Chapter 166 - One Act of Change
It was lunchtime on the fourth day since my university life and training with the Sword Saint had begun.
After my second-period lecture ended, I watched the backs of the students filing out, my head resting on my desk at the edge of the lecture hall.
"The level of these classes is insane..."
Or should I say lectures? The university's reputation as a top-tier institution was no joke; everything, from top to bottom, was on a completely different level from what I'd experienced in my countryside high school.
It had been less than a week since lectures started, so I wasn't falling behind yet, but honestly, I was barely keeping up. Many of the professors had unique or distinctive teaching styles, and the content was interesting enough that I didn't find it a chore, but still...
And am I supposed to call them 'sensei'? At university, it's 'professor,' right...?
"...Hello?"
A reserved voice reached my ears as I closed my notebook and stretched. I figured someone nearby was being called, but wondering if anyone was even sitting next to me, I glanced over.
"—Hngh?!"
Beneath a head of bright, light brown hair, a pair of large, wide-open eyes were staring right at me.
A strange noise escaped my throat in surprise, and I instinctively clapped a hand over my mouth as I sat up. The female student, having been treated to my complete lack of grace the second she spoke, offered a strained, polite smile, clearly unsure how to react.
What am I doing? That was a textbook socially-awkward-person move...!
"S-Sorry, I was spacing out... Um, can I help you?"
I’d had a few brief conversations with people who sat next to me in lectures, but this was my first time talking to her. I'd seen her around a lot, so we must have similar schedules, but I didn't even know her name yet.
"No, no, sorry for suddenly bothering you. Uh, well... this is also kind of sudden, but would you like to have lunch together?"
"Lunch... huh?"
Just as she said, it was a sudden and abrupt invitation. As I stared at her, dumbfounded, the girl fumbled for a moment before pulling a notebook from her tote bag...
"Ah, um, I am Shijo Kaede. I assure you, I am not a suspicious person."
She said it with a dead-serious expression while pointing to her name written in rounded characters in the corner of the cover—so it was no wonder I nearly burst out laughing, letting out a choked "guha."
She must have realized I was laughing, because her face gradually turned red. Shoving the notebook back into her bag, she tried to cover her embarrassment by quickly adding, "Anyway!"
"I see you in a lot of the same classes, and you're in the liberal arts course too, right? You're always by yourself, so I thought it couldn't hurt to just try asking once..."
Are you busy? Or are you just a loner by choice? Her gaze seemed to ask something along those lines.
In reality, I'd just been so preoccupied with the hectic pace of the virtual world that I hadn't had a chance to focus on enriching my university life.
So, for someone to approach me like this was, for me, a wish come true...
"Thank you. I just moved here from the countryside, so I haven't really had a moment to spare."
I tidied up my textbooks as I spoke, then stood and glanced around.
It was a bit cliché, but she was a stylish and cute girl who perfectly fit the description of a 'university student.' And there was no way I was charming enough for a girl like that to approach me all on her own... ah, there they were.
I spotted a group of three—one guy and two girls—watching over her from a short distance. The guy waved, and I raised a hand in return before turning back to Shijo-san, who was anxiously awaiting my answer, and smiled.
"I'm happy you asked. I'd love to join you."
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"—I'm begging you, let's be friends."
"Too close."
Is this really a student cafeteria? The space was so wide and stylish that it made me want to tilt my head in wonder.
After we all got our lunch and gathered at a table, the guy—Toyama Toshiki—who had immediately claimed the seat next to me, a newcomer, was practically leaning on me with the force of someone about to throw an arm around my shoulder.
Apparently, being the only guy with three girls had left him feeling a bit outnumbered... I won't comment on him being greedy, since that would be a massive boomerang aimed right at my own avatar in the virtual world.
"Getting chummy with other guys isn't my thing, so could you take it elsewhere?"
Ashiwara Shoko, the long-haired girl sitting next to Toyama at the round table, jabbed him in the side with her elbow.
"Toyama-kun, you're making Haruka-kun uncomfortable."
Next to her, Kajisawa Mizuki, a short-haired girl with glasses, gave him an exasperated look.
"Ahaha... and, well, this is pretty much our group."
And finally, Shijo-san, who had settled into the spot between Kajisawa-san and me, glanced over as if to check my reaction.
Is it okay for me to say this? What is with this perfect, popular-kid aura?
Was it really okay for them to invite me here? Haven't I just signed up for the role of nuisance character to the university-life rom-com protagonist, Toshiki Toyama?
"Is something wrong...?"
"Not at all. Just thinking what a fun group I've been invited into."
—In a good way, of course, I conveyed with my gaze, and Shijo-san gave a slightly bashful "ehehe" in response. It seemed there were practitioners of that art in the real world, too.
"Haruka-kun, you said you just moved here? Is it okay if I ask what high school you went to?"
"Sure, but I doubt you'll know it."
I answered Ashiwara-san's question, but as expected, the name of my countryside school didn't ring a bell for any of the four.
"Yeah, don't know it. It might be rude to call it an unknown school, but if you got in here from a place like that, you must have been celebrated, right?"
I wouldn't say celebrated. After all—
"I was a loner in high school for certain reasons, so nothing like that really happened."
No need to lay it all out and say I was treated like a weirdo. But as I said that, Kajisawa-san spoke up with a curious expression.
"But Haruka-kun, you seem so sociable."
"I know, right? The way you handle Toshiki is so casual, in a good way."
Ashiwara-san also seemed puzzled, but before that, could someone please do something about Toyama? Considering she's the only one who calls him by his first name, you two must be pretty close, right?
I pushed away the clingy Toyama with my arm and shifted my chair slightly to escape.
"Sorry, Shijo-san, mind if I take refuge?"
"Go right ahead."
After getting permission from Shijo-san, whom I was now naturally closer to, I managed to escape the harem protagonist seeking a male friend. Toyama looked openly disappointed, and Ashiwara-san gave him a light smack on the head.
Maybe it wasn't just that they were close, but that they were already that kind of close.
"So, Toyama and Ashiwara-san, and Shijo-san and Kajisawa-san, I guess you all paired up after starting university?"
"Wow, you got it. How'd you know? I became friends with Shoko-chan first."
Taking the opportunity of our proximity, I asked, and Shijo-san confirmed it with a 'correct.' The two of them must have been a pair of guys and a pair of girls who then merged, leaving him feeling outnumbered.
I could understand how Toyama felt. I wasn't opposed to being friends, but first, he needed to calm down and sort out his sense of personal space.
"Haruka-kun, you can just call me Mizuki. I don't really like the sound of my family name."
The voice came from the other side of Shijo-san.
"Oh, then you can call me Kaede, too. I like the sound of it more than my last name."
As if jumping on the bandwagon, Shijo-san added her request, and now I, a guy who had declared himself a loner just thirty seconds ago, was being asked to call two girls I'd just met by their first names.
"Well... okay. You can call me whatever you like."
Haruka Nozomi—I don't like either my first or last name.
As long as it wasn't "Haruka-chan" or "Nozomi-chan," anything was fine.
"Then, Nozomi-kun."
"Then, Haruka-kun."
The two instantly disagreed and looked at each other... and including Ashiwara-san, they ultimately settled on "Haruka-kun"—as for Toyama...
"Nice to meet ya, Nozomi! Let's get along, Nozomi! Looking forward to it, Nozomi!!"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it...! You're too close, get away from me, you're annoying...!!"
"You can call me Toshiki!" he insisted, pressing closer again. As I tried to push him away, Kaede helped by pushing my back.
On their side, Ashiwara-san was pulling at Toyama's back with a look of annoyance, while across from them, Mizuki watched the scene with an air of disinterest—
"...Haha."
An amused, unguarded laugh escaped me.
Looks like this side—the real world—is about to get lively too, I thought, mentally welcoming this new encounter.