— Prequel —

I watched coldly as my real father, Ayanokōji Atsuomi, was exposed by government officials and taken away by a large number of police officers.

Atsuomi: "Kiyotaka, at least Kiyotaka I won’t hand over to you. That one is my White Room’s greatest masterpiece!"

'Good grief, what a pathetic human being, obsessing over nothing more than a single child. At this rate I can’t even tell who’s more pitiful, him or the White Room dropouts.'

Sakayanagi Papa 'hereafter Chairman': "Your son will study at the Advanced Nurturing High School where I serve as chairman. Ayanokōji-sensei, please atone for your crimes and, after your release, watch over how Kiyotaka-kun has grown."

'He seems like a good person, but he doesn’t understand my father. That man isn’t interested in my growth, only in my usefulness. Still, it doesn’t matter, I will never return to him. By the time he gets out, I’ll be an adult and have obtained a social standing that surpasses his.'

Chairman: "You’ve had it rough too."

Kiyotaka: "Not really."

Chairman: "I said that to him, but the right to decide lies with you. What do you want to do?"

Kiyotaka: "I have the right to choose?"

Chairman: "Of course. You’re already a free individual. You can live freely without being bound by others, though you still need to follow the rules of wherever you are."

Kiyotaka: "...Then I’ll attend that school. Without graduating from a school, gaining social status is out of the question."

Chairman: "That’s a good decision with foresight. Leave all the enrollment procedures to me. I’d like you to come take the entrance exam soon."

Kiyotaka: "Understood. Thank you for everything."

Chairman: "No need to worry about it. You’re still a child who deserves to be protected, no matter how developed your mind, thinking and abilities are."

'Unfortunately, my mind and emotions are actually far more lacking compared to others. At my new school, I want to try reclaiming the emotions I discarded as unnecessary. This is my small act of rebellion.'

* * *

— Day of the Entrance Ceremony —

And so, I rode the bus while reading a book.

???: "May I sit next to you?"

Kiyotaka: "Go ahead."

The pure and delicate beautiful girl who sat beside me took out a book from her bag and began reading.

As I was about to reopen my own book, she spoke to me.

???: "Is reading your hobby?"

Kiyotaka: "A hobby... I’ve never really thought of it that way, but I suppose reading books could be called a hobby."

???: "I’m a first-year, so you don’t need to use polite language."

Kiyotaka: "I’m a first-year too, so it’s fine. Um... who were you again?"

???: "Now that you mention it, I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Shiina Hiyori. Also, polite speech is my default, so please don’t mind it."

Kiyotaka: "I see. I’m Ayanokōji Kiyotaka. Nice to meet you."

Shiina: "Yes, I hope we end up in the same class."

Kiyotaka: "Yeah. If the first person whose name I learned ends up in the same class, it’d be reassuring."

Shiina: "And I’d like to talk about books too."

'As expected, she’s a literary girl. The book she’s holding looks like a mystery.'

Kiyotaka: "Do you like mystery novels?"

Shiina: "Yes! The one you’re holding is also a mystery, right?"

Kiyotaka: "Yeah. Mysteries are interesting because of all the foreshadowing and how they make you think."

Shiina: "Trying to solve it yourself is part of the charm of mysteries. I’m happy I made a friend who shares my reading hobby."

'Friend, huh? I still don’t really understand what a friend is, but someone you can share hobbies with probably fits that definition. I hope this girl becomes someone I can truly call a friend.'

We continued talking about mysteries, and while discussing going to the library after school, the bus arrived.

* * *

'So this is Advanced Nurturing High School, where I’ll be spending my first school life.'

Shiina: "Ayanokōji-kun, did you find something that unusual?"

Kiyotaka: "Ah, sorry. I just thought I should properly look at the prison that locks you in for three years in a full boarding system."

Shiina: "A prison? That’s an interesting expression. It’s the perfect setting for something to happen in a mystery."

Kiyotaka: "Don’t say such ominous things."

Shiina: "Wasn’t it you who called it a prison?"

Kiyotaka: "That’s true."

Shiina: "Fufu, but I understand how you feel. Come on, let’s go through the gate and check the class assignments."

Led by Shiina, I entered, but the place where the class list was posted was crowded and hard to see.

Shiina: "Oh my, I can’t see..."

Kiyotaka: "I might be able to. I’ll look for yours too."

Shiina: "Thank you."

I checked from Class A down through the list, and when I reached Class C, I found both our names.

Kiyotaka: "We’re both in Class C. Let’s get along for the year."

Shiina: "I’m relieved. I’m not very good at socializing, so I was worried about making friends."

Kiyotaka: "I don’t think that’s true. You’re beautiful, gentle and easy to talk to. Appearance isn’t everything, but it undeniably affects first impressions."

Though I meant to reassure her, Shiina’s face turned red.

Shiina: "...How can you say that so calmly?"

Kiyotaka: "Did I say something strange?"

Shiina: "...It’s unfair that you can say things like that so naturally."

Kiyotaka: "If you think about it as the mystery of life, then everyone is naturally born that way."

'Well, there’s nothing mysterious about my parents though.'

Shiina: "Sigh... Ayanokōji-kun seems good at socializing..."

Kiyotaka: "Not really. You’re my first friend. I’m not used to interacting with people."

Shiina: "There you go again... This is the first time I’ve received words that make me both happy and unsure how to respond at the same time... But you’re good-looking and have a calm atmosphere, so I think you’ll make more friends."

Kiyotaka: "I’m good-looking?"

Shiina: "Y-Yes. I think you’re quite well put together..."

'I never thought about appearance there since no one was judged by it. But I do have a sense of aesthetics, so I could tell Shiina is attractive.'

Kiyotaka: "I see. Well, I don’t think I need that many friends."

Shiina: "That’s not surprising, but why?"

Kiyotaka: "Even if you had 100 friends, the time you can spend with each would decrease, right? So I think it’s better to build solid relationships with a smaller number."

Shiina: "Am I included in that?"

Kiyotaka: "You’re my first friend, so you’re special."

Shiina: "I-I see... I’ll cherish my first friend too."

Kiyotaka: "Yeah. Not just this year, but let’s stay friends next year and beyond."

'I don’t know the usual ratio of honesty to façade, but my desire to get along with Shiina is 100% genuine. Regardless of the reason.'

* * *

After the entrance ceremony, we entered the classroom together and checked our seats, only to find we were seated next to each other.

Kiyotaka: "A fortunate coincidence."

Shiina: "Maybe it’s fate?"

Kiyotaka: "So not coincidence, but inevitability."

Shiina: "Yes. This way we can always talk about books."

Kiyotaka: "You should probably refrain during class."

Shiina: "You don’t get it. It’s because we can talk right after it ends."

Kiyotaka: "I see."

'If we’re in the same class, it doesn’t make much difference, but maybe I just don’t understand.'

After a while, a man who seemed to be our homeroom teacher entered and began orientation.

Many students were surprised and excited by the large sum of 100,000.

Among them, a few remained calm.

Me, Shiina, a man with long red hair and a man with a bowl cut wearing glasses.

'I don’t know that guy’s name. If there’s a self-introduction, it might be worth remembering. He’s different from the others.'

After that, the four of us listened without asking questions.

'Something about the explanation felt off, but asking questions would only cause trouble later. There’s no reason to stand out without a purpose.'

After participating in a brief self-introduction, I headed to the library with Shiina while talking.

Shiina: "What did you think when you heard about the 100,000?"

Kiyotaka: "Nothing in particular. If anything, I just thought I could buy a lot of books."

Shiina: "That’s nice, but didn’t you feel something was off?"

Kiyotaka: "Why do you think that?"

Shiina: "Because there was a narrative trick. I thought you noticed too."

Kiyotaka: "Why did you think I noticed?"

'She’s sharp. I want to hear more.'

Shiina: "Among those who stayed calm, there were three besides me. The red-haired one, the bowl-cut one and you."

Kiyotaka: "The red-haired one is Ryūen, the bowl cut is Kaneda."

Shiina: "Their faces weren’t very memorable. I’m not good at remembering faces."

Kiyotaka: "If those are unmemorable, I’d be invisible."

Shiina: "Important friends have color, so even if you became transparent, I’d recognize you."

Kiyotaka: "I see. Back to the 100,000."

Shiina: "Yes. Since you were observing reactions, I thought you noticed."

Kiyotaka: "I heard girls are sensitive to gazes. Seems true. I thought it might decrease next month, but pointing it out would be troublesome."

Shiina: "As expected... I’ll pretend I didn’t notice too."

Kiyotaka: "We should save to some extent. It’s best to only get necessities for now."

Shiina: "Agreed. I’ll hold back and use library books."

* * *

We arrived at the library, boasting an enormous collection.

Shiina: "This should last us quite a while."

Kiyotaka: "Yeah, I don’t even know if we can finish reading everything before graduating."

Shiina: "Shall we share impressions and recommendations of what we read? It’d be more efficient."

Kiyotaka: "Agreed. I want to read your recommendations too."

Shiina: "Then let’s borrow something right away."

Kiyotaka: "Yeah. Hopefully we pick good ones."

We each borrowed five books.

As we were leaving, I realized I hadn’t asked for her contact information and wondered whether I should.

Shiina: "What’s with that serious face?"

Kiyotaka: "Just thinking."

Shiina: "Can I ask?"

Kiyotaka: "I was wondering how we’d do the discussion."

Shiina: "We can do it in class or the library, or talk on the phone... Ah, we didn’t exchange contacts."

Kiyotaka: "Can I have yours?"

Shiina: "Fufu, what a strange thing to ask. Of course friends exchange contacts."

Kiyotaka: "That’s true."

'Getting a girl’s contact on the first day... You never know what’ll happen until it starts.'

Feeling a faint sense of satisfaction I didn’t even realize, I walked home while talking about books I’d read.

* * *

Afterword.

Ayanokōji’s Data.

• Entrance exam: 80 points in all subjects 'Adjusted based on the idea that scoring around 80% is enough to pass most schools rather than the original 50 points' 'Since he aims for social status, he avoids mediocre results'.

• Interview: Slightly higher evaluation than the original 'Because he possesses a vague sense of future prospects'.

• Placement reason: While his abilities correspond to Class B, he was placed one level lower in Class C due to separate considerations.

Reasons Ayanokōji wants to get along with Shiina.

• As stated in the original 'by early-stage Ayanokōji', he prefers gentle and kind girls. Shiina scores 100 points in that regard 'even if it’s just a first impression'.

• Early-stage Ayanokōji wouldn’t discard the first person he befriends unless they leave like the trio of fools.

• As seen with Kushida, he tends to comply with requests from beautiful girls.

• Also as a sample, he wants to observe whether interacting with different types of people will move his emotions.