Richard didn't mind; after all, he wasn't the centre of the world, and people had their own lives. It was something he had come to understand over time. Instead, he simply sat and continued using his phone.
Soon after, more and more students arrived as the department slowly but surely became noisy and lively. Richard, too, could be seen mingling among them as usual.
Yes, he was very close to being a hikikomori, but that didn't mean he didn't have a social life at all. He just didn't go out of his way to contact anyone unless necessary. Gabriel didn't make it to school, which didn't surprise Richard.
"Richard!" A familiar voice called out.
Turning around, Richard saw a small human walking into the department floor—Naomi.
To him, she seemed to stand at a height of about 3'2" or even less, though he knew for a fact that she was just slightly below average height at 5'3".
"Smallie!" Richard called out in reply before going to hug the girl.
