The little interlude ended.
Ren Katsuragi did not go straight back to Second Year, Class F.
Just like he said earlier, he was going to admit his mistake.
"Katsuragi-kun, you must be joking. There's no need to punish you for something like this. You didn't do anything wrong."
"It was our poor supervision that allowed such an ugly incident to happen at school."
Inside the principal's office, the pot-bellied principal in his expensive suit listened to Ren explain what happened, then firmly pushed all the blame onto that male student.
Putting aside the student in front of him, the name "Katsuragi" alone carried a lot of weight.
And since Ren had transferred into Sobu University with perfect scores on every written subject, the principal had to treat him like a precious talent.
A school's reputation often depended on its top students. Right now, Ren was the biggest "asset" the principal could show off—someone who might help Sobu stand above Shuchiin and become number one in Japan.
As for a nasty thief who stole shoes—good riddance.
"Not at all. I was the one who acted too fast."
"Thank you, Principal." Ren thanked him.
When someone shows you respect, you don't need to throw it back in their face.
Relationships go both ways.
"You're too polite, Katsuragi-kun. Actually, I have a small request…"
The principal held Ren's hands, looking a little awkward.
"Please go ahead, Principal."
"It's nothing big. Since the new term just started, I'd like to invite you, Katsuragi-kun, to be the student representative at the opening ceremony. Please share your study methods with the other students."
As the student currently ranked first among the second years, Ren was fully qualified to speak on stage.
The principal did this for two reasons: first, to make Ren feel valued, and second, to build a good relationship with him.
The name "Katsuragi" was simply too important.
"No problem, Principal. Thank you for giving me this chance."
The old man and the young man smiled at each other. The opening ceremony speech was settled.
The Gymnasium
As the opening ceremony drew near, students from every grade entered the gymnasium one after another, guided by their homeroom teachers.
Standing backstage and looking at the endless lines of classes below, Ren remembered the day he first entered the Advanced Nurturing University. Back then, he had been one of the students listening to the people on stage give long speeches.
Time had passed. Things had changed. Now he was the one standing on stage to speak.
Ren looked at the microphone in his hand and felt amused.
Was this what people meant by "the dragon-slayer becomes the dragon"?
Whatever. When his turn came, he would keep it short and end it quickly.
While Ren waited, half bored, the long speeches from the leaders on stage finally ended.
"Katsuragi-kun, it's your turn."
An upperclassman behind him, who had been watching the stage, lightly tapped his arm to signal him.
"Mm. Thank you, Senpai."
Ren adjusted the black tie at his collar out of habit, then held the microphone and walked calmly up to the podium.
Unlike the leaders before him, who looked extremely serious, Ren wore a clean, friendly smile. It made him look like the kind of guy you might meet next door.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Ren Katsuragi from Second Year, Class F. I'll speak today as the student representative."
Thanks to Ren's good looks and tall height, even before he really began, the students below had already started whispering.
"Yumiko, he said he's from Class 2-F. I don't remember a guy like that in our class."
Yui Yuigahama, wearing her hair in a bun, whispered to Yumiko Miura beside her.
"The homeroom teacher said we got a transfer student. That must be him."
"Still… why do I feel like I've seen him before…"
With her wavy blonde hair, Yumiko answered while trying hard to remember where she had seen Ren. The feeling was so strong that she wanted a clear answer.
"Eh~ Nino, did you fall for that handsome guy on stage?" a classmate teased when she noticed Nino Nakano staring at the podium.
Nino Nakano was famous at this school.
A lot of people tried to chase her, but she never cared about any of them.
And when asked what kind of boy she liked, she wouldn't say.
Seeing her like this, it almost looked like her heart had finally moved.
"What nonsense are you talking about, Rin-chan!"
Nino snapped out of it, lightly punching her friend with her pink fist, then looked back at Ren on the podium.
She thought that after missing him last time, they wouldn't meet again.
And now she realized it clearly—Ren's special red eyes were not contact lenses.
That hit her taste even harder.
Rokusuke Koenji?
Yukino Yukinoshita listened to Ren's self-introduction on stage, her eyes narrowing.
So I was tricked.
If he dared to call himself Ren Katsuragi here, then the name "Rokusuke Koenji" he gave me earlier was obviously fake.
Was he trying to catch my attention? Or did he simply not want to get involved with me?
Yukino quietly tried to understand why he did it.
If Ren could hear her thoughts, he would tell her the real reason.
For fun.
As the whispers below slowly faded, Ren lifted the microphone, ready to keep it simple and end this boring speech.
Zzz… zzz…
A burst of static came from the speakers. The big screen behind Ren, which had shown "Opening Ceremony," suddenly changed and began showing ACG-related content.
"Moshi moshi, hello everyone~ I'm Tomoya Aki from Class 2-E. Next, I'll give everyone a quick crash course on—"
A male voice came through the speakers, starting to lecture the entire gym about ACG culture.
Beep!
A sharp sound rang out, and the speakers were cut off at once. The screen went black.
"Tomoya…"
In the second-year group, Eriri Spencer Sawamura, with her blonde twin-tails, whispered with a tired look.
Back when they first entered Sobu University as first-year students, her childhood friend Tomoya Aki had pulled something like this. The school had even posted an official criticism notice back then.
Who knew he still hadn't learned his lesson and dared to do it again in his second year.
Ren lifted the microphone again.
"Sorry, everyone. I have something else to handle, so I'll keep this short. I hope all of you have a good school life from here on."
He gave the students a simple, clear blessing, then stepped down from the podium.
"Junior-kun… are you okay?"
The upperclassman backstage who had reminded him looked at him with concern.
Anyone would feel bad after something like that happened the moment they went on stage.
She wanted to comfort the transfer student who had just arrived at Sobu.
"It's fine, Senpai. What could be wrong?"
Ren set the microphone back on the table and smiled as if nothing had happened. "Senpai, if there's nothing else I need to do here, I'll head out first."
After saying goodbye, Ren turned and walked away.
The moment he turned around,
the warm smile that made people relax slowly changed.
The corners of his mouth pulled wider, turning sharp and dangerous.
He thought hitting one person would be enough.
He didn't expect a second person to jump out on their own.
This was truly too interesting.
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