The dismissal bell rang, and the students of Class 1-D scattered in an instant. The somewhat noisy pool suddenly fell quiet.
Listening closely, one could faintly hear phrases such as "Where should we go this afternoon?" and "Where should we spend our money tonight?" drifting through the air.
Horikita Suzune had not left yet. She sat beside the pool, staring blankly at the water.
Just then, Kikyo Kushida walked over to Horikita Suzune.
With her hands behind her back, she leaned forward slightly, a sweet smile on her face.
"Horikita, a new café just opened on campus. I heard their limited-edition desserts are really good. What do you say we try them together?"
Horikita Suzune ignored her, stood up, and left after glancing at Ayanokoji.
"Oh, that's such a shame. Let's go together next time, then."
Kikyo Kushida's expression remained unchanged, as flawless as ever.
Some girls waiting for Kikyo Kushida were still ahead of Horikita. As she passed them, she heard their conversation and felt somewhat resigned.
"What's with Horikita acting so high and mighty? Does she really think she's something special?"
"Exactly. Kikyo was kind enough to invite her, and that's how she acts? Just looking at her pisses me off. Who's she trying to impress with that sour face all day?"
Horikita paused, but after thinking it over, she still offered no explanation. After all, only the weak needed to band together. The strong always walked alone.
She considered herself, the girl named Horikita Suzune, unquestionably strong.
Ken Kaneki and his two companions saw this, but paid it little mind.
After lunch, Ken Kaneki parted ways with Koenji and the other boy and prepared to visit the library.
He had been at Advanced Nurturing High School for several days, but had yet to visit its library. He wondered whether it had any novels he liked.
As he walked, there were fewer and fewer students around him.
At this hour, the upperclassmen were still in class. Only the first-years had the afternoon off.
The school operated as a closed campus, and this month's hundred thousand points had left the first-years immersed in a beautiful dream from which they were unwilling to wake.
Given a choice between the library and bars or KTV, the vast majority of students would undoubtedly choose the latter. Perhaps they would not even consider it a choice.
For these young people with their excess energy and lack of long-term planning, a library filled with books and a quiet atmosphere was clearly the least popular place on campus.
He pushed open the heavy glass door, and the naturally cool air inside the library washed over Ken Kaneki, leaving him refreshed.
As one of Classroom of the Elite's showpieces, it had to have plenty of money, and the library was naturally built to be grand and luxurious.
The interior was enormous, with a soaring dome and neatly arranged rows of solid wood shelves forming a complex network of aisles.
The air was filled with the scents of paper, ink, and a faint trace of mothballs, speaking to how well the books were preserved.
Only a handful of students were looking through reference materials on the entire first floor. It was so quiet that only the rustling of turning pages could be heard.
Ken Kaneki passed through the history and literature sections and stopped before the detective fiction shelves.
He quickly scanned the covers, his gaze moving among the names of different authors.
Eventually, he pulled out a classic mystery novel with a rather dark cover.
He walked to a secluded corner by the window, where a small round table for one offered an excellent view and little chance of interruption.
Ken Kaneki pulled out the chair, sat down, opened the book, and began to read.
Outside the window, the sunlight gradually slanted, and the shadows of trees stretched across the table. Ken Kaneki's breathing slowly grew steady.
At that moment, he was completely immersed in the suspenseful world constructed by the words.
His mind worked quickly, following the clues in the book and unraveling them thread by thread.
Time flew by. Two hours later, Ken Kaneki turned the final page and closed the book.
He leaned back in his chair, loosened his somewhat stiff neck, and stretched.
Mulling over the book's twists, Ken Kaneki offered an offhand comment.
"I never expected the culprit to be someone so surprising."
"Yes, it really was unexpected."
A soft voice came from directly ahead, with a hint of an ethereal quality, breaking the corner's silence.
Ken Kaneki looked up. At some point, someone had taken the seat opposite him.
Long silver hair fell over her shoulders, and her eyes were a clear, pale purple.
The girl held a detective novel in both hands, quietly watching him with her eyes peeking over the top.
Shiina Hiyori, from Class 1-C.
They had briefly interacted at the Student Cafeteria yesterday, and had even made skin-to-skin contact then.
Seeing the surprise flicker in Ken Kaneki's eyes, Shiina Hiyori smiled with her lips pressed together.
She put down her book, folded her hands on the table, and spoke softly.
"Nice to meet you. Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Shiina Hiyori from Class C."
"Ken Kaneki, Class D." Ken Kaneki nodded slightly in response and asked, "When did you get here?"
"I've been here a little while." Shiina Hiyori pointed to the chair Ken Kaneki was sitting in.
"This is where I used to sit often. You looked so absorbed in your book that I didn't say anything to interrupt you."
The library had a seat reservation system. If someone had reserved a seat, it had to be given back to them; otherwise, anyone could sit there.
Ken Kaneki glanced at the empty seats around them and immediately understood the situation.
"Sorry for taking your personal throne."
"It's all right. The seats are here for everyone to use." Shiina Hiyori gently shook her head, curiosity showing in her pale purple eyes.
"Do you read often, Kaneki? What kinds of books do you usually like?"
"I wouldn't say often. I just read occasionally to pass the time and keep my mind in the habit of thinking." Ken Kaneki pushed his book into the middle of the table.
"As for what I like, I lean toward tightly plotted mysteries or nonfiction about society. What about you?"
"I read everything. As long as there are words, they put me at ease." Shiina Hiyori glanced at the novel on the table.
"The trick in this book was very cleverly designed. It exploited the reader's visual blind spot. But the author actually hinted at it in the scene description in chapter three."
"You mean the description of the wall clock's reflection?" Ken Kaneki promptly picked up the thread.
"Exactly." Shiina Hiyori's smile deepened.
The two began discussing the mystery novel on the table, moving from the feasibility of the crime's method to the narrative tricks the author had hidden between the lines.
Shiina Hiyori had read extensively and thought quickly, always managing to pinpoint the heart of a story.
Drawing on the wealth of experience from his previous life and his keen insight, Ken Kaneki could often offer fresh perspectives on human nature and motives.
Before they knew it, the sky outside the window had darkened.
The reading lights in the library switched on automatically, casting warm yellow light over them.
The distance between them rapidly shrank through this high-quality exchange of ideas.
"Still, what disappointed me was that even after looking through the shelves for a long time earlier, I found very few detective novels in this school's library that interested me."
Ken Kaneki checked the time and brought their discussion of the last book to an end.
Shiina Hiyori's eyes lit up, and she leaned forward slightly. Her silver hair slipped down over her shoulders, concealing half her face.
"If you don't mind, Kaneki, I have a lot of good books in my room. Some are out-of-print mysteries that are very hard to buy."
She paused, a trace of anticipation in her voice.
"I could lend them to you."
Ken Kaneki was briefly taken aback as he looked into the girl's sincere eyes.
"That would be too much trouble for you. Besides, isn't it a little inappropriate to lend your personal belongings to someone you've only just met?"
"It's no trouble. A good book loses half its value if you can't share it with someone who understands it," Shiina Hiyori insisted.
"I'll bring the books over to you in a little while."
Seeing that he could not decline, Ken Kaneki nodded and accepted her kindness.
"Thank you, then. As thanks for lending me the books, let me treat you to a meal sometime."
Shiina Hiyori was momentarily taken aback. She was used to being on her own, immersed in her own world of books, and rarely took part in invitations of this social nature.
She looked at Ken Kaneki's calm, composed face. There was something gentle and refined about him, and their conversation had given her a sense of comfort and connection she had not felt in a long time.
She hesitated for a while, then nodded almost despite herself.
"All right."
Ken Kaneki took out his student ID terminal and brought up his QR code.
"Let's exchange contact details. It'll make it easier to arrange a time and place."
"Mm."
Shiina Hiyori took out her terminal and scanned the code. With a beep, the two added each other as friends.
By the time they left the library, night had fallen.
Streetlights cast pools of light on the asphalt, and insects circled and fluttered within them.
Ken Kaneki and Shiina Hiyori walked side by side along the tree-lined path back to the student dormitories.
Neither spoke again. There was only the rustling of leaves in the breeze and the alternating rhythm of their footsteps.
The quiet atmosphere was not awkward. Instead, it carried an unspoken understanding.
When they reached the foot of the dormitory building, they said goodbye.
Since the boys and girls had separate elevator lobbies, they could not continue together.
Ken Kaneki watched Shiina Hiyori enter the elevator, then turned toward the elevator lobby on the other side.
In their elevator lobbies, both felt a flutter in their hearts, like spring flowers waiting to bloom, small and secret.
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