backpack? "Back to School" special.
My pencil case? "Limited-time Back to School" offer.
Even my socks? Well… okay, maybe not those, but you get the idea.
It's funny how things change. What I once ignored, I now completely rely on. Well, I was reincarnated from male to female—that's the biggest change of all.
Currently, I am now in my dorm room writing my diary.
Then, I heard a familiar voice from behind me.
"Aria, how was your weekend?" Viola asked, leaning in curiously.
"It was great! I spent most of my time with Yuuji," I replied without much thought.
"Oh really…?" She raised an eyebrow. "By the way, what are you writing?"
"My diary."
Her eyes lit up with interest. "Ooh, can I read it?"
Can you read a book that contains every secret I have?
"Sure thing," I said with a sweet smile, handing it over without hesitation.
The moment she opened it, her face twisted in confusion. "Uh… what is this, Aria? This looks like gibberish…"
I let out a mischievous laugh. "Well… did you really think I'd just hand it over if you could actually read it?"
"Okay, that makes sense…" she admitted, flipping through the unreadable pages before sighing in defeat.
But before I could feel too smug, Irana suddenly appeared from behind and snatched the diary from Viola's hands.
"Let me try reading it," she said confidently.
I smirked. Even for you, Irana, I doubt you could—
"Let's see… uh…" Irana squinted at the page before smoothly reading aloud, "Anyway, it's back to school time…"
Huh?! My brain short-circuited. Without thinking, I immediately snatched my diary back from her grasp.
"Irana, you could read that?" Viola asked in disbelief.
"Yeah," Irana answered, completely unfazed.
"How?" I demanded.
She laughed lightly, scratching the back of her head. "Uh… well, I used to see Onee-chan writing in that weird system, so I got curious and, um… searched about it. Then I kinda just learned it."
I stared at her. That was… unexpected.
Certainly, despite the differences between this world and my previous life, many things remained the same. But it is still surprising that someone close to me would take the time to figure it out. Even so… something felt off.
I had this nagging feeling—Irana was lying to me.
But why? Irana had never lied to me before.
I quickly put my diary in a safe place, making sure Irana wouldn't ever touch it again.
"Oh, by the way, Onee-chan, I forgot to ask you something yesterday," Irana suddenly said.
"Hm? What is it?" I asked, adjusting myself in my seat.
"What exactly did you do with that girl yesterday?"
"That girl?" I blinked. "Oh… you mean Syena? Well, I just saved her from the crowd."
Before Irana could respond, Viola suddenly cut in, her eyes widening in interest.
"Wait… you met Syena yesterday?" she asked, leaning forward.
"Ah… yeah," I admitted. "I kinda bumped into her."
Viola's curiosity only grew. "Did anything happen?"
"Like I said, I saved her from the crowd… and then, well, she just kinda left."
"Not even a proper thank you?" Irana asked skeptically.
"No, no, she thanked me," I quickly clarified.
Viola narrowed her eyes. "Did you do something that made her leave immediately after?"
I hesitated for a second. "Not really…"
That tone… Irana and Viola exchanged knowing glances.
Viola smirked. "By that tone, you definitely did something."
I avoided eye contact, looking off to the side with a small, awkward laugh. "Haha… um…"
"Uh… let's go eat, guys…" I said hastily, quickly standing up from my seat. Without waiting for their response, I darted out of the dorm room, heading straight for the cafeteria.
The sooner I changed the subject, the better.
I reached for the door, yanking it open, and just as I was about to take off running—
BAM!
"Ouch…" I stumbled back, rubbing my forehead. Great. I had bumped into someone.
Again.
Seriously, what was with me and running into people lately?
"I'm sorry—" I started apologizing out of habit, but then my eyes landed on the person I had collided with. My words caught in my throat.
"…It's you."
Standing before me was a red-haired girl, glaring at me with an annoyed expression.
Ariana.
"Damn it… use your eyes for goodness' sake," Ariana snapped, crossing her arms as she took a step back. Her expression was full of irritation, like I had just ruined her entire morning.
Before I could retort, another familiar voice called out from behind her.
"Aria? Are you alright?"
I turned my head to see Kotori approaching, concern evident in her eyes.
"Yeah… I'm okay," I reassured her, rubbing my forehead for extra emphasis. Not the best way to start my day, but at least I wasn't sprawled out on the floor.
"My, oh my… what an interesting morning we have here," another voice chimed in playfully.
Standing beside Kotori was a girl with long ponytail hair, smirking in amusement at the situation.
She was the same girl who had been stuck cleaning the toilets with Kotori and me last week.
What was her name again? Kotori had told me before… Yukari? Was that it?"Good morning…" I said awkwardly, scratching the back of my head.
"Good morning to you too," she replied with an amused smile, clearly entertained by my reaction.
Before I could say anything else, the door to my dorm swung open behind me.
"Onee-chan, wait for me—eh?" Irana's voice rang out as she stepped outside, expecting me to have already left. Her eyes darted between me and the others before her lips curled into a knowing smile.
"That's great! I knew you'd never leave me behind," she said, walking up beside me with a satisfied look. Before I could say anything more, the door behind me opened again and out walked Viola.
She took one step outside, then froze, her eyes scanning the group gathered in front of her. Her gaze moved from Kotori to Yukari, then to Ariana—who still looked mildly annoyed—before finally landing on Irana, who was clinging to my arm with an exaggeratedly sweet smile.
For a moment, there was nothing but silence.
Then, without a single word, Viola turned on her heel and calmly walked in the opposite direction.
I blinked. "Uh… Viola?"