Yet Hachiman Hikigaya could—to his own surprise—read her mind.
"What is evil? All that proceeds from weakness is evil."
It's a famous line from *The Antichrist*.
Nietzsche redefined "evil" as a deficiency of life-force, insisting morality should serve the enhancement of life, not its suppression.
"And, as things turned out, I was right."
The raven-haired ice-queen meant that the old woman was spry; she didn't need help at all.
"Sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about."
Hachiman didn't want to get tangled in philosophy; it sounded like a hassle. "Any chance I just felt like standing up?"
The girl blinked, clearly not expecting that answer. Pressing her lips together, she muttered, "Did I misread him…?"
On the bus, she'd noticed Hachiman's gaze linger for a moment on the book in her hands.
"Forget it. We're clearly not the same sort. Let's hope our paths never cross again."
He figured as much.
Hachiman agreed.
The high-school rom-com of bumping into a pretty girl, becoming friends, then dating—he had zero expectations for that script.
Clinging to rose-colored ideas about adolescence was less realistic than daydreaming.
Speaking of which, there were an awful lot of security cameras along the road.
Hachiman looked up at the cameras studded throughout the campus.
First Year, Class 1-D.
Loud.
Very loud.
Unbelievably loud.
For a second, Hachiman felt he'd wandered into a children's playground.
It was only the first day of the semester; surely they didn't need to be this hyped.
When he peeked into other classrooms, they weren't nearly this rowdy.
"Hey, hey, the girls in our class are smoking hot!"
"Huge rack! And black stockings—perfection!!"
"Bro, you've got taste!"
"You know it, heh-heh-heh!"
The two horny monkeys in the front row were the same pair from the bus who'd looked "a few fries short of a Happy Meal." Sharing the same vulgar wavelength, they'd become instant blood brothers.
"Boys are disgusting!"
"Hey, look at that guy—so handsome!"
"Let's go talk to him!"
"Stop it, I'd totally die of embarrassment~~"
An outgoing clique of four gyaru.
"Konomi, you're an exchange student? That's amazing—nice to meet you!"
"Same here."
"Kushida-san, helping that grandma on the bus was so sweet of you."
"Oh, it's nothing—and just call me Kikyou."
"Kikyou-chan, I'm so happy we met~~"
Centered around the short-haired, big-chested girl, a swarm of females had already formed.
Her performance on the bus had clearly been a smash hit.
The class had spontaneously split into little cliques.
The few stragglers were frantically trying to squeeze in somewhere.
Hachiman, on the other hand… nah, he'd pass.
Smiling on cue, echoing whatever nonsense people said—exhausting just thinking about it.
Turning himself invisible, he drifted past the clusters and found his seat: second-to-last row, not by the window—so much for zoning out to the scenery.
And… uh, no way—this couldn't be coincidence, right?
Call it fate or call it a curse.
The person beside him was the same raven-haired ice-queen from the bus.
She was already immersed in a black-bound book.
Dostoevsky's *Crime and Punishment*… seriously, an aspiring bookworm?
Hachiman had read that stuff too—but mostly to look cultured.
This girl, though, probably just loved books.
Not wanting to disturb her, he slid the chair back as quietly as possible and sat down.
Ten minutes earlier she'd said, "Let's hope our paths never cross again."
A born troublemaker might quip, "Looks like crossing paths is inevitable now."
Sadly, Hachiman lacked that brand of humor.
So they'd just pretend nothing happened—except… wait!
From the corner of his eye, he noticed her fingers tighten around the book; her supposedly steady gaze had frozen on the same page far too long.
Don't go getting embarrassed on your own!
Considerately, he shifted his attention—and spotted the poker-faced "android" diagonally opposite.
"Um, hi there…"
The expressionless guy happened to look his way.
"Ah-ha~ fancy meeting you here!"
Hachiman whipped his head toward the ice-queen beside him and greeted her instead.
"That's something you say the moment you notice someone."
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and sighed in resignation: "Pain and hardship exist only for great souls."
"Not necessarily—us despicable creatures can get used to anything."
The reply slipped out of Hachiman automatically.
"???"
Horikita's eyes froze; her lips parted in pure astonishment.
She looked as if she'd just seen a stray dog break into song-and-dance.
"Hey, don't treat people like animals!"
Hachiman bristled.
"It's not that extreme…"
First startled, she composed herself and explained, "I'd assumed you were a gloomy slacker with zero culture."
Hachiman's cheek twitched. "Thanks for granting me human status!"
"My apologies…"
The brief embarrassment flickered across her face and vanished; she straightened up. "Horikita Suzune."
"I have no intention of socializing, but as desk-mates we can at least observe basic courtesy."
Fair enough.
Much like the girl who'd sat next to him in junior high—an occasional nod when coming or going, nothing more.
"Hachiman Hikigaya."
After the mutual introductions, they lapsed back into silence.
Horikita returned to her book.
Hachiman killed time slowly unpacking his bag.
So this is how normal people interact? Looks tough… The poker-faced guy found no opening to join in and gave up.
"May I have everyone's attention?"
A green-haired, good-looking boy stepped to the front.
"I'm Hirata Yousuke. Let's do self-introductions so we can all get friendly quickly."
"How about it—before the teacher arrives?"
First assessment: Hirata Yousuke is a total normie.
"I'm in!"
The short-haired, busty girl raised her hand.
"Sounds fun,"
chorused the gyaru group.
"Thanks for the support."
Uh, by "everyone" did you mean those three?
Hachiman retorted silently.
"I'll start."
"I'm Hirata Yousuke—just call me Hirata."
"I love sports; I'm joining the soccer club."
"Nice to meet you all."
Bright, handsome, flawless self-intro.
It reminded Hachiman of his middle-school superstar: Hayato Hayama.
Same good looks, sunny personality, soccer obsession… their character sheets are practically identical!
"My turn next!"
"I'm Kushida Kikyou, and my goal is to be friends with every single one of you."
"I want tons of great memories—so please hang out with me lots~~"
Pretty, curvy, gentle—she instantly won most of the class, guys and girls alike.
Hachiman suspected she was acting.
But hey, life itself is a performance; who among us is ever completely genuine?
"Next up: I'm Ike Kanji."
"I love cute girls and hate handsome guys."
"Most important—"
(End of Chapter 3 excerpt)