On his way to school, Kuroha Akira mentally recalculated Shinomiya Shion's favorability following their morning 'interactions.'
First, he'd used her sweaty towel, then he'd given her feet a thorough, non-professional massage… his actions had been deliberately lewd and teasing. So, overall, the favorability trend should be downward, right?
Real-life favorability isn't like in games, where you can spam interaction options to quickly max it out, after which the girl acts like she's under a love charm, agreeing to any request, striking any pose, and only saying 'iku' when it's all over.
In reality, favorability can plateau for long periods without change, which is why some people remain 'just friends' for years. Moreover, if something goes wrong, that favorability can vanish like a mirage. After all, reasons to like someone are hard to come by, but reasons to dislike someone are a dime a dozen.
For example, an old friend you haven't spoken to in ages suddenly messages you one day asking to borrow money. Could you still trust them completely and lend it without a second thought? Even sentimental people would hesitate, right?
Money ruins relationships, so conflicts of interest are the ultimate favorability killers.
But Shinomiya Shion was still in the 'seedling' stage, far from harvest time. That ultimate move couldn't be used yet.
And it wasn't that Kuroha Akira was boasting—he truly didn't understand how to make women like him, but he knew all too well how to make them dislike him. This was the hard-earned wisdom of thirty years as an unpopular man in his past life!
…Not that that was anything to be proud of.
So there was no need to fear a yandere ending; it simply couldn't develop to that point. Forget romantic relationships, there wouldn't even be a love triangle! Even geniuses were just stepping stones on his path to becoming the King of the Soft Rice Eaters!
Muahahaha!
Kuroha Akira ran towards school, shouting chuunibyou lines in his head.
As a result, he was still late on the first day.
He crossed the empty schoolyard, entered the building to change into indoor shoes, and arrived near his first-year Class 1 classroom. Peering through the hallway window, he saw the first period had already begun. The teacher was none other than the person he knew best at this school—his homeroom teacher, Kobayakawa-sensei.
This, however, made Akira frown.
If it were any other teacher, he could have quietly slipped in through the back door with a clear conscience. After a semester, most teachers understood what kind of student Kuroha Akira was: silent during roll call, playing dead with headphones on during class, hopeless and perfectly exemplifying a 'problem student.'
Only Kobayakawa-sensei seemed determined to fulfill her duty as a homeroom teacher, wanting to 'save' every troubled child, and was stubbornly, excessively concerned about Kuroha Akira, the class loner. If he tried to sneak in now, she definitely wouldn't let it slide. She'd demand an explanation, even if she got no response.
This was all because on his very first day after transmigrating, Akira had gestured wildly while asking Kobayakawa-sensei for his address, then refused to communicate with anyone else. This led her to mistakenly believe that 'this student suffering from selective mutism has only opened up to me.'
This is too much trouble. I might as well just skip this class and hide in the infirmary.
Having decided, Kuroha Akira prepared to ditch Japanese class. But just as he was about to turn and leave, Kobayakawa-sensei spotted him.
Crap. Eye contact made!
Noticing him outside the classroom, Kobayakawa-sensei's eyes immediately widened. A surprised, almost delighted smile spread across her face. Even as an adult, she wore her emotions plainly—a sign she was still a new teacher.
She promptly placed the textbook she was holding onto the lectern, then strode to the classroom's main door, opened it, and leaned out halfway to call after Kuroha Akira, who was already attempting a tactical retreat.
"Kuroha-san, class has already started. Why are you only arriving now?"
"..."
Kuroha Akira maintained his usual persona of the silent, brooding male, uttering not a word.
*I'm Batman
Kobayakawa-sensei was already accustomed to his non-responses. Placing her hands on her hips with an 'I give up' expression, she gestured for him to come over. "Since it's your first offense, I, your teacher, will forgive you this once. Come on in."
Tch. Who are you, my mom?
Don't spoil your students like this!
Because he'd been spotted, Kuroha Akira had no choice but to walk toward her, entering the classroom through the main door and drawing the collective gaze of his classmates.
Kuroha Akira wasn't socially anxious or afraid of strangers, so he paid no mind to the curious looks. However, as he walked toward the leftmost row by the window, the class representative, seated in the very center of the front row, looked up and smiled, greeting him.
"Good morning, Kuroha-kun."
"..."
The students behind her and to either side stared at Asato Hitomi with extreme surprise, as if looking at some rare creature.
Kuroha Akira didn't reply, intending to ignore her greeting and walk past. But the class rep suddenly extended her foot from under her desk, blocking his path, and repeated slowly, word by word, "Good. Morn. Ing. Kuroha. Kun."
Kuroha Akira understood her meaning: 'Don't ignore me.'
"Please reply to me, Kuroha-kun. You can speak now, can't you?"
If he continued to ignore her, the class rep would definitely get angry…
Having witnessed Asato Hitomi's sudden mood swings before, Akira thought it best not to provoke her. Reluctantly, he opened his mouth. "…Oh. Morning."
"Mm, that's better." Asato Hitomi showed a satisfied smile and retracted her leg.
"Huh?!" But this caused Kobayakawa-sensei behind him to look as if she'd seen a ghost.
This is exactly the kind of chain reaction I wanted to avoid by not speaking… Sigh, what a hassle…
Kuroha Akira sighed inwardly. Since things had come to this, he might as well abandon the 'Broody Batman' persona. This way, the overly passionate Kobayakawa-sensei might stop her special attention, and he could finally live a normal high school life… So he turned and bowed slightly to Kobayakawa-sensei in apology.
"Sorry, Kobayakawa-sensei. I thought today was still summer vacation, so I overslept… I won't be late next time."
The excuse rolled off his tongue with practiced ease.
Kobayakawa-sensei was so excited her breathing grew rapid, her chest heaving dramatically. "Kuroha-san! You! You can speak now?!"
"Uh… yes. During summer vacation, my… selective mutism was cured…" In truth, his Japanese had reached Lv1, so he wouldn't be exposed.
"Kuroha-san…! This is truly… truly wonderful… Boohoo…" Kobayakawa-sensei couldn't help but cover her face, tears streaming down her cheeks.
No, is it really necessary to be this moved?
Then, under Akira's dumbfounded gaze, Kobayakawa-sensei continued to unleash her fervor as a zealous new teacher. "Everyone! Please give Kuroha-san a round of applause! Today! He has been reborn!"
Instantly, the classroom fell into dead silence.
Kuroha Akira wanted to die.
"Pfft…" Asato Hitomi couldn't help but let out a snicker, but being the proper lady she was, she immediately suppressed further laughter. Then, she took the lead and began to clap.
Following the class rep's cue, other classmates joined in. Sparse applause echoed through the classroom. The class rep clapped more and more enthusiastically, and the applause grew louder and louder, with some even whistling.
"…!!!"
Kuroha Akira broke out in goosebumps all over.
Holy cow! I'm not Shinji Ikari! Don't applaud for me, ahhhhh!
And so, under the 'kind attention' (joint execution) of the class representative and the homeroom teacher, Kuroha Akira made his second debut on the first day of the second semester of his first year of high school.