A New Goal

"Excuse me."

Hachiman Hikigaya entered Suzune Horikita's room. This was his first time visiting a girl's Dormitory, so he could not help feeling a little uneasy.

Horikita's room did not have many flashy decorations, but its furnishings were more complete than Hikigaya's.

It was clear that Horikita truly loved cooking for herself.

After carrying the ingredients into the kitchen, Horikita said, "Make yourself comfortable."

"Okay."

To be honest, Hikigaya was a little disappointed. He had thought he might get to see a different side of Suzune Horikita, but her room was as cold as she was.

However, this experience did give Hikigaya an idea for making Horikita take an interest in him.

That was cooking. Since Horikita liked to cook, as long as he could show a certain level of skill in the kitchen, she would definitely see him in a new light.

Unfortunately, that idea was crushed a second after it appeared. The food Hikigaya cooked could only be described as dark cuisine.

After waiting for over an hour, the fragrance of food gradually filled the room, and Horikita brought the cooked dishes to the table.

"Please enjoy."

Horikita had initially been a little displeased, but she still watched Hikigaya with faint anticipation, waiting for his reaction.

"Huh? This is really good." Hikigaya found it unbelievable.

A trace of pride appeared on Horikita's face as she said, "Of course it is."

With the taste assured, Hikigaya ate even faster.

Before long, he accomplished the great feat of clearing every plate.

"Thank you for the meal!"

He pressed his hands together and offered the chef his deepest gratitude.

"Don't go causing me trouble again next time."

Horikita spoke with a cold expression.

Hikigaya took the initiative to clear away the bowls and chopsticks, then got up and headed for the kitchen, intending to wash them.

"How is this trouble? We're friends. Having a meal at your place shouldn't be a big deal, right?"

"I've said this many times already. Please stop deciding things on your own. We have no such relationship."

Horikita was tired of Hikigaya and Kushida repeatedly insisting that they were friends.

"Sure, sure. But at least you have someone to talk to. Maybe the next time you run into a problem you can't solve, I can help you."

Horikita frowned slightly, displeased by his words.

"I don't think there's anything I need your help with.

Besides, if there's a problem I can't solve, does that mean you can solve it? Are you saying your abilities far surpass mine?"

A dangerous aura filled the air. Horikita could not accept the idea that Hikigaya regarded her as less capable than himself.

"I never said that. It's just that you'll definitely encounter a problem you can't solve by yourself someday, and I just happen to be able to help with that problem."

"That will never happen."

"Is that so? Since you're so confident, I can give you a chance to get even."

The corners of Hikigaya's lips curled upward. As expected, Horikita's pride could not endure his provocation.

"Fine. Let's make a bet. I'm still dissatisfied with the result of our last wager anyway."

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Horikita looked at Hikigaya's back and agreed to this new bet.

"Good. Then I'll do as you did—the terms can wait until I've thought them through."

"It's a deal!"

And so, the two began another round of betting.

As the sun set, Hikigaya left Horikita's room.

While waiting for the Elevator, he ran into someone he knew.

When Sato saw Hikigaya waiting alone by the Elevator doors, she could not stop smiling and took the initiative to greet him.

"Hikigaya, what are you doing here?"

Sato asked because a boy appearing in the girls' Dormitory looked strange no matter how one looked at it.

This was when looks made all the difference.

If it had been an ugly boy, he would definitely have been branded a creep sneaking into the girls' Dormitory to peep.

But this was the handsome Hikigaya. That thought had never even crossed Sato's mind. Instead, she felt lucky to have run into him here.

By now, the girls of Class D had already split into three factions.

Two of those factions consisted of girls who supported Hikigaya and Hirata respectively, while the third was made up of girls like Horikita, who did not join either side's discussions.

And Sato belonged to the group that supported Hikigaya.

Hikigaya had a fairly good impression of this cheerful girl. She was above average in looks and had an outgoing personality. If she became his girlfriend, that did not seem like such a bad thing.

"I came to see Horikita."

Hikigaya had no intention of hiding it. Some things only became more suspicious the more one tried to explain them, so it was better to tell the truth from the start.

As the saying went, once you told one lie, you needed countless more lies to cover it up.

Hikigaya did not want to waste his energy on that sort of thing.

"Huh?" Sato stared at Hikigaya in shock and hurriedly asked, "Are you two dating?"

They were still in contact over the weekend, and he had even entered that Horikita's room. No matter how she looked at it, those were things only a couple would do, right?

"No. I just had something to discuss with her."

Upon hearing Hikigaya's answer, Sato involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness it wasn't what I thought.

"Are you heading back now?" Sato asked again.

"Yeah. It's getting late. If I don't leave soon, people might misunderstand."

"Then... then, would you like to come sit in my room for a while?"

Sato said something that even shocked herself. Hikigaya raised an eyebrow, surprised by her sudden invitation.

"It'll be curfew soon. If I went now, people could easily get the wrong idea."

A disappointed look appeared on Sato's face, but then Hikigaya added,

"If you're still willing to invite me next time, I won't refuse."

The Elevator arrived, and Hikigaya got in and went down to the fourth floor.

Even as the Elevator slowly descended, Sato remained rooted to the spot, staring at its doors with a flushed face.

He's...

Sato imagined a sweet romance and shyly ran back to her room.

Hikigaya returned to his Dormitory. Honestly, flirting with a girl like Sato came with no pressure at all.

One simple sentence from him would probably be enough to keep her awake all night.

Hikigaya had his own purpose as well. He had already come up with a plan that would give him motivation for the next three years.

Next, he only needed to work hard toward that goal.

As Horikita was preparing to sleep, she received an invitation. It was a request from Kushida to exchange contact information.

Horikita stared blankly at her phone screen, then thought of Hikigaya and could not help cursing.

"That idiot actually did something like this. It's unforgivable!"

With no other choice, Horikita accepted the invitation.

"That's great, Horikita. You accepted my friend request."

Kushida quickly sent Horikita a message. Horikita merely glanced at it, turned off her phone, and went quietly to sleep.