* Youkya is Japanese internet slang for an extroverted, cheerful, and popular person
Inkya= Introvert
Amaori Reinako.
Kazama Haru recognized her at a glance.
Although she currently looked like a radiant bishoujo, and upon entering the classroom, she displayed strong communication skills—quickly becoming familiar with several gyarus in the class—only Kazama Haru knew her true situation.
Because she spent her middle school years alone, watching her former companions one by one successfully become normies and live rose-colored lives, while she could only spend her days with her PS5, she deeply yearned for a youkya lifestyle.
During the summer break before high school, with the help of her youkya younger sister, Amaori Haruna, she successfully completed a "high school debut" transformation.
Now, confidently communicating with others and being praised as "kawaii" by her classmates, she clearly exuded the confident and carefree demeanor of a natural youkya.
But would it really be that smooth?
Kazama Haru looked around but did not see the figures of Oozuka Mai, Koto Satsuki, or others.
It seemed the timeline had shifted.
In that case, without their acceptance, given Amaori Reinako's inherent inkya nature and communication difficulties, her future school life would likely be very tough, with the risk of her facade crumbling at any moment.
She was probably already feeling dizzy from the rapid-fire, high-speed conversational volleys from the gyarus beside her.
"Ah, what's your name, classmate?"
The moment Kazama Haru entered the classroom, he naturally attracted many gazes.
Most of these were from girls, while the boys in the class quietly sighed internally.
With an ikemen of this caliber in their class, their chances of romance with the girls were likely nil.
*handsome
The several girls talking with Amaori Reinako were clearly of the more open and bold type, and they immediately surrounded him.
"My name is Kazama Haru."
Kazama Haru smiled faintly and nodded; he was already used to such minor scenes with that face.
"Hey, Kazama-san, we're classmates now—can we exchange LINE IDs?"
Kazama Haru did not refuse, taking out his phone and opening his QR code.
"Yatta!" Several girls dressed as gyarus simultaneously opened their apps and scanned the code.
*Yay!
To keep pace with them and avoid seeming like an outlier, Amaori Reinako also hurriedly pulled out her newly bought phone and, with a "ding," added Kazama Haru as a friend.
Being isolated for one misstep in conformity might sound absurd, but it genuinely exists in the suffocating social atmosphere of Japan—especially in schools.
Amaori Reinako herself had a very deep understanding of this.
In middle school, simply for refusing one invitation from a small group, she suffered three years of isolation and emotional bullying.
So, even though she wasn't good at dealing with males, Amaori Reinako gritted her teeth and followed the crowd.
The moment she looked up, her gaze inevitably met Kazama Haru's.
Unlike the fake, gentle smiles often seen on the faces of the normie ikemen she expected, Kazama Haru simply nodded at her.
There was no extra concern.
Wow, this person is a true, super-popular person.
Although she didn't think they would have any significant interactions in the future, having this kind of person's contact information on her phone was probably the first step in building her own youkya persona.
Amaori Reinako silently cheered herself on.
Her idea of following the crowd saved Kazama Haru the trouble of figuring out how to get her contact information.
He wasn't ready to rashly approach Amaori Reinako now, or to suddenly show her favor.
Amaori Reinako was already not good at dealing with males; his sudden display of attention would only add to her distress.
It was even possible that it could affect the interpersonal relationships she had painstakingly built.
Haste makes waste.
Although the system hadn't yet issued any tasks related to Amaori Reinako, based on his understanding of her experiences, Kazama Haru could roughly anticipate what would happen next.
Oozsuka Mai was not in this class, nor was his childhood friend, Sena Ajisai.
This meant that, at some point in the future—
When Amaori Reinako made a mistake in this "Youkya Act" and was about to collapse, no one would be there to offer her support and understanding.
A false image would eventually shatter.
At that time, Amaori Reinako would be forced to return to the lonely, solitary state she was in during middle school.
What Kazama Haru needed to do was to keenly sense when she was on the verge of breaking down, step forward, encourage her, and affirm her worth.
He needed to help her continuously solidify and improve her social standing within her small group, find true friendships, and thus avoid facing school life in such a tense state.
For this, getting her contact information beforehand was extremely necessary.
This way, when she broke down and secretly slipped out of the classroom, disappearing without a trace, he could promptly ascertain her whereabouts and initiate the first "intervention."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries with the gyarus, Kazama Haru raised his gaze, preparing to find a seat.
The window seat in the back row.
Unfortunately, it was already taken.
But Kazama Haru felt no regret; the moment he entered the classroom, he had already firmly locked onto a particular spot.
In front of that seat, a timid girl with M-shaped short hair and an endearing, small-animal-like demeanor was intently fiddling with a stone on her desk.
Takamatsu Tomori.
This emotionally delicate girl with her own unique inner world was also in this class.
Kazama Haru walked to the seat behind her and sat down.
It seemed the sound of Kazama Haru putting down his bag startled her; Takamatsu Tomori slowly turned her head, observing her new deskmate without blinking.
Noticing Kazama Haru's returning gaze, Takamatsu Tomori softly hummed and said, "Hello… My name is Takamatsu Tomori."
"Ah, hello Takamatsu-san, my name is Kazama Haru. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."
*Nice to meet you
Kazama Haru returned her smile; he hadn't expected Takamatsu Tomori to initiate conversation with him.
Unlike Amaori Renako, a relatively quiet, fushigi-chan type like Takamatsu Tomori needed to be befriended quickly.
* "different", "unique", "in her own world", "special", and "eccentric"
Kazama Haru continued the conversation:
"Speaking of which, the '灯' in your name is pronounced 'Tomori,' huh? When I saw the roster earlier, I thought it was pronounced 'Akari.'"
"Mmn… because this pronunciation is quite rare, so… people often mispronounce it."
Perhaps because her name being directly spoken by a newly met male felt a bit embarrassing, Takamatsu Tomori's speaking pace became even slower.
"Takamatsu-san, do you have any hobbies?"
Taking advantage of the atmosphere where everyone around them was getting to know each other, Kazama Haru smoothly advanced the topic.
At the mention of hobbies, a light suddenly flashed in Takamatsu Tomori's eyes: "Hobbies, well…"
Gara—!
The sound of the door sliding open mercilessly interrupted their conversation.
"Hai, hai, hai! Conversations will have to pause for now!"
To quiet the boisterous, puberty-driven students, the young and beautiful female homeroom teacher clapped her hands and entered the classroom.
Neither Kazama Haru nor Takamatsu Tomori wanted to leave a bad impression as troublesome students on their first encounter with the homeroom teacher, so they had no choice but to stop talking like everyone else.
The class time flew by quickly.
With the system's focus ability, Kazama Haru's learning became twice as effective.
Just by listening once, a knowledge network system quickly formed in his mind.
Ding.
「Skill: Basic High School Academics LV1 (Beginner) acquired.」
Kazama Haru nodded in satisfaction; even at LV1, he achieved such highly efficient learning results.
According to the leveling speed of the「Mixology」skill, in about three more months, he would be able to grind his learning skill to LV4 as well.
By then, his foundational knowledge level would likely surpass even the sensei on the podium.
"Um…"
The soft touch on his shoulder brought Kazama Haru back to reality.
Kazama Haru looked closely and saw that it was Takamatsu Tomori, his deskmate in front, gently tapping his shoulder.
She seemed to have something to say.
Seeing Kazama Haru look up, Takamatsu Tomori pointed towards outside the classroom.
"Hobbies… there's a place I want to show you."