Shiraishi Shin shook his head and said, "That's not what I meant. I was praising your intelligence. Oh, I never noticed before, but looking at you up close, Kujou-san, your eyes are really beautiful. They're like the color of the ocean, sparkling. Paired with your beautiful face, they make you look even more noble and elegant. No wonder you're called the Princess."
"Wha..."
Alisa's face turned bright red at Shiraishi Shin's sudden praise. She quickly turned her head away to look out the window strategically, not letting him see her burning cheeks.
"Idiot, why did you suddenly start praising me in the middle of talking? It really made my heart race. But it feels nice to hear things like that; you can say them more often in the future."
Alisa whispered her true feelings in russian, a language others couldn't understand.
Although Shiraishi Shin claimed not to understand, seeing Alisa's shy appearance told him that he had indeed made this aloof Princess's heart flutter and her face flush.
As expected, his test revealed Alisa's feelings for him. With his handsome looks, elegant demeanor, powerful strength, and the act of saving a damsel in distress, even a block of ice would melt. Not to mention Alisa, who wasn't even a block of ice, just a thin layer of frost.
If she had no feelings for him at all, she would have found his words disgusting and thought he was harrassing her. But since she liked him, she reacted with these textbook-perfect actions.
"Shin."
At that moment, Shiina Mahiru walked over and greeted Shiraishi Shin.
Shiraishi Shin looked over, took two steps forward, and said, "Mahiru, how was the chat? How is the new transfer student in our class?"
Shiina Mahiru looked back at Chitoge Kirisaki, who was laughing and talking with other students, and said, "Although she was a bit nervous at first, she was able to handle it calmly afterward. It was mostly the other students asking questions and her answering them."
Shiraishi Shin crossed his arms and said, "A transfer student from America is naturally a curiosity. After this break, fewer people will be looking for her. I'll take her around at noon to get to know the school."
"Mm."
Shiina Mahiru nodded and then returned to her seat.
The break passed quickly. Knowing that class was about to start, the students surrounding Chitoge Kirisaki finally dispersed. She breathed a sigh of relief as she watched them return to their seats; those students were so enthusiastic that she felt like she couldn't answer all their questions even if she had an extra mouth.
Shiraishi Shin looked at Chitoge Kirisaki, who was slumped over her desk as if she'd lost half her life, and said, "How is it, Kirisaki-san? This is the treatment of a transfer student."
"Yeah, everyone was so enthusiastic that I didn't know how to respond. It actually made me very nervous. But strangely enough, after that student named Shiina talked to me, I wasn't nervous anymore."
Chitoge Kirisaki looked toward Shiina Mahiru, who was sitting in the first row. Talking to her gave off a sense of peace, and her tension had mysteriously vanished. She was truly an incredible girl.
Shiraishi Shin followed Chitoge Kirisaki's gaze to the graceful figure sitting at the desk and said, "Her? That's Shiina Mahiru. She has the reputation of being an 'Angel' on our campus. She's gentle, beautiful, quiet, and kind to everyone. You can try to become friends with her."
"An Angel? She really is like one."
Chitoge Kirisaki nodded with a smile. Although they hadn't interacted for long, she could feel a warmth in the other girl's words that others didn't have. She truly deserved the title of Angel.
To the side, Alisa was paying attention to Shiraishi Shin and the new transfer student. Hearing their discussion, she couldn't help but pout and whisper in russian, "He just finished praising me and now he's praising another woman. Mom was right, men really are fickle."
During the break after the second period, as expected, very few people came to find Chitoge Kirisaki. In fact, everyone was gone before the break was even half over because they all had their own fixed social circles.
Even though Chitoge Kirisaki was a transfer student, they might chat with her for a few words out of curiosity, but no one would bring a complete stranger into their circle. That would only make things awkward and make people hesitant to speak freely.
Chitoge Kirisaki also discovered that once her classmates stopped coming to her, she was left on the cold bench, watching other students gather in twos and threes, laughing and talking, while she was completely unable to join any of their circles.
Shiraishi Shin watched silently without saying anything.
At noon, the bell rang, and many students got up to leave in small groups. Some went to the Cafeteria to eat, some went to the convenience store to buy bread and milk, and others took their bento boxes and left the classroom.
About seventy percent of the students chose to go to the Cafeteria. Originally, Shiraishi Shin would have been one of them, but today he didn't need to because he had a bento—one given to him by Shiina Mahiru.
"Shin, let's go. To the Cafeteria."
Tabata Hidenori walked up and called for Shiraishi Shin to go eat at the Cafeteria together. However, since Shiraishi Shin now had a bento, he declined, "Sorry, I brought a bento. Go by yourself."
"Huh? Since when did you suddenly start bringing a bento? Don't tell me... someone gave it to you? It couldn't be Shiina-san, could it?"
Tabata Hidenori smelled something fishy. Since Shiraishi Shin had come to school with Shiina Mahiru this morning, and now the guy who always ate at the Cafeteria suddenly had a bento, it was definitely worth pondering.
"Hey, you know a bit too much."
"Dammit! You sure are lucky. When it comes to modeling, you're the only one tough enough. Fine, I'm heading out then."
Tabata Hidenori waved his hand and left with his hands in his pockets.
Shiraishi Shin took the bento out of his black leather schoolbag and went over to Shiina Mahiru's desk, saying, "Mahiru, let's push our desks together."
"Push desks? Sure."
Shiina Mahiru's eyes lit up. Pushing desks meant staying in the classroom to eat their bentos instead of going elsewhere. They would just move the empty desks nearby together to make a larger table, which was suitable for friends to eat together. They would just put the desks back after eating.
Chitoge Kirisaki sat at her seat and took out her bento. She looked at the somewhat empty classroom with a hint of disappointment in her eyes; no one had invited her.
As expected, she was only popular at first because she was a transfer student. That was just a facade. Once the novelty wore off, no one would look for her anymore. It seemed that in this country, she would still be all alone, just like at her school in America.
"It's okay, I'm used to it anyway. Being alone is fine too."
She spoke these insincere words to encourage herself. Chitoge Kirisaki took a deep breath and prepared to open her bento, but in the next second, she heard someone calling her name.
"Kirisaki-san, do you want to come over and push our desks together?"
Chitoge Kirisaki looked up and saw Shiraishi Shin smiling at her, and Shiina Mahiru also nodded toward her.
"Eh, are you calling me?"
Chitoge Kirisaki found it hard to believe.
"Of course." Shiraishi Shin looked around with feigned confusion and said, "Who else here is Kirisaki-san?"
Shiina Mahiru also spoke up, "That's right, Kirisaki-san. Let's eat together."