Chapter Summaries

Sogo Doma taught Shizuka Hiratsuka and Yukino Yukinoshita about cooking while Hayato and the others watched in alarm. After breaking one knife, he demonstrated his extraordinary knife skills, leaving everyone stunned by how effortlessly he prepared the ingredients.

• Sogo Doma reflected on why he had agreed to teach Shizuka Hiratsuka to cook, while Utaha Kasumigaoka declined to try cooking herself.
• Hayato Hayama, Yui Yuigahama, Hachiman Hikigaya, and the others watched Sogo cook and worried about whether his food would be safe to eat.
• Sogo explained that knife skills were the foundation of cooking, then broke a kitchen knife by pounding it against the counter.
• Sogo dismissed Shizuka's objections, drew another knife from behind his back, and resumed his explanation of knife skills.
• Sogo sliced and arranged the fruits and vegetables with a dazzling display of blade work, stunning Shizuka, Yukino Yukinoshita, and the watching students.

Sogo Doma demonstrated an extraordinary way to cut vegetables and claimed it came from his family’s secret swordsmanship, leaving Yukino Yukinoshita convinced that hidden swordsmen existed. Shizuka Hiratsuka tried to redirect the lesson toward ordinary Cooking, while Doma continued teasing her about learning swordsmanship from Otae.

• Yukino Yukinoshita asked Sogo Doma how he cut the vegetables, and he described slapping the food and making cuts while it was distracted.
• Sogo Doma called his technique swordsmanship and hinted that Shizuka Hiratsuka could learn it by getting closer to his family; Shizuka tried to stop him from revealing more to Yukino.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka reflected on Utaha Kasumigaoka’s interest in girls and worried that Yukinoshita Haruno might learn about her situation.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka demanded a Cooking demonstration that ordinary people could understand, but Sogo Doma argued that swordsmanship could be integrated into daily life.
• Yukino Yukinoshita concluded that swordsmen existed in the world and that she had lost to Doma before the competition even began.

Sogo Doma’s extravagant sword skills derailed the cooking lesson and made Hayama’s group more eager to help Rumi Tsurumi. At the mountain stream, Doma’s teasing about Yukino Yukinoshita’s figure left her flustered, while Rumi questioned why Yukino tolerated her friends’ insults.

• Sogo Doma demonstrated knife work so advanced that Shizuka Hiratsuka and Yukino Yukinoshita abandoned the cooking lesson and asked about the Doma family’s swordsmanship instead.
• Hayama’s group, intimidated by Doma’s skills, cooperated to come up with ways to help Rumi Tsurumi.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka moved the children’s activities to a mountain stream and watched over them in a swimsuit.
• Sogo Doma teased Yukino Yukinoshita about her figure and compared her to Rumi Tsurumi, leaving Yukino mortified.
• Utaha Kasumigaoka joined in the teasing, and Rumi asked why Yukino did not get angry when her friends used her flaws against her.

Sogo Doma argued with Yukino Yukinoshita and Utaha Kasumigaoka about money, social success, and his reasons for sending Hiratsuka away. He then joined Hachiman Hikigaya and Hayato Hayama as they discussed a plan to unite the camp students, leaving Hachiman ready to explain how he would destroy their world.

• Sogo Doma told Rumi Tsurumi that success in society could keep unpleasant people away, prompting Shizuka Hiratsuka to take her away and scold him.
• Sogo Doma teased Yukino Yukinoshita, then tried to persuade Utaha Kasumigaoka that money was necessary even if it was not all-powerful.
• Sogo Doma admitted he had made trouble to drive Hiratsuka away, and Yukino Yukinoshita and Utaha Kasumigaoka got angry with him.
• Sogo Doma overheard Hachiman Hikigaya and Hayato Hayama discussing whether a common enemy could unite the group, then asked whether they had a plan.
• Sogo Doma said Hachiman Hikigaya's common-enemy idea would only treat the symptoms, and Hachiman excitedly proposed destroying the world as a second step.

Sogo Doma mocked Hachiman Hikigaya’s plan to have Tobe and the others pose as yakuza, then guessed the plan’s real purpose: making the isolated children choose who would be left behind. Hachiman froze at how accurately Sogo understood him, while Yui Yuigahama began to suspect Sogo had arranged events to help everyone.

• Sogo Doma objected that Hachiman Hikigaya’s pretend-yakuza plan had little to do with destroying the world, and teased Tobe about blond hair and NTR.
• Hachiman Hikigaya and the others argued with Sogo about his supposed universal rules for blond men and beautiful girls in swimsuits.
• Sogo Doma complained about the world and Hayato Hayama explained that Hachiman meant destroying the atmosphere isolating Rumi Tsurumi.
• Sogo Doma rejected Hachiman’s plan, then inferred that the children would be made to choose who was left behind.
• Hachiman Hikigaya froze at Sogo’s insight, and Yui Yuigahama wondered whether Sogo had done it all to help Hachiman and the others.

Sogo Doma challenged Hachiman Hikigaya’s plan to stop the isolation at camp, arguing that it could not help Rumi Tsurumi fit into Hayama’s circle and might create new resentment. He then proposed a game in which he would disrupt the children’s world and Hayato Hayama’s group would try to protect it, leaving Hayama alarmed by Doma’s hinted-at price.

• Sogo Doma questioned whether Hachiman Hikigaya could enter Hayato Hayama’s circle after camp and used that to argue that Rumi Tsurumi could not join it either.
• Sogo Doma explained that forcing the children to choose someone to exclude could make the chooser a target of resentment, and asked what Tobe would do with the person left behind.
• Sogo Doma concluded that Hachiman Hikigaya’s plan was unworkable, while Hayato Hayama pointed out that Doma’s deadline came after the forest camp ended.
• Sogo Doma asked Hayato Hayama and the others whether they considered themselves good people, then invited them to guard the children’s world while he tried to destroy it.
• Sogo Doma said destruction required sacrifice and alluded to Yumiko Miura’s price, alarming Hayato Hayama before explaining that he acted because he was bored and no longer saw trust between people.

Sogo Doma overheard children maliciously gossiping about Rumi and disguised himself as one of them to interfere. Meanwhile, Hayato Hayama’s group tried to understand his fear of Doma, and Hachiman Hikigaya suspected they were facing a real demon.

• Sogo Doma heard children insulting Rumi and discussing ways to hurt her.
• Sogo transformed himself into one of the children and waited for the group to split up.
• Hayato Hayama searched for Yukinoshita and Shizuka Hiratsuka, while his friends questioned his behavior and his reference to a Miura created by Doma.
• Hachiman Hikigaya arranged for Hayato to find Shizuka Hiratsuka and Yuigahama to find Yukinoshita.
• Hachiman told the group that they might be facing a real demon rather than a person.

Hachiman Hikigaya and Yukino Yukinoshita explained how a group’s insistence had once made a girl’s identity seem different, while Sogo Doma used similar tactics to turn the children against one another. When Hiratsuka and the others arrived, the children were distrustful and silent, and Hiratsuka confronted Sogo Doma.

• Hachiman Hikigaya asked whether the Miura beside Hayato might not really be Miura, and Yukino Yukinoshita revealed that she had once known a short-haired girl named Rongyuan Nanako who was treated as though she had long blonde hair and Miura’s other traits.
• Yukino Yukinoshita said she had transferred before learning what happened, while Yumiko Miura and the others reacted with alarm to the resemblance.
• Disguised as a brat, Sogo Doma insulted Kuraya and then spread false claims about Hazuki, Nana, Rumi Tsurumi, and their friends to make them distrust one another.
• Sogo Doma repeated the same tactic among other children until their friendly atmosphere collapsed and Rumi Tsurumi became part of a group wary of everyone.
• Hachiman Hikigaya and the others arrived to find the children cold and silent, and Hiratsuka shouted at Sogo Doma, demanding to know what he had done.

Shizuka Hiratsuka, Hayato Hayama, and Yukino Yukinoshita tried to figure out what Sogo Doma had done, while Utaha Kasumigaoka found him lounging nearby. Sogo admitted he had acted and blamed Hiratsuka-sensei for putting him among the swimsuit-clad girls, as an unnoticed small figure slipped away after hearing his name.

• Shizuka Hiratsuka and Hayato Hayama blamed themselves and Sogo Doma for the situation, while Yukino Yukinoshita urged everyone to focus on solving the problem.
• Yukino Yukinoshita recalled that Utaha Kasumigaoka had trusted Sogo Doma to have his reasons, and an unnoticed small figure slipped away after hearing his name.
• Utaha Kasumigaoka found Sogo Doma lounging nearby and threatened to help Yukino Yukinoshita dispose of his body if he had done something awful.
• Sogo Doma denied wrongdoing, but Utaha Kasumigaoka realized from his silence that he had acted and calmly asked why.
• Sogo Doma blamed Hiratsuka-sensei for placing him among bratty students and compared the swimsuit-clad girls to beautiful girls beside a tiger.

Sogo Doma talked Utaha Kasumigaoka into letting him use Rumi Tsurumi’s canteen, then learned that Rumi knew he had helped expose the bullying at school. Rumi thanked him, and Sogo responded with his usual teasing as they remained trapped at the camp.

• Sogo Doma and Utaha Kasumigaoka argued about who should fetch water while both were too tired to move.
• Rumi Tsurumi arrived with a canteen, and Sogo Doma took it while joking about indirect kisses and the police.
• Sogo Doma tricked Rumi into lending him the canteen by claiming that fussiness would keep her from growing up like Yukino Yukinoshita.
• Rumi Tsurumi said she knew Sogo had helped turn the bullies against one another and thanked him for it.
• Sogo Doma teased Rumi for taking pleasure in the bullies’ misfortune, leaving her unsure whether he was trying to comfort her.

Sogo Doma tried to comfort Rumi Tsurumi with bizarre advice and jokes, while she questioned his role in her classmates’ hostility. He dodged her suspicions and hid from Shizuka Hiratsuka, leaving Rumi exasperated by his shameless claims of experience and popularity.

• Sogo Doma told Rumi Tsurumi that sharing others’ misfortune could help her make friends, but she rejected his advice.
• Rumi said she had heard Hazuki and the others threaten to slash her face, and Sogo denied acting because of them.
• Sogo covered Rumi’s mouth when he thought someone was approaching, then let go when she challenged him about being an adult.
• Sogo warned Rumi that Shizuka Hiratsuka was coming to find her and persuaded her to help him avoid being seen.
• Sogo claimed he understood Rumi because he had been young before, then confidently said he had many friends.

Rumi Tsurumi reflected on how Sogo Doma had gradually earned her trust by treating her with consideration and helping protect her from classmates who wanted to hurt her. After giving him something, she found herself comfortable teasing him, though she denied thinking he was handsome and still called him scary.

• Rumi Tsurumi recalled how her first impressions of Sogo Doma shifted as he repeatedly treated her with more care than she expected.
• Rumi Tsurumi remembered that Sogo Doma had considered her feelings and rebuked people who ignored her wishes, unlike Hayato, who had tried to force her into a group.
• Rumi Tsurumi recalled how the classmates who had despised her and wanted to use violence against her changed after Sogo Doma intervened, prompting Shizuka Hiratsuka to confront him.
• Rumi Tsurumi explained that she had slipped away after overhearing Shizuka Hiratsuka and Hayato, hoping to find Sogo Doma and hand something over to him.
• Sogo Doma snatched what Rumi Tsurumi brought, but she found talking with him pleasant and teased him before insisting he was neither handsome nor safe.

After Sogo Doma’s actions fractured the children’s social group, Yukino Yukinoshita and Utaha Kasumigaoka went to find out what he had done while Shizuka Hiratsuka searched for Rumi Tsurumi. Sogo returned to the scene, realized Hiratsuka was closing in, and planned to wait until the children formed new circles so Rumi could join one.

• Shizuka Hiratsuka sent Hayato Hayama to look after the children, went to find Rumi Tsurumi, and asked Yukino Yukinoshita to question Sogo Doma.
• Yukino found Utaha Kasumigaoka resting beneath a tree and told her that Sogo had left the children behaving like enemies, though she did not know exactly what he had done.
• Utaha insisted on accompanying Yukino to find Sogo after learning that he had caused the children’s group to fall apart.
• Sogo sensed Shizuka Hiratsuka nearby, returned to the scene, and recognized that she had discovered his actions.
• Sogo decided to avoid Hiratsuka until the children formed new circles, believing Rumi could join one and escape her exclusion.

In a mountain forest in Chiba Village, Sogo Doma explained to Rumi Tsurumi how he learned to seem harmless and why he tried to make friends after transferring schools. He described fighting off classmates who targeted him and began explaining that people with friends were less likely to be bullied.

• Rumi Tsurumi teased Sogo Doma about his looks, and he asked whether she thought he was handsome or dangerous.
• Sogo Doma told Rumi Tsurumi that he had practiced his harmless expression for an hour to make a good first impression.
• Sogo Doma recounted how being a transfer student made it difficult to fit in, and he explained the story of Mencius's mother moving three times.
• Sogo Doma said classmates had discussed beating him up, so he fought them and later considered how to avoid unnecessary violence.
• Sogo Doma explained that he observed how people with friends were rarely bullied, then began saying that he himself was not afraid of being bullied.

Sogo Doma lectured Rumi Tsurumi about violence, social skills, and the value of learning to fight, while using Shizuka Hiratsuka as a supposed example of a successful future. He left Rumi frustrated and trying to reject his claim that she should be jealous of Shizuka.

• Sogo Doma claimed he opposed violence because befriending people before betraying them was more useful, and Rumi Tsurumi doubted his explanation.
• Sogo said he had kidnapped Rumi to teach her and blamed Shizuka Hiratsuka for interrupting him, prompting Rumi to accuse him of being afraid of the teacher.
• Sogo argued that martial arts helped women build strength and resist control, then compared Rumi’s prospects to Shizuka’s unmarried life.
• Sogo warned that Rumi’s poor social skills would keep good men away and claimed Shizuka’s life was the best outcome Rumi could hope for.
• Sogo tried to convince Rumi that Shizuka’s situation was her fault and that Rumi should be jealous, but Rumi refused to accept his reasoning.

Sogo Doma hid with Rumi Tsurumi from Shizuka Hiratsuka, then used the encounter to advise Rumi on making friends. Yukino Yukinoshita and Utaha Kasumigaoka overheard him and were surprised by his advice about praising a child who broke a toy.

• Sogo Doma blamed Rumi Tsurumi for their predicament and threatened to give her ten lessons if Shizuka Hiratsuka caught them.
• Sogo Doma and Rumi Tsurumi hid behind a tree until Shizuka Hiratsuka left, and Rumi thanked him for helping her.
• Yukino Yukinoshita and Utaha Kasumigaoka approached unnoticed and overheard Sogo Doma telling Rumi to unite with the other children and use her firsthand knowledge to gain attention.
• Sogo Doma told Rumi that making friends took effort and asked how she would react if a kindergarten child broke her toy.
• Sogo Doma advised Rumi to praise the child for breaking the toy and even reward them, leaving Rumi, Yukino, and Utaha stunned.

Sogo Doma explained to Rumi Tsurumi that he had disrupted her classmates’ behavior so they would form new social circles, though he denied doing it for her. After Rumi left, Yukino Yukinoshita and Utaha Kasumigaoka confronted him over his methods and the water bottle he had taken.

• Sogo Doma told Rumi Tsurumi that rewarding bad behavior encouraged people to continue it, and that making others feel invincible could turn their own arrogance against them.
• Sogo Doma explained that Rumi’s classmates would adapt and form new circles, then admitted Shizuka Hiratsuka had asked him to give Rumi an unforgettable experience.
• Sogo Doma joked that a months-long hospital stay would be more memorable than meeting yakuza, and Rumi told him to stop talking before thanking him and leaving.
• Utaha Kasumigaoka and Yukino Yukinoshita revealed they had overheard the conversation, and Yukino challenged Sogo Doma about helping Rumi with questionable methods.
• Yukino Yukinoshita and Utaha Kasumigaoka questioned Sogo Doma after discovering he had taken Rumi’s pink bear water bottle, then Yukino considered reporting him to Shizuka Hiratsuka.

Sogo Doma returned to Chiba Village and faced Shizuka Hiratsuka’s anger over his role in changing the children’s relationships. Yukino Yukinoshita realized the children had begun interacting despite their earlier hostility, while Rumi Tsurumi remained isolated and questioned why anyone needed to indulge others.

• Shizuka Hiratsuka confronted Sogo Doma, who teased her about her age and denied responsibility for what had happened.
• Sogo explained that making the children fear a worse outcome could make them accept the lesser change of making friends, then suggested the children might have caused the disruption themselves.
• Yukino approached the still-isolated Rumi Tsurumi, who objected to Yukino calling Doma “that guy” and challenged her about indulging others.
• Rumi pointed out that children who had avoided one another or talked behind one another’s backs were now playing and chatting together, revealing the change that had unsettled the adults.

Sogo Doma argued with Shizuka Hiratsuka after she scolded him, then asked her for alcohol, saying it was connected to Hachiman Hikigaya. Hiratsuka agreed to provide it, and Hayato Hayama and the others were drawn into the plan through their dinner arrangements.

• Rumi Tsurumi observed that the children who had called each other best friends were now avoiding one another, and concluded the friendship game had been pointless.
• Sogo Doma complained that Hiratsuka had yelled at him without explaining why and demanded compensation for his wounded heart.
• Doma asked Hiratsuka for alcohol and claimed it was because of Hikigaya, leaving Hikigaya confused about their supposed arrangement.
• Hiratsuka realized that Hikigaya had begun fitting in with Hayato's group and decided Doma's actions had fulfilled her request.
• Hayato warned Hiratsuka that giving alcohol to a student could cause trouble, but she brushed off his concern and agreed to help Hikigaya.
• Doma suspected Hayato might tell on them, while Hiratsuka said he could be trusted as long as he remained responsible for dinner; the others defended using alcohol in cooking.

Sogo Doma took over cooking after Yui Yuigahama’s disastrous attempt, then teased Rumi Tsurumi about stealing and sharing her water bottle. He left Rumi exasperated after revealing that an older girl resembling her had also drunk from it.

• Sogo Doma took over cooking after Yui Yuigahama’s food produced a foul smell, and he reassured her by saying her cooking should be for someone she loved.
• Rumi Tsurumi confronted Sogo Doma about being alone, and he returned her pink bear-shaped water bottle while blaming its design for his bad luck.
• Sogo Doma persuaded Rumi to taste the water bottle’s contents, then revealed that it still held the water she had added earlier.
• Sogo Doma told Rumi that an older girl who looked like her had also drunk from the bottle, and he teased her for preferring that indirect kiss to one with him.