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The busy and fulfilling weekend flashed by, and time swiftly arrived at Monday. It was a new week, and the charging bar for the next weekend was starting over.
Hanakain Reiji arrived at his class around his usual time. When he walked in, most of the class was already there, sitting in groups of two or three, chatting with those around them. Although he was practically one of the last few to arrive at school, strictly speaking, it was still early.
After all, there were still at least twenty minutes before the first official class started, and the morning homeroom was entirely controlled by the class teacher. Normally, if the teacher had something to say, they would say it. If not, they wouldn't bother, and everyone would continue doing what they were doing, waiting for the first class of the morning to begin.
Furthermore, almost a month had passed since the school year began. Any real changes that needed to be announced would have been covered during that month. It was basically impossible for there to be any new...
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
Just as the atmosphere in the classroom's morning tea party was intensifying, the class teacher suddenly walked in wearing high heels. She clapped her hands as she walked up to the podium.
"Alright, alright, everyone return to your seats. Time for morning homeroom!"
Hmm... That was quite unexpected. One second he was thinking the morning homeroom segment would be skipped, and the next second, the teacher walked in.
But there was no choice. Since the teacher was here, they couldn't just keep chatting as if she weren't present. Everyone returned to their seats and straightened up.
"Well, first, let me share some good news: our class will be welcoming a new classmate today!" The class teacher clapped her hands together by her cheeks, her face beaming with smiles. "And as a side note, she's a very adorable foreign girl, Oho~"
Hmm? Hanakain Reiji raised an eyebrow upon hearing the description. First, a foreign girl, and second, very adorable. Hmm... Based on that description, he thought he might already know who it was.
"Now, let's give a warm round of applause to welcome our new classmate~!"
Clap! Clap! Clap!—!
The applause started automatically, without needing a prompt from the teacher. After all, according to the teacher, this was a "very adorable foreign girl"!
Thunderous applause filled the classroom. A pair of fair, slender legs in brown ankle boots stepped through the door, immediately followed by a sight of pure gold that caught everyone's eye. It was pure and gentle, yet not dazzling or condescending; instead, it gave off a sense of sanctity.
"Ah~ A Saintess, no... an Angel! This is definitely an Angel! God must have sent her to save us lonely bachelors!"
"Mom, I believe in love again!"
"Disgusting otaku..."
The wolf-whistles that erupted in the classroom could not be muffled by the applause, which had clearly reached a new, louder level. Of course, the looks of disdain cast by the other girls in the class toward this pack of hungry wolves were also clearly visible.
"H-Hello, everyone. My name is Asia Argento. You can just call me Asia. Please... please take care of me..." The blonde girl was clearly overwhelmed by the scale of this enthusiastic welcome and seemed flustered even while introducing herself. Fortunately, this was a world that prioritized looks. If an ugly person acts flustered, it's called clumsiness. But if you are pretty... Mhm, that just becomes adorable—a huge bonus.
Consequently, the applause, which was already about to take off, completely lost control, soaring like a rocket. The noise could be heard even in the hallway outside. If you hadn't looked inside, you'd think it was the scene of a stadium concert with an audience of tens of thousands. This made Asia, who was already a bit shy, even more flustered.
At the same time, the class teacher was also having a hard time. Enthusiastically welcoming a new classmate was good, but being too loud was not. There were other classes next door, after all. If they disturbed the morning study in another class and someone reported it to the academic office, she, the homeroom teacher, would be held primarily responsible. Maintaining class discipline was one of the homeroom teacher's main tasks.
The simplest way to calm these youngsters down was to quickly find Asia a place to sit. But where should she sit? The loudest boys were definitely out; while the rush of puberty made them interested in girls, bothering the new classmate would be unacceptable. As for the girls' side, they mostly had their own cliques, and forcing her in there might lead to bullying, especially since Asia looked so soft and gentle, like a little bunny. So, it had to be next to a polite girl and, ideally, a not-so-"proactive" boy on the other side.
"Well, Asia-san, why don't you sit in the..."
"Reiji-san!"
Suddenly, the girl's surprised voice rang out, interrupting the female teacher's train of thought. The teacher followed Asia's gaze and saw the young man not far from the podium, sitting by the middle window, hands in his pockets, leaning back in his chair like a retired old man, looking back at her.
"Uh, Asia-san, do you know Hanakain-kun?"
"Mhm! Mhm!" The blonde girl nodded vigorously, her face radiating joy.
The teacher hesitated but quickly nodded. "Alright then, Asia-san, why don't you sit to the left of Hanakain-kun? And the girl to your right with glasses is Aika Kiryuu. If you have any questions about the school, you can ask them."
"Mhm! Mhm, thank you, Teacher!"
Without a moment of hesitation, the blonde girl dashed down from the podium. The applause that had been deafening the classroom instantly stopped, replaced by wails of agony that shook the teaching building, enough to make listeners mourn and onlookers weep.
"Honestly, those guys are so noisy. Don't they feel ashamed..." Aika Kiryuu muttered, curling her lips. She ignored the miserable howling of the little virgins in the classroom who let their small heads think for their big ones. She then turned to face the blonde girl who had just come down from the podium and sat in the seat next to her. Her gaze darted back and forth between Asia and Hanakain Reiji. Pushing up her glasses, she flashed a smile full of interest. "Asia-san... right? I heard you say on the podium that you seem to know Hanakain-kun. But aren't you a foreigner, Asia-san? How did you two meet? Can you tell me?"
"We are..." The simple-minded Asia clearly lacked any self-preservation sense and was about to answer instinctively when someone asked.
Fortunately, Hanakain Reiji quickly stopped her.
"Hey, hey, don't gossip about other people's privacy right after meeting them." His tone held no blame; it was more like a dry commentary.
The perverted, pigtail-wearing literature girl with glasses smiled slightly: "It's not gossip. As your seatmate, isn't it normal to care about a new classmate? Who told Hanakain-kun that his reputation at school has always been so poor? After all, he spends all his time fooling around with the high-grade, gorgeous Senpais, the No. 1 and No. 2 most popular girls at Kuoh. If a girl as innocent and adorable as our Asia-chan is unfortunately targeted by Hanakain-kun, she'll probably be eaten up and wiped clean very quickly, right?"
"Go to hell..." The young man calmly made the international friendly gesture.
Aika Kiryuu let out a soft "Hmph," then, as if struck by a sudden realization, she covered her mouth with both hands in mock surprise. "Wait a minute, could it be that Asia-chan has already been taken by Hanakain-kun? Oh, no, that's probably impossible. Asia-chan shouldn't be able to handle Hanakain-kun's size yet."
"Huh?" The blonde girl, who understood nothing, tilted her small head, a question mark slowly appearing above her head. Hanakain-san's size? What does that mean?
"It's nothing. Don't worry about her, Asia. She often mutters strange things to herself." Hanakain Reiji rolled his eyes at the perverted literature girl with glasses one seat away. He then looked at Asia, sitting next to him. "By the way, you can actually just call me Reiji, Asia. You don't need to add the honorific; it sounds a bit strange."
"Mhm, okay, Reiji!" Asia nodded, smiling sweetly. That way, I'll be just like President Rias and Senpai Akeno~
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