A clear Sunday in mid-June.

At a fairly large neighborhood park where the early summer weather felt pleasant, my past-life blood was getting fired up.

"Shizuku-chan, that’s amazing! So cool!"

Bathed in Hoshikawa Aoi’s cheerful praise as she sat on a bench, I was riding around on a kid’s kick scooter.

I wasn’t just gliding around.

Using the sense of balance and weight shifting I’d honed snowboarding in my previous life, I pulled off tricks beyond what a six-year-old’s toy should allow—using small ledges to do light jumps 'a rough imitation of an ollie', or kicking the tail out with sudden braking.

‘Phew... Well, it’s nothing compared to a snowy mountain, but it’s a decent change of pace.’

After working up a light sweat, I got off the scooter and returned to the bench where Aoi was waiting.

As if she had been waiting for this exact moment, Aoi stood up and began diligently wiping the sweat from my forehead with a cute rabbit-patterned towel.

"Good work, Shizuku-chan! Here, cold tea!"

"Yeah, thanks. You’re really attentive, Aoi."

I took the water bottle she offered and quenched my thirst.

Next to me, Aoi smiled happily with an “ehehe” as she pressed herself snugly against my arm.

She was like a newlywed wife taking care of her husband on his day off, completely at ease in the role.

'...Peaceful. I don’t have to watch girls fighting for dominance chasing after guys, and a park on a day off is the best.'

As I narrowed my eyes, enjoying the early summer breeze—"—Oh my. I thought it was some wild monkey playing so innocently over there, but it turns out to be you, Nanase-san."

Suddenly, a familiar voice—refined yet sharp—fell from behind me.

When I turned around, there stood a red-haired girl, dressed in an elegant frilled summer dress, holding a parasol, accompanied by an older woman 'likely her attendant maid or housekeeper'.

The queen of Class 1-1, Hojo Anju.

"Oh, it’s you, Anju. What a coincidence."

"I-It’s not a coincidence! I just happened to be passing by on my way back from my violin lesson, completely by chance!"

For some reason, Anju’s face was red as she desperately tried to explain.

'Isn’t that exactly what you call a coincidence?'

I thought to myself but said nothing.

Then her gaze slid from my face—to the blonde girl tightly clinging to my arm.

"...Nanase-san. And who might this overly familiar person be?"

Anju’s tone dropped to absolute zero in an instant.

Her sharp, upward-tilted eyes glared at Aoi from head to toe as if appraising her.

Aoi, in response—still clinging to my arm, slowly turned her face toward Anju.

For just a moment, the light vanished from her emerald green eyes, replaced by a deep, sticky darkness swirling beneath.

I, being completely oblivious, didn’t notice.

"Shizuku-chan, who is this person?"

Tilting her head slightly, Aoi smiled like an angel.

"Oh, she’s Hojo Anju from my class. And this is Hoshikawa Aoi, my childhood friend from kindergarten. We live nearby."

"I see. So you’re the one..."

Anju lifted her chin and stepped forward gracefully.

"Nice to meet you, Hoshikawa-san. I’m Hojo Anju. I’m in the same class as Nanase-san, and I always take care of her since our seats are close. If left alone, she just stares out the window during class."

That was a complete power move.

'I’m with her every day' and 'I know her school life better than you'—a roundabout, condescending jab befitting a noble young lady.

Normally, many six-year-olds would be overwhelmed and start crying here.

But Aoi’s smile didn’t falter even a millimeter.

If anything, the corners of her lips lifted further as she spoke softly—yet decisively.

"Nice to meet you, Hojo-san. Thank you for taking care of my Shizuku-chan at school. But it’s okay. Shizuku-chan promised that 'Aoi is her number one special' and that we’ll always be together. Right, Shizuku-chan?"

Squeeze.

Aoi pressed herself against my arm even more, as if pushing her chest into it.

Anju’s face began trembling with anger, embarrassment, and unmistakable 'jealousy'.

"M-My… H-How shameless to behave like that in front of me... And besides, you don’t even go to the same elementary school, so how are you special!? Nanase-san has someone from the Hojo family right here—"

"Family background doesn’t matter. Shizuku-chan doesn’t care about things like that. By the way, Hojo-san, shouldn’t you be attending to the boys?"

Crackle crackle crack!!

Right before my eyes, invisible lightning clashed violently between the red-haired and blonde beauties.

'...Whoa, amazing. So girls can greet each other this politely even when meeting for the first time. The kids around me in my previous life would’ve just gone, ‘Who are you!? Wanna play dodgeball!?’'

Completely misunderstanding the high-level “female standoff battlefield” unfolding between them as refined greetings between well-mannered young ladies, I nodded to myself in admiration.

Behind us, Anju’s attendant had gone pale, staring at me like she was witnessing something unbelievable.

Not surprising.

In this insane world with a 1:15 gender ratio, girls only clash like this over 'rare boys'.

And yet here they were—a noble young lady and a delicate girl—quietly waging war over a beautiful black-haired girl of the same sex.

"Alright, alright, that’s enough, you two. You don’t have to get so heated right after meeting. You can get along from now on."

Saying that casually, I stepped between them and lightly placed a hand on each of their heads.

“"Eh?"”

"My throat’s dry anyway, so I’ll treat you both to some ice cream at that stand over there. Out of this month’s allowance. Anju, you worked hard at your lesson too, right? Let’s eat together."

While patting their heads, I gave them the same refreshing, easygoing smile I used back in my working days to smooth things over when female coworkers were at odds.

“"Ah..."”

In an instant.

The faces of the two who had been glaring at each other like demons flushed bright red all at once.

"I-It’s not like I want it or anything... but if you insist on treating me, Nanase-san, I suppose I could eat some..."

"...If Shizuku-chan says so, then I’ll... eat too."

It seemed the warmth of my hands and my unconscious sweet words had completely snapped the direction of their anger.

"Alright, alright."

Nodding, I walked toward the stand with one on each side—flowers in both hands, or rather, a future yandere and a future tsundere.

'That girl... just what is she? To make Lady Anju show such a face!?'

The attendant left behind watched my back with a trembling expression.

Of course, I had no way of knowing that, completely absorbed in peacefully choosing ice cream.

And so, the first meeting between the red and gold heroines ended in a temporary truce thanks to my oblivious escort.

But that was merely the prologue to a long war—one where each recognized the other as the ultimate rival to be eliminated.