8 Shiina Hiyori

After graduation and spending my holiday with my sister, the time for my first day of high school finally came. I boarded the bus for Advanced Nurturing High School, deliberately staying away from the blonde-haired man and the beige-haired girl, and sat beside a petite girl with silver hair.

They seemed like trouble, especially since they could be the starting point of a plot involving a debate over a grandma's seat.

Ignoring the noise around me, I was completely immersed in my book. If not for the curious girl beside me, I might have continued reading until the bus arrived at school.

"Do you really like Ancient Rome, and what do you like about it?" The petite girl with silver hair brightened up when she saw the novel I was reading, Julius Caesar, the Gigachad of Rome.

"You might not want to hear it," I smirked at the curious little cat beside me.

"Tell me, I'm not that fragile," she pouted.

"What's your name?" I asked before answering her question.

"Shiina Hiyori," she introduced herself. "And yours?"

"Genji," I replied simply, without revealing my full name, Sakayanagi.

"So, Genji-san, care to tell me about the story you're reading and why you like it?" Shiina insisted.

"Like any man, I like conquest, women, and war, Shiina. In Rome, as long as you had talent, competence, and political skill, you could achieve these. Rome is my dream world; I'd rather live there than in the modern world," I answered simply, contrasting with my past reluctance to enter a dangerous world. After experiencing thorough boredom, I realized that this world is just as boring as my previous world.

"Ugh... I thought every man's dream was to have a family, friendship, and love rather than conquest, women, and war," Shiina looked at me strangely.

"Their dreams are none of my concern, Shiina. That's the difference between a boy and a man of culture," I chuckled. "See that blonde-haired man? You can ask him whether his dream is family, friendship, and love, and tell me, is it really true that every man dreams of them?"

Shiina looked at Koenji, who was debating with Kushida with a deadpan expression.

No matter how you look at it, Koenji has never been the type of man who dreams of family, friendship, and women. His arrogant philosophy about the elite, spouted in front of grandma and Kushina, and his selfishness and egocentrism—believing he's above the law—sufficiently prove that.

Is that the kind of man who dreams of friendship, family, and love? Even those with low IQ and EQ can see Koenji isn't that kind of man.

"I don't think so," Shiina pouted and gave up arguing with me.

"You may be right that not every man dreams of family, friendship, and love, but they don't dream about war, women, and conquest either."

"Anyway, it was fun talking with you, Genji-san. I'd like to discuss more books with you, not just about Ancient Rome," she added.

"Sure," I nodded. "So, where can I find you in the future?"

"In the library; I'll be there a lot," Shiina answered. "Please advise, Genji-san."

"Yeah, please advise too, Shiina. It was fun talking to you as well," I smirked as I offered my hand for a shake.

She hesitated for a moment before accepting it.

Thus, that's how our wonderful friendship began.

Note: I'm getting burned out and will take a break after this.