Faced with Kato's generosity, I accepted without hesitation.
At the same time, I silently made a note to repay her kindness someday.
Seeing me like this, Kato said helplessly,
"Are you short on money, Akasaka?"
The moment she said it, Kato regretted asking.
She'd just remembered that Akasaka had mentioned his points had been reset to zero this month. It made sense that he had no money.
Seeing Kato's embarrassment, I waved to show her it was all right. Only then did she relax.
Watching me eat such a meager meal with such relish, Kato couldn't help feeling a little sorry for me and brought it up.
"If you need points, Akasaka, I can lend you some. Just pay me back next month."
Faced with Kato's kindness, I shook my head and waved her off, while marveling inwardly.
What a perfect woman! No wonder so many people online in my previous life jokingly called her Saintess Kei. She really did deserve the title.
She was kind and had trouble turning people down. On top of that, she was beautiful, and her figure and height were both fine—well above the B+ passing mark.
A girl this wonderful, with such a great personality, would surely have been in high demand if her presence weren't so faint, right?
But that frighteningly faint presence didn't seem to affect me. Was it because I'd crossed over into this world?
Across from him, Kato Megumi was pondering the same question.
This boy in front of her was the first person who hadn't ignored her.
From childhood onward, even her parents and older sister would often forget about her.
They could go out to buy groceries and leave her behind at the supermarket.
They wouldn't realize she was still there until they got home and instinctively set out four place settings, only to notice one was missing. It was pretty miserable.
Because of this, her parents often apologized for forgetting her, but she'd long since gotten used to it.
After all, it had been like this since elementary school. She didn't have a single friend.
When she was little, her faint presence had even caused her to get lost repeatedly.
Once, she'd disappeared for an entire day and night without anyone noticing. She'd had to find her own way home.
To keep from losing their daughter again, her parents even started tying a rope around themselves whenever they went out, with the other end fastened to their daughter.
One time, the police mistook them for kidnappers because of it and took her parents in.
They'd forgotten only her...
That was why Kato cared so much about Akasaka: he was the only person who hadn't overlooked her, the only one who had noticed her.
Perhaps he'd be the only person she could date—and marry—in the future.
That was how pessimistic Kato was.
She'd already given up on having a normal romance.
With a presence as faint as hers, what could she possibly expect?
She was already satisfied if someone noticed her.
The two of them soon finished lunch and headed back together.
Akasaka hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. He'd actually managed to befriend Kato.
His original intention had been to get close to this girl with the faint presence. She might come in handy someday.
After all, someone whose presence was this faint was perfect for gathering information.
As soon as they returned to the classroom, they saw Horikita and Hirata competing for the position of leader.
More accurately, Hirata was yielding while Horikita tried to seize the role of Class D leader on her own.
She slammed a hand on the desk, tossed her long, straight black hair, and looked confidently around the room.
"I don't think Class D can go on like this. We need a leader, and I think I'm the right person for the job."
Horikita pointed proudly at herself.
The handsome guy rested his feet on the desk and looked straight at Horikita Suzune.
"What an interesting suggestion, Lady."
"I have no objection to you becoming the leader. It makes no difference to me anyway, because I won't listen to you."
The handsome guy spread his hands, making his position clear.
At the same time, he took out a small mirror and smoothed his slicked-back hair.
Horikita, beside him, immediately looked displeased and was about to retort when Ayanokoji stopped her.
Ayanokoji reached out to hold Horikita back.
"Forget it. He has no interest in becoming the class leader, so he poses no threat to you. Don't waste your time on him."
Horikita let it go, then turned to Hirata Yosuke, the class's nominal leader and the one with the most support.
Hirata smiled wryly. "I'm not interested in becoming the class leader. I just want everyone to get along and move up to Class A together, so I'm withdrawing."
Hirata raised his hand to show that he was giving up the position.
This immediately upset many of their classmates. Karuizawa Kei in particular had publicly started dating Hirata, so she felt she had to speak up for her boyfriend.
She stood up, looking fierce and making no effort to spare anyone's feelings as she said,
"Horikita, what makes you think you can be the leader?"
"I admit your grades are a tiny bit better than mine, but so what?"
"With that antisocial personality of yours, you think you can lead everyone to Class A? Give me a break."
Horikita knitted her brows.
"Let me correct you, Karuizawa. You ranked thirty-second, while I ranked first."
"The gap between our academic performance isn't small. It's huge."
Karuizawa was instantly furious, her face turning bright red.
"That's why you don't have any friends! You're such a blunt jerk!"
"What does it matter to you whether I have friends? Besides, I don't need any."
"You..."
Karuizawa was left speechless.
Hirata hurriedly tried to smooth things over.
"Come on, let's not argue. Let's talk it out, okay?"
"It's only the position of class leader. I can give it up, so please stop arguing."
In the end, with Hirata stepping aside and no one else stepping forward to challenge her, Horikita successfully became the official leader.
Although plenty of people weren't convinced, she probably wouldn't be able to order them around anyway.
Ayanokoji sighed inwardly.
What a hassle. I only wanted to live an ordinary life...
But then Chabashira had threatened me with expulsion and forced me to act. This was just...
Was this person really fit to be a teacher? Threatening a student into doing something like this.
Meanwhile, Kato and Akasaka had already returned to their seats, not caring about any of it.
What did this have to do with him? It wouldn't earn him any money.
Before you continue