Kitagawa Kai walked out of the office with a sage-like air, free of desire, and casually closed the door behind him.
He couldn't figure out what that woman Hoshinomiya was thinking, but whatever. He'd let her do as she pleased.
He straightened his slightly rumpled uniform, then set off at an unhurried pace toward the Class B classroom.
Just as he returned to his seat and sat down, a voice beside him spoke softly, with a hint of concern that was difficult to detect:
"Kitagawa-kun."
Kitagawa Kai's movements paused almost imperceptibly.
Ichinose Honami looked at him with clear, sky-blue eyes, her brows slightly knitted in sincere worry.
"I got your message earlier and asked for you to be excused. Did something happen? You look... a little tired?"
As she spoke, she leaned forward slightly, seemingly out of concern, or perhaps from some instinctive curiosity.
The tip of her small nose twitched almost imperceptibly, as if she had caught some faint, strange scent in the air.
Kitagawa Kai met her gaze, his expression unchanged.
"Yeah, Hoshinomiya-sensei wanted to talk to me about something, but it's all taken care of now."
"That's good."
Ichinose seemed to accept his explanation. She nodded lightly and didn't press him further.
But the next second, she seemed to remember something important. She gently brought her hands together at her chest and spoke in a bright, sincere voice:
"Oh, right, Kitagawa-kun. There's something I wanted to tell you."
"Everyone's been talking about it, and starting this week, we're planning to hold study sessions during our free time. They'll be in the library. The main goal is to prepare for midterms, review the key topics together, and help each other with difficult questions."
She tilted her head slightly, her pink hair fluttering in the breeze, and smiled brightly and encouragingly. "Kitagawa-kun, your grades are great. If you came, everyone would be really encouraged. What do you think? Do you have time to join us?"
"Sure. I need to brush up on my history, too."
Kitagawa Kai had good grades in every subject except history. The history of this world was completely different from that of his previous life, and was full of bizarre events.
At his answer, Ichinose's eyes brightened even more.
"Really? That's wonderful!"
"Yeah. Thanks, Ichinose, and thanks to everyone else, too."
"Then it's settled! I'll send the schedule to the class group chat later. Just keep an eye out for it, Kitagawa-kun."
Lunch break lasted from eleven in the morning until two in the afternoon.
Every day at noon, Kitagawa Kai returned to his dorm for a thoroughly satisfying nap.
Lately, Horikita Suzune had been helping prepare his lunch bento, which made things even more convenient.
A familiar figure stood with her back to him outside Room 308.
Horikita Suzune.
She stood perfectly straight, her long black hair neatly tied back to reveal her fair neck. She held a dark blue bag in both hands, filled with the ingredients she'd be using that day.
The corners of Kitagawa Kai's mouth lifted without him realizing it.
"Hey, right on time, Suzune-chan."
Horikita Suzune didn't turn around, as if she'd already anticipated his arrival from the sound of his footsteps or his presence.
"Hurry up and open the door."
Her tone was perfectly natural, as if she completely ignored how strange it was to be "standing outside the boys' dormitory."
After a week of keeping their agreement, she'd gone from stiff at first to calmly resigned.
She'd even started making "reasonable" use of the contract clause stating that "Kitagawa will cover the cost of ingredients," picking out a few ingredients she liked within budget. She absolutely wouldn't spend any of her precious seventy thousand points.
"Got it." Kitagawa Kai readily took out his key and unlocked the door with a click, then stepped aside. "Come on in, chef. Need a hand? I can at least wash some vegetables."
"No need. Let's stick to the contract." Horikita Suzune refused flatly and walked straight into the room with the bag. She was already familiar with the layout.
"Wow, that's harsh. You were so enthusiastic when you greeted me this morning." Kitagawa Kai pointedly shifted his still-aching left foot.
Horikita Suzune's eyes darted briefly to his foot. An emotion almost impossible to catch flickered across her face-something like guilt, or perhaps the stubbornness of "So what if I stepped on you?"
"You deserved it. That's what you get for eavesdropping."
"Oh? I deserved it? Because I saw through how you were forcing yourself to stay calm in Chabashira-sensei's office?"
"But if I hadn't let you step on me, you might have run out of that office in tears."
"..."
[Ding!]
[Horikita Suzune Affection Level +5, current Affection Level 40 (Confused)]
In the end, all she said was, "Hmph. Boring."
"All right, you're the chef. You call the shots." Kitagawa Kai raised both hands in surrender, but his gaze settled on her slightly pursed lips.
They seemed a little less hard than usual, a little softer-perhaps even she hadn't noticed.
The kitchen fell quiet again.
Horikita Suzune carefully cut the perfectly cooked teriyaki chicken into even pieces, then arranged them neatly beside the broccoli and mushrooms, next to the white rice.
At last, she took out the small box from the bag and opened it. She tipped out half the bright red berries inside and arranged a few around the edge of the bento box.
"Here you go." She set the neatly arranged bento box on the small table in front of Kitagawa Kai. Her movements were no longer as stiff as they had been in those first few days, when she seemed to be "handing over an assignment." Now they were more natural and fluid.
She picked up her own meal, which was clearly a smaller portion with a simpler selection, and went to her usual seat.
"Wait."
Kitagawa Kai pointed his chopsticks at the meager amount of chicken on her plate, then at the small mountain piled in his bento box.
"Take some of mine. I can't eat this much, and wasting food is wrong."
Before she could refuse, he swiftly picked up two large pieces of chicken drenched in sauce and put them on her plate without giving her a choice.
Horikita Suzune instinctively wanted to refuse, but when she saw Kitagawa Kai's candid expression, as if he "just didn't want to waste food," and the fact that his bowl really was piled a bit too high, she swallowed the words that had reached her lips.
"...Thanks."
They sat down and began eating.
"Suzune-chan, have you given any thought to what comes next?"
Kitagawa Kai asked casually halfway through his meal.
"I'll lead Class D and graduate as a member of Class A, proving myself to my brother."
Horikita Suzune blurted it out almost instinctively, with a pride that seemed nearly innate.
Kitagawa Kai paused with his chopsticks in hand. He didn't contradict her right away, but calmly finished chewing and set down his chopsticks.
"Prove yourself to your brother? That's a good motivation."
"No matter how ambitious your goal is, the first thing you need to improve is your social skills, which are almost nonexistent."
"Social... skills?" To her, that seemed somewhat disconnected from her grand plans to lead her class and prove herself.
"Right, social skills. What do you think people in your class think of you right now? I'm not telling you to become an angel like Kushida Kikyo, or to imitate Hirata Yosuke's do-gooder act."
"I mean the basics: getting people to be willing to listen to what you say, and getting them to cooperate with what you do, even a little."
Horikita Suzune pressed her lips together. She wanted to argue, to say she didn't need those friends, to say she could speak for herself through her abilities and results.