The class fell silent.
'Oh no, I thought he looked a bit green in the face, but he seemed like a refined boy who would be popular. I even thought about entering the class together to get closer and make an impression, but is he really such a strange boy? Hmm, I'd better find a way to stay away. I don't want to be seen as weird myself.'
Anon had already removed Kamiyama Rikuo from her list of potential friends, but she still showed her fangs and a sweet smile, clapping softly.
"That was a very unique self-introduction, Kamiyama-san."
"Same to you, Chihaya-san. Yoroshiku."
Rikuo thought his performance was a success; with such a perfect impression, not many people should bother him.
'With my ghost-ridden fate, it's better to have fewer bonds.'
'Yoroshiku appeared. A biker gang member? A delinquent? Oh no, oh no. I really need to stay away.'
Anon watched Rikuo's changing expression, her smiling face gradually stiffening, wondering how to quickly end this awkward interlude.
"Since the self-introductions are over, please return to your seats. Chihaya-san, you sit in the second to last empty seat in the third row. Kamiyama-san, since you're a boy and tall, you'll sit in the seat behind Chihaya-san."
The teacher's timely words came out, and Anon breathed a sigh of relief as if freed.
In fact, with the girl's outstanding appearance, lively and cheerful personality, excellent grades, and outstanding social skills, even with a few minor incidents, it wouldn't affect her becoming the central figure in the class. But her experience in England still left the girl with some lingering fear.
...
The bell rang for class dismissal, and Anon's seat was quickly surrounded by girls.
"Chihaya-san is so cute."
"You said you enrolled late due to family reasons, that's really tough."
"And with that strange boy... that's really tough."
Because Anon enrolled with a strange person like Rikuo, she actually received a lot of concern from the good children.
"No, Kamiyama-san is a very interesting person. Everyone, if you all talk at once, I can't answer everyone."
Anon exuded the dazzling light unique to a popular person, floating in enjoyment of being the center of attention.
"Your surname is as cute as your name. What did everyone call you at your previous school?"
"Just call me Anon."
Actually, Anon was called Chihaya in middle school, but Anon wanted to separate from her past self.
'Did I become popular earlier because of Kamiyama-san's influence? That's great. But Kamiyama-san seems a bit too pitiful.'
Anon worriedly glanced at the back seat and saw the girl she had seen during yesterday's interview standing next to Rikuo.
"It's Tomori."
"Why would Tomori go to that strange boy?"
"Do they know each other?"
The surrounding classmates looked in the direction of Anon's gaze. Tomori stood in front of Rikuo, head bowed, saying nothing. Tomori wasn't the type to initiate conversation; she just stared blankly like a penguin observing something new, her gaze filled with a desire for exploration.
'Is Saki-chan's current friend like this? Hmm, how should I start talking to him?'
As Tomori pondered how to speak, Rikuo's brain also trembled.
'Why is the eccentric girl Tomori seeking me out? Did my self-introduction just now attract her? But I don't know how to talk to her, and I can't talk about Sakiko-sensei. I've got it, Tomori likes rocks!'
"Flowers, trees, sky, wind, clouds, sun, rainbows, oceans, seashores, forests, rocks, sand, ground."
Rikuo, with his brain comparable to an i9-13900K, instantly extracted relevant vocabulary. Rikuo read out each word deliberately, fully embodying Agams's performance through his voice, spirit, and body.
'Eccentric enough, no problem.'
Tomori looked up, tilted her head, her small eyes filled with great confusion.
'What do these words mean? I can't understand them at all. Is becoming human really that difficult?'
Not just Tomori, but the surrounding classmates were also dumbfounded.
'These words are so ordinary individually, but why do they sound so painful when read together?'
The ringing of the class bell broke everyone's silence. Thankfully, school had classes.
"It feels like this boy doesn't need concern."
Anon hadn't fully emerged from the atmosphere of Rikuo's forbidden spell chant, holding her head in her hands, her mind full of questions. She also remembered that it seemed Tomori had actively gone to find Rikuo.
'So that girl is called Tomori? Why would Tomori go to that boy? Never mind, I'll focus on studying first. Good grades are also part of socializing.'
Anon patted her cheeks and began to listen attentively. At this time, she didn't know that she would later encounter Evolto... no, I mean, a black hole of gravity.
...
The afternoon sun slanted into the classroom. The time spent studying diligently passed quickly, and soon it was lunchtime.
Don't ask why you don't feel like time passes quickly in class; close your light novel, the teacher is standing right behind you.
Many people left the classroom, ready to grab today's limited bento, but as the god of half-price, Rikuo didn't need to today because he had Sakiko-sensei's loving bento.
"Um, hello, may I eat lunch with you all?"
Anon had also chosen her target and entered the traffic light group. Tomori, however, did not go to the Astronomy Club as in the plot; she continued to walk next to Rikuo. This time, Tomori wanted to make the first move. But Rikuo wouldn't give her that chance; when faced with a situation, he couldn't just sit there and wait!
"A mere stone, after I'm done looking, I'll use a Gundam to push it back!"
Tomori... "Is becoming human really that difficult?"
Tomori's inner thoughts came out.
Anon saw the situation here and interrupted her conversation with the traffic light group. Walking towards Rikuo's seat, Chihaya Anon slammed her palm on Rikuo's desk with a "bang," causing his blue fountain pen to roll to the floor.
"Kamiyama-san!"
Anon's voice was eight octaves higher than usual, causing several surrounding classmates to turn their heads. She clenched her fists, her chest rising and falling slightly with rapid breathing.
"Why are you bullying Tomori?"
Rikuo turned his head, looking bewildered, still chewing on half an unfinished octopus sausage, pointing at himself with his left hand.
"Huh? Me?"
Because of her experience in England, Anon had a deep impression of school bullying. Anon took a deep breath, as if suppressing her anger.
"Why has Tomori been standing by your side without saying anything? You must have threatened her, right?"
Anon's voice was very low, but every word was clear.
"And those incomprehensible words just now, and Tomori picking up stones before, it must be related to you. I clearly heard that every word you said to Tomori involved stones!"
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