The Assassin Girl Who Stayed by My Side in Another World… Somehow Followed Me Back to Modern Japan - Chapter 05: I Was Fine Holding Back in the Other World, But Now…

Chapter 05: I Was Fine Holding Back in the Other World, But Now…

I finally made it to school.

As always, I couldn’t sense Aira’s presence at all,

But I figured she was nearby—probably eating her breakfast, or maybe already done by now.

Not that I could tell either way…

Somehow, her stealth technique even hides the smell of food. Still kinda freaky.

With those thoughts in mind, I stepped into Class 1-4 for the first time in eight years.

This… this was my seat, right?

I made my way to the back-left corner—

You know, the classic “main character” spot—and sat down.

“Morning, Hiroto!”

Just as I was thinking I should go say hi to a few of my old friends,

One of the very few I actually had beat me to the punch and called out first.

“…Ah. Morning, Honoka.”

I turned toward the voice and saw a girl with blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

A wave of nostalgia hit me—

But I kept my expression cool and casually returned the greeting.

Honoka Nakanishi.

She was the girlfriend of one of my other friends.

“It’s been two days, huh!”

Totally unaware of the emotional rollercoaster I’d been on, Honoka cheerfully raised both hands in the air.

Yup. Classic Honoka—

Random high five request, as usual.

(It had been eight years for me, but for her, it was just another ordinary weekend.)

Back before I got pulled into the other world, I used to find her unpredictable energy a bit much.

But now?

Now, I actually kind of missed this weird, goofy vibe of hers.

Smiling a little to myself, I raised my hands and returned the high five.

…Wait, two days?

Oh, right—today’s the first day back after the weekend, isn’t it?

Honestly felt like I didn’t get any time off at all.

But I guess that checks out, considering I was literally stuck in another world until just recently.

“What about Hayato?”

Hayato Enomoto—my other friend, and Honoka’s boyfriend.

The two of them were basically glued together.

Not quite to the level of me and Aira, but still—pretty inseparable.

So naturally, I had to ask.

Also, I just wanted to say hi to the guy.

“He’s got a cold. I’m gonna stop by his place after school to check on him.”

“Want me to come with?”

“Nah, it’s nothing serious. He should be fine~”

“Alright. Then just tell him I said hi.”

“Got it! I’ll let him know!”

If I kept insisting on visiting Hayato, it would’ve come off super weird—

At least compared to how I was before getting sent to the other world.

So I held back.

Even though, deep down, I really wanted to see him again…

My friend—after eight long years.

“I’m heading back to my seat~”

Just as the bell was about to ring, Honoka said that and made her way back.

And right at that moment—pain shot through my arm.

It felt like someone had pinched me.

No—scratch that.

I was being pinched.

I glanced down at my arm.

Obviously, no one was there.

…Only one person could pull something like this.

[What was that for, Aira?]

Thinking that, I grabbed a random notebook and scribbled a quick message in the language from the other world—something only Aira would understand.

At the same time, I mentally braced myself for the inevitable whisper in my ear.

Back at the convenience store, the only one who saw my dramatic reaction was a random clerk I’d probably never see again, so it didn’t matter.

But if I freaked out like that here—in the middle of a classroom—

My whole first year back could go down the drain.

…Okay, maybe people wouldn’t care that much.

But still.

If I couldn’t ignore it, then I sure as heck couldn’t let something like that happen.

“(…Who?)”

Who?

Wait—does she mean Honoka?

[She’s a friend.]

I jotted my reply to Aira in the corner of my notebook again, using the language from the other world.

In response, she pinched my arm—harder this time.

…Ow. Seriously, that hurt.

Why is she even doing this?!

She never had this weird habit back in the other world.

What’s gotten into her?

“(…You two seemed close.)”

[She’s one of the few friends I have. Of course we’re close.]

“(…You touched hands.)”

She means the high five?

Yeah, okay—we touched hands.

But… so what?

Even in the other world, holding hands or whatever wasn’t that big a deal.

What the heck is going on with Aira right now?

[And what about it?]

“…”

She didn’t answer.

Instead—out of nowhere—she took both of my hands in hers.

Fingers interlaced.

……………………Okay.

Now I can’t even take notes for class.

Well… it’s just homeroom for now, and there’s still a bit of time before the actual lessons start.

So I guess… just for a little while, I’ll let it slide.

I mean, Aira’s my daughter, after all.

And putting up with your daughter’s whims is just part of being a parent.

Yup.

That’s all it is.

There’s definitely no other reason.

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Author’s Note:

Another chapter will be up around 8 PM today!