“Excuse me.”
Shinichi used his break time to visit the faculty several times, but his countenance was dark.
It hasn’t even been a week since he transferred, and yet he’s already become a regular of the faculty.
The reason for his visit was of course none other than because he couldn’t understand the lessons.
One saving grace was that the teachers he thought would hate his incessant pestering actually happily answered all of his questions.
Such a studious student was probably rare, so they welcomed him with open arms.
Though another reason was probably the gulf between the different classes.
“Kyui!”
Good work out there, she seemed to be saying with that smile.
Shinichi’s zeal was a mystery to her at first, but when he told her that these were things that he should have studies if ‘nothing had happened’, she finally understood.
“Though I probably wouldn’t be so committed if it wasn’t for the environment I’ve been put in.”
He added. Apparently, he had that kind of thinking too.
He was put into an environment where he could study, so it would be a waste if he didn’t make use of it.
The Garesto-related materials were quickly dropped, but that was probably because he had little attachment to the subjects and they weren’t necessary in the first place.
Moreover, even the only minor subject, Physical Education, focused on physical training to improve and maintain one’s status.
Unlike the usual PE classes in normal schools, the PE classes here seemed to be trying to remodel one’s body.
If the objective was to raise people with high status, well their methods weren’t wrong, but Shinichi has finally become a high school student, so he at least wanted to play some sports and sweat.
He likely owes that desire partly because of the admiration he held for the high school life.
“Look who’s coming from the faculty again! This good-for-nothing!”
“Not only does your status suck, you can’t study to save your life either.”
But no matter how hard he tried, the level at this school was simply too difficult for someone like him who’s yet to grasp the foundations learned at the middle school level.
Shinichi shrugged his shoulders and muttered to himself with a troubled face, “I think the next class is on skills.”
A person and a beast walked down the noisy hallway, while the former wondered to himself if he should sleep through class again.
The beast, who was on Shinichi’s shoulder, noticed the people calling out to him, but there was no reason to tell him, so she just ignored them too.
“Huh? Hey, wait! You should listen when someone’s talking to you!”
“Don’t ignore us!”
That’s why Shinichi just walked in the direction of the audio-visual room #2, where the next class was to be held.
As he thought of the way to his destination, he dodged the moving obstacles around him and went along his way.
“What are you doing, Nakamura Shinichi?”
“!?”
But then one of those obstacles became a person and scared him.
That voice reminded him of someone, which caused his face to cramp as a result.
It didn’t matter that he was called by his name. He didn’t particularly care either that someone called him by his full name.
But Shinichi needed courage to turn to that voice.
“…Is something the matter?”
He was greatly disturbed, but he did all he could to not let that show on his face.
The face of the girl was exactly as he’d expected, causing his voice to become stiff.
Black hair extending all the way to her waist, it was the Japanese public morals committee member.
She was Shinichi’s greatest miscalculation in his transfer to this school. Senba Youko.
If he’d known, he would have seriously considered the option of going to ‘another school’.
But of course, he might have still chosen to go here in the end, but if he’d known, he’d at least have been able to brace himself.
Unfortunately, he was not given that opportunity, and now he was standing right in front of her, not knowing what kind of face he should be making.
In the end, Shinichi turned to her with a very nervous expression.
Although ‘she’ – who was sat on his shoulders – did look at her with a sharp gaze.
“…Are you seriously saying that right now!? Someone’s talking to you and yet you’re ignoring them? What’s wrong with you!?”
Fortunately or unfortunately, Senba Youko was only glaring at Shinichi, so she didn’t notice her.
“Huh? Talking to me? Who? Where?”
Unfortunately, her words only confused him.
He was so confused that he even forgot who he was talking to and honestly asked that.
“Hah?”
As a result, Youko too became troubled.
She hadn’t been watching right from the start, but he was definitely ignoring them.
Only, it would be a different thing altogether if he truly didn’t realize they were calling out to him.
She felt like the latter was more likely to be true.
Having known each other for a long time came with both good points and bad points.
“…If you people have business with him, you should say it now.”
She didn’t actually hear what these students were saying, but she did see them trying to talk to him, so she urged them to say their piece.
Of course, being the public morals committee member that she was, they couldn’t actually say what they’d said out loud again.
“I-It’s fine already. Let’s go!”
“Y-Yeah… Tch.”
That was all the two students said before making a run for it.
From their attitude, she could more or less guess what they were doing, but it wasn’t anything to be surprised about.
A pitiful misunderstanding made by first year students who’ve just entered school.
Give them another half of a month, and they won’t feel like calling people names anymore.
Because to these freshly enrolled first-year students, the real thing was just to come.
“…”
“…”
Normally, in this situation, she’s supposed to help the person who was being bullied, but the person-in-question didn’t even hear what his bullies were saying.
As the person who called out first, Youko hadn’t the foggiest idea what she should say, while Shinichi was similarly stumped on how to deal with her after she suddenly went quiet.
Silence naturally filled the space between them.
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