The Girls Go to School Together / Fitting into School Life

"BB, put what you're holding back. You can only have that one bag of snacks," Shirou said calmly.

"Yes..." The purple-haired girl pouted unwillingly.

At that moment, Shirou encountered two unexpected people in the supermarket.

On one side is Eriri, her childhood friend with blonde twin tails, and on the other is Iroha Isshiki Eriri, her junior Student Council. The two are currently arm in arm, each carrying a shopping basket, buying various snacks. A quick glance reveals potato chips, cookies, cola, and what seems to be some chunks of chocolate?

"Ah, isn't this Shirou? Are you shopping here too?" Eriri noticed the boy at that moment, quickly hid her shopping basket behind her back, and greeted him with a forced laugh.

"Well, I'm here to buy some ingredients. There's a special offer today. Eriri, Isshiki, what are you buying?" Shirou asked curiously.

"Eh? No... nothing! It wasn't about... practicing making chocolate together or anything!" Eriri blushed and waved her hands frantically.

"Shirou-senpai, I'm on a date with you~." Iroha Isshiki was standing next to Eriri, rolled her eyes and affectionately took over the conversation.

"Huh? When did you two become so close?" Shirou asked, somewhat surprised.

"No, no, I've known Eriri since middle school. We went to the same school, so it's only natural that we're close," Iroha Isshiki said.

At that moment Eriri seemed to remember something, walked up, and spoke to the girl in a low voice.

"By the way! Shirou! Be careful after school starts. Recently, Kasumigaoka seems to be hanging out with a group of strange women. They seem to be practicing some kind of curse or performing some kind of ritual."

I heard that from time to time, you can hear a rustling sound like snakes crawling on the floor, and that a woman holding a knife was seen by the window...

"Huh? Is that so? You're exaggerating! Is this a ghost story?" Shirou asked, somewhat surprised. Even if she and Kasumigaoka -senpai had a competitive spirit in the workplace, there was no need to go this far.

"No, if it were you, you wouldn't be surprised if you were targeted," Eriri said helplessly.

Shirou said he didn't quite understand.

"Believe it or not, just be careful, especially on Valentine's Day." Eriri warned the boy earnestly, then was pulled away by her junior, Iroha Isshiki. "Let's go, Eriri ~!"

Watching the two girls leave, Shirou didn't take Eriri's warning to heart.

"Senior? Are those two also from the school?" BB-chan asked curiously.

"Hmm, never mind. Now that we've picked out the ingredients, let's go home." Shirou nodded.

And so this little episode came to an end. Shirou and BB-chan carried the bags and packages, put them in the bicycle basket, and rode home.

After returning home, Shirou arranged the ingredients and began preparing a meal that would satisfy everyone. The sumptuous lunch and dinner made everyone very happy, and the next few days passed in such a leisurely manner.

Then... the third semester of the International High School officially began.

Chapter 299 Girls Going to School Together

The road leading to the international high school came alive this morning. The campus passageway, which had been quiet due to the holiday, regained its spirit and vitality. Running girls, playful boys, and students carrying schoolbags filled the air with lively laughter, creating an atmosphere brimming with youthful energy.

"Good morning."

"Oh, good morning."

Long time no see.

"Where did you go for your holiday?"

Walking into the school, I saw peers in the same uniforms walking around. It was a long-awaited return to the familiar school life, and seeing familiar faces was quite a happy thing.

Of course, even those who dislike school will still endure coming here, leaving their comfort zone at home for a school that isn't so comfortable—that's another kind of youth, isn't it?

Human growth always progresses through challenges. Staying in one's comfort zone can lead to excessive relaxation and laziness. Conversely, in extreme environments filled with panic, excessive tension can prevent calm thinking and observation.

So, it's a place that's neither too happy nor too desperate, sometimes troublesome but not unbearable to stay in—the perfect place for students to learn. Schools are probably intentionally or unintentionally created to be this kind of place.

There are good and bad classmates, good and bad teachers, and then you do a bunch of tedious and troublesome things, and in the process you learn something.

Shirou mingled with the students and went to the shoe-changing area in the entrance hall.

"Oh! Isn't this Shirou? Good morning." A young woman's voice came from behind. Turning around, he saw it was one of his female classmates who had gone on the exchange program abroad with him.

"Good morning." Shirou nodded to them and walked past them.

Then another group of people came over.

"Shirou ~! Let's go on a picnic together after the third-year exams." The third-year senior said with a smile, putting her arm around the boy's shoulder.

"Good luck on your exam," Shirou said.

"Haha, thank you for your kind words!" The senior student laughed and patted the boy on the shoulder.

"Good morning, Shirou-kun! How about coming to the cooking club after school? The girls are all looking forward to making sweets with you." A girl from the same grade walked up with a smile and extended an invitation.

"Oh... if there's a chance," Shirou replied.

"See you later~!" The girls interacted with Shirou in a half-joking manner, then walked towards their respective classrooms.

They had all spent a week with Shirou during the exchange program and had become familiar with each other. When the girls passed by and saw the boy standing there, their eyes lit up, and they greeted Shirou with smiles.

The boys from the nearby classes frowned, and after the girls left, they all stepped forward, surrounded Shirou, and asked:

"Were you more popular with girls before the holiday?"

"Why? You seem so familiar with this third-year student?"

"No, it was just during the previous vacation," Shirou quickly explained.

"Really?" The boys stared at Shirou with suspicion, but finally looked away.

"Looks like you had a very fulfilling holiday. No wonder you're such a promising student with special talents."

"Damn it! I've heard that international exchange programs for higher education, besides broadening horizons and gaining knowledge, have an even more important function: generating..."

"To have boys and girls live and eat together in a foreign country for several weeks."

"No, no, most people, even if they participate in exchange programs abroad together, will only be ordinary friends who know each other a little better, just ordinary friends..." Ochi, who plays Go, and Hoshino, who plays ping-pong, walked up with their arms around each other's shoulders.

"The real benefits will be monopolized by the one who stands out the most, like going to the girls' dormitory for cooking exchanges."

"I've also helped out in the boys' dormitory and the cafeteria, cooking for everyone!" Shirou retorted.

"That was after that! We never even went into the girls' dormitory once!" The boys from the Britain Bristol Branch School walked over with their arms crossed and said.

"Good-looking, righteous, and a great cook... Just how desperate do you want to make other men despair?" A male member of the France exchange team walked over.

The boys around him nodded in empathy, their voices heavy with pain, and said in deep voices, "Unforgivable..."

"I was just interacting with everyone normally," Shirou explained.

However, these boys aren't the type to be good at listening to explanations.

The boys who gathered around clearly saw expressions of envy, jealousy, and even a desire to burn him alive.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Shizuka Hiratsuka, a teacher she knew, was showing Mashiro, Artoria, and Jeanne d'Arc around the school before heading to the principal's office to complete the remaining enrollment procedures.

"Ah, it would be wonderful if we could hold an exhibition of their artwork at the school," the principal said with a smile.

"Sure, but only works created after you've been here." Mashiro has great respect for this land of manga, so while she's gained the editor's approval, she also wants to gain recognition from the general public.

"Um... what kind of works are these? Are they likely to win awards? Of course! I'm a huge fan of Mashiro- san, so I welcome any kind of work. I'm just a little curious," the principal said, rubbing his hands together with a smile.

The principal smiled, but in his heart he thought, 'No matter what, this internationally acclaimed genius painter wouldn't let such a good opportunity pass him by. He'll definitely seize this chance to promote him; perhaps this will be the key to his future promotion.'

"A manga!" Mashiro answered proudly.

"Huh? Comics? Don't you have anything more artistic?" the principal said, quite disappointed.

Mashiro tilted her head and replied, "Hmm? As for oil paintings, I just finished one recently."

"That's that oil painting, right? It can be exhibited too, can't it?" The principal's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked. Even just one painting would be fine; it could be promoted as the first work of a genius young female painter after coming to Japan to study.

"Huh? Really? That painting! No way!" Jeanne d'Arc exclaimed in surprise.

The image of Shirou, shirtless and seemingly ablaze, flashed through the silver-haired girl's mind. Of course, she wasn't familiar with the painting and wasn't particularly captivated by it; she simply had an excellent memory and remembered some details without looking at it for long. After all, painting is an art form, a subject taught in school, so she only observed it for a few days with a learning mindset.

Although Mashiro sees this as a perfectly normal work, outsiders who are just watching for fun won't think that way. Moreover, she doesn't want Shirou's upper body to be seen by the entire school's teachers and students, so she has to stop it!

"That painting won't do! Please postpone the exhibition and let Mashiro paint some new, smaller pieces." Artoria stepped forward and said to the principal without waiting for a reply.

The principal felt a sense of authority; despite being a petite blonde girl, she made him feel as if he were facing a high-ranking official who held the key to his promotion and salary increase.

"Okay... alright, of course! The school just wants to showcase the outstanding achievements of our students," the principal replied, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

Unaware of the situation, the boy was protected and fortunately avoided a shameful P-LAY session where the entire school and the public would view and comment on his upper body.

"Alright, welcome to Chiba Branch School." The principal took out an inkpad from the drawer, opened the lid, pressed the stamp down, and then stamped it on each document one by one. He then stood up and nodded to the girls.

"Well then, I'll leave the Teacher Hiratsuka." The principal looked at her subordinate and gestured for her to lead the girls out.

"Ah... ah, yes." Shizuka Hiratsuka was stunned for a moment. She was so enthusiastic before, but now she suddenly became cold and quiet? But she still had to listen to her superior.

So Shizuka Hiratsuka led the three girls out of the principal's office and into the first-year international class.

"Phew... How terrifying. What's wrong with that girl? I can't resist her will at all." The principal slumped into his chair the moment the door closed, still shaken, and sighed to himself.

Meanwhile, they were outside.

"Is that man alright? He looks really unwell," the silver-haired girl asked the female teacher.

"Well, never mind. Don't worry about it. You guys should familiarize yourselves with the school environment first. Shirou will come to find you during lunch break, right?" Shizuka Hiratsuka waved her hand, quickly forgetting about the principal who had pushed her to take care of the girls. After all, she had already received her bonus and spent all her money on in-game purchases.

"Yes, it was already arranged before we came." Artoria nodded.

"That's good. You can ask Shirou if you need anything. After all, this school is special, and you two live in different eras," Shizuka Hiratsuka said leisurely.

Although international high schools take into account the needs of students from various countries who wish to study abroad, and conduct standardized examinations, the specific class schedules, while slightly different due to the need to consider the traditional holidays of each country, are generally synchronized with those of schools in the home country.

In countries that value education, the school system is not much different from that of other countries, and tutoring classes have been very popular since elementary school.

Those aimed at preparing ordinary students for higher education are nothing more than key high schools focused on college entrance exams; elite schools aimed at cultivating the upper class; and shady schools that house restless minors and let them kill time.

The nine-year compulsory education system is the same internationally, but it is divided into national, public and private schools. Schools in the Kanto and Kansai regions, as well as in Okinawa, which has a warm climate all year round, and Hokkaido, which is covered in snow and ice, will have some differences when considering local customs and weather.

However, most schools still follow the mainstream three-semester system, with spring semester starting in early April when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom; summer vacation lasting more than a month in July; and the start of the new semester in early September. Winter break lasts from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day (Seven Heavens). There is also spring break from mid-March to April.

Chiba's schools follow the mainstream system of the Tokyo. However, International High School have more holidays, including not only internationally recognized holidays but also major national holidays such as Easter, Ascension Day, and the Prophet's Birthday.

Furthermore, in order to facilitate exchange activities, summer and winter vacations will be started earlier, giving Student Council at least a month's break. This allows them to participate in exchange activities or give international students more time to go home and visit their families. Other arrangements are basically in line with those in their home countries.

Therefore, although Komachi passed the exam ahead of schedule, she still had to attend junior high school for more than two months. However, the school was already eager to recruit Mashiro, a student with special Mashiro, to boost its reputation.

Artoria and Jeanne d'Arc will also be transferring to the international class in the first year of the International High School.

BB-chan seems to have chosen to enroll in a special preparatory class for international students. In fact, this is not uncommon among exchange students from abroad, and most of them choose to come here in advance to adapt to the living environment.

However, this was just an excuse; she actually had many things to do, and the purpose of her visit was not yet fulfilled.

However, the Chinese New Year and Lantern Festival have been replaced by January in the Western Gregorian calendar.

Because of the thorough reforms during the Meiji Restoration, Japan changed the traditional Eastern New Year to January 1st of the Western calendar. However, Japan also retained the seven-luminosity system of day reckoning, established in the Book of Changes from ancient Han Culture, which refers to the sun, moon, fire, water, wood, metal, and earth as the names for Sunday to Saturday.

The reason for this shift, in essence, is that falling behind means being vulnerable to attack, especially when facing Western civilization, which developed through colonization and plunder.

Many backward Eastern countries have experienced moments when they began to doubt their own culture. It is human nature to want to align oneself with the strong and gain a sense of security. Even in China, there have been proposals to abolish Chinese characters.

In the 17th century, China adopted a policy of isolationism, and then suffered a great loss in the 18th century. Although it tried desperately to catch up under the banner of "learning from the barbarians to control the barbarians," it barely managed to draw the Anglo-Saudi War. However, its opponent was still Britain, the British Sun Never Sets Empire, which had won the Opium War and established itself as the world hegemon, a position recognized by both East and West. In the end, China had no choice but to apologize.

This is very similar to the Qing Dynasty's experience of winning a battle against France at the Battle of Zhennanguan, but having to apologize to France. This is because the basic combat strength was not even on the same level. What difference does winning a battle on one's own doorstep make?

Even if we fight a tough war, we will inevitably lose in the end. Although it may give the common people a sense of relief, it is really not worth it. The common people can die as cannon fodder, but it is the people in power who have to pay the price for their continued existence. If we consider things from the perspective of personal gain and loss, there is no reason for such an emperor or bald slave owner to exist.

Thus, the first month of the lunar calendar in Heguo became January 1st, and the Lantern Festival became January 15th.

I ate buckwheat noodles and rice cakes with my family on New Year's Eve, listened to the countdown bells for the New Year, and then had a bowl of sweet bean soup porridge on the Lantern Festival. Since it's also Coming-of-Age Day, many high school seniors also wore long-sleeved kimonos and participated in the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, eating a bowl of red bean rice...

This is a holiday in January, but the students at school are looking forward to Valentine's Day in February, as if some undercurrent is brewing.

Shirou, who had just escaped from the encirclement, felt a chill run down his spine.

Chapter 300 Integrating into Campus Life

After getting away from the boys who had gathered around him, Shirou let out a long sigh. He knew that this was just a common reaction among boys in puberty. The fact that they could express these feelings of jealousy openly, rather than hiding them behind their backs, was actually proof that everyone wanted to get along well.

However, it's best to avoid such misplaced anger in the future.

With Ms. Shizuka Hiratsuka leading the way, Shirou felt reassured and went back to his own class.

I walked up the stairs, through the corridor, and arrived at the familiar classroom door. The door was already open, so I went straight in.

Because of the delay in the entrance hall, almost everyone in the class had already arrived by this time, and Shirou greeted his classmates inside.

"Good morning!"

Good morning!