When Ren opened his eyes, he saw that Mochi had already betrayed him.
The cat was lying quietly on Shiina's lap, which was covered by white stockings. She was licking the cat stick the girl fed her and enjoying the petting.
"You're awake?" Shiina felt Ren looking at her and started to pick Mochi up to return her to Ren.
"No need, you can keep holding her."
Ren refused her offer. It was rare for his clingy cat to want to be with someone else, and he enjoyed the peace.
"Okay." With the owner's permission, Shiina was thrilled. She gently stroked Mochi's soft fur.
She asked Ren, "Katsuragi-kun, can I ask you why the page you're reading is different every time?"
Shiina didn't understand his reading habit. For her, the greatest joy of a mystery novel was the step-by-step process of figuring out the answer.
She had finally met someone else who liked mystery novels and couldn't hold back her curiosity.
"That? It's because I use my own method to solve the mystery. I don't need to read the author's process," Ren said.
"For me, reading a mystery novel only requires reading the setup of the case. I use the details I find to figure out the answer, and then I check the back to see the right answer."
"If the book's answer is different from mine, I will then try to figure out if I missed any details in the case, or if the author's answer is even correct."
After Ren shared his thoughts, he saw Shiina looking at him with a look of pure awe.
Is this normal??? No, this is not normal!
For Shiina, Ren's reading style was completely new. It could almost be called disrespecting the author.
To read an author's mystery book, think the answer is wrong, and then try to figure out if the author's answer is right...
So cool...
Born into a scholarly family, she had never met anyone who broke the rules like this.
Ren, who ignored the traditional ways and had absolute faith in his own mind, shone brightly in her eyes.
"Katsuragi-kun, can we be friends? I'm Hiyori Shiina, from First Year Class C."
Shiina didn't want this "treasure" to get away. She forgot about being polite and asked him to be her friend.
"Shiina-san, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Katsuragi Ren, from First Year Class B."
After they introduced themselves, Ren continued reading, and Shiina held Mochi and continued petting her.
First Year, Class C.
Kakeru Ryūen, covered in bruises, finally managed to get Albert Yamada to fear his intense will. He conquered the fear by sticking around and refusing to give up.
Yamada was now loyal to him. Ryūen looked at Yamada's huge, strong body and laughed loudly. His position as "Tyrant" was now close.
When Ryūen first came to Class C, he found pure chaos. The class wasn't much better than Class D. The students' poor qualities meant no one respected anyone else.
Ryūen, who was ambitious and loved violence, stepped up. He used the most basic form of power—violence—to bring the class together.
He started with Daichi Ishizaki, the most defiant student, and went through the class one by one, like beating the mini-boss in a video game.
Today, he had defeated the final boss, Albert Yamada.
The moment Yamada submitted, the final leader of Class C appeared. Kakeru Ryūen, the "Tyrant," took the throne of Class C.
"Let's go, Yamada. Trust me, I will take Class C to Class A." This was the main reason Yamada submitted.
It wasn't just fear of his unbreakable will, but his drive to drag Class C to Class A, no matter the cost.
Ryūen looked at Yamada, who had no major injuries, and had to admit that his body was really tough.
If Honami Ichinose were here, she would have realized that Ryūen was the embodiment of what Ren had called...
The dark side of might: Violence.
First Year, Class D.
Kikyou Kushida found Kōenji Rokusuke immediately after he returned to the classroom. She approached him with the same fake smile.
"Kōenji-kun, can I be your friend?"
Kushida figured that since Ren had agreed to be her friend, Kōenji, who was working with Ren, wouldn't refuse her and disrespect Ren.
She was wrong.
"No, I cannot, Virgin girl." Kōenji could easily see through Kushida's motives. He thought her actions were... simply not beautiful!
He had no interest in her from the first time they met on the bus. He had no interest in making friends with her now.
He was not the Katsuragi Dragon, who would smile and make friends with anyone he found interesting. He wouldn't lower himself. He was Kōenji Rokusuke.
He didn't need to struggle for friends; plenty of people wanted to get close to him.
"Well, I'm sorry to have asked." Kushida knew making friends with him was impossible. She quickly covered her face and left the classroom.
Under her hands, a look of malice flashed in her eyes.
"Kōenji-kun is such a show-off..."
"Yeah, he's weird."
"He doesn't fit in at all."
Kushida was the class angel, so many students paid attention to her. When they saw her leave, the ignorant background students started comforting each other and speaking against Kōenji.
But was it really because Kōenji refused to be friends with Kushida? No.
Kōenji's beautiful looks, his muscular body hidden under his uniform, and the calmness that made everything look easy to him were annoying to the average student.
When a normal person finds a reason to put down someone who is clearly better than him, the satisfaction they get is addictive.
The "superior person" is a loner with no friends, while the "normal person" has a group of friends who agree with them. This makes the "normal person" look for ways to put down the "superior person" to raise themselves up.
It was late. Ren had finished the entire book. He got ready to take Mochi from Shiina's arms.
Shiina gave Mochi back reluctantly. She looked at Ren with hope. "Katsuragi-kun, are you coming back tomorrow?"
"..."
Did this woman just fall in love with my cat?
"Yes," Ren sighed.
"Okay!"
--------------------
Unlock 400+ chapters across 7+ different novels on Patreon!
This novel alone already has over 100 chapters available, so if you want to support the project and enjoy even more exclusive content, I'll be waiting for you on Patreon!
We're also entering the final chapters of the Bleach project, so now is the perfect time to catch up and enjoy the climax 👀
And of course — many more projects are already in progress!
There's always something new to read.
If you ever spot a mistake or inconsistency, feel free to drop a comment — your feedback helps me improve the story and polish every chapter!
📌 Also, if you write a review or show support for the novel, it helps me a lot — and I'll keep uploading more chapters for those who do. Your support in any form truly motivates me to continue!