Chapter 75: Katou Megumi's Love Letter and Yukinoshita's Memory Gap

(T/N: Powerstone goal reached!

Enjoy.)

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Katou Megumi, often referred to as Saint Megumi, was a girl with an incredibly kind personality. If you became close to her, even if you started rambling about strange topics, she would listen attentively.

She wasn't particularly goal-oriented and didn't care much about many things, but if someone important to her was interested, she would make an effort to understand.

The only downside was that she had a naturally low presence, often being overlooked by others. In every way, she was the perfect wife material.

Knowing this was a world of mixed anime, Haruto had thought of Megumi the day he met Eriri.

Back then, he had eagerly anticipated meeting her. However, three years of middle school passed without a single encounter. Yet, on the first day of high school, they ended up as seatmates.

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Haruto felt a sense of warmth from Megumi's smile.

"Haruto-kun, is there... something wrong?" Megumi asked, tilting her head slightly as she noticed his lingering gaze.

Haruto shook his head.

"No, I just think you're really cute, Megumi."

Megumi pressed a finger to her cheek and tilted her head further.

"Huh? Even if you compliment me like that, it won't get you anything, you know?"

Haruto was about to respond with a playful remark when Megumi continued,

"So, Haruto-kun actually noticed me and even remembered me."

"Well, Megumi, you're really cute, so of course I'd notice you..." Haruto trailed off mid-sentence. Something felt off.

"What do you mean by 'remembered me'?" Haruto asked cautiously.

Megumi blinked.

"Exactly what it sounds like. I've always had a low presence, so it's easy for people to overlook me. I'm often forgotten, and my name only comes up during roll call or at home."

There was a faint sadness in her words. Even someone as kind as Megumi couldn't help but feel hurt by being constantly ignored.

"I'm pretty confident in my memory. If no one else calls your name, I'll do it: Katou Megumi," Haruto said seriously, looking straight at her.

Megumi was silent for a moment, then smiled gently.

"Haruto-kun is really special... and very kind."

Ah, the classic "too kind" trope.

Just as Haruto was about to modestly brush off the compliment, Megumi added,

"Yes, it's really great that Haruto-kun remembers me now."

Haruto: !

Something was definitely off.

"Wait, Megumi, are you saying we've known each other before?" Haruto asked nervously.

Megumi nodded matter-of-factly.

"Of course. We were in the same class all three years of middle school, and we were seatmates, just like now. It never changed."

Haruto: !!!

Same class for three years? And seatmates the whole time!?

Haruto tried to recall his middle school days. He had often daydreamed about meeting Megumi. Turns out, he'd been daydreaming about nothing!

Seeing Haruto's reaction, Megumi seemed to understand something. She playfully covered her face, pretending to cry.

"So, Haruto-kun was just saying things he didn't mean? QAQ"

Haruto quickly waved his hands.

"No, no, no! I meant every word! From now on, I'll definitely remember you, Megumi, and notice you every time!"

Megumi lowered her hands, her face completely dry.

"If Haruto-kun says so, then I'll believe you."

Just as Haruto breathed a sigh of relief, Megumi muttered under her breath,

"I guess I really wasn't noticed in middle school. I even wrote Haruto-kun a love letter, but I never got a response."

Haruto: !?

He thought about the piles of love letters that had filled his desk back then. He hadn't bothered to read every single one. But Megumi's letter was among them!? If only he'd known!

"It's... not too late. I'll go back and look for it. I'll give you a proper response tomorrow," Haruto said guiltily.

Those letters... even though they'd been thrown away, it had only been three years. Surely they hadn't been destroyed yet!

As Haruto pondered this, Megumi finally let out a soft laugh.

"Sorry, that was a lie." She stuck out her tongue, her adorable expression making it hard to stay mad.

Haruto let out a long sigh.

"I knew it! There's no way I wouldn't have noticed someone as cute as you for three whole years."

"No, only the part about the love letter was a lie. We were in the same class for three years, and we were seatmates. That part's true," Megumi clarified, crushing Haruto's hopes.

Haruto stared at Megumi.

Suddenly, he felt like... this Megumi had a bit of a mischievous side?

No! You're not the saintly Megumi! Who are you!?

Slumping onto his desk, Haruto fell into deep thought.

Megumi's presence... it was practically an anomaly. How had he not noticed her for three whole years?

And now that he could notice her...

Haruto remembered the fragment of divinity he'd recently obtained: Cognitive Immunity.

He was stunned.

Completely stunned!

What kind of anti-meme was this Megumi!?

Unobservable, unrecordable, huh?

Just as Haruto was wallowing in despair, a delicate hand rested on the desk next to him.

"This hand... looks familiar?"

Haruto stared at the pale hand, feeling a sense of déjà vu.

(What are you, Kira Yoshikage?)

Following the hand upward, he saw a familiar face.

Yukinoshita Yukino.

Haruto closed his eyes.

Why did his desk mate have to be Yukinoshita Yukino!?

Meanwhile, Yukinoshita Yukino frowned as she looked at the boy slumped on the desk next to her. What's wrong with this guy?

Hanging her bag on the side of the desk, Yukinoshita sat down and averted her gaze. She had no patience for lazy, unmotivated people.

Besides, she hadn't been in a good mood lately.

Not long ago, she had attended a banquet in Chiba.

Somehow, she had fainted.

When she woke up, she was back at the Yukinoshita residence.

All memories of the banquet were completely gone.

The missing memories and the fainting spell had cost her over ten hours.

There was still a faint pain in the back of her head.

If it weren't for the fact that her clothes were intact and she didn't feel any strange pain, Yukino would have thought she'd been drugged.

Using the Yukinoshita family's influence, she had thoroughly investigated the banquet's proceedings and security footage. The only conclusion was that she had left the banquet on her own and was later found unconscious and brought home.

This was hard for Yukino to accept.

As she lost herself in thought, Hiratsuka Shizuka entered the classroom. Placing her lesson plans and attendance sheet on the podium, Hiratsuka clapped her hands.

"Alright, everyone, settle down. I'm your homeroom teacher for the next few years, Hiratsuka Shizuka."

She wrote her name on the blackboard.

"You can call me Hiratsuka-sensei, or just 'teacher' is fine."

"Now, I'm going to take attendance. Stand up when I call your name and introduce yourself."

With that, Hiratsuka began calling names.

"Yuigahama Yui!"

"..."

"Miura Yumiko!"

"..."

"Gabriel White Tenma? Oh, we have a foreign student?"

"..."

"Yukinoshita Yukino!"

Yukinoshita stood up.

"I'm Yukinoshita Yukino, a perfectionist."

Her brief introduction perfectly encapsulated her ice queen persona.

"And finally... that genius over there, stop lying on the desk and get up to introduce yourself."

Hiratsuka glanced at the attendance sheet and pointed at Haruto.

Reluctantly, Haruto stood up.

"Hiratsuka-sensei, please stick to the attendance list. I don't consider myself a genius."

After the lighthearted jab, Haruto introduced himself,

"I'm Haruto. Nice to meet you."

The moment he finished, the classroom erupted into whispers.

"That handsome guy is Haruto!?"

"The top scorer in the entrance exams! A genius among geniuses! He even beat Shinomiya Kaguya!"

"I heard rumors that the top scorer was coming to Sobu High, but I thought it was just a rumor. Turns out it's true!"

Even Yukinoshita Yukino, sitting next to him, looked at Haruto with surprise.

This lazy guy was the one who had scored several ranks above her in the exams!?

However, when Yukinoshita saw Haruto's face, an inexplicable sense of unease spread through her heart.

'What's going on? Why am I feeling so uneasy?'

Yukino pressed a hand to her chest, her eyes wide with confusion.

Haruto noticed Yukino's strange behavior, but... it was understandable.

The Class-D Memory Erasure method only erased memories, but the intense shock and fear from those memories lingered in the body. The scene of blood and gore that had once terrified Yukino was likely the cause. Seeing him now, it was natural for her to feel uneasy subconsciously.

How precise could a Class-D Memory Erasure really be?

Since she had no memory of the event, Yukino would probably adjust in a day or two, and the unease would fade.

But more importantly...

"Hiratsuka-sensei, I don't think I'm the last one. You haven't called Katou Megumi yet," Haruto said firmly.

Hiratsuka paused, then checked the attendance list again. Sure enough, Megumi's name was there.

Huh? Why had she missed it earlier?

"Sorry about that, Katou Megumi," Hiratsuka said.

Under the gaze of the entire class, Megumi stood up and introduced herself.

When she sat back down, she looked at Haruto with a mix of surprise and gratitude. Even though they had just talked earlier, Haruto really hadn't forgotten her!

The class quietly resumed.

Haruto listened but found himself growing drowsy.

In the past, he would have paid close attention. Even with his sharp mind, studying still required effort.

But now? Not so much.

The Blacklight Virus allowed him to absorb knowledge by consuming people. He had already gained a wealth of knowledge from the memories of the researchers he'd absorbed. At this point, earning a doctorate would be a breeze.

As Haruto considered whether to take a nap and experience the joy of sleeping in class, the system panel suddenly popped up.

The anomaly detection program had found something.

Haruto's eyes narrowed as he pulled up the system panel to check.

To his surprise, the red dot indicating an anomaly... seemed to be right inside Sobu High!?