Before she could finish speaking, a girl jogged between the two of them and crouched down, her beautiful eyes fixed on the Rubik's Cube turning in Kijima Tsukur's hands.
Her purple hair fell to her shoulders, and her light-purple eyes looked listless. She wore black tights beneath a white pleated skirt, and her crouching figure traced a perfect curve.
Kamuro Masumi glanced in the direction the girl had come from. The nameplate on the desk read Morishita Ai.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm watching Kijima Tsukur play with his Rubik's Cube."
Morishita Ai explained in a listless voice, as if she hadn't noticed the tension that had nearly erupted moments ago.
Did she really need to explain that?
Kamuro Masumi's eye twitched with irritation. Did she think she was an idiot?
Clenching her fist, she asked impatiently:
"I'm asking if you know this guy."
"No. Today's the first time I've met him."
"Then what are you doing here?"
"I came to watch him play with his Rubik's Cube. Kamuro Masumi, didn't I already answer that question?"
"Huff..."
Kamuro Masumi clenched her fist,
her chest rising and falling with anger as a vein popped on her forehead.
Forget it. Forget it.
After thinking it over, she decided it was best not to cause a scene on the very first day of school. She hadn't expected to run into two such weirdos on day one.
What rotten luck!
Kamuro Masumi took a deep breath and turned sideways, glancing at Morishita Ai and her deskmate, Kijima Tsukur. She wanted to see what the two of them were up to.
When Kamuro Masumi didn't continue arguing, the people around them couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
If a violent incident broke out between classmates on the first day of school, it would be a disaster for their school life.
Everyone went back to chatting with one another, though they still occasionally glanced at the two weirdos in the middle of the classroom.
It wasn't just Kijima Tsukur. Morishita Ai had also been lumped in with the weirdos.
She braced both hands on her knees, crouching and staring intently at the Rubik's Cube as it turned.
The pose was rather awkward, though, and made people uncomfortable.
Three minutes later,
Morishita Ai was starting to tire. Watching the Rubik's Cube turn in front of her, she spoke in a flat voice:
"Kijima Tsukur, could I borrow that Rubik's Cube and play with it?"
"..."
Kijima Tsukur didn't respond.
He had stopped turning the cube, however. He flipped his right hand palm-down and held the cube between his fingers.
Only after Morishita Ai held out both hands to receive it
did Kijima Tsukur slowly place the cube in her palm.
The two said nothing more. Morishita Ai simply stood where she was, turning the cube in her hands. From time to time, she furrowed her brow, but no matter how she twisted it, she couldn't solve it.
"Heh..."
Kamuro Masumi, who seemed to be a loner herself, wasn't talking to anyone either. She twirled her pen and let out a scornful laugh.
She knew this much:
There was a trick to solving a Rubik's Cube.
Anyone experienced who knew a few techniques could solve it without much difficulty.
Since Kijima Tsukur could turn the cube so smoothly, he was clearly a seasoned player. A beginner like Morishita Ai wouldn't have an easy time solving it.
Even so,
it wasn't anything special.
It was just a hobby, a little talent he had.
Only an ignorant girl like Morishita Ai would be drawn in by such a boring stunt from Kijima Tsukur.
She hadn't expected her deskmate to be such a self-centered young master.
What rotten luck.
Kamuro Masumi let out a heavy sigh.
She'd had at least a little hope for high school, but now she didn't like it at all.
Just then, the bell rang.
Morishita Ai placed the scrambled Rubik's Cube on Kijima Tsukur's desk and returned to her seat without a word, leaving only a listless murmur behind.
"I didn't expect it to be so hard."
Chapter 3: The Stranger You Are, the Stronger You Get!
Tap, tap, tap.
Footsteps sounded.
A burly, middle-aged male teacher in a suit walked into the classroom and stood at the front.
The classroom fell completely silent, and everyone sat up straight.
It was the first day of school, and everyone wanted to make a good impression on the teacher. They were naturally ready to listen attentively, too.
That much was clear.
They were all model students.
Whatever their actual grades, at least they were excellent at keeping up appearances.
Kijima Tsukur was the only one who seemed out of place!
He sat with one leg crossed over the other, both hands resting on his knees, his sharp gaze locked on the teacher at the front of the classroom.
Kamuro Masumi glanced at him and complained to herself.
This guy really is something. He can still act so smug in front of a teacher. He must be used to throwing his weight around at home. Well, at least he's not playing with his Rubik's Cube—that should count as showing the teacher some respect, right? I hope the teacher puts him in his place. At least say something to him.
The teacher at the front of the classroom seemed not to notice. He turned, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote his name and phone number on the blackboard. Then he faced the class and said in a deep voice:
"Welcome, new students. I'm Mashima Tomoya, the homeroom teacher for Class A. I'll be teaching you English, and I'm also the first-year head teacher."
"Our school doesn't divide students into classes, so I'll be your homeroom teacher for the next three years. Use the phones you'll receive shortly to save my contact information. We'll discuss everything else once you've done that."
Mashima handed a stack of phones to the students in the front row. They passed them back one by one, and the phones soon reached Kijima Tsukur, the fourth student in the middle row.
He picked up a phone and quickly checked it. This really was a closed-off school.
The various preinstalled apps looked just like those outside, but they were all marked as specialized versions. Even if they could connect to the internet, they probably had certain restrictions, such as being able to browse but not comment.
While he was checking the phone, the person behind him started getting impatient.
The petite girl behind him had short white hair that fell to her shoulders, and a faint smile never left her face. A cane rested beside her desk, making it clear that her health wasn't very good.
The nameplate on her desk read Sakayanagi Arisu.
She gazed playfully at the back of Kijima Tsukur's head. She wasn't angry—in fact, she seemed rather pleased.
You could tell a lot about a person from the little things they did.
Perhaps she was the only one who had noticed.
Since entering the classroom, Kijima Tsukur hadn't once looked anyone in the eye.
It was clear that he had an utterly arrogant personality and absolute confidence in his own abilities.
When Morishita Ai had borrowed the Rubik's Cube,
Kijima Tsukur hadn't simply handed it to her. Instead, he'd held it palm-down, as though he were bestowing a gift.
That showed he wasn't stingy at all. On the contrary, he was quite generous.
But he had a sense of absolute superiority.
No one could take anything from his hand. He was the only one who could choose to bestow it.
At that thought,
Sakayanagi Arisu smiled even more happily.
Her father had been right. This was an interesting school.
She loved toying with strong people who thought too highly of themselves!
Soft murmurs gradually rose behind her. Sakayanagi Arisu raised her slender arm.
"You're Sakayanagi Arisu, right? What is it?"
"Do you know me, Teacher?"
"You submitted your resumes before enrolling. I memorized my students' names and faces—that's part of a teacher's job. I remember your situation. If you need anything, you can contact me at any time. Did you have a question?"
"Thank you, Teacher. You're truly a teacher worthy of respect."
Sakayanagi Arisu bowed slightly and smiled. "The students in the back rows haven't received their phones."
The students behind her were all looking at the phones expectantly. Before long, everyone in the class was staring at the four phones on Kijima Tsukur's desk.
"Student Kijima..."
Before Mashima could reply, the girl spoke as if she were merely showing the teacher some respect, her gaze fixed calmly on the back of the student in front of her:
"Could you pass the phones back for us?"
"Get them yourself."
"Fair enough~"
The girl's reply was brief.
A smile touched her lips. His answer had been exactly what she'd expected. She picked up the cane beside her and rose from her seat, walking over to Kijima Tsukur.
It was obvious that she had trouble walking!
Her cane supported her petite body, and the sound of its tip tapping the floor seemed to strike every person's heart.
Her straightforward response
had undoubtedly made Kijima Tsukur look arrogant, inconsiderate of the class, and heartless.
Meanwhile, she came across as
someone strong and independent, despite her difficulty walking and poor health.
For a moment,
everyone looked at Kijima Tsukur with a hint of disgust.
He wasn't even willing to pass a phone to her and had told Sakayanagi to get it herself. They hadn't expected someone in their class to be so lacking in compassion.
In fact,
some people had already wanted to help Sakayanagi, but since class was in session, no one had made a move.
Sakayanagi Arisu glanced at Kijima Tsukur, who was absorbed in his phone, picked up one of the phones on his desk, and slowly returned to her seat.
She couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
This had been a test, but Kijima Tsukur hadn't reacted at all. He didn't seem to have noticed what she was getting at. Was he simply self-centered?
Before you continue