That afternoon, Sorata went up to the rooftop to sleep again.
Since school started yesterday, he had either been sleeping through class or heading to the rooftop to nap.
His openly self abandoning behavior left many people stunned.
In the evening, Misaki was on kitchen duty.
Still seemingly stimulated by the lavish summer feast Sorata had prepared yesterday, she had rushed to the supermarket after school, bought a pile of premium ingredients, and had been busy ever since.
In the living room, Sorata sat at the table with a laptop open in front of him.
After returning with him, Shiina had gone straight upstairs to work on her manga.
“Sorata, what are you looking at?”
Mitaka Jin stepped in through the entrance, phone in hand.
Judging from the pleasant expression on his face, he had probably just finished a call with some pretty girl.
“At noon, Chihiro sensei asked about career paths again,” Sorata replied lazily, waving a hand.
“So I’m thinking about what I might do in the future. Just browsing online for inspiration.”
That afternoon on the rooftop, he had continued deducing gene information chains, exhausting the small amount of spiritual power he had recovered.
As a result, he looked a little listless.
“By the way, I forgot to congratulate you and Misaki senpai. Your work got picked up for a game adaptation again, and it’s featured in a magazine too. That’s impressive.”
As he spoke, Sorata typed Misaki’s name into the search bar.
Dozens of results appeared instantly.
At the top was a photo of her standing beside Mitaka Jin, along with an introduction to their project.
Jin paused.
He glanced at the screen, then toward Misaki, who was still bustling around in the kitchen.
His expression turned slightly complicated before he gave a self deprecating shake of his head.
“It’s not me who’s amazing. It’s Misaki.”
He walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat across from Sorata.
“Not at all, Jin senpai. You’re being modest.”
Sorata then entered Shiina’s name into the search bar.
Hundreds of results popped up.
He clicked the first one.
“Look at this. Shiina needs someone to remind her to wash her face every day, yet she’s an internationally renowned genius painter.”
On the screen, Shiina stood on a podium in a red strapless gown, the focus of countless gazes.
Sorata clicked his tongue softly and shook his head.
“In Sakurasou, you’re a scriptwriter who became famous before graduating high school. Misaki senpai is a well known genius in the animation world.”
“Kohai, your senpai is clearly cute and beautiful. How can you call me a monster?”
From the kitchen, Misaki waved her ladle in protest.
“Not to mention Shiina, a single minded life form. Even Akasaka, who never leaves his room, is already a highly paid engineer working with a major corporation in his second year of high school.”
“And Chihiro sensei, the remaining member, is a well known leftover warrior. Busy going on blind dates every day and repeatedly failing, yet her spirit of continuing the fight is commendable.”
“Out of the six people in Sakurasou, I’m the only one with ordinary looks, ordinary personality, average height, and average grades. I don’t even know what to write on the career form.”
He spread his hands and shook his head with a sigh.
“With that comparison, Jin senpai, do you feel a little better?”
“Hahahaha. Since when did you switch from sarcasm to humor?” Jin laughed.
“But putting it that way, I do feel a bit better.”
Then he looked at Sorata more carefully.
“Still, I think you should deal with the hurdle behind you first.”
“Leftover warrior… repeatedly fighting despite repeated defeats…”
A chilling, teeth grinding voice rose from behind Sorata.
Sengoku Chihiro stood there, eyes brimming with killing intent.
“Aaaaaah…”
“What are you doing?”
Shiina had just come downstairs and stared blankly at the scene of Sorata being locked in a chokehold by Chihiro, strange sounds escaping his mouth.
With his physique already three times that of an average person, Sorata was not bothered by Chihiro’s attack.
However, with that soft pressure pressing against the back of his head, he decided cooperating slightly was the wiser choice.
“Dinner’s ready. Let’s eat.”
“Today we’re playing Russian roulette,” Misaki announced loudly.
“Out of six trays, one has a special surprise. Choose freely and test your luck.”
“Senpai, you didn’t hide a huge amount of wasabi in one of them again, did you?”
Sorata gently broke free from Chihiro’s hold and walked to the table, looking at Misaki with resignation.
“Eh? Kohai’s gotten smarter? You actually guessed it was wasabi.”
“I’ll take this one.”
Jin immediately picked up the tray on the far left.
Sorata’s more sensitive nose twitched slightly.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the two trays on the far right.
“Shiina and I will take these.”
“Oh? Kohai’s decisive today. Then I’ll pick this one.” Misaki chose the middle tray.
Jin glanced at Chihiro.
“Chihiro sensei, aren’t you choosing?”
“No rush. I’ll wait and see who gets hit first.”
Chihiro opened the refrigerator, pulled out a can of beer, and leaned against a chair, completely unhurried.
Jin flipped over half his bowl of rice with his chopsticks and smiled.
“Not mine.”
“I don’t have it either.” Shiina copied him, turning over half her rice. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“Don’t look at me. Mine definitely isn’t it.” Sorata smiled calmly, full of confidence.
“Ha… it’s mine…”
Misaki dug into her rice and revealed the bright green wasabi underneath.
Instead of despair, she looked delighted, as if she had won a grand prize.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t even know which one it was?” Jin stared at her in shock.
“I didn’t. I made them look identical, then mixed up the order. That’s what makes it fun.”
“Cough… that’s very much like you, Misaki senpai.”
“By the way, Kanda, remember to fill out your career form and hand it in tomorrow. They’re pushing the students who haven’t submitted it yet,” Chihiro reminded him between bites.
“So urgent? Fine.” Sorata nodded.
“Kohai, have you decided what you want to do in the future?” Misaki asked with interest.
“Go to university? Become a teacher? Or a corporate slave? A pitiful youth?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t?”
“Right. There’s nothing in particular I especially want to do.”
For him, aside from recovering his strength, living a relatively peaceful life was already a kind of goal.
“But since the school’s urging, I’ll just fill in advancement to an ordinary university as my first choice. Second choice, novelist. Third choice, manga artist.”
He said it casually.
“Is it okay to be that casual…?”
All four of them were momentarily speechless.
“There’s no rule against it, right? Jin senpai writes scripts. Misaki senpai plans to pursue animation. Shiina is set on becoming a manga artist. Akasaka’s a software engineer.”
“If I become a novelist or manga artist too, at least I won’t seem out of place in Sakurasou.”
“The problem is, can you actually do it?” Jin adjusted his glasses.
“Have you ever written a novel? Drawn manga?”
“I haven’t written any. But I’ve read a lot, so it should be fine.”
“Kanda, are you serious?” Chihiro narrowed her eyes.
“I’m not entirely sure.”
“….”
Jin and Chihiro, who had assumed Sorata was just speaking on impulse, suddenly found themselves at a loss for words.
“Hahahaha. Kohai, do your best. Senpai supports you.”
“Sorata, do your best.”
Compared to Jin and Chihiro’s doubt, Misaki and Shiina were surprisingly supportive.
Sorata only smiled at their reactions.