CH 9

Chapter 9: It's Not Nice For An Atmospheric Charlatan (College Debutante) To Go For The One-chance Shot Against A Sober Girl

TL: Akabane

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After the toast, the banquet hall was filled with lively sounds of laughter and talking. The circle here was courteous to new students. There was a kind atmosphere, with seniors talking to new students who seemed to be bossy. I thought it was a good circle. However, the problem of compatibility still stood in the way. To be frank, Ayashiro and Kato's interests are so different that they probably don't get along in private. That's why our conversation was a little awkward at the beginning. It was only because I had opened up to Kato that the conversation between us continued. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that I was the link between the two of us. I think it was right that Ayashiro brought me along. But Ayashiro's enthusiasm for circle activities was real.

"Why are you interested in our circle, Ayashiro-san?"

Kato-senpai asked Ayashiro so. Her face was a little red and her expression was a little loose due to alcohol intoxication, but her eyes were serious. She was trying to assess Ayashiro. Ayashiro was probably trying to respond to her seriousness. She opened her mouth with a dignified expression.

"My family used to travel abroad a lot. We went to many different countries. We went to countries that Japanese people don't often go to. There is something I saw there."

"What did you see?"

"My father took me by the hand and we walked through a market place in the middle of the day. It was a really crowded place, with the smell of fruit, the raw smell of fish, and the smell of blood on meat. It was a mixture of all these smells. It was hard for me to smell such smells when I was used to life in Japan. Then my father stopped in front of a store. A small stall. They were selling juice made from local fruits. It smelled so delicious. But...the person selling it was not an adult. It was an elementary school kid, just like me at that time. My father ordered two bottles of juice and paid for them with US dollar bills. In that country, the dollar was in circulation because the local currency was not very trustworthy. But if you paid in dollars, it was a hassle to calculate the change. I had to think about the exchange rate of the day. I couldn't calculate the price by heart. But the boy did the math in an instant and quickly returned the change. My father was so impressed that he gave him the change as a tip. Then, in Japanese, he said to me alone, "Did you see that? This boy has even better math skills than you, but he can't go to school at this time of the day." I was so shocked that I couldn't taste my juice. I hugged my mother because I didn't understand why. I thought it was unreasonable. My father showed me the darkness of this world every time we went on a trip. He probably wanted to tell me how happy we were."

Me and Kato-senpai were listening to Ayashiro's story. We forgot about drinking and only wanted to continue the story.

"This world is full of unreasonable people who are driven to misfortune through no fault of their own. I've seen it. I have crossed paths with them. I feel guilty and ashamed of them. But I can't do anything. I am only a child. I can't do anything about the world. But I am already on the threshold of adulthood. I want to do something. It's not that I feel guilty or anything. I want to share the happiness I have, even if it's just a little. Maybe the unreasonableness I saw that day will be rewarded. So I would like to do that, starting with those around me. This country is rich. At least from the perspective of the world as a whole, there is no other country in the world that is so blessed. But there are children in this country who, for various reasons, do not have access to the same kind of education as the children of that day. If I can help even one of those children to access education and realize a fruitful future, I'll be happy. That's why I came here."

Ayashiro had a somewhat sad smile on her face. I felt a tightening of my chest at the sight of that smile. I thought her thoughts were precious. And I felt "happy" to be next to someone like that.

"I see...oh, I don't have the words. But yeah. It was a good story. Ayashiro-san, you are a wonderful person."

Kato-senpai also seemed impressed. She was staring at Ayashiro with her eyes all ululating.

"Thank you, Kato-senpai."

The two then began a heated discussion about education issues in Japan. I could only watch from the side because our specialties are different. But I was still happy. I was sure Ayashiro would do well in this circle. I was glad to be here today because I was able to help her. I quietly moved away from the heated pair. I didn't want to intrude. So, I decided to move to another island and look for someone who I might be compatible with. That's what I thought.

I think the most important thing in a New Club's party is to have the courage to move from one territory to another, or chatting group to another. The best thing is if you have one friend in each group, you can use him or her to mix with the others naturally. But unfortunately, I don't have any friends here. So what should I do? Just talk to the bozos!

"Excuse me! Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah? Oh, yes?"

Every territory has one guy who doesn't talk much. The shady guy in the territory. He can't speak, so he just nods. That's all he can do, and his back is pathetic. I set my sights on one of the territories. The ratio of men to women is exactly 50-50.

"Sorry, but I thought it sounded interesting, and I'm alone right now, so please let me in! Hahaha."

The trick was to smile. Just smile. First, talk to the timid, shady person. Then I find a place to sit down. Then, the members of the group look at me. They look at me like, "What's this guy doing?" and then I play the trick. I'm looking for the biggest guy in the group, or the oldest, or the strongest, or the yankee. In other words, smile and ask for a handshake from the guy who looks tough. Never ask a woman first. This is the rule.

"Ah! Hello! I'm Kanahisa Tokiwa from the architecture department. Please call me Kanade or Kanata!"

Make eye contact when shaking hands. This is a technique I discovered when talking to people I don't know well. I'm going to call it the "Introvert-Extrovert" handshake equation.

"Oh, hey, nice to meet you."

No one but the craziest person would refuse to shake hands with you. And people recognize those who shake hands with each other as friends. The person who shook hands with you, and those around you who saw you shake hands with them. The leader of this group and I became friends subconsciously. Then all we had to do was to make eye contact with those around us in turn. That would be non-verbal imprinting.

"You were talking about something interesting! You know, Hokkaido really freezes when you sprinkle water on it!"

"Oh yes, yes! That's it! When I was in high school, we went to a ski resort in the back of Hokkaido, went up the lift, and when we sprinkled juice at the top, it froze instantly! Hokkaido is really bad!

The cheerful leader of the group continued the story. He even turned his attention to me. Okey-dokey! The imprinting went well. He recognizes me as a member of the group.

"Wow!" 

"I'd really like to see that!"

The girls love it. Maybe she's from a place where there is no snow. And I think my story is probably a blow-up. Watering in the snow doesn't freeze in an instant. But in Hokkaido, the land of testing, if you throw a bucket of water in the air, it will freeze instantly. I am from such a place.

"Right! That was really bad, wasn't it? I'm from Hokkaido! My hometown is really like that!"

I say to the group leader.

"Oh? You're from Hokkaido? Oh no! You're a real Hokkaido guy! Right? You guys honestly didn't believe it, did you?"

The cheerful leader of the group begins to play with everyone. Laughter begins to echo from the group.

"That thing is really beautiful! Sparkles! Did Kanata do that often?"

"I did it super often when I was a kid! But my mom chastised me for wasting water, so I stopped! Hahaha!"

"""""Hahahahaha!"""""

This is how chit-chat goes. And when a newcomer joins the conversation, he or she has the right to bring up the next topic.

"Where did you all come from? Tokyo?"

"I'm from Fukuoka!"

"I'm from Miyagi!"

"I'm from Kochi!"

"I'm from Kyoto!"

And so on. After that, we drank and talked a lot. If you have working experience, college students are a dime a dozen. I've worked a lot of industry parties with people we don't know! It was fun to prove the usefulness of my future knowledge.

The booze makes me need to go to the bathroom. Once I left the group (I made sure to get all their contacts, including the girls, before I left), When I came back, I suddenly saw a disgusting sight.

"So! We're going to lead the education of this country and revolutionize it so much! Isn't that great!"

"...eh....ah...yes..."

A freshman with an unaccustomed college debut vibe, with long bangs and glasses, was annoyingly involved with a freshman girl with glasses. I couldn't see his face well, but the girl was dressed in a very plain outfit, which is rare nowadays. Jeans, shirt, and cardigan. All no-brand, mass-produced goods. Their hair was tied behind their backs at about shoulder level. But there was one thing that stood out. Her breasts were huge. They pushed up her shirt. Her legs and hands were thin, and her hips were well-shaped, not as if she were fat. Her shirt and cardigan make it hard to tell, but she seems to have a good neckline. Her style is surprisingly good.

"Yuzuriha-chan, aren't they big? You must be very popular!"

What?! Is he really going to say that?! That's a bad guy.... It's too straight sexual harassment. But the girl called Yuzuriha turned her head down.

"...I...am...not...popular..."

She says this in a muffled, thin voice. She doesn't say she doesn't want to. But she pulls her legs up to her chest as if she is sitting on the gym. She is unconsciously trying to hide her breasts.

"That's not true! In fact, I think I'm going to like Yuzuriha-chan!"

The guy says this while drinking his drink. But the girl's mouth was twisted in disgust as she looked down. But this is definitely not a good sign. She might be swept away without being able to do anything. Every year at every university, there are women who are unwillingly eaten by men without being able to refuse. That will be a scar in the future for her. That's why I went to those two.