Chapter 271
He sighed and continued on his way home.
In short, the reason for arranging for Koto Satsuki to be closer to me was because this child is relatively simple and traditional, and belongs to the type that is more likely to meet the standards... What a dirty way of thinking.
Sakurakoji Talent's eyes darkened; from this moment on, it seemed he was truly heading in the direction of a scumbag.
The next day, Haneoka, Grade 11 Group A.
"Hey Duo, even though the Golden Week holiday is coming soon, starting today I'm officially a member of our class..."
Before the class meeting, the homeroom teacher, wearing a green shirt, introduced someone to the students.
"Chihaya Aine Desu!"
The pink-haired, gray-eyed girl next to her picked up the conversation, continuing in a slightly peculiar voice, "I'm enrolling at an odd time because of my family situation, so please don't mind, and get along well with me!"
Please take care of me!
Clap clap... Loud applause erupted from the audience.
"Chihaya- kun, you're sitting in the last seat."
The homeroom teacher pointed to the end of the fourth column.
"OK!"
After nodding, Chihaya Aine walked towards her seat.
Please give me your guidance!
A friendly girl greeted her.
"Um!"
Chihaya Aine to her, and then, upon seeing someone in front of her seat, exclaimed, "Ah, Ishi..."
Hearing the noise, Takamatsu Akari, who was fiddling with the pebbles on the table, looked up at her.
Chihaya Aine chuckled dryly and waved her hand, "Haha, nice to meet you..."
After speaking, she pulled out a chair and sat down as the homeroom teacher began the class meeting.
Haha... While it's a perfectly normal self-introduction, this level is fine if you want to fit in with the class.
As she took out her books and stationery, she thought to herself.
Next is...
"Chihaya..."
To her surprise, the student in front of her turned around and called her softly.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"My name is Takamatsu Akari, nice to meet you..."
After saying this shyly, she immediately turned around.
"Um..."
A slightly shy and odd classmate.
The lunch break bell rang, Chihaya Aine was suddenly startled awake.
Oh no! Lunch break time!
At times like these, the class always splits into small Cliques or individuals, making it a crucial time to quickly build relationships with others.
Choosing the right team to join is crucial, as it's the first lunch break after starting school.
Who should she befriend? She looked around the classroom...
Those groups over there are too lively; they look like a possible gathering place for rebellious, sexy girls. Those groups over there are too quiet and focused; they look dull, so those won't work either...
"Tomorou-chan to the Astronomy Club again, Zero-chan~ (Little Tomori)?"
Among the trio near the back door, one of the red-haired girls waved to Takamatsu Akari as she left the classroom.
"Um."
Takamatsu Akari responded softly.
Have a safe trip!
Another brown-haired girl offered encouragement.
Chihaya Aine's gaze was fixed on that spot; she seemed easy to talk to... That's it.
She got up, picked up her lunchbox, and walked over to the group. "Um, can I eat with you guys?"
Let's eat together! Let's eat together!
Several people gave them a warm welcome.
"Thanks!"
"Chihaya's surname feels just as cute as her given name!"
One of the three, a girl with short blonde hair, started talking.
"Isn't it cute?"
"So cute!"
The red-haired girl chimed in.
"How were you taught at your previous school?"
"Ah..."
Chihaya Aine vaguely recalled a slightly awkward memory.
'Chihaya is amazing!'
'Another perfect score!' 'Chihaya's mind is so sharp!' 'As expected of Chihaya!'...
"Just call me Aine!"
She put down the chair she had brought and said...
"That's Aine-chan!"
"Aine is cute too!"
"..."
The group then brought up how she met Takamatsu Akari. Chihaya Aine explained the situation, and after hearing their praise of Takamatsu Akari, she could only give a wry smile and agree.
They chatted about everything from school courses to their after-school hobbies, and thanks to her keen observation skills and exceptional knowledge, Chihaya Aine was able to keep up with the conversation.
"Speaking of which, who was that person who sang and played music at school last week?"
Suddenly, a message reached her ears, causing her to pause and listen intently.
For some reason, she was reminded of the silver-haired Elf girl she had seen on the rooftop last time. She was so beautiful, like something out of a fairy tale...
"I don't know. In our school, the only ones with that kind of playing ability are Afterglow in the third year, and Senpai Ako and Senpai Rikka in the second year, right?"
The red-haired girl's guess.
"No, but the singing voice is clearly not Senpai Ran's, Senpai Ako and the others aren't the lead singers... Besides, the style and instruments are very varied, and sometimes it's not even rock, right?"
The brown-haired girl shook her head in rejection.
"Who could it be? Could it be a new student who joined in the first year?"
The blonde girl was utterly confused.
"I don't know, but maybe it's not just one person?"
"Eh... could it be some newly formed band?!"
"It's possible! It's possible!"
"That..."
Not hearing any clear information, Chihaya Aine raised her hand to ask, "What are you talking about?"
"Ah, Aine-chan just arrived, she doesn't know yet!"
"It's about something that started last week—someone on campus has been playing music during class time in various places. Their playing skills are so good that it makes people wonder if it's a member of our school's band!"
"Band?"
Upon hearing this term, Chihaya Aine was puzzled. Wasn't it the Light Music Club or the Wind Ensemble Club?
"This is..."
The three of them explained the special circumstances here to her.
"Hey... is that so?"
She blinked in surprise; this was completely different from her previous school.
Recalling the silver-haired girl, she was so intrigued that she asked, "Um, is there any silver-haired girl in this school who's really good at playing instruments— Oboe and guitar?"
The three looked at each other, shaking their heads in denial.
"I don't know, do such people exist?"
"Maybe in the Wind Ensemble Club? By the way, you can play two instruments? That's amazing!"
"Where did Aine-chan meet that person?"
"Hey, it was on that rooftop over there during class last week."
Chihaya Aine hesitated before speaking, her intuition telling her that the other person was definitely the one they were talking about.
"Huh?! Could it be the person who played that piece?!"
Sure enough, the other three immediately became interested.
"What do they look like?! How many are there?!"
"I only saw one so far, she was incredibly beautiful, playing her flute in the sunlight, her hair flying, she looked like an Elf..."
"Really... even cuter than Aine-chan? Oh, sorry!"
"It's okay, um... she's much cuter than me, right?"
"Really?! Ah, I really want to see it! Too bad I have class."
"How about we skip class and go catch her?"
"Don't do that~ The teacher will scold you."
"Ha ha..."
"Ah, that's right!"
The red-haired girl suddenly remembered something and quickly looked at Chihaya Aine: "That girl, what color are her tie and skirt?"
"Tie and skirt?"
Chihaya Aine was puzzled again.
"Hmm! The first-grade students wear green ties and skirts, right?"
The brown-haired girl tugged at her clothes to indicate, "Second graders wear blue, third graders wear brown."
"If we could tell the color of her clothes, we could determine her grade!"
"Oh, I see. But I don't remember very clearly..."
Chihaya Aine suddenly realized why she had seen some students wearing different colored clothes when she went to school this morning.
At the time, she was only focused on the face, hair, and musical instruments; she didn't pay much attention to the background layers.
"Oh, what a pity! A silver-haired Elf ~"
"Given her elusive nature, 'Ghost' would be a more fitting description, wouldn't it?"
"What's that? The Ten Ghost Stories of Haneoka? Besides, Ghost don't come out during the day~"
"That's not necessarily true. Legend has it that five years ago, there was a beautiful girl who couldn't bear the pressure of her studies..."