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"You don't have any objections, right, Akizuki?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka's sudden call-out made the girl sitting in front of Asher, who had been keeping her head down, lift her head in a daze.
After she processed what was going on, Akizuki didn't show any resistance at all.
"I don't mind, sensei."
Seeing that Akizuki had no objections to her arrangement, Hiratsuka nodded.
At the same time, Asher stood up, dragged his chair over, and sat down beside Akizuki.
What Asher didn't realize was that this simple action instantly attracted countless jealous stares from the boys in class.
That was Akizuki, after all.
In Class 2-B, she was practically the class beauty.
Refined, gentle, always polite, with top-tier grades. She consistently ranked among the top students in the entire second year, often breaking into the top five overall.
To the boys, Akizuki was nothing short of a goddess.
Who knew how many of them dreamed of a perfect encounter with her, even if it was just a short conversation to get a little closer.
And now, that chance had landed squarely on Asher, the transfer student who hadn't even memorized everyone's names yet.
How could they not be bitterly jealous?
The girls, on the other hand, wore expressions of regret.
Especially the ones sitting close to Asher's original seat.
Why didn't Hiratsuka-sensei pick them instead?
Honestly, this kind of situation was completely normal in a Japanese high school.
After all, campus romance was practically part of the culture here.
Especially in high school, when hormones were running wild and everyone was just starting to fall in love.
In some extreme cases, if you didn't have at least one dramatic romance story, you'd almost be embarrassed to call yourself a high school student.
The school year had just started, and all the good-looking underclassmen had already been snapped up.
Now, out of nowhere, a handsome transfer student showed up. That mysterious "new guy" status only made him more attractive.
Naturally, Asher became a hot commodity in the eyes of the girls.
Thankfully, he had no idea.
"Sorry to trouble you," Asher said after sitting down beside Akizuki.
Hearing his voice, Akizuki turned toward him and gave a gentle, composed smile.
"It's no trouble at all, Asher. We're classmates, after all. Helping each other is only natural."
"By the way, my name is Akizuki Marina. Nice to meet you."
As she spoke, Akizuki Marina gracefully brushed her smooth hair back from her temple.
Everything about her radiated the air of a classic Yamato nadeshiko, the kind of gentleness no one could resist.
To put it simply, she had that natural wife-material aura.
However.
The moment Asher heard her name, he froze slightly.
Did he hear that right?
This soft, water-like gentle girl in front of him was Akizuki Marina?
The older sister of that infamous blond loli from a certain R18 anime? The one who got abused by her stepfather?
System, where the hell did you send me?
So R18 worlds are included in this setting too?
In response to Asher's internal screaming, the system offered not a single word.
But sometimes, silence was the clearest answer of all.
"Uh… Asher, are you okay?"
Seeing him space out right after her introduction, Akizuki Marina let out a small, cute "eh?" and looked at him with confusion.
Her voice snapped Asher back to his senses.
He cleared his throat subtly and put a smile back on his face.
"It's nothing. I just thought the name Marina sounds really nice."
"Thank you," Akizuki replied with a gentle smile. She didn't seem embarrassed by his straightforward compliment at all, as if she was already used to hearing things like that.
After that, Asher and Akizuki Marina shared a textbook and got through Hiratsuka's Japanese class without any trouble.
When the bell rang, Hiratsuka took Asher to the school library to pick up the textbooks and supplementary materials for second-year students.
But the moment Asher returned to the classroom, the enthusiastic girls swarmed him.
They each took a book from his arms, all while repeating how classmates should help each other out.
Yet once he was back at his seat, those same girls revealed their true colors.
They surrounded him completely, blocking him in.
Aggressive questions bombarded his ears.
"Asher, how old are you this year?"
"Asher, do you have a girlfriend?"
"What kind of hobbies do you have?"
"What do you usually like to do?"
"Can we add each other on LINE?"
"..."
Watching Asher get surrounded by a flock of chirping girls, the boys in the class ground their teeth in envy.
…
Ding-ling-ling!
When the bell finally rang again, signaling lunch.
The instant class ended, Asher bolted out of the classroom.
Now he truly understood just how terrifying girls in their awakening phase could be.
If he stayed even a little longer, he was afraid he'd be devoured alive by those glowing green eyes.
Lunch break was for eating, of course.
Unfortunately, because he'd rushed out that morning, Asher hadn't prepared a lunch.
All he could do was follow the flow of students to the school store and buy some bread and milk.
But then came the question of where to eat.
Going back to the classroom was definitely not an option right now.
He needed to wait until those hormone-fueled girls cooled down a bit.
After thinking it over, a place popped into his mind.
The school rooftop.
Whether in normal anime or R18 ones, aside from after-school classrooms and the nurse's office, the rooftop was always one of the most memorable locations.
A lot of unexpected beginnings started in places just like that.
Having made up his mind, Asher headed off.
Before long, he stood in front of the metal door leading to the rooftop.
Seeing that it wasn't locked, he reached out, turned the handle, and pushed the door open.
Creeeak.
With an ear-piercing sound, Asher stepped onto the rooftop.
But once he walked inside and turned his head, he realized something.
Unlike the empty rooftop he'd imagined.
There was already someone there.
A slender figure with long, beautiful hair, sitting on a bench not too far away, her back facing him.
"....."