Chapter 8

I decided that when I had some free time, I'd spread a few rumors about Koenji's background. Let him start out standing on his parents' shoulders; that should make school life easier for him, right? Otherwise, with his pride, who knew whether he'd ever bring it up himself? If I were a rich young master, I'd definitely have a pretty girl attend school with me... No, two! One to cook and one to do my homework. When you've got money, you can do whatever you want. The above is purely the wishful thinking of a little school companion. Any resemblance to reality is just asking to get punched. Seeing others clearly is easy; seeing yourself clearly is hard. "Seeing others clearly is easy; seeing yourself clearly is hard." — Peter Seventy. Advanced Nurturing High School, Class 1-C. Since it was still early, there were plenty of empty seats when I got to the classroom. But it seemed I couldn't choose a seat I liked, since everyone's nameplate had already been put in place. Second-to-last row, by the window? No such luck. I found my seat in the back half of the classroom, a little left of center, and sat down. I started leafing through my brand-new textbooks. I'd already learned quite a bit from my tutor, but reviewing old material never hurt.

"Sorry to bother you. Are you Kitazawa?" Before long, the bespectacled guy beside me couldn't stand the silence and struck up a conversation.

"That's me. Nice to meet you, Kaneda." Before sitting down, I'd glanced over the names around me. Kaneda Satoru had left his schoolbag on his seat the whole time, so he was probably the kind of guy who'd arrived early and then rushed off to make new friends.

"Nice to meet you, too. By the way, Kitazawa, you must be good at studying, right? If you don't mind me asking, what score did you get on the entrance exam?"

Had he figured out I was good at studying just from seeing me review? That was pretty shallow... But he'd guessed right.

"It's no big deal. I got a little over 460."

"I knew it! According to what I've found out, you're probably the top student in Class C."

"You're pretty well-informed. Got any other interesting gossip?"

"Of course! The top student in the year is supposedly Honami Ichinose from Class B. She has lots of friends and everyone likes her. Most importantly, she's really pretty, too." Kaneda gave me a knowing look.

"What do you mean, 'most importantly, she's really pretty, too'? You're obviously lusting after her. You've had your eye on her since the first day of school?"

"Heh, I'm just repeating what I heard. Besides, a girl with grades that good would probably be more interested in you, Kitazawa."

"They're just my past grades. They don't prove anything." I put down my book and replied calmly.

"You're too modest, Kitazawa. Just from your elegant manners, I can tell you're a talented person from a prestigious family."

Had etiquette lessons at a school for the elite really sunk that deep into my bones? He'd actually guessed right. This really was a top school; the kid had some sharp instincts.

"What prestigious family? We're all just trying to get by. How many families in Japan today can really be called prestigious, like the Koenjis?" I took advantage of his loose lips, planning to use him to set my main quest in motion.

"The Koenji family? True. The world of the rich feels so far away!" Kaneda sighed like a poor man.

"It's not that far away... I just saw their heir in the classroom next door." I said it casually.

"Really!? That's huge news."

"I'm not lying. I've seen his photo online. Koenji Rokusuke, no question about it!"

"That's incredible! What do you think, Kitazawa? Is someone like him the type girls like best?"

"Well, I think... Uh, sorry, Ibuki."

It seemed our animated conversation across the aisle had been blocking traffic. A girl had been glaring at us in clear annoyance for several seconds.

"Don't go calling strangers by their names, you jerk!"

Whoa! Ibuki was fierce! And what a coincidence—the girl was the one who'd sat beside me on the train earlier. Was this fate?

"Sorry, I happened to see your nameplate just now... Ibuki Mio. That's a lovely name." I shot Kaneda a glare as he shrank back into his seat, making no move to help me, then explained.

"Oh? Is that how you usually hit on girls? ...What a creep." Ibuki tossed her bag onto her desk. She must have caught bits and pieces of my conversation with Kaneda. Combined with the -1000 starting affinity she'd had for me on the train, her first impression of me wasn't great. Fair enough. Talking about girls like that on the first day of school... Still, most girls would just pretend not to hear, wouldn't they? That was Ibuki for you.

"Actually, what bothers you is girls like Ichinose, isn't it?" Almost against my will, I turned around and voiced my guess. Kaneda gave me a look that said, "You've got a death wish."

"Huh? Why would I care about someone like that?" Ibuki folded her arms dismissively.

"The way you reacted when I mentioned Ichinose shows you know her. And on the first day of school, the most likely way you'd have heard of her was by listening to my whole conversation with Kaneda. We talked about other things afterward, too."

"So what? You two creeps were blocking the middle of the aisle and wasting my time." Ibuki openly admitted she'd been eavesdropping.

"No. From the way you just spoke your mind to us, you seem like the kind of girl who isn't intimidated by guys at all."

"That's because creeps like you aren't anything special." Ibuki spoke proudly, lifting her chin.

"So, you could've forced your way past us while we were talking, but you didn't. That proves you were interested in our conversation!"

"!..." Ibuki froze for a moment, completely straightforward. Looked like I'd hit the mark.

"And you're obviously not interested in me or Kaneda, so you must be interested in Ichinose! Then, when we changed the subject, you started getting impatient... As for why you're interested... It's probably because Ichinose is so popular, while you have this kind of personality... Ah! Sorry! Ibuki!"

If you don't want to die, don't go looking for trouble. It seemed I'd gradually hit one of Ibuki's sore spots, because she twisted my hand where it rested on the back of my chair.

I heard stifled laughter from around us. Damn you, Kaneda!

Well, it seemed Ibuki didn't have many friends, and she had a pretty strong grip, too. No wonder she was a student at this school.

"...But it looks like I was right, Ibuki." As the winner, I magnanimously forgave her for lashing out in embarrassment.

"Shut up, you scumbag." Ibuki shot me a murderous glare.

"Scumbag? That's a bit much, isn't it? We only just met..."

"You clearly know that blond guy. You were watching from the sidelines on the train earlier, too. If you're not a scumbag, what are you?"

"Huh? Why do you think I know him, Ibuki?" My heart jumped, but I kept my expression calm.

"...You looked at him more than once on the train." Ibuki hesitated for a long moment.