Karuizawa Arc: Karuizawa Kei Made a Change

Afraid this genius born in the White Room, who had no common sense whatsoever, might come up with some wild idea, Hoshino En hurriedly spoke up to hurry him along.

Hoshino En: [Kiyotaka? Buddy? Are you asleep?]

[If you're alive, make a sound! Don't leave me sitting here like an idiot.]

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: [Actually, there's one more thing. Horikita seems to keep rejecting social interaction. She's driven off quite a few classmates who tried to approach her.]

Hoshino En: [I've seen that in class, too. She looks like she's in the terminal stages of social anxiety.]

[Anyway, given all that, are you still going to keep trying? This boss looks way too difficult for a social newbie like you to handle.]

Even Kushida Kikyo, a top-tier social butterfly, might not be able to get the better of Horikita, let alone Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: [...She's my seatmate, after all. It'd be a real problem if we didn't get along.]

That was a lie. Hoshino En knew it well, because Ayanokoji had used that very excuse to make small talk with Horikita Suzune right in front of him.

Hoshino En: [That doesn't mean you should fixate on her. If you want to learn how to make friends, you can start with other people in class. Any of them would be easier to talk to than Horikita, right?]

[Oh, and forget about Sudo. As for Ike and Yamauchi, avoid them if you can. If you do talk to them, keep it to a minimum. Don't learn everything from them.]

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: [Why? They seem like nice people.]

It was true, especially of Ike. It was thanks to him that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had fit in with the boys so easily today.

Besides, they got along so well with the other boys. Surely they were masters at making friends. As a complete beginner, there was nothing wrong with learning from them.

Hoshino En: [Those two brought up the sensitive topic of women's bodies in public. They haven't quite crossed the line into public indecency, but they've already disgraced themselves by society's standards.]

[They're too oblivious to realize how badly they've embarrassed themselves, which tells you something about their character. If you hang around with them, people will think you're just like them and look down on you, too.]

[And to put it bluntly, they probably see a social novice like you as even lower down the ladder than they are. They're also short one clown to make themselves look better in front of girls, which is why they're so eager to "make friends" with you.]

[If they get into trouble, they'll probably shove you forward to take the fall.]

[I don't want to run into you in a juvenile detention center someday, Kiyotaka.]

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: [...]

The boy's silence spoke louder than a thousand words.

Hoshino En: [If you really want to learn how to "make friends" and be a normal person, go find classmates who are normal, too. Don't go after people who are too exceptional, like Hirata and Kushida, and don't go for anyone as outrageous as those two, either.]

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka still didn't reply. He seemed to be thinking it over.

Hoshino En: [Kiyotaka, are you hungry? Want to come over and grab a late-night snack?]

After all the trouble today, Hoshino En was getting hungry himself. But eating alone wasn't right, and he wasn't about to forget about the "good son" living next door.

And to be honest, ever since Sakayanagi had told him about Ayanokoji, he'd increasingly started to think of him as his "son."

Hoshino En: "..."

Was this what it felt like to want to raise someone? He was old enough to be a "father" now, apparently.

Ayanokoji was top-notch in every other regard, so Hoshino En didn't have to worry about him being unable to look after himself. But when it came to common sense, he was as blank as a sheet of paper, hardly any different from a newborn.

Tsk. What a perfect setup.

As soon as the message changed to "Read," there was a knock at Hoshino En's door less than twenty seconds later.

He opened it. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stood outside, fully dressed in his pajamas and ready to go. His expressionless face gave no indication that he was there to mooch a meal.

"Take a seat for a bit."

Hoshino En brought Ayanokoji some warm water, then busied himself in the kitchen.

He'd gotten some free ingredients from the convenience store, but they only offered vegetables, so Hoshino En took out some meat he'd bought himself. Then he added the highest-grade instant noodles the convenience store had—

Ta-da! Hoshino's special, super-luxurious instant noodles were ready!

When he set the two bowls on the table, he saw Ayanokoji Kiyotaka staring at them with wide eyes.

He seemed astonished by the food.

"What's wrong? Haven't you had this before?"

"...No, I've seen instant noodles before. But yours... I've never seen anything like this."

It was only instant noodles, so how had he managed to make them look more like ramen than the ramen from the shops on the street?

The vegetables were one thing, since they'd come from the convenience store for free, but the meat... It covered the entire bowl.

This wasn't noodles. It was braised meat!

"All right, all right, quit staring and eat while it's hot."

With Hoshino En looking pleased with himself and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka still astonished, the two of them enjoyed their late-night snack. With Ayanokoji's help, they washed the cooking utensils afterward.

Then Hoshino En went straight to bed, while Ayanokoji Kiyotaka returned to his room. Their "night out" was over.

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 30.5: Karuizawa Arc: Karuizawa Kei Made a Change

But I never expected to run into him here.

After arriving at Advanced Nurturing, I decided to change the way I lived because of what I'd gone through in elementary and middle school. I would team up with my "friends" and become one of the most influential people in the class.

That way, I wouldn't be targeted by all the girls out of jealousy, nor would I become the target of their resentment for some trivial reason. I'd have more time to improve myself and achieve "perfection."

So I styled myself to look like the girls who had bullied me back then and deliberately acted like someone people shouldn't mess with.

In this way, I took the lead in shaping the class hierarchy as soon as the class was formed.

Then I found my "friends": a pure-hearted, genuine gyaru; an ordinary girl who was kind to everyone; and an elegant girl with refined manners who was clearly from a well-off family.

The four of us didn't seem to have anything in common, but each of us apparently had our own reasons for dressing up as forceful girls who were "bad at studying" and "not to be messed with." We quickly banded together and became a powerful group among the girls in Class D.

Then, to get information about our classmates quickly, we helped promote the self-introductions organized by Hirata Yosuke.

That was when I saw him.

Just like in our third year of middle school, he sat alone in a corner, his purple-black bangs hanging slightly over his starry eyes and lending him an even gloomier air.

Ah~ He'd be much cuter if he brushed his hair back and showed off those eyes. Why did Hoshino-kun have to ruin his good looks like that?

But he was just as perceptive as he'd been in middle school—no, he was even more perceptive. I'd only spent a little while admiring him, and his gaze had already started sweeping over me in particular.

Still, he didn't seem to recognize me. Did he really have no memory of me at all?

That was a little disheartening.

As soon as the first day's homeroom ended, he left through the back door. I wanted to follow him, but when I thought about what might happen if he caught me, I gave up.

Besides, although I'd temporarily taken the lead among the girls in class, there were several other people who couldn't be underestimated in this regard.

One of them was Shinohara Satsuki. She stood up to the boys to defend girls' rights, which had earned her the support of many girls.

Though I felt it was mostly because the other boys in Class D had gone too far—they'd openly discussed girls' breasts in class on the very first day. I'd never seen such tasteless guys before. That had given her the chance to win everyone's favor.

Another was Kushida Kikyo. Thanks to her extraordinary warmth, she'd easily become friends with most of the girls in class.

On top of that, she'd bewitched most of the boys with her exaggeratedly large breasts.

A normal girl would never be able to tolerate those boys' impolite stares, but she never so much as changed her expression when they stared at her. It made me question what she was really like.

She seemed obsessed with becoming friends with everyone.

I didn't want to dig into the secrets behind her mask. My instincts told me it would bring me a lot of trouble.

Anyway, because of them, I took my "friends" to a café with a good reputation on the school forum so we could discuss what to do.

And then, then... I saw him again.

"'No way~' You made me run around all afternoon. I'm starving and want something sweet."

"Fine, whatever you want. You really did work hard today."

It wasn't just him. I also saw an adorable girl holding his hand, a girl every bit as cute as he was.

She carried herself with the grace of a refined young lady. She looked like the daughter of some wealthy family.

Someone like that was the right person for him, wasn't she? My heart filled with joy at the thought that Hoshino-kun, who'd never had any friends, had finally found someone he could rely on.

Of course, I also felt a little envious. After all... I was the one who'd come first. At least let me have the first taste!

But right after that, I saw the two people who'd been sitting at the next table suddenly pack up their exquisite desserts and coffee, vacate their seats, and leave. Then Kushida Kikyo and her "friend," Wang Meiyu, sat down there.

They kept glancing at Hoshino-kun at the next table. It was obvious they'd come with a purpose.

I had to admit, I panicked at that moment.

Hoshino-kun had finally found someone right for him. I couldn't let a scheming flirt ruin their chance.

So I ignored the strange looks from the "friends" around me, went straight over, and sat beside Wang Meiyu.

From there, I could see Hoshino-kun, as well as all of Kushida Kikyo's expressions and movements across from Wang Meiyu.

I couldn't let her do anything that might get in Hoshino-kun's way!

After that, another girl joined us and took the last seat at the four-person table.

She was Ichinose Honami from Class 1-B.

She greeted me warmly and seemed like a capable woman without much of a scheming streak. But Hoshino-kun had already found someone right for him. I couldn't let any other foxes shake their relationship.

So, Ichinose, you might be a lovely person, but the complicated look you gave Hoshino-kun was enough to make me hostile toward you.

And just like Kushida Kikyo, she had a pair of breasts fuller than any other girl her age. Even without doing anything seductive, her very presence could threaten the bond between Hoshino-kun and that girl.

So I had to keep a close eye on her!

That was what I thought. But I never expected the girl who'd come with Hoshino-kun to bring the conversation around to the two of them.

Thanks to that, I naturally overheard her talking with Hoshino-kun.

That was when I realized they weren't in that kind of relationship. She'd only been saying such suggestive things to tease him.

In other words, Hoshino-kun hadn't found the one meant for him after all... I still had a chance to be first!

At the thought of that, I didn't even care anymore that Kushida Kikyo and Ichinose Honami were "eyeing" Hoshino-kun.

When it was over, I spoke with Hoshino-kun for the first time and got his contact information.

I couldn't help him with anything right now, but there was one thing only someone my age had: my beauty, and my body.

Since I'd decided to give him the most "perfect" version of myself, what was wrong with giving him a body that was at its "perfect" best?

So I decided to find an opportunity—preferably during the start of the school year, while everyone was still getting used to campus life—and give my body to Hoshino-kun.

He'd admitted that he had no experience with this sort of thing, either. What was wrong with letting him learn with my body?

Still, to give him a better experience, I decided to cram a little and study up on it.

But I never expected to find my chance the very next day.

I'd just been about to go back to the dormitory to change for my upcoming date with my "friends" when I ran into Hoshino-kun outside my room.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I couldn't hold back, so I invited him straight into my room.

Then I confessed to him. I'd never been in love, after all, and I couldn't have that kind of relationship with any other boy. So I wanted to experience something so rare with Hoshino-kun.

But he turned me down.

He brought up what I'd been through in middle school and thought I only wanted someone to protect me from being bullied again. He figured I was using "dating" as an excuse to threaten him into protecting me.

Protection? Bullying? Threatening him? If he hadn't "saved" me, maybe I really would have thought that way... But there was no point in dwelling on "what ifs" when faced with the truth.

I didn't need anyone else to protect me. I'd already been saved. Now I knew how to avoid being hurt and how to push someone into becoming the target of the whole group.

I'd confessed to him because I really did like him. I simply wanted to give him everything.

Looking at his cold gaze, I suddenly understood.

He seemed... incredibly distrustful of other people, and even more distrustful of their feelings.

The environment he'd grown up in must have been awful. Maybe even worse than the one I'd experienced in elementary school.

But seeing someone as capable as him suddenly act so clumsily, I couldn't help laughing.

Seeing Hoshino-kun like that made him seem more real and even more charming.

As expected, my laughter enraged him. He pinned me to the bed, his arms pressing down on my neck as he squeezed hard.

That kind of hold wouldn't leave a mark on my neck, but it could still threaten my life.

Even though he was furious, his actions were still rational and precise.