Category: natsuki

1
 

Thursday morning, the second week of May.
 
As I walked to school from the station, I mentally reviewed my high school life so far.
 
“For now… I think it’s going… pretty well.”
 
—In the past, I was someone often called a “nice guy” by those around me.
 
I couldn’t deny that I deliberately acted the part.
 
Not because I wanted to be seen as a nice guy, though. Back then, I was just naively idealistic, a little dumber than average, and utterly repulsed by the idea of calculating personal gains in relationships.… Read more

Episode 1: [The Butler of Seishinkan]
 

 
0/D
 

—All human relationships should fundamentally be transactional.
 
This was the creed I carried into high school—and as Kageyuki Sou, a man who firmly believed it, I never imagined things would turn out like this a mere month after enrollment.
 
The root of it all traces back to the second “Natsuki” I met right after starting school. But to cut to the chase: thanks to her, I’ve secured my place in this new life.… Read more

“So? Where’d you see me before?”

Even the way she referred to herself had subtly shifted as she asked me a question with palpable boredom.

─ ─ Honestly, it’s an unbelievable change—like night and day.

Anyone would wear a mask depending on the time and place. Someone who’s always their raw, unfiltered self is probably rare to begin with.

But even so, this was the first time I’d ever seen someone commit this hard to an act.… Read more

Prologue

Back then. She was there—in the corner of the elevator hall.

In front of her stood a grown man. His expression, even his hair, looked stiff, as if he considered everything around him utterly dull.

The man spoke.

[—Choose your friends.]

Low, heavy, thick. A voice brimming with authority, as if declaring a universal truth.

Even though I was hiding in the shadows of the distant hallway—where he couldn’t possibly notice me—for some reason, his words felt like they were directed at me.… Read more