Night fell, and the campus lights came on one after another, brightly illuminating the tree-lined paths.
Ken Kaneki, Ayanokoji, and Koenji walked unhurriedly toward the Student Cafeteria.
Along the way, they encountered many fellow first-year students.
These boys and girls, who had just received a hundred thousand points, mostly headed in groups of three or five toward lavishly decorated Western restaurants or elegant cafés.
Their faces brimmed with the excitement of the newly rich. By contrast, most of the students heading to the school cafeteria were upperclassmen.
Most wore calculating expressions, and their occasional glances at the first-years held a faint trace of mockery.
An exceptionally sharp dividing line formed between the two groups. Viewed from above, one side was clearheaded, while the other was lost in a drunken haze.
All three shook their heads at the sight and entered the Student Cafeteria as they chatted.
The interior was enormous. Though it lacked the luxury and grandeur of the Western restaurants, it was clean, tidy, and brightly lit.
They claimed a table for four by the window, then headed to the automated ticket machines in the ordering area.
The enormous machine screens were densely packed with pictures of dishes and their corresponding buttons, offering everything from deluxe set meals costing several hundred points to simple meals costing a few dozen.
At the very bottom, Ken Kaneki even spotted the extremely familiar mountain vegetable set meal. Just as in the original story, it was free.
The three queued up and pressed the buttons for their chosen dishes in turn.
With a quiet hum from the machine, three slips printed with order numbers emerged.
Returning to his window seat with his order number, Ken Kaneki casually set the slip on the table and looked at Koenji across from him.
"How did this afternoon's 'club education' go? Judging by that glowing face of yours, you must have earned quite a few points."
"Hahahaha! Naturally. My opponents were so terrible I nearly beat them into crying for their mothers."
Koenji smiled elegantly, utterly dismissive of the upperclassmen's abilities.
"By the way, how did you do, Ayanokoji-boy?"
Ayanokoji propped his chin on one hand and gazed calmly out the window, but a wicked smile curled his lips.
"The returns were fairly substantial. I specifically picked a few clubs that looked strong on the outside but were weak underneath, and took a little advantage of their tendency to underestimate me.
"To be honest, watching their expressions turn from arrogance to despair after losing their points did give me a peculiar sense of pleasure."
"You really have gone bad, haven't you?" Ken Kaneki chided with a laugh, patting Ayanokoji on the shoulder.
"I have you two to thank for that," Ayanokoji said sarcastically, even giving the pair a meaningful look.
Ken Kaneki and Koenji both smiled sheepishly at that. Ayanokoji was right, after all. They had no way to deny having been a bad influence on him.
The three discussed the afternoon's battles as they waited for their meals.
Before long, a woman's voice came over the cafeteria's speakers, announcing order numbers.
"Numbers 215, 216, 217, and 218, please collect your meals from the pickup counter."
"Oh my, it seems my dinner is ready." Rokusuke Koenji stood, straightened his collar, and led the way with his long strides.
Because of their order in the queue, Koenji was number 215, Ayanokoji was number 216, and Ken Kaneki was last at number 217.
Ayanokoji also rose and left, while Ken Kaneki stretched a little before leisurely following the two toward the pickup counter.
Several freshly cooked set meals sat on the counter, steaming hot and fragrant.
By the time Ken Kaneki arrived, Koenji and Ayanokoji had already taken their trays back to their seats.
He approached the counter, dropped the slip marked "217" into the collection box beside it, and fixed his gaze on a shrimp tempura set meal on the counter.
Just as he reached out and was about to touch the edge of the tray, a fair, slender hand suddenly extended from beside him and lightly brushed the back of his hand.
The cool touch against his fingertips made Ken Kaneki pause in surprise. He instinctively stopped and turned to look.
Standing beside him was a slender girl of exceptionally striking beauty.
She had long silver hair as luminous as moonlight, crystal-clear amethyst eyes, and a quiet, gentle air steeped in bookishness.
Ken Kaneki recognized her at a glance: Shiina Hiyori of Class 1-C.
The girl was clearly startled by the contact as well, quickly withdrawing her hand like a frightened fawn.
"Ah... I'm very sorry." Shiina Hiyori bowed slightly, her voice soft.
She looked at Ken Kaneki apologetically, then extended a pale, slender finger to point at a small number marker beside the shrimp tempura set meal, plainly marked "217."
Then she pointed at the slip held in her own hand, which read "218."
Only then did Ken Kaneki realize that two identical shrimp tempura set meals had been placed on the counter at the same time: his, number 217, and Hiyori's, number 218.
He had been thinking about his subsequent plans as he walked over and had become distracted, misjudging where he was looking and nearly taking the meal that belonged to Shiina Hiyori.
"I'm the one who should apologize. I was distracted thinking about something and almost took your meal by mistake."
Ken Kaneki scratched his head apologetically, an apologetic smile appearing on his face.
He stepped back half a pace and made an inviting gesture, yielding the meal to the silver-haired girl before him.
Then he reached out and picked up the set meal beside it that actually belonged to him.
"It's all right." Shiina Hiyori gently shook her head and gave him a polite smile.
She picked up her tray and gave Ken Kaneki a slight nod.
Ken Kaneki politely nodded back, then turned with his dinner and headed toward the table where Ayanokoji and Koenji sat.
Shiina Hiyori remained where she was, her purple eyes watching Ken Kaneki's broad, straight back as a flicker of curiosity passed through them.
On this first day of school, filled with agitation and desire, most boys had either been openly eager to please her or blatantly frivolous when dealing with her.
But that boy's eyes had been clear and his manner composed. He possessed an inscrutable air of steadiness, nothing at all like those restless new students.
What a strange person...
Shiina Hiyori murmured to herself inwardly.
Then she withdrew her gaze and, carrying her shrimp tempura set meal, walked alone with light steps toward a quiet corner on the other side of the cafeteria.
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