Bad Player, Big Habits

(PS: The image shows Ichinose Honami.)

"Nice to meet you. I'm Tenyo Yuyuki from First Year D Class."

"Year 1 B Class, Ichinose Honami. Pleased to meet you!"

On the steps, the two introduced themselves to each other. Faced with this sudden approach, Ichinose showed no displeasure at all. Instead, her smiling face gave off a natural sense of warmth.

After the entrance exam ended, someone had visited the Tenyo Family and had a conversation with him.

In the end, they rated Tenyo Yuyuki as D Class.

Having read the original work, Tenyo Yuyuki naturally understood that D Class students were all a bunch of "Flawed Goods."

But he didn't care about that. How he lived his life didn't require anyone else's judgment.

With the Tenyo Family's influence capable of affecting national policy to some extent, Tenyo Yuyuki cared even less about a school's evaluation.

Hearing Ichinose's introduction, Tenyo Yuyuki felt a slight regret. "What a shame that my first friend turned out to be from another class. Such a pity."

"How could that be? Whether we're in the same class or not, the nature of friendship doesn't change. Don't you think so, Tenyo?" Faced with such a rude remark, Ichinose still responded with a smile.

"Of course. I'm also happy to be friends with someone like Ichinose!"

Carrying their school bags, the two walked side by side, chatting and laughing while admiring the campus scenery, like a couple.

Tenyo Yuyuki's somewhat "Overly Familiar" and "self-centered" words didn't upset Ichinose.

If it were someone else meeting for the first time, they'd definitely think, 'First time meeting, who's friends with you?' or 'Pity my ass, who do you think you are? I'm the one who's pitiful!'

But the kind and tolerant Little Angel Ichinose didn't. At the same time, it left Ichinose with the impression that the two were the first friends she'd made at this school.

However, overly familiar people often get labeled as "frivolous," which didn't align with his intentions.

Tenyo Yuyuki was constantly manipulating others' impressions of him.

Whether he could shed the frivolous label depended on the next part of the conversation.

"Speaking of which, Ichinose, were you looking at something interesting at the school gate earlier?"

Caught off guard by the abrupt topic shift, Ichinose took a moment to react but quickly understood what Tenyo Yuyuki meant.

"Oh, that time."

Ichinose showed an apologetic smile. "I was just a little curious. I didn't expect maids to still exist in this day and age. If that made you uncomfortable, my apologies."

Tenyo Yuyuki seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "Not at all. It's just because of family circumstances—I've only studied at home since I was little, and this is my first time going to school. I thought maybe I'd done something wrong. As for the maid, that's also part of the family situation. You don't need to worry about it, Ichinose."

"High society?"

Ichinose was a bit surprised, tilting her head in a cute way.

At the same time, she thought she understood why Tenyo Yuyuki had approached her. She just happened to be the one he'd picked, since she seemed easy to talk to.

"Sort Of."

Tenyo Yuyuki smiled and Nodded, turning his head to look at Ichinose. "By the way, why did Ichinose choose to enter this school?"

"Well, a lot happened in Middle School. Now's the time for a fresh start."

Ichinose clenched her Small Hands as if cheering herself on, like a spirited girl. Before Tenyo Yuyuki could speak, she turned her head again with a smile. "And why did Tenyo enter this school?"

Excellent... Tenyo Yuyuki silently evaluated Ichinose.

Ichinose clearly didn't want to talk much, yet she shifted the topic without causing any discomfort. That required very strong social skills.

It might also have to do with her own tolerance and looks.

But having read the original work, Tenyo Yuyuki knew Ichinose's past very well.

She came from a single-parent family, raised by her mother, with a sister two years younger. Yet Ichinose never felt unlucky. She just studied harder, hoping to ease the family's financial burden with scholarships.

However.

One day, her younger sister, for the first time, begged for a birthday gift—a Hair Clip that had been popular the year before. Her mother worked overtime to fulfill that wish and ended up falling ill from overwork.

For her ten-year-old sister's first birthday gift, Ichinose chose to steal a Hair Clip.

Though her mother handled it properly, taking young Ichinose to apologize with a deep bow, earning forgiveness without the police being called.

But kind-hearted Ichinose understood the weight of crime. She always saw herself as a Criminal and never thought of herself as a good person.

Tenyo Yuyuki knew this well.

Even if he wanted to dig deeper, Ichinose, who let her guard down around anyone, would hesitate briefly and then answer honestly.

He could easily exploit Ichinose's weakness and control her heart, but that would only be a low-tier strategy.

Chatting with a confident, kind Bishojo like Ichinose felt very comfortable, and Tenyo Yuyuki wanted to leave a pleasant impression on her too.

But.

When lies are exposed, they leave an impression of dishonesty and untrustworthiness.

As Ichinose's information surfaced in his mind, Tenyo Yuyuki showed a faint smile and said, "I heard this school specializes in cultivating all-around talent for Sakurajima's future. I also want to help my family by recruiting some excellent people."

"Helping your family, huh?"

Ichinose was clearly taken aback. "Tenyo-kun, so amazing!"

A family that could afford a maid was undoubtedly backed by deep foundations.

Ichinose had also guessed Tenyo Yuyuki's background—after all, the Tenmyouin Zaibatsu was far too famous in Sakurajima—but it wasn't appropriate to pry into someone's privacy on a first meeting.

With such a family background.

Yet Tenyo Yuyuki was still this hardworking, starting to think about his family's future at such a young age.

At the same time, Ichinose felt a twinge of shame inside at Tenyo Yuyuki's frankness.

If he was so open with her, wouldn't her own evasiveness come off as hypocritical?

But Ichinose couldn't bring herself to voluntarily expose the scars of her past.

Few people could face their own sins head-on—not even the kind Little Angel Ichinose. That was also why, despite ranking first in the entire grade, she had been assigned to B Class.

The two chatted and laughed all the way to school. Ichinose waved goodbye with her usual Genkimanman energy. "I'm really glad I got to meet Tenyo-kun today. I never thought I'd make a friend like you on the First Day. Well then, I'll take my leave here!"

"Hm, Ichinose, feel free to come to me with any problems. See you next time!"

Tenyo Yuyuki replied with a smile.

Building on their earlier conversation.

Even polite small talk could leave a Deep Impression on Ichinose at certain moments.

Since they had been notified upon enrollment that no Personal Belongings were allowed, they hadn't exchanged contact info for now.

Tenyo Yuyuki turned and headed to D Class.