Sunny, Cheerful Big Boy

"Everyone, could you listen to me for a moment?"

He really was a sunny, cheerful guy. The teacher had barely left before he took the lead in organizing self-introductions, though he was a little too naive.

With his pacifist nature, whenever two sides had differing opinions, he either could not make a decision or would compromise. His only virtue was that he genuinely cared about his classmates.

Encouraged by Hirata Yosuke, the students began introducing themselves one after another.

Among them was a girl named Inogashira Kokoro, whose introversion rivaled Sakura Airi's.

In the end, they successfully finished the introductions with Kushida Kikyo's reassurance.

It had to be said that Kushida Kikyo, before showing her dark side, was quite popular. As long as no one saw that side of her, there would not be any trouble.

She only wanted to be popular. What was so bad about letting off steam once in a while? She had helped you so much, so what was wrong with her venting a little?

If she did not release those long-suppressed emotions, she would develop psychological problems sooner or later.

Kamigami Haruo rested his cheek on one hand and tried his best to remember his classmates' names and what they had said.

Everyone was giving off the atmosphere of youth.

"Next student."

Kamigami Haruo noticed Hirata Yosuke looking at him.

After looking around and confirming it was him, he stood up and introduced himself.

"Kamigami Haruo. I like desserts and enjoy reading novels and manga. That's all."

It was a very brief introduction. He did not know what else to say.

Afterward, he tidied his desk. Ignoring the curious looks around him and Hirata Yosuke's gaze urging him to stay, he got up and left the classroom.

He headed toward a nearby bulletin board with a campus map posted on it. He planned to memorize it before going to the student cafeteria for lunch.

There was about an hour left before the entrance ceremony began.

There was still time, and he had already received his student ID.

Thinking that, Kamigami Haruo rubbed his stomach and headed for the student cafeteria.

Meanwhile, in the Class D classroom.

As soon as Kamigami Haruo left, some of the students immediately started talking about him.

"Wow, he looks so gloomy."

"Just thinking about having to spend three years with someone like that gives me the creeps."

"Could he be a murderer? His hair covers his eyes, and there's even a scary scar at the corner of his mouth. He's terrifying."

There were quite a few remarks like those.

It was then that Hirata Yosuke, who hoped everyone would be treated equally and get along peacefully, stepped forward.

He clapped to draw everyone's attention and said,

"Everyone, we'll be classmates for three years, so please do not talk about him like that. I believe he's a good person. Maybe he has had some sad experiences. I hope everyone can get along well. Please!"

Hirata Yosuke pressed his palms together as he pleaded with everyone.

Because of Hirata Yosuke's plea, some of those discussing Kamigami Haruo stopped.

"Then, the next person."

Once Hirata Yosuke saw that things had settled down, he turned his gaze to Ken Sudo, who sat behind Kamigami Haruo.

Having arrived at the student cafeteria, Kamigami Haruo was asking the counter about something.

Afterward, he walked to a nearby ticket machine and looked over the dazzling array of pictures.

He pressed the button for the Mountain Vegetable Set Meal, then chose two more set meals with plenty of meat before swiping his card to pay.

It cost about 1,000 PR.

After taking three meal tickets from the collection slot, he went to the counter to exchange them for the meals.

Under the surprised gazes of the cafeteria staff, he made three trips carrying the set meals to his table.

Once everything was ready, he began eating by himself.

The Mountain Vegetable Set Meal was quite filling, though its taste was hard to describe.

Full, Kamigami Haruo lazily leaned back in his chair and glanced at the time on his phone.

There were only a dozen or so minutes left before the entrance ceremony began.

I might as well go early. Thinking that, Kamigami Haruo stood up, brushed himself off, and headed for the gymnasium he had just memorized the route to.

He planned to claim an inconspicuous spot and sleep.

After arriving at the gymnasium, Kamigami Haruo ran into someone unexpected yet entirely unsurprising: Horikita Suzune.

After all, she had also been one of those who left the classroom early. With no friends and nothing to do, it was perfectly reasonable for her to come to the gymnasium ahead of time and wait.

"Tell me, do you know something?"

She was really persistent, still chasing after an answer.

If you keep pestering me, I'll be the one pestering you next time, Kamigami Haruo thought.

"Why would you say that?"

"While Chabashira-sensei was explaining things, the other students showed more or less surprise. At the very least, they were interested and watched her. But you alone were sleeping. After waking up, you listened to the others discussing it without showing the slightest expression. Clearly, you already knew the purpose of the student ID and the number of points we had. Yet your appearance is vastly different from that of someone living comfortably. On top of that, you wrote down my name and the names of several classmates in your notebook. It is only reasonable for me to suspect that you know something others do not."

Habitually reaching out to pinch her chin, Horikita Suzune stated the conclusion she had drawn from her observations.

"You're overthinking it. I had only just woken up, so I was a little unclear about what was going on."

"That is not true. You looked alert from the start. You give me the impression that you know this school very well."

Hearing that, Kamigami Haruo grinned and stepped closer to Horikita Suzune, sizing up the persistent girl.

Horikita Suzune calmly met his eyes, which were faintly visible behind his bangs.

"Do you want to know the truth? If you do, I can tell you everything. Go look for it. I put all the truth there."

After saying that, Kamigami Haruo walked to the side and looked at the view of the sports field across from them.

Leaving Horikita Suzune standing there with a confused expression.

As expected, the entrance ceremony was long and tedious.

First, they had to wait for the new students to enter. Then the homeroom teachers called roll, followed by the national anthem, the Chairman's speech, the new student representative's declaration, and finally the school song to close things out.

However, having claimed a suitably inconspicuous spot, Kamigami Haruo kept his head lowered and slept from the moment his name was called until the ceremony ended.

Time flowed like a stream. An hour later.

With the speeches over, the new students dispersed on the spot.

Some students went home, while others headed to cafés or karaoke with people they had arranged to meet.

Only after everyone had left the gymnasium did Kamigami Haruo, awakened by a staff member, stretch and let out a comfortable sound.

He slowly made his way back to the classroom, picked up his bag, and headed for the school's residential facilities.

That was, Keyaki Mall. He planned to buy some daily necessities and ingredients.

Standing at the entrance of the convenience store, just as he was about to step inside, Kamigami Haruo suddenly remembered the trouble he would run into there.

To avoid being questioned, he turned around and headed for the supermarket instead.

Carrying a shopping basket, he quickly swept through the various ingredients, seasonings, rice, flour, and cooking oil.

When he reached the free food section, he intended to take more while he could get it for free.

But after seeing the words on the sign, he helplessly took only the specified portion and put it in his basket before going to the register.

At checkout, the points required came to about 34,000 PR.

Six catties of cheap assorted meat, eggs, some vegetables and fruit, rice, flour, cooking oil, seasonings, and two lunch boxes.

When he saw the price of the lunch boxes, he showed a reluctant expression.

2,000 PR each. Based on the idea of halving it and dropping a digit, that meant one hundred yen.

With a bag in each hand, Kamigami Haruo looked like a full-time housewife after a supermarket shopping trip.

When he reached the convenience store, he remembered that he had forgotten to buy daily necessities. If his hands had not been full, he would have slapped his thigh in frustration.

Helplessly, he tied the bags shut and set them outside the store before walking inside.

With the surveillance cameras watching, he was not worried in the slightest about them being stolen—except by a certain Store War God.