I'll be updating multiple times today.

This is the first chapter.

"Sousuke, hey. Do you remember what got us started talking?"

On the way back from the beach.

Suzu says this while riding on Mashiro's back.

I dig through my memories to answer.

"……Yeah, right after we became second years. It was when the exchange event was being planned."

"Right, right."

"Well, we ended up not participating in the end."

The venue was a karaoke parlor, and Chiyu wasn't even planning to attend to begin with.

Our childhood friend doesn't really like singing.

It's not my forte either, but thinking it would be rude to turn down an invitation, I had considered joining in for the first part, at least.

"Yeah. Good thing that kid found her keys."

On our way to the karaoke parlor hosting the exchange event, we found a crying elementary school boy crouching by the shrubs.

Seeing as he was in trouble, we called out to him, and it turned out he had lost his house key on his way home.

His parents were working, so he was frantically searching for his key, terrified he’d be locked out of his home. But he couldn’t find it, and it seemed he was on the verge of despair.

So, I offered to help him search for it.

That’s when Soko jumped in to help as well.

"It ended up taking until evening," he said.

It’s a common trope with lost items, but if you only look at the ground where you think you dropped it, you’ll never find it. Often, when you suddenly raise your head, the item is hooked on something high up, like a fence.

I suspect a passerby who found it did that out of kindness, feeling uncomfortable simply leaving it there, but the owner usually has a hard time noticing such a detail.

"Ever since then... I always thought Sounosuke was... a really nice guy."

"I thought the same about you, Soko. Felt like a pretty sweet gal," I replied.

Soko laughed softly at that, saying "What's that?" before continuing.

"Do you remember what the other kids in our class were saying back then?"

"Huh? No, I don't really remember."

"Some girls reacted with things like 'Poor thing' or 'I lost mine when I was a kid too,' but most of them didn’t even look. And for those who did react, the topic switched instantly to stuff like 'How much longer until karaoke?' or 'What are we going to sing?'"

"In this day and age, maybe that's the normal reaction. Sometimes people who offer help with good intentions end up being treated as suspicious individuals."

It’s difficult to imagine that generation, raised on the adage 'ignore strangers,' would feel comfortable speaking to a distressed child when they grew up and found one.

From their perspective, they themselves were the 'stranger' back then, a lesson firmly embedded in their memory from the past.

"That's not it, Soujiro. Everyone just found it too much of a hassle. The social mixer was important because it might determine your standing in class and which group you’d end up joining."

"..."

"But you didn't hesitate to help. You encouraged the child by saying, 'They'll definitely be found,' and without worrying about getting your uniform dirty, you dropped to your knees on the ground to start searching."

"...I'm not exactly planning on becoming a hero, but I'd still want to lend a hand if someone was struggling right in front of me. Besides, Mune helped out too, didn't she?"

As I mentioned earlier, this incident was actually what started our conversations.

"Don't you remember? I was a bit late getting there. I said earlier that it felt like I was blaming the other kids in the class, but honestly, I'm not that different either. I hesitated for a split second."

"Hesitated?"

"Yeah. I probably read the room on instinct. Trying not to ruin the 'everyone have fun' vibe. But if helping the child ruined the mood, it wasn't like we needed to worry about preserving it in the first place."

"Hmm... it depends on the person, doesn't it? Some people go all out for their youth. I don't expect anything special from it, so I just do what I feel like doing..."

More than defending my classmates, I felt a certain discomfort at being praised for doing what was obviously right, so I said:

"Youth where you can naturally be kind to others—that’s definitely the better way to have it."

Hearing that, I hesitated to deny any further.

"...So, did you keep talking to me after that?"

Mio wasn't a 'gal who's nice to otaku,' nor was she a 'gal who's nice to everyone.'

She was just one girl who had taken a liking to me over that incident.

"Yeah. I didn't think Sou-suke would be this... perverted."

"Uh..."

Laughing at my choked-up reaction, Mio continued in a gentle voice.

"But you were just as kind as I expected."

"Mio..."

"Ah, and also. You have a handkerchief, right?"

"A handkerchief... The one you used to find me?"

Initial equipment upon teleportation is presumed to be whatever clothing one was wearing when they went home the previous day.

The evidence lies in what came with them: the women's underwear, my own undergarments, and the handkerchief Mio had borrowed from me that day.

By combining "my handkerchief" with "Fenrir's sense of smell," she was able to locate me on the very first day.

"That’s not it. I didn’t forget to wash them… I actually did it on purpose." "Huh? What do you mean?"

"I, um, just really liked that Sou-suke lent me a handkerchief, and… well, I figured I’d have something to talk about with him for like, a day or two."

She probably intended to start a conversation like, "Sorry, I forgot to bring the handkerchief you lent me," and he’d respond, "Ah, that. No worries, anytime."

"Even you think of things like that, Mero?"

"It’s so hard finding an excuse to talk to someone you’re into…!?"

Hearing Mero speak in a sulky tone, I hurriedly apologized.

"No, yeah, I get it. I know how it feels."

"Do you really?"

It’s stressful to approach people you aren’t close to, and the differences in groups or social ranking within the class are barriers that are hard to bridge.

Thinking back on it, Mero had ignored all those barriers time and again to strike up conversations with me.

Remembering her courage brought a lump to my throat.

"Seriously. Once we’re back on Earth, I’ll make the first move and talk to you."

"...Promise?"

Her voice was high-pitched with anticipation. "For sure. Totally. Absolutely."

I tried to imitate the thing Shouko occasionally says.

"Pfft. Ahahahaha. Nice, let's make it a trend..."

I had my doubts about it, but whatever, it was fine as long as Shouko was laughing.

Mashiro slowed down, and eventually our house came into view.

"Thanks, Mashiro.

Hey, I'm going to build a Fenrir's hut when we get home," Mashiro barked happily.

And with a leap over the stone wall, we arrived at our base.

Timing it so he could sit down properly, I got off together with Shouko.

Now then, had the other three come back yet?

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I'm updating multiple times today. This is the first one.

"Kousuke, do you remember? The reason why we started talking?" On the way back from the beach.

Masuko says while riding on Mashiro's back.

I search through my memories and answer.

"...It was right after we entered second year, right? We were supposed to have an exchange meeting." "That's right."

"Well, we didn't actually end up participating."

The place was a karaoke place, and Senyuu didn't participate in the first place.

My childhood friend doesn't really like singing.

I didn't like singing either, but I thought it would be rude to turn down the invitation, so I thought about participating at first.

"Yeah. It's good that she found her key."

On the way to the karaoke shop that was the venue for the exchange meeting, we found a young boy with a tear-streaked face crouched beside a shrub.

Feeling sorry for him, we approached him and found out that he had dropped his house key on the way home.

Their parents were at work, so they had been looking for the key to get inside the house, but they couldn't find it and were at a loss.

At that point, I decided to help them look for the key.

Then, Shouko helped me.

"It took us until evening, though."

I think this is a common occurrence when you lose something, but if you only look on the ground where you think you dropped it, you won't find it. It's often the case that the key is hanging on a fence or something high up.

I think a passerby who found the key and felt bad about leaving it there put it there out of kindness, but the owner rarely notices it there.

"I've thought about you, Sou, ever since then... You're a good guy."

"And I thought Shouko was a nice girl."

Shouko giggled a little and continued.

"Did you hear what the other kids in the class were saying?"

"Huh? No, I don't remember."

"Some of them said things like 'Poor thing' or 'I dropped mine when I was a kid,' but most of them didn't even look. Even the ones who reacted changed the subject to something like 'How much longer until the karaoke?' or 'What are we going to sing?' right after."

「In this day and age, that might be the normal reaction. People who try to help others out of good intentions can sometimes be treated as suspicious characters.」

To begin with, generations that were raised to ignore strangers who approached them might find it difficult to speak up when they see a child in trouble.

From their perspective, they are the ones who are the "strangers" based on past teachings.

「That's not it, Souzou. Everyone was just thinking, 'It's too troublesome.' The exchange event was more important because it could determine their future class standing or group affiliation.」 「……」

「But you, Souzou, didn't hesitate to help. You encouraged the child, saying, 'You'll definitely find it,' and started looking on your knees despite the risk of getting your uniform dirty.」

「……I'm not trying to be a hero, but I can't just stand by when I see someone struggling right in front of me. Besides, Shouko helped too, didn't she?」

That's right, this was also the beginning of how she and I started talking.

"Don't you remember? I was a bit late. When I said something like I was blaming other class members just now, I wasn't really any different. I was just hesitating for a moment." "Hesitating?"

"Yeah. I must have been trying to read the room unconsciously. I didn't want to break the mood of everyone having fun together. If it was an atmosphere where helping a kid would lighten the mood, there wouldn't be any need to worry about breaking it."

"Hmm... Isn't everyone different? Some people throw themselves into their youth. I don't expect that from anyone, so I'm just doing what I want..."

I said this not because I was defending a classmate, but because I was uncomfortable being praised for doing what was obvious.

"I think it's better to be able to be kind to others naturally during your youth."

That being said, I couldn't deny it any longer.

"...So, you've been talking to me since then?"

Shouko isn't an "Otaku-friendly Girl" or a "Girl who's nice to everyone."

She's just a girl who liked me after that incident.

"Yeah. I didn't think you'd be this perverted." "Uh"

After laughing at my choked-up voice, Shouko continued in a gentle tone.

"But you turned out to be exactly as nice as I thought you were." "Shouko..."

"Oh, and you have a handkerchief, right?"

"A handkerchief... You mean the one you used to find me?"

It's assumed that the initial equipment at the time of the transfer was the clothes worn the previous day when returning home.

In addition to the women's underwear and my innerwear, the handkerchief Shouko borrowed from me that day was also included as evidence.

And by combining "my handkerchief" with "Fenrir's sense of smell," Shouko was able to find me on the first day.

「That's right. I didn't forget to wash it... I did it on purpose.」
「Huh? What do you mean?」

「I, I was happy that Sohatsu lent it to me... and I thought that if I forgot to bring it back for a day or two, it might give me something to talk about.」

She probably intended to have conversations like, "Sorry, I forgot to bring back the handkerchief I borrowed," "Oh, that one. It's fine, anytime is good."

「Even you, Shouko, thought of something like that.」

「I, I know how hard it is to find an excuse to talk to someone you like...!？」

Shouko said it in a pouting voice, so I hurriedly apologized.

「Yeah, you're right. I understand.」
「Really?」

It's nerve-wracking to talk to someone you're not close to, and it's hard to overcome the differences in groups and ranks within the class.

Thinking about it, Shouko ignored all those things and came to talk to me.

Thinking about her courage, I felt something well up in my chest.

「I really will. If I get back to Earth, I'll make an effort to talk to you too.」
「...You promise?」

Her voice was filled with hope. 「Of course. I promise.」

I tried to mimic something that Shouko says sometimes.

"Pfft. Hahaha. That's good, let's make it a trend..."

I'm not sure, but since Shouko's laughing, it's okay.

Mashiro slowed down, and soon enough, our house came into view.

"Thanks, Mashiro. By the way, when we get home, we'll build a Fenrir hut." Mashiro chirped happily.

And then we leaped over the stone wall, arriving at our base.

I waited for him to sit down before getting off with Shouko.

Well, I wonder if the other three have returned.

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