Volume 1 - Prologue

Prologue - The Introvert Otaku and Extrovert Gyaru 

Do you know the word '陰キャ/Inkya'? It is a term used to describe someone who is poor at communicating, moody, and boring. It is also a title given to those who are lower in the school caste. For example, someone who always stands in the corner when a group photo is taken. A person who does not like various active events and activities and always takes a step back from others. There's more, like an uninvited person to a party after a school event is over. But that's who I am.

Do you know the word 'ボッチ/Bocchi'? It means someone who has no friends and is always alone. It is also a title given to those lower in the school caste. For example, when forming a group in a class, there will be people who are left behind and make trouble for Sensei. It could also be someone who has no friends to talk to during recess, so he chooses to pretend to be asleep. Another example is a person who has no friends to eat with at lunchtime, so he chooses to go somewhere where no one can see him and eat alone. In other words, that's me.

I am also an otaku who loves anime and video games. Even today, I've been watching anime in real time late at night, so I feel like I haven't slept enough.

I, Eizawa Shuuji - an 'Inkya', a 'Bocchi', as well as an 'Otaku' crawling at the bottom of the school caste.  Maybe there are many people who feel sorry for me. But I didn't mind being an otaku introvert. It feels easier to be alone, and it's great to be able to devote myself to my hobby without having to worry about other people's eyes!

I'm not a poor loser. I don't envy those who have a lot of friends or those who can talk to girls normally. Really, I meant it. I'll give you 100 yen for trusting me. Well, I was a heavy, anti-social otaku, but in the same high school batch I entered, there was a very different kind of existence.

That existence is '陽キャなギャル/Youkya na Gyaru'— Hanatsuki Miran.

A 'Youkya'/extrovert, as she is called, is the opposite of an 'Inkya'. They are the kind of people who have many friends, are good communicators, and can interact openly with the opposite sex while being at the top of the school caste. Then there is the term 'Gyaru', people who are sensitive to fashion and trends, which is an even higher level.

Hanatsuki Miran-san, a Gyaru who stood out from the beginning of her school life with her glamorous appearance and well-groomed figure. It is certain that a group of women will form around her. Even so, Hanatsuki-san can be very popular among all students regardless of gender because of her friendly attitude toward others without boasting of her position or charming appearance.

She was so famous that even those of us who were in a different class had heard of her. Her existence is the complete opposite of me, an otaku and a loner.

The popular and fun-loving Gyaru comes from a different world than mine. We were in different classes, and I didn't have any interaction with them either. That's what I thought when I first started school—