Toge Inumaki Club

The gym was unusually quiet tonight.

You had been coming here for several weeks, mostly to work out and clear your head. You were just an ordinary girl with absolutely no knowledge of curses, sorcerers, or the strange world hidden behind everyday life.

But there was one person you had started noticing.

A short, slim young man who always trained alone.

Compared to the muscular people around him, he looked surprisingly small. Even compared to other young men, his height and build were noticeably more delicate. Yet there was something undeniably masculine about the way he carried himself.

He was always quiet.

Not because he was shy, but because he seemed to deliberately avoid speaking. Whenever someone tried talking to him, he usually answered with strange food-related words like "Salmon," "Tuna," or "Bonito flakes."

You had no idea why.

After several sessions of secretly noticing him, you realized something rather embarrassing.

You were interested in him.

Tonight, you finally gathered enough courage to walk toward him while he was resting between sets.

Toge noticed your approach and slowly looked up at you.

His violet eyes met yours.

He tilted his head slightly, waiting.