Entering the second year, the story began with the main heroine, Shiho, being in a different class.
However, it was still early in the story.
And since it was the first day, there didn’t seem to be many events happening.
“Congratulations on advancing, everyone! I’m your homeroom teacher, Suzuki. Some of you may be meeting me for the first time, while others may be thinking, ‘Oh, it’s you again,’ but let’s get along well, okay?”
A new class, a new school life begins.
The homeroom teacher was still Suzuki-sensei, unchanged from the previous year.
Today, as always, she was smiling in her familiar loose jersey.
As a working adult, she was a bit laid-back, still as calm as ever.
“My goal for this year as a teacher… well, it’s also a goal for the year: to get married~. When I went back home for New Year’s, the pressure from my parents was intense… ‘When are you going to show us grandchildren?’ they would say~. Nowadays, that kind of thing is harassment, isn’t it?”
Although it wasn’t great to start off with complaints so early in the new semester, perhaps it was thanks to the teacher, or maybe because it was a new class, everyone seemed to relax a bit despite their initial nervousness.
“Well then, shall we do a brief self-introduction? It would be nice to make friends quickly, wouldn’t it?”
With that said, the self-introductions began.
One by one, they introduced themselves. As I absentmindedly watched them, I realized once again… there was no one there.
(Is it even possible for the class to be so fragmented?)
From a storytelling perspective, it’s a template that the classes usually don’t change much with the new school year. In this second year, there was only me… and one other person.
“…I’m Kurumi Kurumizawa. Nice to meet you.”
Just before it was my turn to introduce myself, she stood up and gave a simple self-introduction.
Her pink twintails still stood out as usual.
Perhaps noticing the attention from the classmates, she was being watched by everyone.
“…”
However, she didn’t react.
Just staring straight at the blackboard.
Since I sat toward the back and she was toward the front, I couldn’t see her expression.
It was probably blank… or so I vaguely thought.
(Well, it’s not like I’ll have anything to do with her anyway.)
Somehow, it felt like it had been a long time since she appeared.
In terms of time, it was around the end of last year… there were various things around Christmas, so it wasn’t that long ago.
(Only Kurumizawa-san in the new class… what’s the intention behind that?)
What did the story want to achieve with this class arrangement?
I had no idea, and it left me a bit confused.
However, I knew there was no point in thinking about it now.
So, to calm myself down, I took a deep breath and tried not to think about anything. But when it was my turn for self-introduction…
“I’m Kotaro Nakayama. Nice to meet you.”
As usual, I gave an unremarkable… forgettable self-introduction.
I thought it would just flow by, like a single scene.
“…?”
But I noticed everyone was looking at me strangely… and I started to feel scared.
Why were they all staring at me?
(What did the god of romantic comedies do to me?)
And because Kurumizawa-san, who hadn’t shown any interest in anyone else’s introduction, specifically turned around to look at me during mine… it only added to my confusion.
