Ryouma spoke in a half-joking tone.
"Wow, you're pretty harsh. Keep acting like that, and you'll never find yourself a boyfriend."
"That's perfectly fine. I have no interest in such things anyway."
Only then did Suzune raise her head to look at Ryouma.
Her voice was somewhat cold as she continued.
"I enrolled at this school with a firm conviction. If your goal is to build relationships with the people around you, I suggest you find someone else. Don't bother me."
With that, Suzune lowered her head and returned her attention to the book in her hands.
Naturally, Ryouma had no intention of continuing a conversation with someone who clearly didn't want to talk.
He turned his head toward Kiyotaka instead and gave him a friendly smile.
Kiyotaka's expression remained completely unchanged.
However, inside his head, his thoughts were racing.
'How should I respond to make myself look like an ordinary high school student?'
'Should I introduce myself first?'
'But wouldn't that make me seem overly familiar?'
'Wouldn't that contradict the personality of someone who prefers to avoid trouble?'
'What if Horikita notices something suspicious?'
'If my act gets exposed, people might label me a liar.'
'Wouldn't that make Horikita and Amakawa even more suspicious of me?'
'And what if they discover my true abilities?'
'Wouldn't that eventually make the entire class suspicious of me?!'
A seemingly endless series of questions flashed through Kiyotaka's mind, only to be rejected one after another.
'Still, since this guy named Amakawa Ryouma is the one who looked at me first, wouldn't it be more reasonable for him to start the conversation?'
'That wouldn't seem unnatural at all.'
'And then... I might finally make my first friend!'
As Kiyotaka looked toward Ryouma, a faint sense of anticipation welled up inside him.
And then...
Ryouma simply turned around.
He didn't spare Kiyotaka another glance.
'???'
'Wait... What?'
Kiyotaka was completely dumbfounded.
'Is this how high school students behave nowadays?'
'Then what the hell were you smiling at me for?!'
'Or is there something wrong with my clothes?'
'Don't tell me everything I learned in the White Room was wrong?'
'Are ordinary high school students actually supposed to act like Horikita, Amakawa Ryouma, and that Rokusuke Koenji guy?'
'Has something gone seriously wrong with society...?'
Kiyotaka began reflecting on everything he had learned and experienced throughout his life.
Ryouma, however, hadn't given the matter nearly as much thought.
He had absolutely no interest in Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.
The sole successful product of the White Room.
Possessing extraordinary talent from childhood, Kiyotaka had been confined to the White Room by his father and treated as an experimental subject.
There, he underwent an exceptionally harsh and strictly controlled education.
It had to be said that, as the White Room's only successful case, Kiyotaka was indeed an outstanding success.
Years of controlled education had left him without any feelings of resentment or hatred toward the White Room.
In fact, the process had practically erased his emotions toward the outside world.
The only things remaining were his curiosity and the pleasure he derived from learning and growing stronger.
It was only because he believed he could no longer achieve further growth within the White Room that he eventually escaped with the assistance of a butler.
And through that same butler's introduction, Kiyotaka had enrolled at this school.
Someone who lacked emotions to such an extent couldn't be controlled.
At the same time...
Ryouma also understood perfectly well why he had been assigned to Class D.
In certain respects, he was quite similar to Kiyotaka.
Both of them lacked the ability to trust others.
As for this school, Ryouma regarded it with nothing more than faint disdain.
After all, the world had always operated on the principles of absolute meritocracy and the pursuit of personal interests.
However, there was one fundamental difference between him and Kiyotaka.
Ryouma possessed desires.
He wanted to inherit the Amakawa family.
And ultimately...
'He wanted to control all of Japan.'
"All first-year students, return to your seats."
Just then, the sharp clicking of high heels echoed from the hallway.
A beautiful, mature-looking woman entered the classroom.
She wore a fitted business outfit with a tight skirt that accentuated her hips, paired with black stockings.
Her hair was tied into a neat, professional ponytail, giving her an elegant yet capable appearance.
The noisy classroom instantly fell silent.
The students hurriedly returned to their seats.
After all, for students who had only recently graduated from middle school, the very presence of a teacher still carried considerable authority.