Enrollment, Then Meeting the Angel from Class B

"Swoosh~"

As the bus doors hissed open, students began to file out one after another. Natsukawa Sosuke finally stepped into this isolated island, just as he had hoped. Along the wide, pristine tree-lined avenues, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom; pink petals drifted on the breeze, adorning this secluded world. Sunlight filtered through the lush foliage, casting dappled shadows upon the ground, and the air was so fresh it hardly felt like Tokyo.

Natsukawa Sosuke dragged his still-weak body along the main path leading toward the school building. Thanks to the nutritional intake and rehabilitation training over the past few days, this body was no longer so frail that a gust of wind could knock it over, but the days of processing information and preparing for enrollment had left him feeling visibly exhausted. He panted slightly, his footsteps unsteady, with beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Compared to the energetic and vigorous freshmen around him, he looked completely out of place.

"Um... are you alright, classmate? Do you need some help?"

A clear, gentle voice, like a warm spring, sounded from his side.

Natsukawa turned his head to see a girl with long, pink-gold hair. Her face wore a look of genuine concern, and her blue eyes were clear and sincere, as if they could dispel any gloom. The uniform she wore was identical to those of the other freshmen, yet it fit her perfectly, accentuating her poised and graceful demeanor.

Natsukawa recognized her immediately—Ichinose Honami, the leader of Class B, a figure many readers called an "angel."

"It's fine, I'm just... not used to this yet." Natsukawa replied in somewhat stiff Japanese. As a long-time anime fan in his previous life, he had self-taught Japanese in college and passed the N1, so daily conversation wasn't an issue. However, he hadn't used it since starting work, and his spoken skills had grown rusty. Hearing Ichinose's inquiry, he subconsciously straightened his back, but a wave of lightheadedness made him sway.

Ichinose immediately stepped forward, offering a light, perfectly measured touch of support—enough to show concern without invading his personal space. "Are you feeling unwell? Would you like to go to the infirmary first? I know the way." Her tone was natural and considerate, devoid of any forced curiosity, as if helping others was the most natural thing in the world.

"I'm really fine, thank you." Natsukawa took a deep breath, steadying himself. "I probably just didn't sleep well last night. I'm Natsukawa Sosuke, a freshman."

"I'm Ichinose Honami, also a freshman, just like you." She smiled as she introduced herself, her eyes still filled with concern. "Do you know which class you're in? If not, we're heading the same way; the bulletin board is in the school building ahead. Let's go together, and if you feel unwell, just tell me."

Her kindness was like warm sunlight, enveloping Natsukawa. He couldn't refuse, nor did he want to. In this completely unfamiliar environment, this pure goodwill felt incredibly precious. He nodded. "Then... I'll trouble you, Ichinose-san."

At the same time, he secretly rejoiced that the timeline matched up perfectly; his year was exactly in line with the main plot of the novel. If it were any other year, paying off that 20 million debt would be quite a stressful ordeal.

The two walked side by side, and Ichinose considerately slowed her pace, occasionally pointing out the facilities they passed with brief, lighthearted, and friendly introductions. "Look, that's the gymnasium, it looks so big!" "This seems to be the library, we can come here to read together later!" Her words naturally dissolved the awkwardness of their first meeting.

When they reached the bulletin board where the class assignments were posted, quite a few students had already gathered. But since there were only 160 students in the entire grade, the crowd wasn't too dense. Natsukawa and Ichinose stepped up and quickly found their names.

As expected, Ichinose was in Class B, while Natsukawa scanned the list until he finally found his name under Class D.

Not bad. Class A has its own way of playing, and Class D has its own tricks. Even though Class D is full of oddballs, it also has its fair share of geniuses. A scattered group is perfect for me to pull some strings.

Being assigned to Class D wasn't entirely a bad thing for Natsukawa; at the very least, it was better than Class C. Although Ryuen was working hard with the naive idea of getting everyone to transfer to Class A using points, and Hiyori was cute, Class C had no privacy and required enduring Ryuen's violent rule, which wasn't conducive to Natsukawa making money. So, despite Hiyori's charm, Natsukawa steered clear of Class C.

Ichinose saw the results as well. A flicker of subtle regret crossed her face—after all, he was the first classmate she had met—but it was quickly replaced by an even warmer smile. "That's great, we both found our classes. Natsukawa-kun, even though we aren't in the same class, please take care of me in the future!" She bowed slightly, her tone sincere.

"Likewise, Ichinose-san." Natsukawa returned a polite nod. "Thank you so much for earlier."

"Don't be so formal!" Ichinose waved her hand, her smile radiant. "I'm just happy I could help. Well, I'm heading to the Class B classroom now. See you at the entrance ceremony?"

"Right, see you at the entrance ceremony."

Watching Ichinose Honami's retreating figure disappear around the corner, Natsukawa felt a slight stir in his heart. Was this the radiance of an "angel"? Even if Class B fell to Class D later on, and even if Ichinose felt lost, the people of Class B only had Ichinose as their sun. But he immediately shook off the sentiment. Warmth couldn't put food on the table, nor could it pay off a 20-million-yen debt. He turned and walked toward Class D.

Upon arriving at the Class 1-D classroom, the sound of chatter spilled out through the closed door. Pushing it open, he saw students gathered in small groups, discussing topics that interested them. Some students had their feet propped up on desks, filing their nails as if no one else were around. In a normal school, social cliques would form and solidify today, and those left behind would be forced into a three-year life as a lone wolf. Unfortunately, this was no ordinary school.

Natsukawa's gaze swept calmly across the classroom, over faces both familiar and new, and he soon found the seat with his name tag in the back row by the window. Back row by the window, the hometown of kings. So, I've been given this seat. Natsukawa glanced behind him and immediately locked eyes with a pair of emotionless eyes—it was the protagonist of the original story, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"Konnichiwa, I'm Natsukawa Sosuke. Please take care of me."

"Hello, I'm Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. Please take care of me."

Both fell silent, continuing to stare at each other. 0_o

In my memory, Ayanokoji was very eager to make friends when school started. Right now, he's like a college student fresh out of society—a blank slate, also longing for a peaceful, ordinary school life.

Thinking of this, Natsukawa threw a straight pitch. "Ayanokoji-kun, what do you usually do? Carry a piano around while practicing calligraphy?"

"I know a little piano, and a little calligraphy, but does the average person carry a piano around to practice calligraphy?"

"Some brothers do, some do. There are nine others who do things like that..."

Afterward, the two talked about books they had read. Given that Natsukawa hadn't read many Japanese books outside of famous ones like those by Keigo Higashino, they started discussing Chinese historical classics, specifically Romance of the Three Kingdoms—not the version rewritten by Eiji Yoshikawa. When Natsukawa started talking about how the Three Kingdoms wouldn't have risen if Guo Jia hadn't died, he even accidentally slipped into Chinese. Ayanokoji continued to listen, as if switching between the two languages was no problem for him at all.

A faint voice spoke up in Chinese from the side: "Hello, are you two international students too?"

Natsukawa stopped talking and turned to see a petite, twin-tailed beauty at the neighboring desk addressing them. Natsukawa compared the name tag to his memory and recalled her name was Wang Meiyu.

"Not exactly, but I'm very interested in Chinese culture and spent some time in China before."

Natsukawa responded in Chinese as well.

A flicker of disappointment crossed the girl's face, but she introduced herself anyway: "My name is Wang Meiyu... I came to Japan with my parents in middle school. When I heard the Chinese just now, I thought..." She lowered her head, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Your Chinese is so standard... it feels even better than your Japanese. Did you teach yourself? Ever since I moved here in middle school, I haven't spoken Chinese with anyone outside my family..."

After that, the two chatted about the differences between Chinese and foreign customs, while Ayanokoji in the back seat looked like he wanted to say something but held back.

"Were you heartlessly abandoned by your companions? What a pitiful guy."

This came from the girl sitting next to Ayanokoji, a girl named Horikita Suzune.

"No, the conversation just hit a lull, I wouldn't call it being abandoned... I think."

"What a pitiful guy, unable to make a single friend even now."

"No, at least I've managed to talk to someone. Besides, Horikita, you're the one who really doesn't have any friends."

"Don't lump me in with you people. I don't make friends because I believe the act itself is meaningless. Don't project your pathetic values onto me."

The two fell into a mutual silence. A few minutes later, a woman dressed in professional office attire with her long hair tied in a ponytail walked into the classroom.

With a thud, she slammed a stack of documents onto the podium.