The only thing I trust in this world is low expectations.
Hope is really dangerous, and dreams are very expensive.
Popularity needs a lot of lies and acting.
So I prefer to be the NPC who quietly sits near the window in every anime, where sunlight hits just enough to look poetic but not to cause skin damage.
My name is Ren Mizuhara. Profession: NPC Character and Skill: Introvert.
Shinsei High had everything a normal teenager could ask for: clubs, festivals, and attractive people pretending to be kind-hearted.
I really don't want any of this.
I have three goals during my high school life.
Goal number one: graduate quietly.
Number two: avoid any kind of drama that would ruin my reputation as an NPC.
And the last one, number three: minimal emotional injury.
That's it. That was the plan.
But then she appeared.
Technically, she had always been there.
Airi Kurotsuchi.
Long black hair, white pale skin. Blue-cold eyes that looked like they were analyzing every flaw of humanity.
She's the top student of our school.
Believe it or not, we're in the same class.
She rarely spoke and rarely smiled.
She doesn't have any friends. Not because she couldn't. Because she didn't try.
And as a veteran loner, I personally respect that.
Obviously, I avoided her.
I mean, two loners standing next to each other draw suspicious attention.
But the incident happened on Tuesday.
I went to the rooftop during lunch. I always do.
Not because I'm trying to look like some classic anime loner character that always looks grumpy every time you look.
But because the cafeteria smells like fried oil and is a welcoming place only for extroverts.
I opened the door expecting solitude.
But I found the body lying there instead.
The body was none other than...
Airi Kurotsuchi.
She was lying on the concrete, her beautiful hair spread across the floor. One arm was under her head, and her legs were squeezed together to avoid anyone seeing her panties.
My first thought was not, "How beautiful she is," but rather, "If someone sees me here, I'm definitely going to jail."
She looked peaceful, sunlight touching her face lightly.
Immediately, I thought, "Retreat from this red zone."
Then she opened her eyes.
Her eyes looked calm as if she was observing me.
"You are blocking the sun," she said.
I looked awkwardly. "Sorry."
That was our first conversation. The end.
That's how it should have ended, but...
She adjusted her uniform and said, "You can sit. I don't mind."
That sentence held a mystery in itself.
People usually mind. People should mind.
I sat down three meters away, a safe social distance measured by introverts who fear accidental intimacy.
We were in silence.
Normally, silence is understood as uncomfortable, but with her, it felt... like something structured. Like words we both wanted to share, with just silence.
And the words of the world were just optional to us.
Then she did something strange.
She lifted her finger to her lips.
For a second, I thought she was just checking her lips.
But instead, she took a small amount of saliva on her fingertips.
She was staring at her saliva with all seriousness, like a science student who found a new element.
I just pretended not to look.
But she turned toward me.
"You're sweating?" she said.
"Excuse me!"
She just leaned closer. Not too close, but just enough to enter my personal boundary.
She sniffed.
"You smell different."
I froze at that word.
"I do not have a smell."
"No, everyone does."
That is scientifically correct, but unfortunately, it was also disturbing coming from the girl.
If the genders were reversed, they would cancel me for my entire life.
When I thought everything would be fine if I made an excuse and tried to get out of this situation...
She dropped another bomb.
She extended her finger toward me and said,
"Wanna try?"
My brain just shut down for a moment.
"Try what?"
She tilted her head in a very alluring way.
"Taste."
There are moments in your life when you question yourself—
Is this wrong? Should I do it, or is this wrong; I should do it?
This is one of those moments.
And listen, if you encounter something like this in your life, just do it...
Just fucking do it.
"You want me to lick your finger."
"Yes. Lick the one that has my saliva."
There is no embarrassment on her face.
No hesitation at all.
I should have left. A normal, reasonable person would have left, but unfortunately, men cannot be reasonable when they're cornered by curiosity and attractive women.
"I refuse," I said with the last shred of my dignity.
"You're curious, aren't you?"
"I am not."
"I'm sure you are."
Then there was a pause.
She waited for me to answer.
That is a woman's greatest weapon: her patience.
Against every logical judgment, I leaned forward. I stuck out my tongue and touched her fingertip.
It was quick. Minimal contact.
But my heart was about to burst out of my chest.
She watched me carefully.
"... You relaxed."
"What kind of thing to say?"
"You should have dropped your shoulders; your breathing is normal. No feeling of dizziness."
I immediately straightened myself.
She smirked a little.
"You're compatible," she said.
"With what? Your charger?"
"With me."
There it was.
A statement that looked so absurd, but I looked back into seriousness.
I stared at her.
"The thing I did—sorry, I was wrong. But that's not how compatibility checks work."
She stood up and adjusted a hair back behind her ear.
"It does for me."
The wind blew gently, brushing her hair.
Was I scared?
No.
Was I confused?
Yes. Slightly concerned about my mental health.
Then she lay back down again.
"Come tomorrow, same time."
That sounded more like a command.
"Why?"
A small pause between us.
"... You will find out soon."
The bell rang.
I stared at the sky and thought.
This is how disasters begin.
Just a strange girl on a rooftop asking me to lick a finger filled with her saliva.
I sighed.
I wanted a peaceful high school life.
But instead, I fell into what felt like a dating simulation route I never installed.
And the worst part?
I was going back again tomorrow.