Nova had escaped before they even had a chance to memorize his face.
『Hmm… Trent has really been lacking on training.』[Nova]
Nova appeared in a hallway that was across the school.
『Looks like he's a hit in the other class. Maybe its because I'm a healer than there was that fuss over me in the beginning.』[Nova]
Nova swiftly grabbed his student ID out and signed up for another ranking match.
He waited for a moment, but couldn't find one after waiting.
He scrolled to the area of his ID that contained his ranking score.
『HUH?!』[Nova]
Where the 100 used to be, there was a large 600.
『I gained so many points?! But how?!』[Nova]
Suddenly, Nova heard a feminine voice from behind him.
『You get points based on how many your opponent had.』[???]
Behind Nova was a girl wearing the school uniform- she seemed to emit a type of cool aura similar to Anastasia, yet it didn't seem to be burdened by the sort of awkwardness she had.
He turned around to meet her eyes- she was a tall girl- almost eye to eye with Nova. She had a clear bright blue set of eyes and dark blue hair. Her hair had bangs from her face draped down to her back with a hair tie that brought her hair together near the end of her strands of hair, along with the rest of her hair.
He was caught off guard by this person suddenly appearing behind him.
『Ah? Uh…?』[Nova]
『My name is Anri, of House Tsukikaze.』[Anri]
「Tsukikaze? Is she related to Hanzo and Leo?」[Nova]
He thought for a moment before her clearing her throat brought him back to reality.
『A-Ah. My name is Nova.』[Nova]
『Alright. I will remember that. 』[Anri]
She quickly began to walk away before Nova had tried to make some casual small talk.
『Wait! What class are you in?』[Nova]
She turned around just enough for Nova to see one of her eyes peering at him.
『I'm in class 2-A. Now, if you would please excuse me.』[Anri]
She wandered down the hallway and past the corner.
「A second year?」[Nova]
He was left with a confused feeling, but he shook it off and left for the dining hall.
-------
Nova's portion sizes have gradually and gradually been growing over time.
Today, Freyana had filled up a piping hot bowl of Tsukikaze-style udon with tempura on the side.
He carried the food to his normal table, but none of his friends were there.
「Where is everyone? Normally this is the time they go to eat, right?」[Nova]
He picked up a fried piece of shrimp tempura and dipped it into the lightly rich seafood broth before biting into the still crispy shrimp.
Nova normally didn't opt for udon, but Freyana and him had a conversation on it the other day that went-
『Ramen is pretty good, but sometimes its too salty, so I like udon too!』[Freyana]
She was laying upside-down on Nova's bed when she casually mentioned this.
It might seem like an off-hand comment that would have slid by, but to Nova…
『But, I can never give up ramen! It's so cheap, quick, and delicious!』[Nova]
When Freyana heard this, she rolled over and stared at Nova, who was sitting on the floor next to the bed.
『Too much salt is bad for you. No matter if you're eating dad's ramen or the instant ramen.』[Freyana]
Just the thought of instant ramen made Nova a little hungry- hungry enough for his stomach to rumble...
His stomach made a noise, causing Freyana to pout her face and stare at him.
『Choose. You eat my udon for a week or I never cook for you again.』[Freyana]
Nova was caught off guard by Freyana's sudden mood change.
「She's acting like how she did when we first met...」[Nova]
His skin crawled a little when he thought back on Freyana and how she scoffed at the challengers of the food challenge.
『E..Eh?』[Nova]
She stared at him, still pouting.
She looked like she was about to be driven to tears.
『...Of course, I'll eat your udon for a week!』[Nova]
After that, she was all smiles and went back to fooling around on Nova's bed.
...And now back to the present moment.
Nova looked around, but couldn't find anyone else in the cafeteria.
『...It's a weekday.. Shouldn't the cafeteria be filled?』[Nova]
He continued to eat, satisfied by the flavorful tempura and broth.
A moment later, he felt a soft feeling envelop his left arm.
『Huh?!』[Nova]
Looking to his left was Freyana, who was hugging his arm.
『Hi-hi, Nova!』[Freyana]
『Did you finally get bored of hiding in the kitchen?』[Nova]
She pouted a little.
『Don't you notice anything different about me?』[Freyana]
Nova looked at her hair- it wasn't tied up like it normally was, but instead was draped down close to the bottom of her back.
『Uhm, is it your hair?』[Nova]
She dug her face into Nova's arm.
『...Partial points.』[Freyana]
She continued to speak, except into his arm- causing him to feel a bit ticklish.
『What else?』[Freyana]
He suppressed his laughter as he continued to examine her.
When he looked down, he realized that she was wearing a school uniform.
『HUH?! ARE YOU ATTENDING GENESIS NOW?』[Nova]
She pulled her face away from Nova's arm and gave him a very wide smug smile.
『You got it half right!』[Freyana]
She gave him another wide smile.