Ryoma was completely engrossed in his book, an epic tale set in a fantasy world. It was one of those books that he had read over and over again and never gotten tired of it. Every time he read it, he learned something new and it never failed to make him smile. He was so into the book that he didn't notice when someone leaned against a tree nearby. That is, until she started speaking to him and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

He thought what she had said had been quite rude, but tried not to judge her with this first impression. For all he knew she could just be grumpy. He looked up to respond to her, and almost immediately looked back down again. Girls didn't really talk to him much, especially the pretty ones. Well, Makoto did, but she was family so that was a little different. "Neither, I guess." He responded finally, looking back up at her.

"I mean, I do have confidence in the skills I have, but I really don't expect to be winning competitions. It's the first day, they don't expect us to be heroes yet. That's why we're here, to learn how to be heroes, right? The training will really start tomorrow, so I'm enjoying the time I have before then." Ryoma finished with a shrug, hoping he didn't sound rude or too awkward. At least he was able to get full sentences out. That was pretty good.