A Late Bloomer's Powerful Restart ~My Second Life Starts at a Prestigious School Where the Gender Ratio Is Totally Off, and for Some Reason, All These Talented Girls Get Attached to Me...!?~ - 11

Chapter 11: The Identity of the Girl I Was Searching For

Well, I managed to satisfy Taiyo Kano, but the whole reason things turned out this way was because her seat is right behind mine.

From the order of Kashiwado and Kano, it’s pretty clear the seats are probably assigned alphabetically by name.

Thinking about the future, getting involved with her could turn out either good or bad, so honestly, she’s tricky to handle.

The teacher had told us to spend time freely until they arrived, but I probably won’t talk more with Kano. She started reading a book right after our conversation ended, without caring about my gaze.

And… there’s another one who seems just as tricky to handle, sitting right in front of me.

“You’ve been staring at me for a while now. What’s up?”

“Come on, don’t get the wrong idea. The one Tsukimi was looking at is Kurumi over there.”

Her expression made it seem like she was calling me overly self-conscious.

She glanced over toward Kano as if peeking, but Kano quietly turned her face away.

This girl probably only shows interest in people who catch her eye.

“…Just kidding, kidding! Sure, guys are rare here and that makes them interesting, but more than that, I think it’s amazing how Taiki did so well even though he’s in the general admission group like me. Oh, I’m Tsukimi Kagurazaka, by the way.”

Since Kano had turned away, she didn’t seem bothered at all. She pointed her index finger at herself and introduced herself. With her peach-colored twin tails and charming gestures, she seemed like the type who knows she’s cute.

Girls like her often become idols, but sadly, it’s a name I never heard in my previous life. Still… I definitely recognize her face.

“Nice to meet you, Kagurazaka. You’re in the general admission group too, right? Everyone seems unsure whether they’re recommendation or general.”

“I at least know I’m general admission. Recommendation means kids from good families, right? My background is below regular household!”

She declared it proudly with a smug look on her face, but is that really something to brag about? Well, I think being positive is good.

I almost got carried away by her energy, but that wasn’t what I wanted to say.

“It’s probably too late now, but you should notice why the classroom atmosphere is so tense.”

“Huh? Everyone’s tense?”

Not reading the room at all, Kagurazaka asked the students around us. Hey, come on.

They’re just kids who just became high school students. For some from prestigious families who know what “recommendation” means, they probably don’t like being treated equally in the same classroom as commoners.

In my previous life, I attended parties with children a few times, and kids around this age from upper-class families often had those kinds of prejudices. Probably because of their parents’ upbringing.

In other words, openly declaring yourself as general admission isn’t a good idea.

“They’re probably all just nervous! We haven’t even done self-introductions yet. I’m Sasa Kokonoe. I want to be friends with Tsukimi too!”

Luckily, Sasa was the one who eagerly approached first.

When she took Kagurazaka’s hand with sparkling eyes, the tense atmosphere seemed to loosen a little.

Everyone from prestigious families knows Sasa as the heir to the famous Kokonoe Group. Even if someone had discriminatory thoughts, they wouldn’t want to show it and get glared at by Sasa Kokonoe.

Well… there are probably some who fear her but still don’t think well of her inside.

“Wow, I’m really happy we get to attend the same school.”

“Yeah, looking forward to it from today.”

Ousei came over too. Having someone I can call a friend from the first day of school is reassuring.

Thinking about my previous life, Ousei’s presence is valuable.

“Huh? You two already knew each other?”

Kagurazaka, who had been caught by Sasa, tilted her head and asked.

Ousei looks very neat and gives off a strong prestigious family vibe, so it’s probably surprising that he knows me.

If it gets out that we know each other from the October meeting, things could get complicated.

“Yeah, that’s—”

“We happened to become friends on the exam day. You know, there weren’t many guys at the venue. Right, Ousei?”

“…? Oh, yeah, that’s right.”

I quickly jumped in to cover it up, and luckily Ousei went along with it.

The gender ratio at the exam venue wasn’t this skewed, so it might have been a weak excuse.

Sasa made a puzzled face as if she noticed, but I ignore it for now. I’ll ask her to go along with it later.

“Wow, what a coincidence!”

“But I’m glad. There are already so few guys, it would be lonely without friends.”

“Hmm. I think friends can be girls too… Oh, Taiki, are you the type with low self-esteem?”

From the perspective of a beautiful girl like Kagurazaka, making friends probably seems easy.

But for an ordinary introverted high school guy, having girl friends is way too high a hurdle.

…Sasa is an exception because I knew her from my previous life.

“I totally get it, Tsukimi! He probably doesn’t realize how amazing he is. He got better scores than me and took first place! Grr, it’s so frustrating!”

From that line, it seems Sasa got pretty good scores too… but she just had bad luck with the opponent.

I didn’t mean to put myself down, but did it come off as arrogant? That’s unfair.

“I didn’t have friends in middle school… So please be friends with me, Kagurazaka too.”

“Don’t say something sad so casually!? There, there, big sister Tsukimi will comfort you.”

“I never intended to be your big brother.”

“Huh? Why not… Maybe because you somehow feel older?”

My mental age is decades older, after all.

Whether she’s carefree or perceptive, I really don’t get Kagurazaka.

Sasa nodded in agreement to those words, and the two started getting excited again. Soon, other girls gathered and began forming a group.

These two especially seem like they’ll get along well… At least for now, conflict due to the difference between general and recommendation won’t happen. That’s good.

But still, maybe I should play it safe.

“Hey, Ousei. Can I talk to you for a second?”

He probably figured it was about the cover-up earlier. He quickly agreed.

“Please don’t tell anyone that I’m Kasumi Yashima’s grandson.”

“Sure, but why?”

“I thought it would be more relaxing to be seen as a representative of the general admission group.”

If people found out I’m from the Yashima house, the general admission students who are starting to feel camaraderie with me might distance themselves.

If that leads to me being pulled into the recommendation group, the conflict structure would probably intensify.

“Got it.”

“Thanks.”

Sasa really seems to want to get along with everyone.

I don’t know what caused the timid version of her I saw in the first loop, but it’s better to nip any possible causes in the bud.

The current Sasa… looks much happier.

Anyway, even in all this, the girl I’m most curious about shows no interest in making friends. For some reason, the other students don’t talk to her either, and I feel an atmosphere of avoidance.

Since it’s a good chance, I think I’ll go talk to her… Just as I stood up with that thought, the teacher arrived.

Time passed in an instant, and the free time ended.

But during the self-introductions that followed, I learned her true identity.

“I’m Shika Nanamiya. Nice to meet you.”

I recall what Sasa mentioned at the October meeting. The president of the Nanamiya Group has a granddaughter he dotes on. I had assumed that if she got married, only her last name changed, and that I must have met her somewhere.

But that wasn’t the case.

She was someone I never knew existed in my previous life… I never imagined Shika was the young lady of the Nanamiya Group. That only deepens the mystery.

Why did Shika… never appear in the public eye even once?