The commotion over the perfect score died down, and the classroom emptied.
"I owe you one. You really pulled through with that convincing story. Impressive."
I caught up to Ryuuen as he was leaving the classroom, matching his stride and falling in step beside him. I'd already sent him the 500,000 points as paynt, but I hadn't thanked him directly yet.
"Your gratitude makes sick. I got my 500K—no complaints here."
He didn't even glance at , picking up his pace slightly.
"So, if I'd asked for help without offering a reward, would you have done it?"
"Not a chance. I'd rather crush soone than help them."
"Figured. That's why I dangled the points."
If Ryuuen ever helped out of the goodness of his heart, the world would've turned upside down. That was never happening.
"I went out of my way to bail you out. Now answer my question."
This ti, Ryuuen was the one initiating the conversation.
"I already paid you 500,000 points, didn't I?"
"Too bad. That's not enough. Consider this a special deal—just answer my question, and we're even."
"Talk about moving the goalposts."
Was this guy so kind of yakuza? The only resemblance was his sheer ruthlessness.
"Fine. What's the question?"
I was genuinely curious. Answering wouldn't benefit , but it wouldn't hurt either.
"What're you gonna do about Okabe?"
"...Okabe, huh?"
Ryuuen stopped walking and turned to face with a smirk.
Even if I did nothing, Okabe wouldn't be a problem. His recent behavior had already cost him the class's trust.
Well, I might make a move eventually, but—
"Okabe's not done with you. He *really* hates your guts."
"I don't rember giving him a reason to."
"It's probably Hiyori and Ibuki. He can't stand you being surrounded by girls."
Sure, I talked to Hiyori and Ibuki often, but was that really worth hating over? It's not like I was chasing after them... Well, Hiyori was a different story.
"Let ask you this—what do *you* think of Okabe?"
"Hah? Couldn't care less if he's here or gone. If he's useful in exams, I'll use him as a pawn."
"That's harsh..."
"Don't act like you've got room to talk."
Since Okabe had no outstanding qualities, to Ryuuen, he was just disposable.
"Keh. Honestly, I'm more interested in how Hiyori and Ibuki reacted."
"Their reactions? What do you an?"
When I asked for clarification, Ryuuen turned to fully, his eyes gleaming with amusent.
"Did you see the way they were looking at Okabe earlier? Pure murder. Especially Hiyori—that was *bad*. The look in her eyes was downright terrifying. She was *pissed*."
"No way. Ibuki, maybe, but Hiyori? *Hiyori*? Co on."
I didn't know another girl as innocent and airheaded as her. There was no way she'd—
A flicker of doubt crossed my mind, but Ryuuen scoffed at my denial.
"Just saying, if sothing happens, it's on you. And use protection. A pregnancy expulsion would be *hilarious*."
"Why the hell is *that* where your mind goes?"
I let Ryuuen's "advice" sink in as we naturally parted ways at the next hallway.
.......
The thing that stopped on my way ho was a ssage that arrived on my phone.
Checking it, I saw it was from Ichinose, apparently Nanami was calling for . The text said I didn't have to co if I didn't want to, but ignoring the student council president's invitation might cause problems later.
I don't know what he wants with , but I'm sure it's nothing I'd be happy about.
"...I'm being watched."
As I headed to the designated place, the price of scoring full marks made itself known.
Being alone made stand out in an awkward way. Since the test results were disclosed to everyone except the third-years, this attention would soon spread across all grades. I'd never get used to these curious stares, but I had no choice but to endure it for a while.
After a short walk, I arrived at the specified restaurant. This was the sa place where I'd last had a al with Horikita Manabu, who was no longer at this school.
Nanami seed to be in a private room. I guess he at least had the courtesy to arrange that much, considering he was the one who summoned .
"Hey. Glad you could make it, Hikigaya."
When I entered, I was t with Nanami's smirk. On the opposite side was also Asahina, who waved lightly at as I ca in.
"Hey. So, what's the reason you called here?"
"Don't rush the conversation. You haven't had dinner yet, right? The pasta here's great. My treat."
"I couldn't possibly impose on the student council president like that."
"Then let save face by treating you. Even I feel bad about calling you out so suddenly."
"...Understood."
I cut off the flow of conversation and sat next to Asahina instead of Nanami. Sitting right next to him would've been too much.
The two seniors who were already here had apparently ordered their food, so I went with the carbonara I'd had here before.
"Ahh, sorry about this, Hikigaya-kun. Masashi suddenly said he wanted to call you over."
Asahina, perhaps sensing my tension, tried to make things easier from beside .
"It's fine. I didn't have any plans today anyway."
"Really? You don't have to force yourself just because Masashi's the student council president, you know?"
"I'm not forcing myself. For a regular student like , just having a al with the student council president is already unusual enough."
At my words, Nanami reacted for a mont and locked eyes with .
"Funny thing to say, Hikigaya. I heard about it. You got a perfect score on that last special exam, didn't you? Calling yourself a 'regular student' after that is a joke."
There was caution hidden in his gaze as he spoke. Beside him, Asahina seed surprised, as if she hadn't known.
The fact that he knew about test results only the first and second-years were supposed to be aware of ant he'd been keeping tabs on beforehand.
"Wait, Masashi, is that true?"
"Yeah, it's true. A perfect score on that ridiculously hard test. Finally showing your real ability, huh?"
"It was just luck. I studied a lot for math, and the rest was just good fortune."
Nanami let out a dry laugh at my words, and I could feel Asahina's gaze growing sharper.
"Luck, huh? You think I'd buy that?"
"Who knows? Besides, I wasn't the only one who got a perfect score."
Here, I subtly brought up Ayanokouji's na.
If he had information on , there was a good chance he'd checked up on Ayanokouji too.
"Ayanokouji also showed his strength at the sa ti. You're saying that's a coincidence?"
"It is. Ayanokouji's a friend, but we didn't plan sothing like that."
Nanami's smirk didn't falter. I could keep dragging this out, but I'd rather get to the point.
"So, what's the reason you called here? Surely not just to have a al together?"
If that was all, it'd be unexpected, but judging by Nanami's expression, that wasn't it.
"Yeah, the reason I called you today was... to confirm sothing."
"Confirm?"
"The mixed training camp. That should make it easier to understand, right?"
His smirk vanished as he spoke with a serious expression.
Now I finally understood why Nanami had called here and what he was after.
"I lost to Horikita-senpai at the mixed training camp. I accept that. I think it was because I wasn't good enough."
So he was admitting his defeat honestly, huh?
"But back then, there was soone moving behind the scenes. Soone who saw through my plans. Hey, Hikigaya. Any idea who that might be?"
"Who knows? I've got no clue."
I played dumb, but Nanami's gaze didn't waver.
During the training camp, I thought I'd erased my presence well enough, but right now, I didn't have any cards to dispel Nanami's suspicions.
"Hey, I don't get what you two are talking about at all. You're moving way too fast without !"
Asahina, unable to keep up, cut in impatiently. The tense atmosphere eased slightly because of it.
Nanami exhaled and quietly looked away from .
"...The mood's ruined."
Muttering sothing under his breath, he picked up the check and stood.
"I'm heading out. Sorry, Hikigaya, but can you walk Nazuna back? I'll take care of the bill."
"Huh? What's that about—?"
Asahina clearly wasn't satisfied, but Nanami wore an expression of realization—or perhaps disappointnt—as he moved to leave.
"Nanami-senpai."
I called out to him before he could leave. He turned back slightly, looking surprised.
"Lately, I haven't been feeling Ichinose's gaze anymore. I doubt it has anything to do with you, but I thought you should know."
"—————!"
His expression shifted instantly from before to one of delight.
"Hah. ...Hikigaya, you're really good at getting people's hopes up. I'll be sure to rember that."
With one last smirk, Nanami left the room.
.......
The ti had already passed 8 PM.
After finishing my eting with Nanami, I proceeded toward the girls' dormitory to escort Asahina as requested.
"Hey. Why did you say that to Masashi earlier?"
Asahina, walking beside , tilted her head curiously.
"Say what?"
"You know, that thing about Ichinose at the end? I didn't get it, but weren't you provoking him?"
"Not at all. I think you're misunderstanding, Asahina-senpai."
"Eh, really?"
Her doubts didn't seem to clear up, but even if I told her the truth, she probably wouldn't understand. So there was no point in explaining.
We chatted idly as we walked until we reached the girls' dormitory, located on the opposite side of the campus from the boys' dorm. Given the late hour, there wasn't a single person in sight.
"This is fine. Thanks for walking back!"
As Asahina gave a wink and turned to leave, I grabbed her wrist—just a little tighter than necessary.
"Huh?"
"Asahina-senpai. Do you rember what we talked about during the mixed training camp?"
I spoke while she looked at in surprise.
"Y-Yeah, I rember, but..."
Her eyes flicked briefly to the hand I was holding before her face flushed slightly red. Despite her gyaru-like appearance, she was unexpectedly pure, it seed.
"You said you were counting on to take down Nanami-senpai, right?"
"I-I did say that, but... what about it?"
Still not grasping the situation, Asahina remained visibly flustered.
Pressing further, I slowly closed the distance between us. Asahina kept her eyes locked on mine as she took step after step backward.
"Was that how you really felt? I want to hear it."
"I-It was! I do think Masashi needs to be taken down a peg!"
Finally, Asahina's back hit the wall, leaving her with nowhere left to retreat.
"H-Hey, Hikigaya-kun. This position is kinda... people might get the wrong idea, you know...?"
I planted a hand against the wall beside her, trapping her in place—a classic *kabe-don*. I'd seen it in manga before, and sure enough, it was an effective way to keep soone from running.
"I-I'm serious, I'll get mad! You shouldn't do stuff like this to girls!"
She tried to act tough, but her nervousness was plain to see.
"Asahina-senpai."
"W-What?"
When I stared at her, she stared back. Realizing this, her face turned bright red, and she tried to look away—but I caught her chin with one hand, forcing her to et my eyes.
"If I take down Nanami-senpai... will you go out with ?"
"......Huh!?"
A long pause. Then, a stunned gasp escaped her lips.
"Wh-Wha...? A-Are you serious? I-I'm not saying no, but... y-you can't just spring that on out of nowhere...!"
Her face burned like a steam engine, flustered and restless. Seeing her reaction, I finally eased back a little.
"Sorry. Just kidding. Forget I said anything."
"...O-Oh. A joke... right..."
After taking a few steps back, Asahina wore an expression sowhere between relief and disappointnt, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.
"G-Geez! You can't just tease your seniors like that! And don't go making jokes like that to girls!"
"My bad. I got carried away."
"W-Well, I'm heading in now! See you later!"
With that, Asahina hurried toward the dorm. As she turned away, I caught a glimpse of her face—still tinged red.
...Or maybe I imagined it.
"Hmm. I see."
Now alone, I started walking back toward the boys' dorm.
At first, I had acted that way to confirm whether Asahina was truly free from Nanami's influence.
But sowhere along the way...
"Co to think of it, I rember talking with Ishizaki and the others about our ideal types."
I used to think things like "ideal types" didn't matter when it ca to girls.
"But apparently... I have a thing for older girls like Asahina."
On the way back, I made a new discovery.
......
"Huh? Whoa! Hikigaya's doing a kabedon?! Phone, phone! Gotta snap a pic and send it to Hiko again!"
"Heh heh, perfect timing. Maybe I'll send this to Hiyori and Ibuki too and stir up so drama."
=================================
Want to support ?
You can join as mber in my P4TR30N
p4treon/ShirooYuki ( Change 4 to a)
See ya!!
Reviews
All reviews (0)