1 The First Encounter with Sayoko Nishimiya

In the last row by the window—the classic protagonist’s seat—Kyosuke Hojo propped his chin on his right hand, gazing out the window in utter boredom.

Sunlight streamed in, and a breeze carrying a hint of warmth drifted through, ruffling Kyosuke’s hair ever so slightly.

He lifted his right hand, revealing his face: fresh, tousled black hair, dark eyes, and though still a touch boyish, the sharp lines of his face were already taking shape—a handsome, spirited countenance. Yet now, he looked listless, drowsy, as if nothing could stir his interest.

He yawned—a long, languid yawn—then switched to resting his head on his other hand, turning his gaze toward the classroom.

Children were always noisy; on such a beautiful day, he couldn’t even get a good nap.

Kyosuke, a sixth grader and a transmigrator, grumbled inwardly.

Yes, he was living in Japan, already twelve years into his second life. His original name didn’t matter; now he was Kyosuke Hojo. He lived in Mizutome City with both parents, had no younger sister, and possessed a completely useless system. That was about it.

Well, better introduce the system, since he’d have to rely on it for a living from here on out.

It was a nameless, third-rate system offering only two functions.

The first: it automatically identified any “celebrity” nearby—referring specifically to girls from anime of his previous world, classified as “main characters” or “supporting characters.”

The second: whenever the host, in this case Kyosuke, changed a celebrity’s fate or fulfilled her wish, he’d receive a “Gift from a Beautiful Girl.”

What exactly the reward might be, Kyosuke had no idea, since as a mere sixth grader he hardly had the power to alter anyone’s fate. So far, he’d encountered just one main character and a few supporting ones.

And though the system would tell him which anime a “celebrity” came from, unfortunately, Kyosuke hadn’t watched much anime in his previous life. For some “celebrities,” he couldn’t take effective action—like the few supporting characters now sharing his classroom.

“Hey, you’re pretty lucky, Ishida,” came a voice from his right—but not directed at Kyosuke.

He turned his head, drowsy as he was, curiosity got the better of him. Why was the classroom so noisy?

The speaker was a girl with long, jet-black hair and eyes like purple grapes, wearing a cute T-shirt suited to her age.

If Kyosuke hadn’t chosen to filter out system notifications, he’d have seen a label above her head: [A Silent Voice — Naoka Ueno (supporting character)].

But after each such system pop-up, Kyosuke would note the information and immediately silence it. After all, this was the real world—dividing people into main and supporting characters was just too cruel. What a trashy system!

He condemned it soundly—but not because, for all its talk of changing fates, the damn thing never gave clear objectives, leaving him to languish as an ordinary schoolboy all these years.

Naoka Ueno poked the shoulder of the spiky-haired boy two seats over.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” the boy said, fiddling with a mechanical pencil.

“A transfer student. I heard it’s a girl,” Naoka replied.

“Oh, I’m not interested,” he mumbled, still playing with his pencil. He looked about as sleepy as Kyosuke—though his was boredom, while Kyosuke simply thought the weather perfect for a nap.

Kyosuke’s gaze happened to meet Naoka’s as he turned back.

Why are you looking this way while talking to Ishida? he thought.

He smiled at her. “Ueno, what’s this about a transfer student?”

Finally! He responded! Naoka cheered inwardly but tried to keep her face calm.

“Oh, it’s just that I heard a girl will be joining our class. That’s what everyone’s talking about.”

“I see. Thanks for letting me know.”

He’d hoped it was an announcement for early dismissal—too bad. Kyosuke turned back, intent on resuming his window gazing.

“Everyone, return to your seats,” called the homeroom teacher for Class 6-2, entering the room—shoulder-length hair, black-rimmed glasses, a tracksuit, and a whistle hanging from her neck.

Owing to the Japanese elementary school system, this teacher was essentially the class’s “nanny”—in charge of all lessons and day-to-day management. A bad homeroom teacher could ruin a child’s school life entirely.

Fortunately, selection was strict, so “demon” teachers were rare. But exceptions did exist.

“Today, we have a new friend joining us.”

At the teacher’s words, the room quieted instantly, all eyes turning toward the classroom door.

Kyosuke looked too, sensing the classic “transfer student” trope—a surefire sign of a main character, even with his limited anime knowledge.

Naoka suddenly felt disgruntled. She’d brought up the topic just to get Kyosuke’s attention by talking to Ishida. But now, seeing even the usually indifferent Kyosuke showing interest in the transfer student, she felt an inexplicable annoyance.

“Come in,” the teacher beckoned.

[A Silent Voice — Shouko Nishimiya (main character)]

He hadn’t even seen what the little girl looked like, but the bold text had already caught Kyosuke’s attention.

He filtered it, as usual, then studied this rare main character.

A rarity indeed—only the second main character he’d encountered so far.

Her head was bowed slightly, short, fluffy brown hair completely covering her ears, her eyes large and a deeper brown than her hair.

She wore a pink T-shirt with a name tag pinned to her chest: “Nishimiya.”

“Are you ready? Then please introduce yourself,” the teacher said to Shouko Nishimiya. Kyosuke was likely the first in class—apart from the teacher—to know her name.

Strangely, even after a long pause, Nishimiya hadn’t started her self-introduction.

Is she shy? She doesn’t look it, Kyosuke thought, watching her gentle smile.

The classmates began to stir, and even the spiky-haired Ishida, who’d been playing with his mechanical pencil, looked up curiously.

Then the teacher, as if suddenly remembering, gently patted Nishimiya’s shoulder.

Nishimiya flinched, then smiled softly again, lowered her head, and opened the red schoolbag she’d been holding.

She pulled out a notebook, the cover labeled:

“For Written Conversation”

Kyosuke saw Ishida’s spiky hair bristle even more, his slouched posture suddenly straighter—a sure sign he was interested.

Nishimiya turned the notebook toward the class and flipped to the first page.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Shouko Nishimiya.”

The class gasped in surprise, and Kyosuke’s eyes widened.

She turned to the next page.

“I hope to make friends with everyone through this notebook.”

Nishimiya flipped carefully, pausing each time so everyone could read.

“Please use this notebook when talking to me.”

“My ears cannot hear.”

On this last page, Nishimiya held the notebook up high.

“No way!”

“Really?”

“She must be kidding…”

“…”

The students whispered and murmured among themselves, but Nishimiya simply stood there, holding her notebook with a serene smile.

Now Kyosuke understood why this little girl was the protagonist.

A transfer student, disabled, fated to be the female lead in a school bullying story. He could already picture the perpetrators—none other than Ishida and his gang of thrill-seeking brats.

“How cool!” Ishida suddenly shouted, his hair practically standing on end.

Just as expected, Kyosuke propped his chin in his hand, watching with interest.

Maybe, just maybe, I can finally claim my first reward.