An exquisitely beautiful face appeared before his eyes. On that snow-white face, a brilliant smile felt like a spring breeze—a smile that felt like it could nourish the soul and was worth protecting with one's life. The person in front of him was indeed the class center, Ichinose Honami.
Shiro-chan, Koyuki, the "hero" Kanzaki, and the "normie" Shibata were also surrounding her, with a group of unknown girls behind them. As expected of Ichinose, she had this much charisma on the very first day.
"What is it?" Hikigaya asked, a bit dazed.
"I saw Hikigaya-kun dozing off in class. Are you okay?" Ichinose asked with a worried tone.
"I'm fine, just didn't sleep well last night," Hikigaya said, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
What? So they weren't here to bully me. That's a relief.
"Is it the same for Hikigaya-kun?" the normie Shibata laughed. "I was also a bit excited last night because it's my first time living alone. I didn't expect such a luxurious single room. It's great to be able to attend this school."
"Yeah," Shiro-chan said excitedly. "And the things at the Palette Cafe are especially delicious. Plus, having so much pocket money is just amazing."
No, no, no. Why are you guys just starting to chat in front of me? Acting like we're friends or something.
"Shirami-san," Kanzaki said seriously. "Suddenly having such a large sum of money can easily make one lose their way and develop bad spending habits. It's better to be a bit more frugal."
"I know," Shiro-chan—whose name turned out to be Shirami—said weakly.
"Actually, it's like this, Hikigaya-kun." Sensing his awkwardness, Ichinose considerately provided a topic: "Yesterday, you seemed to leave early for something. We discussed it with the classmates and think the points issued every month should be related to daily behavior and grades."
"To put it simply, we should act like proper students. It's best to save points as much as possible."
As expected. Ichinose was truly amazing. They had clearly already deduced the truth about the points and guessed how to obtain more.
"Exactly," Shibata smiled at Hikigaya. "So if you're really feeling tired, you can ask the teacher for permission to go to the nurse's office to rest."
What? So they came to remind me not to doze off. In that case... Hikigaya turned to look at Shiro-chan and Koyuki.
"I'm really sorry about earlier," Shiro-chan said with a red face and a slight bow. Apparently, she had dropped the eraser on purpose just to have an excuse to poke him. Since dropping an eraser is a common occurrence, it was probably meant to be a "better" way to get his attention than just poking him directly.
"No... how should I put it, thank you," Hikigaya nodded. It was good that Shiro-chan wasn't a vicious woman.
"Chihiro, there's no need to apologize!" At this time, Koyuki said nonchalantly. "This guy didn't want to pick it up at first. He specifically looked at me, wanting me to do it."
She had clearly been aware and intentionally didn't pick it up. Although it was the truth, this girl was quite something. Her name was Hime-something-Yuki... he might as well just call her "Little Hater" (Xiao Heizi).
"Koyuki," Ichinose said helplessly. "Hikigaya-kun probably just glanced at you because he suspected it was your eraser. Judging others with malice isn't a good thing."
"Exactly," Shiro-chan quickly added. "Moreover, Hikigaya-kun picked it up over ten times without getting annoyed or complaining. I think that's a very impressive thing."
"Hahaha, it's not that impressive." Hikigaya scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit awkward. If it were a normal person picking up an eraser for someone ten times in one class, they probably would have slapped them by now. Yes, yes, I am indeed the impressive person in your eyes.
"True," Himeno Yuki showed an embarrassed smile and turned. "Sorry, Hikigaya-kun, I misunderstood you on my own."
"It's fine," Hikigaya said indifferently.
Wait? What's going on? Why does 'Little Hater' seem a bit out of place with this group?
"More importantly, I have a bottle of coffee I bought this morning." At this moment, the "hero" Kanzaki in the front seat took a bottle of coffee from his drawer and held it out. "If you don't mind, take it. It should help you get through the afternoon."
For real? Why does the world suddenly feel so friendly to me? Could it be that from now on, I'm going to transition into a normie?
"Hahaha, thanks, but no thanks~"
Hikigaya gave a couple of dry laughs.
He had slept quite well last night; he just felt that liberal arts were too boring and completely unnecessary.
"Is that so?"
Kanzaki nodded, unconcerned, and said, "Then I'll hold onto it for now. If you need it, you can tell me anytime."
Hey, hey, hey.
You're being a bit too kind.
To actually go out of his way to keep it for him—could he have some sort of ulterior motive?
"No need," Hikigaya said awkwardly.
It was his first time being surrounded by so many people and having such a friendly exchange; he felt a bit out of his element.
"By the way," Shibata took over the conversation at this point, "there's a club briefing after school. Hikigaya-kun, do you want to go check it out together?"
"Hahaha, n—"
Hikigaya gave two dry laughs, but before he could finish, he heard Kanzaki say: "Yeah, you're the only one left."
"Eh?"
Hikigaya froze for a moment. What did that mean?
Besides, who wanted to attend a club briefing? He was a purebred member of the "Going-Home Club."
"That's right." Ichinose nodded with a smile. "Shibata-kun went to the football club to ask around yesterday. Generally, club briefings are held by the Student Council at 5:00 PM on the second day of school."
"So we discussed it this morning. Let's all go to the briefing together this afternoon, right everyone?"
Hey, hey, hey.
Someone actually went ahead to gather intel from various clubs in advance.
You guys are way too overachieving.
In reality, Shibata had simply gone to the football club to apply for membership.
"Yeah, Hikigaya-kun, let's go together after school!"
"Right, speaking of which, is there a club Hikigaya-kun wants to join?"
"Hikigaya-kun wasn't there for Karaoke yesterday either. Let's do it again today!"
"Good idea, I agree! I'll book a room in advance. Hikigaya-kun, do you have any dietary restrictions?"
Following Ichinose's inquiry, the classroom became a buzz of chatter. A group of people surrounded him, asking about everything.
"N—No need." Hikigaya managed to squeeze out a smile. "I have something to do this afternoon. At most, I can only attend the club briefing."
"Is that so? That's a shame," Ichinose said with some regret.
"Next time for sure!" Hikigaya said awkwardly.
It wasn't that he actually wanted to attend, but he had overheard that the briefing was hosted by the Student Council.
And the enrollment guide stated that most school affairs were managed by the Student Council.
As for Karaoke, he truly couldn't handle it.
Moreover, their behavior felt too artificial.