Chapter 87: Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian
Monday.
Toyogasaki Academy, Class 1-E.
Before the first class had begun, Kirisu Mafuyu was already present in the classroom.
As most of the students had already arrived, Kirisu Mafuyu gently tapped on the blackboard.
The classroom, which wasn't particularly noisy to begin with, became completely silent, and all eyes turned toward the podium.
"I have two announcements to make, so this will take a bit of time before class starts."
"The first matter: Aki Tomoya from our class has transferred to another school due to personal reasons."
The moment Kirisu Mafuyu finished her words, the reaction was as expected.
The class didn't show any particularly strong emotions.
Everyone exchanged glances with puzzled looks on their faces.
Many students immediately had the same thought: "Who is Aki Tomoya?"
"Did we really have someone named Aki Tomoya in our class?"
As they looked around and noticed the empty seat, some finally recalled who that name belonged to.
But no one really cared.
Over nearly a semester, no one had befriended Aki Tomoya.
In fact, many had never even spoken to him.
As a result, they treated it as if nothing had happened.
Seeing the class's reaction, Kirisu Mafuyu let out a small sigh of relief.
Though it felt slightly rude to the one who had "left," this was for the best.
"The second matter: Starting today, we have a new transfer student in our class. Please be welcoming and friendly to them."
Immediately, the class broke into excited chatter.
After all, having a transfer student join during this time felt like the start of a light novel.
"A transfer student... I wonder if it's a boy or a girl?"
"Hopefully, it's a stunning beauty who falls for me at first sight!"
"If it's a guy, that would be annoying. The transfer student better be handsome!"
"Hey, you're no better! Besides, we already have Yukima-san in class. Isn't that enough?"
"Even if there are too many handsome guys, there will never really be enough! They're nice to look at, you know!"
Amid the buzzing chatter, Kirisu Mafuyu tapped the board once more.
When silence returned to the room, she called toward the door, "Kujou-san, you may come in now."
The classroom door slid open.
A tall beauty with white hair stepped inside.
Her mere appearance immediately drew gasps of admiration from the class.
After all, just like bishounen, there can never be enough bishoujo anywhere.
The transfer student had snow-white skin and eyes that sparkled like sapphire gemstones.
Her long, straight hair, tied in a half-up style, cascaded softly down her back like a silken waterfall.
She was tall, with slender limbs, a well-defined figure, and curves in all the right places.
Not only did she possess a beauty that far exceeded the high school level, but compared to the average Japanese girl, this transfer student exuded a sense of height and maturity, carrying an aura of a refined, elegant woman despite her young age.
Yukima Azuma looked at the new transfer student and blinked lightly.
Kirisu-sensei was clearly overthinking things.
With a beauty like this, there was no need to worry about her fitting in.
All she had to do was take her seat.
By the end of the day, countless people would surely approach her to chat.
Wait a second.
Yukima Azuma suddenly remembered a detail Kirisu Mafuyu had mentioned.
This beauty had transferred from Russia.
Her native language was Russian.
Could it be that she wasn't fluent in Japanese?
If so, would he be tasked with acting as her translator?
At that moment, the transfer student stepped up to the podium and wrote her name on the blackboard.
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou.
Her full name was even longer than Eriri's.
"You can call me Alya. I'm half Japanese, half Russian. Please take care of me."
Alya introduced herself succinctly.
Her Japanese was quite fluent.
Yukima Azuma dropped his face onto the desk.
Might as well sleep!
Kirisu-sensei was definitely worrying for nothing.
"Kujou-san, you can sit over there."
Kirisu Mafuyu pointed to the seat next to Yukima Azuma.
That spot had been left vacant as announced earlier that morning.
"If you have any difficulties with your studies or anything else, feel free to ask the person next to you— Hey, Yukima Azuma, wake up right now!"
Kirisu Mafuyu's voice rose in irritation when she realized Yukima Azuma was already fast asleep.
She had specifically reminded him over the weekend to help the new student.
Yukima Azuma lifted his head, revealing a red mark imprinted on his forehead.
Eriri, seated nearby, couldn't hold back her laughter.
Even Alya, standing at the podium, allowed a faint smile to escape.
As the new student approached, Yukima Azuma, feigning charm, pulled out the chair next to him with a flourish and gestured invitingly.
"Thank you."
Alya spoke softly in gratitude.
Yukima Azuma waved dismissively and slumped back into his seat.
Resting his face on the desk again, he felt the heat causing the hair on his forehead to stick to his skin uncomfortably.
He brushed his bangs back, pushing his hair away.
At that exact moment, Alya's gaze turned toward him.
In the soft morning light, his casual gesture of sweeping his hair back revealed his clean-cut, handsome face, illuminated with an almost ethereal glow.
Though his expression was somewhat lazy, that very laziness gave him an irresistible charm.
The simple act of brushing his hair back was enough to accentuate his good looks.
"...(So handsome)."
Hearing the faint murmur, Yukima Azuma turned to look at Alisa.
Alya remained composed, meeting Yukima's gaze directly.
Her calm demeanor made Yukima wonder if he'd imagined hearing it.
"Excuse me, Kujou-san, what did you just say?"
"I was just saying thank you," Alya replied calmly.
Yukima Azuma's mind was filled with a big question mark.
That clearly wasn't a simple thank-you—it was a compliment about how handsome I am, wasn't it?
What's going on here?
Since most ordinary Japanese students don't understand Russian, does she think it's fine to just openly say whatever's on her mind in Russian?
Isn't this a bit too bold?
Yukima Azuma couldn't shake a slight sense of unease.
A teenage girl with such peculiar tendencies…
Most of the time, people like that are under a lot of psychological pressure and prone to overthinking.
Kirisu-sensei, you're throwing a ticking time bomb at me!
But… maybe it's best to just act like I don't understand.
Yukima Azuma nodded and responded with a gentle smile.
"You're really handsome. (in Russian)"
Alya once again, without a hint of emotion, stated her honest thoughts.
Yukima Azuma turned his head away, avoiding her gaze.
Beside him, Eriri finally stopped laughing.
Even someone as oblivious as her could now sense the gravity of the situation.
A transfer student had just arrived—
Not just any transfer student but a beauty far beyond the usual school standards.
And she was seated right next to Yukima Azuma.
On top of that, the two were chatting quite naturally.
This…!
A metaphorical exclamation mark popped up over Eriri's head.
Wasn't this the classic setup of a "girl who fell from the sky"?
And as for her, the childhood friend, wasn't she shaping up to be the typical loser character in a high school romance-comedy novel!?
What's more, Eriri realized a major problem.
Her defining trait—being a "half-blood"—was now completely overshadowed.
This girl who fell from the sky had the same trait!
This is bad! My position is about to disappear entirely!
Eriri finally began to panic.
...
As soon as the bell signaling the end of class rang, things unfolded exactly as expected.
A large group of classmates gathered around Alya's desk, crowding an entire corner of the room.
Naturally, most of those who approached were female students.
High school boys in their prime youth, faced with an overwhelmingly beautiful girl, often felt too shy to start a conversation directly. Instead, they chose the indirect route.
Eriri sat off to the side, watching the scene unfold with mixed emotions.
Fortunately, Yukima Azuma remained seated in place, which offered some comfort to the twin-tailed blonde.
At that moment, two boys approached.
Kunimi Yuuma and Satou Kazuma—two of Yukima Azuma's friends at school.
The first, Kunimi Yuuma, was a key member of the basketball team, with a decent appearance, scoring around 6 or 7 points out of 10, and a healthy build that made him quite popular.
The second, Satou Kazuma, was an otaku, but his personality was not as unpleasant as Aki Tomoya's.
"Hey Yukima, after gym class, want to play some basketball?" Kunimi Yuuma asked, inviting him.
Yukima Azuma nodded in agreement.
He liked participating in sports activities like basketball, as it helped with his physical fitness.
"You two really are a bunch of uncivilized brutes," Satou Kazuma remarked sarcastically.
He had tried playing basketball with the two of them before, but the skill gap between them was just too big, like an insurmountable wall.
So, Satou Kazuma had given up, choosing to live with the bitter reality of his own limits.
"Kazuma, here's some advice. If you ever get isekai'd into another world..." Yukima Azuma patted Satou Kazuma on the back, offering serious advice. "When you pick your cheat, don't think too hard. Choose something with average abilities, okay?"
Satou Kazuma blinked in surprise.
"Why are you suddenly talking about being transported to another world?"
"Because Kazuma, you're weak. Who knows, you might get... run over by a tractor and die one day."
"What the heck are you talking about! Who the hell dies from a tractor accident?"
The three of them laughed together as they walked toward the gymnasium.
On the other side, Eriri was grinding her teeth in frustration.
Good news: Yukima Azuma hadn't approached the "transfer student who fell from the sky."
Bad news: Yukima Azuma didn't bother to talk to her either.
"Sawamura-san, let's go change," Kita Ikuyo said, coming over to invite Eriri.
"U-umu, let's go!" Eriri responded, trying to hide her unease.
Noticing her, Kita Ikuyo immediately added, "Sawamura-san, take it easy. Don't push yourself too hard during gym class like last time."
Eriri immediately remembered the mishap from the fitness test at the start of the semester. She had gotten into a bit of trouble during that time.
At that moment, her jealousy and frustration vanished.
Right, that fool is the type of tsundere. He's probably just shy, so he didn't talk to me.
Maybe when we get to the stadium, he'll be like last time and silently look out for me from afar!
Thinking about this, Eriri broke into a bright smile.
...
After gym class ended, Eriri rushed to the area beneath the stadium, to the vending machine.
She bought a cold bottle of green tea.
Then, she began looking around for Yukima Azuma.
After searching for a while, she finally spotted Yukima Azuma walking from the stadium to the lecture hall, chatting happily with his two friends.
Eriri immediately ran over.
"Azuma, I bought an extra bottle of water, here, for you."
She extended the bottle of green tea towards him.
Yukima Azuma, hearing her, paused his conversation and turned to look at Eriri.
He casually took the bottle, opened it, and took a sip.
"Thanks."
After saying that, Yukima Azuma waved and continued walking with his two friends.
Eriri immediately pouted in frustration.
What is this!?
I went out of my way to buy a drink, and this is the kind of attitude I get!?
Not even a single extra word to me!
With her head down, Eriri felt utterly downhearted.
Just as she was puffing her cheeks, about to sit down and indulge in self-pity for a bit, something cold unexpectedly brushed against her cheek.
"Aaa!" Eriri yelped in surprise, looking up.
In front of her was a can of lemon tea.
"I almost forgot. This one's for you, Eriri. I specifically got it for you," Yukima Azuma said, smiling gently as he handed her the can.
Eriri immediately snatched the can of lemon tea from him, glaring at Yukima Azuma.
Her small fangs peeked out, making her look quite fierce.
However, since it was her favorite kind of lemon tea, Eriri decided to forgive him this time.