Taking It Seriously

"What are you thinking about, Hoshino-kun?" Hoshino had been staring off into space at her for quite a while, and Shiina blushed a little.

"Hmm, I was thinking about you... No, never mind!" Hoshino clapped a hand over his mouth halfway through.

He'd meant to say that Shiina wasn't exactly harmless either, but on second thought, Hoshino felt a little uneasy. He needed to break his habit of zoning out. That was how Sakayanagi had gotten him tangled up with her last time, too. He'd been lucky, but he might not be next time.

"...Honestly!" Though he hadn't said it aloud, Shiina seemed to understand what he meant. Her cheeks reddened, and she puffed her face up in a pout, looking a little annoyed.

A girl as gentle and beautiful as her was still adorable when she got angry! Hoshino felt like his nose was about to start bleeding!

"...Sorry, sorry!" Hoshino came back to his senses and apologized.

"Hehe! I forgive you!" Shiina suddenly dropped her angry expression and gave him a mischievous grin.

She'd tricked him into admitting it! A flash of insight came to Hoshino, and he immediately understood.

"Then I'm grateful to you, Lady Shiina?" He could only manage a helpless smile.

"You're welcome!"

"..." Hoshino felt like she had him wrapped around her finger.

"By the way, Hoshino-kun, have you read this book?" Shiina's usual smile returned as she held up the book she'd been reading.

Only then did Hoshino see the title: Don Quixote. It was a fairly famous work, and even Hoshino knew a bit about it. It had left a strong impression on him, but he wasn't particularly fond of it.

The story was roughly about a country squire in his fifties who became so absorbed in tales of chivalry that he often imagined himself a medieval knight. He took on the identity of a knight-errant and set out on an adventure under the name Don Quixote, doing all sorts of absurd things before finally coming to his senses on his deathbed.

He probably disliked it because of its atmosphere. Everyone treated the protagonist like a ridiculous clown. Hoshino wasn't sure what the author was satirizing, but he didn't like seeing people mock someone for pursuing his ideals. No matter how it ended, Hoshino found it rather sad.

"I've read it... It was okay?" Hoshino gave an uncertain assessment.

"...I think you're a lot like the protagonist." Shiina set down her book, propped her chin on her hands, and studied Hoshino for a moment.

"...Are you saying I'm an idiot?" Hoshino rolled his eyes helplessly and opened the book he'd just picked up.

"No, I just think you're pretty brave!" Shiina wore a gentle smile.

"What makes you say that?" His eyes skimmed the illustrations and table of contents.

"Come on, you even dared to take Ryuen-kun's points—and actually got away with it! Aren't you afraid he'll come after you next time?" Shiina put on an exaggerated tone.

"...Why do I feel like you're implying something? Wait, you're making fun of me again, aren't you? Hey..." Hoshino was flipping through his book when he suddenly caught on.

"Ah! You noticed!..." Shiina showed no embarrassment at being found out; the corners of her mouth simply curled up.

Hoshino could understand, more or less. He was alone, while Ryuen was on the verge of gaining complete control of Class C. What Hoshino had done looked just like "throwing an egg at a rock." From what Hoshino knew of him, Ryuen would never let him take so many points without doing anything about it. There would definitely be a follow-up.

"Hoshino-kun, you'd better be careful from now on!..." Shiina stopped joking and gave Hoshino a serious warning.

"Yeah."

As the saying went, listen to good advice and you'll never go hungry.

Although Hoshino was already wary of what Ryuen might do next, he hadn't taken the threat too seriously.

However, since Shiina had said that, Hoshino found himself starting to take Ryuen more seriously as well. He began to think about what steps he ought to take.

The main problem with people like Ryuen was that, while their actions might be easy to predict, it was harder to anticipate when they'd act. He wasn't the kind of opponent who would attack you head-on. It was best to take some precautions.

After turning it over in his mind, Hoshino decided to buy a portable video or audio recorder, something as small and easy to carry as possible. Maybe he could get some evidence and set Ryuen up again.

After all, this was a school. As long as he didn't provoke Ryuen too much, Hoshino didn't think Ryuen would make too big a fuss.

No sooner said than done. Early the next morning, Hoshino arrived at the electronics store.

"Can I help you find something, sir?" The clerk, a stubbly man with a slightly sleazy look, came over with an ingratiating smile.

Hoshino briefly listed what he wanted: portable, high-definition, night vision, long battery life, shockproof... Then he realized he was asking for quite a lot.

He thought it over for a moment and decided there was nothing else to add.

The clerk considered it briefly, then began searching the shelves.

Before long, the clerk brought out a black camcorder. It was indeed much smaller than the others, and it looked quite high-end, too.

When Hoshino saw the price tag, he froze. One hundred thousand points! That was expensive!

"Are you sure this meets my requirements? If it doesn't meet my standards, I'm returning it!" Hoshino picked up the camcorder and examined it with some suspicion.

"Don't worry, it absolutely does! If it doesn't suit you, just bring it back for a refund!" The clerk thumped his chest, looking completely confident.

Hoshino couldn't be bothered to haggle over something like this. After learning a little about it, he paid the points.

"Thanks for coming! See you next time!... Hehe... Hurry, hurry!..." The clerk had barely walked him a few steps before rushing back to the counter. He pulled out his phone and started looking at something, his face alight with fervor...

Hoshino felt a little... disgusted.

As he walked out of the store and looked at the camcorder in his hand, Hoshino couldn't help but sigh. Money really didn't go far at all.

After returning to his dorm, Hoshino spent a little time learning how to use it and soon had a basic grasp of how it worked.

From then on, Hoshino carried the camcorder with him every day. He acted like a thief, doing his best to stay where there were lots of people so Ryuen wouldn't have a chance to catch him alone. As soon as school ended, he headed straight back to his dorm.

As it turned out, Hoshino seemed to have been overthinking things. Several days passed, and nothing happened.

Sometimes, Hoshino even wondered if he was being a little too paranoid.

But better safe than sorry! Hoshino immediately put that thought out of his mind.

Even so, Hoshino still made some adjustments to his usual routine. If he stayed on edge all the time, he'd be too exhausted by the time anything actually happened.