"We're here."
Standing before the sliding door of Class 1-G, Kasumigaoka Touji stopped in his tracks.
But Kasumigaoka Utaha wasn't done.
Grabbing his wrist with practiced ease, she pulled him into the classroom without hesitation. "Let me see where you're sitting."
A message on the blackboard read in neat chalk: [Seating temporarily arranged by student number.]
"I'm number 29," Touji muttered, eyes scanning the chart posted near the board. "So I'm second to last in the last row."
Rear row, window seat—King's throne confirmed!
Utaha smirked. "Not bad. That's the protagonist's exclusive seat in every school anime ever."
She followed him to the spot, resting a hand on the desk and glancing out the wide glass window.
From there, the entire sports field spread out before them like a private view reserved for main characters.
Naturally, the moment the two of them stepped inside, every eye in the classroom turned toward them.
And for good reason.
Their appearances, sharpened by impossibly high charm stats, created an aura that silenced even the rowdiest chatter.
Touji could practically feel the waves of shocked murmurs dying in the throats of his new classmates.
"Japan's school caste system really does operate on appearance, huh…" Touji sighed as he hung his backpack on the hook beside his desk and slid his bento box into the desk drawer.
He glanced at the sunlight pouring through the window and grimaced. "Honestly, this spot kinda sucks. Morning glare from the board, direct sunlight in summer… Not that I expect to stay here until then."
Most Japanese schools reshuffled seats every month, sometimes by lottery. It was supposed to help students make more friends, but Touji didn't buy it.
Cliques ruled Japanese school life, and by the time the school year actually started, the social pecking order had already been mostly decided.
"Mm. You're right," Utaha agreed, tilting her head as she glanced at the blackboard.
Then, out of nowhere, she leaned forward with her hands behind her back, rising on tiptoe to plant a kiss on his cheek.
"Here, Nee-san's seal of ownership," she said with a teasing smirk. "Come find me during lunch. I'll take you to a nice spot."
And just like that, she turned and walked out of the classroom, leaving Touji blinking.
A nearby boy finally worked up the nerve to speak.
"Your girlfriend?"
Touji turned his head with a calm smile. "Not yet. But soon."
"Tch… I'm so jealous!"
The boy dramatically clutched his chest and faked a death spiral, then bounced back like nothing happened.
"Yamanoto Kuma-ji. I transferred here from Matsudo Academy."
His exaggerated antics made Touji chuckle. "Kasumigaoka Touji. I transferred from Wagou Academy."
Yamanoto raised an eyebrow. "Was that Kasumigaoka-senpai just now?"
"Yeah, you know her?"
"She's a legend around here, dude. Everyone in Toyosaki knows her—beauty, brains, cool older-sister aura… practically a light novel heroine in real life."
Touji shrugged. "Well, I'm the adopted son-in-law of the Kasumigaoka family."
No point hiding it. Some students from his old school might transfer too. Better to be open.
"Adopted… son-in-law?" Yamanoto froze.
Sitting behind Touji, a pink-haired girl with her head down, hunched over like a wilted flower, her long bangs nearly covering her eyes, radiated a gloomy aura that silently screamed: "Please don't talk to me..." And yet— The moment she heard Touji casually drop the words "adopted son-in-law", her fingers trembled slightly as she peeked up for a split second, eyes shimmering with a mixture of surprise and confusion, before instantly retreating back into her "band magazine" fortress. It was like watching a small woodland creature startled by a passing breeze.
"Wait… this world still has adopted sons-in-law?" Yamanoto Kuma-ji muttered beside him, tone half-joking, half-sincere. "What an unexpectedly retro setting," he added with a lopsided grin.
"What a fresh way to put it," Touji replied smoothly, then turned his gaze to seat number 30. The girl behind him, still hunched over, was clearly not wearing the official Toyosaki uniform. Instead, she wore a noticeably large, somewhat faded pink tracksuit. And hovering faintly above her head— A golden exclamation mark.
"Stare––!"
Touji narrowed his eyes at the mark, waiting patiently for a 'dream window' to pop up like with Kasumigaoka-senpai.
…Nothing.
He blinked.
Still nothing.
The pink-haired girl, who had been hiding behind the pages like a hedgehog curling into its ball, suddenly tensed. Her body shrank even more, practically melting into her seat. She looked so small that Touji almost wanted to reach over and pat her head gently.
"Umm… that..." Her voice was faint, barely a whisper, like the first raindrop in a spring shower. She peeked out with anxious eyes from the edge of her magazine, then immediately looked down again as if burned by eye contact. "Is… is there something?"
"Hm? Ah, I was just wondering why you're wearing a tracksuit," Touji asked, trying to sound as casual and non-threatening as possible.
Then it clicked.
Seat 30. Pink tracksuit. Socially anxious. Pink hair. Yellow and blue square hair clips.
Touji's gaze sharpened slightly. Gotou Hitori... Bocchi-chan?!
The moment the realization struck, Yamanoto Kuma-ji, now also curious, leaned slightly forward and stared at her as well.
"Stare—!" ×2.
The twin gazes of two male classmates felt like spotlights on a rabbit in the wild. Gotou Hitori's breath hitched. Her spine stiffened. Oh no. She couldn't move her mouth. No, not just her mouth—her whole body was locking up!
This is bad! Bocchi.exe is freezing!
"I need to answer, I have to respond—" she screamed internally, spinning mentally like a hamster on a wheel.
But what could she say? That she wore a tracksuit to cover her chest? No way! That would be social suicide!!
Mosquito coils spun in her eyes.
Touji, noticing her rising panic, smiled gently and raised a hand. "No worries, if it's inconvenient to say, you don't have to force yourself."
"Ah… uh…" She let out a tiny sound, like air escaping from a balloon, and visibly relaxed, her shoulders softening a little.
Touji, still curious, smiled again and offered: "I'm Touji. Nice to meet you." His tone was kind, like a reliable older brother greeting a nervous kouhai.
"…Go… Gotou Hitori."
Her voice was barely audible, but it was enough.
Ding! The golden exclamation mark above her head disappeared, and in its place, a light blue system screen materialized before Touji's eyes—
[Gotou Hitori's Dream]
1. Form a band with classmates and become sparkling!
Dream Level: ★★★★☆
Dream Description: Form a band with classmates, perform at the school cultural festival, and become a radiant campus celebrity! (Note: This quest is divided into two stages. Completing each stage grants partial rewards and unlocks the next phase.)
Stage One: Form a band and perform a qualified show.
Reward: 20,000 Dream Points.
Total Dream Reward: 60,000 Dream Points.
[Accept] or [Decline]
...
**********
Attached:
First is Kana Kojima, will appear in the next chapter
Gotoh Hitori