"Hiss~"
As the bus doors opened, students began getting off one after another. Natsukawa Sosuke finally set foot on this isolated island, just as he'd hoped. Cherry blossoms were in full bloom along the broad, tidy, tree-lined road. Pink petals drifted in the breeze, brightening this secluded world. Sunlight filtered through the dense branches, casting dappled shadows on the ground. The air was so fresh, it hardly felt like Tokyo.
Natsukawa Sosuke dragged his still somewhat weak body along the main road leading to the school building. After several days of nutritious meals and rehabilitation exercises, he was finally no longer so frail that a gust of wind could knock him over. But the past few days of processing information and preparing for enrollment had still left him noticeably exhausted. He breathed a little heavily, his steps unsteady, and a few beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Compared with the energetic, briskly walking freshmen around him, he seemed completely out of place.
"Um... Are you all right? Do you need any help?"
A clear, gentle voice, like a warm spring on a sunny day, sounded beside him.
Natsukawa turned his head and saw a girl with pinkish-gold hair. She wore a sincerely concerned smile, and her blue eyes were clear and genuine, as if they could chase away any gloom. Her uniform was the same as every other freshman's, but it suited her especially well, bringing out her open, graceful manner.
Natsukawa recognized her at once—I Ichinose Honami, the leader of Class B, whom countless readers called an "angel."
"I'm fine. I'm just... not quite used to this yet," Natsukawa replied in Japanese that was still a little stiff. In his previous life, he'd been a longtime anime fan and had taught himself Japanese in college, even passing the N1 exam. Everyday conversation had been no problem. But after he started working, he'd had few chances to use it, and his speaking had grown rusty. At Ichinose's question, he reflexively straightened up, but a slight wave of dizziness made him sway.
Ichinose immediately stepped forward and lightly offered him an arm, showing concern without invading his personal space. "Are you feeling unwell? Do you want to go to the infirmary first? I know the way." Her tone was natural and considerate, without a trace of reluctance or curiosity, as though helping others were the most ordinary thing in the world.
"Really, I'm fine. Thank you." Natsukawa took a deep breath and steadied himself. "Maybe I didn't sleep well last night. I'm Natsukawa Sosuke, a freshman."
"I'm Ichinose Honami. I'm a freshman too." She smiled as she introduced herself, her eyes still full of concern. "Do you know which class you're in? If not, we're going the same way. The notice board is in the school building up ahead. Let's go together, and tell me if you start feeling unwell."
Her kindness wrapped around Natsukawa like warm sunlight. He couldn't refuse it, and didn't want to. In a completely unfamiliar place, such pure goodwill felt especially precious. He nodded. "Then... sorry for the trouble, Ichinose."
At the same time, he was secretly relieved that the timeline lined up perfectly: his year corresponded to the main story of the novel. If he'd enrolled in a different year, paying back that twenty million would have been a real challenge.
They walked side by side, with Ichinose considerately slowing her pace. Every so often, she pointed out a facility along the way and briefly introduced it, her voice light and friendly. "Look, that's the gymnasium. It's huge!" "I think that's the library. We can come read together sometime!" Her casual conversation naturally eased the awkwardness of meeting for the first time.
When they reached the notice board displaying the class assignments, quite a few students had already gathered there. But with only 160 students in the entire year, it wasn't too crowded. Natsukawa and Ichinose stepped up and quickly found their names.
As expected, Ichinose had been placed in Class B. Natsukawa scanned the assignments and finally found his name in Class D.
Not bad. Class A has its own way of doing things, and Class D has its own tricks. Class D may have plenty of oddballs, but it also has plenty of experts. And a group that's all over the place will make it easier for me to pull a few strings.
Being assigned to Class D wasn't entirely bad for Natsukawa. At least it was better than Class C. Ryuen was working hard under the naïve idea that the whole class could earn enough points to transfer to Class A, and Hiyori was cute, but in Class C there was no privacy, and he'd have to endure Ryuen's violent rule. That would make it harder for Natsukawa to make money. So even though Hiyori was cute, he still wanted no part of Class C.
Ichinose saw the results too. A trace of regret flickered across her face—after all, he was the first classmate she'd met—but it was soon replaced by an even warmer smile. "Great, we've both found our classes. Natsukawa, even though we're not in the same class, I hope we get along!" She gave a slight bow, her tone sincere.
"Likewise, Ichinose." Natsukawa returned her gesture with a polite nod. "And thank you so much for earlier."
"You don't have to be so formal!" Ichinose waved a hand, her smile bright. "I'm just happy I could help. Well, I should head to the Class B classroom. See you at the opening ceremony?"
"Sure. See you there."
Watching Ichinose Honami disappear around the corner, Natsukawa felt a slight stir in his heart. So this is the glow of an "angel." Even after Class B later fell to Class D, and even when Ichinose herself was lost, she remained the one sun in the hearts of everyone in Class B. But he quickly shook off the sentiment. Warmth couldn't put food on the table, much less repay a twenty-million-yen debt. He turned and headed toward Class D.
When he arrived at the Class 1-D classroom, the din inside carried through the closed door. He pushed it open to find students gathered in small groups, talking about whatever interested them. One student had his feet up on a desk, casually filing his nails. At an ordinary school, social cliques would form and become more or less fixed that very day. Anyone left out would be condemned to three years of lonely independence. But this wasn't an ordinary school.
Natsukawa calmly swept his gaze across the classroom, over faces both familiar and unfamiliar, and soon found his seat near the back, by the window, with his nameplate on it. Back row, by the window—the king's territory. They really did give me this seat. He glanced behind him and met a pair of emotionless eyes: the protagonist of the original story, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"Konichiwa, I'm Natsukawa Sosuke. Nice to meet you."
"Hello, I'm Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. Nice to meet you."
They fell silent and continued staring at each other. 0_o
As I remember it, Ayanokoji still wanted to make friends at the start of school. Right now, he's just like a college graduate fresh out in the world: a blank slate, and someone who wants to enjoy a peaceful, ordinary school life.
With that in mind, Natsukawa went straight for it. "What do you usually do, Ayanokoji? Carry a piano around while practicing calligraphy?"
"I know a little piano and a little calligraphy, but does anyone usually carry a piano around while practicing calligraphy?"
"Some people do, bro. Some people do. There are nine other things like that..."
After that, the two talked about books they'd read. Aside from famous authors like Keigo Higashino, Natsukawa hadn't read many Japanese books, so they moved on to Chinese classics and history, including Romance of the Three Kingdoms—not the Three Kingdoms rewritten by Eiji Yoshikawa. When Natsukawa started talking about how, if Guo Jia hadn't died, the Three Kingdoms era wouldn't have happened, he even accidentally switched to Chinese. Ayanokoji kept listening, as if switching between two languages at will posed no problem for him.
A soft voice spoke in Chinese from nearby. "Hello. Are you two international students too?"
Natsukawa stopped talking and turned to look. A petite, twin-tailed beauty in the neighboring seat had spoken to them. He checked the nameplate against his memory and recalled that her name was Wang Meiyu.
"No, but I'm very interested in Chinese culture. I spent some time in China before."
Natsukawa replied in Chinese.
A trace of disappointment crossed the girl's face, but she still introduced herself. "My name is Wang Meiyu... I came to Japan with my parents when I was in junior high. When I heard you speaking Chinese, I thought..." She lowered her head, a little embarrassed.
"Your Chinese is so fluent... It sounds even better than your Japanese. Did you teach yourself? I haven't spoken Chinese with anyone outside my family since I came here in junior high..."
The two went on to talk about differences between Chinese and foreign customs. In the seat behind them, Ayanokoji looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't.
"You've been cruelly abandoned by your companion. What a pitiful fellow."
The comment came from the girl seated beside Ayanokoji, named Horikita Suzune.
"No, we just ran out of things to say. I wouldn't call that being abandoned... I think."
"What a pitiful fellow. You still haven't made a single friend."
"No, at least I've found someone I can talk to. Besides, you're the one who truly doesn't have any friends, Horikita."
"Don't lump me in with people like you. I don't make friends because I believe friendship itself is meaningless. Don't impose your pitiful values on me."
The two fell silent. A few minutes later, a woman in professional office attire, with her long hair tied in a ponytail, walked into the classroom.
With a loud thud, she dropped a thick stack of papers onto the lectern.
Before you continue