A Fact Independent of Personal Will

After dinner, Makoto's dormitory returned to its usual desolate state.

He took a comfortable shower and stared blankly into space, lost in thought while looking at the empty room.

A single-occupancy dorm should look like a single-occupancy dorm, after all!

Thinking this, Makoto moved down to the first floor of the dormitory.

He was waiting for an acquaintance.

"Hello there, your name is... Ayanokoji, right? I look forward to working with you in the future."

In front of the vending machine, Makoto greeted a boy who was in the middle of buying a hot milk.

"You are...? Miyano-kun? What you said yesterday was truly hurtful; today, we've already experienced hell."

It was such a cruel reality—the dissatisfaction of being assigned to Class D, or rather, the prospect of living for the next month or even several months with zero points coming in.

Yet, in the boy's words, one could only detect the slightest ripple of emotion.

"But I can't hear that feeling in your tone, Ayanokoji-kun. Is it just my imagination?"

"I don't think so. I feel like our tones are no different."

"That's true. Are you here to buy hot milk, too?"

Makoto saw the item the other boy had just retrieved from the vending machine's dispensing slot; he was here to buy the same thing.

That was certainly a decent reason.

"Yeah, having a bottle of hot milk before bed feels great. Do you think so too?"

"Yes. I've been drinking it every day since school started. Do you want to see my transaction history?"

Makoto also bought a bottle of hot milk, and without waiting for Ayanokoji to answer, he displayed his point transaction history on his phone screen.

The other boy's expression remained unreadable.

"Aside from one extra purchase today, all other entries are just the points spent on hot milk. Do you not eat regular meals?"

Ayanokoji voiced his confusion directly; he found this to be very strange.

How could a student from Class B be so stingy with money? Could it be that he liked eating wild vegetable sets?

And that previous action—what was the point of making him see the transaction history like that?

"Actually, I'm being kept by someone. I was just thinking that maybe I could keep someone else. How about it? I can treat you to hot milk every night."

"If you don't mind me asking for the reason, I don't see what benefit this has for you."

"It's a way for guys to express friendship. I think your habit of drinking milk at night suits my taste, so I plan to treat you to one every day. That way, we'll be comrades who drink milk together before bed."

"Is that so? Thank you for your kindness."

Ayanokoji noted this piece of knowledge. So, this kind of friendship existed between guys; he had learned something new.

"It's nothing, just a few points. I'll be waiting for you here at this time every day from now on. Shall we exchange contacts?"

The two exchanged contact information.

Ayanokoji noticed that the other boy had about the same number of friends as he did.

Are we the same kind of person?

He didn't hold any expectations for that.

"Ah, that's great, that's great. It seems the task of making a friend is complete. Yay!"

"?"

"The way you said that makes it sound like you've never made a friend before. Could it be that I've been deceived by you?"

Ayanokoji felt like he had been taken for a ride; why did this guy seem even more eccentric than himself?

Although he didn't know what kind of relationship could be called a friendship.

But it definitely shouldn't be a relationship like this, he thought to himself.

"What does it matter? Friendship should feel something like this. I think this fits the definition perfectly. Just think, what are the odds of finding someone in this vast crowd of people who also drinks hot milk at night?"

"I don't think anyone would use the definition of friendship to justify that, would they?"

"I was just trying to make my words more persuasive."

Makoto emphasized this point; he didn't want to admit that he was someone without friends.

"Fine, I'm convinced."

Ayanokoji thought of Ike and Yamauchi, and he didn't even know how he had become friends with those guys.

I suppose that's just how friendships develop.

"Then, will you walk with me for a bit?"

Makoto threw an invitation toward Ayanokoji.

"Didn't you say we were friends who drink hot milk together before bed? Why are you suddenly talking about going for a walk?"

Ayanokoji was a bit confused.

"Drinking hot milk together just provided the fate for our meeting, and now that we are friends, isn't it normal for friends to help each other out?"

"It is also perfectly normal for me, as a friend, to invite you out for a walk now."

"Is... is that so?"

Ayanokoji followed Makoto out of the dormitory lobby, each of them holding a bottle of hot milk in their hands.

He could not think of a reason to refuse, and besides, he was quite curious about what Makoto actually wanted with him.

Ayanokoji felt that, up until now, he had only been acting as a normal university student.

The other party might have come to make friends with him, but it was unlikely that he was just here to make friends.

"Ah, here we are."

Ayanokoji, who was lost in thought, suddenly heard Makoto, who was walking in front, say this.

Before he even had time to wonder where they were, a fist the size of a sandbag, carrying a powerful gust of wind, came flying toward his face.

He hurriedly leaned back to put some distance between himself and the fist.

"What is the meaning of this? Are you saying that this is also an acceptable behavior between friends?"

Despite being suddenly attacked, there was little fluctuation in Ayanokoji's tone.

"You're quite capable, aren't you? Why do you insist on putting on such a harmless facade?"

Facing Ayanokoji's question, Makoto chose to answer with a question of his own.

"I don't understand what you're talking about. I just went downstairs to buy a bottle of hot milk like anyone else, and then I was quite normally called out by you."

"Is that so? Your reaction just now can hardly be called 'normal'."

Makoto chose to strike and retreat, not intending to engage in a heated, manly brawl right then and there.

After all, he had already taken a shower.

"It was just luck."

Ayanokoji said modestly.

This was within Makoto's expectations; the guy was a talent who could explain away scoring exactly 50 points on every subject in the entrance exam and the recent quiz as "coincidence," so how could he possibly admit to being different just like that?

He was a man who only wanted to experience the peaceful life of a normal person, or at least, that was what he thought to himself.

"It doesn't matter how you want to explain it, and I don't care about that either. What I want to ask you is, what do you think of this school?"

Previously, it was always others asking Makoto this question, and now it was finally his turn to ask someone else!

This was, simply put, so satisfying!

"Why ask me such a question? I think I can refuse to answer."

"In my view, there are only two types of people in this school."

Ignoring the dissatisfaction Ayanokoji was showing, Makoto continued as if talking to himself, "One type is those who aim for Class A, and the other type is those who do not aim for Class A."

"So, Ayanokoji, which category do you belong to?"

While speaking, Makoto kept staring into Ayanokoji's eyes with a half-smile on his face, feeling that he had provided enough pressure.

Whether the other party felt it was a different matter, but he was satisfied regardless.

"If I had to choose, I think it would be the latter."

After thinking about the two choices Makoto had thrown at him, Ayanokoji chose the latter.

That is, someone who does not aim for Class A.

"It's a pity that things often go against one's wishes. Even if you truly think that way in your heart, the general trend will sweep you up and turn you into the former."

Having said that, Makoto sighed lightly; it was fortunate that he didn't have this worry.

Because he didn't fall into either of those categories.

He was free!

For the time being.

"I don't understand what you are trying to say."

Ayanokoji already wanted to go back. The other party's cryptic behavior made him feel very uncomfortable, as if he had been stripped of all his clothes and forced to run naked down the street.

"My point is, wanting to live a peaceful life in this school is, in itself, impossible."

"Don't you agree? Ayanokoji."