Advance Towards Tomorrow (9)

Oreki pressed the elevator button.

The elevator reached his floor in a mere ten seconds.

If this were the student dormitory, it probably would have headed back down before even arriving.

You couldn't get a ride without waiting a few minutes.

"What time are you going?"

"Hm?"

"About this afternoon."

"Oh... around three-twenty, I suppose."

Oreki said casually.

In truth, he wasn't entirely sure when his meeting with Shiina Hiyori was scheduled.

The location was likely the Literature Club.

If it wasn't, Shiina Hiyori would notify Oreki via text message in advance.

"Then let's wait until four."

"Four?"

"Is that not possible?"

"Uh... it's not impossible. But why wait until four?"

"Hmm, why indeed?"

"..."

Faced with Sakayanagi's question, Oreki found himself at a loss for words.

Shouldn't she be the one answering questions?

How did she manage to throw the question right back at him?

Perhaps there was a reason she couldn't disclose.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have chosen to brush it off.

Although he was curious, it was best to pretend he didn't know.

This was Oreki's energy-saving method.

Because doing so could avoid quite a bit of trouble.

"Four days have passed since the start of the term; do you have any plans?"

"Plans? That... is a bit too early, isn't it?"

"There is no need to hide anything from me."

"...Fine."

"Yes, that's better."

"Prioritize crushing Class D."

"May I ask the reason?"

"Kiyoko, perhaps."

Oreki hesitated before speaking.

It was the first time he had said Ayanokoji's name.

It felt a bit awkward.

But whatever.

"It's better for guys you can't read to be out of the game as soon as possible."

"I agree."

"Right?"

"After all, you never know when your plans might be suddenly disrupted."

Sakayanagi took out her phone.

On it were some details regarding Ayanokoji.

She had intended to delete them.

Because she believed that such things were best kept to herself.

That was what Sakayanagi thought.

From the beginning, she only wanted to enjoy her showdown with Ayanokoji.

Everything else was tedious and uninteresting.

But that was only until before school started.

That is to say, before he met Oreki, that was what she thought.

Although she had heard of Oreki's deductive abilities.

She hadn't expected them to be this formidable; at the very least, they were several times stronger than the rumors suggested.

This couldn't help but pique Sakayanagi's interest in him.

As it turned out, doing so was the right choice.

Because compared to Ayanokoji, Oreki interested her far more.

Moreover, if one had to be precise, Sakayanagi was only interested in that so-called White Room.

She was interested in whether it could truly cultivate a genius.

She was not interested in Ayanokoji as a person.

Having met once during childhood, no matter how deep the impression, it wouldn't automatically max out her favorability.

That would be too absurd.

"A zaibatsu?"

"Mm, they wield quite a lot of power."

"That's troublesome. However..."

"However what?"

"Since they have such immense influence, if they want to take Ayanokoji back, why not just go and coerce the principal directly?"

"They're already on their way."

"Hm?"

"The person who helped Ayanokoji escape was caught by his father. And then, they died within two days."

"Lynch law?"

This made Oreki think of Western medieval society.

Though compared to this, the manor lords were far more benevolent.

At the very least, they still put on a show by holding a trial.

Oreki shook his head.

He actually hoped he wouldn't have to take action himself, and that Ayanokoji's father would solve the problem for him.

That would be quite nice, too.

The morning classes ended quickly.

After the bell for the end of the school day rang.

Oreki did not leave his seat immediately.

His meeting with Shiina Hiyori was after three in the afternoon, so there was no need to be in a rush.

Now was the time to consider where to eat lunch, and what to have.

"Houtarou..."

"Yes?"

Oreki responded in surprise.

This was the first time Sakayanagi had called him by his first name at school.

It was a bit unexpected.

"This noon... come to my place."

"And lunch?"

"I'll cook myself."

"Is that alright?"

"Mm."

"By the way, Sakayanagi, you—"

"Call me Arisu."

"...Ahem. Well, Arisu, what kind of cuisine are you good at?"

"Omurice, I suppose."

"Omurice?"

"Do you not like it?"

"I like it."

"That's good..."

Sakayanagi toyed with the strands of hair by her ear.

She smoothed them down from top to bottom, over and over again.

Cute.

Truly cute.

If she were to ask Oreki to rate her on a scale of ten...

It would surely be a nine point nine.

The remaining zero point one was likely deducted because...

It went without saying.

While everyone else was a plateau, Sakayanagi looked more like a plain.

No...

A basin?

Though bigger wasn't necessarily better, a little something wouldn't hurt.

"Let's go together."

"Mm."

With that, Sakayanagi and Oreki left the classroom.

Several girls cast their gazes toward them.

"Is that the young lady of the Sakayanagi family?"

"Mm, she's as elegant as the rumors say."

"Who is that beside her?"

"Eh, now that you mention it... that boy has such a low presence."

"I remember his name is..."

Kamuro Masumi, standing to the side, stopped listening.

Sakayanagi's actions just now had given her goosebumps.

I truly can't believe it...

She grumbled inwardly.

She never expected that Sakayanagi, who usually bossed her around, would one day show such an expression and perform such an action.

If she weren't afraid of the trouble, Kamuro Masumi would have definitely recorded it on her phone.

Idle thoughts ended there.

She actually had a mission to carry out.

One Sakayanagi had given her this morning.

It was roughly as follows:

Use points to bribe the Literature Club president to hold a sharing session after four o'clock.

In other words, sharing books they liked with one another.

However, that wasn't important.

What mattered was the duration of the meeting.

A full hour and a half.

Anyone could understand what that implied.

As long as the plan succeeded, Shiina Hiyori wouldn't be able to find time to see Oreki in the afternoon.

Which meant...

For a long stretch of the afternoon, Oreki would be stuck with only Sakayanagi.

A brilliant maneuver.

Kamuro Masumi couldn't help but admire it.

She glanced at the time, then headed toward the rooftop without looking back.

At this hour, it was the only place where few people would be.

On the other side.

Back at the Sakayanagi residence, Oreki lay on the sofa.

It was so comfortable that he didn't want to move.

Indeed, there were benefits to things being a bit more expensive.

"Wait just a moment."

Sakayanagi walked into her room and put on an apron with somewhat clumsy movements.

She quickly arrived at the kitchen.

"We can use ketchup to write."

"Mm."

"What would you like to write, Houtarou?"

"Anything is fine, I suppose."

"Is that so? Anything at all?"

"...Let's just keep it normal."

"Understood."

Sakayanagi covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

She looked very happy.

It had been a long time since they had a conversation like this.

The last time was when she was six years old.

Back then, Sakayanagi's health had not yet become as severe as it was now.

--To be continue