Chapter 8

I decided to take some time to spread rumors about the background of Koenji. If he starts off standing on his father's shoulders, his school life might be a bit easier, right? Otherwise, given his pride, it's hard to say if he'd ever reveal such things himself. If I were a young master, I'd definitely find a beautiful girl to be my study companion... no, two! One to cook and one to do my homework; being rich means you can do whatever you want. The above is purely the fantasy of a small study companion; any resemblance to reality is purely because I'm asking for a beating.

Advanced Nurturing High School, Class 1-C. Since it was still early, there were plenty of empty seats when I arrived at the classroom. However, it seemed I couldn't choose where I wanted to sit, as each desk already had a name tag on it. Window seat in the second-to-last row? Not happening. I found my seat in the middle-left section toward the back of the classroom and sat down. I began flipping through my brand-new textbooks; although I had already learned quite a bit from my private tutors, there is never any harm in reviewing the old to learn the new.

"Excuse me, sorry to bother you, are you Kitazawa-san?" Before long, the bespectacled boy next to me couldn't stand the silence and struck up a conversation.

"That's me. Hello, Kaneda." Before sitting down, I had taken the liberty of scanning the names of the people around me. The boy named Kaneda Satoru had left his bag on his seat the whole time, so he must have been one of those guys who arrived early and couldn't wait to drop his bag off so he could go make new friends.

"Nice to meet you. By the way, Kitazawa, you must be great at studying, right? If you don't mind, could you tell me what you scored on the entrance exam?" Could he tell I was a good student just from me previewing my books? That's quite a leap... but he guessed right.

"It's nothing special, I scored over 460."

"I knew it! According to my research, you must be the top student in our Class C."

"You're quite well-informed! Any other interesting intel?"

"Of course, there's the top student of the grade! Word is it's Honami Ichinose from Class B. She has a lot of friends, is well-liked, and most importantly, she's very pretty." Kaneda looked at me with a 'you know what I mean' expression.

"What do you mean 'most importantly, she's very pretty'... You're clearly just lusting after her. Is it really okay to be targeting someone on the very first day of school?"

"Heh, I'm just repeating what I heard. Besides, for a girl with such good grades, you'd definitely have a better chance, Kitazawa."

"Those are just past grades; they don't really prove anything." I put down my book and replied indifferently.

"You're too humble, Kitazawa-kun. One look at your elegant manners just now, and I knew you were an outstanding talent from a prestigious family." So the etiquette lessons taught at elite schools are truly ingrained in the bone? He actually guessed it; as expected of a top school, this kid has some skills.

"What prestigious family? We're all just out here trying to make a living. In today's Japan, how many families can truly be called 'prestigious' like the Koenji family?" I went with the flow, preparing to use this loose-lipped guy to complete my main quest.

"The Koenji family? Indeed, the world of the rich is very far away!" As expected, Kaneda let out a sigh typical of a poor person.

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

"Really!? That's huge news."

"I'm not lying. I've seen his photo on the website, Koenji Rokusuke, the real deal!"

"Unbelievable, simply unbelievable! What do you think, Kitazawa? Surely someone like that is the most popular with the girls, right?"

"In my opinion... uh, sorry, Ibuki-san." It seemed my heated conversation with Kaneda across the aisle was obstructing traffic, as a certain girl had been staring at us with great displeasure for several seconds.

"Don't go around calling strangers by their names! You jerk!" Wow! Ibuki is super fierce! As luck would have it, this person was the one sitting next to me on the bus earlier. Is this fate, too?

"Sorry, I just happened to see your name tag... Ibuki Mio, that's a lovely name." I shot a glance at Kaneda, who had shrunk back into his seat with no intention of saving me, and offered an explanation.

"Oh? Is this how you usually hit on girls?... You're truly pathetic." Ibuki threw her bag onto her desk. She seemed to have overheard bits and pieces of my conversation with Kaneda, and combined with the -1000 initial favorability from the bus, her first impression of me wasn't great. It's true, commenting on girls on the first day of school is... but usually, girls would just pretend not to hear such topics. I can only say, as expected of Ibuki.

"Actually, is Ibuki-san annoyed because of girls like Ichinose?" I turned around, possessed by some spirit, and voiced my deduction. Kaneda shot me a look that said, "You've got a death wish."

"Huh? Why would I care about someone like that?" Ibuki crossed her arms in disgust.

"Your reaction when I mentioned Ichinose just now proves that you know her, and knowing Ichinose on the very first day of school means there's a high probability you heard the entire conversation between me and Kaneda. After all, we talked about other things afterward."

"So what? Isn't it because you two sleazy guys were blocking the aisle and wasting my time?" Ibuki openly admitted that she had been eavesdropping.

"No, based on your blunt attitude toward us just now, Ibuki-san, you're the type of person who isn't intimidated by guys at all."

"That's because you sleazy guys aren't anything special." Ibuki said, proudly lifting her chin.

"That's exactly why! You could have easily forced your way through the aisle where we were talking, but you didn't. That's proof that you were interested in our conversation!"

"!..." Ibuki was stunned for a moment, looking quite honest. It seems I hit the nail on the head.

"And you clearly wouldn't have any interest in me or Kaneda, so that means you were interested in that Ichinose! After we changed the subject, you started to get impatient... As for the reason for your interest... it's mostly because Ichinose is so popular, and with a personality like yours, Ibuki-san... Ah! Sorry!... Ibuki-san!"

If you don't court death, you won't die. It seems I gradually guessed Ibuki's sore spot, and my hand resting on the back of the chair was twisted by her.

Faint snickers could be heard from around us. Damn you, Kaneda!

Well, it seems Ibuki not only has no friends, but she also has a strong grip. As expected of a student at this school.

"...But it seems I was right, Ibuki-san." As the victor, I magnanimously forgave Ibuki's behavior born of embarrassment and anger.

"Shut up! You scum." Ibuki shot me a murderous glare.

"Calling me scum is going too far! We only just met..."

"You clearly know that blond guy, and you were just watching the show on the bus earlier. If that doesn't make you scum, what does?"

"Eh? Why would Ibuki-san think I know him?" I was shocked inside, but remained calm on the surface.

"...You looked at him more than once on the bus." Ibuki held back for a long time.