Character Design, A Reclusive Yet Approachable Loner

By checking the seating chart on the podium, Dokuho Kouya quickly found his seat.

Sitting next to him was a tall girl with somewhat boyish features.

The girl noticed her neighbor arriving and greeted him enthusiastically, "Hello, my name is Sayo Ando. I look forward to working with you."

Sayo Ando...

A name he didn't recognize.

Dokuho Kouya had been transmigrated into this world for over a decade, and he could only remember the names of the key characters from the original work.

For Class B, he only remembered Ichinose, Kanzaki, and others, plus perhaps Chihiro Shiranami, the girl who liked girls and had once confessed to Ichinose.

Other than that, he didn't have much of an impression of the other students in Class B.

"My name is Dokuho Kouya." After politely stating his name, Dokuho Kouya began to survey the classroom.

Many students from Class B had already arrived.

Even though it was the first day everyone was meeting, many students were already surrounding a girl with long pink hair, chatting and laughing with her.

"That girl is really something," Sayo Ando said, her gaze also fixed on the pink-haired girl in the center of the crowd, her voice filled with admiration. "It's my first time seeing someone who can chat so happily with everyone right after school starts."

Whether in kindergarten, elementary school, or middle school, most people would surely be reserved when arriving in an environment full of strangers, only staying in their seats and spacing out.

A scene like the pink-haired girl being able to chat happily with so many people was indeed a rare occurrence.

"Is that Ichinose?" Dokuho Kouya's gaze scrutinized the pink-haired girl.

Gentle and generous, cheerful personality, good-looking, and her social skills were maxed out.

She hadn't been in the classroom long, yet she was already chatting happily with classmates who were still strangers.

It was no wonder that in the original work, she was able to unite Class B through her own charisma.

"Unfortunately, the role I'm going to play next is that of a lone wolf."

After confirming that he was a student in Class B, Dokuho Kouya had decided on his persona at Advanced Nurturing.

Kind, mysterious, powerful, aloof, and friendly.

In the united Class B, his aloof personality and his inability to fit in with those around him would inevitably leave a deep impression on the audience.

At the same time, to avoid clashing with lone wolves like Koenji and Yukimura from Class D, he also had to cultivate a persona of being friendly to others.

Aloof in personality, yet kind in his treatment of others, appearing to be close with everyone.

This sense of contrast, if shaped well, would make the persona more well-rounded; if shaped poorly, it would just be a conflict of character.

In any case, his popularity would certainly not be low.

"Sayo, don't you want to go over and talk to them?" Dokuho Kouya glanced sideways, smiling at the tall girl beside him.

"Would it be rude to just join in suddenly?" Sayo Ando looked a bit worried, then paused, her expression surprised. "Kouya, did you just call me by my first name?"

In this country, without a blood relationship, only people who were close could call each other by their first names; otherwise, they could only use each other's surnames.

If they were of the same gender, they could call each other by their first names once they became friends.

If they were of the opposite gender, it would have to be at the level of childhood sweethearts or a couple.

Dokuho Kouya had just called Sayo Ando by her first name, which made the latter feel very surprised.

"I was calling you Sayo just now." Sensing the surprise in the girl's eyes, Dokuho Kouya smiled gently. "Or, do you prefer to be called Sayo?"

This was one of the methods he had thought of to shape his friendly persona.

That was, regardless of who it was, he would call them by their first name directly.

Whether it was a classmate he had just met or a teacher who had already entered society, he would kindly call them by their first names.

"That's not the point." Being called by her first name by a boy she had just met, Sayo Ando scratched her cheek, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I just think the pace seems a bit too fast."

In her view, if she were to be called by her first name by Dokuho Kouya, it should at least wait until they became good friends.

Calling someone by their first name just after meeting them was, to her, really a bit too fast.

Dokuho Kouya had long anticipated that the girl would be a bit uncomfortable, so he had already prepared his response.

Just as he was about to use his prepared speech, a cheerful voice rang out from the classroom door.

"Everyone, please return to your seats."

"I am your homeroom teacher, Chie Hoshinomiya. Before the opening ceremony begins, I will explain the special rules of the school, so everyone must listen carefully!"

With the teacher's arrival, the students in the class returned to their seats one after another.

On the first day of school, they still wanted to leave a good impression on the teacher.

"Sayo, it seems we'll have to talk about this next time." Dokuho Kouya smiled at the girl and then returned to his seat.

"Alright." Sayo Ando also knew that now was not the time to talk about such things, so she just followed suit and sat down, listening to the teacher explain the special rules of the school.

The special rules of the school had actually been sent to the students in the form of a notice before the start of school.

After all, once students entered the school, they could not leave, nor could they contact the outside world.

If it weren't explained in advance, there would surely be many people getting emotional at the start of enrollment.

That is precisely why the school explained the situation in advance.

"There are many entertainment facilities near the school, so if you feel stressed, you can go there to relax."

"To make purchases at school, you need to use an electronic currency called 'points.' You can complete a transaction simply by using the student terminal issued by the school to scan a special device."

"Each point is equivalent to 1 yen."

"The school has already deposited 100,000 points into your accounts this month, and from now on, the school will issue points to you on the first of every month!"

As the homeroom teacher Hoshinomiya Chie finished speaking, the students in the classroom immediately erupted into a buzz of excitement.

"Dokuho-kun, did I hear that right?" Sayo Ando glanced at the boy beside her, saying excitedly, "We actually received 100,000 yen worth of pocket money!"

"You heard correctly, Sayo-san." Dokuho Kouya operated his phone, displaying his personal account interface, "I have indeed received 100,000 points."

"This school is so good to us!" A look of excitement beamed across Sayo Ando's face; it was likely the first time she had ever had access to such a large sum of money.

For a corporate slave, 100,000 yen is nothing—not even half a month's salary.

But for students who have just graduated from junior high and have almost no work experience, 100,000 yen can be considered a huge fortune.

It is quite possible that their total pocket money and New Year's money combined for an entire year wouldn't even reach that amount.

"The school is indeed quite good to us."

Looking at the 100,000 points displayed on the screen of his student terminal, Dokuho Kouya began to harbor a unique ambition.

With these points, he now had the capital to compete against the upperclassmen.