A student with extreme social anxiety and a teacher with an overwhelming aura… having the two of them together was practically a walking disaster!
For both parties!
Kasumigaoka Touji sighed internally, watching the awkward scene unfold between the panicking Gotou Hitori and the stern Kojima-sensei.
"…"
The moment Gotou-san dropped into a sudden dogeza, bowing as if her life depended on it, the entire hallway fell dead silent.
Students who had been chatting and whispering in their neat lines turned around, stunned. Mouths opened in shock. Murmurs ceased. Even the background noise of the morning buzz seemed to vanish.
"Gotou…"
"Ah— I didn't mean to scold you or anything," Kojima Kana said, clearly flustered, her brows furrowing. "I just wanted to know why you weren't wearing your uniform properly…"
Her gaze drifted down to the odd sight—Gotou was wearing a proper school skirt, but underneath it? Sweatpants.
Kojima-sensei paused, then let out a sigh.
"In any case, please… get up for now."
But Gotou Hitori had gone full-on limp, her entire weight melting into the floor. Her hands trembled slightly, eyes hidden behind her long pink bangs, desperately avoiding eye contact.
"Yes…" she squeaked.
But the moment Kojima-sensei released her support, she flopped right back down like a puppet with cut strings.
With a twitch in her eye, Kojima-sensei reached out again and, without effort, lifted Gotou up by the collar like a scruffy kitten.
To the onlookers, it looked like their homeroom teacher was physically dragging a student into submission!
A few nearby students gulped audibly.
Those sharp, no-nonsense eyes! That ruthless precision!
This teacher might look like a pretty OL from a shoujo manga, but she had the sheer presence of a final boss in a delinquent series!
She was… terrifying.
Yet at the same time—
"She's… kinda cute, though," someone muttered from the back.
The combination of cuteness and scariness was such an intense contrast, it was like petting a fluffy tiger that could bite your hand off at any moment.
"…"
After much effort and internal damage to her sanity, Kojima Kana finally managed to wrangle Gotou Hitori into something resembling order and began leading the class toward the school auditorium.
On the way, Kasumigaoka Touji glanced subtly at the pink-haired girl walking behind them.
Making friends with a socially anxious girl was… not going to be easy.
But what even counted as being friends? What was the threshold?
He mulled over it as they walked into the large, echoing space of the auditorium.
After being directed to their assigned seats based on student numbers, Touji sat in the middle of his row. On his left was Gotou Hitori—who looked like she had already been petrified by Medusa—and on his right was a short-haired girl with a lazy smile.
Diagonally in front of him sat Eriri Spencer Sawamura.
A wild mix of characters from different anime in one classroom… this was starting to feel like a crossover episode.
Gotou-san, for her part, had practically merged with her chair. Her posture was rigid, hands clamped together on her lap, trembling ever so slightly. The sheer pressure of the crowd must've been crushing.
From her teacher's spot, Kojima Kana quietly observed her students. Her gaze lingered on Gotou, and a subtle wrinkle formed on her brow.
She wasn't heartless. In fact, she was already strategizing ways to help her student slowly open up. Fierce exterior aside, she was a dedicated teacher at heart.
....
The opening ceremony hadn't started yet, and perhaps feeling a bit bored, the short-haired girl sitting to Touji's right suddenly turned to him.
"Hello, my name is Mayonaka Kokonoka~."
Touji glanced at her—short hair, slightly droopy eyes, and a relaxed air about her that screamed, "I'd rather be asleep right now."
"Kasumigaoka Touji. Nice to meet you," he replied briefly, eyeing the small bag she cradled on her lap.
"This is my pillow."
Mayonaka opened the bag like a child showing off a precious treasure and pulled out a plush lamb pillow. She hugged it to her chest, her eyes gleaming with pride. "How is it? Isn't it super cute?"
Touji looked at it with a smile. "Yeah. It's adorable."
A pillow-carrying student, huh? Now that's dedication. Forgetful about most things, but absolutely never about naptime. That was so Kokonoka-like it made him chuckle internally.
"Hehe~."
Receiving praise seemed to delight her more than necessary. She beamed, squeezing the pillow tighter, then leaned in just a little.
"Say, Kasumigaoka-san, have you decided which club you want to join yet?"
"The Homecoming Club," Touji said without missing a beat.
Mayonaka tilted her head. "Ehh? That sounds kind of cool. What do you do there?"
"It's where you head home right after school. No actual club activities. You didn't know?" Touji raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised.
Mayonaka laughed awkwardly. "I used to live overseas with my dad, so I don't really know much about the clubs here yet."
"Ohh…" Touji nodded in understanding. Right, her backstory was vaguely in his memory. After all, it had been over fifteen years since he transmigrated, and she was only a minor character.
Still, her name was way too distinct to forget.
He remembered she loved naps, always carried that pillow around, and—perhaps a bit too clearly—that she had a mole on her chest.
Mayonaka's gaze sparkled with curiosity again.
Touji sensed her thoughts. "So, what kind of club are you thinking of joining?"
"Napping."
"Huh?"
"I want to join a club that specializes in napping~!" she said with a dreamy smile, hugging her pillow tightly.
"Pretty sure there isn't one like that here."
"Ehh!? No way!?"
She looked genuinely shocked, and her voice rose before she caught herself. Students turned their heads.
Realizing she'd drawn attention, Mayonaka quickly bowed her head and put her hands together. "S-Sorry! So sorry… I didn't mean to be loud…"
Touji waited until the eyes left them, then offered a helpful suggestion.
"You could take a look after school. And if there's no Nap Club… just start one yourself."
Her eyes instantly lit up. "That's a genius idea!"
Just as the words left her mouth, a golden exclamation mark blinked above her head.
Touji blinked and focused on it.
[Mayonaka Kokonoka's Dream]
Form the Nap Club! Dream Level: ★★ Dream Introduction: She, who loves napping, wants to create a club dedicated to the fine art of sleep. Please help her make it a reality! Dream Reward: 800 Dream Points. [Accept] or [Decline]
Simple enough. The reward wasn't much, but the task also seemed easy.
[Accept].
Kasumigaoka Touji accepted the dream.
With that, he now had four dream tasks active. Just one more, and he'd max out his limit as an Apprentice Dream Master.
He leaned back, sighing a little.
Honestly, this whole situation was starting to feel like one of those Gal games—interact with cute NPCs, get side quests, clear them, earn rewards.
And of course, they were all girls.
What kind of real-life bishoujo game is this…?
Touji silently sighed.
Right at that moment, the clock hit nine.
The opening ceremony of Toyosaki Private Academy had officially begun.
...