12 This world isn’t one that only cares about appearances! (1/2)

For the remainder of lunch break, Mika and Chiaki took Seiji around to explore the school.

Genhana High School covered a vast amount of ground and had a middle school section as well as a high school section, although the two sections were mostly separated apart from some shared facilities.

”Haha, seeing those tender juicy middle school girls isn’t an easy task, but if you beg me, I can tell you just how to meet them!” Chiaki smiled impishly.

”Stop talking nonsense, Chiaki—what are you saying, tender and juicy…”

”It sounds attractive, but I can’t afford to be thought of as a pervert right now, so let’s talk about it later.” Seiji rubbed his chin.

”What!? Seigo?”

”Ha, I was just joking.”

Seiji felt that compared to Mika, the slightly devilish Chiaki was easier to have a conversation with.

Mika Uehara was still stuck between her mischievous friend and the otaku that was gradually coming out of his shell, so she found it difficult to keep up with them.

As Chiaki teased Mika, Seiji took a look at the schoolyard, when he suddenly noticed a petite girl looking in their direction.

The girl was wearing a middle school uniform, and she was quite short, with thin, spindly limbs. She had an exquisite face and large eyes with heterochromia—the left eye was green while her right eye was blue. She also wore a pair of huge cat ears which were swaying cutely in the wind, leaving Seiji with a deep impression.

She looked at Seiji, and Seiji wordlessly looked back at her.

Suddenly, she ran off and shrouded herself in the shadows of the nearby trees, disappearing in an instant.

”Was she a first-year middle school student? And the way she was dressed…”

That was how Seiji spent his lunch break.

After the last class in the afternoon, a boy with short pointy blonde hair and sharp features—which made him seem like a cosplayer for a hot-blooded anime—walked up to the podium.

”As everyone already knows, the school festival will be held at the end of this month, so we should decide now on what topic our class will be doing.”

As he talked, Seiji asked one of the students beside him and learned that the blonde boy was the class representative, Koji Hoshihara.

”I’ve gathered some of the ideas from the students, and I’ll write them on the blackboard now—if there are any other recommendations, please go ahead and say them now. Afterwards, everyone will decide the topic by voting.”

A school festival… this was a classic scene from any manga about school life. Seiji’s interest was piqued by this.

Class Representative Hoshihara then wrote on the blackboard: haunted house, coffee café, confectionary store, play, and miniature theater. Every option seemed ordinary to Seiji, as they were all common options seen at every school festival.

Just as they were coming to a conclusion and the atmosphere was quieting down, a clear voice suddenly rang out.

”Harano-kun, even though you transferred in just today, you shouldn’t remain silent at such a time. Why don’t you let everyone know your opinion as well?

It was Kazufuru Ooike.

He took advantage of the timing, and everyone’s attention instantly focused on Seiji.

Was this assisting him or an attack against him?

Seiji glanced over at his ”friend” and smiled.

”Sure. After hearing everyone’s discussions, I have an idea of my own as well.” Faced with gazes of the entire class, Seiji’s face did not show a hint of either panic or nervousness and spoke his thoughts eloquently: ”I believe that a confectionery store would be a good choice. This seems to be one of the more popular options, but the students against it mostly believe that it’s too difficult to make the sweets due to the lack of equipment and ingredients. As it happens, I have a method to take care of those issues, since I currently work at an outstanding confectionery store.

”We could just obtain our desserts from there, and then give our customers those desserts directly from the store. I can take care of the price negotiations, and I’ll be able to get a discount for us. Besides, we should be able to make the simple desserts ourselves, and our supply will be assured if both sides make the desserts.

”Also, I would recommend turning the confectionery store into a cosplay cafe as well, with the main theme of the anime that’s been hugely popular lately: ”Honey Candy Girl.” If necessary, I can even contact the creator of this anime and obtain the permission to use the copyright...”

Seiji described his idea with a well-organized thought process.

The entire classroom was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Uh-oh! It seemed that he wasn’t careful and had accidentally used speaking techniques from his previous life as a government worker—did he make it too boring? Seiji felt himself breaking into a cold sweat.

Kazufuru Ooike mentally sighed.

That was excellent improvising! Although he expected that something of this difficulty level wouldn’t be too hard to deal with, it was still...

*Clap clap clap.* As his ”friend,” Kazufuru gave the brilliant speech his applause.

Soon after, the girls all began clapping, and the boys could only follow the momentum and clap along.

”I think Harano-san’s idea was pretty good,” Class Representative Hoshihara agreed and looked around at the whole class, ”how about we go with his idea? A cosplay confectionery store!”

The class began heatedly debating again, and the girls strongly indicated their approval for the idea. Due to the girls’ passion, the boys could helplessly agree.

This was mainly because that ”Honey Candy Girl” was indeed quite popular these days and was viewed as one of the trademark creations of Sakura Island. It was especially well-known among teenagers.

The full-body costume that Seiji had worn for his first job was a mascot from this anime.