I managed to finish my self-introduction just before the meet-up.
Amane cheerfully dashed to the dorm building to pick up her key.
Room 1202.
Not a bad floor at all.
At least the sunlight should be plenty.
It was only when she collected her key downstairs that Amane found out—this building was co-ed.
Boys lived on the lower floors, while girls stayed in the upper ones.
The dorm rules specifically stated that boys were strictly forbidden from entering the girls' floors, and any relationships beyond friendship were prohibited.
Get caught, and you'd be expelled~
But honestly, it all felt like just a formality.
Boys and girls living in the same building—how could they not end up visiting each other's rooms?
Right, Horikita-san?
Huh? Horikita-san???
Amane stared in surprise at Horikita Suzune, who was just heading out.
"What a coincidence."
"Indeed. I'm right next door to you, Horikita-san. I look forward to getting along."
Amane warmly held out her hand.
"Mm, as long as you don't disturb me. I prefer quiet," Horikita replied coolly before turning to leave.
It was a bit of a shame she couldn't befriend Horikita.
Amane unlocked her door.
A simple, modestly decorated little room greeted her.
Mostly white, with all the basic amenities included.
Including the kitchen and bathroom, the whole space was around 13 square meters.
Plenty for one person.
Looking at the empty kitchen, Amane decided she'd pick up some cookware and kitchen supplies later.
After a quick look around, she was fairly satisfied with the little room.
She checked her phone.
Less than fifteen minutes until the entrance ceremony.
Seems she'd better hurry.
Compared to other schools, this school's entrance ceremony wasn't all that different.
After the student representative gave a speech, seniors offered their blessings, then a respected upperclassman shared some encouraging words for the newcomers.
And that was it.
Just as Amane was thinking of heading to the mall, Kushida came over.
"Miyako-san, a few of us are going to check out the mall. Want to join?"
Kushida-san!
Finally, someone had invited her.
"Of course!"
Amane replied with a smile.
"Great! This'll be a good chance for us to get to know each other."
The girls with Kushida were Inogashira Kokoro, Wang Mei-yu, and Ichihashi Ruri.
All of them seemed gentle and kind.
Looks like this group might be a good fit.
After swapping contact info, they all headed toward the mall together.
Not far away, another small group watched them leave, expressions slightly displeased.
"Karuizawa-san, why didn't you go invite Miyako-san?"
Karuizawa had actually planned to ask Amane, but she hesitated for a moment—and Kushida beat her to it.
"I just thought she might not fit in with us. Ah well, it's fine without her. Shall we go to the clothing store?"
"Yay! I've been wanting to buy some new outfits," said Sato Maya energetically.
"Yeah, let's go!"
Compared to Kushida's small party, Karuizawa's group seemed like a whole procession.
They even drew quite a few looks as they walked. Whether by coincidence or design, Amane's group didn't run into Karuizawa's at all.
Kushida first took everyone to a bakery, where they picked up some pastries and bread to tide them over.
None of them had eaten since morning, and it was still a while until mealtime.
If they waited for a proper meal, they'd be starving for ages. But Kushida thoughtfully made sure they had something to snack on.
While everyone else picked out pretty-looking breads, they noticed Amane holding what looked like a crepe.
Wait—more accurately, it was bread with ice cream inside.
The pale, slightly yellowish cream looked incredibly tempting.
"Miyako-san, where did you buy that… crepe?" Wang Mei-yu asked uncertainly.
"This isn't a crepe. It's two slices of cheese bread with a cone shell set inside, then filled with ice cream from the self-serve machine over there."
Amane said it like it was the most natural thing in the world, leaving the others stunned.
You could actually do that?
Even the shop assistant looked surprised.
The shop owner was a beautiful, red-haired woman.
She smelled nice.
…Ahem, scratch that last part.
Following Amane's example, she wedged two cheese slices on either side inside a cone sleeve, added a scoop of ice cream, then folded a wrapper into a microphone shape to hold it all together.
She gave it a little shake—the cheese slices, blocked by the wrapper, didn't fall out.
She took a bite.
The warm, savory scent of the cheese blended with the cool, sweet cream in her mouth, creating a unique flavor.
A little on the sweet side, but definitely tastier than a crepe.
If they could offer more ice cream flavors, this would totally sell!
"Hello, I'm Fujiwara Mayumi, the manager of this shop."
Fujiwara offered a handshake.
Though unsure why the manager was initiating conversation, Amane reluctantly took one more lick of her ice cream before shaking her hand.
"I'm Miyako Amane."
"You're first-years, right?"
Fujiwara seemed to have guessed they were new students right away.
How, though?
Amane glanced around.
Seemed like…almost everyone here was a first-year.
Where were the older students? It's not like upperclassmen were some rare species, were they?
If that were the case, Amane would've climbed the walls and made a run for it by now!
"I'm Miyako Amane, Class 1-D."
"Class 1-D, huh."
Fujiwara seemed to ponder for a moment, then snapped her fingers.
"Would you mind if our shop adopted that combination you just came up with?"
So that was Fujiwara's idea. Didn't seem like a loss for Amane, though. To her, the combo was pretty straightforward anyway.
"Sure, go ahead."
"Thank you so much! I've been trying to find a replacement for crepes, and it looks like a clever mix-and-match is all we needed."
Fujiwara looked genuinely delighted.
"If I may ask, why can't you just sell crepes directly?" Amane wondered.
Crepes weren't exactly rare.
You could find them on almost every street.
The school shouldn't have any reason to ban them.
"Because the best crepes require a bit of fruit liqueur in the batter, and here, we can't sell anything with alcohol to minors."
To Kushida and the others, Fujiwara's words sounded perfectly ordinary.
But Amane's expression shifted slightly.
If she couldn't buy anything with alcohol in it…did that mean some… essential items would be off-limits too?
--+--
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.