Chapter 40

Toru Hasegawa spoke the truth: "Would you believe me if I said it was to chase a girl?"

There is no helping it; students exist within a collective, and if one attacks the collective, the individual's favorability toward them will inevitably drop.

Suzune Horikita's situation was, after all, an exception.

"Hmm, that's a very good reason, if not for the way you said it." Ran Morishita's world-weary face remained as it always was.

Toru Hasegawa refuted this, saying, "This has nothing to do with how I speak. That is truly what I think. This afternoon, I will be going to the cinema with students from Class D. If you don't believe me, you can come and see for yourself. The incident at the dormitory entrance earlier was the same; you just happened to appear and call me away."

"Is that why you wanted to borrow my phone?"

"Yes, because I've already made an appointment with someone. Wouldn't it be troublesome without a phone to use as a communication tool?"

Toru Hasegawa was not lying, and Ran Morishita fell into a state of contemplation because of this.

"It seems today's adventure will have to change slightly. As a knight of Class A, I have a responsibility to understand what kind of person Toru Hasegawa really is."

After making this declaration of surveillance to his face, Ran Morishita handed her phone to Toru Hasegawa.

"Phew, that's a huge help."

Although the process was very strange, Toru Hasegawa had obtained a precious phone.

He carefully took the phone, which drew a strange look from Ran Morishita: "What are you doing?"

"After all, I just accidentally broke one phone, so I've decided I need to handle this one with care." Toru Hasegawa lied without changing his expression.

"You really are a strange person, hehe."

"Not at all, and you shouldn't have any standing to say that to me."

Toru Hasegawa was now very suspicious of whether the other party's hobby was observing humans. Although he had said similar things before, the situation was clearly different from hers.

With some time left before one o'clock in the afternoon, Toru Hasegawa waited for Airi Sakura at the entrance of the dormitory building. The numbers above her head had already disappeared.

The moment Airi Sakura saw Ran Morishita behind Toru Hasegawa, she reacted like a startled little rabbit.

"My phone is broken, so I just borrowed her phone to send a message." Toru Hasegawa first briefly explained why she was there. "You can just treat her as if she were a lingering spirit—though I'd love to say that, I suppose it's impossible, right?"

So this was the owner of that number... Airi Sakura raised her head slightly to glance at Ran Morishita, only to make direct eye contact with her.

"..."

And so, she lowered her head again.

Toru Hasegawa noticed this and tilted his head to say to Ran Morishita, "Don't scare her. Airi Sakura is a very shy person... let's just leave it at that."

"No, it's fine." Airi Sakura raised her head. "I am Airi Sakura from Class D. Please treat me well."

"Ran Morishita, Class A."

It seemed that self-introductions could still be conducted properly.

Toru Hasegawa recorded this piece of information in his mind.

However, Airi Sakura must have changed a little as well; usually, her way of speaking would be more stuttered at a time like this.

Was it because she had prepared in advance? After all, she was going to watch a movie with people she didn't know.

"There are a few more unexpected people than I thought."

Manabu Horikita and Akane Tachibana walked into the first-year dormitory building, feeling slightly surprised to see two others besides Toru Hasegawa.

"Because of some things, it naturally developed into this situation." Toru Hasegawa smiled, the previous memories flashing through his mind. "What about you? Are you already dating Senior Tachibana?"

"Eek--!" x2

Two people reacted exaggeratedly at the same time: Akane Tachibana and Airi Sakura.

"That is not happening for the time being," Manabu Horikita responded calmly.

"I see..." Regarding this statement, Toru Hasegawa was noncommittal. "Anyway, let's wait for the last person to arrive."

"There's one more person?" Airi Sakura asked weakly. Even she knew that the person in front of her was the famous Student Council President, so she was very nervous right now.

"Yes, she's from Class D just like you~ Ah, she's already here."

As he was speaking, just as it was approaching one o'clock in the afternoon, the figure of Suzune Horikita appeared in the lobby.

She was slightly stunned to see that there were five people waiting for her in the lobby, but she soon walked over with a cold face.

"So, this is what you meant by watching a movie?"

"Yes. Just tell me, is President Horikita here or not?"

"..."

Faced with this situation, Suzune Horikita could only remain silent.

Even if she were foolish, she would know that this was a setup aimed at her, yet she had truly walked right into the trap.

The six of them arrived at the cinema in Keyaki Mall. It became very lively here whenever there was a holiday, and Manabu Horikita undoubtedly attracted a great deal of attention.

Along the way, people greeted him from time to time and cast curious glances at the others.

"I didn't expect you to do something like this during the holidays, President Horikita."

An unexpected... no, an expected person spoke to the group.

It was Miyabi Nagumo from Class A.

Manabu Horikita's expression remained unmoved, and he nodded slightly as if he had known this would happen all along.

"Since it's a request from a junior I hold in high regard, there's nothing wrong with watching a movie once in a while."

"Let's just say that's the case." Miyabi Nagumo looked at the people beside Manabu Horikita with great interest. "May I join you?"

"Shoot him on sight, I'll take responsibility." A whisper came from behind, leaving Toru Hasegawa speechless.

Shoot him? Take responsibility? Toru Hasegawa didn't believe a single word of it.

Fortunately, Miyabi Nagumo didn't hear that remark, and Manabu Horikita agreed to his request.

And so, the group grew larger, becoming seven people in total.

Miyabi Nagumo bought his own movie ticket. It was the theatrical version of a popular anime from recent years; although its box office numbers kept hitting new highs, its reputation was steadily declining.

It was a film geared more toward fans, but it wouldn't be a problem for someone who had never seen it before to watch.

That was roughly the extent of it.

But the so-called movie outing was just a front; what Toru Hasegawa was truly paying attention to was Suzune Horikita.

She kept glancing toward Manabu Horikita, and Toru Hasegawa guessed that she probably hadn't even been able to focus on the movie.

These two hours must have been agonizing for her, right?

Even so, Suzune Horikita persisted until the movie ended.

"I swear, I will never come out to watch a movie with you again."

As soon as the movie ended, Toru Hasegawa said this to Ran Morishita.

"Did you hear that? But I was right, wasn't I? About both the plot progression and the ending." Ran Morishita wore an indifferent expression.

"No, that's not the problem." Toru Hasegawa felt completely speechless. "Anyway, I find it hard to imagine what kind of environment could cultivate a... talent like you."

"Oh, thank you for the compliment. Actually, I've lived in a place similar to Academy City before."

A statement that was one hundred percent a lie; Toru Hasegawa had already stopped holding any expectations for anything Ran Morishita said in this state.

"The movie was good. I'll be going now." After saying that, Manabu Horikita left with Akane Tachibana, as if he had truly just come to watch a movie.

Miyabi Nagumo looked a bit incredulous: "He's just leaving like that?"

Then what was the point of him watching a movie he had already seen a second time?

"I was the one who invited him yesterday, after all, Senior Nagumo."

Toru Hasegawa had pretty much figured it out; Miyabi Nagumo seemed to have an unusually obsessive attitude toward Manabu Horikita.

The surveillance along the way, the feigned encounter at the entrance of the cinema, and the way he looked so happy when his name was called by him for the first time...

It was a little twisted.

Miyabi Nagumo glanced at Toru Hasegawa and asked casually:

"He seems to have been getting quite close to Senior Tachibana lately. Do you know what that's about?"

"Aren't they usually quite close in their daily lives anyway?" Toru Hasegawa made a judgment based on his past experiences.

"No." Miyabi Nagumo's gaze swept across the faces of Toru Hasegawa, Airi Sakura, Ran Morishita, and Suzune Horikita in turn. "It's a much closer relationship than that."

"Perhaps an iron tree has finally blossomed? You're being a bit too obsessive, Senior Nagumo, to the point of monitoring President Horikita's private life."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere, which had been somewhat amicable, instantly turned dangerous.