Chapter 7

"Well... if anyone else said that, I'd think they were incredibly narcissistic." I'd heard this guy was talented in both academics and martial arts with a high IQ. Indeed, looking at him now, aside from his warped values, he seemed fine, and his logic was quite clear, albeit twisted. "You are perfectly free to think that. I don't care about the opinions or evaluations of others. Naturally, that includes yours as well." "Hmm, if I really thought that, wouldn't you be angry, Koenji?" "Not at all. Getting angry over such trivial matters would be a waste of my time. My excellence is indisputable; nothing you say can change that." "Hahaha! Koenji, you really live life to the fullest... have you never once felt the need to compromise?" I pressed him step by step, immediately following up with a devious question. "Never. Not in the past, and never in the future. You can rest assured of that." Koenji proudly raised his voice, completely ignoring the eye-rolling of the people waiting for the bus nearby. "You're so confident, Koenji... compared to you, I feel like an old man." Well, there's nothing wrong with being cautious. "It's a necessity, otherwise it wouldn't be beautiful at all." After saying that, Koenji swaggered onto the bus first. With that kind of presence, no one dared to compete with him for space. With my own twisted sense of humor, I suddenly wanted to see him get a reality check from society, though I figured that would be hard to pull off. I'll count that as one of my to-do items for campus life! I tucked that wish away in the back of my mind.

I am such an incompetent little sidekick. Well, for my three years of boarding school life in high school, I should have some other goals, right? I stopped looking at Koenji, who was sitting in the spacious priority seat with his legs crossed, and began planning my upcoming campus life. Although I didn't care much about the 100% college placement rate, I didn't want to be the guy who got expelled, so ensuring I graduated with excellent grades was a must. Since I hadn't found my own interests yet, I would likely just go home and inherit the family business after graduation, so maintaining a relationship with Koenji, the scion of a major conglomerate, was also essential. What about finding a reliable girl to date? I secretly glanced at the pretty girl who had just boarded. She was dressed properly in the same Advanced Nurturing High School uniform, and her well-endowed chest swayed with the movement of the bus—a very pleasing sight. To be honest, I'm a bit of a lecher... In middle school, I attended an all-boys aristocratic school, spending my days bored to death dealing with various second-generation heirs, and I had no interest in the "well-matched" marriages my father talked about. But now that I'd arrived at one of the best high schools in Japan, it would be great if I could trick an excellent girl into working for our family for free for the rest of her life... Wait... why "trick"? Our family are honest business people! But to be fair, girls these days are sharp; who knows who would be tricking whom! I actually prefer the simple, airheaded type... it would be even better if she had a bit of class. I looked at the sweet-looking girl again... Eh? Why is she talking to Koenji? No way? Is the young master's flirting technique that good... she was gone just after I looked twice?

I pulled myself out of my daydream and listened carefully, only to realize that wasn't the case at all. They were arguing about giving up a seat to an elderly woman. "Social contribution? I see, that's a rather interesting opinion. Giving up a seat to an elder should indeed count as a form of social contribution. But unfortunately, I have no interest in social contribution. I believe that as long as I can satisfy myself, that is enough. Furthermore, in such a crowded bus, while I have become the target of criticism for sitting in a priority seat, is it really okay to ignore all the other people who are pretending not to notice, saying nothing, and clinging to their seats? If one truly has the desire to cherish the elderly, then I think whether it's a priority seat or not is just a trivial matter." Haha! As expected of Koenji, able to brazenly spout such a long-winded argument and drag all the other passengers into the mud with him. But his style of not giving anyone face and refusing to yield an inch is truly one of a kind. Wouldn't most people just take the opportunity to step down, if only to avoid trouble? Indeed, unlike me, who deliberately keeps a distance from others and thinks twice before acting, Koenji is the type who completely fails to understand interpersonal relationships. However, I didn't intend to step in and resolve this. As they say, distance makes the heart grow fonder; it wouldn't be a good thing for my acquaintance with Koenji to be exposed so early, let alone stepping up for him in public. Yes, he would surely understand the painstaking efforts of his "backseat strategist." Today's lurking is for the sake of future victories. Besides, even if I stopped this, it wouldn't do any good; I expect Koenji's reputation on campus to collapse within a week or two anyway. Rather than swimming against the current and annoying him, it's better to let things take their course. That was my initial judgment. After confirming my course of action, I even felt like laughing, but I held it back after being glared at fiercely by an imposing girl in the next seat.

"Everyone, please listen to me for a moment. Is there anyone willing to give up their seat to this elderly woman? Anyone at all, please!" The girl in front of Koenji still hadn't given up. It's a good thing I didn't laugh out loud, or that cute girl would have looked even more pathetic. Giving up a seat now would surely leave a good impression on her, right? However, I had my own reasons for not being able to act today... Besides, the short-haired girl next to me gave me a look of disdain before turning to look out the window. Clearly, if she were sitting in my aisle seat, she would likely have given up her seat to the old woman, and my actions were clearly losing me points. Sigh, so be it. As the saying goes, brothers are like limbs, and women are like clothing. To secretly protect Koenji, my future brother, I'll just have to accept it. Hmm, the gloomy guy across the aisle seems to think the same. He was clumsily hiding behind his chair, trying his best to lower his presence, while taking the opportunity to stare openly at the pretty girl next to him! What a pervert! I'm much more elegant; when I peek at girls, I don't even turn my head, just using my peripheral vision. Fortunately, a kind-hearted lady soon solved the problem for everyone on the bus by giving up her seat, and I was slightly relieved from the tense atmosphere. I got off the bus with a speed that felt like I was fleeing from my temporary seatmate, not intending to greet Koenji, and walked straight into the campus, heading for my classroom. While squatting down to tie my shoelaces, I secretly used my "peripheral vision" to look at Koenji, who was turning heads everywhere. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly; it seemed he understood my intentions. As they say, distance makes the heart grow fonder, and he should approve of such a "beautiful" plan, especially since he said he didn't like being followed by a nanny. If I remember correctly, I'm in Class C and he's in Class D; we aren't in the same class. This also indirectly shows that the school's chairman, Sakayanagi, is a person of substance, capable of completely ignoring the potential influence of the Koenji conglomerate. Fortunately, Koenji's unyielding personality doesn't come from his parents, otherwise our enrollment would have been earth-shattering. But then again, being born into the right family is also a skill...