Meeting Shiina Again

Class Point Tally

Class A: 1004 points

Class B: 663 points

Class C: 492 points

Class D: 87 points

During the second day's homeroom, Chabashira posted the class point tally on the blackboard once again.

The fluctuations in the class points seemed somewhat suspicious.

Hoshino sat at his desk, scrutinizing the tally on the board.

Class A had increased by 64 points, Class B by 13, Class C by 2, and Class D by 87.

How should I put this? The point changes for Class B and Class C were truly too bizarre!

Under Ryuen's "reign," Class C certainly had its fair share of rule-breaking, so a small increase was understandable. However, the growth rate for Class B, which was full of goody-two-shoes, was far too slow—it was completely outside the realm of normalcy.

I'm afraid Ryuen has already begun his assault on Class B.

If that's the case, given Class A's usual style, their growth rate shouldn't be slower than Class D's.

Ryuen is certainly greedy, but I have to admit, he's actually managed to inflict significant losses on both Class A and Class B! Is Ryuen really this formidable? Hoshino was slightly taken aback.

"Wow!" "We finally have points! We don't have to eat the free wild vegetable set meals anymore!"...

The classroom erupted into a commotion.

Chabashira watched the students below the podium with an expressionless face. In terms of results, Class D had indeed shown the most improvement, even if it was thanks to Ryuen.

"There are a few other matters, regarding the recent exam..." Chabashira, being quite conscientious, began to review the results of the previous test.

As the lesson began, Hoshino started to zone out again.

The fact that Ryuen's actions could impact Class A to such a degree suggests that Class A isn't exactly a monolith either.

Hoshino had a rough idea of what Ryuen was capable of. It might be effective against Class B, but he didn't think it would be easy to achieve such significant results against Class A, led by Sakayanagi. Although his contact with her had been brief, Hoshino felt that Sakayanagi was far more dangerous than Ryuen! Of course, if we're talking about physical force, that would be a different story.

Basically, Hoshino hadn't found anything interesting to do since the start of the month.

With his personal points sufficient and no clear direction on how to earn more, Hoshino returned to his mundane daily routine.

It had been a long time since I last visited the library.

Walking toward the library, I suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity. It had only been a month, yet I felt as if things had changed, even though nothing had actually moved. Hoshino couldn't fathom why.

I had intended to keep up the good habit of visiting the library every day. Sigh, what a pity. Still, I hadn't been idle this past month, which was at least somewhat comforting.

Speaking of which, I haven't seen Shiina in a long time either!

Perhaps it's because we're both the type who don't like going out much, but I hadn't run into Shiina outside even once. I only ever saw the girl reading silently in that "secret base" when I came to the library.

In Hoshino's impression, Shiina's reading range was incredibly broad—classics, light novels, domestic works, foreign works... there didn't seem to be any fixed genre. Moreover, the girl read at an astonishing speed; at the very least, Hoshino couldn't quite keep up with her. The speed at which she flipped pages was truly fast!

Lost in thought, Hoshino stepped into the library again. Nothing much had changed, except that the number of people inside had increased significantly.

After two exams, most people had begun to realize the importance of studying. Compared to classrooms and dormitories, the library was indeed a place where it was easier to focus. Or rather, most of the people here were likely holding study sessions, gathered in groups of three or five! Only occasionally would you see one or two "loners."

It was as if there were clear boundaries, with classes keeping a significant distance from one another.

Why are there so few familiar faces? We were just trading second-hand goods the other day, so why does it feel like I don't recognize anyone so quickly? Could I be face-blind? Hoshino suddenly felt a flicker of doubt.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Hoshino began his book hunt for the day.

It had been a month, so logically, the isekai novel I read initially should have a sequel by now.

After asking the librarian at the front desk, Hoshino finally obtained the exact location of the novel. Yes, the exact location! Precise down to the section, the bookshelf, and the shelf level! It felt quite impressive.

What was even more surprising was that the librarian didn't check a computer for this information; she did it entirely from memory! Hoshino couldn't help but feel a surge of curiosity toward this librarian.

Following the information provided, Hoshino arrived at the light novel section. After a brief search, he finally found the novel on a shelf.

"That's strange, I don't think this series was here last time. Was it reorganized?" He felt a moment of doubt, but then let it go; it wasn't a matter of any real importance.

With the latest volume in hand, Hoshino returned to his "secret base." Coincidentally, Shiina was there too! This girl really loves to read.

"Yo, Shiina, good afternoon!" Since we were already acquainted, Hoshino didn't feel the need to be reserved and greeted her normally.

Hearing his voice, the girl snapped out of her trance. She looked up slowly, and upon seeing Hoshino, a hint of resentment flickered in her gentle eyes.

"...Good afternoon, Hoshino-kun. You haven't been here in a long time. Have you been particularly busy lately?"

She was greeting him, but what was up with that tone?

"Uh... no, not really busy with anything." Hoshino instinctively looked away.

"Then why did you go to our class's classroom? And why did Ryuen-kun transfer personal points to you?" Shiina looked at him with suspicion, though that expression on her face somehow looked quite "cute."

"You know about that?"

"...Because I'm a student in Class C too! And I'm good friends with Ibuki-san! I just had to ask to find out."

Ibuki? Oh, that blue-haired girl, right?

Hoshino had a feeling: this sort of thing wasn't exactly a secret, and as long as one asked around a little, someone was bound to have seen it. He was just quite curious about how Ryuen had handled it in the end.

"...That thing, well—I happened to stumble upon his secret?" Hoshino didn't know how to put it, so he could only speak vaguely.

"Oh? What kind of secret?" Shiina's curiosity was piqued as well, and she studied Hoshino with great interest.

Shiina should probably know about this kind of thing, too.

"Well... it's just that I caught him... subduing Kaneda?" After carefully choosing his words, Hoshino slowly revealed the truth. "By the way, Shiina, you're in Class C too, aren't you? You haven't been..."

The moment the words left his mouth, Hoshino felt a twinge of regret.

"No, I'm fine! I don't have any thoughts on who manages the class! Although I am somewhat dissatisfied with Ryuen's methods, if Ryuen can lead the class forward, then I don't have any objections!" Shiina's face was full of gentleness, as if the affairs of the class had nothing to do with her at all.

Even though she spent every day reading, she still had a considerable understanding of everything happening in the class.

It was then that Hoshino felt that the girl before him might just be a formidable character herself!