As evening approached,
Horikita Suzune had planned her time carefully. She put down her book and left the library, intending to meet You En. What she saw was a haggard figure who looked about ready to drop dead.
"What happened to you?"
She didn't even bother keeping up appearances. She hurried over, took You En by the arm, and draped it around her neck and over her shoulder, letting him lean as much of his weight on her as he needed.
You En said weakly, "I just got out of the sea. Don't get your clothes dirty."
"Can't I just wash them?"
Horikita Suzune didn't care about that. "How did you end up in such a state?"
She shouldn't have asked. The moment Horikita brought it up,
You En remembered that "training" he'd just been through, and his face grew even paler.
Calling it training was generous. It was more like some kind of torture.
Who made someone who'd only just started learning to swim a few days ago swim and dive in the sea?
If he didn't meet Annie's standards, she'd kick him straight back into the water. If he didn't learn, he'd drown out there.
He could only say that without the powerful buff from Hoshinomiya-sensei, which let him maintain the focus and energy he'd had during the college entrance exams in his previous life,
he would have met his end in that lesson.
Around this time, someone at the school would probably be heading to the pier to fish out a body.
Then the school's evening news would interrupt its broadcast with a major story: a student had drowned during an elective class because of a teacher's gross negligence.
Would Horikita Suzune cry for him for a little while?
You En coughed. His mouth tasted bitter, and he came out of his bleak fantasy to realize he was still alive.
At least Annie had taught him everything he needed to know. It was just that her training method involved kicking him whenever she felt like it, and making him practice in the sea without any safety measures...
You En didn't think many people could survive that. It was genuinely dangerous. He'd nearly drowned after getting caught in a rip current, and Annie had fished him out.
All he had to do was look at his new skills to see what kind of ordeal he'd been through.
"Swimming lv1 (Proficient)," "Diving lv1 (Proficient)," "Knots lv1 (Proficient)."
You En had never realized there were so many ways to tie knots. Even that hadn't earned him the "Sailor" skill. He didn't know what kind of torture it took to become a professional sailor.
Being a professional sailor didn't just mean applying for a job and working as a sailor.
A profession was a measure of skill,
just as everyone in class was a "student," but not everyone had the "Test-Taking" skill.
Only You En, Horikita, Ayanokoji, and Koenji had reached the "Professional" level. Shinohara and Matsushita probably only had "Proficient," while most of the other students were at "Beginner."
And there were a handful who hadn't even reached "Beginner."
A "profession" was a means of making a living. A "Professional"-level sailor could apply for a job on any ship and be qualified for the position. As long as the hiring manager wasn't blind, they'd definitely be hired.
You En felt a headache coming on just thinking about it. Both the classes he'd signed up for were exhausting and completely unregulated. They didn't care about people's lives at all. But they'd brought huge improvements. He supposed it was a case of suffering and enjoying it at the same time.
Seeing him like this stirred an indescribable feeling in Horikita Suzune. All in all, it left her feeling a little upset.
"Never mind. I won't ask. You don't have to talk, either. Let's find somewhere to sit for a while. I'll go get you something to eat."
She led You En over to a bench.
You En had no choice but to trouble her. It wasn't that he was tired exactly, but he really didn't feel like moving right now.
"The free dinner at the west cafeteria is pretty good. Sorry for the trouble."
Horikita shook her head and looked at him calmly. "Let's get you something normal to eat today. Is there anything you can't eat?"
"Sure. I'm not picky."
You En made up his mind to pay her back with an extra thirty percent of points once he could repay what he owed.
Horikita Suzune seemed to see right through him. She glared at him with her beautiful eyes and made what could hardly be called a threat.
"If you want to pay me back, then you don't have to repay any of the points you owe."
You En could only give in. He really did fall for that sort of thing. Honestly, not being allowed to pay her back felt worse than being killed.
"Get some rest. Don't move around. I'll be right back."
Horikita Suzune headed to the school store.
You En had said he wasn't picky, but she couldn't just buy anything. Should she get him the same thing she was having?
Would he think she hadn't put any thought into choosing?
Just then, a voice tinged with surprise rang out.
"Horikita, what a coincidence, running into you here!"
Horikita Suzune turned around.
It was Kushida Kikyo, who looked gentle and harmless. She seemed delighted, as though seeing Horikita really had made her happy.
But thanks to You En's warning, Horikita knew she wasn't as she appeared. She harbored deep hostility toward Horikita and was simply hiding it.
"Oh, Kushida."
She replied coolly and continued browsing the food section.
"Hey, are you buying dinner too?"
Kushida Kikyo wouldn't let up. She could put up with someone like Yamauchi, so what was a little coldness from Horikita Suzune?
"Mm."
Horikita Suzune nodded. Not wanting to talk to her was one thing, but refusing to respond at all wouldn't be very polite.
Besides, Kushida hadn't actually done anything to her yet. Her hostility toward Horikita was only a suspicion, not something backed up by solid evidence.
"Oh?"
Kushida Kikyo studied her, looking thoughtful. "You're not buying a bento for yourself, are you?"
Horikita Suzune didn't see what the big deal was.
"Do you have any suggestions?"
Kushida Kikyo smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.
"It's for You En, isn't it?"
Horikita Suzune turned to face her. She trusted her own judgment and You En's, but was that expression really an act?
"You don't seem to have had much to do with boys."
Kushida Kikyo spoke like a senior, but without any condescension. Instead, she gave off a sense of trustworthiness that made people want to rely on her.
Horikita Suzune said nothing. It wasn't just boys—she'd barely interacted with girls, either. To put it plainly, she'd had little contact with people at all.
"So let me, your senior, teach you."
Kushida Kikyo patted her chest.
"Boys, you know, like anything girls give them with their own hands. To put it simply, even if you just hand them a bottle of water, they'll be happy for days or even weeks. Some might even remember it for the rest of their lives."
Horikita Suzune thought the boys Kushida described sounded pathetic. She had no desire to get along with someone like that.
Kushida Kikyo seemed to be making a genuine effort to offer her advice.
"Hmm... But it looks like your feelings for You En are special, so you should make him a bento yourself."
Horikita Suzune had been about to argue, but after hearing the rest, she thought... it actually sounded pretty good.
"Thanks for the suggestion."
She picked out two bentos and joined the line at the register to pay.
Kushida also took one, deliberately choosing something different from both of Horikita's, then followed her.
"You're welcome. But is that really enough for him?"
"It isn't."
Horikita Suzune had no intention of explaining much to this person. In truth, this was how she acted toward everyone else: she didn't want to explain, and saw no need to.
This woman!
Kushida Kikyo gritted her teeth inwardly. She'd been met with a cold shoulder despite all her friendliness, and she was starting to lose her composure.
She'd already felt a deep fear and dislike of Horikita Suzune. Being ignored by her again and again only made the fire of rage burning inside her grow stronger.
When Horikita Suzune arrived at the bench, she found it crowded with girls. The bench, where You En had been sitting alone, was now surrounded.
"Eat mine!"
"It's my turn to feed you."
"You're all being too rough. Be gentler."
The person surrounded by them spoke up, and the girls reluctantly dispersed.
"How did you manage that?"
Horikita Suzune came over and watched the girls leave. They were all first-year students from other classes. Why had they gathered here to feed someone?
"It's nothing."
You En felt helpless. He'd only glanced at the snack in one girl's hand, and when she held it out, he'd taken a bite. Then, for some reason, a bunch of people had come over to feed him.
But he could guess why.
"Maybe... sickly pretty boys get bonus points."
Horikita Suzune would normally have mocked him for saying that, but his current appearance really did tug at a girl's sympathy.
"I should've known better than to buy you anything. You must be full after eating all that food from those girls."
"No, I've been waiting for you,"
You En said. "Besides, I was only sampling the flavors, a bite or two of each snack. It's been so long since I ate normal food... I feel like I've almost forgotten what it tastes like."
"Who cares?"
Horikita Suzune seemed to accept his explanation. She took out the smaller bento and handed it to him.
You En accepted it. "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Horikita Suzune saw that some color had returned to You En's face, and her manner gradually turned cool again, returning to her usual aloof self.
When Kushida had suggested it, she'd actually wanted to take You En back to the dorm and cook for him herself.
But that would have forced her to confront a serious question. Were they really just friends...?
"Thanks for the meal."
You En thanked her again and tugged at his damp school uniform.
"I'll head back now. My clothes are all clammy, and I feel uncomfortable."
"...Wait,"
Horikita Suzune asked casually,
"Are you free this weekend?"
You En nodded. "I am."
Horikita Suzune hesitated for a long time before finally speaking earnestly.
"I'm planning to go to the library and review what I've studied these past few days. Would you like to come with me?"
You En had just remembered that it was the fifth day since enrollment—in other words, Friday. Annie had reminded him earlier that he should start reading and studying on his own.
"I'd like to go too. We can go together."
Horikita Suzune felt a little happy.
"I'll come find you tomorrow morning."
Not far away, three groups were secretly watching them.
Masumi Kamuro and Ishizaki Daichi each reported the situation to their respective leaders.
And Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was watching both of them.
Ever since he'd been knocked unconscious and left completely defenseless,
Ayanokoji had become as cautious as he could possibly be. He stopped interacting with anyone in his class and did his best to erase his presence, intending to investigate things before deciding what to do.
He'd finally confirmed that this school was far from ordinary. The "upperclassmen" or "graduates" here might all be more capable than he was.
The problem was, upperclassmen were restricted from even interacting with underclassmen. Aside from in clubs, he barely ever saw them.
So how could one of them have taught him a lesson?
There was only one explanation: that upperclassman had a close connection with one of the first-years.
The answer was obvious.
The one who'd knocked him out was Horikita Manabu, the Student Council President. He'd acted because of Horikita Suzune.
Horikita Suzune was most likely his younger sister, though she could also be someone else in his family. Either way, they had to be closely connected.
If he wanted to uncover the secrets of the upperclassmen, he'd have to start with Horikita Suzune.
Still, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was in a bind. It wasn't that he was afraid, or that he had no way to deal with You En. There were plenty of methods and options.
But an instinctive feeling told him that unless it was absolutely necessary, he should never provoke or offend that seemingly easygoing person.
"I'll test him."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka made up his mind.
Before you continue