Gymnasium No. 1. By the time Hikigaya Hachiman arrived, the students had basically all gathered.
Quickly finding the Class B queue, Hikigaya Hachiman stood directly in the back row, three body lengths away from the person in front. It looked like he belonged to the group, yet was also uncertain—an ambiguous distance.
At least regarding the conversation with Hoshinomiya-sensei just now, he didn't plan to share it with Class B. Since Ichinose and the others were so excellent, they had likely already thought of it; even if they hadn't, they would find out sooner or later.
Moreover, starting in Class B with such excellent classmates was a perfect start. He just needed to hold onto Ichinose's thigh and wait to rise to Class A, while working toward the 20 million individual points himself.
"Well, the school management is truly loose," Hikigaya's mind wandered as he listened to the principal's long-winded speech, looking around in a daze.
Class A and Class B were lined up neatly. In contrast, Class C and Class D were noisy and restless even while the principal was speaking on stage, yet no one stopped them.
Having nothing to do, he just looked around casually. This was one of his 108 techniques—"Time Acceleration"—which allowed him to pass boring time without realizing it.
It had to be said, the beauty level of this school was really high. If it were middle school, he might have broken the record for the number of times being rejected.
The entrance ceremony ended quickly under the effect of Time Acceleration. Hikigaya Hachiman turned to leave. It wasn't that he didn't want to interact with Class B; he just thought of that girl named Ji-something-Yuki's hesitant eyes. He hated small circles the most.
Many others had similar thoughts. Hikigaya Hachiman followed the crowd, spotting a "flying fish head" (hair style) in front of him. Good grief, the guy's movements were even faster than his.
It seemed he was also a veteran loner who had deeply mastered the secret of not attracting attention. However, just as Stand users attract other Stand users, loners also attract loners.
Don't think you can escape Hikigaya Hachiman's keen eyes.
"Stare..." Hikigaya Hachiman stared listlessly at the flying fish head in front of him.
There was no real reason; he was just bored.
He counted the strands of the flying fish head: one, two, three, four... the hair texture was smooth. Clearly, he had just washed his head yesterday; he was likely a healthy and high-quality young man.
His appearance was like his own: a loner among loners, an evolved "Ultimate Loner."
What a useless observation.
Suddenly, the flying fish head in front of him snapped around. A pair of plain, dead-fish eyes made Hikigaya feel like he was looking in a mirror.
Two pairs of dead-fish eyes stared at each other.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was a bit annoyed or perhaps alert. As a person from the White Room, he had grown up under surveillance cameras since childhood and was extremely sensitive to gazes.
Since a moment ago, this man had been staring at him. Staring and staring without any concealment, making his heart feel a bit hairy.
If the other party were a classmate, Ayanokouji could understand it as a desire to communicate. However, within one minute of entering the school, he had memorized the names and appearances of all his classmates.
The other party was not a classmate, yet was staring at the back of his head like that. Could it be that he was exposed on the first day of school? Or was there something about his body different from ordinary people?
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was extra alert. However, having stayed in a closed environment to study, while his theoretical knowledge was rich, his social experience was zero.
He even derived his concepts of "ordinary people" from books. Was this what books called a "stalker"?
It shouldn't be. He was a guy! Although he had heard of men with special preferences... but it was only the first day of school, less than two hours in. He already encountered one? And was targeted directly?
Is the outside environment this terrifying?
Involuntarily, a long-lost feeling of fear rose in Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's heart. Originally, as a finished product of the White Room, he had already extinguished all emotions. But for some reason, at this moment, Ayanokouji felt a tightening in his rear.
This was fear rooted in instinct.
Although he wanted to test the other party, Ayanokouji didn't know how to start the conversation. The best way was for the other party to speak first, then use past knowledge to guide them.
On the other side, Hikigaya Hachiman was equally bewildered.
Is this person sick? Turning around and staring at him like that. Could it be there's some strange smell on him?
It shouldn't be. He had once been discussed by middle school classmates for often smelling of sweat, so he was quite diligent about cleanliness. He had washed seriously today. He hadn't encountered any nerve-wracking women today, so he wouldn't be nervous enough to sweat. There shouldn't be a strange smell.
What's more...
Even if there is, you can just say it directly. What's the meaning of staring constantly? A psycho?
People nearby left one after another. Two pairs of dead-fish eyes faced each other, and neither spoke first.
Finally, Hikigaya could not stand it and nodded slightly. Ayanokouji also couldn't help but nod in return. Then he watched as Hikigaya walked straight past him.
The two seemed to be exchanging a secret code.
"???"
Looking at his departing back, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's head was full of question marks. What... did that mean? Although he had read many books, books didn't teach this!
On the other side: "Psycho." Hikigaya arrived at the convenience store wordlessly.
People he encountered before would either ignore him or curse at him. What else is someone who just stares like that if not a psycho?
He walked into the convenience store. In the most conspicuous position in front, various daily necessities were displayed. They were marked as "Free."
Having already understood the importance of points, Hikigaya instantly realized this was likely insurance prepared for those who had lost their individual points.
However, the quality wasn't bad. Although he hadn't seen them on the market, they were all from well-known brands. They were likely test-phase products from these companies.
After all, operating such a large school must incur huge expenses. They certainly have to make some exchanges with major zaibatsu. The students are acting as guinea pig test subjects.
Hikigaya didn't mind. After all, they had entered the deployment stage; products from large companies generally wouldn't have problems. Besides, he didn't have high requirements for material life.
At worst, if these products really had safety hazards, he wouldn't have to worry about the rest of his life; he could definitely fleece them for a huge sum.
Moreover, as long as he saved 20 million individual points, he would have the right to free employment. But with a "thigh" like Ichinose around, there was no need to be too anxious.
Hikigaya put various daily necessities into his shopping basket.
Just then, a slender, snow-white hand grabbed the other end of the shampoo bottle.