In a practical education, scheming against people? I can also do a little.

As expected, she really does look like a young lady of high standing. While etiquette classes exist, most female students forget everything the moment the lesson ends; only those from old-fashioned families would place such importance on decorum.

Since Ayanokoji Kiyohime is to become an artificial genius, she must carry herself accordingly. Men might be able to get away with being casual, but women are held to a much higher standard in this regard.

"Thank you for the hospitality."

"Won't you stay a little longer?"

"No, I have plans to hang out with Kushida later, so I'll take my leave now."

With a slight bow, Ayanokoji Kiyohime departed directly. She came as light as a breeze and left just as lightly, waving her sleeves without taking a single cloud with her... though there were no clouds here, and she couldn't have taken them anyway.

After Ayanokoji Kiyohime left, Hoya Chukai went to the kitchen to dish out the porridge.

He had heard the sound of running water in the bathroom when he first returned; clearly, Shiina was bathing Ryuen. The water had stopped when he saw Ayanokoji out, so they should be coming out soon.

After placing the porridge and rice on the table, Hoya Chukai grabbed a drink from the refrigerator. It was for Shiina; since she had come over to help, he had to show some hospitality as the host and make sure she was fed and watered.

"Ah, you've really worked hard, Shiina..."

Hearing the bathroom door open, Hoya Chukai looked over with a smile as he spoke, but his words gradually trailed off.

The sight of the beauties emerging from their bath left him momentarily stunned.

Shiina, with her blue-gray hair, was supporting the still-recovering, auburn-haired Ryuen. As the two beauties stepped out of the bathroom, steam was still drifting off them. Both were now dressed in casual clothes, their hair still damp and clinging to their bodies, the shoulder-length locks seemingly tracing the lines of their perfect figures.

"Hoya-kun, do you really not even have a hair dryer in your room?"

"Ah, haha, I don't really use that sort of thing, you see."

Rubbing his own hair, Hoya Chukai realized he truly didn't use such a device. He had been curious about growing his hair long once, but he had kept it short ever since; short hair was easier to wash and didn't require a hair dryer or anything of the sort.

It looks like I'll have to buy one later... no, wait, why am I buying a hair dryer?

Forget it, I'll buy one anyway.

Hoya Chukai felt that his room might gradually see more and more girls visiting, especially the bathroom. This time it was two girls bathing, but who knew how many it would be next time.

And to think, not even six days have passed yet, damn it!

Regardless of what Hoya Chukai thought, the fact that his room was gradually ceasing to belong to him alone was becoming a very real possibility.

Without a hair dryer, even using bath towels wasn't enough to get both girls completely dry. Shiina currently had a towel draped over her shoulders to keep her hair from soaking her clothes.

Ryuen beside her was the same, though it looked like Shiina had taken the initiative to do that for her; otherwise, it was unlikely she would have done it herself.

"Forget it, I'll just go back to the dorm and grab mine."

"No, I'll go buy one. I'll probably need it in the future anyway."

"Eh? But do you know which kind is good?"

"Uh..."

"I'll bring mine first. After we take care of Ryuen-san, let's go together, shall we?"

"That works too."

The two of them settled the matter in a few short exchanges. This old-married-couple dynamic made Ryuen stare at Hoya Chukai.

You've got some nerve, kid. You've got quite a few girls wrapped around your finger.

Chapter 62: Work is done, so it's time for a good rest

Hoya Chukai didn't know what Ryuen Shoko was thinking, otherwise, he would have definitely tried to explain himself again.

Could this really be called intentional? It was clearly because Shiina and Ichinose were such kind-hearted angels who treated others well, making it very easy to communicate with them.

As for Kushida... he had leverage over her, so she had no choice but to work for him.

Hoya Chukai subconsciously ignored Kamuro; her attitude toward him was also strange, a fact he hadn't noticed.

Even if he had noticed... he probably would have just assumed their relationship had improved after they shared a drink.

In some respects, that was true, but what truly made Kamuro's feelings toward Hoya Chukai so strange was his behavior.

His various actions indeed made it difficult for her to define her own feelings, so their current relationship was more than friends but far from lovers.

"Let's eat first. It's already nearly two o'clock; let's finish our meal before talking about anything else."

"Mm... you're right. Can Ryuen-san eat by herself?"

"I can..."

Although Ryuen Shoko wanted to act tough, after being handled like that by Shiina, it was hard for her to regain her edge.

She began to regret it. If she had known, she wouldn't have come to Hoya Chukai's place. She had ended up losing both the battle and the war... no, she had lost twice, not just once!

In truth, Hoya Chukai had more or less guessed what had happened yesterday. It was nothing more than her feeling unwell because her "relative" was visiting, which made her sluggish, and then, in a bad mood, she had come to Hoya Chukai's place looking for alcohol.

Drinking cold beer while on her period—the consequences went without saying. Feeling unwell, she had simply crawled into Hoya Chukai's bed to sleep, which had ended up triggering a high fever.

The result was the scene Hoya Chukai had walked into when he returned last night.

After all, the mess on the table and the way she had curled up into a ball were enough to explain what had happened yesterday.

Hoya Chukai was a fairly reliable person. Although he was a bit of a pervert, when it came to serious matters, he would subconsciously ignore the awkwardness between men and women. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to resolve all this trouble so quickly.

And as the trouble was gradually being resolved, he began to feel a little flustered in his heart.

This kind of nervousness was like the feeling of one's heart rate accelerating when being with a beautiful woman in a small space; how should I put it... at least he didn't show it as obviously as he felt on the surface.

After Hoya Chukai and Shiina Hiyori finished a simple meal, they coaxed Ryuen Shoko, who had also finished her porridge, back to bed to let her sleep a little longer, then headed out to buy a hair dryer.

Hmm... why does this feel like a married couple going to work after putting their child to sleep?

So, has Ryuen Shoko gradually turned into a daughter!

"Welcome..."

The supermarket clerk saw Hoya Chukai appear in the store again, and her expression gradually underwent some changes.

Didn't he just buy things a moment ago? Why is he back?

Well, if a customer comes to buy things multiple times, the boss would be happy rather than suspicious, so why would she overthink it? Naturally, the clerk didn't say anything further.

Hoya Chukai and Shiina Hiyori began to pick out a hair dryer. Since he was completely clueless about this stuff, he left it all to Shiina Hiyori.

"This model should be about right... what are you doing, Chukai-kun?"

"I'm thinking about which towel would be suitable to buy."

"?"

"You saw it too, right? Ryuen always likes to run over to my dorm, so I have to prepare her daily necessities as well."

Ah, that is true.

Shiina Hiyori had indeed noticed that Hoya Chukai's room only contained the daily necessities he used himself, and from the fact that Ryuen Shoko had just grabbed Hoya Chukai's towel to wipe herself off so naturally, it was clear that she was someone who truly didn't mind such things.

So, has nothing really happened between the two of them?

Shiina Hiyori was actually a bit curious.

"So you're planning to buy a whole set?"

"Yeah, shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, toothbrush, rinsing cup, and towels; I have to buy a set... no, better buy two sets, keep one as a spare."

"You want a spare too?"

"Yeah, otherwise it'll be too late if I need them and don't have them. Who knows if my high school life will continue like this."

Hoya Chukai was a natural-born hamster; if he could prepare, he had to do it while he still had some money. Who knew if he'd have that much money later on.

Perhaps there would be a lot of money in the future? But who can say for sure about the future. After all, the more you earn, the more you spend, and Ryuen also mentioned that starting next month, the class would implement a class fund system to avoid being unable to pay when the class needed money.

However, since they were planning to have a class fund, they might as well form a group when the time came.

Lowering his head and pondering, Hoya Chukai continued shopping with Shiina Hiyori.

"Aren't you buying conditioner?"

"Huh?"

Hearing Shiina's words, Hoya Chukai couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

"Conditioner. You're a boy, so naturally you don't need it, but girls basically all use it."

"Is that so? But I feel like Ryuen, she... you know."

"..."

Silence, absolute silence.

It seemed Hoya Chukai was right.

His words made Shiina fall into deep thought; after all, Ryuen Shoko's usual appearance...

It could only be said that she would simply tidy herself up, but as for further grooming... don't even think about it.

So whether she would actually use conditioner was indeed a question.

"Forget it, it's not that much more, let's buy it."

Picking a brand that was considered fairly well-known, Hoya Chukai took these items to the checkout.

The two of them, carrying plastic bags, chatted as they returned home... to the dorm. After placing these items in the bathroom, Hoya Chukai secretly glanced at Ryuen Shoko in the bedroom.

Hmm... looks like she's still sleeping.

Just let her sleep.

Tiptoeing to grab the books he had left in the dorm, Hoya Chukai asked Shiina: "Do you want to go to the library together?"

He didn't know how to get along with girls that well, but catering to her interests was definitely the best choice.

"Sure~ How was the book I lent you last time?"

"Finished it, finished it. Since they're all about physics, a lot of the knowledge is similar, so I actually read through it quite quickly."

Hoya Chukai didn't just read after school; he would also sneakily read during breaks and occasionally during classes that were truly boring.

As for the teachers patrolling outside... they could only see Hoya Chukai with his head down reading. And the teachers giving the lectures...

Sakagami naturally wouldn't mention this, and Mashima Tomoya would also turn a blind eye to such a good student.

He had brought this up during the first class, but after discovering that Hoya Chukai already knew this knowledge, he didn't take it any further.

After all, the content he was teaching was also physics, and since it was all physics-related knowledge, he tacitly allowed him to read Arrow of Time and A Brief History of Time.

Chapter 63 I even added a fried egg!

"Hoya Chukai, what are you looking for again?"

In the library, Shiina Hiyori watched as Hoya Chukai searched the bookshelves for a new read.

"Ah, I was wondering which books you haven't read yet."

"Why do you want to know that?"

"Book recommendations, isn't it better to exchange them? I also want to recommend one to you, but I haven't really read many mystery novels."

Scratching his head, Hoya Chukai looked quite troubled. Yet, whether intentional or not, his words actually moved Shiina even more.

Shiina had always hoped for a friend to exchange book recommendations with, and the fact that Hoya Chukai had started reading mystery novels—a genre he wasn't particularly interested in—just to recommend books to her was truly...

As expected, Hoya-kun is such a player!

Catering to someone's interests is an easy way to increase a girl's favorability, and he was silently boosting Shiina Hiyori's favorability rating at this very moment.

If he had some sort of system, he might be able to see the "Favorability Up" icons flashing wildly above Shiina Hiyori's head right now.

"Have you read this one?"

"Hmm... no."

Looking at the mystery novel in his hand, Hoya Chukai couldn't help but nod: "Mm, then let's tentatively go with this one."

As he spoke, he pulled the book down, and the title on the cover was clearly visible.

The Ex-Boyfriend's Last Will and Testament.

It wasn't just one book; he searched a bit more and eventually picked out three.

Besides The Ex-Boyfriend's Last Will and Testament, the other two were The Name of the Rose and The Man Who Died Seven Times.

Except for The Name of the Rose, which was written by an Italian author, the other two were local Japanese books.

Local books have one distinct feature: there is no translation. Translation is the easiest way for the original meaning to be distorted; frankly speaking, reading a translation is just reading a "second-hand book."