As Aiden slipped into the gym and seamlessly joined the ranks of Class 1-D, he found himself standing directly behind the towering figure of Sudo Ken. Aiden's electric-blue eyes sparkled with amusement as he realized this was a stroke of luck.
Perfect cover, he thought, a mischievous smirk tugging at his lips.
Sudo, however, wasn't oblivious to the presence behind him. He turned his head slightly, his expression one of suspicion, and in his usual brash manner asked, "Oi, when did you get behind me?"
Aiden chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his head in a playful gesture, as if caught red-handed. "Hahaha," he laughed lightly, making no attempt to explain himself.
Then, with a grin that oozed casual charm, he put a finger to his lips in a mock gesture of silence and subtly pointed to the stage with his eyes. His expression practically said, Let's not make noise and get caught, okay?
Sudo blinked at him, momentarily caught off guard by Aiden's carefree demeanor. For a brief moment, he considered pressing the issue but ultimately shrugged and turned his attention back to the speech. Aiden, meanwhile, silently congratulated himself on defusing the situation without a hitch.
After briefly surveying the room and concluding there was nothing particularly interesting left to note, Aiden allowed himself to drift into his own world. His eyes slid shut as he leaned casually against the wall, his posture radiating ease. The din of the gymnasium—the hushed conversations, the echo of the Student Council President's speech—blurred into indistinct background noise.
Continuous observation and analysis took its toll, and Aiden knew it. Constantly filtering, dissecting, and processing details demanded a significant amount of mental energy. Unlike most people, who absorbed information passively, Aiden's mind operated like a finely tuned machine, sifting through even the smallest of details to find patterns and anomalies. But now, he chose to let go, allowing the flood of sensory input to wash over him unprocessed.
With a casual air, he raised the coke can to his lips and took a slow sip, relishing the fizzy sweetness that danced on his tongue. It wasn't that he was unaware of his surroundings—far from it. He had already collected and cataloged everything of interest. Now, with nothing demanding his attention, he simply waited for time to pass, unbothered and utterly at ease.
After finishing the speech, Horikita Manabu stepped back from the podium. Both he and the four homeroom teachers were momentarily taken aback by what happened next.
Chairman Narumori Sakayanagi, a figure who rarely interfered in student affairs, unexpectedly stepped onto the stage. In previous years, the responsibility of welcoming new students had always fallen to the Student Council President. The school administration, including the chairman, had never made an appearance during this ceremony.
None of them understood why chairman Sakayanagi appeared at this time. In the previous years, the admission of new students were always overseen by student council president, with the school administration never interfering or making an appearance.
"Hmm, Sae-chan," Hoshinomiya Chie whispered in the ear of her best friend, Chabashira Sae, her crystalline lips barely moving. "That's the chairman, right? What do you think he's planning by coming on stage now? Does he have something important to announce?"
Chabashira Sae, feeling her personal space invaded, distanced herself slightly from her overly curious friend and replied coldly, "I have no idea."
"If you don't know, then you don't know. Why do you have to sound so certain?" Hoshinomiya Chie teased.
Chabashira Sae ignored her friend's playful tone. Just because she didn't have an answer didn't mean she couldn't be confident about it.
Meanwhile, Arisu Sakayanagi, sitting in the audience, watched her father, Narumori Sakayanagi, as he approached the front of the stage. She was equally confused—what was her father up to?
Most of the freshmen, however, didn't find the chairman's presence unusual. In their middle schools, it was common for principals or other high-ranking officials to make appearances during assemblies.
Narumori Sakayanagi greeted the audience with a warm, practiced smile as he took the microphone. His voice was smooth and reassuring, but his sharp eyes suggested that everything he did served a purpose.
"Good afternoon, freshmen," he began, his tone welcoming. "I am the chairman of the board of directors of Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School."
He took a moment to thank Horikita Manabu for his excellent speech and commended him for covering the school's essential aspects so thoroughly.
The chairman then launched into a long-winded address filled with pleasantries about the school's mission and values. While his words were polished, the drawn-out nature of his speech began to lull the freshmen into a state of drowsiness.
Aiden, his eyes still half-shut, continued to sip his coke, utterly indifferent to the proceedings. His mind had already drifted elsewhere, and he assumed this was just another typical school assembly routine.
However, Sakayanagi's next words pulled the room sharply back into focus.
"I assume most of you have had the chance to explore the campus to some extent," he began, his tone shifting ever so slightly. "Now, I will randomly select two of you to come up and share your first impressions of this school."
The announcement sent a ripple of tension through the crowd.
"Who will be the lucky one?" he asked with an amused smile, pulling out his phone and explaining that it contained an app designed to randomly select a student from the first-year roster.
The teachers exchanged wary glances. It was rare for the chairman to involve himself directly, and his motives remained unclear.
The students, meanwhile, collectively froze, anxiety thick in the air. Most prayed silently that they wouldn't be chosen, too nervous to face such a large audience.
Unperturbed, Aiden barely opened his eyes. Probably the school's way of highlighting strong candidates, he mused. They'll likely use this as a pretext to pick class leaders or showcase "promising" students. Typical favoritism.
The chairman's finger hovered dramatically over the screen before tapping it with exaggerated flair. "And the lucky new student is…
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Who do you think are the two students?