A confession from his childhood friend.
At first, he thought it was a dream.
Was he actually already asleep, and this was just a vision his mind had conjured?
Or maybe being summoned to another world in the first place had just been a dream sparked by the manga he’d been reading on the school trip. Even if this fantasy world were real, wasn't this scene just a convenient fantasy his exhausted mind was playing out after passing out?
He couldn't help but think that way.
It was funny, really. He had accepted being thrown into another world with his entire class in a matter of moments. Even when his job was announced in the castle hall, and when he was tossed out of the wagon, somewhere in his heart he had simply swallowed it down, thinking, Well, I guess that happens.
And yet, this situation—receiving a confession from his childhood friend—was far harder to believe.
She was adored by everyone, graceful, and lovely. A girl who naturally became the center of attention wherever she went, even without trying, was claiming she had loved him for years. A person standing at the very center of the world, loving a guy stuck in the corner seat. How could something like that even be possible?
He tried to convince himself it couldn't be.
However, the weight pressed against his chest, the firm embrace around his back, and the sweet fragrance tickling the tip of his nose silently proved that this was no dream.
If it were a dream, there was no way it could feel this warm, this soft, or smell this sweet.
Being publicly branded with a dud job like "Scavenger" in the castle hall. Being told he wasn't needed by the entire class in that room with the semicircular arrangement of chairs.
None of that had left particularly deep wounds in Eiji. He had known for a very long time that he was someone meant to stand at the edge of the world. Hearing what he already knew didn't make it hurt any more.
And yet, a person at the very center had just told a guy like him that she loved him.
The sheer unreality of it dwarfed his exile completely.
Just how long had he stood frozen in silence? Finally, a voice managed to squeeze past the lump in his throat.
"...For real?"
He felt pathetic about his lack of vocabulary, having fallen back on practically the same words over and over again.
That made four times today alone. Having lived for seventeen years, the fact that this was the only phrase he could muster at a critical moment made him feel utterly hopeless.
His arms hovered in the air. Even now, he lacked the confidence to wrap them around her back.
As if to urge Eiji along, Yuna tightened her embrace around him just a fraction.
"If it wasn't for real... I wouldn't say something like this."
A muffled voice murmured against his chest.
She was right. Yuna had never made this kind of joke with him before, nor had he ever seen her tease anyone else like this.
The reason was simple. If she cracked that sort of joke, most guys would take it seriously and jump to wishful conclusions.
Saying something like that, even in jest, to a guy who had feelings for her would only lead to trouble. Having always been popular, she understood that on an instinctive level.
Something she hadn't said once in seventeen years. As proof of her sincerity, that was more than enough.
Hesitantly, Eiji lowered his arms. His fingertips brushed the fabric over her back, paused for a heartbeat, and then gently pulled her close.
The instant he did, the tension melted completely from Yuna's stiff shoulders. It seemed she had been waiting for him to make a move all along.
"Did you really think I was messing with you for no reason, Eiji-kun?"
Yuna tilted her head back slightly to ask.
Her face, illuminated by the moonlight, looked up into his.
She was pouting just a little. Or rather, it might be more accurate to say she was putting on a show of pouting. Whenever he had crushed her in a video game back in the day, she used to reprove him with that exact same expression.
"No, well... I just figured you were hanging out with me because we're childhood friends."
To be honest, that was the exact excuse he had used to convince himself all these years.
"I knew it. You're so dense, Eiji-kun."
Lowering the corners of her eyebrows, Yuna gave an exasperated little smile.
Seeing her smile put him just a fraction more at ease. And because he felt at ease, a truth he had never once voiced rose all the way to the tip of his tongue.
He hadn't intended to say it. But he lacked the poise to swallow it back down with her in his arms.
"I mean... you lived in a completely different world, didn't you? You were always in the center, and I was always on the sidelines. So I figured there had to be someone better suited for you—"
"It's the same world, you know."
Yuna cut him off, pressing forward in a single breath.
"We've always lived in the same neighborhood, went to the same elementary school, middle school, and high school, and this year we're even in the same class... What's different about it?"
"Ah..."
Put that way, she was right.
There had been years when they were in different classes, but their neighborhood, school district, and high school had always been the same. She had always inhabited the exact same world as Eiji. It wasn't as if she had entered show business, gone off to an elite private academy, or moved far away. The walk to school, the row of shoe lockers, and the view from the classroom window had always been identical.
And yet... Eiji had arbitrarily convinced himself that she was a resident of an entirely different sphere.
He hadn't been defeated by an airtight argument. She had merely laid out the plain facts, unadorned by rhetoric.
There was simply no room left to argue.
"Nothing is different. Because I've... always been right beside you, Eiji-kun."
Just as she said, Yuna had always been by his side.
It might not matter anymore, but her choice to attend the same high school as him was probably for that exact reason.
Even when her middle school homeroom teacher had urged her to aim higher, she had deliberately chosen the same high school as Eiji. When he had asked why back then, her only answer had been, Because it's close.
Those words struck his chest anew, refusing to leave.
Because it's close.
He had never asked close to what. If he had, maybe this long detour wouldn't have taken nearly as many years.
Yuna lowered her head again, pressing her face against Eiji's chest.
"Eiji-kun... don't you feel anything being like this with me?"
Her voice trembled.
Yet beneath the tremor lay a palpable sense of resolve, making Eiji catch his breath.
"Feel anything? What do you mean..."
He had a rough idea of what she was asking.
He just couldn't quite believe deep down that something like that was really about to happen.
His words stumbled, halting and clumsy.
He hated himself for it.
"You know. Like your heart racing... or having dirty thoughts."
With her face buried in his chest, he couldn't see her expression.
However, Yuna's ears were flushed a vivid, burning red—redder than he had ever seen them.
And the one who had driven her to that point was none other than Eiji.
Because he had been acting so timid and flustered, she must have felt forced to take the plunge herself.
Having come this far, he had no choice but to be honest.
"Of course... I do."
Finally, a piece of his true feelings slipped past his lips.
He wondered just how much embarrassment he had put her through before finally reaching this point.
He really was a pathetic excuse for a guy.
"It'd be weird if I didn't. Ever since we came to this world, it's been just the two of us. Being held this close and hearing things like that from someone I've always thought was cute—of course I'm going to feel that way. That's why, before we make a terrible mistake—"
"Really...?"
Yuna snapped her head up. Her eyes went wide, filled with sheer disbelief. She seemed entirely oblivious to the fact that she had just interrupted him.
"Wh-What?"
"You've always thought I was cute?"
"Ah..."
Crap. His tongue had slipped, and he’d let out far more than he intended.
When this many unexpected things happened back-to-back, the secrets he was supposed to keep locked away spilled out all too easily.
It was a total blunder.
"...Why are you latching onto that part?"
Ignoring his sudden dejection, Yuna simply stared at him.
He could feel her unyielding determination not to let the conversation move an inch until he answered.
Spilled milk couldn't be poured back into the glass. What was said was said.
Eiji steeled himself.
"...Yeah. I did. Both now, and back then. From the moment I started noticing girls that way... I already thought you were cute."
Even as he spoke, his face burned with heat.
Putting it into words was mortifying beyond belief.
Tears welled quietly in her eyes. As if to hide them, she buried her face in his chest once more.
Through the shirt she had just mended for him, Yuna's hot breath and damp tears soaked through the fabric.
"I thought you didn't feel anything for me at all..."
She murmured softly, letting out a small sniffle.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"How could I? Calling you cute... after all this time."
"Why not?"
For some reason, the questions kept coming like an interrogation.
The slight edge of reproach in her tone made it sound almost like an accusation.
"Because it's embarrassing. Besides..."
"Besides what?"
Yuna looked up again.
Seeing her eyes redder than before, Eiji instinctively averted his gaze.
Seeing her in tears like this was terrible for his heart.
"Because if I let myself think about you that way, I wouldn't be able to hold back... and I felt like I wouldn't be able to control myself anymore."
Was it the tears that drew it out of him?
Another piece of his hidden heart had been dragged out into the light.
Hearing it aloud made his own feelings painfully clear.
That was the real reason Eiji had kept Yuna at arm's length and made a conscious effort never to view her as anything more than a childhood friend.
She's only hanging out with me because we're childhood friends.
He had clung to that assumption because without it, he would have fallen for her completely.
And if he let himself love her, there would be no stopping the deluge of emotion. Precisely because he had known her for so long, he wouldn't be able to stand the thought of someone taking her away, and he would inevitably think, I'd be better for her. Even though he was just a nobody on the sidelines.
If she had ended up with someone else in that state—someone he couldn't even begin to compare himself to—the more deeply invested he was, the worse it would crush him.
That was why, by conveniently convincing himself that she only cared about him because they grew up together, he had kept himself from becoming attached.
Yet Yuna hadn't felt that way at all.
That was the truth behind their strange, ambiguous relationship—neither truly close nor truly distant.
Yuna asked in a tentative, cautious whisper.
"Control yourself... from what?"
"...From a lot of things."
When he answered, an expression of sudden realization flashed across her face with a soft "Oh." In the next instant, a deep crimson washed over her cheeks.
Whether trying to hide her face or simply overwhelmed by embarrassment, she pressed her forehead back against Eiji's chest and looked down.
She finally caught on, huh. Or rather, it had become impossible to hide.
(Well... positioned like this, of course it'd happen.)
Eiji let out a quiet sigh and looked down at the top of her head resting against his chest.
Right now, Eiji and Yuna were pressed flush against each other from the front. Naturally, Eiji's lower abdomen was resting against her stomach... and the physiological reaction that had been quietly building for a while now was no longer something he could conceal.
He wished she would cut him some slack, though; willpower and fighting spirit could only do so much against human anatomy.
Living under the same roof, just the two of them, with the girl he had spent years trying not to fall for was dangerous enough. But sharing the same bed with her, wrapped tightly in her arms? If there was a high school boy alive who wouldn't react to that, he invited them to step forward. He’d gladly write them a referral to a men's clinic.
"Because I might end up doing things you'd hate."
He didn't spell out what he meant.
Even so, given the situation, she would understand the implication. Oblivious as she usually was to such topics, she couldn't miss it now.
They were standing right on the precipice. Please, don't say anything that'll make me lose control completely. That was what he silently prayed.
And yet—
"...If it's you, Eiji-kun, I don't mind."
Yuna spoke with her face still buried in his chest.
Her voice was quiet and muffled, but the meaning behind those words came through with devastating clarity.
What didn't she mind? No, what was she giving him permission to do? The answer was unmistakable.
"No, that's not right... If it's not you, Eiji-kun, I don't want it."
Shaking her head in a frantic little motion, she quickly corrected herself.
Having heard her say that much, every path of retreat was officially cut off.
"Hey, you can't just—"
"Eiji-kun... please, don't make me say any more."
With that plea, Yuna looked up at him.
Her face was flushed bright red, and her eyes were glassy with unshed tears. It was only natural, considering she had been crying just moments ago.
Yet those tears gave her an alluring charm that was wholly detached from her usual sweet and innocent demeanor. His gaze was helplessly drawn to her damp eyes, to the glossy sheen of her lips.
Yuna held his gaze steadily. And Eiji didn't look away either.
This was the first time they had ever looked at each other from this close.
His heart thudded violently in his chest with no sign of slowing. It was the same for her; a racing pulse thrummed through her body, transmitting directly into his own.
As if answering an unspoken cue, Yuna's eyelids fluttered shut.
Instinctively, the arms wrapped around each other tightened, and their faces drew closer.
And then—their lips slowly met.
She was soft, carrying the faint, sweet trace of toothpaste.
It felt completely different from the elementary school kiss stored in his memories.
Which made sense.
The one back then had been a sudden, impulsive peck. What was more, Eiji hadn't even grasped what a kiss meant at the time.
When the long kiss finally broke, they parted gently.
They found themselves staring into each other's eyes again, just like before... and Yuna was the first to break into a smile.
"Ehehe. I kissed you, Eiji-kun."
With a shy giggle, she tightened her embrace around him, as though determined never to let go.
"It's the second time, you know."
Embarrassment got the better of him, making his reply come out a little blunt.
It was just how he was wired; he couldn't help it.
However, the current Yuna wasn't about to let that slide.
A look of faint sorrow touched her features.
"Is just twice really enough?"
She asked.
Despite the lonely look on her face, it felt like an undeniable invitation. It almost carried a provocative edge, as if daring him: Are you really satisfied with just that?
Of course, Yuna probably hadn't meant it maliciously. But having it put that way, no self-respecting guy could back down.
"Like hell it's enough."
Rising to the challenge, he leaned in to press his lips to hers once more.
Right then, Yuna let out a soft, startled gasp.
"Eiji-kun. You haven't given me your answer."
She pulled back just an inch.
In the pale moonlight, the faint tracks of dried tears on her cheeks caught the light.
"My... answer?"
The answer to her confession, obviously.
Hadn't the mood already made words unnecessary? Having gone this far, putting it into a formal sentence felt embarrassingly unbearable.
"Don't make me say it in a situation like this."
"But... I want to hear you say it properly."
Once again, Yuna showed no sign of backing down.
She was surprisingly stubborn about things like this. She wasn't the type of girl to let things slide on atmosphere alone.
Then again, he couldn't blame her.
This was a subject Eiji had spent years dodging. Yuna had taken steps toward him time and time again, and every single time, Eiji had looked away. If tonight was the night years of accumulated debts came due all at once, he had no right to complain.
Still, Eiji had his own reasons for hesitating.
"If I say it... I don't think I'll be able to stop."
Yes. He would lose all restraint. Both his feelings and his physical impulses.
He felt that as long as he kept the words unsaid, he could maintain the thinnest thread of control. Even though they had crossed the point of no return long ago, stopping just short of that final line was something he thought he could still manage.
And yet—
"...It's okay, you know. You don't have to stop."
Her quiet voice drifted through the air, tinged with a breathless sweetness that rendered all his self-restraint pointless—as if forbidding him from choosing that path.
"Do whatever you want to do with me, Eiji-kun."
Yuna drove the final nail home. Her tone sounded almost like a desperate plea for him to give in.
To hear the girl he loved say something like that in a voice he’d never imagined she possessed. To be looked at with those soft, melting eyes. There was no way on earth he could hold back.
Driven by pure instinct, the truth spilled from his lips.
"Yuna... I love you."
Once the dam broke, there was no stopping it.
The words rushed out in a torrential flood.
"Always. Since way back. So long ago I can't even remember when it started... I've been in love with you."
These were the true feelings he had hidden even from himself.
To keep from getting hurt. To shield his heart while looking away from the inferiority complex of standing on the sidelines. The feelings he had buried deep inside.
For the very first time, he gave them voice.
"Mm... Me too."
Her face blossoming into an expression of pure relief, Yuna wrapped both arms around Eiji's neck.
Looking straight into his eyes, she spoke.
"Eiji-kun... I love you so much."
She told him once more.
Though the words were identical to the ones she had said before, the resonance was completely different.
This time, it felt as though she were savoring her own feelings while taking in every ounce of his. That was the kind of love behind her words.
From that moment on, neither of them had anything left to hold them back.
Casting off every shackle they had worn until now, they simply reached for each other.
A third time, a fourth time—so many times that they quickly lost count, they shared kiss after kiss.
Gradually their tongues entwined, seeking out every part of Yuna.
Whenever they parted to catch their breath, they whispered each other's names, repeating their affection over and over again. The impulse knew no bounds.
In truth, they needed to get a proper night's sleep to prepare for tomorrow. How they were going to survive in this other world was a mountain of worry that required their attention.
But—just for this single moment, he didn't want to think about anything other than Yuna.
As if to bridge every gap that had ever stood between them, their lips met again and again. Wrapped in the warmth of each other's bodies, their night dissolved into bliss.
The very first taste of true happiness taking root deep within their chests—it belonged to the two of them alone.
(End of Part 1)