End's Little Worry

Although belatedly, my voice seemed to prompt her reaction. She took her eyes off her book and looked at me with a severe expression on her face, as if I was bothering her. However, I didn't avoid her gaze, facing her head-on.

After a minute of silent confrontation, she finally opened her mouth: "Would it bother you if I refuse to participate?"

"Obviously, we'll be spending an entire year together. Not knowing you, not even your name, wouldn't be very friendly," I replied.

Her gaze softened momentarily as she sighed. Then, she closed her book and stood up.

"I'm Horikita Suzune. As for my aspirations and passions, I don't see how that would be useful to you, so I don't find it necessary to tell you. You won't find talking to me very interesting. So, feel free to ignore me. Are you satisfied?" '

The last sentence was directed at me, and I nodded in satisfaction.

While other students might find her presentation cold and distant, I was genuinely surprised that she bothered to introduce herself in the first place. I had expected some resistance from her.

'I seem to have some influence after all; that's a good thing.'

Horikita sat back down and resumed reading, completely ignoring the rest of the class, who gave her mixed glances.

The introductions continued until they reached their conclusion. It's now the turn of the last student to introduce himself.

He's a young man with an intimidating look, inappropriate hairstyle, and dyed red hair. He seems to have a strong, muscular body and is quite tall for his age. His fashion style also portrays a wild and aggressive personality, with the top buttons of his shirt undone and his sleeves rolled up.

"What are you all looking at me for? Are we children or something? I have no intention of introducing myself. Leave me out of it. Am I clear?"

The delinquent-looking boy glared at the entire class.

"Hey, man, stop acting tough and introduce yourself; let's get this over with," said a brown-haired boy with a fringe on the right side, sitting in front of the delinquent boy.

Earlier, he introduced himself as Ike Kanji. He's a named character from the novel.

"What's childish about getting to know each other?" This time, it's the turn of a young girl with blonde hair reaching her waist, tied in a ponytail. Her name is Karuizawa Kei, one of the main characters from a few volumes later in the series.

"We're not forcing anyone, but I don't think getting along with your classmates is a bad thing," Hirata intervened, trying to calm the atmosphere as he knows how to do well.

However...

"Shut up! I don't care. I didn't come here to make friends."

The red-haired boy remained firm in his decision. It's clear he has no intention of getting to know anyone.

You guessed it; he's the second person I doubted would cooperate. And unlike Horikita, he behaved more or less as I expected.

"Dear classmates, please."

I caught the attention of the class and called for them to calm down.

"As Hirata-kun just said, there's no obligation to introduce yourself. If he finds it useless to form friendships, that's his choice."

I know better than anyone that it's pointless to force his hand.

'With this kind of person, the more you insist, the more heated they become.'

"However, I still believe it's important for everyone to get to know each other. That's why I'll make his introduction on his behalf." '