[MHCISQD] Chapter 423: Welcome Gift

Renault, having selected his lunch, spotted Mikoto as he looked for a place to sit. He also noticed four other girls sitting with her.

Renault was genuinely surprised to see that these valkyries from Honkai Impact were sitting at the same table as Mikoto.

However, Renault had no intention of going over to greet them. His thoughts were in line with Mikoto's.

He had already made quite an impression at the school's opening ceremony, and there was no need to stir up trouble at this moment.

So, he found his way to his own class area, sat down, and chatted with everyone while eating. He also discreetly mentioned the plans he had discussed with Principal Nezu.

When they heard that they could give combat classes to the first-grade students, many people got excited.

Bakugo, in particular, had been itching for a fight since the third-grade seniors were avoiding him. With everyone in his class well aware of each other's fighting styles, it had become rather dull. Unless he came up with a new move or something, they wouldn't engage in combat.

"Well, new students, huh? Looks like the days ahead won't be boring." Kaminari remarked, patting Bakugo's shoulder and grinning. "Hey, hey, they're just newbies; don't go too hard on them."

"Hmph, I know that better than you." Bakugo brushed off Kaminari's hand and said, "But if those newbies aren't that strong, I'll probably only go once. Bullying rookies isn't fun."

Renault couldn't help but flash a mysterious smile. "About that, you can rest assured; there are a few students among the new first graders who have some impressive abilities. Well, I'm talking about students other than Mikoto and Mei."

"Really?" Yaoyorozu, who was sitting next to Renault, inquired. "Have you seen the list of names?"

"Yeah, when I was backstage at the auditorium earlier, Principal Nezu showed me the Class 1-A roster, and this year's Hero Department Class 1-A has some students with quite special backgrounds."

"Special? How special can they be?" Kirishima scratched his head, looking puzzled. "Raiden Mei's background is already pretty unique—being the heiress of a big corporation."

"Their backgrounds are even more remarkable than hers." Renault hinted, piquing everyone's interest.

As they were halfway through their meal, Renault's phone rang, and he noticed a message from Mikoto.

[I'm done eating; I'll head back to the dormitory. There are quite a few things to organize.]

[Alright, I've got training this afternoon. Get ready for a surprise in a couple of days.] Renault replied to the message.

Mikoto, on her way out of the cafeteria, saw Renault's response and tilted her head in puzzlement.

"What's up, Mikoto?" Kiana's voice came from behind, and Mikoto had no choice but to temporarily set aside her curiosity as she pocketed her phone. "Nothing, let's head back to the dormitory."

Soon, the five of them returned to Class 1-A's dormitory, a newly constructed building. Mikoto and Mei's room was on the third floor, Kiana and Fu Hua's room was on the second floor, and Bronya's room was on the fourth floor.

After entering the dormitory, they exchanged greetings with their classmates before heading to their respective rooms to unpack and organize.

Mikoto spent nearly half an hour sorting through her luggage, putting her clothes and various odds and ends into the closet and making her bed.

Of course, as a gaming enthusiast, she would bring her computer and game console to school unless there were any specific restrictions in the dormitory.

After arranging her room, Mikoto stared at her own room, furrowing her brows and muttering to herself, "This... doesn't look like a girl's room, but oh well, whatever."

With that, she flopped onto her bed.

Gazing up at the ceiling, Mikoto eagerly anticipated the 'surprise' Renault had mentioned earlier.

'Could it be a welcome gift? Yeah, he hasn't given me a welcome gift yet.'

With this in mind, Mikoto immediately picked up her phone and dialed a number.

The call was quickly answered, and Renault's voice came through.

"Mikoto, what's up?"

"Senpai, a welcome gift!"

"What?"

"I said, a welcome gift!" Mikoto sat on the bed, her expression serious. "You wouldn't happen to have forgotten to prepare a welcome gift for me, would you? Even Yuriko and the others have already given me one!"

On the other end of the phone, Renault, on his way to the training hall, glanced at Yaoyorozu and asked in a lower voice, "You gave one too?"

Yaoyorozu smiled and nodded. "You wouldn't really forget, would you?"

Mikoto on the phone heard Yaoyorozu's voice and immediately expressed her dissatisfaction. "You really didn't prepare, did you?"

"Um... I did prepare, but I didn't expect you to ask so soon."

"Really...?" Mikoto still seemed skeptical.

Renault, somewhat exasperated, scratched his head and said, "I really did prepare. How could I forget? And it's something special I put together and I kept it a secret from everyone. Look behind you, I just delivered it."

"Eh?" Mikoto looked surprised. There was indeed a sound of something being placed behind her. Turning around, she found a neatly wrapped little box on her bed.

Mikoto understood that Renault had just used his abilities to bring it over.

Then she heard Renault on the phone saying, "Okay, I've delivered your gift. Since you've just started school today and need time to get to know your schoolmates, I won't disturb you today. Have a great first day at school, Mikoto."

"Hehehe, thank you, Senpai!"

Mikoto eagerly unwrapped the package.

Inside was a pale pink box, and she couldn't tell what was inside.

With anticipation, Mikoto opened the box and found a necklace. It featured a crystal turtle pendant.

"Wow!"

Mikoto's eyes lit up as she held the necklace and examined it closely.

On the other side, Yaoyorozu looked at Renault with surprise. "You really did prepare the gift! When Mikumo, Yuriko, and I were out shopping for gifts, we were wondering if you'd even think of it."

"Do you think I'm that thoughtless?" Renault chuckled and poked Yaoyorozu's cheek. "I'd already prepared it in advance, and because it's custom-made, I didn't have to hunt around. I just needed to pick it up."

"Ahh, she is so lucky..." Yaoyorozu said, her tone tinged with envy.

"Why the rush? You'll have one on your birthday, won't you?"

"Hmph, I never said I wanted one. You brought it up yourself."

Yaoyorozu spoke in a tsundere manner, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face.