The Truth, Horikita Manabu's Phone Call

"Huh? How is that possible?"

Tachibana Akane was even more astonished.

Horikita Manabu was undoubtedly the strongest person she had ever met. Miyabi Nagumo had only hoped to fight Horikita Manabu in this way.

And now...

Horikita Manabu seemed almost afraid of Kijima Tsukur?

Why?

In Miyabi Nagumo and the others' eyes,

Kijima Tsukur might have been nothing more than a first-year with some ability, but only Horikita Manabu truly knew how terrifying he was!

He had to be treated with caution.

Otherwise,

the entire Student Council would be finished.

That wouldn't be using one threat to deal with another; it would be outright suicide. He still needed to meet with Kijima Tsukur privately first!

Dormitory, Room 703.

Seated across from each other at a low table, Kijima Tsukur and Yamamura Miki faced a large plate of fried chicken and some side dishes. He looked at the spread and nodded.

"You must have spent a lot of time cooking today. Thanks for all your effort."

"Don't mention it."

It's not like I made it for you, Yamamura Miki thought to herself, a hint of pride in her voice.

She had hesitated over whether to keep half-assing it today, but then she thought: she could let anyone else suffer, but she wasn't about to let her stomach suffer.

So she'd still prepared a decent feast.

Maybe it wasn't much compared to the fortune of a hundred thousand points, but Yamamura Miki thought it was more than enough!

Most importantly!

This was the first time she'd ever eaten fried chicken with someone other than her parents!

Thinking of the books she'd read in middle school—

How to Make 100 Friends?, 101 Ways to Quickly Get Closer to People!, The Rules of Socializing, and so on!

Yamamura Miki felt that these books had finally found their purpose!

"Let's eat!"

Yamamura Miki closed her eyes and pressed her palms together. Then she opened one eye and glanced at the plate of fried chicken. Remembering the etiquette she'd learned from her books,

she tentatively asked in a soft voice:

"There's lemon...?"

"..."

Kijima Tsukur picked up a piece of fried chicken and put it in his mouth. Its crispy coating crunched, and the juices burst across his tongue.

He wasn't particularly picky about food, but good food was always better. Frowning as he ate, he said:

"Didn't you put it there yourself?"

"Uh..."

Yamamura Miki lowered her head.

He had a point...

But...

She was supposed to show her surprise by saying, "Wow, there really is lemon!" to indicate she wanted lemon juice.

Or reply, "Yes, please," to show she didn't need any. That was the proper etiquette.

She'd been looking forward to this for so long, hoping she could have a meal like this with a friend!

Never mind.

She should have known.

Kijima Tsukur wasn't normal at all. The methods in those books really weren't suited to him.

Yamamura Miki picked up a few pieces of fried chicken and put them on her plate. Squeezing lemon juice over them, she muttered in a voice only she could hear:

"You definitely don't have any friends."

"Fair enough."

Kijima Tsukur didn't hide anything. "I've been around adults since I was little. I really haven't spent much time with people my own age."

"Huh?"

Yamamura Miki froze. Then her pretty face flushed bright red, and she hurriedly stood up, stammering:

"Y-you... y-you... you heard me?"

"Is that a problem...?"

"N-no..."

Seeing Kijima Tsukur continue eating his fried chicken as if he hadn't paid it much mind, Yamamura Miki sat back down, her face still bright red.

He'd actually heard her make fun of him. It was mortifying...

Still, she could tell that aside from being a little strange, Kijima Tsukur was pretty easy to get along with.

Thinking of this,

she hesitated for a moment,

then finally asked the question she wanted answered!

Chapter 19: The Truth, Horikita Manabu's Phone Call

"Um..."

Yamamura Miki held her chopsticks delicately between her fingers and asked hesitantly:

"Tsukur, back at the Student Council just now, you said only students in Class A might have the chance to choose their careers freely. Is that true?"

"I'm not sure."

Kijima Tsukur wasn't going to jump to conclusions. He answered as he ate:

"It's also possible that the top forty students in the school will have the chance to graduate from Class A. We can't yet tell which is more likely, but Hashimoto and the others clearly lean toward individual rankings."

"I see..."

Yamamura Miki let out a faint sigh, her voice lacking confidence.

"It would be nice if students in Class A got the chance to choose their careers freely."

"Is that what you think?"

Kijima Tsukur stopped eating and looked at her.

People like Hashimoto Masayoshi clearly leaned toward individual competition. Their thinking naturally followed that same direction.

But people like Yamamura Miki and Morishita Ai...

They generally lacked confidence in their own abilities or enthusiasm. They would rather compete as a group, hoping to gain the chance to choose their careers freely by relying on their class's strength!

However, they didn't see the downsides.

"Huh..."

Yamamura Miki was startled. She suddenly felt guilty, and even her voice dropped.

"I-is... is there a problem?"

"No."

"..."

Yamamura Miki secretly breathed a sigh of relief and didn't dare say anything else.

Kijima Tsukur seemed pretty easy to get along with, but when he suddenly got serious like that, he was a little scary.

Just then, Kijima Tsukur said in a calm voice:

"Still, you don't need to worry. Since your destiny is to take care of me, I'll make sure you get the chance to choose your career freely, whatever the conditions."

As if.

What kind of ridiculous destiny is that?

Does he seriously think she's stupid enough to believe something like that?

Yamamura Miki secretly rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth lifted despite herself. Maybe he wasn't so scary after all.

As for the chance to choose her career freely, of course she wanted it—but she didn't want it that badly, either. As long as she wasn't expelled, she'd be happy.

After the two finished dinner,

Yamamura Miki washed the dishes and left the room.

After a short rest, Kijima Tsukur did two hundred burpees, then went into the bathroom.

Ten minutes later.

Kijima Tsukur came out of the bathroom, rubbing his hair with a towel. Just then, the room's intercom rang.

While drying the water from his hair, he picked up the receiver and listened.

"Tsukur?"

"Horikita Manabu?"

Kijima Tsukur replied calmly. He'd been especially sensitive to voices since childhood and had undergone special training, so he recognized who it was instantly.

Given Horikita Manabu's position as Student Council president, it wouldn't have been hard for him to find Kijima Tsukur's room number.

"Yes, it's me."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. Then Horikita Manabu said in a low voice:

"There's something I'd like to discuss with you. Is now a good time?"

"Thirty minutes from now. At the vending machine downstairs."

After saying that, Kijima Tsukur hung up without waiting for Horikita Manabu's reply and picked up a hair dryer to fix his hair.

Kijima Tsukur wasn't surprised that Horikita Manabu had contacted him.

He had more important things to think about than Horikita Manabu!

He hadn't had time to go shopping these past few days. Once he had a day off, he should set aside some time to buy a few casual outfits.

Outside the dormitory.

Kijima Tsukur, dressed in his school uniform, arrived at the vending machine. From a distance, he spotted Horikita Manabu sitting on a bench.

Seeing Kijima Tsukur approach and feeling the oppressive presence rolling off him, Horikita Manabu broke out in a cold sweat. He hurried to his feet, looking hesitant and unsure how to begin.

"Hmm?"

Kijima Tsukur scrutinized Horikita Manabu. After a moment, he rubbed his chin, puzzled for the first time.

"I thought you wanted to approach me in secret and have me join the Student Council to deal with or rein in Miyabi Nagumo. What's with the silence?"

"Phew..."

At that, Horikita Manabu took a deep breath.

Facing Kijima Tsukur felt like standing before a king. It was almost suffocating.

After a moment's thought, he glanced at the vending machine before speaking: