“I’m An Katagiri. I don’t have any hobbies, so I’ll keep it brief, but there is one thing I want to warn you about. I am in love with Takuro Oda, who sits in the seat next to mine. I will not let anyone take him from me. If you try to go after Oda, I’ll kill you.”
Huh? What the hell?!
Yuichi had never heard such an intense introduction in his life. The rest of his classmates seemed to feel the same way. The whole room burst into whispers.
Takuro, clearly feeling put on the spot, opened his eyes wide and flapped his mouth, dumbstruck.
It didn’t seem like they knew each other. Yuichi couldn’t recall ever seeing her before.
Above Takuro’s head, the label that had said “Friend” now changed to “Witch’s Beloved.”
Could certain events be changing the words? In this case, it must have been An Katagiri’s introduction. Yuichi’s confusion deepened.
“Hey, cut out the bad jokes. You’re scaring people. Besides, you’d just get sent to prison if you did that.” Shota’s joking voice rung out in the middle of the clamor.
“I don’t care if I’m caught. After they release me, I’ll find Oda again and we’ll be married for life. If he’s already married by then, then I’ll kill his wife and children, too. So, Oda. If you try to marry anyone else, you’ll just be forcing them into a tragic end. If that’s what you want, then go ahead and do it.” She spoke the words with absolute confidence.
Does “Witch” refer to her personality, maybe?
“Anthromorph” was Yuri Konishi.
The first thing he noticed was her glorious golden hair, which was bound up in a bizarre and complicated style. Her haughty bearing suggested that she was the daughter of a rich family.
Despite the blonde hair, though, her name and facial features were both Japanese. Maybe she was half-Japanese.
Whatever the reason, her eye-catching appearance sent whispers throughout the classroom, and her introduction only made it worse.
“Let me begin by making one thing clear. I come from a wealthy family. Japanese law forbids class segregation, but as high school students, I am sure that you are aware that money creates differences in status. A person’s worth is directly connected to their wealth. In that respect, I stand high above commoners such as yourselves. You may think this nothing more than the arrogance of the wealthy, but we are about to spend an entire year together as classmates, and I do not wish to see any misfortune befall you. Thus, I thought it best to make certain things clear, to prevent any misunderstandings in your interactions with me that might give you later cause for regret. I advise you all to take this information into account before attempting to approach me.”
Shota turned back to Yuichi. His gaze read “here’s another crazy chick.”
Maybe she was as rich and powerful as she claimed. No normal person would have such an arrogant view of their classmates.
But I don’t get how that makes her an Anthromorph...
Yuichi was just growing more and more baffled.
“Dating Sim Childhood Friend” was Yoko Sugimoto.
Dating Sim?!
“Witch” and “Anthromorph” were at least things he understood. But this label didn’t make any sense to him at all. Did that mean she acted like a stereotypical childhood friend you saw in dating games?
She seemed like a totally normal girl. Her appearance and her introduction were both utterly unremarkable. But as he was thinking that over, his eyes fell upon a male student. He was “Dating Sim Protagonist,” and judging from the seating chart, his name was Koichi Makise.
That’s right, they were talking to each other before, and I think she was teasing him...
Maybe “Childhood Friend” referred to her relationship to him. It couldn’t have anything to do with Yuichi.
“Vampire” was Aiko Noro. She was a petite, pretty girl with short bobbed hair.
But she’s standing right in the sunlight... I thought that killed vampires? It was a clear day, with sunlight streaming into the classroom.
“Um, I’m Aiko Noro! I chose this school ’cause it was the closest to my house, but I’m not too smart, so it was pretty hard to get in. I think I was right on the line. But I’m gonna work hard to study and have fun, too, so let’s do our best together, okay?”
She seemed like a ball of energy. There wasn’t a trace of anything vampiric in her. Though she does seem a little pale for a Japanese girl...
A little foreign, maybe? But that was the only remotely vampiric thing he could identify.
The introductions had only made the labels more confusing. The only one that made any sense was “Witch,” and even then, all he knew about her was that she was a little eccentric. Yuichi was about to give up, when his attention refocused on a single person.
“Serial Killer,” Natsuki Takeuchi.
Her cold, sharp eyes and neatly arranged, short-cropped hair did give the impression of a killer.
“I’m Natsuki Takeuchi. I just moved here from the country, and I’m feeling kind of overwhelmed by all the people here in the city. This school seems full of people, so I’ll do my best to learn from you all.” She seemed like a cold person, though it could be because of his preconceptions. There was something brusque and alienating about her.
Still, the contents of her introduction had been entirely inoffensive. There was nothing in them to suggest that she was a murderer. Even so, Yuichi couldn’t take his eyes off that terrible label above her head: “Serial Killer.”
At last, homeroom ended. Since there were no classes that day, they were free to go home. Yuichi thought about checking in with Takuro — now “Witch’s Beloved” — but he’d fled the classroom at his first chance. The other students were starting to file out, as well.
Part of Yuichi wanted to run straight home, too, but he decided to stick around and sort out his thoughts. He remained at his desk with the seating chart, comparing labels, names, introduction speeches...
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Shota’s voice.
“What’s with this thing? It doesn’t even work!”
Shota returned the gripper to Yuichi. He’d apparently given up on closing it.
“Well, you can’t go right to that one. If you really want to do it, I’ll lend you No. 1. You need 60 kg of grip strength to close that one.”
“Nah, it’s not like I need that for soccer anyway. Can you close it?”
“You know isometric training? I use it for that.”