Elsie said with a serious expression,
"Once God of Conquest tries it, he'll understand my cooking!"
"I'd rather not. I'd rather go to the cafeteria and have the Sansho set meal—"
The instant Keima Katsuragi turned around, an overwhelmingly terrifying force seized him.
"God of Conquest~ Where are you going?"
Keima looked down. Elsie's Feather Haori had wrapped around him like a tentacle, leaving him unable to move.
"What are you doing!"
"To stop you from running away, big brother! You're in good health, so you need to eat properly!"
"Let me go! The cameras will see us!"
"Don't worry, big brother! My Feather Haori can turn invisible!"
"Augh!"
With no chance to resist, Keima was dragged back into the dorm room.
That afternoon, during class.
Keima returned to his seat looking utterly dejected.
He had just been forced to eat food from Hell.
That was meant literally.
Elsie had somehow gotten her hands on ingredients from Hell and cooked them into a meal.
Admittedly, although they looked truly horrific, as if the ingredients had been dismembered in the most brutal way possible, some of them were even still wriggling, and they looked revolting—no more so than the indescribable creatures in a Lovecraftian novel—
The dishes had tasted surprisingly good.
The price he paid, however, was a series of trips to the bathroom afterward.
That was why his face looked so gloomy now, and even the hand holding his handheld console was trembling.
Meanwhile, Elsie kept glancing out the window from time to time, looking a little worried.
Before she went to find Keima, one of the "ingredients" had escaped.
To be precise, it was a creature from Hell.
It wouldn't eat or kill anyone, but it might cause some trouble if someone else saw it.
She'd go look for it when she had time!
Elsie soon went back to chatting with the classmate sitting beside her.
Elsie wasn't the only girl worrying about something.
Airi Sakura was, too.
She kept glancing at Keima out of the corner of her eye, her hands tucked inside her desk as she clutched the game cartridge she'd bought yesterday.
All morning, Airi had been looking for a chance to give him the present.
But so far, she hadn't been able to say a word.
Because of that, Airi couldn't concentrate on the lesson for long.
It wasn't until the bell rang that her mind returned to the real world.
"Come on. We still have our study session today."
Keima gathered up his things and spoke to Airi.
"Okay..."
Airi nodded.
The three of them soon arrived at the library. Kushida Kikyo had said she had something to do today, so she hadn't come.
Keima had a pretty good idea why she'd taken the day off.
It was probably because of Elsie.
Keima couldn't help admiring Kushida's mental fortitude. Faced with someone like Elsie, a black hole of common sense, she had never lost her temper and had kept smiling patiently the whole time...
That gave him an idea. What if they assigned Elsie to Suzune Horikita's study group?
Keima remembered that Suzune's study group was officially getting started today.
After what had happened last night, Suzune had been treating the people around her a little better than before. She still acted superior, but she no longer had that prickly edge, and she'd also toned down the biting remarks.
In the end, the other classmates who clearly weren't doing well in school had agreed to join her study group for the time being.
Of course...
If he sent Elsie over there, their study group would probably fall apart within a day.
Besides, in Suzune's eyes, Elsie was something of a top student. She thought Elsie had deliberately gotten a low score on the last quiz.
Thankfully, even though Kushida wasn't there today, someone else had come to help.
Shiina Hiyori.
At Keima's invitation yesterday, Shiina Hiyori had joined the study session, too.
They hadn't spent much time together yet, but Keima could tell that Shiina Hiyori was exceptionally capable—far more so than Kushida.
She might even be better than Suzune Horikita.
And when it came to tutoring Elsie, Shiina Hiyori seemed to be better at it, too.
Kushida simply explained the material, while Shiina Hiyori connected the lessons to stories.
At least, Elsie seemed to absorb a little more when Shiina Hiyori taught her.
"So, Elsie, do you understand this question now?"
"Yeah! It's multiple choice!"
I take it back.
Keima tried to ignore the conversation between the two beside him and turned his attention to Airi Sakura. He asked,
"Sakura, do you understand this question?"
"Um..."
"If there's anything you don't understand, just say so."
"I... I think I mostly... understand..."
Airi nodded, but Keima could tell she was distracted.
Just then, a tall figure walked over to where Keima and the others were sitting.
"You've already started over here!"
Shiina Hiyori raised her head slightly and looked toward the voice.
Long blue hair, a voluptuous figure, a cute face—and a beauty mark beneath her eye that was practically her trademark.
Haruka Hasebe.
"Po-chan!"
When Elsie saw Haruka arrive, she happily waved at her.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Elsie-chan!"
Haruka smiled and sat down beside Elsie.
"You two have gotten pretty close, huh?"
Keima looked up at Haruka. She and Elsie had already started calling each other by nicknames.
He'd observed Haruka before. She was a rather solitary person in class and hadn't joined any of the groups.
But from the way she interacted with Elsie, it seemed she wasn't completely bad at socializing or opposed to it.
Was she the kind of person who could quickly get close to someone when they clicked?
"Yeah, big brother. Po-chan's my seatmate, and we talked a lot this afternoon! We hit it off surprisingly well!"
Elsie said with a smile.
Volume One: Turns Out We're All in the Same Boat
Haruka nodded with a smile.
She and Elsie had talked a lot that afternoon, and they'd grown much closer in no time.
Haruka had always thought she wasn't good at dealing with people who were too cheerful and outgoing.
She wasn't on bad terms with Kushida, either, but she didn't really consider her a close friend.
But she didn't feel that way when she talked with Elsie.
In the end, Haruka had agreed to Elsie's invitation and joined the study session.
Besides, Kushida wasn't there today.
Most importantly, Keima was the only boy in the study group.
He was the only one whose gaze Haruka didn't find unpleasant.
There wasn't a trace of lewdness in his eyes—only a longing to play games.
"Hello... Hasebe..."
Airi was a little intimidated by Haruka's arrival, but she still greeted her quietly.
Up close...
Hasebe was so pretty...
"Hello, Sakura."
As she greeted Haruka, Airi also tilted her head slightly and watched Keima out of the corner of her eye, as if she cared what he would do.
Haruka greeted her in return.
It wasn't until that afternoon that Haruka learned Airi's first name. Until then, she'd known her only by her surname.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Shiina Hiyori."
Shiina Hiyori greeted her politely, her voice soft and unhurried.
"Nice to meet you, Shiina. You're not in Class D, are you?"
"No, I'm in Class C."
"Oh, a Class C student is joining us, too?"
Haruka wasn't like Suzune Horikita, who treated students from other classes as rivals. She was simply curious.
"I'm friends with Katsuragi, so I thought I'd come help. I can learn something myself, too."
Shiina Hiyori said modestly.
"Shiina, can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
Shiina Hiyori nodded.
"Do you have many friends in Class C?"
"This is a little embarrassing... but I don't have many friends in class."
"That's a funny coincidence. Except for Elsie-chan, it seems like everyone here is the same kind of person."
Haruka smiled, as though she'd found someone like herself.
Shiina Hiyori didn't have many friends in Class C.
Airi Sakura didn't have many in Class D, either.
And Keima Katsuragi went without saying.
Before you continue