A Monster's Influence: Route B

Volume 1 - Chapter 1

Ayanokouji's POV.

Both my acquaintance and I tuned out of the monotonous Entrance Ceremony speech. She had her headphones up, probably listening to her music, while I just half-zoned out, deciding to just observe my future year mates. Most of the audience were either whispering to each other or just finding their own ways to ignore the speeches given.

There was the strawberry blonde girl next to a violet bluish-haired boy, standing to attention. What diligent students they are. Couldn't be me. There also seem to be quite a few delinquents as well, such as the tall boy with the dyed red hair and a muscular physique, the magenta-haired boy next to the imposing dark-skinned man, and a group of five that seemed rough around the edges. Was this school also meant to reform their students into upstanding citizens ready for society as well? This is supposed to be an elite school, after all.

After the Entrance Ceremony, Himeno and I unpacked our things in our respective dorm rooms. The typical dorm room on this campus was rather large, containing a bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Each room was fitted with a refrigerator, a stove, a dining table, a dresser, a desk with a laptop and printer, and a bookshelf. There were also cleverly hidden cameras within the room, which I figured were normal. I did live under surveillance for longer than a decade, after all. Even in the mansion I lived in with Matsuo, there were some monitors that allowed that man to continue to observe me and communicate with my butler. I hung the four other school uniforms along with the clothes that Matsuo purchased for me in the closet, leaving my underwear on the bed. I had to disinfect the dresser after all in the event that the previous inhabitant was unhygienic, perhaps leaving behind residue. Matsuo did always say to never trust the janitorial staff who may not be into thorough cleaning.

I opened my door to see my acquaintance leaning against the wall opposite my room, fiddling with her phone.

"Oya? Waiting for me? I'm touched," I teased.

"Ha?! It's just common courtesy! I only know you here, after all, hmph!" she replied, crossing her arms.

Internally I smiled— Delicious prey. I had a feeling I would enjoy these three years. She'll definitely be fun to tease if that was her reaction to something light.

"C'mon, let's go to class. I spent enough time waiting for you. What were you doing, anyway? Jacking off?" she tried to tease me.

Easy money.

"Yeah, I was thinking of you,"

"Ha?!" she turned a violent crimson in embarrassment.

"Just kidding. I was thinking of meeting up with you before coming to class, though. It's nice we had the same idea even though you were quicker,"

The two of us exited the dorm room, deciding to chat along the way. She was a lot more amicable than before. I think she felt a little comfortable around me. I learned that she had done vocal training back in middle school so she was an adept singer. She wanted to work in an agency, using the 100% employment rate for her benefit, probably trying to get into a high-level one. I told her that I was alright at playing piano, to which she offered to duet with me sometime, to which I agreed, as long as there weren't many people watching. She conceded, respecting my wish to remain inconspicuous for the meantime. She did tell me that I would have to open up a little eventually to our classmates in order to be like a tree within a forest, so to speak. I figured it was the best course of action, anyway.

We finally arrived at the class, seeing the room half full of our classmates. We looked for our nameplates, to which we sat near the back. I sat in front of the corner seat on the left while Himeno sat to my right.

"Yokatta, I was worried you were the protagonist or something," she suddenly said, hand over her chest.

I rose my eyebrow in confusion.