As the two of them chatted happily, time slipped away without them noticing.
It wasn’t until the light outside the window began to fade that they realized how late it was.
They packed up their things and got ready to leave.
Just before they parted ways, Hiyori called out to him.
“Tsugikuni-kun,” she smiled brightly, “let’s chat again next time we’re free.”
“Sure.
Let’s have a rematch next time.”
Shiki agreed immediately, looking as spirited as if he were accepting a duel from a martial arts master.
When people share a common interest, interacting is incredibly enjoyable.
The feeling of freely speaking your mind is wonderful, leaving you with a lingering anticipation for the next encounter.
If there were a visible affection meter, Shiina Hiyori would undoubtedly score very high in Shiki’s heart.
(TL:heh~)
Just look at the absolute gallery of monsters he had met since coming to this school:
The naturally evil little brat, Sakayanagi Arisu.
The unrestrained and overly generous upperclassman, Kiryuin Fuuka.
The thrill seeking thief, Kamuro Masumi.
The two-faced girl with massive assets, Kushida Kikyou.
The unfathomable Demon King, Ichinose Honami.
And Horikita Suzune, who only ever thought about herself.
With a lineup of freaks this long, finally meeting a normal, slightly introverted girl made Shiki realize something profound: There are actually normal human beings in this school!
After finishing his morning workout and showering back at the dorm, Shiki grabbed his things and headed out for school.
Unfortunately, he ran into someone he really didn’t want to see at the elevator.
“Ah, Tsugikuni-kun!
We meet again.
Good morning.”
(Ah, my perfect new day is ruined…)
Looking at Ichinose’s radiant smile, Shiki replied with a totally defeated expression, “Morning.”
Seeing him just stand there without moving, Ichinose blinked in confusion.
“Aren’t you getting in?”
“No thanks, it looks a bit crowded.
I’ll wait for the next one.”
Ichinose cast a highly confused glance at the massive empty space inside the elevator.
Visible question marks practically popped up above her head.
“Crowded?
You should just come in, Tsugikuni-kun.
It wouldn’t be good if you were late.”
The boys’s and girls’s dorms were in the same building, with the boys on the lower floors and the girls on the upper floors.
So, running into her at this time was completely logical.
Silently comforting his terrible luck, Shiki stepped into the elevator, radiating a dark, gloomy aura.
Fortunately, Ichinose seemed to notice his terrible mood and didn’t try to strike up a conversation.
This actually made Shiki quite happy.
Watching his retreating back as he practically fled the elevator, Kobashi Yume, who often hung around Ichinose, asked weirdly, “Who was that?
He was acting super suspicious.”
Amikura Mako put a finger to her lips.
“I don’t know, but he looked at Ichinose-san like a mouse looking at a cat.”
Ichinose didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Ah, am I really that scary?”
Then, she looked a bit down.
“But…
I do feel like Tsugikuni-kun is terrified of me.
Every time he sees me, he looks like he wants to run away, and I have absolutely no idea what I did wrong…”
“It’s definitely not your fault, Ichinose-san!” Shiranami Chihiro, a hardcore fan totally captivated by her charm, quickly denied it.
“Maybe that guy did something guilty and is just too ashamed to face you.”
“Chihiro-chan!” Ichinose scolded her gently but seriously.
“You shouldn’t say bad things about people behind their backs.”
“Okay, okay, I get it!
To think Ichinose-san would scold me for a guy in another class…
sob…”
“Yeah, it looks like our Honami is about to be snatched away.”
“Exactly!
We have to guard our Honami at all times!”
“Jeez, I told you to stop saying such weird things!”
The sound of the girls laughing and teasing each other drifted away on the gentle May breeze, mingling with the dancing cherry blossoms.
Meanwhile, Shiki was facing another problem.
Fortunately, this time, the target was a guy.
The moment he walked into the classroom, Hirata, who had clearly been waiting for him, approached.
Shiki looked at him suspiciously.
“Hirata, do you need something?”
“Sorry to bother you, Tsugikuni-kun, I just need a little bit of your time.” Hirata smiled apologetically before getting straight to the point.
“It’s about the recent quiz.
Some of the students didn’t do very well, and if things keep going like this, we’ll be in trouble.
So, I want to organize a study group to help the struggling students get through this crisis.”
“Oh,” Shiki blinked.
“That sounds great.”
“…”
Hirata let out a dry laugh.
He knew his chances were slim, but he still had to try.
“Well, since your grades are the absolute best in the class, and we have quite a few struggling students…
the people willing to teach are a bit overwhelmed.
So, I was hoping you could step in and help us out.
Please.”
With that, he gave a deep, formal bow.
Just as Hirata thought he had failed and his heart sank to the bottom of his chest, a voice pierced the darkness like the dawn.
“Alright.”
“Eh?
You agree, Tsugikuni-kun?!”
Hirata’s head snapped up in shock, his usual calm, gentle expression completely breaking.
“Yeah.
Are you satisfied now?”
Shiki didn’t mind lending a hand when it was easy.
Unless the cost to benefit ratio was severely unbalanced, he wasn’t against helping out.
Besides, since he stopped going to the chess club, he had some free time, and the study group would fill that gap nicely.
Seeing the absolute joy on Hirata’s face, Shiki added, “But let me warn you first, Hirata.”
“I’m telling you this upfront: the people you assign to me better be somewhat normal.
I don’t care if they’re a bit slow, but if they give up after five minutes, start whining, or act like they’re doing me a favor by studying, I’m tossing them out.
Otherwise, you’ll be stuck in the middle with everyone unhappy.”
Hirata nodded helplessly.
He knew full well that certain people in the class would act exactly like that.
“Also, if I want to quit, I’ll quit.
I’m not making any long term guarantees.”
Shiki laid out the ugly truths first, just in case he got stuck with some absolute weirdo and had to deal with the fallout.
“No problem, Tsugikuni-kun.
I’ll let you know the details later.”
Watching Hirata walk away looking like a massive weight had just been lifted off his shoulders, Shiki sighed.
(What a good kid.
Why is he so incredibly stubborn?)
With the kind of unhinged behavior Class D constantly displayed, if Hirata kept acting like a tightly wound spring trying to hold everyone together, he was going to snap eventually.
(Sigh, poor Hirata.)
Shiki shook his head and decided not to dwell on it.
When morning classes finally end, what is the most exciting thing to look forward to?
A delicious lunch, of course.
After a tiring morning, comforting your poor soul with great food is perfectly normal.
Shiki felt the exact same way.
However, today’s situation was a bit different.
“Ara, Shiki-kun.
What a coincidence.”
If he could, he would have preferred to leave the classroom a few minutes later.
Shiki stared fixedly at the floor, his feet never stopping, acting exactly as if he hadn’t heard or seen anything.
Then, a pair of black Mary Jane shoes and knee high socks stepped right into his line of sight.
Just above them was a strip of snow white thighs.
Shiki only needed one glance to know exactly who was blocking his path.
Sure enough, an annoyed voice rang out.
“Hey, are you purposely pretending not to see us?”
Shiki looked up, his face perfectly calm.
“Oh, what do you know, it’s Kamuro.
Good afternoon.”
Kamuro glared at him.
“Don’t ‘good afternoon’ me.
Don’t think you can just gloss over the fact that you were literally ignoring us.”
“I wasn’t.
I just heard Sakayanagi’s voice and was looking down trying to find her.
I was looking so carefully that I just didn’t notice you guys in time.” Shiki lied without batting an eye.
“Hehe.”
Sakayanagi let out a cold laugh.
“Shiki-kun is truly terrible.
You’ve called me short several times now.
Casually commenting on someone else’s physical flaws is not very polite behavior, you know.”
Shiki replied generously, “It’s fine.
You can call me Panda Eyes or say I’m ugly.
I absolutely won’t mind.”
The polite smile on Sakayanagi’s face twitched.
She felt a very strong urge to point right at his nose and start cursing.
(Are those two things even comparable?!)
People care most about what they lack.
For someone like Sakayanagi, who had family status, wealth, and looks, her only real flaw was her crippled body.
Although she hid it well, she deeply hated her own shortcomings—her lack of an imposing stature and her frail, sickly physique.
Because of this, to maintain her immense pride, she constantly monitored her demeanor, projecting an aura of absolute control.
As for Shiki, he wasn’t ugly at all.
Thanks to his parents being top tier hosts, he was naturally blessed with very handsome features.
Even though his lazy expression and heavy dark circles ruined the vibe a bit, he still ranked right behind Hirata on the girls’s ‘Class D Handsome Guys’ list.
So his nonchalant response made Sakayanagi legitimately want to curse at him.
Lately, every time she ran into him, she ended up half dead from anger.
Her usually unshakeable mindset would constantly waver, and her chest would ache faintly, as if her heart condition was about to flare up at any second.
Sakayanagi honestly felt that if they kept interacting like this, he was going to put her in a hospital bed.
Wait.
Hospital…
Sakayanagi’s eyes lit up.
Her brilliant mind just cooked up a fantastic idea.
“Shiki-kun.”
That incredibly sweet voice sent chills down Shiki’s spine.
He stared cautiously at Sakayanagi’s sugary smile and deadpanned, “Please speak normally.”
“Oh my, but this is my normal voice,” Sakayanagi said leisurely.
“Uh…
no, you haven’t.” Shiki got a very bad feeling about this.
“Actually, my mobility issues are caused by a congenital heart defect.
My body is very frail, so I can’t handle too much stimulation.”
Then, Sakayanagi put on a shy, maidenly pose.
“But you see…
lately, whenever I talk to Shiki-kun, my heart starts beating incredibly fast.
So I was thinking…
maybe I’m actually falling in love with you?
I hope you’ll take very good care of me from now on.” (TL:Cute….cute…cute…..cute….cute…)
(Dammit!
Stay away from me!)
Shiki felt like he had just been plunged into an icy cavern.
Before he could even say anything, Kamuro chimed in from the side:
“What do you mean ‘falling in love’?
You’re just getting pissed off by him.
Don’t confuse your heart condition acting up from sheer anger with a romantic crush.”
Sakayanagi tapped her lips with a finger, tilted her head slightly, and said innocently, “Is that so?
What a shame.”
(Yeah, right!)
Shiki and Kamuro synchronized an identical eye roll.
(TL: These two have fun chemistry too)
The three of them headed to the cafeteria together.
They found a relatively quiet spot and sat Sakayanagi down like a well behaved child.
Kamuro and Shiki went to the vending machines to buy meal tickets, grabbed their food, and returned to the table.
“Thanks for the food.”
After the standard greeting, the three of them slowly began eating.
“By the way,” Kamuro glanced at Shiki’s tray, asking as if she didn’t really care, “do you still have enough points?
When the teacher showed the class scores at the beginning of the month, I remember your Class D got zero, right?
You didn’t get a single point this whole month.”
Before Shiki could answer, Sakayanagi swallowed her food and chuckled.
“Masumi-san, are you worried that Shiki-kun doesn’t have any points left?
You’re worrying far too much.
How could someone as cunning as Shiki-kun not prepare in advance?
Don’t forget, he completely swept the Chess Club last month.
I imagine he won quite a hefty sum, didn’t you?”
“Exactly,” Shiki finished the food in his mouth and looked warmly at Kamuro.
“But still, thanks for caring, Kamuro.”
(As expected of my workout friend.
She’s actually the very first person to worry about me starving.)
What can he say?
Even though Kamuro liked stealing for the thrill, always wore a disgusted expression, and had eyes as incredibly naive as a college freshman…
she really was a good kid!
“Hah?!”
Kamuro’s face flushed bright red, and she stammered, “I-I wasn’t worried about you!
I just figured since we know each other, it’d be bad if you literally starved to death at school!
Plus…
plus, we’re morning jogging partners!
I’m just not used to running if we’re missing a person…” (TL: I’m not a dere…tsun…tsundere…)
“Yeah, yeah, sure.”
Shiki nodded dismissively, showing a rare moment of consideration by not poking holes in her flimsy tsundere defense.
“Hehehe.”
Sakayanagi let out a delighted laugh.
That laugh was incredibly grating to Kamuro’s ears, causing her to shoot a furious, embarrassed glare at both Sakayanagi and Shiki.
Shiki sighed internally.
(What does this have to do with me?
I’m not the one laughing.)
Women are so unreasonable.
After enjoying Kamuro’s embarrassment, Sakayanagi smiled in total satisfaction, then turned her attention back to Shiki, who was focused on his meal.
“Shiki-kun, how are your class’s academic grades looking?
You do know that anyone who fails the next official exam will be expelled, right?”
“Why do you care?
There’s no way Class D is going to surpass Class A anyway, right?”
“How could I not care?
With Shiki-kun in Class D, I can never be too careful.
I currently view Class D as my absolute number one threat.”
Shiki’s mouth twitched.
“Thanks for the high praise, but unfortunately, you’re going to be disappointed.
I have absolutely zero intention of getting involved in class struggles.”
When he was utterly speechless, his manners were always impeccable.
“Eh?
Why is that?
Shiki-kun doesn’t seem like a pure pacifist to me.”
Sakayanagi was genuinely surprised.
According to the mental profile she had built of him, he was socially aloof but had no problem communicating.
He just preferred the quiet.
If he saw someone in trouble, he didn’t mind lending a hand.
His observational skills were incredibly sharp, easily seeing through people’s true faces at a single glance.
And defeating the Chess Club members proved he was highly intelligent.