They ate in a relatively quiet but not awkward atmosphere.
They didn't talk much, only occasionally exchanging a brief comment or two about the taste of a dish.
After the meal, Kazehara Tetsu skillfully gathered the dishes and utensils and took them to the kitchen to wash.
Sakayanagi Arisu sat back down and gazed out the window at the deepening night.
Kazehara Tetsu came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands.
"As your boyfriend, how do you feel?" Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly asked, posing a question that made the atmosphere subtly shift.
Kazehara Tetsu lay down on the bed.
"How do I feel?"
He looked at the ceiling. "I guess it's like finally unlocking a game's final boss, only to discover she can actually be set to 'teammate' mode. It feels pretty novel."
He answered in a way they both understood.
"Just 'novel'?"
"Of course, I also feel a little sense of accomplishment."
He turned his head and looked at her profile. "After all, I'm probably the only person at This School who could get Sakayanagi Arisu to say, 'I lost.'"
There was a hint of unconcealed pride in his voice.
Sakayanagi Arisu didn't argue. She simply turned to him, her purple eyes seeming especially deep in the soft light.
"What about you? How do you feel?" Kazehara Tetsu asked in return.
"It's a process I'll need to get used to."
Sakayanagi Arisu's voice was calm, as though she were stating an objective fact.
"Then what exactly do you need to get used to—the title of 'boyfriend,' or the fact that you lost to me?"
"Neither. What I need to get used to is a new variable being forcibly added to my life. It will add an extra step to every possible scenario in my future."
Kazehara Tetsu chuckled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with her answer.
"Before this, did you ever imagine that we might become a couple? Even for a moment?"
"No."
Sakayanagi Arisu answered crisply, without a hint of hesitation. "In my mind, you were simply the first 'subject of observation' I'd encountered at This School who was worth taking seriously. I'd imagined many possible relationships between us: allies, enemies, or... Chess Pieces I'd defeat and bring under my command. The one possibility I'd never considered was 'lovers.' It was too... inefficient."
"Inefficient?"
"Yes."
"It creates unnecessary emotions called 'feelings,' which interfere with the most precise judgments."
She had deconstructed the relationship between lovers with great thoroughness.
Then she threw the question back at him, a probing hint of challenge in her purple eyes.
"What about you? When did you start having this 'inefficient' idea about me?"
"Huh... Didn't I say before? I'm just a simple pervert. It'd be pretty interesting if I could turn an arrogant girl who thinks she's invincible into something that belonged to me alone."
Sakayanagi Arisu listened quietly, her expression unchanged.
But the slender fingers resting on her knees curled unconsciously.
The conversation had made the atmosphere in the room feel a little strange.
"Now that we're a couple, we should at least act like one."
Kazehara Tetsu's voice broke the silence. He sounded as if something had just occurred to him. "For example, starting tomorrow, we could have lunch together?"
"Are you trying to announce our relationship to everyone?"
Sakayanagi Arisu immediately seized on the possible intent behind his suggestion. "By appearing together in public, you'd be sending a clear signal to my faction and Katsuragi's?"
Kazehara Tetsu looked at her and shook his head helplessly.
"Arisu, could you shut down that brain of yours, the one filled with schemes and power plays, for just one minute?"
He sat up, got off the bed, and walked over to her.
He leaned down and braced both hands on the armrests, enclosing her between himself and the chair.
"This has nothing to do with factions or sending a signal. It has nothing to do with anyone else."
"I simply want to spend more time with you. A boyfriend wants to have lunch with his girlfriend. That's all. Is that reason 'normal' enough?"
His warm breath brushed against her, and Sakayanagi Arisu's body stiffened for a moment.
This was the first time she'd been so close to a boy, so passively enveloped by one.
She could smell his faint, unmistakably masculine scent.
For the first time, her mind briefly went blank, its calculations lagging.
"...I understand."
It took her a long while to find her voice. She turned her face slightly away, avoiding his overly direct gaze. "Since this is part of a couple's daily life, I have no reason to refuse."
"Good." Kazehara Tetsu straightened up, a satisfied smile returning to his face.
"Speaking of which, we still have these." He waved the envelope containing the Invitation Tickets to the hot springs in front of her.
Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze fell on the two Invitation Tickets to the hot springs.
"When do you want to go?"
"Do you have any suggestions, Arisu? This weekend, or during some break?"
"The tickets are valid for five months. The next holiday is Summer Vacation."
"Then let's do that."
Sakayanagi Arisu looked at the two Invitation Tickets, which showed a hot spring landscape.
Outside the window, the night had grown completely dark.
Lights glimmered in the distant buildings.
"It's getting late."
Kazehara Tetsu glanced at the time on his phone. "If we stay any longer, it might cause unnecessary trouble."
"Mm." Sakayanagi Arisu nodded. She picked up the cane leaning against the table and used it to support herself as she stood.
He walked to the entrance and opened the Room Door for her.
Sakayanagi Arisu made her way to the doorway with her cane, then paused.
She turned around and looked up at Kazehara Tetsu, standing beside the door.
"Then, see you tomorrow, Kagihara."
"See you tomorrow, Arisu."
Sakayanagi Arisu didn't reply. She simply turned and walked step by step toward the elevators, leaning on her cane.
Kazehara Tetsu didn't close the door right away.
He leaned against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets and quietly watched her petite figure recede.
You couldn't rush perfection.
With a girl like Sakayanagi Arisu, any impatient advances would only provoke her strongest resistance.
Besides, if he wanted to truly earn her recognition, he'd have to defeat Ayanokoji Kiyotaka face-to-face and prove he was more capable than the "Genius."
He gently closed the door. The room seemed to retain a trace of her cool, distinctive fragrance.