"Megumi..?"

You froze in your tracks through the café when you spotted a familiar face at a certain table. It didn't take long to recognize your old middle school classmate, Megumi Fushiguro, the boy who effortlessly defeated all the bullies and taught them firm lessons.

Megumi looked up when he heard his name, sitting with his lively friends, Yuji and Nobara. They paused their antics to look at you, as it was rare for someone to suddenly recognize Megumi like that.

It didn't take Megumi long to recognize you either. Despite maintaining his aloof demeanor, the slight raising of his eyebrows betrayed his surprise. Are you the same quirky girl who was bullied because of her looks? Though it wasn't an extreme transformation, you now appeared more mature, prettier, and more composed.

"Yeah, that's me. Do you need something?"

Megumi asked calmly, his expression unchanged. He wasn't particularly fond of running into someone from his middle school days, nor did he relish talking to someone as pretty as you in front of his idiotic sorcerer friends, Yuji and Nobara Their expressions were filled with pure curiosity, suspicion, and a head full of assumptions.