Sunday.
Ever since she'd learned information from Ryuen that she hadn't wanted to know, Shiina had started paying more attention to what was going on in her class, even on her day off.
After observing things for several days, Shiina felt that Class C really was a class brimming with the atmosphere of a martial world.
Shiina decided to go to the teachers' office in the school building and look for Teacher Sakagami.
She had so many questions about the class atmosphere and the school's graduation requirements.
So she wanted to consult a reliable adult.
In her memory, Teacher Sakagami was a middle-aged man who wore glasses.
He seemed to like Class C as it was now. It was less that he cared for his students as a teacher and more that he was simply very satisfied with the current Class C.
Advanced Nurturing High School was extremely tolerant of its students' words and actions on campus.
Just as the word "freedom" was prominently displayed in the student handbook.
But in Shiina's eyes, Teacher Sakagami's leniency toward his students clearly wasn't in keeping with the school's style.
Teachers' office.
"Is Teacher Sakagami not here? Thank you, teacher."
In the end, Shiina didn't get to see her class's homeroom teacher.
After all, it was Sunday, so she didn't think much of it.
But Shiina didn't turn around and leave the office right away.
Although she hadn't seen Teacher Sakagami, her own class's homeroom teacher, she had seen Mashima, the homeroom teacher of Class A.
Unlike Teacher Sakagami, Mashima had the air of a workplace elite in his every gesture, and he seemed even more imposing than the teachers at an ordinary school she'd imagined.
Mashima quickly noticed that the girl beside him seemed troubled, so he asked Shiina gently:
"Is there anything else you need, Shiina? If you need help, you can tell me directly."
When Shiina came to her senses, she quickly bowed in thanks. Then, hesitating, she said:
"Actually, there is something I'd like to ask you about, teacher."
Hearing that, Teacher Mashima grabbed the chair beside him and slid it over, then gestured for Shiina to sit down and take her time.
Embarrassed, Shiina nervously straightened her skirt, her head lowered so far she could only see her shoes.
After some thought, Shiina slowly sat down on the chair, then discreetly moved it a little farther away.
"I want to be friends with a boy."
Mashima, a man who'd weathered many storms, was taken aback by Shiina's words.
But before he could say anything, Shiina realized her words had sounded ambiguous. Half her face flushed red, and she hurriedly explained:
"I don't have many friends, so I was wondering if I could find someone to keep me company."
Shiina continued explaining to him,
"I like reading, and the school library is huge, which makes me very happy. It's just that I'm not very good at making friends, so..."
Mashima guessed that the girl in front of him, Shiina, probably hadn't adjusted to her new school environment yet.
Young people often felt troubled when they couldn't find friends after arriving somewhere unfamiliar.
The girl before him had probably run into that very problem.
Shiina continued speaking to Mashima:
"If I could spend the next three years at school in peace, I'd probably choose to spend all three years by myself in the library. But someone told me that graduating from anywhere other than Class A would be meaningless. Um... I want to know, is that really how this school works?"
At that, Mashima fell silent.
Mashima and the homeroom teachers of Classes B and D, his rivals, had all attended this school in the past, so he was very familiar with how it operated.
Sakagami of Class C had come in through the standard route from outside the school, so it was only natural that he wasn't sensitive to the pressure students felt here.
But this year's first-years were in a different situation.
For a moment, Mashima didn't know how best to comfort Shiina.
Lately, all sorts of rumors had been making a huge stir among the first-years.
Most of them were true, and the school hadn't stopped them. He also had no authority to interfere with students discussing things of their own accord in their free time.
But the girl before him seemed to have been affected by the rumors and had begun to feel anxious.
"Shiina, I've read your file. You're an excellent student. As the homeroom teacher of Class A, I can tell you with complete confidence that you're very capable. Don't listen to the rumors going around. Everyone in our class and in Class C has only just enrolled. The fact that you got into this school already proves that you're all good kids."
Mashima wanted to encourage Shiina to cheer up.
But Shiina hadn't meant to put herself down.
She simply couldn't clearly express how she felt right now.
Shiina thanked Mashima again, this time expressing her specific wish:
"I want to make a change."
A change?
Did she mean she wanted to make a friend?
Mashima also felt that shifting her attention was the best cure for anxiety. If she made a good friend, that should solve all her problems.
"Do you have a particular direction in mind?"
Shiina shook her head, saying only that she wanted to try making a friend.
She also said she was worried because she'd never made a friend before and didn't know how to get closer to someone.
Mashima was at a loss, too, because he wasn't particularly good at advising girls.
The girl before him was clearly introverted.
Would it be more effective if Hoshinomiya, the homeroom teacher of Class B, helped her?
After all, Shiina wasn't a student in Class D, so Hoshinomiya would probably be willing to help, right?
Mashima reconsidered. Since he'd already decided to help a student, how could he give up so easily?
So, bracing himself, he finally offered his advice:
"Maybe you could try talking to someone who hasn't read many books before? If you recommend a good book to him and he finds it interesting, maybe he'll read with you afterward?"
Seeing Shiina's puzzled expression, Mashima added:
"It might be best to find someone in your class. You could try telling him what you truly want. There's a saying young people use these days that's really quite good: sincerity for sincerity."
Sincerity for sincerity?
Shiina nodded.
She understood!
Shiina bowed and thanked Mashima again.
That was how a girl's feelings worked: they came quickly and went just as quickly.
Watching Shiina walk away, Mashima finally leaned back in his chair with a sigh of relief.
"Phew."
That nerve-racking tension.
Teacher Sakagami, where on earth were you right now?
Weren't you going to look after the students in your own class?
Meanwhile.
After receiving advice from the elite teacher, Shiina immediately jogged all the way from the school building to the library.
After greeting the librarian at the front desk, she hurried over to the bookshelves and quickly searched for the books she hadn't had time to finish reading over the past few days.
Shiina felt like she could do anything now.
She believed she could face her feelings completely.
At the same time, Shiina hoped to pass those feelings on to more people.
It was precisely because Shiina loved reading, and enjoyed all kinds of books,
that the wishes and obsessions of so many authors had unknowingly left their mark on her soul.
But from then on, everything would be different.
Shiina decided to start sharing books she'd read with other people.
She called it her "urge to share."
She longed to find a companion at this school, and to share with others the joy and emotion she'd gained from books.
That was Shiina's true feeling.
But she understood that even so, there would be very few people who fit the bill.
It was even possible that she wouldn't meet a single person to recommend a book to during her three years at school.
So Shiina made a bold decision:
She would cultivate a book-loving companion herself!
Shiina would dye someone else in her own colors!
"Hehe."
Shiina lightly bit her lower lip, then, as if possessed, chose a seat by the library window. There were usually a lot of people there, and it tended to be noisy, so she normally wouldn't choose that spot.
But she felt that changing herself wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Shiina had thought it would be difficult for her to accept a life that had changed.
But unexpectedly, this feeling was rather nice.
So, for the rest of the day, Shiina silenced her phone and started on her reading plan.
Every so often, the image of someone would come to mind.
In the end.
Shiina still chose not to exchange contact information with Ishizaki.
Because she didn't trust Ryuen, she also had no intention of joining his group.
If she had to choose someone to trust, Shiina had a better choice.
Before you continue