The chirping of birds.
Dazzling morning sunlight streaming through the gap in the window.
When I opened my eyes on the hard dorm bed, I was hit with a sense of freshness—and, at the same time, a crushing pressure in my chest.
"What time is it?!"
I felt uneasy, so I checked immediately.
[07:12]
"..."
Thank goodness.
I had avoided the worst possible future: being late on the first day of school.
I buried my face in the pillow and let out a relieved sigh.
[Mental Strength 1]
"Quiet."
I threw off the blanket and sat up.
...
Today was the day.
Hikarizaka Academy.
My transfer.
A new term.
An unfamiliar classroom.
Unfamiliar people.
Just thinking about it made my stomach ache a little.
[Use of [Poker Face LV. 1] is recommended.]
"Before I even go to school?"
[Your tension level is already in the danger zone.]
"..."
I could not argue with that.
"...Turn it on."
[[Poker Face LV. 1] has been activated.]
Right afterward, a subtly cold sensation began to take hold over my entire face.
The pounding of my heart and the pressure in my chest remained exactly as they were,
but strangely, the muscles in my face had stiffened like an iron wall.
I walked over to the mirror and checked my face.
"..."
Huh?
I was definitely nervous.
No, more than nervous—I honestly wanted to run away.
My first day as a transfer student.
A new school.
New relationships.
What if I failed?
What if people thought I was weird?
My mind was still full of every possible negative thought.
And yet.
The me reflected in the mirror looked more composed than I had expected.
My lips were not trembling.
I was not forcing a smile, either.
I just looked a little more expressionless than usual.
"...That’s amazing."
[[Poker Face LV. 1] is active.]
"Even though I’m not okay at all inside."
[This is normal.]
[Poker Face does not improve your mental state.]
"I figured."
Still.
At least when I introduced myself for the first time,
I would shake less,
mess up less,
and seem less like a weird person.
That alone made me feel a little better.
"All right..."
"Let’s go."
I picked up my uniform jacket.
...
I walked slowly along the route recommended by the system.
Students in uniform, who had not been around over the weekend, began coming into view one by one.
Whew.
Calm down.
Steadying my heart as it began to tremble again for no reason, I kept walking.
And then.
I finally reached the road leading to Hikarizaka Academy.
A hillside road where cherry blossoms were in full bloom.
Amid the sight of countless students going up and down it,
I stopped for a moment.
My memories of the original work were gone, and I had been thrown into an unfamiliar situation, but
one thing was certain.
I really did want to
enjoy scenery like this in peace.
Tap.
"...?"
I quickly turned around at the sudden bump against my shoulder.
When I did, two familiar faces stood there.
"Why are you so startled?"
"You’re spacing out first thing in the morning."
It was Okazaki.
Beside him, Sunohara was letting out a huge yawn.
"This guy isn’t nervous, is he?"
"Could be."
"He is a transfer student."
"..."
Why did hearing something true feel so... Actually, it did not feel bad.
Were they worried about me?
[[Poker Face LV. 1] is active.]
Fortunately, my expression had not turned that foolish.
"Thank you for worrying about me."
"Us?"
"Weren’t you?"
Okazaki and Sunohara looked at me at the same time, both wearing incredulous expressions.
...
"I understand being nervous as a transfer student."
Okazaki scratched his head.
"But you seem more nervous than I thought."
"Getting touched by a single remark and all."
Sunohara snickered.
"..."
I could not deny it.
"No, but seriously."
Sunohara shrugged as he added,
"What, do you think we’re good people or something?"
"...?"
"Well, once you find out we’re delinquents, you probably won’t feel so grateful anymore."
"Probably not."
Okazaki gave a faint laugh.
"Everyone’s too scared to even come near us."
"..."
Honestly, I did not really understand.
They both seemed like nice people...
All at once, I had a feeling that if I simply let the two of them walk away now, a firm line would be drawn between us from then on.
My embarrassment and timidity were holding me back, but this time, I had to be brave.
"E-Excuse me!"
"Yeah?"
"Huh?"
At my sudden shout, both of them turned their eyes toward me.
...
"...Could I come with you?"
As soon as the words left my mouth, I unconsciously drew in a breath.
Ah.
Was I being too pushy?
Was I bothering people I was not even close to yet?
Should I take it back after all?
The critics in my head began tearing into me in an instant.
[[Poker Face LV. 1] is active.]
Thankfully, my face still looked fine.
"What’s with you?"
Sunohara let out a disbelieving puff of laughter.
"Why are you even asking that?"
"Weren’t we already going together?"
Okazaki said it in an annoyed yet matter-of-fact tone.
"...Huh?"
"We’re in the same dorm and the same grade."
Okazaki waved a hand as he started walking ahead.
"There’s a good chance we’re even in the same class. Come on."
"..."
For a moment, I did not know what to say.
[Mental Strength 1]
I lowered my head, afraid my eyes might start to sting for no reason.
"...Thank you."
"See? He’s touched again."
"Seriously. He gets touched by every little thing anyone says."
"..."
I could not deny that this time, either.
[Achievement Unlocked: Courage]
[Reward: 50P]
An achievement?
[You spoke to them first instead of running away.]
"..."
[By Suho’s standards, this is a rare achievement.]
Why am I the standard?
[Achievement criteria are tailored to the user.]
"..."
"Hey! Aren’t you coming?!"
Sunohara’s shout came from some distance away already.
"Y-Yes!"
I hurried after the two of them.
My steps toward Hikarizaka Academy
had grown a little lighter.
As we passed along the hillside road lined with blooming cherry blossoms,
with Okazaki and Sunohara’s chatter up ahead as background music,
I felt at ease for the first time in a long while.
...
And at last, we arrived in front of the school gate.
"Morita."
"Yes?"
"We’re going straight to check the class assignment list. What about you?"
At Okazaki’s question, I turned my gaze toward the inside of the front gate.
"Ah, I think I need to go to the staff room first."
Just looking at the objective floating before my eyes told me as much.
──────────────────
[Objective]
Reach the staff room.
Follow your homeroom teacher to the classroom.
──────────────────
That’s a more normal objective than I expected.
[It is intended to prevent users from escaping school on their first day.]
"..."
It was not talking about me, was it?
Swallowing my complaint, I nodded to Okazaki.
"Then I’ll get going first."
"All right. Hopefully I’ll see you in class later."
Okazaki casually waved goodbye,
while Sunohara was already running toward the class assignment list posted on the bulletin board in the distance.
Parting from them, I entered the main building.
An unfamiliar hallway, the scent of clean flooring, and the unfamiliar voices of students passing by.
[Social anxiety gauge rising.]
[[Poker Face LV. 1] is active.]
Thanks to the route recommended by the system, I was fortunately able to reach the staff room without having to ask a stranger for directions.
...
Here we go again.
I had not even opened the door, yet dozens of worst-case scenarios were already playing out in my head.
What if my homeroom teacher disliked me?
What if I messed up my introduction?
What if I entered the classroom and nobody paid any attention to me?
Then again, it would be troublesome if they paid too much attention to me.
...
If I had raised my Intelligence more like the system said, I felt like twice as many of these thoughts would have occurred to me.
That thought made me break out in a cold sweat instead.
"Hey, you."
At the sudden voice, I hastily shut down the countless channels running in my head and turned around.
A girl with long purple hair flowing down her back,
one side tied with a ribbon, and a striking presence.
She had an entirely different sort of air from Ichinose Kotomi.
Rather than quiet and mysterious,
she gave off an assertive, refreshingly forthright energy.
"Why are you standing in front of the staff room without going in?"
The girl asked with her arms folded.
"You’ve been staring at the doorknob for a while now."
"..."
"You’re not some suspicious guy, are you?"
It seemed I had caught the attention of an unusual person on my very first day of school.
The critics in my head were mercilessly shaking my resolve, shouting, You’ve been marked and You’re doomed.
[[Poker Face LV. 1] is active.]
Thankfully, my face did not show any sign of panic
or surprise.
I forced myself to compose my voice and answered calmly.
"...I’m a transfer student starting today.
I was collecting my thoughts before going into the staff room."
"Oh, a transfer student?"
The girl’s eyes widened slightly.
The suspicious look she had been giving me softened in an instant.
"What? That’s what it was?"
"...Yes."
"I thought you were some suspicious person."
After saying that, the girl glanced toward the staff room door and gave a faint laugh.
"Why are you so nervous? Come on!"
Apparently, that forthright energy of hers had not been my imagination.
The girl strode right up beside me,
then opened the staff room door before I even had a chance to stop her.
Rattle!
"Excuse us!"
The teachers inside the staff room all turned toward the door at once.
"Oh? Fujibayashi? And next to you is... Ah, you must be Morita, the student transferring in today!"
The person who rose from his seat was a middle-aged male teacher with a kind-looking face.
After briefly checking my transfer documents, he picked up the attendance book and stood.
"Well, you found your way here just fine without anyone guiding you."
"I look forward to having you with us from today onward, Morita."
When the teacher held out his hand, I reflexively held out mine as well.
We exchanged a brief handshake.
"You’ll be in Class 2-B. Since you can go with the class representative who came to pick up a notice, that works out nicely."
Class representative?
Ah.
So the purple-haired girl beside me was the class representative.
That made sense.
That drive of hers definitely suited a class representative.
"All right, let’s go."
The homeroom teacher lightly tapped my shoulder with the attendance book and led the way.
As we left the staff room and walked down the hall,
the girl walking beside me kept stealing glances my way.
Thanks to Poker Face, my expression remained calm.
But inside, I felt myself shrinking more and more under her attention.
"By the way, you."
"Yes?"
"You’re more honest than you look."
What was this girl talking about?
"What do you mean...?"
"You admitted right away that you were scared to go into the staff room."
"..."
I could not deny that.
"...I’ll take that as a compliment."
"Of course it’s a compliment!
Anyway, I’m Fujibayashi Kyo, the class representative of Class 2-B. I hope you don’t cause any troublesome problems while you’re at this school."
"I’m Morita Shu. It’s nice to meet you."
Even as we exchanged greetings, her words lingered in my mind.
Troublesome problems...?
It seemed I had already been marked.
"No, I don’t mean you."
Wasn’t this Poker Face? How did she know?
[Expression concealed successfully.]
[Thoughts concealed unsuccessfully.]
Don’t read them.
"I heard there are two delinquent students in our class."
"..."
I had a feeling I knew who she meant.
"I hope you’re not one of their kind, either."
...
I had already gone to school with them this morning.
I wanted to tell her that those two were not as bad as she thought,
but the words never made it out of my mouth.
"Well, you look like a diligent person at a glance, so I don’t think I need to worry."
Kyo gave my shoulder a few hearty pats.
Her hand was heavier than I expected.
She feels like an important character somehow.
"Anyway, be careful not to pick up bad habits from those two."
"..."
I could not exactly promise her that.
At last, we reached a door. The plaque clearly read [2-B].
The homeroom teacher grasped the doorknob,
and the lively noise unique to the start of a new term flowed from inside the classroom.
[Social anxiety gauge rising.]
[Rising.]
Stop.
I know, I know.
The social anxiety gauge in my head began surging again.
Rattle.
"All right, everyone, attention! Before we begin homeroom, I’d like to introduce a new student who has transferred in."
In an instant, dozens of gazes turned toward me at once.
...
I want to run away.
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