The Transfer Student

At around eight in the morning, students arrived at Chiba Rissei High School as usual.

There was still nearly half an hour before morning reading began, but every student in Second-Year Class 1 was already seated in the classroom.

Although it was an advanced class, not everyone buried themselves in their books the moment they sat down. Quite a few were chatting and laughing.

"Did you see the news last night? There was this boy who looked about our age, and he's actually a Devil Hunter who can kill powerful devils."

"I saw it too. Apparently, he's already been called the strongest private Devil Hunter in Chiba Prefecture. I can't believe he's the same age as us!"

"I saw his picture, and he's so handsome! I wish he could be my boyfriend. Oh, just thinking about it makes me blush~"

"Keep dreaming. He's in a completely different world from us. Unless you become a Devil Hunter too, you don't stand even the tiniest chance."

"..."

As she listened to her classmates chatting and laughing nearby, Kobeni Higashiyama sat silently at her desk, reading.

Yet she couldn't quite settle down, because she knew the person they were discussing was Asaba.

Of course, she knew Asaba was impressive, but only now did she realize he was far more impressive than she had imagined.

Her classmates' jokes had unwittingly struck a chord with her.

She had quite a crush on Asaba, but the more she listened to her classmates discussing him, the more inferior she felt. She thought she should probably give up those unrealistic fantasies.

Only after quite some time did Kobeni Higashiyama finally manage to calm herself down.

By then, morning reading was about to begin, and her classmates had all quieted down in preparation.

Just then, their homeroom teacher suddenly entered through the front door.

The students were a little surprised. Teachers usually didn't come during morning reading, much less their homeroom teacher.

"A transfer student will be joining our class today."

After briefly explaining the situation, the homeroom teacher called to Asaba Kotone outside the door. "Come in, Asaba."

Asaba Kotone entered the classroom, wrote his name on the blackboard, and introduced himself. "My name is Asaba Kotone. I like cute little animals. I look forward to getting along with everyone."

A quick glance told Asaba Kotone there were a little over thirty students in the classroom. The classes were small, with only seven classes per year and just over two hundred students in the entire second year. He figured that was probably because of Japan's declining birth rate.

Of the seven second-year classes, Class 1 was the advanced class, Classes 2 and 3 were college-preparatory classes, and Classes 4 through 7 were regular classes.

However, class assignments weren't based entirely on grades. Grades came first, but students' preferences were also considered. Even students with excellent grades could choose a regular class if they wanted to take things easier.

At that moment, quite a few students froze.

Aside from the few who hadn't watched the news or joined the earlier discussion, most of the students knew the name Asaba Kotone.

They had just been marveling at how incredible Asaba Kotone was, and now he was suddenly their classmate?!

Never mind the students-even their homeroom teacher had been astonished when the principal told him the news yesterday.

Seeing the students staring in disbelief, the homeroom teacher couldn't help smiling.

"A-Asaba?!"

Unable to control her emotions, Kobeni Higashiyama accidentally cried out.

Only after the words had left her mouth did she realize what she'd done. She hurriedly covered her mouth, but it was already far too late.

Many of her classmates immediately turned to look at her, and Kobeni Higashiyama lowered her head in embarrassment.

"There's an empty seat over there. You can sit there, Asaba."

The homeroom teacher pointed to the vacant desk. It was the second-to-last seat in the window-side row at the back.

"Okay."

With a seat like this, Asaba Kotone felt as though he'd stacked every possible buff. A transfer student in the classic seat-he would have been the protagonist for sure in one of the Japanese anime from his previous life.

More importantly, Kobeni Higashiyama sat at the desk to his right, making it easier for him to interact with her.

They weren't sharing a desk, though. Everyone had their own desk, and Kobeni Higashiyama's was the one immediately to his right.

Asaba Kotone walked over and sat down, taking the books he would need shortly out of his schoolbag ahead of time.

He hadn't brought Pochita along today. After all, Pochita was still a devil, and bringing Pochita to school would definitely have a considerable effect on the other students. He didn't want to cause anyone trouble.

He had left Pochita watching television at home, bought Pochita plenty of tasty food, and made sure to warn Pochita not to wander off. That should keep everything under control.

Asaba Kotone set his books on the desk and prepared for morning reading. Knowing that Kobeni Higashiyama was feeling awkward, he didn't try to talk to her.

"I hope everyone gets along with our new classmate. Now, let's begin morning reading as usual."

With that, the homeroom teacher left.

Although the students were full of interest and curiosity about Asaba Kotone, they knew what they should be doing. It was time for morning reading.

Asaba Kotone fit in naturally and joined them. After all, before crossing over a few days ago, he had still been an ordinary high school student.

The first lesson that morning was English, so their morning reading material was also in English. The purpose of morning reading was to get the students into the right mindset for studying ahead of time.

Morning reading ended after only ten minutes or so, just in time for the first lesson. The English teacher had already entered the classroom.

"I see we have a new student today. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask at any time, or come and ask me after class."

The English teacher addressed Asaba Kotone as soon as she entered the classroom.

"Understood, ma'am."

Asaba Kotone nodded.

Over the course of the lesson, quite a few students noticed that the English teacher was teaching at a noticeably slower pace than usual. Still, they understood. Today's transfer student had a rather unusual identity, after all.

"Riiing..."

As soon as the bell rang, the English teacher closed her book and left with her teaching materials. "All right, that's all for this lesson."

Asaba Kotone had found the lesson quite easy and had memorized everything the teacher covered.

The moment the English teacher stepped out of the classroom, several students immediately came over and surrounded Asaba Kotone.

"Asaba, are you really the Devil Hunter from television? You're amazing!"

"I never would've imagined that the strongest private Devil Hunter in Chiba Prefecture would be a high school student just like us!"

"Could you give me your autograph? Just sign my notebook."

"Me too! Me too!"

"..."

Faced with such enthusiastic classmates, Asaba Kotone gave a slightly awkward smile.

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