Seeing quite a few people raise their hands, the boy seemed quite pleased too. So he volunteered to get things started.
After introducing himself, he said his name was Yosuke Hirata. His specialty sport was soccer. Handsome looks, a gentle way of speaking, plus excelling at a sport like soccer—which was many girls' top choice for a boyfriend—meant Hirata was undoubtedly the center of attention among the girls in the class.
It looked like he was going to become an indispensable... tool for the class in the future.
But now that I think about it, most of these girls probably didn't actually understand soccer.
Especially those players who could make someone with face blindness despair—there was no way the girls could tell them apart.
So why were they so into guys who played soccer? Weird, really.
Amane got ready, waiting for the first self-introduction to kick off. Then she'd quickly work her way into various little social circles. She'd had enough of feeling completely alone.
But just as the class atmosphere settled a bit and she was about to raise her hand, Hirata actually started calling on people from the far right, going in seating order.
You've got to be kidding me! Her seat was the second to last on the far left. By the time it was her turn, wouldn't everyone already be too zoned out to listen?
Amane glanced back at Ayanokouji. Well, at least there was someone even unluckier than her.
The self-introductions dragged on. Amane kept smiling the whole time, giving everyone enthusiastic applause. She was trying her best to become part of Class D's cheer squad.
"It seems Miyako-san is rather eager to join the group, isn't she?" Amane thought she heard Horikita-san's muttered remark.
Ouch. If possible, could you please not call her out like that? She'd never really had any friends growing up, you know.
Well, there was one. But that person didn't like crowds, so Amane had always been pretty much on her own.
"Don't say that. Isn't it normal for a girl to want to fit in? You're the odd one out here, Horikita." Did Ayanokouji-kun just stick up for her? How touching. Go, Ayanokouji-kun!
"Tell me, Ayanokouji, have you made any friends?" Ayanokouji instantly clammed up.
Seemed like Horikita-san's combat power was unexpectedly strong.
Horikita Suzune noticed Amane's ears twitching slightly and realized she was eavesdropping on her conversation with Ayanokouji. So, she cut their chat short in a straightforward way.
After all, talking about someone behind their back was pretty rude.
The self-introductions progressed fairly smoothly. There were shy girls like Inogashira-san, and upbeat, cheerful girls like Kushida-san. Kushida even said she wanted to be friends with everyone. Surely… she wouldn't leave Amane out, right?
Then there was Yamauchi, the first guy besides Hirata to stand up and introduce himself. How to put it? He gave off a pretty unreliable vibe. But Amane still applauded him.
Life was dull enough—someone had to provide a little entertainment, right?
Looking at Hirata's beaming face, it seemed everything was going smoothly… until it wasn't. When it was the red-haired boy's turn— buddy, you're kinda huge—ahem, when it was the red-haired guy's turn, Hirata still hit a snag.
The red-haired boy slammed his fist on the desk, startling Hirata and everyone else.
"You think we're little kids? We don't need any self-introductions! Anyone who wants to do it can go ahead, but leave me out of it!"
The red-haired guy stood up, looking down on Hirata from his height. He even deliberately leaned in close, invading Hirata's space.
Hirata took a slight step back to create some distance.
"I can't force you. I just want everyone in class to get along better. It's not a bad thing. If I made you uncomfortable, I apologize."
With that, Hirata actually bowed his head in apology. The anger on the red-haired guy's face visibly faded. Hirata had some skills, after all.
"It's just self-introductions, what's the big deal?"
"Yeah, exactly!"
…Was this Hirata's charm? Instantly winning over a bunch of girls to become his fans, making them willing to speak up for him.
The redhead could've just said a few perfunctory words and been done with it. But seeing how popular Hirata was with the girls, the flames of jealousy ignited.
The red-haired guy's anger flared up again. "Shut up! I didn't come here to play social games!"
Hmm, probably just a face-saving line. But being mocked by the girls really left the guy with no way out.
Finally, the red-haired boy stood up and left the classroom.
Instantly, several other boys followed him out. Surprisingly, even one of the girls seemed about to leave! That person looked familiar… Wasn't that Horikita-san?
Horikita glanced at me and Ayanokouji behind me. Seeing that the two of us—pathetic creatures desperate to blend into the class social circle—had no intention of getting up and leaving, she sighed. Then she left alone.
Why did it feel like there was a hint of pity in her gaze? Must be her imagination.
Thanks to the red-haired boy's departure, the number of people decreased significantly, and the self-introductions sped up.
When a boy named Ike said he liked pretty girls, Amane found herself nodding silently in agreement. Yep. She liked them too. Heh.
Then there was the troublemaker from the Koenji family. Speaking of which, hadn't the Koenji family been caught up in some scandals lately?
Were they sending their only son here to toughen him up… or to lay low?
Before long, it was almost Amane's turn. She was getting pretty excited. The Ayanokouji behind her also stood up and gave his self-introduction. He said his name, and then… well, there didn't seem to be anything else notable about it.
"Alright, next…" The moment Hirata's voice rang out, it sounded like music to her ears. Amane couldn't help but spring to her feet.
"Hello everyone, my name is Miyako Amane. I'm very happy to become classmates with all of you. I have many hobbies we can chat about later. As for something I'm good at… I'd say cooking, especially pastries and other baked goods. I'm particularly skilled in those. If conditions allow, I'd be happy to share some homemade sweets with you all~"
Amane did her absolute best, using every etiquette technique she'd ever learned.
Including the precise angle of her smile when curving her lips.
Even adjusting her facial expressions and maintaining eye contact.
Amane felt she had performed to the absolute best of her ability. Combined with her enticing introduction… yep. This should work!
Sure enough, after Amane finished her introduction, exclamations came from the girls' side.
"Miyako-san, you can make your own sweets?"
"Yes, I know a little about baking. Whether it's mousse cake or pizza, I can make them as long as the conditions allow."
Amane showed her warmest smile.
"Miyako-san, that's amazing! My cooking is downright disastrous."
"Me too. The only thing I can probably make is fried tempura?"
Kushida's little joke got everyone laughing. Perfect teamwork!
Although it was nearly the end, thanks to the coordination between Amane and Kushida, the class atmosphere successfully returned to normal.
Phew. Was her real school life finally about to begin?
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.