Chapter Summaries

Sogo Doma and Rumi Tsurumi traded barbs while preparing dinner, and Rumi explained why she had stopped hoping to make friends in middle school. The chapter ended with Sogo displaying astonishing knife skills to prove that he worked alone because others would only get in his way.

• Rumi Tsurumi and Sogo Doma argued over who had drunk from the kettle first, and Sogo pointed out that other people avoided her too.
• Rumi accused Sogo of having no reliable friends because he was preparing dinner alone, and he admitted that she might be right.
• Rumi explained that she had given up on making friends after watching people badmouth one another and doubting they would stay together in middle school.
• Rumi offered to help Sogo wash vegetables, assuming he was being left with all the work, but he insisted others would only get in his way.
• Sogo chopped the ingredients with astonishing speed, leaving Rumi to wonder whether he had trained because he had no friends.

Sogo Doma tried to explain friendship to Rumi Tsurumi through a ridiculous story about helping a friend hide explicit books. As he prepared soup, he told her that she should choose her own path rather than follow Shizuka Hiratsuka’s plans for her trip.

• Rumi Tsurumi questioned whether Sogo Doma’s knife skills and transfer had anything to do with making friends, and he bragged about being a Totsuki Elite Ten member.
• Sogo Doma criticized Yukinoshita as stubborn and narrow-minded, prompting Rumi to realize he had been privately insulting her.
• Sogo Doma described several ways to help a friend caught with explicit books at school, then revealed that his story was based on an incident involving Yamazaki and Hijikata.
• Sogo Doma explained that friends could share hardships, disagree, and still remain friends without treating each other with excessive courtesy.
• As he began simmering soup, Sogo Doma told Rumi that Shizuka Hiratsuka wanted to make the trip unforgettable but that Rumi should choose her own path.

Sogo Doma explained to Rumi Tsurumi that friendship did not guarantee unconditional loyalty and argued that strength made a person outstanding and difficult to exclude. He left her questioning whether the Elite Ten were really as powerful as he claimed.

• Rumi Tsurumi challenged Sogo Doma about his comments on the teacher's arrangements, and he turned their conversation to what it meant to be friends.
• Sogo Doma said he and Hiratsuka Shizuka were friends because they could insult each other and might help one another, though he would not promise unconditional support.
• Sogo Doma argued that people should abandon illusions about others and that becoming strong could make those around them seem kinder.
• Sogo Doma claimed that strong people were always outstanding and used historical figures to argue that ordinary people could not afford to exclude them.
• Sogo Doma hinted that excluding him could cost people access to resources, leaving Rumi Tsurumi wondering whether the Elite Ten were that strong.

Sogo Doma tried to persuade Rumi Tsurumi that she needed to become strong, then teased her about asking him for help. Utaha Kasumigaoka arrived, and Sogo's suspicious jokes left Rumi convinced he was a pervert.

• Sogo Doma told Rumi Tsurumi that ruthless, powerful people were respected and urged her to become stronger rather than rely on friendship.
• Rumi asked Sogo to teach her how to become strong, but he suggested she ask Shizuka Hiratsuka instead.
• Sogo teased Rumi for refusing to talk to a teacher, then hinted that a friend of his could train her.
• Sogo heard footsteps and told Rumi that his people had arrived as Utaha Kasumigaoka came around the corner.
• Utaha questioned Sogo about being alone with an elementary school girl, and his defensive jokes made Rumi suspect he was a pervert.

Sogo Doma stopped Rumi Tsurumi from revealing that he had snatched her water bottle and told Utaha Kasumigaoka that Rumi was being bullied. He explained why bullying victims might confide in strangers and discussed the kinds of people who are targeted, arguing that exceptional people are ostracized only when others believe they can bring them down.

• Utaha Kasumigaoka asked Rumi Tsurumi what she had been doing with Sogo Doma, and Rumi began to explain that he had taken her water bottle.
• Sogo interrupted Rumi, led Utaha away, and claimed Rumi had opened up to him because she was being bullied.
• Sogo told Utaha that he had stopped her questioning Rumi because victims might reveal their secrets only when they were deeply disappointed or had been understood.
• Sogo said he had thought of two ways to help Rumi but had not chosen between them.
• Sogo explained that people with obvious flaws and people who are better than average often get bullied, then argued that exceptional people gain followers when others realize they cannot defeat them.

Sogo Doma explained why talented students were less vulnerable to ostracism and discussed possible ways to stop bullying. He left Utaha Kasumigaoka questioning his advice and learned that the bullied girl likely saw Shizuka Hiratsuka as an enemy because teachers could be involved in bullying.

• Sogo Doma explained that talented students could avoid isolation when surrounded by other talented people, since others would join them rather than oppose them.
• Utaha Kasumigaoka asked how bullying could be stopped, and Sogo described disguising oneself as ordinary or becoming too powerful for others to challenge.
• Sogo admitted that he had not pursued either approach because he thought one was too troublesome and had joked about sending the girl to Shizuka Hiratsuka.
• Utaha Kasumigaoka challenged his advice, and Sogo explained that teachers could participate in bullying, so the girl might view Shizuka Hiratsuka as an enemy.
• Sogo said he had suggested Shizuka Hiratsuka partly to cast a wide net and potentially shift the blame onto her.

Sogo Doma and Utaha Kasumigaoka returned to the Cooking station, where Rumi Tsurumi stayed with them and confronted Sogo about the ingredients. Utaha explained that Yukinoshita was at odds with the others because she intended to teach Yuigahama to cook, and that Utaha had helped Yuigahama make a request.

• Sogo Doma told Utaha Kasumigaoka that Rumi Tsurumi had been resisting him and that he had left her to think by herself.
• Sogo Doma and Utaha returned to the Cooking station, where Rumi Tsurumi questioned his claim that he was simmering bones for broth.
• Rumi Tsurumi said she had nowhere else to go, and Sogo Doma encouraged her to cause trouble as a child.
• Utaha told Sogo that Yukinoshita had clashed with the others because she wanted to teach Yuigahama to cook.
• Utaha admitted that she had explained Yukinoshita's request rule to Yuigahama so Yuigahama could ask for cooking lessons.

At the forest training camp, Yukino tried to help Yui cook, while Yui’s disastrous seasoning left Yukino planning to salvage the food without hurting her feelings. Utaha later told Sogo about the cooking, and he framed the situation as a dangerous ordeal while Rumi tried to point out how ridiculous he was being.

• Yui called Yukino by her first name and began making a dish while asking how much salt counted as a pinch.
• Yui poured in a large amount of salt and several bottles of seasoned soy sauce, while Yukino tried to keep her from realizing the food was ruined.
• Yukino resolved to clean up and salvage the ingredients herself so Yui would not lose confidence.
• Utaha quietly left after watching the cooking and mistakenly speculated that Yukino was competing with Hachiman for Yui’s affection.
• Utaha explained the cooking incident to Sogo, who described Yukino as brave and worried theatrically about the others’ safety.
• Rumi challenged Sogo’s melodrama and started to mention the kettle.

Sogo Doma cooked curry while Utaha Kasumigaoka encouraged Rumi Tsurumi to trust him. Rumi asked Sogo to make her stronger, and he began explaining that strength could lead along a path to godhood.

• Sogo Doma and Utaha Kasumigaoka distracted Rumi Tsurumi from her stolen kettle by pretending she had given it up willingly.
• Utaha told Rumi that Sogo looked unreliable but could always be trusted, then went to call the others while leaving Rumi alone with him.
• Rumi asked Sogo to make her stronger, but he initially refused because training her would be tiring and she lived in Chiba.
• Sogo argued that Shizuka Hiratsuka's immense combat power could help Rumi overcome exclusion and become a girl boss.
• When Rumi objected that strength was not only about combat power, Sogo asked whether she had heard of the path to godhood.

Sogo Doma tried to steer Rumi Tsurumi toward a supposed path to godhood by giving her business cards for jobs held by Kotaro Katsura. Rumi grew increasingly suspicious of Katsura and challenged Sogo’s idea of what made someone powerful.

• Sogo Doma told Rumi Tsurumi that she could escape school bullying by pursuing a path to godhood through work and connections.
• Sogo gave Rumi a business card for a transgender bar, but she questioned why a minor should go there and why he carried the card.
• Sogo offered a host club card for Mr. Katsura and claimed Katsura was powerful enough to blur the lines of gender.
• Rumi objected to the host club suggestion, so Sogo produced a card for Katsura’s housekeeper service and revealed that Katsura held twenty or thirty jobs.
• Sogo argued that Rumi was judging Katsura without meeting him, while Rumi remained unconvinced that his work made him powerful.

Sogo Doma challenged Rumi Tsurumi’s assumptions about Katsura Kotaro and explained how people justify isolating others by inventing and magnifying flaws. He left her reconsidering both her judgment of Katsura and the claim that she had betrayed her classmates.

• Sogo Doma told Rumi Tsurumi that the business cards she had seen were not reliable proof that Katsura Kotaro worked at host clubs or crossdresser bars.
• Sogo Doma explained that people often excuse isolating others by finding and magnifying a supposed flaw, and he questioned Rumi about why her classmates had called her a traitor.
• Sogo Doma pointed out that Rumi’s supposed betrayal amounted to speaking with isolated classmates, yet none of those classmates had defended her.
• Sogo Doma argued that people may label someone a traitor simply to fit in, regardless of whether the accusation is true.
• Sogo Doma revealed that Katsura had been isolated and nearly bullied as a child, but still had many friends and jobs, leaving Rumi questioning her judgment of him.

Sogo Doma discovered that Yui Yuigahama’s cooking had overwhelmed Yukinoshita and left her unconscious, while Shizuka Hiratsuka and Utaha Kasumigaoka explained how the cooking session went wrong. The group remained gathered around Yui’s alarming pot as Sogo learned that she had confused several ingredients.

• Rumi Tsurumi pocketed Sogo Doma’s business card while insisting she had come to help.
• Yui Yuigahama carried out a pot of disastrous-looking cooking, and Sogo noticed Yukinoshita was missing.
• Utaha Kasumigaoka and Shizuka Hiratsuka told Sogo that Yukinoshita had fainted after being overwhelmed by the smell.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka explained that Yukinoshita had tried to salvage the dish after Yui added too much soy sauce.
• Shizuka revealed that Yui had then mistaken sugar for salt, added mustard, and used too much seven-spice powder.

Sogo Doma and Shizuka Hiratsuka argued over how to deal with Yuigahama's disastrous cooking without wasting food or risking more students passing out. The chapter ended with Utaha Kasumigaoka bargaining with Hiratsuka for permission to skip class while Sogo watched.

• Hiratsuka explained that Yukinoshita and Miura had both passed out after tasting Yuigahama's cooking, and the others had refused to try it.
• Hiratsuka said they could not simply throw the pot away because wasting food in front of children could get the school in trouble.
• Sogo suggested Hiratsuka eat the whole pot or have someone fake an accident to make it disappear, but Hiratsuka worried about the person's reputation.
• Sogo accused Hiratsuka of planning to make him take the blame for getting rid of Yuigahama's cooking.
• Utaha called out Hiratsuka's obvious plan, then asked to be allowed to skip class as part of their bargain.

Shizuka Hiratsuka confronted Sogo Doma about the opportunities he had given Hikigaya and Rumi Tsurumi, suspecting that he had secretly interfered with their situation. Doma defended his actions and challenged Hiratsuka’s belief that school was a better environment than society, leaving her startled by his ominous smile.

• Shizuka Hiratsuka sent Utaha Kasumigaoka away and reminded Sogo Doma that he had promised to help Hikigaya and Rumi Tsurumi.
• Doma argued that Hikigaya had a sharp eye for people and had already been given an opportunity to connect with others.
• Hiratsuka noticed Hikigaya’s wary eyes and pressed Doma about what he had done, while Doma admitted that he had given Rumi an opportunity too.
• Doma asked whether school or society offered a better environment, then challenged Hiratsuka’s reasons for thinking school was better.
• Doma declared that Hiratsuka’s view had many problems, and his dangerous-looking smile left her stunned.

Sogo Doma argued to Shizuka Hiratsuka that schools suppress individuality through groupthink and that Yukino’s insistence on being right was part of what made her herself. He left Shizuka questioning his view of school, socializing, and the groups surrounding Yukino and Hayama.

• Sogo Doma challenged Shizuka Hiratsuka’s ideas about fairness and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, arguing that people mainly pursue their own desires and that family wealth reflected generations of effort.
• Sogo Doma argued that schools’ supposedly fair environments enabled students to isolate and bully outsiders, and Shizuka said Yukino was too obsessed with being right.
• Sogo Doma claimed group wisdom was inferior to individual judgment and said school groupthink encouraged rejection of outsiders and reduced people’s intelligence.
• Sogo Doma asked whether Yukino would still be herself if she tried to blend in, while Shizuka suggested socializing could meet needs Yukino lacked.
• Sogo Doma told Shizuka that he and Yukino were friends rather than a group, then described Hayama as the central figure controlling his social circle.

Sogo Doma argued that school cliques could suppress exceptional students and defended giving Rumi Tsurumi a chance to experience society and make her own choices. Shizuka Hiratsuka remained unsure whether his decision was right, though she could not answer his challenge.

• Sogo Doma told Shizuka Hiratsuka that Hayato's friends had been molded into his shape and that Hikigaya had likely resisted the same pressure.
• Sogo Doma argued that groups of ordinary people ostracized those who stood apart, while society could be more accepting of outstanding people.
• Sogo Doma said he had offered Rumi Tsurumi an opportunity to enter society and suggested that Yukino might also benefit from leaving school.
• Sogo Doma described Ryunosuke Akasaka, a bullied young genius who became respected by the Doma Family and the Shinomiya Family for his programming work.
• Sogo Doma asked whether Yukinoshita or the majority was at fault and whether he was wrong to let Rumi Tsurumi choose; Shizuka Hiratsuka said she could not answer.

Sogo Doma argued with Shizuka Hiratsuka that Hikigaya should be free to choose his friends and that a group’s idea of correctness could be impulsive and controlled by its leader. The discussion ended with Hiratsuka asking whether Hayato had decided to isolate Hikigaya.

• Sogo Doma told Shizuka Hiratsuka she had no right to interfere with his speech or other people’s choices.
• Sogo argued that he had already given Hikigaya an opportunity to join Hayato’s circle, but Hikigaya had refused to conform.
• Sogo rejected Hiratsuka’s proverbs about groups, explaining that groups could act better or worse than individuals depending on their stance and impulses.
• Sogo said groups could treat isolating someone as just and correct, and that a hero or leader defined what the group considered correct.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka asked whether Hayato, as the group’s core, had decided to isolate Hikigaya.

Sogo Doma explained to Shizuka Hiratsuka how groups could isolate outsiders and turn a leader’s beliefs into accepted truth, using Yukinoshita as an example. He then warned that Rumi Tsurumi’s bullying might have involved violence and that teachers could be responsible for leading such cases, leaving Hiratsuka unsettled.

• Sogo told Hiratsuka that Hayato’s distance from Hikigaya led the group to isolate Hikigaya, even without Hayato ordering them to.
• Sogo argued that if Yukinoshita led the Service Club, her convictions could become the group’s accepted version of correctness.
• Sogo said groups could pressure people to conform and that Hikigaya should not be expected to join a group that had isolated him.
• Sogo explained that children could treat bullying as justified and suggested Rumi Tsurumi’s case might have involved violence.
• Sogo urged Hiratsuka to ask the senior who sought her help about Rumi’s situation and warned that teachers might be involved in leading bullying cases.

Sogo Doma discussed whether Shizuka Hiratsuka deserved respect, leaving her dejected about her failed matchmaking dates and her relationship with him. He then helped her deal with Yui Yuigahama’s inedible cooking, and everyone accepted his obvious excuse for knocking it to the floor.

• Hiratsuka challenged Sogo over whether he thought she deserved respect, and he awkwardly listed her flaws while trying to reassure her.
• Hiratsuka lamented her failed matchmaking dates and complained that Sogo had interfered with the person she thought might suit her.
• Sogo suggested drinks to cheer Hiratsuka up, then questioned her bargain to have him dispose of Yuigahama’s cooking in exchange for Kasumigaoka.
• Sogo knocked Yuigahama’s honey-glazed dish to the floor and claimed his hand had slipped.
• Hiratsuka was surprised when Yuigahama and the other students accepted Sogo’s obvious excuse.

At the woodland campsite, Sogo Doma tried to draw Hachiman Hikigaya into sharing stories, and their conversation revealed that they both still indulged in chuunibyou fantasies. It ended with Hachiman regretting that he had revealed his old persona as General Hachiman while Sogo insisted on his own Great Demon King title.

• Sogo Doma declined to drink with Shizuka Hiratsuka and went to spend time with Hachiman Hikigaya instead.
• Sogo pressed Hachiman to tell a story and exposed that Hachiman had written A Report to Heaven.
• Hachiman recognized Sogo's references to chuunibyou figures, and they admitted they still sometimes wrote fantasy material.
• Sogo called himself the evil Great Demon King, and Hachiman accidentally introduced himself as General Hachiman.
• Hachiman asked Sogo to call him Hikigaya or Dead-Fish Eyes, but Sogo insisted on addressing him as General Hachiman.