"Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm not sure whether it'll suit Hachiman's tastes, but I'd be happy if you'd try it."
Sitting at the table in Hiyori's room, I watched her set the dishes down. She was wearing an apron.
On closer inspection, there was rice, miso soup, salt-grilled salmon, tamagoyaki, and other classic Japanese dishes.
Once she'd set out two servings, Hiyori took off her apron and hung it on the rack beside the bed.
But the way she untied it made my heart skip a beat.
"Then let's eat. Itadakimasu."
"Itadakimasu."
After returning Hiyori's mealtime greeting, I picked up my chopsticks and started eating, but...
"This is delicious..."
I couldn't help murmuring.
It had a home-cooked flavor you couldn't find in the Student Cafeteria.
Then again, I hadn't exactly grown up in a proper family, so I didn't really know what "home cooking" was supposed to taste like.
"I'm glad you like it, Hachiman."
"Yeah, I do. But why go out of your way to cook for me?"
"Because I want to repay you for what you did for me, Hachiman."
I see.
So that was the reason.
"Hiyori, I told you before, I did that because I wanted to. You don't have to feel indebted to me."
"Even if you say that, I'll still feel bad. If our positions were reversed, could you really not worry about it?"
"...I couldn't."
One point was equivalent to one yen. In other words, I'd paid Ryuen 500,000 yen so I could keep in touch with Hiyori.
Just as Hiyori had said, if I were in her shoes, the guilt of being saddled with a debt of 500,000 yen would probably suffocate me.
If it were a thousand or ten thousand, I might've been able to accept it, but 500,000 was just...
"Besides, knowing what you're like, Hachiman, even if I prepared 500,000 points, you wouldn't accept them, would you?"
"Yeah, I'd probably refuse."
"So from now on, I'll repay you by taking care of you."
"No, but—'I did it because I wanted to, so you don't have to feel indebted to me'... I get it."
She'd thrown my own words right back at me.
At this point, there was no way I could refuse Hiyori.
"Thank you so much. From now on, I'll cook for you, clean your room and bathroom, and..."
Hiyori suddenly trailed off, stumbling over her words.
A terrible premonition welled up inside me...
"If you need me, Hachiman... I'm available, too?"
"Pfft! Cough, cough! Ugh!"
Her shocking remark made me choke, and I burst into a violent coughing fit.
This girl, who was practically bursting with natural charm, had just said something outrageous!
"D-don't joke around. Let me eat in peace."
As if trying to escape, I hurriedly shoveled another mouthful of rice into my mouth, but the heat still lingering in my face made it impossible to taste anything.
(I'm not joking, though.)
An hour later...
"Well, Hiyori, I'd better get going. Thanks for the meal."
Despite the embarrassing interruption along the way, I'd managed to make it through dinner. After finishing my coffee, I got ready to leave.
"Of course. Then from tomorrow on, please let me take care of you."
Hiyori saw me out with a smile.
After that, I tried several times to persuade her that she didn't need to go out of her way to look after me, but she wouldn't budge, so I gave up.
"Ah... here, take this."
As I spoke, I took the spare dorm key off my key ring and handed it to Hiyori.
"...Are you sure?"
She asked, her eyes widening slightly.
"Yeah. You can't take care of me without it, right? Besides, even if you went into my room, I don't think you'd steal anything."
There were four keys, including the one I used, so giving one to Hiyori shouldn't be a problem.
"Thank you so much. Then I'll give you mine, too..."
As she spoke, Hiyori took her key ring out of her pocket and offered me a key.
It had 1206 written on it. It had to be the key to her room.
"No, this is a bit much—'Don't feel awkward. I'm giving it to you because I want to'... You're surprisingly stubborn."
Just as I started to refuse, she pressed the key into my palm.
It seemed she wouldn't take it back even if I tried, so with a sigh, I clipped Hiyori's key onto my own key ring.
"Then I'll take it. See you tomorrow."
"Of course. You're welcome to visit anytime."
After saying goodbye to Hiyori, I left the dorm room.
Once I'd checked that the hallway was empty, I hurried downstairs and returned to my floor, then went into my room as casually as I could.
I flopped onto the bed, opened the terminal, and logged into the school forum to look for ways to make money.
I tried posting:
652: Newbie Socially Awkward
If I get good grades on the regular exams, is there any chance a teacher might give me a bonus if I ask?
653: That doesn't count ＞＞＞652
Ask your homeroom teacher
654: Why couldn't I be the student council president ＞＞＞653
I'm in Class 3-B. I get bonus points every time I place in the top five overall on an exam.
655: Newbie Socially Awkward ＞＞＞654
How much can you get?
656: I conquered her
I'm in Class 2-C. My homeroom teacher said studying is our obligation, so there's no bonus system.
657: Good guy with a good package
Class 2-A has bonuses. Third overall in the year gets 10,000, second gets 30,000, and first gets 50,000 points.
658: Lin Yuanya has no nuts ＞＞＞655
Depends on who your homeroom teacher is.
654 replied: Fifth place gets 10,000, fourth gets 20,000, and so on, with first place getting 50,000.
659: Victory is assured
Looks like first place gets 50,000 for everyone.
660: The Year Two Flower
By the way, OP sounds like a first-year. Which class are you in? It's only just after the start of term, so Class D is the only one short on Class Points, right?
661: Academics first
Hoshinomiya-sensei might give you some. Mashima-sensei is too serious and might think studying is an obligation, so he probably wouldn't.
662: My brother's turned-in toes ＞＞＞661
Could be. Sakagami-sensei seems mean... but maybe he'd give you some. Chabashira-sensei is... hard to say.
663: Extra thin, extra distant
At the end of the day, it depends on your homeroom teacher.
664: Yellow flowered turtle man
Besides, how could Class D possibly get good grades?
665: What're you looking at?
Exactly. Isn't this year's Class 1-D the bunch of idiots who wiped out their Class Points in a month?
666: I'm laughing so hard I'm wheezing
They wiped out their Class Points in a month.
667: No dirty jokes ＞＞＞665
Not necessarily. There's a student in Class 1-D named Hikigaya Hachiman. He's pretty sharp.
668: I'm Princess Big Bully ＞＞＞667
Hikigaya Hachiman? The scumbag who's dating three girls at once?
669: Oda Nobunaga reincarnated, looking for sponsors ＞＞＞668
I heard he's even trying to win over Chabashira-sensei and Hoshinomiya-sensei.
670: All killer content
He's a master of time management! Why do girls all like scumbags like that? Why doesn't anyone like a pure-hearted 17-year-old guy like me?
I hurriedly closed the forum and tossed my phone onto the table.
How had things gotten like this...? Even if I gave them the benefit of the doubt and accepted that I was dating three girls at once, why were there rumors that I was going after the teachers, too?
(But it looks like getting bonus points still depends on the teacher.)
That was all I needed to know.
I'd ask Chabashira-sensei directly tomorrow.
If there was a chance to earn points, I couldn't afford to miss it.
Thinking that, I lay down on the bed. Just as I was about to pull my keys out of my pocket and put them beside my pillow, I spotted the key Hiyori had given me.
(I never thought a girl would give me her key... Then again, I gave her my spare key, too. It's almost like we're already dating.)
Normal people didn't just hand out their house keys, especially not to someone of the opposite sex.
But I'd given Hiyori my spare key, and she'd given me hers.
So it was only natural people might think we were dating.
(Still, I shouldn't cross the line.)
If I crossed the line without thinking, like I had in middle school, I'd definitely end up repeating the same mistakes.
...No, just paying Ryuen 500,000 points had already crossed the line.
Otherwise, my relationship with Hiyori would've ended long ago.
(Ugh, there's just too much to think about, both when it comes to my future school life and everything else.)
My head was starting to ache.
This was the kind of time when I needed to sleep.
I'd think it over again once I'd woken up and cleared my head.
The next morning...
"Good morning, Hachiman. Please wait a moment. Also, I'm sorry for using your ingredients without asking."
When I opened my eyes, I saw Hiyori in the kitchen, wearing an apron and preparing breakfast.
Waking up in the morning to find a girl in an apron making breakfast for you... It was the perfect scene.
Like a newlywed couple... Wait, stop right there!
Hiyori was only doing this to repay me. There were absolutely no romantic feelings involved.
I shook my head hard to clear away those thoughts, then went into the changing room to get dressed and fix my hair.
When I returned to the living room, Hiyori had already set a plate of toast, sausages, and fried eggs on the table. She also handed me a lunch box.
"I'm not sure if you'll like it, but please enjoy it during lunch."
"Ah, okay..."
The moment I took the lunch box, I almost thought I was dreaming.
"Breakfast is ready. Please, go ahead."
At Hiyori's urging, I sat down. The moment I bit into the toast, it tasted far better than what I usually made for myself.
Considering that I'd be able to stay in touch with Hiyori and even have her look after me from now on, maybe those 500,000 points I'd given Ryuen hadn't been such a bad deal after all.
Fifteen minutes later...
"All ready. Let's go."
"Yeah. We've only got five minutes until we're supposed to meet Classmate Sakayanagi."
As we talked, we left the room and took the elevator to the first-floor lobby. Sakayanagi was already waiting there.
"Good morning, you two... Pfft."
Sakayanagi suddenly giggled.
What was going on? What was so funny?
While I stood there confused, Sakayanagi leaned close to Hiyori's ear and whispered:
"(I heard you took care of Hikigaya yesterday. How bold of you, Shiina.)"
"(Um... Was it really too forward?)"
"(Not at all~ It's cute. Next time, why not go ahead and wear lingerie...)"
A bad feeling suddenly came over me.
What were those two plotting?
"Shouldn't we get going soon?"
Though I felt uneasy, I suggested we set off.
Sakanayanagi was frail, and walking to school took a long time, so we shouldn't dawdle.
"True. Then let's go."
"Okay~"
As she spoke, Sakanayanagi took my right hand as usual, while Hiyori didn't hold my hand and instead hugged my arm.
I fought to keep my racing heart in check as we headed to school.
We still attracted countless stares along the way, but I'd gotten used to it.
Ignoring the gazes around us, we chatted as we walked and soon arrived at school.
After changing into my indoor shoes at the shoe lockers, I climbed the stairs to the floor where the first-year classrooms were.
"I'll be off, then."
"See you at lunch."
I watched Sakanayanagi and Hiyori head into their respective classrooms, then got ready to enter my own.
Just as I was about to sit down, I noticed something was off. Ike and Yamauchi came stomping over, looking furious.
"Hey, what's the deal, Hikigaya?!"
"Why have you got a lipstick mark on your face?!"
...Huh?
I hurriedly pulled out a little mirror. There was a pink lipstick mark plainly visible on my right cheek.
D-don't tell me Hiyori did this!
"You've got points and a girlfriend? That's so unfair!"
"Share one with me!"
Watching the two of them approach with tears streaming down their faces, I bolted out of the classroom.
After that, I returned just as the homeroom bell rang, then made another desperate escape as soon as the dismissal bell sounded. I didn't dare come back until right before first period.
This went on until lunch. When I asked Hiyori about it, she readily admitted she'd done it.
I'd wanted to scold her, but seeing how guilty she looked, I couldn't bring myself to.
That was one thing, but the moment Sakanayanagi suggested over lunch, "How about I kiss you too?" I really wanted to throw her over my shoulder.
Before you continue