Welcome Home, Master

A week had passed since the midterm exams.

Perhaps because no one had been expelled, the atmosphere in the classroom had noticeably relaxed.

Still, it wasn't as lax as it had been in April. No one chatted during class or played on their phones anymore.

After all, anyone who dared would become the enemy of the entire class.

Once classes and the after-school homeroom period were over, students with club activities headed straight to their clubrooms, while the others went out with their friend groups.

As for me, I was just about to leave the classroom alone to meet up with students from other classes when...

"What does this email mean...?"

I stared at the email on my phone, lost in thought.

Sakanayanagi had sent it just before lunch ended. In short, she told me not to return to my dorm room before four, then to go to my room at exactly four.

Honestly, I had no idea what she was talking about.

Was she planning to do something in my room before four, and telling me to stay away until then?

But if I refused, she'd definitely make me regret it, so I decided to do as I was told.

I was thinking of killing time in the library until four when Sakanayanagi suddenly appeared in front of me.

Two people followed behind her: Kamuro and a boy I hadn't seen before.

"Good afternoon, Hikigaya~ Did you see my email?"

"...I did. What are you plotting now?"

"That hurts. I'm only going to do something Hikigaya has been looking forward to."

"?"

"It's all right if you can't remember right now. In an hour, you'll remember it vividly."

Something I was looking forward to? I had no idea what she meant.

But Kamuro was glaring at me, while the boy beside her smiled with obvious interest. They were probably involved somehow.

"So I just have to stay out of my room until four, right? That's fine, but are these two underlings of yours getting involved too?"

"Masumi will be joining me. Hashimoto will be acting as our adviser, I suppose... Oh, this is my friend, Hashimoto Masayoshi."

"I'm honored. I'm Hashimoto. I've actually wanted to talk with you for a while, Hikigaya."

"Talking to me isn't much fun."

"Don't be ridiculous. A man Sakanayanagi talks about with unusual enthusiasm, and who's at the top of both the Most Popular and 'Most Want Him Dead' rankings? You must be fascinating."

This guy... He'd brought up the things I cared about on purpose, hadn't he?

"Well, Masumi and I will be going now. Hikigaya, keep Hashimoto company until four. Masumi, I'm counting on you."

"Got it... Why do I have to be involved too...?"

"What's the matter? I'd be scared all alone."

"You're not that kind of coward... Honestly."

Sakanayanagi and Kamuro walked away, talking as they went. What was all this about? They were probably planning something in my room, and Kamuro was clearly dead set against it.

"Anyway, there's an hour until four. Keep me company while we kill time."

"...Fine. Let's go sit in the café."

"Then I'll have an iced tea."

"Don't take advantage of a poor kid from Class D, you honor student from Class A."

"Don't pretend. How can someone with a million points be poor?"

It seemed Sakanayanagi had told her accomplice everything about me.

Probably in case we ended up on opposing sides.

"Don't be stingy. I'm contributing to 'Heaven' after four, so think of it as an advance on my reward."

Hashimoto grinned.

What exactly was going to happen after four? He seemed confident, but I couldn't begin to guess what he had in mind.

"...Five hundred points, tops."

I decided to play along. Maybe I could get some information out of him.

"Thanks. Let's go, then."

I followed Hashimoto to the café on campus. I ordered tea, and he got an iced tea.

As soon as I'd taken a sip, Hashimoto spoke.

"Sakanayanagi's told me a lot about you, so... who's your one true love?"

"That's a pretty personal question to ask right off the bat."

I'd been asked that plenty of times, but I hadn't expected someone I'd known for five minutes to be so direct.

"Of course I'm curious. I've got money riding on Sakanayanagi, after all."

"Wait, there's a betting pool?"

"It's school-wide. The current odds are 1.4 to 1 for Sakanayanagi, 1.7 to 1 for Shiina Hiyori, 2.2 to 1 for Ichinose, and 32 to 1 for everyone else. When I saw you on a date with Kamuro at the mall, I was sweating bullets."

You had to be kidding! There was a school-wide betting pool?

I knew I was famous, but I hadn't imagined people were betting on me.

"Gambling at a sacred school? That's disgraceful."

"Before you say that, maybe check how many times you've been shot?"

"I know my place. So how much did you bet?"

"Thirty thousand."

"What a cheapskate. You should've bet at least a hundred and fifty thousand."

"I'd have to eat vegetable meals every day if I lost, okay?"

"Those aren't exactly delicious, but they're not bad either."

They were decently seasoned, and pretty good for free food.

"Is that so... I wouldn't know. I haven't tried them. Got any other interesting information?"

Hashimoto continued asking, looking intrigued...

"Did Sakanayanagi send you to pry information out of me?"

Sakanayanagi, honestly...

To make sure she came out on top, she'd probably gathered every bit of information about this school.

She might well be using Hashimoto to get information out of me that I hadn't told her.

Hashimoto shook his head.

"No, that was my own decision. Well, if I find out anything useful, I'll tell Sakanayanagi."

I see.

Unlike Kamuro, Hashimoto wasn't being forced to obey.

Still, he didn't seem particularly loyal. Even if Sakanayanagi got into trouble, he probably wouldn't help her. He'd just abandon her at once.

Or rather, he would definitely betray her.

"Useful information, huh... How about this? You tell me what's going on in Class A, and I'll share some information with you."

I had talked privately with Sakanayanagi, but we'd rarely discussed class business. I wanted to expand my sources of information too.

"Sure. What do you want to know about Class A?"

"Let's see... Tell me about the Sakanayanagi Faction and the Katsuragi Faction first."

All I knew was that Class A was divided between the Sakanayanagi Faction and the Katsuragi Faction. The former was more radical, while the latter was more conservative, and the two sides were at odds over their different ideals.

"The Sakanayanagi Faction and the Katsuragi Faction, huh... There's nothing much happening at school right now, just constant minor clashes. At the moment, both sides are trying to win over the neutral students."

"So unless something major happens, Sakanayanagi won't be able to unite the class."

"You sound pretty sure Sakanayanagi can unite the class."

"Of course."

I answered Hashimoto immediately.

I'd only met Katsuragi once, but he hadn't given off any particularly impressive aura.

He seemed capable, but probably not as capable as Sakanayanagi.

Then again, there weren't many people who could compare to Sakanayanagi in the first place.

"How many people are in each faction?"

"More than ten on both sides. So now they're both desperately trying to win over the dozen or so neutral students left."

"I see. Well, good luck with that, little minion."

"Oh... Interesting. You're calling me a little minion?"

Hashimoto's demeanor suddenly changed.

I'd hit a nerve, just as I thought.

"It's obvious from your attitude. You only follow Sakanayanagi because it benefits you. You may have sworn loyalty to her, but you don't actually respect her."

Still, it was a clever way to survive.

Staying loyal to Sakanayanagi did make it easier to reap the benefits.

"Interesting, interesting. Just like Sakanayanagi and Kamuro said, you really are perceptive."

If a loner didn't sharpen his observational skills, he'd end up making a lot of embarrassing memories.

"Thanks for the compliment. So what do you want to ask me?"

"Let's see... Then..."

Beep, beep, beep...

"Time's up. I have to go."

The four o'clock alarm sounded. I turned it off and spoke to Hashimoto.

"Ah. Especially that information about being able to trade exam scores. That's really interesting."

Hashimoto grinned as he said it.

The information he'd asked for was about the S-System.

So I told him what an upperclassman in the shogi club had said, as well as what happened during the last midterm exams. Hashimoto seemed quite satisfied.

"Then, Hikigaya, make sure you tell me tomorrow how you liked 'Heaven.'"

Hashimoto waved as he left. What had he arranged in my room, anyway?

Kamuro was involved in Sakanayanagi's plan, but she was clearly against it.

And Hashimoto was the one coming up with ideas... I had no clue what was going on.

Well, I'd go and see.

Hashimoto kept going on about "Heaven." Maybe it really was a place like paradise.

But since it was in my room, I had to go whether I wanted to or not.

After paying at the café, I left the school building and headed for the dorm.

As usual, I walked back to the dorm under the gaze of countless students.

I took the elevator to the floor where my room was and stopped in front of my door.

(Okay, what's waiting for me?)

Though I was nervous, I unlocked the door with my key.

I took off my shoes and pushed open the door to the living room—

"Welcome home, Master."

"...W-welcome home... Master."

Sakanayanagi stood before me in a maid outfit, smiling brightly, while Kamuro stood beside her with a grim expression, looking like she'd rather die than do this... but in the end, she'd done it anyway.

...Huh?