Why was she pretending to be someone she wasn't?
A little challenging—
But I was the God of Conquest, after all.
Just as Elsie had said, there was no reason I couldn't treat this world like a game, even if only for now.
It surely wouldn't take long before I could see...
"You were looking at me on the bus just now, weren't you? What do you want?"
At that moment, a cold yet forceful female voice rang out beside Keima Katsuragi.
The owner of the voice was Suzune Horikita.
Volume One: Chapter Four: It's Because You're So Pretty
Suzune Horikita furrowed her brows, fixing her gaze on Keima Katsuragi.
Her first thought was that Keima had looked at her because he wanted her to give up her seat.
But Suzune Horikita had no intention of doing that.
She even firmly believed in refusing to give up her seat.
"If you were waiting for me to give up my seat, you'll be disappointed. I—"
"I'm sorry. I glanced at you because you're so beautiful, and I couldn't help myself."
Without the slightest hesitation, Keima Katsuragi gave his answer.
"Huh?"
His reply was completely unexpected, and for a moment, Suzune Horikita didn't know how to respond.
Her lips twitched slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only furrowed her brows more deeply.
"If that's all, then fine."
After leaving him with those words, Suzune Horikita gently brushed her hand through her long hair and turned away, her every movement exuding coldness and arrogance.
"God of Conquest, she doesn't seem very easy to get along with... Your affection level dropped earlier. Could she have taken a dislike to you?" Elsie asked in a worried whisper.
"In games, dislike and affection can be switched around. If you can get past a quarrel or an event where someone dislikes you, it can definitely turn into a positive. But—"
Keima Katsuragi watched Suzune Horikita walk away and shook his head.
Damn it, the real world doesn't have dialogue logs or a save system! What a pain... Never mind. I should go check in first.
Keima Katsuragi and Elsie soon entered the school. After passing through security and handing over their extra belongings, they followed the staff's directions to the gymnasium for the entrance ceremony.
Keima Katsuragi could tell that something was off about this school.
The rules and regulations seemed far too strict.
A complete ban on bringing any electronic devices wasn't common at high schools these days, and the security screening upon entering the campus was exceptionally rigorous—on par with what you'd find at an important government facility.
Keima Katsuragi was almost certain that Advanced Nurturing High School was no ordinary high school.
But there was only one thing he was worried about—
What if this school is so strict that students aren't allowed to play games in private?! If that's the case, I'd rather die!
Keima Katsuragi began praying silently.
"Next, please welcome the Student Council representative, Manabu Horikita, to give a speech."
As the announcement rang out, Keima Katsuragi's gaze shifted to the center of the stage.
"Manabu Horikita? He has the same surname as Suzune Horikita."
Keima Katsuragi listened carefully to the speech, looking for any particularly important information.
He heard Manabu Horikita say that the school had an astonishingly high rate of advancement to higher education and employment, and that countless graduates had become influential figures in various fields—something ordinary high schools could never hope to match.
What interested Keima Katsuragi most was the "meritocracy" that Manabu Horikita said the school upheld.
This...
Didn't seem right.
Weren't grades what mattered at school?
Speaking of grades, even though Keima Katsuragi usually played games in class, his academic performance could still be described as excellent.
After the entrance ceremony ended, Keima Katsuragi took Elsie to the class they'd been assigned to.
Class 1-D.
Keima Katsuragi entered the classroom and scanned the students, quickly counting them. It seemed everyone else had already arrived, and some had even started chatting comfortably.
Keima Katsuragi didn't particularly like this sort of atmosphere. He was still preoccupied with whether he'd be able to play video games at this school.
"My seat is... here."
He spotted the seat with his name on it, pulled out the chair, and sat down.
"Elsie was assigned a seat on the other side."
Keima Katsuragi's gaze instinctively shifted to his right to see who his deskmate was.
A girl with peach-pink hair and glasses came into view. She had her head lowered, and her long bangs nearly hid her entire face.
Perhaps she noticed Keima Katsuragi looking at her. The girl turned her head slightly, but the instant their eyes met, she flinched as if shocked and quickly looked away.
She seems like the type who doesn't want to socialize. That's great.
Seeing her strange reaction, Keima Katsuragi felt a little pleased.
It meant he could avoid pointless conversations, too!
He could focus on his games without anyone bothering him.
Just as Keima Katsuragi was secretly celebrating, a familiar voice came from behind him.
"What an unfortunate coincidence."
Keima Katsuragi turned around. Sitting to his left was Suzune Horikita, looking somewhat cold.
I've got a troublesome person sitting next to me.
Keima Katsuragi complained to himself, but then he reconsidered. Suzune Horikita seemed like the type who didn't enjoy talking to people, either.
Perfect!
With people who didn't like to talk on both sides, he could focus even more on doing his own thing!
Playing games!
Sure, his main task was to raise affection levels and recover the power fragments, but there was no way he could give up playing games.
Come rain or shine—even if it cost him his life, it was worth it.
At the thought, a smile crept onto Keima Katsuragi's face.
Seeing that inexplicable smile on Keima Katsuragi's face, after he'd just said something equally inexplicable to her, Suzune Horikita's lips twitched.
What was this guy's deal?
She quickly turned away again, as if she wanted to ignore Keima Katsuragi completely.
"Keima! What a coincidence!"
At that moment, Kushida Kikyo called out to Keima Katsuragi by name and walked over with a smile.
"Hey! We really are in the same class! This is great!"
"Yeah."
"Keima, you're practically my first friend at this school!"
Kushida Kikyo's smile was as bright as spring sunshine. Just looking at it seemed to soothe the heart.
Her gaze soon shifted to the person beside Keima Katsuragi—Suzune Horikita.
It seemed casual, but Keima Katsuragi caught Kushida Kikyo's little gesture.
Even before she came over, Kushida Kikyo's gaze had landed on Suzune Horikita several times.
"Everyone, let's take turns introducing ourselves!"
At the same time, a handsome, sunny-looking boy clapped his hands and spoke loudly with a smile.
Volume One: Chapter Five: What the Hell Are You Talking About?
The boy was Yosuke Hirata. With him leading the way, nearly all the students in the class took turns introducing themselves.
Keima Katsuragi also learned the name of the quiet girl beside him.
Her voice had been so soft it was almost inaudible, but Keima Katsuragi had still remembered her name.
Airi Sakura.
Keima Katsuragi recognized the name.
He remembered seeing it on a character card.
But the illustration on the card and the Airi Sakura sitting beside him looked like two completely different people.
The Airi Sakura on the card looked bright and cheerful, openly displaying her beauty and confidence as a girl, while the girl sitting beside him seemed rather gloomy.
Was she the type whose outward appearance contrasted with her inner self?
"Next, this student here."
Yosuke Hirata's gaze fell on a boy sitting in the corner.
"I'm Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. Um, nice to meet you. Well, I don't have any particular hobbies, but I'll do my best to get along with everyone."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's voice sounded a little lazy. His introduction was so brief, almost perfunctory, that the whole class fell silent for a few seconds before a slightly awkward round of applause finally broke out.
Looks like I messed that up. Surely no one could give a worse introduction than me.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought to himself, then sat down.
"Um... that leaves you."
Yosuke Hirata smiled and turned his gaze toward Keima Katsuragi.
Keima Katsuragi stood up and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. A dazzling glint flashed across the lenses.
The real world was utterly meaningless.
Introductions were pointless. Remembering each other's names was enough.
But—
Since there seemed to be people in this class he needed to win over, he might as well use this chance to make sure they remembered his name.
This school was far too strict. It wouldn't even let them bring in electronic devices.
Even though Elsie had helped him shrink his PFP, he definitely couldn't play it openly.
And since they weren't allowed to leave the campus during this time, he wouldn't be able to get his hands on any new games, either...
This world really was better off being cleared as soon as possible so he could leave!
All he had to do now was make sure everyone remembered his name.
Even if they got a bad impression of him, once the time was right, it would eventually turn into a good one.
"My name is Keima Katsuragi. I can conquer twenty-four adventure games at once, and I write walkthroughs online for lost lambs, which is why they call me the God of Conquest. I've conquered ten thousand female characters, and I've played nearly five thousand games..."
Keima Katsuragi launched into a long explanation about games.
Everyone around him froze, staring blankly at Keima Katsuragi.
Even Suzune Horikita, who usually wore a scowl, looked confused for an instant.
What the hell was this guy talking about?
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, sitting nearby, was also watching Keima Katsuragi.
Looks like someone just gave an even worse introduction than I did.
Before you continue