Detective Horikita

At Palette.

Kamigami Haruo spent a whopping 5,000 PR.

He ordered a sundae, a pancake, two cakes, and a plate of pasta.

Meanwhile, Horikita Suzune ordered the most expensive set meal.

He thought she was a little shameless, going straight for the priciest option.

Once the food was brought to the table, the two ate quietly.

Horikita Suzune was no longer surprised by Kamigami Haruo's appetite.

She only felt that he was eating especially slowly this time, savoring every bite.

After a long while, they both finished their meals.

As Kamigami Haruo watched Horikita Suzune wipe her mouth with a napkin, he leaned back comfortably in his chair and rubbed his stomach.

"Looks like you unexpectedly enjoy desserts, judging by how much you're savoring them."

"Haha, I've had too much bitterness, so I wanted something sweet. You'd definitely sneer at that explanation. So let me put it this way: sweets promote the release of dopamine and serotonin in the brain. Simply put, they make people happy and relaxed, while also providing energy."

"Kamigami, who looks like a poor student, can actually say something so convincing."

"Your preconceived impression of me runs pretty deep... Tell me what you want. Otherwise, you wouldn't have patiently come to dinner with me."

"Likewise. It's hard to imagine you doing something without expecting anything in return. You must be after something."

"You go first. My request is simple."

At that, Horikita Suzune pinched her chin between her thumb and forefinger, looking as though she were thinking something over.

"Leaving aside why the school judged me fit for Class D, why separate the elite into Class A? Could it be that Class A receives preferential treatment?"

"Of course. But Horikita, you seem to prefer handling lunch in the classroom. Don't you find it troublesome to keep buying lunch from the store? Have you considered making bento meals lately? In exchange, you prepare mine, and I'll cover the points for ingredients. How about it?"

"Not at all."

"Seven days."

"..."

"Three days. That's my limit."

Horikita Suzune narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized Kamigami Haruo. After a while, she finally spoke.

"The student cafeteria can solve your problem, and it isn't as if you're short on money."

"Uh... Maybe I'm just not used to crowded places. The moment I enter somewhere crowded, I have trouble breathing, my heart races, and my whole body goes weak..."

Under Horikita Suzune's contemptuous gaze, Kamigami Haruo's voice grew softer and softer.

"Fine, I just want to save points while spending lunch break somewhere quiet. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bought a pile of ingredients on the first day of school."

"But based on what you did today, you don't seem short on points."

"I'm very short on money. You'll understand that later. I'm too lazy to earn points, and I don't want too many people knowing about my abilities. Otherwise, my peaceful days will be gone forever. Besides, if you hadn't seen that book that day, gotten suspicious, and then pestered me, I wouldn't have wanted to tell you."

"I understand."

"Then, back to what we were saying. This school is famous for its high advancement and employment rates, but only those who graduate from Class A receive the school's guarantee. The other classes don't get that treatment."

"So that's why you said that this afternoon... Class A, huh? If that's the case, the school probably won't maintain the current arrangement. In other words, it will determine class rankings through assessments or competition."

Though Horikita Suzune spoke calmly, her furrowed brow revealed her inner unrest.

"Correct. Let's go. It's only the third day of school, so there's no point overthinking it. Let's buy some kitchen supplies."

At Humming, the daily necessities store.

Each of them carried a blue shopping basket as they headed toward the kitchenware section.

Seeing Horikita Suzune distracted the entire way, Kamigami Haruo struck up a conversation.

"Horikita, have you properly looked around the school?"

"No."

Horikita Suzune answered absentmindedly.

"Well, no friends have invited you, Horikita. I understand."

As he spoke, Kamigami Haruo patted her shoulder, then withdrew his hand in an instant.

Horikita Suzune casually picked up a kitchen knife from the nearby display, narrowed her eyes at it, then looked toward Kamigami Haruo.

He understood that Horikita Suzune was threatening him: do that again, and she'd chop him up.

"I don't need friends."

After placing the kitchen knife in her shopping basket, Horikita Suzune said this in an utterly calm tone.

"Fine, you said it. The day you make a friend, I'll play this recording to spur you on."

Kamigami Haruo casually took a recorder from his pocket, switched it off, and waved it in front of Horikita Suzune.

"By every measure, your personality is truly awful."

"Haha, on the rough road to Class A, companions you can trust and rely on are indispensable."

"From the past until now, no matter what I did, I've managed it alone."

"Is that so?"

While they chatted, Horikita Suzune also picked out the kitchen utensils she needed.

The points she had just won today were spent like that, but she did not feel bad about it. After all, she would need them for the next three years.

After paying and leaving the daily necessities store, the two went to the supermarket to buy some ingredients.

After placing each person's limited free ingredients into their baskets, they lined up to pay together.

"You seem unexpectedly obsessed with free items."

"Of course. Although taking things for free isn't admirable, passing up a good freebie would become a lifelong regret."

At those words, a connection suddenly clicked in Horikita Suzune's mind.

After thinking for a while, she spoke.

"These free ingredients are meant to keep students living beyond their means from going hungry. But 100,000 points are already enough for students to safely get through a month. That would only leave those who spend everything each month, but the school has no obligation to specially care for such problem children."

"Then why provide free ingredients? If points are insufficient, the only explanation is that the monthly point distribution isn't fixed."

Pinching her chin, Horikita Suzune voiced her deduction.

Clap, clap, clap...

"Subarashii. As expected of Horikita, but you're still some distance from the truth."

"The reason point distributions aren't fixed..."

"Stop thinking. If you keep going, the people behind us won't be able to pay."

After Kamigami Haruo paid for a week's worth of bento ingredients for both of them, he dragged Horikita Suzune out of the supermarket.

Each of them carried bags in both hands, like middle-aged women returning from the market.

After passing through the dormitory lobby, they entered the elevator.

"First, we'll pick up the ingredients I bought a few days ago."

The elevator stopped on the fourth floor, and Kamigami Haruo entered room 404 to gather the ingredients.

Horikita Suzune was left waiting outside the room alone.

After happily taking out the ingredients, Kamigami Haruo headed to Horikita Suzune's room.

Room 1201.

Horikita Suzune swiped her keycard and opened the door.

After putting the things down in the entryway, Kamigami Haruo left behind a sentence and turned to leave.

"There's another way. Take off the mask, return to who you used to be, escape Brother's shadow, and find your own path."

After he left, Horikita Suzune stood frozen in place, staring blankly with a stunned expression.

After returning to his room, Kamigami Haruo put the drinks he had picked up into the refrigerator, deciding to give himself a break today.

After washing up, he lay on the bed with both hands behind his head, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Pure white moonlight filtered through the curtains and fell across Kamigami Haruo's face.

His thoughts followed the moon in the sky back to his hometown of the past.

Prove herself?

Thinking back on who he once was, hadn't he also wanted to prove himself? But as his illusions shattered, it was time for the dream to end as well.

Horikita Suzune truly had a good Brother.