The girl was as beautiful as ever.
After contacting her by phone, Yusei went to the agreed location near the Tokyo University's library to wait for Megumi.
Yusei hadn't changed much in half a year, but Megumi seemed to have more of a youthful aura about her.
If she seemed a bit immature before, now that she was in university, she appeared somewhat more mature.
Today she wore a knitted white blouse, with a red coat over it, and a long white skirt that reached down to her calves.
This outfit looked familiar… it seemed to be one Megumi often wore. It would look even more lively with a beret on her head.
But perhaps because she was in a hurry to meet him, she wasn't wearing a hat, and her long hair was no longer the short style from before.
"I'm very sorry, Yusei-kun, for being late." Megumi hurried over to Yusei with small steps, apologizing.
"It's fine. By the way, I really didn't expect you to choose the Faculty of Letters," Yusei said with a laugh.
He had no doubts about Megumi's ability to get into Tokyo University, and the only surprise was her choice of the Faculty of Letters.
Megumi gave a faint smile, "I heard before that Yusei-kun was drawing manga, so I thought of entering the Faculty of Letters and becoming a novelist in the future."
"You want to write novels?" Yusei looked at the girl in astonishment.
The girl nodded gently. There was one thing she had never mentioned: she truly envied Utaha.
Back at the beginning, she remembered when Yusei and Utaha were particularly close, it was because of a novel that they connected.
At that time, although she appeared normal and calm on the surface, she was actually feeling dejected inside. She believed it was her own inadequacy that caused Yusei to distance himself from her.
So, when applying to Tokyo University, she chose the Faculty of Letters without hesitation.
She also wanted to be the one by Yusei's side.
Naturally, Yusei was unaware of this. But hearing the girl wanted to write novels, he smiled lightly.
"Writing novels is good too. Maybe if your novel becomes a hit, I could make a manga adaptation of it."
Hearing this, a glimmer of light appeared in Katou Megumi's eyes, and she couldn't help but feel anticipation.
"Really?"
"Of course it's true. We're old classmates, so why would I lie to you?"
Megumi nodded gently, her small head tilting towards a nearby stone. She actually felt this seemed somewhat romantic.
'If Yusei-kun were to draw my novel...' Just as she was lost in thought, a teasing voice came through.
"If it isn't the belle of our Faculty of Letters? What are you doing standing here with an outsider?"
Yusei looked over and saw Utaha in a long dress walking towards them, a smirk playing on her lips.
"Tsk tsk, you rejected so many boys who confessed to you, just for this guy from another faculty?" Utaha deliberately provoked Yusei, speaking to Megumi.
Megumi wasn't flustered. Her expression remained calm as she said, "Kasumigaoka-san, I am not any 'belle'. If we're talking about those rankings, Kasumigaoka-san, you should be the one on the list. Also, about confessions..."
"I believe that was your experience upon entering university, wasn't it, Kasumigaoka-san?"
Hearing Megumi say this, Utaha's expression stiffened.
That's right. Actually, she was the one rated as the faculty belle and listed on the campus belle ranking. And the confession incidents were also directed at her.
During this time at university, she was practically driven crazy. Those boys were like flies, constantly sending messages, confessing in person, writing love letters, and so on.
Unfortunately, Utaha was completely uninterested in them, trampling all their advances with an expressionless demeanor.
For this, she earned the title [Black Stockings Queen] on the campus belle list.
Because she often wore black stockings, combined with her cold attitude that looked down on her pursuers, the title [Black Stockings Queen] fit her perfectly.
Additionally, it's worth mentioning that Asuna, Kaguya, and Eriri were also on the list.
Among them, Asuna earned the title [Dazzling Flash] due to her amiable nature when interacting with others. [Flash] was the title Asuna earned in SAO.
The SAO Incident had a huge impact, so it wasn't surprising Asuna was recognized, especially as the Vice-Leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath, the Flash Asuna.
Legend had it she was cold and powerful in the game, but her classmates discovered that in reality, this girl was truly just like a young girl.
She might be strong-willed, but she couldn't be called cold. On the contrary, after becoming class president, Asuna proved to be very responsible, lighting up the students around her like a star.
However, despite being such an outstanding girl, no one pursued her. Well, to be accurate, there was one person at the very beginning.
After Asuna rejected that person's pursuit, the next day she took Yui for a walk around campus.
On the way, she unintentionally ran into a female classmate. After the classmate praised Yui as 'kawaii' and asked who Yui was, Asuna smiled, her face radiating a gentle maternal glow. (T/N: I'll just regard this plot hole as Yui now visible to others at will, instead of only selected people.)
"This is my daughter."
This truly shocked her female classmates, leading to the rumor that 'Yuuki Asuna has a daughter, with the father unknown'.
A university student who's a mother... Regardless of whether people had tact or not, those who got into Tokyo University were either capable or had solid backgrounds.
Smart people aren't foolish, and even foolish people knew that Asuna and Kaguya were close. Even if they were foolish, their families wouldn't allow them to be foolish.
Therefore, among the campus belles, Kaguya and Asuna had the most peaceful experiences, with far fewer 'flies' buzzing around them.
There's no need to elaborate on the Shinomiya young lady.
As the famous daughter of the Shinomiya Family, combined with her cold exterior, beauty, and suffocatingly impressive family background, her title was full of Chuunibyou flavor: [The Empire's Pearl].
It has to be said, Japanese people really like to add a bit of a Chuunibyo flair to names… it's deeply ingrained.
[The Empire's Pearl] is usually used to describe a princess of the Imperial Family.
But this year, the Imperial Family had no adult princesses. The only one was still in elementary school, just a little kid who hadn't grown up yet, nowhere near being a 'pearl'.
So, Kaguya, with her prominent family, became the so-called [Empire's Pearl].
The last one, Eriri, actually had many pursuers, but no one heard of her accepting anyone.
In summary, that's roughly the situation.
Ultimately, the ones most bothered were actually Utaha and Eriri.
Utaha, who had originally intended to tease Megumi, found herself being teased by Megumi instead, leaving her feeling somewhat embarrassed.