After they had gradually left, Kitahara, who was still sitting in his seat, said to Horikita:
"President, I did pretty well this time, didn't I?"
"Mm. You did perform quite well. But I didn't realize you'd dare threaten a Class C homeroom teacher. It seems I still don't know you very well."
"That's only because you were here, President. I wouldn't have had the nerve otherwise."
"Heh."
"But aren't you going out, President? Your younger sister is still at the door. Aren't you going to see her for yourself?"
Horikita didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "What did you think of Suzune's answer just now?"
Realizing that the president was concerned about his younger sister, Kitahara replied, "Don't you already know the answer, President? You should go check on your sister."
After saying that, Kitahara also turned and left the meeting room.
Watching Kitahara leave, Horikita could only say helplessly, "That guy, honestly..."
"Hey, everyone did really well today, especially you, Horikita. Even the president thinks highly of you. He said his younger sister had finally grown up."
"Really? My brother really said that...?" Horikita asked happily.
"Yeah..." Before Kitahara could finish, he suddenly felt a chill of murderous intent behind him.
He immediately said goodbye to Horikita and the others. "I'm sure you can resolve this matter, so I'm going to make myself scarce."
Once he'd run some distance away, Kitahara looked back at Horikita Manabu, who was still standing where they'd been, and thought, Good thing I got out of there fast. Otherwise, he'd have given me a hard time again.
Even from this far away, he couldn't hear what they were saying.
But they seemed to be getting along much better than the first time they'd met.
As expected, I really am a great guy.
At this rate, it looked like the matter would be resolved soon, so he'd better go take care of another major matter first.
Meanwhile, Horikita Manabu looked at his younger sister and said, "Suzune, you're still not strong enough, but you've grown."
"Brother, I..." Encouraged by her brother, Horikita still didn't know what he meant by her having grown, but she was very happy all the same.
"Suzune, you can go now. I still have something to discuss with Ayanokoji here."
Though she didn't know what her brother wanted to talk about with Ayanokoji, she obediently left.
After Suzune had gone, Horikita looked at Ayanokoji and said:
"When you and Suzune showed up here together today, I thought you had some kind of strategy."
"I'm neither Zhuge Kongming nor Kuroda Kanbei. What strategy would I have?" Ayanokoji replied.
"Is that so? That guy Kitahara said no one at this school could do anything to you—not even Kitahara himself."
"He must have misjudged my abilities."
"You're Sakura, right?" Horikita turned and said.
"If you can't prove that the evidence is genuine, then it's perjury."
"Your mask is nothing more than a shackle."
"I... I was only telling the truth..." Sakura answered nervously.
As Horikita continued to watch her, Ayanokoji spoke up again. "I believe her."
"Is that so? In that case, can you prove it?"
"Who knows?"
"Haha. Just as that guy Kitahara said, I'm curious to see how you'll resolve this problem. I hope you won't disappoint me."
After saying that, Horikita turned and left as well, leaving only Ayanokoji murmuring to himself:
"Kitahara Seiichi... Is he really not from that place? I suppose I'll have to test him."
"No, that's not right. I just want to enjoy my high school life. As long as he doesn't come looking for trouble, I won't make the first move."
Meanwhile, when Kitahara entered his dorm room, he suddenly noticed an extra pair of shoes on the floor. Before he could find out who they belonged to,
a pink-haired girl spoke up. "Kitahara, you're finally back."
"It's you, Ichinose," Kitahara replied when he recognized her.
"Wait, how did you know where my room was? And how did you get in?" Kitahara asked, looking at Ichinose.
"You mean that? Well, actually..." Ichinose answered sheepishly.
When he heard that Kushida had told Ichinose she could ask the staff downstairs for a spare key—and that they could also tell her a student's room number—Kitahara didn't know who he should be annoyed with.
He could only ask Ichinose, "Did you need something from me?"
Seeing the troubled look on Kitahara's face, Ichinose assumed he didn't want people wandering into his room. She said to him:
"I'm sorry, Kitahara. If you don't want anyone in here, I won't come in without asking again. I'll return the spare key, too."
Seeing Ichinose nervously speaking and holding out the spare key, Kitahara sighed and said:
"I'm not upset that you came into my room, Ichinose. It's just a little messy, and I was worried it might give you a bad impression."
When Ichinose heard that he wasn't blaming her, she smiled and said:
"Your room is actually pretty clean, Kitahara. Other than your computer, there's nothing else on the desk, and you have all the other things you need."
"But you should buy some plants for your room, Kitahara. It would make it much nicer to look at."
"Is that so? When I go to buy some, I'll have to ask you for advice, Ichinose," Kitahara replied casually.
"Mm. I'll definitely come."
"Then, about this key, I should still..." Before she could finish, Kitahara smiled and said:
"Never mind. You can keep it, Ichinose. If I suddenly drop dead one day, you can come check on me. Maybe you'll even be able to save me."
"Kitahara, you shouldn't say things like that," Ichinose said, pretending to be angry as she looked at him.
"Don't worry. I won't say it again."
"By the way, Ichinose, you still haven't told me what you came here for," Kitahara said, finally remembering the reason he'd asked in the first place.
"Oh, that. Didn't I say I'd treat you to a meal, Kitahara? But you've been busy dealing with things in the Student Council lately, and the hearing ended today, so I waited here."
At Ichinose's words, Kitahara's long-buried memories began to resurface. He finally remembered that he'd said exactly that after helping her resolve the matter with Shiranami.
Kitahara replied apologetically, "I'm really sorry I kept you waiting so long."
"But it's already so late today. If we go out now, there probably won't be anything left to eat, so..."
"Hehe, you don't need to worry about that, Kitahara."
Ichinose pointed to all the ingredients laid out in the kitchen.
"You're going to cook for me yourself?" Kitahara asked uncertainly.
"Mm..." Ichinose nodded.
"Wouldn't that be a little inappropriate? After all..."
Before Kitahara could finish, Ichinose pulled him over to the table, then ran to the kitchen and started getting things ready.