Introduction

"This seat really wasn't ideal. I could observe most of the class, but not Hoshino. Judging by his posture, though, he probably hadn't reacted, right?"

Ayanokoji Kina wondered what expression she should wear. She didn't know what 100,000 yen was worth, but judging by most of her classmates' reactions, it had to be a lot.

Should she act a little surprised, like the others, or keep her emotions to herself like Hoshino?

In reality, while Ayanokoji Kina's mind wandered, her face remained expressionless.

After the teacher left, a group of students who had just received a fortune and were dreaming of a wonderful life were left behind.

"I can finally buy that latest game console I've been wanting. I'm going to play the galgame that came out last month on it."

"Should we go shopping on the commercial street later? There's so much I want to buy."

They were high school students, after all, with little life experience. Few of them could sense anything was amiss, and most of those who had doubts were swept up in their excitement and their friends' enthusiasm.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful time that belongs only to you, over the coming month.

"Everyone, could I have your attention for a moment?"

A handsome guy stood up, radiating the sunny aura of a cheerful young man. He looked like a genuinely kind person.

"Starting today, we'll all be spending time in the same class, so I thought we could introduce ourselves of our own accord and get to know each other faster. That way, we can make good friends. There's still some time before the Opening Ceremony. What do you think?"

The accursed extrovert. That sunshine only made the introvert's hiding place smaller.

"Sounds good. I don't even know everyone's names yet."

Hoshino Kanade thought self-introductions were pointless. People only paid attention to the things they wanted to know. An introvert might agonize over it for ages, then work up the courage to introduce himself, only for his words to never even make it into someone else's ears.

But in Japan, people were expected to read the room. Once one person agreed, most of the others would follow suit.

Those who said nothing would just get swept along by the mood.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Hirata Yosuke. My friends in middle school all called me Yosuke, so feel free to do the same! I'm interested in all kinds of sports, but I especially love soccer. I'm planning to join the Soccer Club here, too. I look forward to getting to know you all!"

It was a smooth, thorough introduction, as you'd expect from the person who'd suggested it.

With his handsome, sunny face, cheerful personality, and love of soccer, Hirata made a good impression on many of the girls in the class.

"Ciallo~ (∠・ω＜)⌒☆ Hello, everyone! I'm Yamauchi Haruki. I've been playing galgames since elementary school, and I won second place in a galgame competition in middle school. I'm determined to become a galgame expert, and I love Yuzusoft the most. If anyone wants to play together, come find me. I look forward to getting to know you all."

"Amazing!"

Yamauchi Haruki's speech earned countless exclamations of praise. Even Hoshino Kanade had to admit it was impressive.

"What are you doing?"

As Hoshino Kanade's rear-seat surveillance operator, Ayanokoji immediately noticed his movements and quietly asked him.

"Obviously, I'm sneaking out. If everyone introduces themselves one at a time, it'll take at least ten minutes. Besides, I have no interest in playing friendship games."

As he answered, Hoshino Kanade crouched low and slipped out through the back door.

Many of the students in the back row noticed him, but no one stuck their nose into his business.

Horikita Suzune wanted to speak up, but she didn't intend to make friends herself. There was no need for her to introduce herself or listen to others do so. After Hoshino Kanade slipped out, she left as well.

"What are you doing next, Hoshino?"

Hoshino Kanade was startled. When he turned around, he found Ayanokoji Kina right behind him.

"Ayanokoji, how come you came out too?"

"I'm socially anxious. I didn't dare stay in the classroom."

Hoshino had given up his chance to make friends in class. Now he only had me.

"You can just call me Kina from now on."

Kina twirled the hair beside her ear with both hands, putting on a bashful expression. Hoshino Kanade had no idea what she was thinking this time.

With those cute gestures, her gorgeous looks, and that bashful expression—even if it did seem fake—Hoshino Kanade could only say: I'm in love.

"Uh... Then you can call me Kanade from now on, too. I look forward to it."

"Got it. Where are you going next, Kanade?"

Kina seemed expressionless, but she also seemed happy.

"Let's buy some daily necessities first. We can skip the Opening Ceremony."

"Mm~ Is that really okay?"

"The Opening Ceremony is pointless aside from wasting time. If they catch me skipping roll call, I'll leave that problem for myself to deal with a few hours from now."

Skipping the Opening Ceremony would probably cost him Class Points. But they'd all be down to zero a month from now anyway, so he could spend them however he wanted.

If he hadn't been worried that missing a whole month of classes would be too outrageous and might get him expelled—or that he might be thrown out as a sacrificial lamb during a future expulsion test—Hoshino Kanade would never have abandoned such a tempting idea.

"Kanade is right."

In truth, Kina thought it would attract too much attention and go against her wish to keep to herself.

Befriending Hoshino Kanade felt like she'd gotten on a pirate ship, but a hero couldn't abandon ship in the middle of a crisis. Kina wanted to become Kanade's hero—or so she thought.

In the future, she could keep Hoshino Kanade in front of her as a shield and avoid attracting anyone's attention. It was perfect for her wish to keep to herself.

The sound of an argument drifted from the classroom as they walked farther away. Ken Sudō's behavior had distracted everyone from the fact that they hadn't introduced themselves.

By then, everyone else had gone to the Opening Ceremony, and there wasn't another student in sight.

The school's Convenience Store was huge, with all kinds of things on offer and a full selection of instant noodles.

Unfortunately, Hoshino Kanade had lost interest in instant noodles. Once upon a time, he would've been happy to eat his way through so many different varieties.

"Does Kanade want to buy instant noodles?"

"I'm just looking at what kinds they have."

"Oh~"

Kina couldn't understand why he was doing that. Was it some kind of shopping ritual, a way of showing respect to the God of Instant Noodles?

"They even have free shampoo here. It looks pretty cheap, but quite a few students seem to be taking it."

Kina sensed something strange again, but she had too little information and too little common sense to work out the truth.

"The teacher was being pretty sly earlier. He only said that points would be issued on the first of each month, not that we'd get 100,000 every month. There must be some kind of evaluation that causes the number of points issued each month to decrease."

Hoshino Kanade also wanted to show Kina that he'd noticed something. Pretending he hadn't sensed a thing would've been out of character.

"There are also a lot of surveillance cameras around this school. Somewhat suspicious. Maybe they're there to prevent bullying, or maybe they serve some other purpose."

"Is that so? Kanade, you're amazing. It seems like this school is hiding a lot of things."

As she spoke, Kina blinked at Hoshino Kanade and clasped her hands together, putting on an admiring expression.

Hoshino Kanade felt that Kina's acting was getting better and better. Even though he knew it was probably fake, he still enjoyed it.

"Not really. We should know the whole truth in a month. For now, let's just enjoy life."

Hoshino Kanade deliberately scratched the back of his neck and avoided Kina's gaze, putting on the air of a bashful boy.

With no one else around, they checked out without a hitch.

On the way to the dormitory, he also exchanged contact information with Kina.

He picked up his dorm key on the first floor. Hoshino Kanade's room was 404.

As a side note, the dormitory housed both boys and girls, with the girls living on the higher floors.

"Bye-bye~"

After saying goodbye to Kina, he turned the key and got his first look at the entire dorm room.

It was about thirteen square meters, with all the utilities he needed. He could even decorate it however he liked, making it an incredibly luxurious single room.