After dinner, Makoto's dorm room returned to its usual quiet.
He took a nice, relaxing shower, then let his mind wander as he gazed around the empty dorm room.
A single room ought to feel like a single room!
With that thought, Makoto headed downstairs.
He was waiting for an old acquaintance.
"Hey there. You're... Ayanokoji, right? I look forward to getting along with you."
By the vending machine, Makoto greeted a boy who was buying hot milk.
"You're...? Miyano? What you said yesterday was pretty hurtful. Today, we've already experienced hell."
It was such a cruel truth: the resentment at being assigned to Class D—or the prospect of living for a month or even several months on zero points.
Yet the boy in front of him showed only the faintest hint of emotion.
"But I can't hear any of that in your voice, Ayanokoji-kun. Am I imagining it?"
"Not really. I think we sound about the same."
"Fair enough. Are you here to buy hot milk too?"
Makoto had spotted the item in the boy's hand, freshly retrieved from the vending machine. He had come to buy the same thing.
What a perfect excuse.
"Yeah. A bottle of hot milk before bed sounds nice. Don't you think?"
"Sure. I've been drinking one every day since the start of the school year. Want to see my spending history?"
Makoto bought a bottle of hot milk too. Before Ayanokoji could answer, he showed him the point transactions on his phone.
The other boy's expression didn't change.
"Other than one extra purchase today, you've only spent points on hot milk. Don't you usually eat?"
Ayanokoji stated his confusion plainly. He found it very strange.
How could a Class B student be reluctant to spend money? Did the other boy like eating the mountain vegetable set meal?
And why had he wanted Ayanokoji to see his spending history just now?
"To be honest, someone's been keeping me. Just now, I thought maybe I could keep someone too. How about it? I could treat you to hot milk every night."
"May I ask why? I can't see what you'd get out of it."
"It's a way for guys to express friendship. I think your habit of drinking milk at night suits me, so I've decided to treat you every day. Then we'll be comrades who drink milk together before bed."
"Is that so? Thank you for the offer."
Ayanokoji filed that bit of knowledge away. So this kind of friendship existed between guys too. He'd learned something.
"No problem. It's only a few points. I'll wait for you here around this time every night from now on. Want to add each other?"
The two exchanged contact information.
Ayanokoji noticed that the other boy had about as many friends as he did.
Was he one of his kind?
He didn't get his hopes up.
"Ah, great, great! Looks like I've completed my friend-making task. Yay!"
"?"
"You make it sound as if you've never made friends before. Does that mean you tricked me?"
Ayanokoji felt as though he'd been had. How was this guy somehow even stranger than he was?
Though he had no idea what kind of relationship counted as friendship.
But it definitely shouldn't be this, he thought.
"What does it matter? Friends are probably more or less like this. I think we fit the definition perfectly. Just think about it: what are the odds of finding someone among all these people who'll drink hot milk with you at night?"
"I don't think anyone would cite the definition of friendship to prove a point."
"I'm just trying to make my words more convincing."
Makoto emphasized the point. He didn't want to admit that he had no friends.
"Fine, you've convinced me."
Ayanokoji thought of Ike and Yamauchi. He wasn't sure how he'd ended up becoming friends with them.
Maybe that was just how friendships began.
"Then, want to take a walk with me?"
Makoto invited Ayanokoji.
"Didn't you say we were friends who drank hot milk together before bed? Why are you suddenly asking me to go for a walk?"
Ayanokoji was a little baffled.
"Drinking hot milk together gave us a chance to meet. Now we're friends, and it's normal for friends to help each other out, isn't it?"
"So it's only natural for me to invite you to go for a walk as a friend."
"I... Is that so?"
Ayanokoji followed Makoto out of the dormitory lobby, each of them holding a bottle of hot milk.
He couldn't think of a reason to refuse. Besides, he was curious about what Makoto wanted from him.
As far as Ayanokoji could tell, he'd been going about his life like an ordinary college student.
Maybe the other boy had come to make friends with him, but it seemed unlikely that making friends was all he wanted.
"Ah, here we are."
Ayanokoji, lost in thought, suddenly heard Makoto say that from up ahead.
Before he could even wonder where they were, a fist as big as a sandbag came flying at him with a powerful gust of wind.
He hurriedly leaned backward, putting distance between himself and the fist.
"What's this supposed to mean? Is this something friends are allowed to do too?"
Despite being attacked without warning, Ayanokoji's voice barely wavered.
"You're pretty capable. Why pretend to be harmless?"
In response to Ayanokoji's question, Makoto answered with a question of his own.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I just came downstairs to buy a bottle of hot milk, then you called me out. That's all perfectly ordinary."
"Is that so? What you just did wasn't exactly 'ordinary.'"
Makoto made a quick strike and pulled back instead of launching into a passionate brawl between men.
He'd already taken a shower.
"I was just lucky," Ayanokoji said modestly.
Makoto had expected that. Ayanokoji was the kind of person who could explain away both scoring 50 in every subject on the entrance exam and getting 50 on a recent quiz as "coincidence." There was no way he'd admit he was anything special so easily.
He was a man who only wanted to experience the peaceful life of an ordinary person—or at least, that was what he thought.
"Explain it however you want. I don't care about that. What I want to ask is, what do you think of this school?"
Up until now, other people had always asked Makoto that question. At last, it was his turn to ask someone else!
This was just so satisfying!
"Why are you asking me that? I think I can refuse to answer."
"In my opinion, there are only two kinds of people at this school."
Ignoring the displeasure Ayanokoji showed, Makoto continued as if talking to himself.
"One kind is aiming for Class A. The other isn't."
"Then, Ayanokoji, which kind are you?"
As he spoke, Makoto kept his eyes fixed on Ayanokoji. His expression was halfway between a smile and a smirk. As far as he was concerned, he'd made the pressure palpable.
Whether the other boy felt it was another matter. Either way, Makoto was satisfied.
"If I had to choose, I think I'd be the latter."
After considering the two choices Makoto had offered, Ayanokoji chose the latter.
In other words, he wasn't aiming for Class A.
"Unfortunately, things don't always go as you want. Even if that's what you truly think, the tide of events will sweep you along until you become the former."
Makoto sighed softly as he spoke. It was a good thing he didn't have that problem.
Because he wasn't either of those two kinds of people.
He was free!
For now.
"I don't understand what you're trying to say."
Ayanokoji already wanted to go back. The other boy's cryptic behavior made him uncomfortable, as if he'd been stripped naked and made to run down the street.
"What I mean is, living a peaceful life at this school is impossible in itself."
"What do you think, Ayanokoji?"
Before you continue