Volume 1 Chapter 14 (1/2)

Welcome to my dream-like school life

”Ayanokouji-kun, are you ok?”

It caain The feared situation

As I was pretending to sleep, that person came

It was the appearance of the devil, which forceda nap) to wake up to reality

Inperfectly describedof utter hopelessness as people are chased by devils and as the end of the world quickly approached

Even with my eyes closed, I could tell

I could feel the alarht next to me as it waited for its slave to wake up…

Now, as a slave, how do I escape this situation…?

To avoid danger, use the computer in the brain to instantly come up with the answer

Conclusion… Pretend not to have heard anything I ay My predicay

If the person talking was kind girl, she would overlook it after saying, ‘Well, it can't be helped I will forgive you because I’m sorry ☆'

Even a pattern like 'I will kiss if you don't wake up, ok? Chuu~~' is also OK

”If you don't wake up in 3 seconds, you'll face punishments”

”… The hell do you mean by 'punishments'?”

In less than a second the 'pretend sleep' strategy was foiled and I succumbed to the threat

Still, I refused to raise my head and continued to resist

”Look, as I expected you were awake”

”I already know of your scariness if I ry”

”That's good Then, do you have some time?”

”… and if I say I don't?”

”Well… I can't force you, but I will be cranky if you don't”

She then continued

”And if I'm cranky, I will be a major obstacle to Ayanokouji-kun's normal school life H water on your head whenever you enter the bathroo you with a compass needle That kind of behavior, yup”

”That's just plain harassely real, as if I re stabbed!”

I reluctantly woke up and sat up in my seat

A girl with long black hair and sharp, beautiful eyes looked down on me from the side

Her nah school class 1-D, my classmate

”Don't be so scared That was just a joke I won't pour water on you from above when you're in the toilet”

”The thumbtacks and the compass needle are more important! Look at this, this! You can still see where I was stabbed! Hoill you take responsibility if it becomes a lifetime scar?”

I roll up ht arm and show my upper arm to Horikita

”Where's the evidence?”

”Huh?”

”Where's the evidence? Are you saying that I am the culprit without any proof?”

Of course, there is no evidence Even though the only person as close enough to staba compass needle in her hand, it's hard to say it definitively…

I had soh

”Do I really have to help out? I thought about it again, but after all…”

”Hey Ayanokouji-kun Regretting your decision while you're desperate, or while you're suffering… Which one do you like more? Because you pulled me from my responsibilities, you should be held accountable Is that right?”

Horikita offered only two ridiculous, extreme options Apparently, it seems that she will not allow a compromise It was a ive up and obey

”…So, what am I supposed to do?”

I asked while tre in fear

I won’t be surprised when I hear what she's asking from me

I don't kno things turned out like this, but I remember when all this started

I o

Was it on the day of the entrance ceremony…?

1

April

The entrance ceremony

I was going to school on the bus, which shook every time it passed over a bumpy area of the road

As I watched the landscape change froradually

Most of the passengers earing school uniforms

The lone frustrated salary worker who got on the bus reroped soot on a crowded bus

An old wo in front ofas if she would fall over at any time

Ithe bus

Even though I was able to secure a good seat, the cold as blowing towards me and the whole bus was crowded

That poor old woman will have to wait until the bus arrives at her destination

The cloudless sky and clear weather is refreshi+ng… I think I ht fall asleep

My tranquility and peace was suddenly interrupted

”Don't you think you should give up your seat?”

For a moment, I opened my eyes that were about to close

Eh, by any chance, were you scolding me?

That's what I thought at first, but apparently the person in front ofwarned

A young, well-built, blonde-haired h school student The old wo next to him An office lady was next to the old woman

”You there, can't you see the old wo trouble?”

The office lady seemed to want him to hand over the priority seat to the old woman

In the quiet bus, her voice got louder and attracted the attention of the other people in the bus

”That's a really crazy question, lady”

The boy norant, or perhaps brutally honest, but he just ss

”Why should I give this seat to an old woive it up”

”Isn't it natural to hand over the priority seat to the elderly?”

”I don’t understand Priority seats are just priority seats, and there is no legal obligation for me to move Whether or not Iin this seat Will you give up your seat because I a”

It's a h school student His hair is dyed blond, and there are soh school student

”I a up would inconvenienceup will consu doill I don't want to do such a useless thing Or etic?”

”What, what kind of attitude is that towards your superiors!?”

”Superior? It's obvious that both you and the old woer than me There's no doubt about it However, that 'above' refers to height Also, I have a problee, isn't that an awfully rude and impertinent attitude?” (T/N Superior in japanese is literally ”person above”—he is saying that the ”above” in the word superior refers to height, not socially ”above”)

”Wha…! You're a high school student!? Honestly, just listen to what adults say!”

”It's fine, it's fine…”

The office lady orked up, but the old woman didn't want to make the situation worse She tried to calestures, but the office lady continued to insult the high school student and looked like she was about to fly into a rage

”Apparently the older wouess japanese society isn't completely useless yet Enjoy the rest of your life to your heart's content”

After showing a uselessly refreshi+ng san to listen to loudher teeth in annoyance

His self-iue with him

Personally, I didn't get reed, at least in part, with the boy

Once the ive up a seat disappears

”Sorry……”

The office lady tried to hold back her tears while apologizing to the old woman

A little incident happened on the bus I was relieved that I wasn't involved in the situation I don't care for things like giving upto move from my seat

The disturbance ended with the boy ith his big ego At least, everyone thought it was over

”Uht”

An unexpected helping hand was extended The owner of the voice seems stood next the office lady and bravely spoke her opinion to the boy She wore the same school uniform as mine

”This tiirl, apparently I have luck omen today”

”Grandmother, it looks like it's been hot for a while now Won't you give up your seat? It may be none of your concern, but I think it will contribute to society”

With a ”pachin”, the boy snapped his fingers

”Social contribution? I see, that's an interesting way to put it Giving seats to the elderlyto society Unfortunately, I a to society I only think about my own satisfaction Oh, and also In this crowded bus, you're asking ive upsilent and leave me alone? If someone truly cares for the elderly, I think that 'priority seat here, priority seat there' would be a trivial concern”

The girl's intentions didn't reach the boy, and the boy's brazen attitude didn't change Both the office lady and the old wo and stood there with a bitter smile

But the girl who stood up to the boy didn't crumble

”Everyone Please listen to ive their seat for the old woman? Please, anyone”

How is there so e, and deterenuine intentions

With her reirl may have seemed like an annoyance But she seriously appealed to the passengers without fear

I was not in a priority seat but I was sitting near the old woman

By raising a hand and saying ”here you go”, this situation would be settled

The elderly would also calm down

Like everyone else in the bus, though, I didn't move No one felt it was necessary to ht on with soers and they convinced theht

Of course, the elderly are undeniably important contributors and supporters of japan

But we, the youth, are the important human resources that will support japan from now on

Also, because the general population is gradually aging, our value is also increasing

So, if you compare the youth and the elderly, it's obvious which one is ument, isn't it

Somehow, I started to wonder what the other people would do Looking around, people were pretending to not have noticed or had a hesitant look

But—the girl as sitting next to me was completely different

A the confusion, she had a completely expressionless look

When I stared at her unintentionally because of her strangeness, our eyes met for just a hts Neither of us considered giving up our seats for the old woman

”Oh, here you go!”

Soon after the girl’s appeal, a wouilt

”Thank you!”

When the girl lowered her head with a full suided the old woman to the seat

She thanked the girl over and over again, then sat down in her seat

While watching the old woirl, I folded my arms and closed my eyes

The bus soon arrived at the destination, and stopped at the school

As I got off the bus, there was a gatefor me

All the boys and girls in uniforate

Koudo Ikusei High School

A school created by the japanese govern people to support the future

It is a place that I will attend starting from today

Stop, take a deep breath

Ok, let's go!

”Wait a second”

As I tried to take e, I was instantly stopped as someone tried to talk to me

I was stopped by the girl I sat next to on the bus

”You were looking at o Why?”, she said with a firm look

”Sorry I was just a bit interested Whatever the reason, you didn't have any thoughts of giving up your seat to the old woht?”

”Yeah yeah, I didn't want to give upwith that?”

”No, it's just that I thought the sa upconcerned with such things” (T/N When he says ”I like to stay out of trouble”, he uses an idiolish but I felt it would be weird to put that here)

”Stay out of trouble? Don't coive upup the seat to an old woman”

”Isn't that worse than just staying out of trouble?”

”I don't know I' on my own beliefs It's different fros like you I don't want to spend time with people like you”

”… I feel the same way”

I just wanted to give my opinion, but I wasn’t really in the mood to talk back and forth

We both deliberately sighed and started walking in the same direction

2

I don't like the entrance ceremony A lot of first years think the same way

The principal and the students are all thanking each other annoyingly, there's way too , and it's a pain in the butt because there are too s

But that's not all I want to say

The entrance cereh school marks the start of one major trial for students

For the first few days after the entrance ceremony, students must make friends in order to enjoy the rest of their school life

If someone fails at this task, it is said that a miserable three years awaits them

Followingtrouble, I think it would be best to make some friends and establish decent human relationshi+ps

The day before, I tried to practicefriends because I was inexperienced

First scenario was bursting into the classroo excitedly

Second scenario was secretly passing a note withfriends afterwards

In my case, I had to practice because this is a completely different environment than I had been used for my whole life I around all by myself

Overlooking the classroom, I walked over to the seat with my nameplate on it

A seat towards the back of the rooet

The classroom was only about half full

Students were either looking at their classto acquaintances and friends

Nohat should I do? Should I get to know people during this free ti a few seats in front of ination)

He gave off an aura of that screaain, ination)

However… if you suddenly walked up to someone and talked to them they would probably feel bothered

Do you wait for the right time then? No, by then, he would probably be surrounded by eneh chance I'll become friendless

As I expected, I should talk…

Wait, wait, don't be hasty

If I carelessly juht be beaten by someone else

This is useless, a negative spiral…

In the end, I couldn't talk to anybody, and with the way things were going, I would soon be left all alone

Is he still alone? Do I hear laughter? I s

I wonder what friends are Where on earth do friends come from? Do people become friends after they eat with each other? Or do you becoether?

The more I think about it, thedeep? I should think about it more

Trying toIn the first place, should I be trying to make friends like this? Furthermore, don't friendshi+ps form naturally over time? My mind is in complete disarray like a chaotic summer festival

While my mind is still hazy and confused, the classroom quickly fills up as other students enter the classroom

Oh well, I have no choice but to try

After a long internal struggle, I started to get up from my seat However…

As I got up, I noticed that the chubby boy wearing glasses was talking to another classmate

With a bitter smile, I realized that there was no friendshi+p to be made here

Good for you, glasses-kun…

You made your first friend───

”You, from before…!”

Feeling perplexed, I was doing so

Involuntary, I let out a deep sigh froh school life seems very bleak

I noticed that the classroo down their bag on the seat next to me

”That's a heavy sigh, even though the school se after ain”

The person who sat next tooff the bus

”… So ere in the same class, huh” After all, there are only 4 first-year classes It's not like it's probabilistically impossible that ere put in the same class

”I am Ayanokouji Kiyotaka Nice to meet you”

”A sudden self-introduction?”

”Even if you call it sudden, it's our second ti to each other Isn't an introduction fine?”

Anyway, I previously had no way to introduce h, in order to becohbor's name at least

”Do you ?”

”I think it would be aard if we didn't know each other's nah we sit next to each other”

”I think it would be perfectly fine”

After glancing aton the desk It seems like she won't even tell me her name

The girl showed no interest in the rest of the classroom, and sat down in her seat like a model

”Is your friend in another class? Or are you coh school alone?”

”You're a curious one, aren't you You shouldn't talk toanyway”

”If I' a bother to you, just tell me to shut up”

I thought that the conversation was over, but after a sudden change of heart, she sighed and looked at me

”My name is Horikita Suzune”

I didn't expect to receive an answer, but she… no, Horikita, introduced herself

For the first time I saw her face

… Wow, she's cute

I mean, she's a beauty

Even though she was in the sarade, she could probably pass as a second or third year student

She looked like a mature woman

”Letyou a bit about myself I have no particular hobbies, but I have an interest in everything I don't have too ood to have some friendsWell, that's the kind of person I am”

”Sounds like a reply from someone who avoids troublesome situations I don't think I'll ever like someone who thinks like that”

”It feels like le second…”

”I pray that no more misfortune befalls me”

”I sympathize with you, but I don't think that'll come true”

I pointed at the door to the classroo there was───

”The equipment in this classroom seems to be in order! The classroom looks just like what the rumors say!”

It was the boy who argued with the girl in the bus

”…… I see Certainly is bad luck”

It seems like not only us, but that problem child is also in the D class

Without noticing us at all, he sat down at the seat marked ”Koenji”I wonder if he knohat the ter him for a bit

Koenji then propped his legs onto the desk, took out a pair of nail clippers, and started doing ernails He acted as if he was the only one there and ignored all of his surroundings

His rehts

In less than ten seconds, more than half the class backed away from Koenji Even here, his self-important attitude penetrated the classroom

Looking next todown at her desk, reading one of her own books

Oops, I forgot that talking back and forth was one of the basics of holding a conversation

One of my chances to become friends with Horikita was crushed

Peeking at the title of the book, I saw that she was reading ”Crime and Punishment”

That's interesting Whether there is any reason to kill a person or not, it advocates killing Maybe Horikita's hobbies are similar to the ones in the book (T/N scary…)

Anyway, since self-introductions were finished, it see very often

After a few

Al a suit walked into the classroom

On first impression, she seems like a teacher who finds strict classroo hair was tied back into a ponytail

”Ahe new students My nae of class D this year I teach japanese history This school doesn't rearrange the classes every year, so over the next three years, I hope I get to know all of you Best regards Although the entrance cereym, I will now distribute the list of special rules of this school and the uide”

From the front, the handouts were passed around

At this school, there are special rules that h school All students are required to live on ca anyone outside the school

Even contacting immediate family is impossible without the permission of the school

Leaving school grounds is also forbidden

However, there are alsorestricted There are karaokes, theater rooms, cafes, and even boutiques—you can say itcity, the huge campus took up more than 600,000 square meters

There's one h The introduction of the S system

”I will now hand out student ID cards With this card, you can buy anything from any of the shops and facilities around campus It works like a credit card However, be careful of howyou can't buy at school If there's sorounds, it's purchasable”

This point system associated with the student card essentially replaced money

This way, every student would start off with the same amount of money and would be forced to check their consumption habits In any case, all of the points are provided at no charge from the school

”Student cards can be used by swiping the the machines are really easy, so you won't have any trouble with them The points will be automatically credited on the first day of the month Everyone should already have 100,000 points on their card Also, 1 point is worth 1 yen Any more explanation is unnecessary”

For a ot loud

In other words, for being adot a 100,000 yen monthly allowance from the school As expected froovernment

100,000 yen is a considerable aiven to students as a monthly allowance

”Were you guys surprised by the aiven? This school measures the abilities of students Everyone here, who passed the entrance exam, has shown some level of merit and worth The amount ofback After graduation, however, all the points will be taken back Since it's ie these points into cash, there's no point in saving up the points How the points are used are up to you Use it on things you like or need If you feel that no use for some of your points, you can always transfer the other people for points is prohibited The school is very strict on ”

Chiyabashi+ra-sensei looked around the room

”It seeood student life”

A lot of the classmates can't hide their surprise at the size of the allowance

”It isn't as strict of a school as I thought it would be”

I thought I was talking to ht that I was talking to her

”It certainly seems like a lax school”

Although they force us to live in dor off ca anyone on the outside, they give us a lot of points for free usable anywhere on campus

It could be said that the students are put in paradise with preferential treatment

And the biggest h School is their 100 employment rate

Under the thorough guidance of the government, the school works towards a better future with all of its resources In fact, many of this widely publicized school's aluood a school is, its area of specialization is narrow A school ht specialize in sports, or specialize in musicOr maybe it specializes in computer related topics But this school fulfills any wish in any genre that someone may wish to study This is a school that has that kind of system and value

That's why I thought the class atmosphere would be more competitive and bloodthirsty, but the majority of my classmates seemed like ordinary students you could find anywhere else

No, nized as students who passed the entrance exaraduate peacefully and without incident…? I wonder if it's even possible

”This much preferential treatment is a bit scary”

After listening to Horikita say that, I also felt the same way

I think it would be better to stay ignorant of the details about this school

Because they are able to fulfill any wish, I think there would be some risks associated with the school

”Ne ne~, don't you want to go see those shops? Let's go shopping!”

”Un With this ot into this school~”

After the teacher left the rooe amount of money were restless

”Everyone, can you guys listen to me for a bit?”

A student who had the air of a young man raised his hand and spoke

His hair is not dyed and looked like an honors student He didn't look like delinquent either

”Starting from today, ill be in the sareat if all of us could introduce ourselves and become friends We still have time until the entrance ceremony, so what do you think?”

Oh… he said so A majority of the students couldn't find words to say

”I agree! After all, we don't know each other na about each other”

After the first person agreed, the previously hesitant students subsequently voiced their support

”My name is Hirata Yousuke Because I was often called by my first name, Yousuke, in h I like all sports, I like soccer in particular, and also plan to play soccer at this school Please take care of me”

The young man who proposed that the class introduce themselves smoothly and impeccably did his self introduction

You really have a lot of guts And you even talked about soccer After talking about soccer with that refreshi+ng expression, his popularity irls near Hirata have hearts in their eyes

Like this, Hirata becaure of the class, and would probably draw everyone's attention until we graduated

And then he would probably go out with the cutest girl in the class That's probably how things will end up

”Well, if that was satisfactory… then, can we start self introductions fro?”

Being smooth to the very end, Hirata asked for confirmation

Although the first girl was perplexed and nervous, she soon made up her mind and stood up

In other words, she was flustered by Hirata's words

”M-ashi+ra K-ko—”

As she tried to introduce herself, her words stopped in her mouth

Whether her hts fully, she was unable to speak clearly When words no longer came out, her face becaet so nervous

”Do your best~”

”It's ok if you don't rush~”

Those kind words came from a classmate But those words backfired, and the words stuck in her throat disappeared The silence continued for 5 seconds, then 10 seconds The pressure was palpable

Sirls in the classrooirls spoke up

”Doing it slowly is fine, don't rush through it”

Although her words were similar to ”Do your best~” and ”It's ok if you don't rush,” theher words held was completely different

To the nervous girl, the boys' words seemed a bit forceful

On the other hand, the girl's words told her to go at her own pace, and felt

After regaining a bit of her composure, she breathed in and out to calm herself down

Then after a little while…

”My na and I' P-please take care of me”

From the first word, she said all she wanted to say without stopping

With a relieved, delighted, and slightly embarrassed expression, Inokashi+ra sit down

Thanks to the help, Inogashi+ra's introduction finished without any trouble Other self-introductions followed

”I’m Yamauchi Haruki In elementary school, I played table tennis at the national level, then was the baseball club's ace in ot an injury during Inter High recently, so I am currently in rehab Nice to meet ya”

I don't think the nu to it…

And Inter High is a sports tournah schools… You can't compete as a middle schooler

Or was he trying to tell a joke? I got the impression that he was a frivolous and loose-mouthed type of person

”Then I'ht?”

The cheerful girl who stood up next was the one who told Inogashi+ra to introduce herself at her own pace

And the girl that helped out the old wo

”My name is Kushi+da Kikyou, and since none of et to know everyone and become friends!”

Most students finished their greetings after a feords, but Kushi+da continued to talk

”First of all, I want to become friends with everyone here After all of you are done with your introductions, please exchange contact information with me!”

Her words weren't just words I could tell iirl to open up her heart immediately

Her words to Inogashi+ra weren't just encouragement that sees