Forward Toward Tomorrow (2)

"Is it just my imagination... Sakayanagi, your face seems really red today."

"Maybe think about who caused it, idiot..."

Sakayanagi muttered under her breath.

The aloof queen image she cultivated every day had completely fallen apart in front of Oreki.

Though Oreki didn't care at all.

Or rather, this just wasn't his type.

Short and cute was better.

With a little airheadedness, too.

Before long.

Oreki carried Sakayanagi to the Chinese restaurant.

There weren't many people here.

Most of them were upperclassmen.

"All right, put me down..."

"Hm? What?"

"I said, put me down..."

"Oh. But your foot?"

"It's fine now. So... hurry up."

Sakayanagi took a deep breath.

After steadying herself, she held down her skirt and sat down.

"Phew... Let's talk about the important stuff."

"The important stuff?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Know what?"

"About Class C."

"Class C... Oh, you mean Ryuen Kakeru?"

"Yeah."

"You really can't hide anything from her."

Oreki said admiringly.

A day ago, he'd still been considering it.

That is, he'd planned to work with Ryuen Kakeru.

But now...

He could say he'd completely changed his mind.

After all, Sakayanagi was a little stronger.

Not just because of her family background.

She had her own ways of handling things, too.

As for Ryuen Kakeru...

Oreki didn't know how capable he was.

To unite a class in such a short time, he either had a lot of popular support or had used violence.

Those two methods of ruling were certainly effective.

But they weren't stable.

Especially when the ruler's prestige began to fade.

At that point, all the problems that had built up within the group would erupt at once.

Splits and betrayals would become everyday occurrences.

"So, what's your choice?"

"Do you really have to ask?"

"Of course. If you choose Classmate Shoko, I'll have to treat you as an enemy."

"Ryuen Shoko? That sounds kind of strange..."

"That's not the point. Tell me your answer, Houtarou Oreki."

"Got it, got it."

Oreki raised his right hand halfway.

He was pledging...

No, he was swearing an oath.

"Don't worry. For now, I'll be on your side."

"For now..."

"Yeah. If I were completely on your side, it'd definitely be a lot of trouble."

"That's a rather harsh thing to say."

"Is it? I don't think so at all."

Oreki spoke as he ate.

It felt good to replenish his energy.

He thought.

The seconds ticked by.

After breakfast.

The two went to Class A together and attended their morning classes.

"I have something to do this afternoon, so I'm leaving."

Oreki slung his bag over his shoulder and left his seat.

He planned to go to Class C and find Shiina Hiyori.

Refusing to work with Ryuen Kakeru was one thing, but what Oreki cared about more...

Was investigating alongside Shiina Hiyori.

Their progress had been so slow before because he hadn't had a suitable assistant.

He'd had to verify everything himself, step by step.

So the whole process had been extremely inefficient.

"Mm, I look forward to hearing what you find."

Sakayanagi said calmly.

She didn't seem to mind Oreki meeting with another girl.

Maybe she was confident.

But sometimes, being too confident wasn't a good thing.

Because people often got blindsided.

"Best not to get your hopes up..."

Oreki went out through the back door.

He headed left and soon reached the entrance to Class C.

Looking through the window, he saw Shiina Hiyori still in the classroom.

She was reading a novel.

I should call out to her... Never mind, that'd be awkward.

Oreki lowered the hand he'd just raised.

He glanced around.

A girl with pale blue hair happened to walk over.

A cowlick.

Short, wispy bangs.

A cool expression.

Ibuki Mio from Class C.

It took Oreki a moment to remember her.

Her profile was ordinary, with nothing particularly notable.

The only thing worth mentioning...

Was her extensive martial arts experience.

Is she a girl who's good at fighting? That doesn't seem promising. Maybe I should ask someone else...

"Hey, you've been staring at me for a while now."

Ibuki Mio walked up to Oreki.

She said, sounding a little hostile:

"What do you want?"

"...Could you call Shiina out for me?"

"Hmph."

It was obvious she'd mistaken Oreki for one of the guys who came to confess to Shiina.

There was no doubt that Shiina Hiyori was cute.

Add her gentle personality, and surely most boys couldn't resist her.

She was practically the ideal partner.

Ibuki Mio went into the classroom and spoke to Shiina, who was sitting at her desk.

Shiina looked up.

She glanced at Oreki, then gave him a gentle smile.

"Thank you for coming all this way to see me."

"It's nothing."

"I'm sorry I didn't notice you. I was reading just now."

"It's fine. By the way..."

"Yes?"

"Maybe we should exchange contact information? I feel bad always asking people in your class to pass messages along."

"Sure, here's my email address."

"Thanks."

After adding Shiina's email, Oreki put his phone away.

He planned to find somewhere to have lunch first.

After that, he'd investigate the matter at the art museum.

With Shiina Hiyori's help, he figured they'd wrap things up soon.

"See you in a bit, then."

"Do you have something else to do, Oreki?"

"No, I'm just looking for a restaurant to have lunch."

"In that case..."

Shiina took out two coupons.

She handed one to Oreki.

"I recommend this place."

"Oh..."

Oreki took it.

He carefully read what was printed on it.

Limited-edition desserts at a huge discount.

No way... Is this what she's having for lunch...?

Oreki was shocked.

He'd heard of girls with small appetites, but this was too...

"Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all."

"Then I'll go with you in a bit."

"Is that so? All right."

"Mm."

Shiina Hiyori returned to the classroom to gather her things.

Some students would fool around in the classroom at lunchtime. If she didn't put away her important belongings, they might end up knocking them onto the floor.

They might even step on them a few times.

Even if it was unintentional, it was still infuriating.

"Let's go."

"Okay."

Shiina placed her hands behind her back.

Curious, she asked Oreki:

"You've been spending a lot of time with Sakayanagi lately, Oreki. You seem to get along really well."

"...Do we?"

"Mm, I saw you carrying Classmate Sakayanagi this morning, too."

"Cough, cough!"

Oreki nearly choked on the water he was drinking.

How had Shiina Hiyori found out?

Had there been a third person there at the time?

But Oreki had looked around.

There had been practically no one nearby. The only ones around were a few upperclassmen.

New students generally didn't get up before seven thirty.

That was far too early.

At the very least, they'd get up sometime after eight, taking their time about it.

Those upperclassmen must have been up so early to prepare for their graduation exams.

There was nothing to be done about that.

"Um, how did you find out?"

"Well..."

Shiina Hiyori gave a soft laugh.

She said,

"Of course, because..."