Chapter 007 Opening Ceremony: The Truth About Class Placement
Looking at the first contact displayed in his contact list: Masumi Kamuro.
Hikigaya Hachiman's heart wavered for 0.5 seconds, then immediately returned to calm.
Adding contact information isn't necessarily becoming friends.
His sealed phone still held the live details of a certain girl.
At first, he greeted her for several days in a row, receiving friendly replies like "Mhm," "Oh," "Haha," and "Going to take a bath now."
Later, she just read his messages without replying.
Hikigaya would not make the same mistake.
As long as he held no expectations, there would be no disappointment.
"Truly, one shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
To actually hit on two girls from other classes simultaneously."
A cold voice came from behind. Suzune Horikita walked past him, carrying a shopping basket.
"Can I say this was just a misunderstanding?"
Looking at the strange glances cast by many people around them, Hikigaya Hachiman's explanation sounded weak.
"I think you're very cute..."
Suzune Horikita imitated Hikigaya's tone, even capturing the sense of embarrassment in his voice perfectly.
Yamero! (Stop it!)
Hikigaya's dark history +1.
Fortunately, he had a thick skin and could still endure it.
He'd wait until he returned to his dorm and locked the door before collapsing and rolling around...
"You can only rank third…"
"Ugh!"
Suzune Horikita's voice suddenly stopped, her cheeks slightly flushed.
'Wait, sis?'
You said the words yourself, and you're getting shy about it?
"Pervert!
To make me say such embarrassing words!"
Suzune Horikita glared at him irritably.
Fine, fine, it's all my fault, OK?
Hikigaya Hachiman couldn't be bothered to argue with her.
He just wanted to hurry back to the dorm and release his embarrassment.
What was frustrating was that the student dormitories at this school were mixed-gender.
The two walked together for a while longer...
'Oh no, the embarrassment level is about to break the limit!'
Hikigaya sped up, leaving Suzune Horikita behind.
He retrieved his room number and key from the dorm manager.
The dormitory had twelve floors. Boys' rooms were concentrated on the lower floors, and girls' rooms on the upper floors. Everyone had their own apartment-style room, a level of comfort better than some international school student residences.
It's worth mentioning that the dormitory's code of conduct explicitly stipulated, "Engaging in romantic relationships inappropriate for high school students is prohibited."
It also specifically noted that boys were not allowed on the upper floors after 10 PM, but the regulation didn't state that girls couldn't come down...
It was almost like a deliberately left-open bug.
However, Hikigaya believed that an ambiguous event like a girl visiting his dorm at night would absolutely never happen to him.
Room number 404. What an inauspicious number... (4 is considered unlucky because it is sometimes pronounced shi, which is the word for death)
But having a single room meant not worrying about getting along with roommates, which was definitely a plus.
Hikigaya opened the door with the key. The first thing he did upon entering:
"I think you're very cute… Aaaahhhh!!!"
Hikigaya fell to the ground, rolling and letting out a Tom-like howl.
"You can only rank third… Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!"
The intense shame caused him to straighten up and beat the floor with his hands.
"Ah~ I really want to drop out…"
After struggling for a long time, Hikigaya lay weakly on the floor.
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Ten o'clock, the Opening Ceremony.
Hikigaya arrived just on time. Most students had already gathered in the gymnasium, standing in their class formations.
Hmm?
What's with this difference visible at a glance?
First, Class A: all members lined up neatly and maintained silence.
Then Class B: although also standing neatly, they were whispering amongst themselves.
Class C: the red-haired young man in the front row looked like a Yakuza boss, standing next to a "Black bodyguard" wearing sunglasses. The rest of the students looked at the two with fear.
Class D... was as noisy as ever, like elementary school students on a field trip.
Isn't the difference in overall quality too great?
"Hey! Look quickly!"
"That super cute silver-haired girl in Class A is looking over here!"
"She's even smiling and waving, she must be looking at me, right?"
"Nonsense, she's clearly smiling at me!"
Kanji Ike and Haruki Yamauchi were arguing incessantly.
"..."
Hikigaya Hachiman looked straight ahead, pretending not to see.
"Loli-con."
As the sole informed party, Suzune Horikita coldly criticized a certain person.
"Erm~ Horikita-san, did you just say something?"
For some reason, Kushida Kikyo was paying close attention to her.
She scanned the surroundings, seemingly looking for the person Horikita was referring to.
"It's none of your business."
'Nice girl! Horikita!'
Just as Hikigaya secretly let out a sigh of relief, a teasing voice came from behind him.
"Fish-eye boy, don't take it to heart.
Every people's fetish are different, there's nothing to be ashamed of."
Kōenji Rokusuke's words were astonishing.
'Hey, hey, hey!'
Fetish and such, is that a word you can say publicly?
And what the hell is Fish-eye boy!!
Although everyone was confused by Kōenji's words, considering his eccentric personality, they dismissed him as speaking nonsense.
The Opening Ceremony had begun.
A senpai with a bun haircut came onto the stage, speaking words of welcome to the new students.
Classes A and B were listening intently. The majority of Class C was distracted but at least not noisy.
Class D had only slightly lowered their voices and were still chattering...
'Sigh~ No wonder the interviewer looked like he'd eaten feces but still let me pass.
So that's what it means.'
Hikigaya Hachiman looked helpless.
Were they lumping him in with the trash?
"Next, please welcome the Student Council President for his address!"
The soft voice of the bun-haired senior suddenly changed in tone, and her eyes sparkled with admiration.
A tall, slender young man with glasses walked onto the stage. He looked refined, but Hikigaya could tell from the solid, defined muscles in his hands that he was definitely an athletic powerhouse!
The Student Council President didn't speak, standing on the stage and scanning the audience.
Classes A, B, and C all felt an invisible pressure and fell completely silent.
Many people in Class D gradually realized the atmosphere was wrong and were scared into silence.
"Ah ha~ Is he so nervous that he forgot his… lines…?"
Haruki Yamauchi stopped halfway through his noisy remark.
"Shh! Stop yelling, Haruki!"
Kanji Ike, being slightly more alert, quickly covered his mouth.
"I am the Student Council President, Horikita Manabu."
The Student Council President spoke slowly, his sharp gaze emitting a cold, chilling presence that dramatically lowered the temperature in the hall.
'Wow~ Where did this leader come from?'
Even the cold and aloof Suzune Horikita was... Huh!
'Horikita?'
"Mmm~"
Horikita Suzune was looking down, her normally determined eyes filled with wavering, and clearly visible beads of sweat appeared on her smooth forehead.
Hikigaya also noticed that Horikita Manabu on the stage implicitly glanced at Horikita Suzune for a split second.
'Assessment complete, this is a look from an older brother.'
Hikigaya was absolutely certain!
However, judging by Horikita Suzune 's timid reaction, their relationship didn't seem very harmonious?
'That makes sense...'
Not all little sisters are as cute as Komachi.
Horikita Suzune is at best a troublesome little sister... Hiss!
"What rude things are you thinking!"
Horikita Suzune reached out and pinched him.
'Ouch… It doesn't seem that painful?'
Hikigaya felt her fingers trembling.
At the same time, the judging gaze from the Student Council President subtly fell upon him. A barely perceptible, tiny curve formed at the corner of the President's mouth.