Stereotypes

Horikita Suzune and Sudō had erupted into a massive conflict, and what made it even worse was that neither side felt they were in the wrong.

From Horikita's perspective, the reason the class was falling behind the others was precisely because of this group of rule-breaking, study-hating losers.

She was actually sacrificing her own precious time to help them pass their exams, yet not only were they not grateful, they didn't even appreciate it!

The most infuriating part was that she, who had always held herself in high regard, was actually being evaluated by the school as being in the same category as these people—the level of a loser.

From Sudō's perspective, there was even less to say; because of his terrible personality, he had been subjected to finger-pointing and cold stares since he was a child, which had led to him developing a social anxiety that made him distrust any stranger.

Although he knew he wasn't smart, he felt that the way she had stated her purpose in front of everyone was just a way to attack him!

Furthermore, that ice-cold Horikita actually dared to attack his most precious dream! This was absolutely unforgivable!!

This atmosphere of cold war lasted for several days, but perhaps because neither of them had many friends, no one stepped forward to mediate.

At this moment, the man named Ayanokōji stepped up!

"Horikita, have you ever thought about the fact that this school imposes severe penalties on the class even for tardiness or truancy? So, what would happen if someone were to drop out?"

"This..."

"Besides, no matter what, you were too harsh that day..."

The person who tied the knot must be the one to untie it; compared to Sudō, who had no brain to speak of, Horikita Suzune was much more reasonable.

Therefore, as long as Horikita took the initiative to apologize, the chauvinistic Sudō probably wouldn't be too petty... probably.

On the other side, after half a month of burning the midnight oil, Karuizawa had made rapid progress with the help of Shintō!

"Not bad, Megumi. At this rate, you'll have fully mastered the current curriculum within half a year!"

It was hard to tell if Shintō was being sarcastic or genuinely offering praise, but Karuizawa always felt like he was insulting her.

"Half a year..."

"That's already pretty good. At the very least, if you took an exam now, your score would definitely be higher than last time. With that, the midterm exams or whatever will be a piece of cake!"

Hearing this, Karuizawa threw the pen in her hand onto the desk and stretched happily, feeling that her hard work—sacrificing sleep and food, and pushing herself to the limit—had finally paid off.

"Thank you, Katsuya. I definitely couldn't have done it without you."

"True. But your own effort was just as important."

"Eh... I thought you would say 'It's all the result of your own hard work.'"

Shintō pointed to his own eyes, which, like hers, were sporting dark circles from staying up late:

"It's all the result of your own hard work."

Several days of high-intensity study left Karuizawa wanting to do nothing but rest, and Shintō finally had a rare moment of long-lost leisure time.

Without realizing it, he found himself back in the library, thinking of picking out a novel or magazine to relax.

Just as he went upstairs, he saw a gray figure not far away, standing on tiptoes and trying to reach a large, dusty book placed on a high shelf.

"You're looking for this, right?"

It was just a small favor, so Shintō reached up and took it down, handing it to the quiet-looking girl.

"Ah, thank you."

She was truly a literary girl; she took The Moonstone with both hands, held it to her chest, and bowed to thank Shintō.

Elegant, truly so elegant!

"You're welcome. Though, I couldn't tell at first—a cute girl like you actually likes detective novels."

"Yes... I read a little bit of everything."

At this moment, she noticed the white-covered novel in Shintō's hand:

"Classmate, so you also like Journey Under the Midnight Sun by Higashino Keigo?"

"Well, I've been a long-time fan of his..."

There was actually nothing wrong with saying that, considering he was an extremely prolific author who had written nearly a hundred novels.

"Eh?! Really? I also love Higashino Keigo. Which of his masterpieces is your favorite?"

"Uh... I..."

If the girl opposite him had been as quiet and elegant as a peony just a moment ago, she was now as lively and spirited as if she'd been injected with adrenaline. The sudden enthusiasm and social butterfly state left Shintō, who was pretending to be a civilized person, somewhat unable to cope.

Seeming to notice that she was a bit too excited, the girl blushed and took two steps back:

"Ah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I got too excited all of a sudden. I didn't expect to meet a fellow fan here, and I lost my composure for a moment."

"Hahaha, it's fine. I understand how you feel. Don't look at me like this; when I meet someone with the same interests, I get unusually excited too!"

(Especially when limited-edition desserts are being snatched up by a mob! "Put down my donut! You bastard!")

"By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Shintō Katsuya from Class 1-D. Nice to meet you."

The girl was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, because Ryuen had been mentioning names like Shintō or Ayanokōji all day long recently.

That Shintō... could it be this classmate right in front of her??

"My name is Shiina Hiyori, from Class 1-C."

As if he had heard something unbelievable, Shinjo's pupils instantly constricted and his eyes widened:

"C... Class 1-C..."

How could Class 1-C possibly have such a cute, literary girl?!!! Wait... I think I've fallen into a stereotype again.

The number of people from Class 1-C that Shinjo had encountered was neither small nor large, but every single one of them was either acting like they were owed a fortune or were burly, rough-looking tough guys.

Therefore, in his stereotypical view, Class 1-C was supposed to be a gathering of delinquents.

Shiina's eyes darted around. It seemed the classmate in front of her was indeed that Shinjo. Could it be that because he was afraid of Ryuen, he was also afraid of everyone from Class 1-C?

[I don't want that! I finally managed to meet a classmate who shares similar hobbies...]

"Shinjo-kun... is there... something wrong with Class 1-C?"

"Ah? Uh, no. I, I was just surprised, that's all."

"Is that so... I thought that once you knew I was from Class 1-C, you wouldn't want to get to know me anymore."

As she spoke, a trace of dejection and sorrow flickered in Shiina's eyes.

Once upon a time, she was someone who wasn't good at hiding her true self, someone who would excitedly introduce the books she loved and her favorite authors to the friends around her.

Unfortunately, the girls at that age simply weren't interested in such things.

As time went on, hitting wall after wall, she no longer had the courage or the desire to take the initiative to reach out to others, so she simply locked herself away in the library or wherever there were books, isolating herself from the world.

"That's not it at all. Although some students in Class 1-C don't seem very approachable, I feel that Shiina is different... After all, how does that saying go... Ah, people who like to read aren't bad people! Right?"

"People who like to read aren't bad people... Ah! Do you really think so, Shinjo-kun?!"

Clearly, Shinjo's comforting words had struck a chord deep within Shiina's innocent heart.