Cafeteria

The two walked to the school cafeteria, where some students were already eating.

"What do you want to eat, Kiyona?"

Hoshino Kanade usually ate instant noodles or bread on the rooftop.

She rarely went to the cafeteria, and with so many dishes, she suffered from decision paralysis.

"Uh... let's just look around first."

"That makes sense."

Steam billowed from the cafeteria entrance, carrying a complex aroma.

To the left was the Japanese Cuisine Area, with glistening eel sashimi arranged like artwork on crushed ice, and next to it, eel donburi drizzled with caramel-colored teriyaki sauce.

Not far away was the Western Cuisine Window, with spaghetti like molten cheese and freshly baked garlic bread stacked like a tower, golden oil seeping from the gaps in the crispy crust.

The Chinese Cuisine Corner was the most crowded: mapo tofu, a mix of red and white, tumbled in a large pot, and the thick sauce of Tianjin donburi was poured over snow-white rice, sending up hot steam.

As expected of Japan's premier high school, the cafeteria was top-notch, and the prices hadn't increased, remaining similar to outside.

"But do they have relief items here like the convenience store?"

"The free meal sets have fixed combinations, and the ingredients and cooking quality don't look great. However, it's balanced with meat and vegetables, so nutrition is guaranteed."

"Want to try it?"

Kiyona seemed a little interested.

"I feel like eating that would be torture for my tongue. Let's eat something normal."

There were many fixed combinations for the free meal set, rotating on a cycle, so she couldn't try them all. It was better not to torture herself.

Kiyona's decision paralysis seemed worse than hers. Was it up to her?

"I want to eat mapo tofu."

"Then I'll have mapo tofu too."

Students came to eat one after another. By the time they got their food, there were few seats left. Fortunately, they found an empty table in the corner.

"Itadakimasu." ×2

Her tongue first met the warm sauce, coating tofu cubes as neat as coffee sugar cubes.

The tofu was tender and smooth, with a subtle bean flavor, blending with the slightly spicy miso or sweet bean paste sauce, creating a savory-sweet pseudo-spicy experience.

The numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns was almost gone, replaced by a gentle, coating sensation from the thick sauce.

It looked spicy, but it had actually been adjusted for the local Japanese palate, weakening the numbing and spicy flavors. The taste was surprisingly good.

But this probably seemed quite spicy to Kiyona.

Her porcelain spoon lightly touched the red-oiled tofu. Her fingertip brushed past her ear, tucking away stray hairs. She lowered her gaze, focused on blowing away the heat, her fingers steady as if holding a blade.

The moment it entered her mouth, her earlobes flushed red, a fine sheen of sweat appeared on her nose, and her tongue quickly wiped away the spicy residue from the corner of her lips.

A suppressed hum in her throat was pressed into a stiff line of her lips. Even with her best efforts to endure, her cool demeanor couldn't hide its collapse.

"Are you okay?"

Hoshino Kanade picked up a tissue. Seeing Kiyona didn't refuse, she gently wiped the fine sweat from her face.

"I haven't eaten this type of dish much before. It's really delicious."

To bear the name of mapo tofu and achieve victory was only natural.

Eating in the corner allowed for better information gathering.

Knowing the original plot, Hoshino Kanade understood that she would inevitably let her guard down and feel superior.

Gathering intelligence and paying attention to any subtle changes were crucial for timely reactions to the changes she brought about.

The idea of recruiting Matsushita Chiaki, just looking at their statuses, one was a wealthy young lady, and the other was a commoner struggling to make ends meet. It was like a toad lusting after swan meat, a foolish obsession.

To turn that idea into reality, eliminating her own sense of superiority was important.

Using her knowledge of Matsushita Chiaki and other students, she could proceed step by step, transforming or disguising herself from a "prophet" in this school into someone with her own strength.

Only then could she achieve a leap in social class.

Life was inherently unequal.

If she hadn't entered this school, Hoshino Kanade's best prospect in life would have been to get into a good university and become a corporate slave, working hard her entire life, possibly paving the way for others.

But if she, like Nagumo Miyabi, seized an opportunity, she might become arrogant due to her status within the school and end up being ambushed and sunk into Tokyo Bay without even knowing when.

"Kanade-kun?"

Kiyona's voice sounded, filled with confusion.

"Sorry, I was spacing out."

"A beautiful girl is right in front of you, and you can still space out, Kanade-kun? How unromantic!"

After speaking, Kiyona pouted slightly, feigning anger. Combined with her slightly flushed cheeks from the spice, she looked incredibly cute.

The cute one is her, the dead one is me.

Hoshino Kanade couldn't take it anymore, extending a finger to poke her pouting cheek.

"Sorry, I won't do it again. I just found the reactions of those upperclassmen a bit strange."

"How so?"

Shiina Hiyori's attention was piqued, though she was only pretending to be interested initially.

"Judging by their uniforms, they should be third-years. Those few clearly look like regulars at the Free Meal Set," Hoshino Kanade gestured subtly towards Shiina Hiyori. "Although it's not obvious, some other third-years look at those students who eat the Free Meal Set with disdain."

Once you have the answer, it's easy to deduce the details leading up to it.

Without the answer, Hoshino Kanade could stare until her eyes went blind and still not understand what the pie charts in those students' eyes represented.

"That's true, it is strange."

Shiina Hiyori agreed with Kanade after just a glance.

But then she suddenly realized her own observed behavior was a bit unusual.

If she looked any longer...

It would be even more unusual.

Fortunately, Kanade didn't notice anything, which made Shiina Hiyori breathe a sigh of relief.

"But what does that mean? I didn't see any second-years eating the Free Meal Set, and the first-years just got their 100,000 points, so no one would be eating the Free Meal Set."

With insufficient information, the possibilities from mere enumeration are endless. Shiina Hiyori was destined to be unable to deduce the truth at this point.

"Sorry, I promised myself I'd enjoy life first, but I ended up observing meaningless things again."

"Why are you apologizing all of a sudden? Being perceptive is normal. This school does have many unreasonable aspects."

"Mm."

The first day of school, after the opening ceremony in the morning, the rest of the time was free for activities. Classes would only begin the next day.

This meant there was still half a day to kill.

"I'm going to the library next. What about you?"

"I'll go too, then."

Going to the library was mainly to scan books, to read through them all. Academic ability was also a part of strength. Hoshino Kanade would be spending a lot of time in the library for a long time to come.

She might even encounter Shiina Hiyori and see if she could establish cooperation with Class C.

But that would likely be a few days later. Discovering the truth too early would be abnormal.

To sell information, there needed to be a reasonable source for the deduction, and evidence to support its accuracy. She needed to pretend to discover it.

Being one step ahead makes you a genius, a few steps ahead makes you a monster, and countless steps ahead makes you a cheater.

Hoshino Kanade wanted to live a few more years.

As expected, she encountered the person she expected in the library.

Shiina Hiyori possessed silver-white long hair and purple eyes. Her hair flowed like moonlight, and her purple eyes emitted a rational, distant glow.

Her figure was slender, and as she read with her head bowed, the way her fingertips caressed the book exuded a quiet, scholarly aura.

Her simple school uniform contrasted with her silver hair and purple eyes, like an untainted "Blue Rose," exuding a mysterious and elegant aura as she bloomed alone in the quiet library.

Hoshino Kanade felt like she was in love again. Although Kiyona was also great, Shiina Hiyori was too unfair.