The Silver Fairy Who Appeared in the Library / An Unexpected Encounter

Even knowing that the Behavioral Norms Exam existed didn't mean everyone could incorporate it into their daily behavior.

It was one thing for Class C not to know about the Behavioral Norms Exam. The students in Class D now treated only class time as exam time, and were simply acting like themselves. If anything, after holding back during class, they were now going even further.

Hoshino En felt as if Horikita Suzune's gaze was about to bore right through them.

Jeez, what a troublesome bunch. This is why I don't want to get involved with this class.

The jeering from the audience grew louder. As the students in Classes C and D egged each other on, a few students from Classes A and B began voicing doubts as well. But when the commotion reached its peak, the gym suddenly fell silent.

The restless first-years seemed to have finally noticed that something was off about their seniors, and gradually quieted down.

Once the audience had fallen completely silent, Horikita Manabu finally spoke. "I am Horikita Manabu, the Student Council President. With the graduating students leaving, the Student Council will be recruiting outstanding first-years this year. Applicants don't need to meet any special requirements, but if you wish to join the Student Council, please refrain from joining other clubs. As a rule, applicants who wish to join both the Student Council and another club will not be accepted."

"Lastly, we don't want anyone with naive ideas running for the Student Council. People like that wouldn't merely fail to get elected; they would likely leave a stain on the school. Our school's Student Council has been entrusted by the school with the right and the mission to change its rules, so much is expected of it. We welcome only those who understand this."

His steady voice echoed through the quiet gym. When he finished, the second- and third-years gave him a loud round of applause.

The first-years didn't understand what was going on, but they joined in anyway.

He really was worthy of being Student Council President. Even in a school like this, he had managed to earn that kind of standing.

No, perhaps it was fear. The upperclassmen were afraid of Horikita Manabu's ability.

Hoshino En applauded enthusiastically too, but unlike everyone else, he had picked up another meaning in Horikita Manabu's speech: he was asking for help.

"Naive ideas" probably meant the simple notion of serving the students as a member of the Student Council. That was what student councils did at ordinary schools, but this place was different.

The opening ceremony had already made that clear. The Student Council had handled the entire event, and its members held more authority than most teachers.

And then there was "the right and the mission to change its rules." In other words, someone on the current Student Council wanted to overthrow the existing system and establish an entirely new Classroom of the Elite—and Horikita Manabu was almost at the end of his rope trying to hold that person back.

Was it because the Student Council was about to change over? And was the other person a strong contender for the president's position?

Tsk. It's just a simulation of society. Do they really have to make such a big deal out of it?

Watching Horikita Manabu walk off the stage, Hoshino En shook his head helplessly.

He really didn't want to get involved in something this troublesome.

First Semester of First Year

Chapter 22: The Silver Fairy Who Appeared in the Library

After the Club Orientation, Horikita Suzune disappeared into the crowd, and no one knew where she had gone. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was cornered by Kanji Ike, Haruki Yamauchi, and Ken Sudō, and couldn't get away. Hoshino En alone, thanks to his gloomy air, wasn't pestered by any strange people or things, and was free to do as he pleased.

He said goodbye to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and left.

According to his plans for the day, he still had to stop by the library.

Today's Work Today. Hoshino En owed his current abilities to the principles he had always stuck to.

This famous phrase, the ultimate weapon against procrastination, was the most basic of them.

Beep—

Hoshino En swiped his student ID and entered the library.

It was the beginning of the school year, so there weren't many students in the library. That was a very nice thing for Hoshino En. He didn't like crowded places. Crowds meant chaos, noise, and trouble.

And he hated trouble.

He walked down the aisle where the mystery novels were kept and casually pulled a book from the shelf. To his surprise, it was the first mystery novel he had ever read: A Study in Scarlet.

Looking at this old tie to his past, Hoshino En's thoughts drifted back to his childhood, to the time he had first encountered the book. It wasn't a very happy memory.

When he was little, he had loved reading just for the sake of it—to pass the time or while away a quiet moment. He enjoyed the stories and learning about the protagonists' feelings. Their bonds had often struck him as inexplicable, but those books had still given him some good memories.

But however beautiful the world described in books might be, the real world was just as ugly.

After seeing the wickedness of people's hearts and tasting the filth of society, he had come to understand that books with elegant wording, ornate sentences, interesting plots, and moving endings were no longer what he needed.

What he needed was the ability to stay alive, the skills to survive in society, and the knowledge to protect himself and his family.

After that, the only things he read were all kinds of textbooks: analyses of human nature, the art of lying, psychological analysis, the philosophy of eloquence, logical reasoning, detailed studies of human anatomy for medical use, nutrition...and all kinds of books that could broaden his knowledge and improve his abilities.

Some of those topics had already interested him, like social etiquette and physical training. But most were things he didn't like, yet considered important and thought he might need someday—like various commonly used international languages, aesthetics, and literary appreciation.

He was lucky he'd still been a child back then. The city library was open to him for free, so he could soak up all the knowledge he wanted.

In that sense, he rather liked libraries.

Among all the things he had learned, mystery novels, with their strong emphasis on logic, were right up his alley.

He would carefully analyze the plot, use the clues to deduce the ending in advance, and consider how the protagonist would react when facing the culprit...Every time his judgment proved correct, he would be thrilled. Whenever the characters acted just as he had predicted, it gave him a sense of happiness that filled him with pleasure.

He knew there was probably something wrong with him, getting excited about being able to control other people's minds...but so what? In the world as it was, this was the only way he could live safely, happily, and securely.

Staring at the book in his hands, Hoshino En gazed blankly at the English edition's cover, so different from the one he had seen as a child.

"Do you like Sherlock Holmes?"

A soft, airy voice suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts.

Hoshino En looked up. Before him stood a beautiful girl with silver hair that fell to her waist. She wore a well-fitting Kodo Ikusei school uniform and gray thigh-high stockings.

She held several books against her chest, presumably ones she had just taken from the shelves. Her eyes looked up at him naturally, and unmistakable delight shone in her large, watery eyes.

She was exactly like a silver fairy who had stepped out of a book.

After his initial astonishment, Hoshino En recognized her. She was the silver-haired girl from Class 1-C, a girl who seemed completely at odds with the atmosphere of Class C.

She was probably looking for books here. He was probably in her way.

Based on her expression, Hoshino En figured she was a girl who loved reading, and probably wanted a friend to read with. Her eyes held a pure affection for books, and delight at finding someone who liked Sherlock Holmes.

As for anything else, he couldn't tell yet.

Though he couldn't see anything more for the moment, his rational side kept sending him warnings. She's dangerous. Don't get involved with her.

Stay away! Stay away!! Keep your distance!!!

So, the next thing he should do was move aside and, with an awkward smile, say, "I'm not really a fan. I just happened to pick it up, so I thought I'd take a look."

That way he could avoid her interests, dampen her excitement, and naturally keep his distance.

That was what he should do. It was what he ought to do. And yet—

"Yeah, I love it."

Hoshino En didn't do that.

Leaning back against the bookshelf, he reached up to brush his bangs away from his eyes and smiled at her.

Ah... I should be putting some distance between us. I should be avoiding her. Why is this happening?

His body had acted on its own, doing something contrary to his intentions. It was just like the first time he had met Sakayanagi Arisu, except back then he had managed to stop himself before his body reacted.

Then there had been the second time he faced Ichinose Honami today. Because of their first meeting in the elevator that morning, his body had instinctively made a show of weakness when he saw her again.

He could at least understand that. Ichinose's figure was simply too striking; he couldn't fight his own physical reaction. But why now? He and this girl had only just met, and her figure wasn't anything extraordinary. Why couldn't he control himself this time?

No one could answer Hoshino En's question. All he could feel was that the sound of his heart pounding was terribly loud—loud enough to irritate him.

"Really? That's great!"

At Hoshino En's answer, the girl in front of him visibly brightened.

"Actually, I love Sherlock Holmes too. More accurately, I love mystery novels. I love books. But my classmates are mostly indifferent to books, and not many people our age enjoy reading, so I've always worried that I'd end up alone again, like before...It's so wonderful to meet someone who shares my interests!"

She eagerly explained how she felt, and there was a hint that she already thought of Hoshino En as a fellow book lover.

Hoshino En didn't interrupt her. He had realized that this girl was one of the types he least wanted to deal with: a completely natural airhead.

She was the natural enemy of someone like him, who found happiness and security in reading other people's minds. He couldn't see through her at all!

After letting out all her excitement, she seemed to finally notice how she had been acting and hurried to introduce herself.

"Sorry for introducing myself so late. I'm Shiina Hiyori from Class 1-C."

As she spoke, she gave him a formal bow.

"I'm Hoshino En from Class 1-D."

Hoshino En responded with a nod.

"But why did you think I might be someone who shares your interests? I might just have picked a book at random and decided to flip through it."

"Because I've walked past you several times, but you didn't notice me at all. You were just staring at that book, so I thought you must be a book lover too."

Shiina Hiyori answered his question earnestly, but at the end she still asked him something.

"Um...can't we read together?"

She had been so excited before, but now she looked just as sad and disappointed.

Seeing that tears were almost welling up in her watery eyes, Hoshino En immediately replied, "Of course we can! Why not?"

"Besides, I was just practicing. You know how mystery novels often work, right? You make a hypothesis based on the clues you know, use it to analyze the whole picture, and then compare it with the facts. A case is often solved bit by bit through all sorts of wild speculation..."

He had never imagined that he would say so much about anything other than deduction—and that he would become more and more animated as he spoke.

It was just like how he had felt the first time he read a mystery novel.

Hoshino En's answer was clearly to the girl's liking. She immediately stopped looking as if she might cry, and her face bloomed into a charming smile.

This seemed to be exactly what she had always wanted: the chance to share her thoughts on books with someone who loved reading as much as she did.

This feels amazing!!

Shiina Hiyori thought she would remember this day forever.

And, of course—

Her gaze fell on the boy talking animatedly in front of her, then on his eyes. His bangs, which he had deliberately brushed aside, had fallen back into place, but that didn't stop her from admiring his sparkling, starry eyes.

And this adorable fellow book lover, too.

First Semester of First Year

Chapter 23: An Unexpected Encounter

For the rest of their time there, Hoshino En chatted with Shiina Hiyori in the library.

The library was supposed to be a place for reading and studying, but neither of them showed any sign of opening the books they had borrowed. They just kept chatting.

But since it was still the beginning of the school year, there weren't many people in the library. No matter how excitedly they talked, they wouldn't disturb anyone.

Besides, as Shiina Hiyori put it, they weren't chatting; they were "sharing their thoughts on books." They started with all kinds of mystery novels and moved on to famous foreign classics. Shiina Hiyori had read widely, and her energy seemed just as boundless. She never tired.

Hoshino En had read plenty of foreign classics too, but he had never paid much attention to the plots of literary works that weren't very logical. He had only read the original editions to learn how foreign languages used words and constructed sentences.

That half-baked knowledge might have been enough to fool a novice, but in front of an expert, he was immediately exposed.

"Hmm...they're all such wonderful books. Why are your reactions so strange, Hoshino-kun?"

"You're going to make those books cry!"

Looking at Shiina Hiyori, who puffed out her cheeks and gazed at him reproachfully, Hoshino En suddenly felt terribly guilty.

Hoshino En: "..."

Why should I take responsibility for books I didn't properly appreciate? I didn't do anything to wrong them!

If anything, compared to the people who crammed them onto crowded shelves and tainted them with all sorts of pointless light novels and manga—I'd read quite a few of those too, to understand how young people think, but eventually realized they were no use—I'd at least taken them out to get some fresh air and read their contents carefully.

As far as they're concerned, I'm a really good person!

This body of his, which kept generating inexplicable feelings on its own, really was broken.

So he made an excuse.

"They were untranslated original editions, so they were hard to follow. Understanding them was too difficult for me back then."

But his body still couldn't bring itself to do anything rude to this silver fairy who seemed to have stepped out of a book.

"As for the translations...you understand too, don't you, Shiina? There are always differences in translation, and translated books are often influenced by the translator's own subjective judgments. That can really affect the reader's experience."

"...I suppose that's true."

"..."

Time passed, and the sky grew dark. By the end, Hoshino En had even gone to dinner with Shiina Hiyori. Even while they ate, Shiina Hiyori's mouth never stopped moving as she enthusiastically recommended books she thought were worth reading.

And Hoshino En...Hoshino En could do nothing. Ever since he had seen A Study in Scarlet in the library, his Death Star had been twinkling away.

First, the sight of the book had brought back memories, and he'd accidentally gotten depressed. Then he'd run into someone with exactly the qualities he least wanted to deal with. He'd tried to get away, but his body wouldn't obey and had willingly accepted her. After that, even if he wanted to escape, he couldn't.

Waaah, this is so hard...