Suzune Horikita rubbed her temples, feeling that her mental exertion had already gone far beyond the limit on the very first day of school. She had thought meeting Kiyotaka Ayanokoji was enough of a headache, but she had never expected another heavyweight weirdo to be sitting behind her. And then there was that blond boy...
"Are you two serious?" Suzune Horikita could not help asking for confirmation, her eyes full of concern that said, "Are you two okay?"
Kazami Saku looked solemn. "Of course. I'm very serious."
Kiyotaka Ayanokoji nodded impassively. "Yeah."
Suzune Horikita: "..."
She now seriously questioned whether this class really was all right. She had already acquired several heavyweight classmates on the first day of school. Her high school life probably would not offer a moment's peace.
With Hirata organizing things, the noise in the classroom subsided a little, and everyone took turns standing up to give a brief introduction and get to know their classmates.
Yep, Kazami could already confirm that Hirata was going to be one of the socially successful crowd for the next three years-and a first-tier one at that.
The scattered sounds of chairs shifting came from between the desks. Everyone felt some degree of excitement at starting a new school; some were nervous, while others were eager to have a go.
After briefly describing his hobbies, Yosuke Hirata volunteered that anyone could come to him if the class needed help with anything. The model of a socially successful classmate. Quite a few students around him nodded to themselves, especially the girls. For the first time, Kazami experienced firsthand what it meant to swoon over someone. Wasn't his charm a little too powerful?
Next came a girl named Inogashira, and a few students after her, it was Kikyo Kushida's turn.
The girl stood up with a sweet smile on her face, her eyes curved and her voice clear and pleasant. Every gesture was angelic, instantly drawing the attention of more than half the boys in class. Just a few sentences of introduction maxed out her approachability, and quite a few girls liked her too. Her number one wish was to make friends with everyone.
Kazami Saku watched quietly from his seat. Girl, don't force something so unrealistic. It'll wear you out.
The students stood up one after another.
Soon, the blond boy who had so confidently argued against doing good deeds for free on the bus stood up. His bearing was flamboyant, his chin slightly raised, and he looked completely at ease, his tone carrying a measure of inborn arrogance.
"Rokusuke Koenji, heir to the Koenji Conglomerate. I have nothing in particular to say. You ordinary, unremarkable people need not bother me too much. Beautiful girls are an exception, of course. I am a gentleman, after all."
As his brief, arrogant speech ended, the classroom fell silent for an instant.
Uh... so I finally know this blond boy's name. Rokusuke Koenji. Kazami Saku made a mental note of the name. He really is a weirdo.
A boy named Ike stood up and looked around the classroom, speaking with brazen casualness. He even publicly put out a half-joking call for a girlfriend.
"...If any cute girls want to be my girlfriend, feel free to come find me!"
His words immediately drew a burst of laughter from the class. Quite a few people did not know whether to laugh or cry and shot him speechless looks.
Next was Haruki Yamauchi.
With a thoroughly confident smile on his face, the boy launched straight into wild boasting, talking up his athletic abilities and past experiences to ridiculous heights. An all-around athlete, hugely popular with girls-he reeled off every sort of glorious achievement in one go.
Kazami Saku rested his chin in his hand and listened quietly, unable to help pondering to himself.
An ordinary person wouldn't tell such exaggerated lies to make himself look good, would he? Could this guy be a low-profile genius deliberately hiding his abilities, just like Ayanokoji?
Then it was Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's turn.
He slowly rose from his seat, his face still wearing that calm, unruffled look, without any unnecessary expression. In a voice neither loud nor soft, he simply gave his name.
"My name is... Kiyotaka Ayanokoji. I don't have any particular hobbies."
With those few words, he sat back down, so low-key that he barely had any presence, as though he were merely going through the motions. Most people were already on the verge of forgetting his name moments after hearing it.
After listening to this round of introductions, there was Hirata's reliability, Kushida's popularity, Koenji's arrogance, Yamauchi's boasting, and Ayanokoji's blandness...
Seen that way, the commotion he had caused earlier did not seem particularly outstanding. Class D really was brimming with talent, with weirdos everywhere.
But this brief peace was about to end.
It would soon be his turn to introduce himself, and the whole class's opinion of him would probably plummet.
Kazami Saku slowly drew a breath, his eyes brimming with hot tears, and rose from his seat with the tragic resolve of someone marching to his death.
The entire class's gaze fell on him.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Kazami Saku."
First, he gave his perfectly proper real name.
Hearing that normal name left Kikyo Kushida speechless. So you do have a normal name!! Why did you insist on making people call you Big Brain earlier?!!
Kazami Saku looked utterly sincere as he added the second half with extra emphasis:
"Um... I'd prefer it if you called me Big Brain."
Farewell, my peaceful everyday life.
As his words fell, the classroom, which had still held a faint murmur of conversation, went silent in a flash.
The air froze for two seconds.
Quite a few students looked utterly confused and exchanged glances, wondering whether they had misheard him.
Kikyo Kushida: ...
She pressed a hand to her forehead, feeling a wave of helplessness rise within her. He had a perfectly good name, yet insisted on tacking on such an absurd nickname. The nightmare from the bus had been copied and pasted straight into the classroom introductions.
Sitting at the desk behind him, Suzune Horikita's shoulders trembled slightly as she let out a deep breath, feeling her mental exertion for the start of school skyrocket once again. Kiyotaka Ayanokoji turned his head, his gaze falling on Kazami Saku. His eyes remained calm, betraying no emotional fluctuation.
An awkward atmosphere enveloped all of Class D like a tide, threatening to turn into an irredeemable scene of social humiliation.
At that critical moment, the red-haired boy roughly kicked a desk.
"What the hell? This is boring. I didn't come here to play house with you people."
After saying that, he had intended to walk straight out, but the classroom door was pushed open from outside.
Dressed in a black business suit, her long hair black, Chabashira Sae walked slowly into the classroom with a folder in her arms, her sharp gaze sweeping over the class.
"Quiet. I am your Class D homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae."
The homeroom teacher's sudden entrance saved the awkward situation from spiraling out of control at just the right moment.
The red-haired boy obediently returned to his seat too. Though the redhead was very hot-tempered, Kazami was actually quite grateful to him. Someone had helped draw some of the fire.
Everyone's attention instantly shifted to the homeroom teacher, finally allowing them a temporary escape from that absurd "Big Brain" introduction.
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