Keeping his head down, Yoru quickly walked out of the classroom.
While passing Class 2-B, Eriri, who was chatting with classmates, caught a glimpse of him.
"Eriri, what's wrong?" a girl asked curiously.
"It's nothing," Eriri replied, clearly troubled.
Leaving the building, Yoru glanced around.
Shuchiin was clean, elegant, and filled with blooming flowers—beautiful enough to be mistaken for a manor estate.
But he had nowhere to go.
Sighing, Yoru decided to buy a drink and find a quiet spot to sit alone.
There were many vending machines around Shuchiin.
Soon, Yoru found one.
There was a black-haired girl with twin tails crouching beside it, visible only from the side, seemingly troubled over what to pick.
Afraid of being misunderstood, Yoru kept his distance and silently waited nearby.
"San-san, haven't you decided yet?"
The twin-tailed girl's companion—a girl with peach-gold hair, visible only from behind—asked the one called San-san.
"Huh?"
Yoru was a bit surprised when he heard that.
Why did that girl's cat have the same name as his fat cat?
What a coincidence...
"Sorry, Kohanami, I'm just not in a good mood." The twin-tailed girl casually bought a drink and turned back to speak.
She really didn't seem to be in a good mood, like she'd lost something she cared deeply about.
"Alright, alright~" Her companion had already noticed Yoru and quickly urged her along.
After the two girls walked off with their drinks, Yoru finally approached the vending machine.
The selections were plentiful—juices, milk, coffee—and two shelves were filled with chocolates and sandwiches.
He spent 500 yen on a bottle of sugar-free, low-fat black coffee.
Standing in front of the machine, Yoru took a tentative sip and immediately grimaced at the bitter taste.
But he didn't throw it away. He simply carried it with him and walked off.
Wandering through a more secluded area of Shuchiin's campus, Yoru circled back toward the classroom building.
He climbed the stairs—again and again—holding the bitter black coffee, now half-finished.
As he passed his classroom, he glanced in but continued climbing.
The top floor was the seventh—home to the rooftop.
In a lot of doujinshi, this is where some creepy fat male protagonist or faceless guy would lure the heroine up to fight.
Yoru took a sip of the bitter coffee and noticed the rooftop door's lock looked worn, like it could be forced open. He felt a small sense of relief.
So, using his pudgy hands, he gave it a few hard pulls and popped it open.
"Let's cool off up here before going back down."
Yoru stepped onto the rooftop and gently pulled the door shut behind him.
"Huu~"
A breeze swept through. Yoru squinted, his hair fluttering. His round, pale face looked a bit more relaxed.
A short knee-high wall had been built around the rooftop to prevent accidents.
The ground was dusty and littered with trash and fallen leaves—not exactly clean.
There was an old two-person bench facing Shuchiin's clock tower.
Yoru walked over and saw the bench wobble slightly. At his weight, it seemed like it might collapse.
But as it turned out, the bench was sturdier than it looked.
He sat, facing the distant clock tower, sipping his bitter black coffee as the breeze blew past.
After a while, he checked the time and finally left.
"Did the wind blow this door open? Or did someone mess with it?"
He mumbled as he left, loosely re-locking the weak latch before heading back to the classroom.
...
By the time Yoru returned, it was nearly time for the opening ceremony, and the classroom was almost full.
He chose to enter through the back door, not wanting to draw attention.
He didn't want to be stared at with strange looks. Plus, his assigned seat was already at the back—last row, by the window.
Seats were assigned based on the Japanese syllabary and changed every term. Japanese high schools had three terms a year.
Yoru kept his head down as he sat at the desk with his nameplate.
To his left was the window; to his right sat a flashy blonde girl named Miura Yumiko.
She was fairly well-known in school.
Yoru remembered skimming the class list during registration and had seen her name.
As he was thinking that, he noticed from the corner of his eye that Yumiko was watching him.
"These girls..."
Yoru hesitated for a moment, then turned his head.
There she was—Yumiko. Blonde, fair-skinned, with delicate features and dazzling emerald-green eyes.
She was half-turned, one hand holding her phone, the other idly twirling a lock of hair with her slender finger, sizing him up.
When she saw Yoru turn his head, she stared straight into his eyes.
"Hey, you're the one who stole Kasumigaoka Utaha's stuff, right?" Her expression shifted slightly as she spoke.
"It wasn't me!" Yoru said in a deep voice.
"But everyone says it was. Why would Kasumigaoka Utaha accuse you and not someone else?"
Yumiko seemed amused, chuckled, and flashed a set of perfect white teeth.
"Because I'm fat, disgusting, a gross otaku, and I look easy to bully..." Yoru gritted his teeth, forcing the words out from his throat, glaring at her.
"Ha... you..."
Her reaction was not at all what Yumiko expected—it actually startled her. She didn't know how to respond.
She stared blankly for a moment, then finally said, "Hmph, whatever. Just don't bother me if we're seatmates."
"Got it." Yoru turned his head back.
He had thought she'd tear into him with insults. After all, she was known as the "Flaming Queen" of the normie girls.
To most people, he was a perverted criminal—creepy, gloomy, and repulsive.
Meanwhile...
The rest of the class had noticed Yoru's return and began whispering among themselves with their seatmates.
People who had barely interacted before suddenly found common ground in talking about him.
Sitting by the window, Yoru stared at the scenery outside, his expression calm—but his fists were clenched so tight they turned white.
"Kasumigaoka, Shinomiya, the real culprit... damn all of you."
A while later, Hiratsuka returned, and the classroom quieted down.
She said a few routine homeroom things, assigned class representatives and cleaning duties.
Then, just in time for the opening ceremony, she led Class 2-C to the auditorium.
...
Auditorium.
"It's so beautiful, this hall~"
A freshman passed by Yoru and exclaimed as they looked at the massive, palace-like auditorium ahead.
It was huge and luxuriously equipped, easily accommodating all the high school teachers and students.
Concerts, large-scale theater performances—all were held here.
Seats were arranged by class.
Which meant... Yoru had to sit with Yumiko—the blonde girl who clearly wasn't easy to deal with.
Whether that was misfortune or luck was anyone's guess.
Either way, many people were secretly jealous of him.
Those slender, flawless pale legs, full of energy and life, stretched out next to Yoru in black ankle boots—dazzling and impossible to ignore.
"If you dare look or have any filthy thoughts, I'll gouge out your eyes," Yumiko warned coldly, looking at him like he was trash.
Yoru didn't even glance at her. He said nothing and quietly stared at the principal on stage.
Shuchiin Academy didn't waste time with long-winded speeches.
The principal finished quickly, and the new student council president stepped up: Miyuki Shirogane.
"Vice President Shinomiya Kaguya, President Miyuki Shirogane..."
Yoru muttered as he looked at the stage.
In fact—
Back in their first year, Shirogane had been his seatmate.