kscans

Chapter 166 - One Act of Change

Four days had passed since the start of my university life and my training with the Sword Saint. It was now lunchtime.

As the second-period lecture ended, I watched the other students file out one by one, my head resting on my desk in a seat at the edge of the lecture hall.

"This level of instruction is insane…"

Or should I say lecture level? The university's reputation as a top-tier institution was no joke; everything from one to ten was on a different plane from what I had experienced in my small-town high school.

It had been less than a week since lectures started, so I wasn't falling behind yet, but honestly, it was all I could do to keep up. Many of the professors had unique teaching styles, and the content was interesting and engaging, so it wasn't exactly 'painful'…

Also, is it okay to call them 'sensei'? Or should I be calling them 'professor' at university—

"…Hello?"

As I closed my notebook and stretched, a reserved voice reached my ears from beside me. I wondered if someone nearby had been called out to, then remembered I was sitting alone. I glanced to the side, and—

"—Nghh."

—a pair of large, wide-open eyes under light brown hair were looking straight at me.

A strange sound escaped my throat in surprise, and I reflexively covered my mouth as I sat up. The female student, who had just been treated to a pathetic display seconds after speaking to me, offered an awkward, polite smile, clearly unsure how to react.

What am I doing? That was a textbook socially awkward move…!

"S-Sorry, I was spacing out… Um, can I help you?"

I had exchanged a few words with the people who sat next to me in lectures, but this was my first time talking to her. I'd seen her around often, so we probably had similar class schedules, but I didn't even know her name.

"No, no, I'm sorry for bothering you out of the blue. Um… and this is also kind of sudden, but would you like to have lunch with us?"

"Luh… what?"

Just as she said, the invitation was sudden and unexpected. As I stared at her in stunned silence, the female student fumbled with her tote bag and pulled out a notebook…

"Ah, um, my name is Shijo Kaede. I am not a suspicious person."

She pointed to her name written in rounded characters in the corner of the cover and introduced herself with such a serious expression that—it was no wonder I nearly burst out laughing, choking on a "gu-huh."

She must have realized I was laughing, because she blushed slightly and shoved the notebook back into her bag, trying to cover it up by continuing with an "Anyway!"

"I see you a lot in the same classes, and you're in the liberal arts course too, right? You're always alone, so I thought it might be okay to just say hi at least once…"

Her gaze seemed to ask if I was a busy person, or perhaps a loner by choice.

In reality, I had just been so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the virtual world that I hadn't had a chance to focus on enjoying my university life.

So, for me, having someone approach me like this was a wish come true…

"Thank you. I just moved here from the countryside, so I haven't had much time to settle in."

I said as I packed my things and stood up, glancing around.

She was a stylish and cute girl who fit the classic image of a 'university student.' And there was no way a girl like that would approach me on her own just because I was so charming… ah, it must be them.

I spotted a group of three—one guy and two girls—watching her from a short distance away. I raised a hand in response to the guy who was waving at me, then smiled at Shijo-san, who was waiting anxiously for my reply.

"I'm glad you invited me. I'd love to join you."

◇◆◇◆◇

"—For the love of God, please be my friend."

"You're too close."

Is this really a student cafeteria? The place was so spacious and stylish it made me want to tilt my head in wonder.

As soon as we had all gotten our lunches and gathered at a table, the guy—Toyama Toshiki—had immediately taken the seat next to me and was now practically draping himself over me.

Apparently, being the only guy in a group with three girls had left him feeling a bit out of place… As for the贅沢 of it, if I were to comment on that, it would just be a massive boomerang hitting my virtual world avatar, so no comment.

"I'm not into guys getting all clingy, so could you take that somewhere else?"

Ashiwara Shoko, with her long black hair, who was sitting next to Toyama at the round table, nudged him in the side with her elbow.

"Toyama-kun, you're making Kasuga-kun uncomfortable."

Next to her, Kajisawa Mizuki, a girl with short black hair and glasses, gave him a look of exasperation.

"Ahaha… and this is pretty much our group."

And finally, Shijo-san, who had settled in between Kajisawa-san and me, looked over at me as if to gauge my reaction.

Can I say this? What is with this perfect, popular-kid aura???

Am I really supposed to be here? Did I just sign up to be the nuisance character in Toyama Toshiki's university青春 light novel?

"Is something wrong…?"

"Not at all. Just thinking I got invited into a fun-looking group."

—In a good way, of course, I conveyed with my eyes. Shijo-san gave a slightly bashful "ehehe" in response. It seems there are masters of that art in the real world too.

"Kasuga-kun, you moved here, right? Is it okay if I ask what high school you came from?"

"I don't mind, but I doubt you'd know it."

I answered Ashiwara-san's question, and as expected, the name of my small-town school didn't ring a bell for any of the four.

"I don't recognize it. It might be rude to say it's an unknown school, but if you got in here from a place like that, you must have been quite the celebrity, right?"

Not really a celebrity. After all—

"I was a loner in high school for certain reasons, so nothing like that happened."

No need to go into the details of being treated like a weirdo. But as I said that, Kajisawa-san spoke up with a curious expression.

"Kasuga-kun, you seem like you have good social skills."

"I know, right? And you're already handling Toshiki with a good kind of familiarity."

Ashiwara-san added, also looking puzzled. But before that, can you do something about this guy, Toyama? Considering you're the only one who calls him by his first name, you must be pretty close to him.

I pushed away the clingy Toyama with my arm and shifted my chair slightly to escape.

"Sorry, Shijo-san, letting me take refuge."

"Be my guest."

I asked for permission from Shijo-san, who was now naturally closer, and managed to escape the harem protagonist seeking a male friend. The clearly disappointed Toyama got a light smack on the head from Ashiwara-san.

Maybe they're not just close friends, but already in that kind of relationship.

"So, Toyama and Ashiwara-san, and Shijo-san and Kajisawa-san were pairs, and you all got together at university?"

"Wow, you got it right. How did you know? Shoko-chan and I became friends first."

Taking advantage of the closer proximity, I asked, and got a confirmation from Shijo-san. Two girls had joined the existing two pairs, and he must have suddenly felt out of place.

I can kind of understand how Toyama feels. I don't mind being friends, but first, calm down and establish a proper sense of distance, please.

"Kasuga-kun, you can just call me Mizuki. I don't really like the sound of my family name."

A voice came from beyond Shijo-san.

"Oh, then you can call me Kaede. I like the sound of it more than my family name."

Shijo-san jumped on the bandwagon, and as a result, I was being asked to call girls I had just met by their first names. This, to a guy who had just declared himself a loner thirty seconds ago.

"Well… got it. You can call me whatever you like."

Haru Kasuga—I don't particularly like my family name or my given name.

As long as it's not "Haruka-chan" or "Nozomi-chan," anything goes.

"Then Nozomi-kun."

"Then Kasuga-kun."

The two of them split their decision in a second and looked at each other… and including Ashiwara-san, I ended up being "Kasuga-kun"—as for Toyama,

"Nice to meet you, Nozomi! Let's be friends, Nozomi! Lookin' forward to it, Nozomi!!"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it…! You're too close, get off me, you're annoying…!!"

"You can just call me Toshiki!" he said, getting clingy again. As I tried to push him away, Kaede helped me out by pushing his back.

On the other side, Ashiwara-san was annoyingly pulling on Toyama's back, and across from this commotion, Mizuki was watching the scene with a look of disinterest—

"…Haha."

A light, relaxed laugh escaped my lips.

It seems the real world is going to get lively too, I thought, and in my heart, I welcomed this new encounter.