Chapter 003 High-Quality Women
He didn't know if it was fate, or perhaps a bad karma.
Hikigaya Hachiman's seatmate was precisely the cold black-haired girl from the bus.
She was currently reading a book with a black cover very seriously.
Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment...
Are you a literary girl?
Although Hikigaya Hachiman had also read books of this type, his original intention was to show off.
The girl in front of him, however, was likely just genuinely fond of books.
Not wanting to disturb her reading, Hikigaya Hachiman quietly pulled out his chair and sat down.
As for the words, "I hope we won't have any connection in the future," which she had spoken ten minutes ago.
A playboy might have teased, "It seems it's going to be hard for us not to be connected." Unfortunately, Hikigaya Hachiman did not possess that kind of charm.
So, everyone just pretended nothing happened... Huh!
Out of the corner of his eye, Hikigaya Hachiman noticed that the cold black-haired girl's fingers holding the book were slightly clenched, and her seemingly steadfast gaze had lingered on the same page for too long.
Don't be unnecessarily embarrassed!
Hikigaya Hachiman thoughtfully shifted his gaze...
He found that diagonally across from him sat the "pseudo-human" stone-faced boy.
"Hello, student..."
The stone-faced boy happened to look over.
"Aha~ What a coincidence!"
Hikigaya Hachiman abruptly turned his head and greeted the cold black-haired girl next to him.
"That sentence should have been said the moment we first saw each other."
The cold black-haired girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and sighed helplessly: "Pain and suffering are always reserved for great souls."
"That may not be true. After all, despicable things like humans will get used to anything." Hikigaya Hachiman retorted instinctively.
"???"
The cold black-haired girl's eyes paused, and her lips slightly parted, revealing an extremely surprised expression.
The look in her eyes was as astonished as if she had seen a stray dog singing, dancing, and rapping!
"Hey! Don't treat people like animals!"
Hikigaya Hachiman felt a burst of anger.
"That's not what I meant..."
The cold black-haired girl first looked stunned, then explained seriously: "I originally thought you were the type of gloomy boy who was ignorant and uneducated."
Upon hearing this, Hikigaya Hachiman's mouth twitched violently: "Thank you for treating me as a person!"
"My apologies..."
The black-haired girl's embarrassment flashed and was gone. She composed herself: "Horikita Suzune.
Although I have no intention of communicating with you, as seatmates, we should at least maintain basic etiquette."
I see.
It was like his female seatmate in middle school, who would occasionally nod to him when they arrived at or left school.
Other than that, there was no unnecessary communication between them.
"Hikigaya Hachiman."
After exchanging names, the two returned to silence.
Horikita Suzune continued reading.
Hikigaya Hachiman slowly tidied up his school bag, passing the time.
Is this what normal human interaction is like? It feels a bit difficult...
The stone-faced boy saw there was no chance to interject, so he gave up.
"May I interrupt everyone?"
A handsome boy with light green hair walked to the podium.
"My name is Hirata Yosuke. Now I'd like everyone to introduce themselves. I hope we can quickly get to know each other and become friends.
How about we do this before the teacher arrives?"
Preliminary assessment: Hirata Yosuke is a normie.
"I agree!"
The busty short-haired girl raised her hand in support.
"This sounds pretty interesting."
Support from the gyaru group.
"Thank you all for your support."
Hey, hey, who are you referring to when you say "all"?
Hikigaya Hachiman was speechless internally.
"Then I'll start first.
My name is Hirata Yosuke, and everyone can just call me Yosuke.
My hobby is sports, and I plan to join the school's soccer club.
Please take care of me."
A sunny, handsome, and impeccable self-introduction.
This couldn't help but remind Hikigaya Hachiman of his middle school's popular figure—Hayama Hayato.
The same handsome guy, bright and cheerful personality, and he likes soccer... Hey the character settings overlap, hey World Online's Dev are you getting lazy again!
"I'll go next.
My name is Kushida Kikyo, and my goal is to become friends with everyone here.
I want to make lots of great memories, so please come hang out with me often~~"
Beautiful, curvy, and gentle personality. She instantly won the favor of most of the boys and girls.
Hikigaya Hachiman felt like she was putting on an act.
But, as they say, life is like a play. Who can truly be consistent in appearance and reality?
"Next up is me, my name is Kanji Ike.
I like cute girls and hate handsome guys.
Most importantly—
I'm always looking for a girlfriend, please be nice to me."
No, buddy?
You don't actually think you're funny, do you?
"I'm Yamauchi Haruki. I made it to the nationals in ping pong when I was in elementary school.
In middle school, I was the baseball team's ace, number 4.
I got injured during the league and am currently rehabilitating..."
This one is a real heavyweight!
If you use Zaimokuza as a unit of measurement, this guy is at least 2.5 times more disgusting!!
"Horikita Suzune." Extremely minimalist, providing no personal information other than her name.
But simply because she was good-looking, quite a few people were willing to applaud her.
What a terrible world that judges based on looks!
Self-introductions continued... Out of the forty people in the class, the boys generally looked ordinary, except for Hirata Yosuke and the blonde young master (Koenji Rokusuke). The other boys were quite rough around the edges.
In contrast, the girls' appearance was surprisingly high.
It was as if Hikigaya Hachiman's expectation for "high-quality women" had been fulfilled.
Putting aside everything else, based on looks alone, the following few could be considered class-beauty level:
Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo, Karuizawa Kei, Matsushita Chiaki, Wang Mei-yu, Sato Maya, Hasebe Haruka... Sakura Airi.
Why add Sakura Airi?
Wearing thick glasses, with fluffy, plain pigtails, and always looking down, she seemed like a very unremarkable girl at first glance.
But Hikigaya Hachiman's first instinct told him that she was a hidden beautiful girl, comparable to his "wife."
Pfft!
Why did he suddenly think of the dream again?
Delete! Delete the memory for me!!
Hikigaya Hachiman covered his face, his feet gripping the floor in shame.
He didn't notice that Sakura Airi secretly glanced at him, a trace of strange curiosity appearing on her timid face.
She had disguised herself... Why did this boy still notice her?
The outgoing students had already introduced themselves.
The rest were the "non-conforming" individuals.
"Next up, the one over there."
Hirata Yosuke suddenly pointed to a target.
"Me?"
Although he sounded surprised, he remained stone-faced.
"Um, well, you see...
My name is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
Please be nice to me...
I'm not particularly good at anything...
I'll try my best to get along with everyone..."
A stuttering, completely unexciting self-introduction.
Silence.
Silence.
"Clap clap~ clap~"
Hirata Yosuke led the applause, smiling kindly: "Nice to meet you, Ayanokouji-kun."
Is this guy deliberately taking care of the marginalized students?
This "good-guy density" is even higher than Hayama's!
Wait, hold on...
Don't look over here!
Hikigaya Hachiman's face was full of gloom, but he couldn't block Hirata Yosuke's sunny concern.