Love-Filled Bento

"Haa—I'm still so tired..."

I yawned as I stepped into the elevator. Hiyori, who lives with me, was standing right beside me as a matter of course.

"Are you alright? You really should pace yourself when you go out at night."

"I know."

I had just nodded at Hiyori when the elevator doors opened. As we walked toward the lobby, I saw Sakanayanagi as usual, with Kamuro standing beside her.

The other party noticed us as well; Sakanayanagi flashed a super happy smile, while Kamuro's cheeks flushed slightly before she immediately looked away. Looking at the two of them, I felt both annoyed and intensely embarrassed.

"Good morning, you two. The weather is truly lovely today."

Sakanayanagi spoke first. She must be in a great mood right now. She's usually quite cold and aloof, but she gets especially energized whenever she's teasing me.

"Good morning, Sakanayanagi-san, Kamuro-san. Please take care of us today as well."

"...Morning."

"..."

Hiyori offered a polite greeting, I gave a stiff one, and Kamuro kept her face turned away.

Sakanayanagi smiled and said, "Kamuro-san, that attitude is too rude. You should look people in the eye when you greet them. Morning greetings are very important, you know." Although she said that, she was clearly just looking to see me and Kamuro feel awkward.

Hearing Sakanayanagi's words, Kamuro looked reluctant, but after catching a glimpse of Sakanayanagi's smile, she sighed and turned toward us. "Morning, Shiina... Morning, Hikigaya."

"Yeah, morning."

"...Oh, morning."

Although it was a bit tense, the greetings were completed without a hitch. Seeing this, Sakanayanagi nodded with interest and started walking forward.

We were walking leisurely on the path from the dorms to the school when we suddenly heard footsteps behind us. Looking back, I saw Ichinose running toward us.

"Morning, Hikigaya-kun! Morning, Shiina-san, Sakanayanagi-san, and Kamuro-san!"

"Ichinose-san, you went out of your way to run over here—is there something you need from Hikigaya-kun?"

"I suppose so. Regarding the previous violence incident, Class B has decided to assist with the investigation."

"Oh? I thought the other classes would remain neutral."

"Classes shouldn't be divided against each other. Even though the school makes us compete, it's too dangerous to let lies prevail. Besides, I personally can't stand by and watch this kind of thing."

Ichinose's expression didn't look like she was lying. However, there must be other reasons. If it were just her personally, that would be one thing, but if the entire Class B is taking action, this reason isn't sufficient.

"There's more to it than that, isn't there? If Class C wins this dispute, their momentum will only grow stronger. You want to stop that, right?"

Sakanayanagi chuckled and pierced through the facade; she probably guessed correctly. Currently, the gap between Class A and Class B, and Class C and Class D is vast, but the gap between Class B and Class C is small. Letting the Class C led by Ryuen run wild is indeed dangerous.

"Hehe... Sakanayanagi-san guessed right. We can't let Class C close the gap while we still haven't figured out the S-System."

Ichinose smiled awkwardly, though there was really no need for that.

"By the way, are you guys planning to take action, Sakanayanagi?"

"I personally would like to trip up both Class C and Class D, but if I take action over such a trivial matter, the Katsuragi Faction will start nagging me again."

The Katsuragi Faction is the conservative group, right? They'd definitely find fault with me if I acted outside of exams.

"Eh? You're such good friends with Hikigaya-kun and the others, yet you show no mercy?"

"Of course. Although I am friends with Hikigaya-kun and Shiina-san, class competition involves no personal feelings. Besides, they aren't interested in class struggles to begin with."

Just as Sakanayanagi said, I have zero interest in class struggles, and Hiyori is much the same.

"I see... Then you don't plan to take action during summer break either?"

"Summer break... come to think of it, our homeroom teacher mentioned a summer break. But I suspect it'll be another special exam disguised as a vacation. Do you have any news, Sakanayanagi?"

"None. I only know there's a long-distance trip, but there's a ninety percent chance it will involve activities related to class points."

"Probably. If the activity Ichinose mentioned is that kind of thing, I'll cooperate to the bare minimum, but I won't participate with my life on the line."

If it were for someone important, I wouldn't mind being ground to dust, but I have no intention of doing that for unrelated people.

"Same here. If Ryuen-kun gives the order, I'll act, but I won't take initiative myself."

"You guys are too cold-hearted."

"Aren't you the same, Kamuro? If you weren't Sakanayanagi's little sidekick, you wouldn't be acting so proactively either."

"...I can't deny that."

"Kamuro-san should be more proactive, just like that time you used magic on Hikigaya-kun."

"Shut up!"

Sakanayanagi laughed as she dug up Kamuro's dark history, causing Kamuro to bristle with rage. I could actually understand that feeling.

"Magic? What's that about?"

"Nothing worth worrying about."

I, who know nothing about the mysterious Ichinose, was curious, but in the end, I didn't ask. After all, if she told me, Kamuro would probably really kill me.

We walked toward the school, chatting evasively as we went.

By the way, Sudo started picking fights again the moment he arrived in the classroom, showing no signs of remorse. After I provoked him once more, he flew into a rage like an idiot, only to be held back by Hirata and Kushida. Let him be; if he gets expelled because of this, everyone will finally have some peace and quiet.

Although the morning was full of turmoil, lunch break arrived right on schedule. I walked out of the classroom carrying the bento box Shiina Hiyori had specially prepared for me. She had an appointment to eat with her seniors from the Tea Ceremony Club, and Sakanayanagi seemed to be having lunch with the girls in the class alongside Kamuro, whom she had been eating with frequently lately, so I had made plans to eat with Hashimoto.

(Still, this guy Hashimoto is really something else...)

Even though he has outstanding social skills, the way he casually invites me to eat always reminds me of my own sister, that next-generation hybrid type of loner. Of course, unlike Komachi, he actually has a sharp brain.

As I was thinking about this while walking toward our meeting spot, I noticed Hashimoto confronting two boys. One of them was a bald giant—Katsuragi, who stands in opposition to Sakanayanagi. The other was an unremarkable guy who was shouting at Hashimoto, while Hashimoto was busy yawning.

Noticing me, Hashimoto jogged over, completely ignoring the commotion behind him: "Sorry to keep you waiting, let's go." He kept up his jogging pace as he brushed past me, leaving me no choice but to turn and follow.

"So, what was that about just now?"

"I was planning to sneak a photo when Sudo was about to hit you, but Katsuragi caught me and told me not to stir up trouble."

As expected. As a member of the conservative faction opposing the radical Sakanayanagi, Katsuragi wouldn't even leave an opening for the weak to exploit.

"Lay low for now. If you want to take action, wait until summer break."

"That's exactly what I was thinking. Sakanayanagi also wants to establish a dictatorial regime before the second semester."

"We'll see how things go then. I also need to prepare to jump ship to Class A."

To be honest, the current Class A, torn by the conflict between two major factions, is worthless. Even if Sakanayanagi is brilliant, it's hard to maintain a situation where half the class is hostile toward her. If things continue like this, I fear Class A will be demoted to Class B by the time we reach our second year.

But if Sakanayanagi or Katsuragi can establish a firm leadership position and unite the class, I wouldn't mind aiming for Class A—on an individual basis, of course. While Class D has plenty of talent, it has even more eyesores.

"If it really comes to that, my points might flow toward Hikigaya, you know."

Hashimoto was referring to the loan from before.

"Wouldn't I be silenced if that were discovered?"

"Can't deny it. If the class found out I was holding a massive amount of points, I'd definitely be picked clean by the vultures."

"That's a vivid image... We're here. I'll go buy the meal tickets, you grab a seat."

Watching Hashimoto run toward the vending machine, I took two cups of free barley tea and secured a table.

When he returned with the special set meal, I couldn't help but marvel at the extravagance of Class A—this was the most expensive set on the cafeteria menu.

Opening the bento box, I saw Japanese-style dishes like salmon fillets, simmered vegetables, tamagoyaki, and beef shigureni, but the most eye-catching part was the rice shaped into a heart.

"Looks delicious. Did Sakanayanagi make this? Or Shiina Hiyori?"

"The latter. Hiyori's cooking could definitely sell for three times the price in the cafeteria." Thanks to her, I basically don't have to buy food during lunch break anymore.

"That's practically a love bento. Give me a bite?"

"Shut up, don't even think about it." Although I felt the same way, I couldn't let it slip. Even if Hashimoto pulled out 100,000 points on the spot, he wouldn't get a single grain of rice.

"Just kidding. By the way, Hikigaya, is it true that you turned down an invitation from the Student Council?"

"Where did you hear that?" I was genuinely surprised; I hadn't even told Sakanayanagi or Hiyori about this.

"A senior from Class 3-A in the Tennis Club heard President Tachibana talking to someone from the Student Council."

"It's true. President Horikita tried to recruit me, but I refused." The Student Council in this school might seem powerful, but I don't want to touch those kinds of memories.

"Hmm... but the admission criteria are really mysterious. Katsuragi was on the Student Council in middle school, yet he was rejected."

"Indeed. Ichinose also said she was cut during the first round of interviews."

I had only discovered a loophole in the S-System; there was no reason to give up on Ichinose because of that. Could it be that having her or Katsuragi join would be detrimental to President Horikita? Forget it, it has nothing to do with me anyway.

Just as I was about to continue my meal, I noticed Hashimoto trying to sneak a piece of beef shigureni, only to be soundly smacked by me.