Shiina Hiyori's Cross-Class Date Invitation

Although it is called a prestigious school, the entrance ceremony was nothing more than the typical process of school leaders droning on about their educational philosophy.

I suppressed a yawn as I finished attending the ceremony, then listened to Chabashira-sensei explain the school facilities.

It seems that even in a prestigious school, the basic facilities are no different from any other school.

"The orientation for new students ends here. Classes officially begin tomorrow, so please be prepared."

After saying this, Chabashira-sensei left the classroom.

This teacher seems to only maintain the bare minimum level of communication with her students.

That suits me just fine.

After all, a certain "super-powered girl" used violence to "communicate" with me.

Speaking of which, I secretly recorded her violent behavior starting in the second half of my third year of middle school and uploaded it to the internet before enrollment; I wonder how that's going now.

Forget it, let's not worry about that for now.

The most urgent task is to return to the dormitory and confirm which daily necessities need to be purchased.

Although I need to save money, I don't want to live a primitive life; I still have to buy the basics.

"Excuse me?"

Hmm? This voice...

A familiar voice came from the front, and as I looked up, I saw the silver-haired girl Shiina Hiyori standing at the classroom door.

She radiated a gentle aura, reminiscent of something soft and fluffy.

"Oh my, who is this student looking for? Are you looking for me?"

A certain male student struck up a conversation with an obviously ulterior motive, drawing disdainful looks from the girls.

I could even hear whispers of "Ike is so pathetic"—this guy named Ike being collectively despised on the first day of school is, in a sense, quite impressive.

But why would Shiina... An ominous premonition began to surface.

"Shiina Hiyori from Class C is here to visit. May I ask if Hikigaya Hachiman is here?"

—The ominous premonition was fulfilled.

The classroom suddenly erupted into a commotion.

It was probably because I hadn't introduced myself earlier, so everyone felt the name was unfamiliar.

"Hikigaya? We don't have anyone by that name in our class, do we?"

"No, he mentioned his class... Ah, found him!"

The moment my eyes met Shiina's, the entire class's attention instantly converged on me.

There was no escaping this.

"...What is it?"

I suppressed the urge to sigh and walked toward the front door.

The boy named Ike wore an expression of disbelief; honestly, I was just as shocked.

"Um, I'm planning to go buy some daily necessities. Would you like to go together?"

Shiina extended the invitation in her usual tone.

At the same time, the crowd, centered around the girls, began to stir, and I realized that my peaceful school life was about to come to an end.

Shiina's level of cuteness ranks among the top even in a school filled with beauties.

For such a beautiful girl to cross classes on the first day of school to invite a boy—namely me—it would surely become the talk of the town soon.

This meant my tranquility would be completely shattered.

Although I wanted to lament, considering Shiina's airheaded personality (which I had already experienced while riding the bus), refusing at this moment would only invite criticism.

Just as I was suppressing my gloom and thinking of a way to politely decline, Ike leaned in again.

"Wait! Is little Hiyori going on a date with this dead-fish-eyed guy?"

He pointed at me and asked in a frivolous tone.

Although this attitude was rude, having experienced bullying during my middle school years, this level of provocation couldn't shake me at all.

Shiina nodded gently: "It's not a date, it's shopping. Hikigaya-kun, if you have time, would you like to go together?"

The commotion in the classroom grew even louder.

These people have completely misunderstood it as a date... Why do I have to attract attention on the very first day of school?

But how should I respond? Honestly, I want to refuse, but the method of refusal is too tricky:

Making an excuse about having plans with classmates → I have no friends, so it would be exposed immediately.

Saying "I'll go by myself" directly → I would be branded as a scumbag and receive cold stares for three years.

It seems I have no choice but to...

"Aren't you looking for someone from your own class? It would probably be better to stick with your classmates on the first day of school, right?"

This should be the most appropriate response.

It is both reasonable and logical, and it can also avoid further hostility.

"Class C students... don't really get along with me. So, I wanted to go with Hikigaya, who shares similar interests."

However, Shiina's airheaded, explosive statement caused the gazes of most of the boys in the class to turn sharp in an instant.

Ike, who was sitting nearby, glared at me with eyes so fierce it was as if he were shedding tears of blood.

The girls didn't bother hiding their curiosity, staring straight at me and Shiina.

A few girls even muttered things like "her taste in men is truly terrible," but since they were speaking the truth, I couldn't be bothered to care.

But since it was said in front of everyone like that, refusing would definitely trigger jeers.

Could it be... that I have a natural constitution for attracting trouble?

However...

"...Fine, I'll go with you."

Refusing now is no longer an option.

Having suffered from malicious treatment during my middle school years, I have long been able to see through whether someone harbors ill intent at a glance, but I couldn't feel any from Shiina at all.

If she were intentionally making things difficult for me, I would run away even if it meant being booed, but since there is no malice, accepting it honestly is the wise choice.

Amidst the squeals of the girls, Shiina thanked me.

"Thank you, shall we go then?"

Watching her start to walk away, I hurriedly followed.

As I closed the door, I heard Ike crying out, "Why does that rotten dead-fish-eyed guy get to go on a date with a cute girl! Let me do it instead!" Actually, if I could swap, I would want to, you know?

If refusing wouldn't cause trouble, I wouldn't have agreed in the first place.

Come to think of it, Shiina couldn't have done that on purpose, right... airheadedness is truly terrifying...

--

"Anyway, let's buy soap and shampoo first."

"Okay. The manual says these have to be paid for out of pocket."

Upon arriving at the convenience store, Shiina and I headed straight for the daily necessities section.

At the very least, I need to get the daily essentials first.

Everything else is put on hold for now; I won't touch games or manga at all.

As for books, the library basically has everything, and I'll consider new releases once I confirm my remaining points.

The daily necessities section was stocked with all sorts of soap and shampoo.

For a mere convenience store to have such a wide variety, it truly lives up to being a school heavily supported by the government.

At this moment, I noticed something strange.

A promotional cart in the corner had a label that read "Free, limit 3 items per month."

The cart was filled with older models of daily necessities and food nearing its expiration date.

"Free? Is this a relief measure for those who overspend?"

Shiina guessed, but...

"That's true, but it's not that simple."

"What do you mean?"

"Look at the shelves. Nearly half of the promotional cart is empty, and the items are placed messily, which means many people have been taking them."

If the items were piled up, they might be slow-moving stock, but being scattered like this clearly indicates they are being taken frequently.

The cart, which was originally full, is now only half-empty, meaning nearly half has already been taken by students.

"But today is the entrance ceremony, it's only early April. The second and third-year students should have just received their points too..."

Hearing this, Shiina suddenly realized.

"But the free items have been taken in large quantities... something is wrong!"

Exactly.

The upperclassmen should have been saving their points.

Even if there are those who overspend, they would normally save some points for the long term.

It would be one thing at the end of the month, but taking free items at the beginning of the month is too abnormal.

Estimating by the capacity of the promotional cart, at least 50 items have been taken.

Calculating at 3 items per person, 16 or 17 people have been here.

It would be understandable for freshmen to spend all their points due to excessive excitement, but upperclassmen who have experienced a year here shouldn't be so irrational.

Unless...

"It seems there's a mechanism for point fluctuations..."

That's the only way to explain it.

I suspect that grades and daily conduct affect the points received each month.

As expected, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

"Point fluctuations? Although, receiving one hundred thousand points every month already sounded a bit off..."

It seems Shiina had also been suspicious of this preferential system.

I'm naturally cynical, while she's just highly intelligent, I suppose?

"Probably... wow, there are more customers now, let's buy our things first!"

We headed straight to the convenience store after the orientation for new students, but we stood around talking for too long, and now groups of freshmen are flooding in.

It would be a nuisance if we kept blocking the aisle.

Shiina nodded in agreement and began quickly picking out items.

Surprisingly, she also grabbed some of the free products.

I'll take some of the older-model shampoo and soap, too. The paid ones are just too expensive.