After classes ended at noon.
Shiina Hiyori came over and invited Natsukawa to eat at the Student Cafeteria with her.
"Tatsuya, you're on your own too, right? Let's go buy boxed lunches together."
Natsukawa had no habit of bringing a boxed lunch beforehand, so he accepted her invitation.
"Sure, Hiyori. Let's go together."
His progress with Hiyori had already reached the level of close friends.
And the system had one enormous advantage: although a target's Affection Rating initially changed according to their feelings, once it reached 90, it would no longer drop.
It suited Natsukawa perfectly.
Any classmates who had paid attention to Shiina Hiyori probably would never have imagined that Shiina, who usually wore a calm expression around everyone, would walk alongside Natsukawa, laughing and chatting.
For instance, Ibuki Mio, who was sitting up front right now, was utterly puzzled as to how Natsukawa had become so close to Hiyori on his very first day, when the girls all agreed she ranked among the prettiest in their class.
Despite Ibuki Mio's preference for keeping to herself, she had still joined the girls' group chat.
Ibuki Mio had only noticed this because Natsukawa had warned her to be careful yesterday.
It did make me a little curious.
But he apparently got to know a classmate with a nice personality on his very first day, which makes me even more curious...
He hasn't tried talking to me or getting to know me today, either. Did a pretty girl catch his attention...?
Whatever. I'll ambush Ryuuen today to blow off some steam.
I'm not the type to fit into an ordinary circle of girls anyway. My personality is more like a boy's, so it's perfectly normal that he forgot about me.
Damn Ryuuen, actually trying to rule the class through violence! I'm not afraid of a fight, either!
Ibuki Mio's Affection Rating -3
Natsukawa had walked away and did not notice the change in her Affection Rating.
Shiina Hiyori spoke with a smile:
"Hehe. Tatsuya, I found another good book today. It was really good!"
"I saw you reading at your seat this morning. Was it one of the books you took back in your backpack last night?"
"Yes. Want me to tell you about the plot? It's really cleverly written!"
"Haha, here we go again. Hiyori, are you not planning to make friends with any of the girls in our class?"
"I've interacted with some of the other girls in the dorm building, you know. Besides, having one important reading friend is already plenty!"
"Do you mean me?"
Hiyori wore an expression that said she would get angry if he refused to listen.
"Who else could it be? Now, Tatsuya! Do you want to hear it or not?"
"Yes, yes. Go ahead."
"All right, who do you think the culprit was?"
"XX, right? Their behavior was really strange. For example..."
"Hehe, Tatsuya, you guessed wrong! ..."
Affection Rating +5
While Natsukawa and Hiyori were waiting in line, they spotted Ichinose Honami approaching with several girls from Class B.
This is only the second day, more or less, and she already has a few girls with her. That's Ichinose for you. Before long, she'll probably have a whole crowd.
Ichinose greeted Natsukawa happily:
"Natsukawa, I'm so happy to see you again!"
"Hi, Ichinose. Looks like you've made quite a few friends."
"Hehe, it's all thanks to your encouragement earlier, Natsukawa!"
The lively Ichinose Honami said with a smile:
"Everyone! Let me introduce you!"
Ichinose first addressed Shiina Hiyori:
"Hello, I'm Ichinose Honami from Class 1-B!"
Then she turned to Natsukawa Tatsuya and introduced the two girls beside her.
"These two are my good friends and classmates from Class B, Kobashi Yume and Shiranami Chihiro."
"Kobashi Yume, Chihiro, this is Natsukawa Tatsuya, the first friend I made when school started."
Natsukawa smiled at the friends Ichinose had brought and introduced himself:
"Hello! I'm Natsukawa Tatsuya from Class C. Nice to meet you!"
Both girls were quite petite, and both had almost identical, neatly styled short hair that fell around their cheeks and chins, differing only in color. Kobashi Yume had sky-blue short hair, while Shiranami Chihiro's short hair was a yellowish shade of grayish white.
They had a shy sort of cuteness. Kobashi Yume seemed a little more outgoing, while Shiranami Chihiro was more bashful.
Natsukawa could not help imagining what it would look like if, someday, these two stood on either side of him, looking up at him...
Hiyori followed with her own introduction:
"Hello, I'm Shiina Hiyori from Class C."
Kobashi Yume spoke animatedly:
"Hehehe, so you're the first friend Ichinose made? You're pretty handsome, and your hair color goes well with Ichinose's too. Hehe! I'm Kobashi Yume. Nice to meet you both!"
Shiranami Chihiro was a little nervous. After hearing Kobashi Yume's joke, she grew even more nervous as she looked at Natsukawa, with a trace of wariness as well.
"Hello, I-I'm Shiranami Chihiro! Since you're Ichinose's friends, I'll get along with you too!"
Ichinose could tell that Natsukawa was taking the lead between him and Hiyori, so she said with a cheerful smile:
"All right, Kobashi Yume, stop teasing! Let's all eat together in a moment. Is that okay with you, Natsukawa?"
Natsukawa said with a smile:
"Of course. I'm happy to have lunch with cute girls, too."
Shiina Hiyori's Affection Rating -3 Kobashi Yume's Affection Rating: +10, current Affection Rating: 10 Shiranami Chihiro's current Affection Rating: 0 Ichinose Honami's current Affection Rating: 40
After each getting a boxed lunch or set meal, they sat together at a table in the Student Cafeteria.
Natsukawa and Hiyori sat on one side, with Ichinose and the others opposite them.
Everyone began chatting.
Ichinose took out her phone and said with a smile:
"Natsukawa, do you remember our promise? We agreed to exchange contact information as soon as we saw each other again!"
"Of course. I remembered all along."
So Natsukawa added Ichinose's contact information, and everyone added one another as friends while they were at it.
After they first chatted a little about their impressions of the first day of classes and what they had studied.
Ichinose Honami asked with a lively smile:
"I knew you'd be the popular type when we first met, Natsukawa. By the way, how did you and Shiina meet?"
Hiyori answered for Natsukawa:
"There's really not much to it. I like reading. Tatsuya is my first reading friend!"
Kobashi Yume exclaimed,
"Huh! T-Tatsuya! Th-that's-! Sorry, I was just a little curious about such an intimate way of addressing him. Shiina, doesn't that feel strange to you?"
Shiina Hiyori said calmly:
"There's nothing strange about it. Anyway, Tatsuya is the first reading friend I've found who shares my interests. He's a special friend. So I naturally started calling him that. Of course, Tatsuya calls me Hiyori too!"
Natsukawa felt that although Hiyori's expression had not changed at all, there was quite a sense of her staking her claim...
Shiranami Chihiro: Relax~ (≧∇≦)/
Ichinose: But I was here first!
Before you continue