Two Men and Two Women in the Convenience Store

If Sakayanagi Arisu's 10 could be considered only slightly abnormal, then the zero hanging over that boy's head was truly shocking.

Does he lack the emotions a human should possess?

Harboring such thoughts, Toru Hasegawa withdrew his gaze after confirming it repeatedly.

However, the moment he looked away, the eyes of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka—that very boy—flickered imperceptibly.

Was he looking at me just now? And for several seconds... why?

Such thoughts swirled in his mind, and the itinerary he had originally planned quietly began to change.

Completely unaware that his actions had already attracted someone's attention, Toru Hasegawa began to yawn.

Ah, so boring. When will this long, stinking entrance ceremony finally end?

He couldn't wait any longer.

It wasn't just to verify his guesses about the numerical progress above people's heads, but also because a bold idea had sprouted after his recent observation.

Could this world... not be normal?

Could it be the kind of world that only exists in fantasy?

There was no other reason; whether it was that boy or Sakayanagi Arisu beside him—the latter could barely be explained away as having a detached nature, but could the former really be a product of a normal society?

Moreover, the quality of the girls here was a bit too high.

Before coming here, Toru Hasegawa had never imagined that so many high-quality human females would be gathered in the same school.

Especially... Class 1-D, where that boy was located... assuming those girls weren't just "back-view beauties."

The four beauties of Class D.

But the one who attracted him most was, without a doubt, still the girl from Class 1-B.

Soon, the boring entrance ceremony ended, and the crowd began to disperse.

Toru Hasegawa thought he had finally gained his freedom, but the words that reached his ears made him freeze in place.

"Do you intend to leave without giving me a detailed explanation?"

Sakayanagi Arisu wore a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, and paired with the [10/100] floating clearly above her head even without him looking up, it inexplicably sent a chill down Toru Hasegawa's spine.

"I apologize for what you accidentally overheard in the classroom, but I also believe that everyone's kinks are their own freedom... are you satisfied with that explanation?"

Taking a deep breath, Toru Hasegawa gave Sakayanagi Arisu a brief explanation.

He hoped this answer would satisfy her.

However, seeing the change in the number above her head, Toru Hasegawa immediately lost his optimistic mindset.

[9/100]

It went down!

Even though 10 was already an abnormally small value to begin with, was there actually room for it to drop further?

Toru Hasegawa's heart felt dead silent; he didn't know where his answer had gone wrong.

"...Everyone's kinks are indeed their own freedom." Sakayanagi Arisu nodded thoughtfully, then said, "What are your plans for later?"

"What plans?" Toru Hasegawa looked confused. Did he even have such a thing as plans?

"I mean what you intend to do later."

Sakayanagi Arisu sighed as if feeling helpless, switching to a more accessible tone to explain, while also reflecting on whether her choice of words was truly that difficult to understand.

"Oh, that..." Toru Hasegawa had a sudden realization, then asked, "What I do later has what to do with you?"

If not for that numerical progress above her head, he might have truly fallen into one of the three great illusions of life.

But now, hmph!

The wise do not fall into the river of love!

Then, he saw the numerical progress above Sakayanagi Arisu's head change once again.

[23/100]

"???"

No, brother... sister... wait, my tone was only slightly firm, how did your favorability jump up so much?

That's right, Toru Hasegawa felt his original guess was already eight or nine tenths correct; Sakayanagi Arisu was the perfect sample.

"Could you really bear to let a weak girl like me act alone? Besides, it's clear that neither of us has found any friends yet."

"..."

You clearly had the opportunity before.

Thinking of the girl who had reached out to help Sakayanagi Arisu, Toru Hasegawa shook his head inwardly, but he also felt that leaving the girl in front of him to fend for herself wasn't quite right.

Even if individuals within vulnerable groups want to be treated like everyone else, humans are, after all, emotional creatures.

Although this was a fully enclosed school and the probability of encountering danger should be extremely small... probably.

Thinking about the diversity of the human species, Toru Hasegawa decided, after some deliberation, to agree to Sakayanagi Arisu's request.

Isn't this just moral coercion? And he actually falls for it!

"Alright, then let's go together! I was planning on checking out the convenience store in a bit, how about you?"

Toru Hasegawa asked Arisu Sakayanagi for her opinion.

"I am also quite interested in this school's convenience store. Let's go together."

At this moment, the progress bar above the silver-haired girl's head changed to [20/100].

Toru Hasegawa was already used to it; she seemed to be a girl who responded to firm tactics rather than soft ones. He understood, he understood~

Soon, amidst casual conversation, the two arrived at the convenience store.

Along the way, Toru Hasegawa noticed a certain poker-faced boy following not far behind them. After all, in this school, he should be the only one with a big fat zero above his head; it would be hard not to notice him.

"Is there anything you want to buy?"

"Let's start by buying some daily necessities."

After casually answering Arisu Sakayanagi's question, Toru Hasegawa temporarily pushed aside his suspicions about the poker-faced boy.

After all, there were plenty of students who headed straight for the convenience store after dismissal, so the possibility of them just happening to be on the same path was very high.

"Toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, body wash, towel..."

Toru Hasegawa picked and chose carefully, though his ears were inadvertently pricked up.

Because that poker-faced boy seemed to have run into a classmate and was currently engaged in conversation; perhaps he could glean some useful information.

From just a brief exchange, Toru Hasegawa obtained information that, if not extremely useful, was at least extremely gossipy.

The girl talking to the poker-faced boy was named Horikita, first name unknown, and she sounded like the type who disliked social groups.

After all, Toru Hasegawa couldn't imagine someone who didn't even attend the initial self-introductions liking group settings... or rather, did she want to live a solitary life until the end?

And the other poker-faced boy, whose name was still unknown, was discussing the relationship between "self-introductions" and "making friends easily" with her.

...Is that even a topic for discussion? Are you two participating in some kind of debate competition?!

Suppressing the urge to continue roasting them in his heart, he continued to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Don't tell me... actually, don't tell me! Why does eavesdropping like this feel inexplicably exciting?

Then he heard the male voice throw out a very strange topic to the female voice--

"Hey, what do you think about the prices of the goods? Are they expensive or cheap?"

Where are you from, an alien?

Toru Hasegawa's desire to roast was burning fiercely.

The girl gave an answer of "no different from the outside world," and also noticed the strangeness of the boy's question, but it seemed to be brushed off by him immediately.

"Ayanokoji-kun, you weren't thinking about boring things just now, were you?"

"...No, I wasn't."

Using the "G cup" text written on the instant noodles, Horikita-san's attention clearly took a super sharp turn.

Just as Toru Hasegawa wanted to keep eavesdropping, he noticed that the silver-haired girl beside him seemed a bit off.

"What's wrong?"

He was a bit puzzled, not understanding why Arisu Sakayanagi had suddenly zoned out.

She didn't seem like the type of person who would zone out on a daily basis.

"It's nothing, I just suddenly became a little interested in the two students talking over there. Could we go take a look together?"

For some reason, there was a slight tremor in Arisu Sakayanagi's voice, which left Toru Hasegawa feeling a bit confused for a moment.

However, since it was just accompanying her to take a look, Toru Hasegawa naturally agreed readily.

"Sure."

The man and woman walked together toward the other man and woman.

Communication that could be conducted openly in public wouldn't be a secret, and being overheard shouldn't be a big deal, so Toru Hasegawa stood calmly in front of Horikita and Ayanokoji-kun.

Then he marveled at the long-haired black-haired beauty in front of him who was exactly his type.

Waist-length, smooth black hair, a cute ribbon and a long braid tied on the right side, paired with a pair of fox-like eyes, and black over-the-knee socks on her legs, forming an absolute territory.

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What a pity, despite having such an outstanding appearance, her personality is so bad.

Toru Hasegawa didn't dare to look closely; he just took a fleeting glance and withdrew his gaze.

He didn't want to experience a situation like the one he had with Masumi Kamuro again.

"Do you two have any business with Ayanokoji-kun?"

Seeing Toru Hasegawa and Arisu Sakayanagi walking straight toward them, Suzune Horikita asked directly.

"Hey, hey, hey, why did you assume they were looking for me from the start? I don't even know them at all."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka acted as if he were pleading his own innocence.

"It's simple: I don't know these two students. Given that, it was only natural for me to assume they were here to see you. I just didn't expect it to turn out like this."

Suzune Horikita sighed helplessly before asking, "You two, is there something you need?"

Arisu Sakayanagi's gaze merely brushed over Suzune Horikita, and she didn't even bother to look at her again.

Her eyes were fixed intently on Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

Toru Hasegawa noticed this, and a conjecture naturally welled up from the bottom of his heart.

Could Arisu Sakayanagi and Ayanokoji... have known each other before?

But judging by what the other party just said, Ayanokoji shouldn't know Arisu Sakayanagi at all.

"We're going to be schoolmates for the next three years, after all. We just came to say hello."

Since it was her request, Toru Hasegawa was merely accompanying her, so Arisu Sakayanagi took it upon herself to handle the response.

"I see..."

Clearly noticing that their true intentions lay elsewhere, Suzune Horikita glanced at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and then moved to pay the bill and leave.

However, her gaze was suddenly drawn to something.

"Free...?"

The not-too-loud voice caught the attention of the other three as well.

Arisu Sakayanagi also snapped out of the immense joy of their long-awaited reunion.

"Are you alright?"

Yet, at this moment, someone said something that completely ruined the mood.

"Why do you say that?"

Since he was a tool she had already set her sights on, Arisu Sakayanagi decided to pause for a moment to hear what he had to say.

"Well, your complexion has been abnormally... flushed since just a moment ago, so I wondered if something was wrong... It seems I was overthinking it."

She looked exactly like a girl deeply in love—

Of course, she couldn't say that out loud.

"...It's only to this extent, so it will be fine."

Arisu Sakayanagi gave her answer after a moment of silence, and Toru Hasegawa saw the numerical progress bar above her head leap suddenly to 30.

It was already approaching the level of the most indifferent stranger; the operation was a huge success!

For some reason, Toru Hasegawa felt like shedding tears of joy. In less than a single morning, he had managed to raise Arisu Sakayanagi's favorability toward him from 10 to 30!

He was just too amazing!