Could Naoka Ueno possibly become Shoko Nishimiya’s closest friend?

Ishida Shoya’s strange yell did not draw much attention from his classmates; after all, he was never really normal, so everyone merely glanced at him before turning their gaze back to Shoko Nishimiya.

“Let me see, you can sit behind Sawahara Miyoko,” said the homeroom teacher, assigning Shoko Nishimiya a seat in front of Kyosuke Kitajo.

“Kitajo, you’re a good student. Please help Nishimiya out a bit more,” the teacher added.

“Understood,” replied Kitajo. He moved his own desk back a little, then stepped out of the classroom to carry in the desk assigned to Nishimiya.

Why is he so eager? Is it that boys like these fragile, pitiful-looking girls? Ueno Naoka watched from the side, gnashing her teeth.

When Kitajo finished setting up the chair, Nishimiya handed her notebook to him.

“Thank you for helping me, Kitajo,” she wrote.

Kitajo took the pen and wrote back, “You’re welcome. By the way, my name is Kyosuke Kitajo. I look forward to getting along, Nishimiya.”

Seeing Kitajo’s handwriting, Nishimiya seemed delighted, immediately picking up her pen to write something more. Kitajo gently tapped her shoulder and gestured towards the podium, signaling that the teacher was still waiting to begin the lesson.

“Okay,” Nishimiya nodded, her voice barely audible.

Hm? She can speak? So it’s just her hearing that’s impaired? Kitajo had assumed Nishimiya’s difficulties included both speaking and hearing, but now realized it was only her hearing that made speech difficult.

Class passed quickly. The teacher’s lecture was perfunctory, and the students each kept to their own amusements. Kitajo listened for a while, soon realizing he already knew all of it—after all, how much could you expect from a “jack-of-all-trades” teacher? Advancement depended entirely on oneself.

After class, several girls surrounded Nishimiya, among them the second “supporting character” of the class.

Now the main and supporting roles were gathered; Kitajo wondered whether these girls would become Nishimiya’s friends or adversaries. Leaning back in his chair, he watched Nishimiya’s back, pondering.

With her flaxen hair tied in a ponytail and glasses perched on her nose, Miki Kawai, the “supporting character,” was the first to introduce herself in Nishimiya’s notebook.

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Other classmates were also eager to get to know Nishimiya; after all, a transfer student in sixth grade was quite the novelty.

Nishimiya immediately began writing in her notebook, perhaps wanting to further introduce herself.

“Nishimiya, can you speak Japanese?” asked Ueno Naoka, sitting atop her desk, her long, pale legs crossed, and shouting loudly at Nishimiya.

“Come on, Naoka, mind your words,” Miki Kawai commented lightly, though it was more about playing along than actually scolding. The two laughed together.

Kitajo had expected Nishimiya to ignore them, since she couldn’t hear. But soon Nishimiya held up her notebook in front of Ueno Naoka.

“Please say it again,” she wrote.

What? She’s not completely deaf? If that’s the case, she could definitely learn to speak properly.

Kitajo found it odd—she could speak and hear. If someone cared enough and taught her in the right way, Nishimiya could surely learn to communicate.

Confronted by Nishimiya, Ueno Naoka was flustered; repeating her mocking words would turn the joke back on herself, so she stuttered and couldn’t answer.

Seeing the girl silent, Nishimiya turned her notebook toward Miki Kawai.

“She asked what everyone usually calls you,” Kawai wrote.

“Shoko-chan,” came the answer.

“That’s the same as Ishida calls you,” Ueno replied.

Though she had just been embarrassed, Ueno Naoka kept watching Nishimiya interact with her classmates, clearly interested in the transfer student.

But only she knew that the real reason she lingered was because Nishimiya sat right in front of Kitajo, who was currently watching her. By talking to Nishimiya, she could draw Kitajo’s attention too—a little trick of the girls.

“Huh?” Ishida Shoya, playing in the back of the classroom, heard his name and looked up. The chubby Hirose Keisuke, who was pinned beneath him, and the flaxen-haired, squint-eyed Itakura Shimada by the window, also glanced over.

“Lucky you, Ishida,” Shimada remarked.

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This was the student Kitajo liked least in the class—not because of his squinting eyes, but because he was sly and mischievous. Among Ishida, Hirose, and their trio, it often seemed Ishida led their antics, but Kitajo noticed that many times Ishida only acted after Shimada had egged him on.

Sure enough, Ishida, who hadn’t reacted to Ueno Naoka’s words, immediately bristled at Shimada’s sarcastic remark.

“Huh? It’s not good at all,” Ishida retorted, then resumed roughhousing with Hirose.

The break ended quickly, and the homeroom teacher, Takeuchi, entered to begin the lesson.

Kitajo glanced up—physics today. He yawned and prepared to nap again, relying on his “system daddy” instead of striving for top grades, content to let the system feed him.

But Nishimiya in front of him was visibly troubled, lifting her head and looking around.

Ah, Takeuchi’s lifeless voice was too quiet for Nishimiya to hear. During the previous break, Kitajo had learned that Nishimiya could understand speech, provided the volume was louder, the pace slower, and she could see the speaker’s lips.

But Takeuchi’s teaching was pure routine, reading from the textbook in a normal tone. Even those with perfect hearing struggled in the back row, let alone Nishimiya.

Just as Kitajo had suspected, Nishimiya was distressed.

Transferred to a new school, with seemingly friendly classmates, Kitajo had helped move her desk, and Miki Kawai had made friends with her.

Everything seemed to be heading in a good direction—perhaps this time she could finish elementary school peacefully?

She clung to this hope as she tried to follow the lesson, but was quickly defeated by the teacher. His speech was too fast and too soft; she couldn’t understand or take notes.

Watching the other students lower their heads to read and write after the teacher finished a sentence, she had no idea what to do, so she turned to see if she could figure out what her classmates were doing and follow along.

Kitajo was about to ask if she needed any help when Ueno Naoka, sitting beside him, gently tapped Nishimiya with her pen.

“Hand me your notebook,” she said.

Nishimiya obediently passed it over, clutching her small fists expectantly as she watched Ueno write.

How surprising—she’s actually the helpful type. Could she become the protagonist’s good friend?

Watching Ueno Naoka carefully write down the teacher’s lecture notes in Nishimiya’s notebook, Kitajo mused in astonishment.

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