Time Slipping Quietly By / May Arrives

She said that, but seeing the barely concealed anticipation in the girl's eyes, Hashiba Hikaru didn't know how to turn her down.

Jeez, why was she suddenly so enthusiastic?

"Fine, let's do that, then. Remember to tell them to bring their textbooks," Hashiba Hikaru said helplessly, spreading his hands. "I haven't bought any snacks or drinks to serve guests, so be prepared."

"That's okay. We can buy some first and bring them over."

Ichinose waved her hand generously, making it clear she'd take care of everything.

"Okay, then."

Once she'd confirmed Hashiba Hikaru's answer, the pink-haired girl looked especially happy. She swayed back and forth, seeming to mutter about what she needed to buy later.

Honestly.

Hashiba Hikaru took that day's textbooks from his desk and got ready for class.

The school day passed quickly. Before classes ended, Ichinose told the other members of the study group what the boy had said. Everyone was delighted. After all, there wasn't a single student in Class B who didn't want to get along with Hashiba Hikaru.

They said they'd go shopping first. Once they'd confirmed Hashiba Hikaru's room number, the four of them left together, leaving the boy to head home alone with his schoolbag.

"Well, if they want to hold a study session, then we'll hold one. It's no big deal."

They were all classmates, so there was no harm in helping each other out.

Hashiba Hikaru had been back in his room for about ten minutes when someone knocked on the door.

When he opened it, the first voice he heard was naturally Ichinose Honami's.

"Good afternoon, Hashiba. Sorry to intrude!"

The pink-haired girl slipped through the doorway, beaming. She carried a transparent plastic bag that seemed to be full of things.

Behind her were Shibata Sou and two other girls, Shiranami Chihiro and Himeno Yuki.

"Sorry to intrude."

After greeting him, they all entered Hashiba Hikaru's dorm room. It had hardly changed since the start of the school year. Hashiba Hikaru wasn't one to decorate or shop much, so the place looked quite simple.

"Hey, Hashiba, your room's way too plain. There's nothing in here."

Shibata rushed into the bedroom first, only to find the furnishings incredibly simple—not a single interesting thing in sight.

"What's wrong with simple? It's my style."

Hashiba Hikaru smiled faintly and invited the three girls to sit around the table in the middle of the bedroom. They were all carrying their schoolbags, and immediately took out their books.

"Shibata, where's your textbook?" Seeing that Shibata Sou seemed dissatisfied, the boy called out to him.

"Don't rush me. I'm going to look around your place some more first. I'll probably be coming over a lot from now on."

"...If that makes you happy."

Hashiba Hikaru turned his attention away from the shameless guy and looked toward the girl still standing in the entryway. She seemed to be carefully putting the things in the plastic bag into the fridge.

What's more, the boy noticed that Ichinose Honami was still rearranging the items inside it, looking as though she was having the time of her life.

"..."

What was that about?

Chapter 68: Time Slipping Quietly By

After Ichinose Honami had finished organizing the fridge in the boy's dorm room, she even washed her face at the sink before tiptoeing over.

"Then let's get started."

"Okay."

Hashiba Hikaru had seen what the girl just did, but for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Ichinose Honami's stock price had stayed the same for the past few days, holding steady at 150. But her behavior had changed quite a bit. For instance, she'd become more proactive about getting close to Hashiba Hikaru. The idea of holding a study session in his dorm this time had probably been hers.

He certainly didn't dislike Ichinose. Having a beautiful girl around was easy on the eyes, after all.

But Hashiba Hikaru's most important goal right now was Kushida Kikyo, whose stock he'd just bought. He'd finally managed to put her suspicions to rest, so he naturally wanted to get closer to her and earn some funds. That left him unable to respond to Ichinose's enthusiasm.

Well, he'd just have to leave things as they were for now.

The boy silently made up his mind, then sat down at the table with Ichinose Honami. Once all five of them had taken out their books, the pink-haired girl spoke first, assigning everyone their study plans.

"Shiranami is a little weak in math, so I'll tutor her first," Ichinose said. She'd naturally gathered information before setting up the group, so she gave instructions smoothly. "Shibata is a little weak in science, so Himeno will tutor him. Hashiba is good at history, so he can tutor Shiranami and me later."

"No problem."

"Let's do that, then."

No one had any objections. Compared with Class A, Class B's students were definitely weaker academically, but overall, they weren't bad. At the very least, their average scores were consistently above passing.

Their classmates were also easy to get along with. Although studying was a little dull, it wasn't unbearable. If anything, it made the time fly by.

After all, when you devoted yourself completely to something, you always lost track of time without realizing it.

A little over two hours later, it was six thirty in the evening—the time to have dinner.

Once everyone had put down their pens, Ichinose Honami decided where they would eat. Hashiba Hikaru was now free of responsibilities. Leaving the decision-making to the girl was a perfect excuse to slack off.

He could also chat with Kushida Kikyo on his phone, since he needed to stay in touch with her.

After their romantic battle of wits the previous night, the frequency of the short-haired girl's messages hadn't changed much. They were still mostly about the Class D study sessions, and Kushida's focus was still on Horikita Suzune.

Kushida Kikyo: I held another study session today. The classmates I invited were different from last time.

Hashiba Hikaru: Did it work out?

Kushida Kikyo: Yeah, this time it went pretty smoothly. The other classmates were all easy to get along with, so Horikita was more cooperative, and we finished the tutoring without a problem.

Hashiba Hikaru: That's good. You've worked hard, going out of your way to help the class.

Kushida Kikyo: Not at all. I'm happy to see everyone improving together.

Hashiba Hikaru: Yeah, yeah.

Just after he sent that message, he heard Ichinose Honami's slightly curious voice.

"Hashiba, are you chatting with someone?"

"Uh, just checking the news." Hashiba Hikaru casually tapped the screen, then looked up and asked, "Have you decided where to eat?"

"We have. The Family Restaurant, as usual."

Although she'd noticed the boy using his phone, Ichinose didn't say anything. That wasn't what she cared about. What mattered to her was whether he could stay by her side.

"Let's go! Time to eat," Shibata said, rolling his shoulders with a series of cracks. "After studying for so long, I've gotta fill my stomach properly."

"Does that mean you weren't studying in class today?"

Hashiba Hikaru put on a puzzled, surprised expression and asked, "Don't tell me you were slacking off during class?"

"Of course not. I just think I studied harder during this session. Don't get the wrong idea—I love studying."

"Shibata's always saying he wants to go play soccer in class, and now he's claiming he loves studying?" Himeno Yuki, the pretty girl, exposed him without mercy. "Do you really think we'll believe you?"

"Hey, Himeno, that's slander!"

As he spoke, Shibata's face flushed red. He hurriedly started explaining that soccer was important, that enjoying sports was a good habit, and that the school wanted them to develop in all areas—morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor. Hashiba Hikaru's dorm room was soon filled with cheerful laughter.

Once things had settled down, everyone got ready to leave.

"All right, is everything packed?"

Hashiba Hikaru looked over his classmates while holding a garbage bag. During the study session, he'd taken out some of the snacks Ichinose had put in the fridge to serve everyone, so there'd been a little trash on the floor. It had all been cleaned up by now.

"Yep, let's go. Time for dinner. I'll treat everyone today."

The boy smiled faintly. He had plenty of points, and everyone had gone out of their way to visit him and bring things, so it was only natural that he show his appreciation.

By the time they'd gone downstairs, the sun was sinking toward the horizon in the distance, and the cool breeze had dispelled much of the heat in the air.

Hashiba Hikaru suddenly felt that this kind of peaceful time wasn't so bad. Aside from the intense schemes during the first few days, most things had already been taken care of. He'd probably have some free time before the next Special Exam.

He'd discussed maintaining the class system with Ichinose Honami before, and now there was also the regular study session. In short, Class B was—

thriving!

"I'm gonna make you regret this and eat you out of house and home, Hashiba. Are you ready?" Shibata said menacingly beside him.

"Sure, sure. If you manage to eat me out of money today, we'll stay behind and wash dishes together."

"Haha, I'm in!" the girls chimed in with a giggle.

"Hashiba, you can be our waiter and serve us."

Ichinose Honami smiled brightly, and her eyes seemed to hold a hint of genuine anticipation.

"Then it's a deal." The boy nodded, his expression calm.

Under the evening glow, the members of Class B walked side by side down the street toward their destination. Whatever the future held, this friendship wouldn't disappear.

For the next few days, Hashiba Hikaru's life remained peaceful. Ichinose Honami took care of Class B's study sessions and basic classroom rules, while he attended the sessions held by his own group and kept in touch with Kushida Kikyo by phone.

Aside from that, he occasionally spoke with Horikita Suzune to learn how Kushida Kikyo was doing. That was the only way he could keep a firm hold on the initiative in the days ahead.

The only real change in those peaceful days was that Ichinose Honami started spending longer and longer stretches of time in Hashiba Hikaru's dorm room. At first, she came under the pretext of holding study sessions. Later, she began testing out new dishes.

It had happened by chance. Hashiba Hikaru had mentioned that he knew a little about cooking. Both in his previous life and now, whenever his parents were too busy with work, he'd cooked for himself, so he'd picked up a few things.

The moment Ichinose Honami heard about it, she said she was very interested in cooking and wanted to discuss culinary skills with Hashiba Hikaru.

The boy thought she'd just said it in passing. But right after school that very day, Ichinose showed up at his door with various seasonings and ingredients she'd bought.

"Hehehe, Hashiba, I'm here to discuss cooking with you!"

Looking at the serious expression on the girl's face and the determined glint in her eyes, Hashiba Hikaru could only agree.

After that, his dorm room turned straight into a test kitchen for new dishes.

More importantly, during the process, Hashiba Hikaru discovered that Ichinose was actually a very good cook. She'd said she wanted to discuss cooking, but most of the time she did the cooking while the boy sampled the food.

"Is something not quite right here? Why do I feel like I've become a freeloader..."

Hashiba Hikaru held a bowl in his hands and thought back over how his life had changed recently.

He couldn't help looking up at the pink-haired girl standing in front of the stove in his dorm room. She was wearing a blue checkered apron and concentrating on the tempura frying in the pot.

"Whatever. This food smells amazing, so I'll just eat."

Chapter 69: May Arrives

Time slipped quietly by, and before long, it was the last night of April. During the first month since school began, Hashiba Hikaru had enjoyed himself a lot after the tense point-collection scheme at the beginning.

Sitting at his desk, the boy watched the messages constantly popping up in the Class B group chat on his phone.

Tomorrow was May 1. The class rankings would be announced in the morning, and after working hard together for a month, everyone in Class B was eagerly awaiting the results.

At that moment, in the Class B Family group chat—

Ando Sayo: What do you think Hoshinomiya-sensei will announce tomorrow? Could we get promoted to Class A?

Kanzaki Ryuji: I think we have a good chance. Didn't Hashiba increase our Class Evaluation Points by 100? That gives us an advantage.

Himeno Yuki: But I heard the students in Class A are all excellent. Their classroom conduct has been perfect since the start of the school year.

Shibata Sou: Haven't we been working hard lately, too? With Hashiba and Ichinose leading us, we've completely banned all the things the school doesn't allow.

Ichinose Honami: That's right. Everyone has worked really hard, so I think we have a good chance.

While the other students discussed enthusiastically whether they'd be promoted the next day, Hashiba Hikaru didn't send a single message. After all, the school was responsible for tallying the Class Evaluation Points. They had no idea whether any points had been deducted or how many.

On the other hand, neither Katsuragi nor Sakayanagi was an easy opponent. Though they were currently locked in a fierce struggle for control of their class, they were both members of Class A and would naturally hold their own faction's students to higher standards.

Besides, Class A's students were already highly capable overall. They knew what they shouldn't do and didn't need much reminding.

So the boy genuinely wasn't sure whether they'd be promoted.

Class B's students were united, but that didn't mean none of them would ever make a mistake. At the very least, they were more likely to slip up than the students in Class A.

"In any case, we'll find out tomorrow."

Hashiba Hikaru fell back onto his bed. Just then, his phone chimed with a new message.

Kushida Kikyo: Hashiba, isn't the new class ranking being announced tomorrow?