Chapter 4: Are Conversations Between Boys and Girls Always This Weird Nowadays?
"Oh." Sakayanagi Arisu replied coldly, then stopped speaking and turned to walk into the gymnasium.
Hikigaya Hachiman: "..."
Wait, what!? Huh!? She just left like that? Wasn't that supposed to be a simple self-introduction between us?
Or is this how conversations between boys and girls go nowadays? Just weird and abrupt?
Hikigaya Hachiman was a little dumbfounded, wondering if he was just out of touch with the times.
But after Sakayanagi Arisu walked over to Class A's group—
Hikigaya miraculously noticed that the feeling of being stalked by a ferocious beast had disappeared!
As expected, that girl Sakayanagi Arisu is no ordinary person.
And she's quite dangerous.
Looks like it's best if he avoids interacting with her as much as possible in the future.
Then Hikigaya, relieved, swallowed hard and walked toward the Class C group marker.
By the time he arrived at the end of the line, the clock struck ten.
The entrance ceremony began...
"I am the student council president, Horikita Manabu."
"Here, on behalf of all current students, I warmly welcome the new students entering our school this year."
"Our school is renowned for its 99.99% advancement and employment rate—I'm sure all of you are aware of this."
"First, our school is supported by the government, so this isn't false advertising. Anyone who graduates from here can enter any university in Japan, or directly go on to work at a top domestic company..."
"Secondly, our school is focused on cultivating students..."
"..."
The student council president appeared to be a capable and meticulous male student, wearing glasses and with a neat short haircut.
His whole presence gave off a sharp aura.
How should I put it... he's exactly the type I don't like...
Standing below as a freshman, Hikigaya Hachiman silently observed the president.
This school really is something else. At the entrance ceremony, instead of the principal giving a speech, they had the student council president do it!
Should I say, as expected of a prestigious school's student council president? The authority he wields is surprisingly large—or maybe he's just excessively outstanding!?
Having casually evaluated the student council president, the bored Hikigaya began to observe his classmates.
He couldn't help but feel that there was something interesting about the way the classes were divided.
First, Class A. Aside from that cane-carrying girl, Sakayanagi Arisu, the rest all stood straight and had disciplined postures.
Especially the bald guy standing at the front—he looked like a top-tier business elite.
Class B was slightly less impressive than Class A, but they still looked like obedient honor students. No whispering, just quietly listening.
Then there's Class C—his own class.
Thinking this, Hikigaya suddenly noticed a huge and muscular person standing in front of him.
To be honest, it startled him.
The guy wore the same school uniform and had on sunglasses.
With that get-up, he looked more like a rich lady's private bodyguard than a student.
Being placed in the same class as a student like that… doesn't bode well.
The students nearby also seemed to be a bit afraid of him, keeping their distance.
However, the perceptive Hikigaya noticed that he didn't give off the kind of oppressive vibe typical of bullies. Maybe he's someone you could actually get along with.
Besides, walking around with him might give a strong sense of safety…
"Hello."
Just then, as Hikigaya was observing, a pleasant voice reached his ears.
The lines were arranged with boys on one side and girls on the other.
Hikigaya was standing on the boys' side, and just 20 centimeters to his left was the girls' side of Class 1-C.
The voice came from there.
So, Hikigaya instinctively turned to look.
There stood a girl with beautiful, long silvery-white hair.
She had a calm expression, soft pink lips and violet eyes, fair skin, and an overall gentle, fluffy aura.
And her legs were very pretty.
Gray thigh-high socks—which are notoriously hard to pull off—looked perfect on her.
Altogether, she gave the impression of a living little angel.
When Hikigaya saw the girl looking at him, he snapped out of it and asked uncertainly, "…Hello!?"
Did he do something to offend her just now?
Otherwise, why would she suddenly speak to him?
No way she actually wanted to be friends with him, right? Oh no! Could it be she saw him as easy to bully!?
"Eh! Why is that a question?" The white-hair girled girl was momentarily surprised, then as if realizing something, apologized softly, "Ah, sorry. Did I bother you just now?"
Is she also not good at socializing? Or is she pretending?
With a bit of suspicion, Hikigaya looked at her and said, "It's fine…"
And then—nothing else happened…
Getting approached by a beautiful girl might be exciting for most, but Hikigaya knew himself well—he knew there was no way a girl like that would approach someone like him out of interest.
So this "big white-hair girl," judging by his past experience, was probably playing some new kind of prank.
By the way, this "little white-hair girl" is Sakayanagi Arisu.
Too bad for the "big white-hair girl"—Hikigaya had plenty of ways to deal with this.
As long as you have no expectations, you won't get hurt!
So Hikigaya activated his "lone wolf" mode and stopped paying attention to the big white-hair girl, turning instead to observe Class D…
Apparently, she really did interrupt him just now. The big white-hair girl, seeing the "annoyed" look on Hikigaya's face, quietly averted her eyes.
Actually, the big white-hair girl wasn't as bad as Hikigaya imagined. She really just wanted to say hi and get to know him.
After all, coming to a completely unfamiliar place and preparing to spend the next three years here—she wanted to make some friends.
As for why she chose Hachiman Hikigaya—
Because she had also been on that same bus earlier and had witnessed the entire "delinquent incident."
So, to be honest, she had a good impression of this guy.
And compared to the flashy-haired troublemakers in the class, Hikigaya's obedient black-haired appearance made her feel more at ease.
But before she could even get started, she had already failed—worse yet, it seemed like he now disliked her…
Back to Hikigaya—
After observing Class D (aside from the fact that the girls were all very attractive), he came to a conclusion: [AA, BB, CC, DD].
Of course, it might just be a coincidence…
"In short, this school adopts a meritocracy-based system."
The student council president's speech was reaching its end.
"Finally, I welcome you all again for becoming members of our school. Next, please exit in an orderly fashion according to class—A, B, C, D—and return to your classrooms for your first homeroom session."
"That concludes my address."