Chapter 1

Life is unpredictable.

One moment, you might suddenly trip and get hurt—the next, you could be caught in an accident.

You might suddenly fall ill and end up hospitalized.

Or, who knows? Maybe some random girl you’ve never met will confess to you… Well, I guess that’s not entirely impossible.

That’s just how life is. Things you wouldn’t have even imagined an hour ago can happen in the blink of an eye.

There’s even that old saying: "The future is a mystery." Of course, nobody can know what’s coming. Humans don’t have some kind of clairvoyance like you see in manga.

When something unexpected happens, people have no choice but to accept it.

…Or at least, that’s what I thought I understood.

After all, in my twenty years of life, I’ve faced plenty of unforeseen events.

…But still.

…This might be a little too unexpected.

When I woke up, a delicious aroma filled the air.

Miso soup, and… grilled fish, maybe?

The savory scent teased my empty stomach, still groggy from sleep.

I sat up with a yawn and checked the clock. The hands pointed to five minutes before my usual waking time.

Slipping out of bed, I left my room and washed my face in the bathroom. After drying off, I opened the living room door—and was greeted by a sight that had become familiar over the past few days.

In the center of the living room, at the dining table, a single girl was setting out breakfast.

She was stunningly beautiful.

Her delicate features and golden hair made her look like a French doll.

Her name was Yuu—my "best friend" who had been staying at my place for the past few days.

"Ah, good morning," Yuu noticed me, turning around with a smile.

Her cheerful grin was so adorable, I almost flustered on the spot.

"M-Morning."

I fought back the stammer threatening to slip out and returned the greeting.

…Seriously, what am I doing?

It had already been several days since she started living here, and yet I still hadn’t gotten used to her presence.

Pathetic, really.

No matter how beautiful she was, she was still my "best friend." I needed to get over myself—it’d be rude to her otherwise.

"Breakfast is ready."

"Yeah, thanks. Looks great, as always."

On the table, the meal Yuu had prepared steamed invitingly.

White rice, miso soup, grilled salmon, tofu, and spinach ohitashi—a classic, wholesome Japanese breakfast.

It’d be a waste to let it get cold. I quickly took my seat and dug in.

.

.

.

After the meal, I sipped the tea Yuu had made for me.

The familiar taste was comforting. I couldn’t claim to know much about tea, but something about this one put me at ease.

Which probably meant it was good.

Glancing up, I saw Yuu drinking hers as well.

Was she sensitive to heat? She kept blowing on it gently.

…But still, it was strange.

I’d felt this way many times over the past few days, and even now, the thought lingered.

For some reason—I couldn’t explain why—whenever I looked at Yuu, I felt… odd.

Not that I could pinpoint what it was. But there was definitely something off.

…Maybe it was because of the bizarre circumstances when we first met.

Yuu had only started living here a few days ago.

I’d come home after university classes to find her waiting at my doorstep.

At first, I thought she had the wrong person—after all, she was a gorgeous girl I’d never seen before. But as soon as we started talking, I realized that wasn’t the case.

To my shock, she was actually my former "best friend"—who had once been a guy.

According to her, she’d been summoned to another world and had her gender changed in the process.

After living there as a "Saintess," she’d somehow managed to return to this world.

Honestly, it was a hard story to believe.

Another world? A Saintess? That was way beyond anything my common sense could handle.

Sure, stories like that were a dime a dozen in fiction—but fiction was fiction.

Or so I should’ve thought… yet for some reason, I ended up believing her.

Even now, it’s still strange… but well, Yuu was my childhood "best friend."

No matter how absurd the story, "trusting your best friend is only natural."

…Huh? Wait, now that I think about it… when did we first meet as kids?

—————Rustle—————

…Hm?

What was I just thinking about?

Did I space out? I can’t remember.

…Eh, whatever.

If I forgot, it couldn’t have been that important.

Shaking it off, I checked the clock—it was almost time to leave for university.

"Alright, I’m heading to campus now."

"Okay. Have a safe trip."

Yuu saw me off with a smile.

As I stepped through the front door, I couldn’t help thinking… Man, hearing "Have a safe trip" feels kinda nice.