章節 1: A Suspicious School
It has been a month since I graduated from Sobu Junior High School.
I, Hikigaya Hachiman, trudged toward the bus stop, lost in thoughts of the past. Today was a day in April, the day of the opening ceremony and my first day as a high school student.
Originally, I had planned to go straight from Sobu Junior High to its high school division. But, as they say, plans never go as expected. Thanks to my many foolish actions in junior high, staying in my hometown became impossible. The constant judgmental stares made life unbearable.
Left with no choice, I had to leave my beloved Chiba and move to Tokyo, where I would attend school alone.
Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School is one of Japan's most prestigious schools. In addition to state-of-the-art facilities, the school is known for its extreme freedom, allowing students to adjust their hairstyles and uniforms to their liking.
Its biggest selling point, however, is its 99.9% employment rate.
For a school with such outstanding credentials, most people would jump at the chance to get in. But not me—I refused at first.
The reason was simple: a 99.9% employment rate? In what world does that happen?
This sounded more like a shady operation than a legitimate school. I suspected that they might be kicking out underperforming students to maintain that impressive statistic.
But it wasn't the suspicious numbers that truly bothered me. The deal-breaker was that once you entered this school, you weren't allowed to leave for three years unless you dropped out or had some other special circumstance.
Outsiders couldn't just stroll onto campus either.
For someone like me who adored his little sister, this was completely unacceptable.
However, tempted by the offer of free tuition and fees, my dad ignored my protests—and my sister's—and insisted on sending me to this school, which was more like a prison.
He justified it by saying he wanted to "fix my warped character."
"Damn it, old man. I'll never forgive you!"
I cursed my father as I remembered how I once overheard him and my mom excitedly planning trips and big feasts with the money they'd saved from not my paying tuition.
Damn, I want a big dinner, too!
Adding to my misery, only my dear sister Komachi came to see me off this morning.
We wouldn't see each other for three years, yet my stupid parents were still fast asleep...
The more I thought about it, the sadder I became. I even started to suspect that when I returned home in three years, my parents would look at my face and say something like, "Hey, who are you?" or, "Why are you breaking into our house, you suspicious person?" and maybe even, "If you don't leave, I'll call the police!"
No, that wouldn't happen... would it?
But then again, by that time, they might have changed the locks—or worse, moved houses—so I wouldn't even be able to get in.
"Hahahaha... No, that's not funny."
If it weren't happening to me, I might have found this joke amusing.
With a heavy heart, I finally reached the school. After getting off the bus, I was greeted by a gate made of natural rocks.
The campus of "Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School" is situated on a large artificial island, connected to the mainland by just two bridges. It's said that the campus area is equivalent to that of a small town.
Since students are not allowed to leave for three years, the school has built everything we might need: dormitories, academic buildings, gymnasiums, and even entertainment venues like karaoke bars, cinemas, cafes, and shopping malls.
This place felt more like a small commercial district than a school.
Even someone as perpetually unmotivated as me couldn't help but feel a little excited as I walked through the campus. It felt like stepping into a world straight out of a sci-fi anime.
Especially with all the surveillance cameras lining the streets, adding an eerie sense of conspiracy to the atmosphere.
"...Isn't this a bit much?"
As a seasoned loner, I'm highly sensitive to being watched. At this moment, it felt like every step I took was being tracked by multiple eyes, as if I was under 24/7 surveillance.
This level of scrutiny was unsettling. While I understood that the school, as a government-led institution, would prioritize security, this seemed excessive.
Surely, even for student safety, the number of cameras was over the top.
They clearly weren't concerned about wasting taxpayer money.
Not that I minded too much.
I wasn't the type to get into trouble or pick fights. The school's excessive "protection" was actually a comfort to someone as socially vulnerable as me.
At least I wouldn't have to worry about bullies.
Wait—before that, this school probably wouldn't even admit bad students... right?
As I mulled this over, a rather conspicuous guy passed by.
He had long, fiery red hair and a face that could only be described as intimidating. His eyes, in particular, looked like those of a wild animal sizing up its prey.
In short, he didn't seem like the friendly type.
"...Never mind. We probably won't be in the same class anyway."
I silently prayed as I pulled out the school's admission guide from my bag.
According to the instructions, freshmen were to gather in the gymnasium for the opening ceremony before heading to their respective classes.
The school had three grades, each divided into four classes: A, B, C, and D, with each class initially having forty students.
After sitting through a bunch of meaningless speeches, I finally arrived at the classroom labeled [1-D].
I had taken my time on the way, so by the time I walked in, most of the students were already seated.
Scanning the room, I took a deep breath.
There was a blond muscle head narcissistically filing his nails, a pair of idiots loudly cracking crude perverted jokes, a girl who looked friendly but was clearly putting on a facade as she greeted everyone, an icy beauty who radiated a "don't approach me" aura while engrossed in her book, and a weirdo who seemed unremarkable at first glance but had an odd, unsettling presence as he watched the entire class expressionlessly.
My goodness, who are these people?
I had suspected this wasn't a normal school, but I hadn't expected to encounter such a bizarre cast of characters. All I wanted was a peaceful, uneventful high school life.
But it was clear from the start that these classmates were going to be a handful, even more troublesome than the idiots I dealt with in junior high.
...Oh no, I want to go home.
For the first time in my life, I seriously considered dropping out on my first day of school.
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