Introduction

'This seat really isn't great. I can observe most of the class, but I can't keep an eye on Hoshino. Still, judging by his posture, he probably hasn't reacted at all.'

Ayanokoji Kiyona wondered what expression she should wear. She didn't know what 100,000 yen was worth, but judging by the other students' reactions, it must be a lot.

Should she act surprised like the others, or keep her emotions off her face like Hoshino?

In reality, while Kiyona's thoughts wandered, her face remained expressionless.

After the teacher left, all that remained was a group of students who had just received a fortune and were dreaming of a wonderful life.

"I can finally buy the latest game console I've been wanting! I'm going to play the gal game that came out last month."

"Should we go shopping on the commercial street later? There's so much I want to buy."

They were high school students, after all, with little life experience. Few could sense that something was off, and most of those who had doubts were swept along by their joy and their friends.

I hope you've enjoyed this wonderful time that's been yours alone over the past month.

"Everyone, could I have your attention for a moment?"

A handsome guy stepped forward, radiating the sunny air of a cheerful young man. He looked like the kind of person who was kind to everyone.

"Starting today, we'll be living in the same class, so I thought we could introduce ourselves voluntarily. That way, we can get to know everyone faster and make friends. There's still some time before the opening ceremony. What do you all think?"

The scourge of the world, the extrovert. His sunshine only shrank the shadows where introverts could hide.

"Sounds good. I don't even know everyone's names yet."

Hoshino Kanade thought self-introductions were pointless. People only paid attention to the information they wanted to know. An introvert might agonize over it for ages, then summon the courage to introduce themselves, only for their words to never even make it into anyone else's ears.

But in Japan, people had to read the room. Once one person agreed, most of the others would follow suit.

Those who hadn't spoken up would simply be carried along by the atmosphere.

"Hi, everyone. I'm Hirata Yosuke. In middle school, everyone called me Yosuke, so just call me Yosuke! I'm interested in all kinds of sports, but I especially love soccer. I'm planning to join the soccer club at this school, too. I look forward to getting along with you all!"

It was a smooth, thorough introduction, as you'd expect from the person who had suggested it.

With his sunny, handsome face, cheerful personality, and love of soccer, Hirata had already made a good impression on many of the girls in class.

"Ciallo~(∠・ω＜)⌒☆, hi, everyone! My name is Yamauchi Haruki. I've been into gal games since elementary school, and I won second place in a gal game competition in middle school. I'm determined to become a gal game master, and I love Yuzusoft most of all. If anyone wants to play together, come find me. I look forward to getting along with you!"

"Impressive!"

Yamauchi Haruki's speech won countless people's admiration. Hoshino Kanade had to admit that it really was impressive.

"What are you doing?"

As Hoshino's seatmate behind him, Kiyona kept an eye on him every day. She immediately noticed what he was doing and quietly asked him.

"Obviously, I'm sneaking out. If everyone gives an introduction, it'll waste at least ten minutes. Besides, I'm not interested in playing the friends game."

As he replied, Hoshino lowered his body and slipped out through the back door.

Many of the students in the back row noticed him, but no one meddled.

Horikita Suzune wanted to say something, but she had no intention of making friends herself. There was no need for her to introduce herself or listen to other people's introductions, so she left after Hoshino slipped out.

"Hoshino, what are you doing next?"

Hoshino was startled. When he turned around, he saw that Ayanokoji Kiyona was right behind him.

"Why did you come out too, Ayanokoji?"

"I have social anxiety. I didn't dare stay in the classroom."

'Hoshino gave up the chance to make friends in class. Now I'm the only one he has.'

"From now on, just call me Kiyona."

Hoshino watched Kiyona twirl the hair beside her ear and put on a bashful expression. He had no idea what she was thinking now.

A cute gesture, a pretty face, and a bashful expression—though it felt like she was faking it. Hoshino could only think, I'm in love.

"Uh... Then you can call me Kanade from now on, too. Nice to meet you."

"Got it. Where are you going now, Kanade?"

Kiyona didn't seem to have much of an expression, but she looked happy.

"Let's go buy some necessities first. I don't mind skipping the opening ceremony."

"Hmm~ Is that really okay?"

"The opening ceremony is pointless besides wasting time. If they notice I'm missing when they take attendance, I'll leave that to myself a few hours from now."

Skipping the opening ceremony would probably cost him Class Points. They'd all be at zero a month later anyway, so he could spend them freely.

If he hadn't thought that skipping class for a whole month was a bit too extreme, and might get him expelled outright—or leave him at risk of being sacrificed in a future expulsion test—Hoshino would have had to give up on that tempting idea.

"Kanade, you make a good point."

In reality, Kiyona thought this would draw too much attention and didn't fit her reclusive philosophy.

Being friends with Hoshino felt like she'd gotten on a pirate ship, but a hero couldn't abandon ship in the middle of a crisis. Kiyona wanted to become Kanade's hero—or so she thought.

That way, she could protect Hoshino by keeping him in front of her, while still avoiding attention from others. It was perfect for her reclusive philosophy.

As the classroom receded into the distance, the sound of an argument came from inside. Ken Sudō's behavior had distracted everyone from the fact that they hadn't introduced themselves.

At this time, everyone was attending the opening ceremony, and there wasn't another student in sight.

The school's convenience store was huge, with all sorts of things on offer, and a wide variety of instant noodles.

Unfortunately, Hoshino Kanade wasn't interested in instant noodles anymore. If he'd had this many kinds to choose from before, he would have been happy eating a different one every day.

"Kanade, do you want to buy instant noodles?"

"I'm just looking at the different kinds."

"Oh~"

Kiyona couldn't understand the point of that. Was this some sort of shopping ritual, showing respect for the God of Instant Noodles?

"They even have free shampoo here. It looks pretty cheap, but quite a few students seem to have taken some."

Kiyona sensed that something was off again, but she had too little information and lacked common sense, so it was hard to work out the truth.

"The teacher's explanation was pretty crafty. He only said they'd distribute points on the first of every month, not that we'd get 100,000 every month. There must be some kind of evaluation that reduces the points distributed each month."

Hoshino Kanade also wanted to show Kiyona that he'd noticed a few things. Pretending to be completely oblivious wouldn't fit his character.

"There are also rather a lot of cameras around this school. Maybe they're there to prevent bullying, or perhaps they serve some other purpose."

"Is that so? You're amazing, Kanade. It seems this school is hiding a lot of things."

As she spoke, Kiyona blinked at Hoshino and cupped her hands, putting on an admiring expression.

Hoshino felt that Kiyona's acting was getting better and better. Even though he knew it was probably fake, it still felt nice.

"Not really. We'll probably know the whole truth in a month. For now, we should just enjoy life."

Hoshino deliberately scratched the back of his neck, avoided Kiyona's gaze, and put on the air of an innocent young man.

With no one around, they paid for their things without any trouble.

On the way to the dormitory, he also exchanged contact information with Kiyona.

He picked up his dorm key on the first floor. Hoshino Kanade's room was 404.

Incidentally, the dormitory housed both boys and girls, with the girls living on the higher floors.

"See ya~"

After saying goodbye to Kiyona, he turned the key and got his first look at the entire dorm room.

It was about thirteen square meters, with electricity, water, and gas all included. He could even decorate it however he liked. It was a super-luxurious single room.