Yukino Yukinoshita, sitting right in front of Ren Isana, was a wealthy heiress. Now, Asuna Yuuki, sitting right behind him, was also a rich girl.
*I'm completely surrounded by rich girls. Does this mean I can just become a sugar baby? It's definitely the fastest way to make a buck!*
Entertaining these bizarre thoughts, Ren made his way to his desk.
Seeing the boy who sat in front of her arrive, Asuna Yuuki set down her book and greeted him. "Hello there. I'm Asuna Yuuki, a new student who just transferred in today."
She politely introduced herself and explained her late arrival.
"I'm Ren Isana. Nice to meet you," Ren replied with a nod before taking his seat.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ren-kun," Asuna said, silently committing his name to memory.
"Likewise," Ren replied without looking back. He immediately pulled out his phone and started messing around on it.
Asuna blinked in surprise. *He's just going to play on his phone? Just like that?*
Ren's behavior felt completely out of place compared to the rest of the class. After all, every other student was either reading, meditating with their eyes closed, or actively condensing their True Qi.
Yet here Ren was, glued to his screen. *What an eccentric guy.*
Asuna glanced at the belongings Ren had brought with him and noticed a long blade resting beside his desk.
Connecting the weapon to the martial arts video playing on his phone, realization dawned on her. *Oh, he's actually studying.*
*But is that kind of learning method actually effective? The stuff they teach online usually isn't very good, right?*
Keeping her doubts to herself, Asuna decided not to bother him and returned her attention to her book.
As time ticked by, the classroom gradually filled up. Suddenly, Ren seemed to be talking to someone—and the voice was directed right next to her?
"Good morning, Kato-san," Ren said. He was looking directly at the empty space beside Asuna, prompting her to subconsciously turn her head.
To her shock, she realized someone was sitting right next to her. She had no idea when this person had arrived.
*There's something seriously strange about this girl!* Asuna stared at her neighbor in utter astonishment.
"Good morning, Ren. And... good morning to you too. I'm Megumi Kato," Megumi greeted Ren before turning to the wide-eyed Asuna.
"H-Hello?" Asuna stammered, completely bewildered. *When did she even get here?*
"My innate talent is a bit unique, so I have very low presence. I'm sorry if I startled you," Megumi quickly explained, noticing Asuna's shock.
Asuna's confusion instantly cleared up. *Ah, so that's it. It's because of her talent.*
"You didn't scare me, I was just a little surprised. If Ren-kun hadn't spoken to you, I probably wouldn't have noticed you at all..." Asuna admitted, her curiosity about her new deskmate piqued.
Plus, Megumi seemed to be from the Sakura District as well. What a stroke of luck. Asuna had been worried about adjusting to a new school and having no one to talk to.
Now, those worries were gone. She had just picked a random empty seat and immediately made a friend from her home district.
The two girls quickly fell into conversation. Megumi was quite curious as to why Asuna was only just arriving today.
"Mostly because I transferred here from another city, so the move took some time," Asuna answered honestly.
She had been caught completely off guard when she received the sudden notice to change schools. Because of the scramble, she hadn't been able to make it for the first day of classes yesterday.
In truth, Asuna had arrived in the city yesterday afternoon, but by the time she finished unpacking and settling in, it was already late at night.
"From another city? Our Director is pretty hardcore," Ren chimed in, genuinely surprised by the revelation.
*Director Ken's methods are insane. I thought poaching the top talents from nearby schools was impressive enough, but he actually reached into other cities?*
Asuna didn't quite know how to respond to that, though she couldn't deny that Ren had a point.
"Well... the Director is certainly a very capable person." She didn't know much about the man herself, only that he wielded significant influence.
Otherwise, it would have been impossible to gather so many geniuses and cram them all into a single Special Class.
Ren nodded and left it at that. He had zero interest in the political maneuvering of big shots. Right now, his mind was entirely focused on mastering those flashy Sword Skills and making bank!
He went back to scrolling through short videos. A little while later, Yukino Yukinoshita arrived. As she walked to her desk, she paused, looking at Asuna in surprise.
"I didn't expect to see you here." Naturally, she and Asuna knew each other. They ran in the same elite social circles, and while they weren't particularly close, they were definitely acquainted.
"I know, right? I didn't expect you to be here either." A flash of pleasant surprise crossed Asuna's eyes.
It was a genuine relief to run into a familiar face in a brand-new environment.
Yukino nodded and took her seat. However, as she settled in, her eyes fell on the long blade resting beside Ren's desk, and she froze.
"Why are you studying the sword?" *Does having high talent mean you can just do whatever you want? Is this guy giving up on unarmed martial arts?*
"It's a saber. A Tang Dao, to be exact. Not a sword!" Ren immediately felt the need to correct her.
*The weapons from the Sakura District are just imitations of the Tang Dao anyway. This right here is the granddaddy of your katanas.*
"A Tang Dao? I see. That explains the design," Yukino mused. She didn't take offense at the correction, simply filing the information away for future reference. "But aren't you practicing martial arts anymore?"
"I've already learned everything I need to for now. Plus, I feel like I can develop a much stronger set of Sword Skills, so studying this is definitely the right move. It'll only take me a few days anyway," Ren replied casually, his eyes never leaving the video on his screen.
Yukino was utterly speechless at his casual humblebrag. *I guess when you're that talented, you really can just do whatever you want.*
"If we have a combat class this afternoon, let's spar again. I want to test out the new moves I've learned." Ren finally looked up from his phone, his eyes burning with eagerness.
Yukino rolled her eyes so hard they nearly got stuck in the back of her head. "I have absolutely no desire to fight you," she flatly refused as she settled into her chair. "Go bother Asuna. She uses a blade too."
*Keep your menace away from me.* Just thinking about how Ren had ruthlessly punched her in the gut yesterday made her stomach throb in phantom pain.
And today he wanted to play around with a Tang Dao? How was she supposed to fight that? She was genuinely terrified that he might accidentally slice her open. That would be fatal.
Sparring with Ren Isana was the furthest thing from a fun experience. So, she was opting out. *If you want to test your weapons, go use Asuna as your guinea pig!*