A new semester, a new beginning.
The morning air carried the cool, clean scent that always heralded the end of winter in eastern Japan, bringing a light breeze that entered through the open windows of the Minami High School hallways.
For most, it was just another semester. For two students in particular, however, it was the prelude to a future that neither of them yet understood.
Basically, in every class today, the teachers spent half an hour chatting and bragging.
"You're already in your second year of high school, you need to concentrate. Students with low grades shouldn't get discouraged. Every year, some students transform from low-achieving students into prestigious university students with just one year of hard work in their final year."
It was the same old spiel, present both in this world's Japan and in the one Ren still vaguely remembered, that other world he fragmentedly recalled, thanks to Mizuki's memories shown to him while he slept.
The only difference is that the students here aren't as obedient as those in the parallel world.
He watched the literature professor passionately lecturing about academic responsibility, while all he could think about was how he'd only slept four hours again. Despite this, he remained steadfast, jotting down ideas for future chapters of Ao Haru Ride while pretending to copy the content from the board.
The truth is, despite the grand speeches, a large part of the class wasn't paying attention. Some were exchanging notes, others were whispering, some were discreetly fiddling with their cell phones under their desks.
And it wasn't out of rebellion. Not everyone wants to be part of the social elite. Many set their goal, since high school, to become ordinary people when they grow up, so naturally, they don't study as much.Classroom 2-B was a true reflection of this reality.
"Hey, did you hear? It seems Ren's family went bankrupt."
The murmurs started in the first class and intensified in the second. Ren noticed sidelong glances, muffled whispers, and even some notes being passed from hand to hand.
"Yes, I heard. Apparently, his father had a lot of debt and had an accident, so all the family's assets had to be used to pay off the debts."
Ren looked up, confused. His name? In a rumor again?
He pretended to continue writing, but internally, he remained alert.
"Seriously? That bad?"
"(Sigh), things are unpredictable. It's true. The family of one of my elementary school classmates was among Ren's father's creditors. The family used to be considered wealthy in our class. Now, even if he pays attention to the teachers and improves his grades, it seems unlikely he'll be able to afford university after next year's entrance exams."
The tone was grave, as if they were narrating a forbidden tragedy.
Ren frowned. Where did they get this from now?
Another group of students added more absurd rumors:
"It's no wonder Rina is so cold towards Ren this semester. Last semester, at the end of the term, they were seen talking and hanging out together at school, but this semester they're acting like strangers. So that's why."
"These things aren't cause for concern."
"What's truly unprecedented is what Takeru said to the boy."
The physics class began, and Professor Yuto started explaining electromagnetism. But before he could get into the material, he saw a piece of paper discreetly being passed between the students' hands.
He moved to the back of the room, silently, like a feline about to capture its prey.
The girl named Keiko tried to disguise herself, but she wasn't quick enough.
The professor pulled out the note, unfolded it, and his expression became grim.
"Takeru," he called, without raising his voice. "And you too, Ren."
Ren looked up immediately, and Takeru swallowed hard.
Professor Yuto placed the note on the table. He didn't read it aloud, but it was clear its contents were embarrassing.
"Talking to you is like playing music to oxen. Takeru, stop spreading rumors all day. You and Ren are good kids, aren't you afraid of affecting your image with the other classes?"
"And another thing," he continued, finally taking advantage of the students' full attention, "papers passed around during class, especially with this kind of useless content, are just disruptive. And you, Keiko, prepare for an extra question in the next class. If you have time for gossip, you certainly have time for more exercises."
Keiko turned bright red with embarrassment. Takeru turned pale. And Ren… completely confused. Why did the professor mention them like that? What was written on the note?
It was still only late morning when everything made sense. The strongest rumor wasn't about bankruptcy, nor about Rina.
It was about someone else.
"Did you hear?" someone whispered near the window. "They say that Shiori Haruki from class 2-A seemed to be secretly gathering information about Ren and paying close attention to him."
"What?! The heiress of that huge business conglomerate?"
"That's her! They say she asked about him in the lower classes. Maybe… she's interested in him?"
Shiori Haruki, who always came first in her class and was the muse of many boys on campus, was paying attention to him?
Ren almost coughed up saliva when he heard this.
Shiori Haruki? Liking… him?
It was so absurd that his mind simply rejected it. Where did they get a story like that from?
It wasn't that Ren was putting himself down; it's just that he felt he had absolutely no connection with Shiori. He dismissed the news after thinking about it for a while.
After all, similar rumors always circulated on campus, so-and-so seemed to be dating someone. This kind of information was common every month, but most of it was unfounded speculation. Teenagers love to indulge in all sorts of fantasies and guesses about these rumors.
Often, a girl from another class, standing in the classroom doorway, peeking, would spark a wave of imagination among the students. Taking it seriously? You'd be wasting your time.
However, Rina, sitting two rows ahead, heard everything and couldn't help but turn to observe Ren, trying to interpret his reaction. She didn't even know why, but it bothered her.
Who was Song Lingyun? Her father was a famous businessman from the Southern Province, incredibly rich, handsome, academically excellent, and intelligent.
She was not only academically talented but also exceptionally athletic. In her first year of high school, she won first prize in painting and piano competitions for high school students.
Just putting Ren and Shiori Haruki in the same rumor already seemed absurd. After all, how could that be possible? These two people were only mentioned together once, but they already formed a stark contrast.
Rina took a deep breath, averting her gaze from Ren's profile, who was staring at the clouds outside the window.
As for Takeru, the class gossip, faced with the students' questioning looks about the veracity of his information, he had no proof and could only say:
"Time will tell. I like to gossip, but I would never spread false information."
"You always make things up!" they protested.
"Not this time!" Takeru replied proudly. "I only said she asked about information about him. The rest was your interpretation."
The group stared at him in disbelief.
Takeru sighed. The gossip about Ren and Shiori only managed to generate fleeting discussions, so the commotion soon dissipated. After all, no one would take such rumors seriously. They only talked about it for fun. No one remembered the subject the next day.
Ren's new semester was incredibly monotonous: wake up, go to school, eat, go home, and then write his novel.
The manuscript of Ao Haru Ride was growing and gradually improving.
Page after page, chapter after chapter, he transformed what he remembered of the otherworldly work, carefully adapting and recreating it with dedication.
As for the Red Violet publishing house, he thought he only needed to deliver the manuscript on time and everything would be fine.
But on Wednesday night, Miyuki summoned him to the headquarters.
"Go to the publishing house after class. It's urgent."
Ren grew nervous. Had he done something wrong? Were there delays? Were there changes?
Upon arriving, Miyuki greeted him with her usual expression, but she seemed strangely happy this time.
"The reason I'm calling you here is simple. The publisher has hired an illustrator to create the poster for the first serialized edition of your novel. The specific style of the character design still needs to be specified by you, the author."
Ren stood motionless for a few seconds.
"Me?"
"Of course. You're the author, who else could it be?"
For a romance magazine of Red Violet's caliber, if a new work is published, the publisher usually includes a full-color illustrated poster of the new serialized novel in this issue.
The 'Momentary Blossoms' issue, containing the first chapter of "Ao Haru Ride," will be distributed throughout the prefecture in two weeks, on Wednesday, February 22nd. The printing of the novel is already underway at the printing press, and the illustrations and posters need to be finalized this week to meet the magazine's release deadline. Therefore, Renn can't wait until the weekend to work on them.
So, for the next two nights, Ren didn't rest after school; he spent his time discussing the style of the novel's posters and the character designs with the professional illustrators hired by the publisher.
Frankly, Ren's impression of the characters was basically based on the original anime, and the character designs he discussed with the illustrator also sought to remain as faithful as possible to the original.
After all, the original work became popular in a parallel world precisely because of these character designs, and Ren naturally believed in the taste of anime fans from another world.
As for the following chapters of the novel, since he didn't have time to write at night, he secretly wrote them during daytime classes.
So, during class, hidden behind the stack of books in the last desk, Ren wrote rapidly, scribbling entire drafts while the teachers ignored his existence.
Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.
Finally, February 21st arrived. The last day before the simultaneous publication of 'Ao Haru Ride' and 'The Light of Yesterday's Stars'.
The temperature rose that day; after all, spring had arrived, the breeze coming through the window carried the scent of the plum trees near the schoolyard, already beginning to bloom.
But among the students at the High School, there were two people who felt that this ordinary Tuesday was passing particularly slowly.
Ren Yamamoto, who never thought he would become a professional author so soon, was restless, mentally reviewing each line, each dialogue, imagining how the world would see his work.
Shiori Haruki, who had never had a worthy rival in anything in her entire life, felt her heart pound as if she were the protagonist of a silent duel.
Ren walked home that afternoon, his backpack heavy but his steps light. He imagined the printed edition, the pages, the smell of the ink, the colorful poster carefully folded inside the magazine. He thought about the readers who perhaps, just perhaps, could feel the same emotion he felt in the other world.
If only he could convey half of what he felt when he watched the anime, he would be satisfied.
Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Shiori Haruki meticulously organized her study materials, pretending to be calm.
But, looking at the date marked on the calendar, her gaze fixed on a single day:
"February 22nd: Publication"
After all, tomorrow was the release day for "Ao Haru Ride" and "The Light of Yesterday's Stars".
End of Chapter 14