"Horikita-san, how did she manage to learn your name so easily?" The gloomy-looking boy nearby voiced his question.
"Probably because she seemed agreeable, so I answered her."
Horikita Suzune kept her head down, continuing to flip through her book.
"But is it really alright to just leave her like that? She looked pretty crushed after you outright rejected her."
Only after hearing the boy's words did Horikita Suzune finally look up.
Amane was still holding her hand out, frozen in place. She seemed completely stunned, as if she'd never been refused before and had no idea what to do next.
'What a girl with absolutely no social sense,' Horikita sighed inwardly.
Why did she think that? Because in social interactions, only two types of people are confident their requests will be accepted.
The first are those stronger than the other party.
But such people wouldn't bother reaching out first.
The other type are greenhorns, newcomers to socializing.
The one before her clearly belonged to the latter.
Seeing no other choice, Horikita reluctantly shook Amane's hand.
If she'd kept standing there like that, she'd definitely attract unwanted attention—a hassle Horikita wanted to avoid.
"Hehe, Horikita-san, what are you reading?"
With just a glance, Amane recognized it as Dostoevsky's 'Crime and Punishment.'
A rather famous and interesting book, one could say. Could it be that Horikita-san was a bookworm too?
"Sigh, you're just like the one next to me. If you want to make friends, why don't you two try it first?"
Horikita Suzune pointed to the gloomy boy beside her.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Ayanokōji Kiyotaka."
Facing the gloomy boy—Ayanokōji's—self-introduction, Amane's reaction was somewhat flat.
"Miyako Amane. Nice to meet you."
After speaking, her eyes immediately shifted back, fixed expectantly on Horikita Suzune.
Unable to ignore Amane's intense gaze any longer, Horikita had no choice but to lift her head and meet her eyes. "It seems you're even lonelier than I am. But your tolerance for rejection is too weak."
Lonely…
"How could you tell, Horikita-san?"
"Your eyes. Your face is smiling, but there's no emotion in your eyes. To put it in literary terms, there's no light in them."
It was rare for Horikita Suzune to say so much at once.
"You could read all that just from my eyes? That's so cool, Horikita-san!"
Cool?
This was the first time Horikita Suzune had been praised with such a word.
She was a bit baffled.
"Cool?"
"Mhmm! Think about it—being able to read someone's emotions just from their eyes, analyzing their mental state… isn't that like mind-reading? Super cool!"
Amane's cheeks flushed slightly as she clasped her hands together in front of her chest, gazing at Horikita Suzune as if she were some kind of celebrity.
It made Horikita feel somewhat embarrassed.
"It's not that I can read minds. You're just too easy to read."
Crack.
What was that sound?
A heart breaking.
Oh well. Never mind.
Amane turned away, biting her finger. The only person she could talk to turned out to be a sharp-tongued girl.
Was her life really this tragic?
Just as Amane was still brooding, a woman in a teacher's uniform entered the room carrying a bag.
She appeared to be in her late twenties to thirties.
She seemed like a capable woman.
Her appearance was neat and tidy, yet she hadn't over-styled her hair—just a simple, ordinary ponytail.
"New students, I am Chabashira Sae, your homeroom teacher for Class D. I usually teach Japanese History. This school does not reassign classes each year, so for the next three years until graduation, I will be your homeroom teacher. Let's work well together."
The classroom erupted into enthusiastic applause.
A few boys even whistled flirtatiously.
Chabashira Sae chose to ignore the troublemakers and continued.
"The entrance ceremony will be held in the gymnasium one hour from now. Before that, I will distribute materials regarding this school's special rules. You've already received these during the initial orientation."
With that, Chabashira-sensei began handing out the documents.
Amane skimmed through the materials briefly. Aside from the binding, they were no different from the ones she'd received before.
The biggest difference between this school and others, lifestyle-wise, was that all students were required to agree to live on campus.
And cut off contact with the outside world.
It meant spending three years here in near-total isolation. For Amane, that sounded perfect.
This way, she could fully enjoy campus life without any interruptions.
Next, Chabashira-sensei briefly explained the S System.
And the fact that 100,000 points would be distributed every month.
However, she specifically emphasized one point: at this school, points could buy anything.
It was astonishing—the school was generous enough to give a diverse group of high schoolers what amounted to 100,000 yen in points to use freely.
Was this really a school that valued ability above all else?
Amane continued flipping through the handbook. It listed facilities like a shopping mall, cafés, stores, karaoke, a movie theater, and more.
It seemed the school cared quite a bit about students' quality of life.
"I just hope it's not a breeding ground for student decadence," Amane mused as she put the handbook away.
After reminding everyone not to forget the entrance ceremony in the gymnasium in an hour, Chabashira-sensei left the classroom.
The class immediately erupted into a festive frenzy.
Everyone started excitedly discussing where they should go have fun first, what fancy meals they should eat, and who was going to buy new clothes.
Now that sounded good!
But as Amane looked around, she realized… No one was inviting her.
Maybe… she could try inviting Horikita-san to get bubble tea?
"Horikita… san?"
The moment Amane turned around, she found Horikita Suzune staring straight at her.
An aura radiated from her that screamed, 'If you dare invite me, you will regret it.'
'Horikita-san is scary!'
Feeling dejected, Amane slowly turned back around. It was then that, to save the poor souls left out of the social circles, a certain young man stepped up.
A boy who looked like a promising youth stood at the teacher's podium.
"Everyone, could I have your attention for a moment?"
The noisy classroom gradually quieted down.
All eyes turned to the boy who dared to address the whole class first.
"Starting today, we'll be spending the next three years together in this class. So, I was thinking we could all voluntarily introduce ourselves. It'd be great if we could all become friends quickly. We still have some time before the entrance ceremony. What do you all think?"
Yes!
This is perfect!
Finally, an escape from this social dead zone—a chance to make friends with everyone else!
"I agree!"
Amane eagerly shot her hand up high.
Behind her, Horikita Suzune glanced at Amane's back, then quietly began gathering her things.
She wasn't like someone who was desperate to socialize yet was a complete social klutz.
She had zero interest in such pointless activities.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.