Yandere High huh.
Well it's nothing too different like the schools I've been to.
A brief speech was held during the opening ceremony.
A monotonous drag that I could care less about.
Still, it's more rowdy than I expected for the first day.
I looked around me. Everyone's trying to familiarize themselves with the classmate next to them.
Well, I get it. It's a new step towards adulthood, everyone's trying to fit in and stand on top of the social hierarchy in the near future.
But I'm sure half of the adults standing by the rows of students are already beginning to hate their job.
Squinting my eyes at a bald-headed guy close to where I was at, I roughly assessed his profile.
His name tag... Yamato Tenichi?
...Nothing stands out to me. The way he dresses, and the tobacco smell wafting around his clothes.
Homeroom-sensei huh. This guy, he thinks no one's noticed? The subtle way he's moving his eyes to ogle at the girls... It's an accident waiting to happen.
Yep. ...Let's not include him in the candidates.
Yamato-sensei notices my gaze and narrows his eyes towards me.
I quickly turned my attention away before he notices.
...Low profile, low profile.
I continued to appraise the classmates around me silently in my head, before the vice-principal at the front of the stage started to end his speech.
"Thank you. Ahh, eehh, uhm. Now, we have another speaker coming up..."
While ignoring the "Wait, there's more?!" "How long is this going to go on for?" coming from the student masses, the vice-principal continued.
"Please come up the stage, first-year representative Sukuoka Harua."
"Yes,"
A girl walked up from the side of the stage, as the teachers clapped to honor her achievement as the top-scorer for the entrance exams.
It was as if time had stopped for many. The applause died down as her footsteps resounded within the hall.
Sukuoka Harua. With slightly brown-tinted hair, tied-up buns and such fair skin. Truly, a bespectacled beauty, although not as exaggerated as what could be depicted in a manga.
Even then, it was probably enough to charm the guys at the peak of their adolescence. I can already tell, a few guys around me were already begin to notice her above-average looks. It was on a level where it wouldn't be strange if she were to be scouted as a model.
Finally paying the speech some attention, hm? Before I realized it, I was already snickering in my mind.
...Looks like all the hard work paid off!
The middle-aged man standing beside Sukuoka-san glances towards my direction briefly, before nodding with a knowing smile.
This result was by no means a coincidence.
I rigged the scores prior to my application here.
After all, for my harem master plan to take place, I needed characters with strong traits. To play chess, one would naturally require pieces no?
Of course, for my protagonist who will inherit the harem in the future, I needed stereotypes that would pass as candidates!
What better way to start than to introduce an intellectual-cool beauty at the start of the freshman year?
With a spotlight set up by yours truly where all eyes are on her, this would give everyone a good impression of this girl.
Naturally, that was what I was aiming for.
Intellectual beauty. In other words, yes...
It's all to solidify her flag as a student council president! Among the student list I had from the school principal, Sukuoka Harua seems to be the most fitting for that role.
Ah, don't get me wrong though.
While I said that I had set up everything such that Sukuoka-san was able to get the position as the first-year representative, it didn't mean that the girl wasn't just as smart. Apart from the 3 guys that placed higher than her, Sukuoka-san was technically the first among the girls of the same year.
In any case, I've done all I can from behind the scenes. Now, all that's left is for Sukuoka Harua to display her talents.
I wasn't too worried about the quality of her speech, from my profiling, it was easy to see that she was the kind that came prepared.
I'm admiring the majestic sight of the bespectacled beauty as she climbs the short flight of stairs up the podium...
Until... I noticed something critical.
Huh? She almost tripped there.
I'm sure no one noticed it, but I, who was more concerned about her success here than anyone else, realized it almost immediately.
Sukuoka-san. She's nervous.
The teachers continued to applause and smile as the first year stood on the podium, not noticing the irregularity.
They must be thinking that she's just preparing herself for the speech.
The notepad on the palm of her hands... were shaking.
It shouldn't be because of her unpreparedness, in that case... ...stage-fright?
I surely haven't accounted for that.
Although I'm certain that she'll do just fine, but I feel like her first impression wouldn't leave as big of an impact if she stumbles somewhere in her speech later. There was also the risk that before such a big crowd like that, it might leave a shade in the girl's heart.
She was at a fragile age as a maiden after all.
...Should I help her out?
I guess I should see through this till the end. I'm the cupid after all. If I made a heroine lower her appeal right after her character introduction, aren't I a failure as a love coordinator?!
Hmm, I can't do this myself though. Now wasn't the time to step out yet.
...Is there a "main character" around that I could use?
As I looked around me, I narrowed down my criteria rapidly in my mind.
Scanning through the crowd of painfully mediocre-looking students, I finally found someone who was paying quite the generous amount of attention to the girl on stage.
One must know, that attention is a very valuable thing in this day and age.
It is what differentiates people.
The way humans distribute attention, and in turn, information, tells a lot about someone.
That was why most of the successful protagonists in rom-com stories, commonly had the trait of poking their business into people's affairs; they were people who paid attention in the right places. That is how heroine flags were raised.
I wasn't sure of failure, because among this sea of students, I was certain that I could find it.
My main character.
...There he is.
Three rows from the other end of the hall, I found a quiet-looking guy staring up at the stage.
His looks were all average, and surely he was someone destined to become a mob character.
But there was something special about him.
From his eyes, I saw... encouragement.
Oho... looks like the two know each other.
Childhood friends perhaps? Or middle-school acquaintances.
It didn't matter really, as long as a connection was there. I can work with this, I thought with a smirk.
And now the characters are set in place. As I set up the scenario in my mind, I looked up at the stage.
Great, it looks like she hasn't started yet. After all, not even ten seconds have passed since I've made the decision to act.
Now then, without further ado...
Let's begin the performance!