The Omnipotent Super Chuunibyou - Chapter 4

“Got it.”

Scanning the list of students’ names, Hasegawa found his own beneath the class C section.

“Ooh, my ally, it looks like we’ll be fighting shoulder to shoulder this time,” said the petite girl next to him, Takanashi Rikka, her hand over her face.

Since the two of them had been placed in the same class, their names were right next to each other on the list.

This is all fate’s doing, then.

He looked around a bit more on class C list, but he didn’t see his childhood friend’s name anywhere, which was a bit of a pity. However, Eriri’s health had improved a lot compared to before, and she’d learned her diplomat father’s negotiation skills, so there shouldn’t be too much cause for concern.

“Let’s go to our classroom,” he said, turning toward the building on the other side of the schoolyard.

Arriving at the classroom, Hasegawa saw that there were plenty of empty seats, so he chose one in the very back by the window. From there, he could enjoy the scenery and sneak in some off-topic thoughts without being noticed.

After all, he wasn’t here to study hard.

“Clack.”

Takanashi Rikka set her backpack down on the seat beside him.

“This way, even if something unexpected happens, we can stay in touch,” she explained.

“Speaking of, I never asked for your electronic protocol code, Hero.”

Rikka, seated in her chair, seemed to suddenly remember something. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and looked at him.

“Who’s the Hero?”

Hasegawa silently turned his head away.

He could do without such a shameless nickname. Plus, the trend these days seemed to portray heroes as idiots who got fooled into fighting the Demon King, betrayed and dominated by his trusted parnert.

“You, silly.”

Her eyes were filled with sincerity.

“Don’t call me ‘Hero’.”

“Why not? It’s pretty cool, isn’t it? Brave and powerful.”

“It’s overused.”

“Then, how about ‘Sage’? You seem more like that type to me.”

“That’s fine, but why don’t you just call me by my name? It’s just a nickname, after all.”

After making their agreement, the two exchanged Line friend requests and phone numbers.

Meanwhile, as more students arrived in the classroom, the atmosphere grew more lively. Compared to the corner, which was still rather quiet, the rest of the class chatted easily with one another, as if they’d known each other for a long time.

This wasn’t too surprising, as Shuchi’in Academy was a private school that spanned from kindergarten through college, so many students had been childhood friends since middle school.

It was said that within the school there was a hierarchy that referred to students who had risen from the elementary school as “Pure,” and those who transferred in later as “Impure.”

“Taisuke, I never thought we’d end up in the same class. Should I call it fate?”

“There’s nothing strange about it. We’re both Pure, so it’s pretty likely we’d be assigned to a class with someone we know.”

“Oh, oh! Do you plan to join a club once you’re in high school? Maybe try out for the soccer team?”

“Speaking of, aren’t all those people over there Impure? I don’t recognize a single one.”

“I think so, but it’s not like it matters. We’re on a different level, so there’s no need to worry about them.”

Hasegawa Izumi felt the gazes from that direction sweep over him. He could clearly sense the meaning behind them—while not overtly malicious, they amounted to little more than indifference. Those who fancied themselves superior had no need to associate with the lower classes.

Two distinct groups had formed in the classroom; one chatted enthusiastically, the other stood silently apart.

For the time being, most people had their dignity.

The remaining few Impure students didn’t attempt to integrate into the more gregarious group, instead choosing to huddle together for warmth.

“Student, you must have transferred here from outside, right?”

“Correct. You too?”

“Mm-hmm. Let’s get acquainted, then.”

——————–

A few minutes passed.

Hasegawa Izumi, chin resting in her hand, gazed out the window at the blue sky and white clouds, waiting for the orientation to begin, when the murmuring in the room suddenly intensified.

A girl with long, cherry-blossom-pink hair and a wide chest had walked in through the door, a black bow tied around her head, adding a touch of cuteness to her beautiful, expressive face.

“It’s Fujiwara-san.”

“I can’t believe I’m in the same class as her. I’m so lucky!”

“You’d better not try to hit on her. You don’t stand a chance.”

The pure students all recognized her.

Fujiwara-san, or Fujiwara Chika, was the daughter of a political family. Her great-grandfather had once served as prime minister, and her uncle held the current position of head of a provincial administration. She had an excellent lineage.

Even among these pure-blooded individuals, some were more elite than others. This girl’s status was clearly far above theirs, leaving them too intimidated to approach her without permission.

“Huh?”

Chika Fujiwara, however, seemed completely oblivious to the reactions of those around her. Her clear blue eyes scanned the classroom, then locked on her target in the very back.

“Wa~!”

Instantly, her face lit up, and she jogged over in tiny steps.

“Like I thought,it’s you, Izumi-chan!”

Feeling a gust of light-hearted air, Hasegawa Izumi turned around, his gaze sweeping from low to high, passing the peak, until he spotted a delighted face.

“Oh, it’s you, Chika.”

His response was calm, without any hint of surprise. When he’d checked the class list earlier, he’d seen her name.

“Heh heh, I heard Eriri was transferring to Shuchi’in, so I knew Izumi-chan would be here too. But I never thought we’d end up in the same class! I’m so glad! We can get to know each other better from here on out—no backing out now!”

Chika’s silly grin infused the atmosphere with a sense of joy, as if even the winter chill had brightened in response.

“If we have time, sure,” Hasegawa replied.

He nodded. His friendship with Fujiwara Chika had begun at a banquet hosted by the Sakimura family, to which both Chika and Eriri had been invited with their families. Under their parents’ orders, Chika and Eriri were to get along, so naturally, as Eriri’s childhood friend, he also became her friend.

However, they hadn’t interacted much, primarily playing games together.

Due to her family forbidding her from indulging in vulgar entertainments like video games, Chika had developed an unusual taste for niche subcultures, such as German-style board games or puzzle games, which lay outside the mainstream otaku culture.

But Chika always lost to him and never managed to get her revenge, leaving her obsessed with the idea of besting him once and for all.

This was the origin of their rivalry.

The sight of the two of them getting along so well stunned everyone watching.

They could never have imagined that a tiny little Impure student would actually be close friends with the daughter of a prominent politician. It was truly astonishing.

And now they all had the same question:

“Exactly who is this kid?”