Entering the School

Do you crave power?

I often wonder, what exactly is power?

Taking out the sketchbook I just finished, I flip through it quickly, and the stick figures inside can perform a complete set of divine martial arts; sweeping through an entire army is no difficult task at all!

But, does this really have any meaning?

Hoshino rests his head on his arm, bored, his eyelids feeling heavy as if they are fighting each other. On the podium, Chabashira is still "rambling on" with her lecture. The content is somewhat dull, and it can't be said to have any specific use; it is merely for the sake of advancing to the next level of schooling, teaching and learning. Everyone is forced to repeat this age-old, unchanging process, time and time again...

"Ha—so boring!" Hoshino starts to yawn, his gaze shifting toward the window.

A breeze blows by, the curtains lift slightly, and the warm wind hits Hoshino. He feels his fatigue deepen a little more. Slowly, Hoshino slumps onto the desk, his head resting on his arms, and his breathing slows down...

Advanced Nurturing High School, the school Hoshino has come to, is a school that boasts a one-hundred-percent employment rate and is extremely famous throughout the country.

Hoshino coming here was probably just a whim. The Hoshino family isn't exactly very wealthy; it's just ordinary, the kind you find in droves among the vast sea of people. His parents are employees at a small company, he has no siblings, and his daily life is decent enough, it's just that his parents are particularly busy.

Anyway, no matter where he is, he's just waiting! So, coming here isn't bad, and he can even "leech" some pocket money, so why not? After seeing the admissions brochure on the street and thinking about it for less than a second, Hoshino made his decision.

The entrance exam content wasn't difficult; it was standard. There were certainly quite a few people taking the test—at least all the schools near the Hoshino residence basically had testing centers—and the written exam was simple enough. It was just that the entrance exam also included an interview, which was quite rare, but it was fine.

"What is your goal in entering our Advanced Nurturing High School?"

"Hmm—no goal, I just think it's nice to get money for free."

"How were your past grades? Are you satisfied with them?"

"Can't say, just average."

"..."

Very common questions, nothing interesting about them.

Although the common promotional posters claimed a one-hundred-percent employment rate, Hoshino didn't think he could get such benefits without doing anything. Still, it wouldn't be a total trap; at worst, he'd just live a bit poorly, so he wasn't worried about it being some massive pitfall. It was just that with his grades, getting in was a bit difficult; there were indeed quite a lot of people competing.

With these thoughts, Hoshino stepped out of the interviewer's office.

Unexpectedly, Hoshino entered this school in his first semester of high school.

"What is the meaning of an exam, really?" Hoshino had once pondered this question. After all, Hoshino's grades could only be considered slightly above average. If there were few people, it was fine, but with many people, he basically had no advantage. His answer during the interview could be called a model of failure; there wasn't a single point worth taking. It was all a muddle, but since he got in, Hoshino came anyway.

"Ding-a-ling—" The bell for the end of class rang. Chabashira on the podium didn't hesitate for a second; she packed up her lesson plans, said "Class dismissed," and left the classroom.

The clamor erupting in the classroom finally woke Hoshino up.

In the blink of an eye, a period had passed. He had been at this school for a week now, and the students in the class had basically formed their own little circles. During breaks, they often gathered together to chat and play, but Hoshino was indifferent to this.

His seat was by the window in the middle of the classroom, which was a pretty good spot. At least Hoshino was quite satisfied with it; he could see outside, and the scenery was not bad.

As a famous school, Advanced Nurturing High School was financially robust, located on a man-made island. It had everything from shopping streets and parks to dormitories, and all kinds of facilities were fully equipped. Every student had an independent dormitory, and the landscaping and facilities everywhere were regularly maintained. The cherry blossom trees outside the window and the lawns were in their most perfect state, with absolutely no sense of being overgrown or dilapidated. The school buildings also gave one the feeling of being newly constructed, very clean and tidy.

In short, the treatment was so good that it completely exceeded Hoshino's expectations.

In the time Hoshino didn't notice, the teacher for the next period had already entered the classroom and begun her lecture...

People often say that interest is the best teacher, and this statement is indeed true. At least in terms of drawing, Hoshino had shown great growth in a very short time.

Watching the illustrations in the textbook slowly turn into his own "shape," Hoshino felt a sense of accomplishment for no reason. As for listening to the lecture, Hoshino was someone who found self-study more efficient, so he rarely listened carefully during class. With nothing to do, Hoshino usually just drew illustrations or "animations," and time passed quickly.

During the lunch break, the students in the class left the classroom in groups of three or five to head to the cafeteria. There were also some who brought their own bento boxes, pushing their desks together to eat and chat.

The "busy" Hoshino stopped the work in his hands, slowly stood up, and walked out of the classroom.

"You're Hoshino-kun, right? Please wait!" A light sound of footsteps came from behind, and a crisp voice called out to Hoshino.

"Hmm?" Hoshino was slightly stunned, stopped his footsteps, and turned to look at the figure who had called him.

Bright eyes, thin cherry-colored lips, a slightly prominent nose, and ash-yellow short hair resting on cute cheeks. Her eyes revealed a sense of liveliness, but deep within them, something else was hidden.

Hoshino had some impression of her; it seemed her name was Kushida. On the first day, she had made a declaration that she "wanted to be friends with everyone." Although Hoshino had no interest in this, he would inevitably notice some things.

"Um, Hoshino-kun, I'm Kushida from your class. Do you have time after school? Could I ask you to chat for a bit?" In her bright eyes, a pleading look was clearly visible.

"Is something the matter?" Hoshino stared at Kushida's eyes expressionlessly, as if he wanted to discover something from them.

"Uh... well, I want to be friends with you, so after school, could I ask you to chat for a bit?" Seemingly frightened by Hoshino's direct gaze, Kushida took a half-step back, her hands held uneasily against her chest, the corners of her eyes slightly wrinkled. A moment later, as if she had gathered all her courage, she invited Hoshino again.

"Yeah, sure!" Saying this, Hoshino shifted his gaze and turned to leave, not caring at all about Kushida behind him.

The artificiality was very serious! Hoshino made his judgment. It wasn't that he had such a profound understanding of it, but he had sensed an unusual feeling from Kushida.

In the past, Hoshino had also had a period where he was interested in observing human behavior.

As the top-tier popular kids, they were also within his observation range. Simply put, popular kids had an indescribable feeling of "everyone is good friends."

But from Kushida, Hoshino didn't sense this feeling. What was there was only the hypocrisy of a "high-ranking leader inspecting," always with a sense of discomfort from feeling "superior to others." It was just that the fact that Kushida was a beautiful girl slightly covered up this feeling, so it wasn't that intense.

Agreeing to Kushida's request was just Hoshino understanding that the best way to avoid attracting attention was to go along with her. She wasn't a superior, after all; it was easy to get by with a little perfunctory effort. All she cared about was the title of "good friend." Going against her would only cause her dissatisfaction, and there was no need for that.