On the bus, where every freshman of Advanced Nurturing High School was heading off to welcome the first day of the new school year, most of the students sat calmly in their seats, eyes dull with either boredom or indifference.
However, despite this being a closed, highly regulated school, the bus passengers that morning weren't only freshmen in the red school blazers.
Office workers in rumpled suits, tired-looking civilians, and even an elderly grandma were packed into the same space.
The old woman was standing awkwardly, clutching a shopping bag in her wrinkled hand, swaying a little every time the bus jerked to a stop.
In front of her stood a beige-haired girl with a polite smile plastered on her face.
She eagerly stepped forward to help the grandma take a seat, her delicate hands guiding the frail old lady.
If this had been a normal high school, some of the students would have probably stood up without needing to be asked, offering their seats out of basic decency.
But this school?
Yeah, this place was where the majority of people were either coldly pragmatic, shallow sociopaths, or selfish little pricks who didn't give a shit about anyone but themselves.
Nobody cared about the grandma wobbling there, and even the beige-haired girl probably had her own hidden motives.
What exactly she was after: praise, recognition, or some future advantage, maybe only the girl herself and God knew the truth.
When the other students saw her step forward, they pretended to be busy in the most transparent way possible.
Some were glued to their smartphones, tapping the screens like their lives depended on it.
A few shoved earphones into their ears, music blasting to drown out reality.
The rest either buried their faces in whatever books they pretended to read or chatted idly with each other.
It didn't matter, every single one of them radiated the same message: I'm busy, don't bother me.
Only one person didn't even bother to hide his cold curiosity.
A blond-haired, blue-eyed guy sat there with his arms crossed over his chest, watching the whole scene like it was some pathetic little stage play.
Every gesture of his body made it clear he wasn't someone you could easily fuck with.
He wore the same red blazer uniform as the rest, but he carried himself like he owned the whole bus.
When the beige-haired girl noticed him, her eyes lit up with something like determination.
Without hesitation, she approached him and demanded he give up his seat for the old woman.
The tension between them sparked immediately, a conflict brewing between her forced sweetness and his absolute indifference.
Yet, while that petty drama unfolded, there was one average-looking guy staring blankly into space, completely disconnected from everything around him.
His face was plain, neither attractive nor ugly, just hopelessly mediocre.
He didn't give a damn about the grandma, the girl, or the silent showdown happening a few feet away.
All he cared about was himself and his own petty thoughts.
His name was Haruki Yamauchi. He was a man with delusions of grandeur so big they could barely fit inside his empty skull, but with abilities so limited he couldn't fulfill a single one of those fantasies.
He didn't have any hidden cool side or secret talent that could turn the tables in some dramatic way.
But when it came to bragging about himself or running his mouth, nobody could touch Yamauchi.
Every time a girl climbed onto the bus, his eyes locked straight on them, staring shamelessly at their legs and asses.
His mouth would almost start to drool at the sight of all those cute skirts and tight white stockings hugging smooth thighs.
He loved it, every last detail of their uniforms turned him on.
If he could fuck each of them one by one while they moaned his name in that sexy school uniform, it'd be the ultimate dream come true for him.
But that wasn't exactly what was filling his head at the moment.
Right now, he was staring at a glowing blue screen floating in front of his face, like something out of a galgame.
It was giving him options, routes to choose, as if life had turned into a dating sim.
The screen asked whether he wanted to help the grandma or ignore her, and it even listed the rewards he'd get if he acted like a decent human being.
He couldn't help but think that God himself must be watching over him, handing him the perfect chance to turn all his filthy daydreams into reality.
All those girls he'd been drooling over left and right suddenly didn't feel so out of reach anymore.
They were right there, practically beckoning him to come and take them.
All he needed to do now was make a choice.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
→ Help the Grandma (Reward: +5 Charisma, +5 Affection of Kushida Kikyo, +5 Affection of Arisu Sakayanagi, Grandma Recognition, +10.000 Private Points, Unlock special events)
→ Ignore the Grandma (No change)
Seeing the reward pop up, Yamauchi was honestly surprised.
There were so many benefits just for helping an old grandma.
If he'd known this sooner, he would have jumped at the chance long ago.
Why the hell did he have to wait until now?
Sure, the names of the girls listed in the system weren't familiar to him at all, but so what?
The heroines in every galgame he'd ever played were never bad-looking.
Just getting the chance to sleep with one of them, to fuck them even once, would already feel like a blessing.
Without wasting a second, he stood up and walked over to them without the slightest hesitation.
Of course, he wasn't going to pass up the chance to ridicule the blonde-haired bastard and show off in front of the girl, maybe even flirt with her a little.
"Hey, beauty," Yamauchi said, putting on a greasy smile. "You can let the grandma take my seat. And you, yeah, you."
He jabbed his finger right in Koenji's face, wearing a look of smug disdain. "How could you be so harsh to this beautiful girl and the poor grandma?"
"Interesting. This is the first time someone has actually dared to contradict me," Koenji chuckled darkly, his voice low and amused as he stared straight back at him.
"So what? Unlike you, boy, I don't need flattery or pretending to fit into this society to feel good about myself or to get laid," Koenji added coldly, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
Yamauchi felt like he'd been slapped in the face.
He was completely speechless and instantly regretted opening his mouth to this narcissistic asshole.
He didn't want to waste another breath talking to this prick.
After the beige-haired girl finished helping the grandma settle down in his seat, she turned back to him, her expression softening into a grateful smile. "Thank you, classmate. If not for you, the grandma would have had a really hard time on this bus."
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
→ Compliment her beauty (Reward: +3 Charm, +5 Affection of Kushida Kikyo)
→ Being humble (Reward: +3 Charisma, Grandma Appreciation, +3 Affection of Arisu Sakayanagi)
Yamauchi almost burst out laughing when he read the options.
For a moment, he had actually planned to pick the humble reply, to impress her with how sincere and kind-hearted he could pretend to be.
He'd assumed a girl like Kushida would eat up that kind of bullshit, that she'd love hearing he only wanted to help purely out of goodness.
But now, seeing how she looked at him with that polished smile and the way the system framed her affection, he felt a sick twist in his gut.
It turned out she was just as narcissistic and fake as he was.
Humph.
He'd wanted to impress her because he'd hoped she was different, maybe a little more genuine.
But no, she was a hypocrite like all the rest of them.
As much as he was a self-serving hypocrite himself, so what?
He didn't give a damn. He would do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.
Now, he felt zero desire to consider her his main target anymore.
He just wanted to end this stupid charade and move on.
So he put on his most neutral face and answered in a flat voice, "You don't have to thank me, classmate. I just wanted to help, that's all. If that's it, I'll be on my way."
Koenji narrowed his eyes, observing him with sharp curiosity.
He had to admit, he was impressed watching Yamauchi turn away without even sparing Kushida a single glance, acting as if everything he'd done was genuinely out of the goodness of his heart.
But Koenji knew better. This guy was just as much a hypocrite as the girl.
But still…
Something about this shift in behavior caught his interest.
Just a moment ago, Yamauchi had been practically drooling to get her attention, and now he was acting completely indifferent, like she wasn't even worth thinking about.
What the hell had changed his mind so fast?
This school was going to get more and more interesting, that much was certain.