Unexpected Progress

After arriving at the dormitory of Toru Hasegawa.

"Your room... it really is completely bare."

"That description sounds awfully familiar."

Hearing the words of Masumi Kamuro, Toru Hasegawa couldn't help but retort.

At the same time, he reflected on himself; with Masayoshi Hashimoto saying it and now Masumi Kamuro saying it too, should he really buy some things to fill the place up?

"It was Hashimoto, wasn't it? Tsk, if I'd known, I would've used a different way to describe it."

Masumi Kamuro curled her lip openly, clearly dissatisfied that her way of describing it was similar to that of Masayoshi Hashimoto.

"Alright, let's just start studying." Toru Hasegawa didn't want to delve any deeper into this topic.

Masumi Kamuro took her textbooks out of her bag, and as expected, it was mathematics.

Liberal arts subjects generally rely on one's own daily accumulation of knowledge, but mathematics is different.

If you don't understand math, you just don't understand it; the key is that the point where each person gets stuck can be different, so detailed instruction is required.

Although it was called tutoring, it didn't take much time.

In just about an hour, Toru Hasegawa finished teaching Masumi Kamuro. He stretched his body slightly and asked, seemingly offhandedly:

"Doesn't Arisu Sakayanagi teach you?"

"Why are you asking me that? Arisu Sakayanagi isn't even here right now." Masumi Kamuro stretched lazily and openly. "Having to scheme against each other all day despite being classmates, I almost feel sorry for you guys."

"Thanks. It seems having you stay by the side of Arisu Sakayanagi isn't entirely useless."

There was a problem with the logic behind Masumi Kamuro's actions, and Toru Hasegawa knew she had issues.

Masumi Kamuro also knew that Toru Hasegawa knew she had issues.

Toru Hasegawa asked this question specifically to confirm the information above.

"Hey, I was saying... what you did before, could it be that you wanted to..."

"Hm? You can just say it directly. How rare, seeing you act so coy." Toru Hasegawa found it amusing.

Hearing his words, Masumi Kamuro swallowed the words she was about to say right back down. She glared fiercely at Toru Hasegawa:

"I'll pass on what you just said to Arisu Sakayanagi. As for what she thinks, that's not for me to decide."

"Thanks."

"...Who asked for your thanks!"

Masumi Kamuro left, looking awkward.

Face-to-face interaction is different from listening to a simple written report. Masumi Kamuro seemed to have sensed something, but she decided to let Arisu Sakayanagi figure it out for herself.

What a... wicked woman.

The mundane days passed one after another, and the intersections between Toru Hasegawa and Arisu Sakayanagi began to increase. At the very least, they reached the point of eating lunch together every day, looking just like a subordinate.

During lunch on Friday, Toru Hasegawa suddenly received a message on his phone.

[Airi Sakura: Are you free after school?]

[Toru Hasegawa: Yeah, is something the matter?]

[Airi Sakura: If you have plans with friends, we can actually do it another day.]

[Toru Hasegawa: Unfortunately, while I do have some friends, we don't often go out together.]

[Airi Sakura: Then, I'll wait for you at the Student Cafeteria.]

Such an awkward meeting place, but it was unexpectedly consistent with her personality.

If she stayed in the classroom, it would be inevitable for classmates to strike up a conversation.

"Is someone chatting with you?" Arisu Sakayanagi, sitting across the table, cast an interested gaze his way.

"It's someone from Class D," Toru Hasegawa smiled. "I've successfully gained their trust, you see."

According to what Kanji Ike had said earlier, the students of Class D knew that a student from Class A had told them the news. As for how many people could equate that Class A student with Toru Hasegawa... that was currently unclear.

"Toru-kun, you really are cruel~"

"But this should be a good thing for you, right?"

"..." Arisu Sakayanagi was silent for a moment. "How unnecessary."

"It's already done, so let's just leave it at that."

The daily conversation ended, and he returned to his peaceful life.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, just after school ended, Toru Hasegawa arrived at the Student Cafeteria as promised. Very few students ate dinner at four, so it was quite easy to find someone.

Especially when looking for someone with such distinct features as Airi Sakura.

"Sorry, did I keep you waiting?" Toru Hasegawa started with a meaningless pleasantry.

School had just ended, so it was hardly a case of "keeping you waiting."

Airi Sakura was about to offer some polite pleasantries, but she immediately realized this and a faint smile appeared on her face:

"Thank you for coming to keep me company."

"Don't be so formal, let's go."

Walking beside Airi Sakura, the two of them arrived at the area where club activities were held.

"You aren't in any clubs, right?"

Listening to the sounds of archery drifting over from the distance, Toru Hasegawa asked.

"Yeah, but I've always wanted to visit a place like this. It's just that if I were alone, I'd stand out too much..."

Clubs didn't only recruit during specific timeframes; one could join whenever they liked. Therefore, if someone were walking around alone, they would likely be mistaken for someone interested in joining a club.

But with two people...

Wait, was that actually even more conspicuous?

"Are you feeling a bit better?" Toru Hasegawa suspected that if he said anything unnecessary, Airi Sakura might not be able to handle it and would just run away.

He was starting to admire his past self from that day; perhaps luck had played a huge part in his success.

"Yeah, I want to go apologize to Kushida-san another day. She really wanted to be friends with me, but I didn't have the courage to respond to her. I'm so pathetic."

"Kushida-san? She is indeed a very good person, but..." Toru Hasegawa decided to offer a word of caution, "It seems you still don't understand the sorting criteria for this school."

"Eh? Isn't it just random?" Airi Sakura looked stunned.

"No, the students sorted into Class D all have clear issues. That is the only thing I can tell you for certain. For example... sorry, I have a call."

Just as he was about to explain in detail, the phone in Toru Hasegawa's pocket began to vibrate. He pulled it out and saw the name displayed: Manabu Horikita.

The timing was certainly coincidental.

"Regarding the matter you mentioned to me before, there is news," Manabu Horikita's voice came through the receiver.

"Is that so? What did the school say?"

"They have been expelled. After identifying them, it was discovered that they weren't just posting comments online, but also sending harassing letters. If this had continued, it would have led to a major problem sooner or later, so the school decided to expel them immediately."

"And then? Is that all?"

"...As the person who discovered it, the school will grant you a point reward."

"That was just my duty as a member of the Student Council. Shouldn't the school give those points to the person who was harmed?"

Toru Hasegawa didn't believe the school was unaware of each student's personality. Even if they didn't know every detail, they should at least be able to investigate the surface-level facts.

Airi Sakura was a timid person, and the school's attitude of wanting to quietly stifle any negative influence was clear as day.

It was the same behavior as the vast majority of schools.

"I will convey your opinion to the school," Manabu Horikita said without a hint of personal emotion.

"By the way, since this is a rare opportunity, I'll just say it directly: let's go see a movie together tomorrow."

"What do you mean?"

"Of course, you should bring Tachibana-senpai along."

"I see. I understand."

It was unclear what exactly Manabu Horikita had understood, but he hung up the phone regardless.

Then, Toru Hasegawa turned his gaze toward Airi Sakura, who was standing beside him. He had been keeping an eye on her reaction through his peripheral vision the entire time.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we continue?"

"...Ah, yes, okay."

The number above Airi Sakura's head had, at some point, changed to—

99.