After the second class in the morning, two people in uniform appeared at the classroom door, just like yesterday.
This time there was a man and a woman, different from the officers who came yesterday.
The man looked about forty-five, with neat short hair, a black briefcase, and a mature, calm expression.
The girl was a bit younger, probably an apprentice or something like that, holding a small notebook and quietly chatting with the head teacher in the hallway.
Shizuka Hiratsuka walked to the classroom door, said a few words to them, then turned and entered, her gaze sweeping across the classroom before stopping on several people near Hayato Hayama.
Then Hiratsuka called out a few names, signaling them to follow her.
When Yumiko Miura stood up, her legs were clearly trembling.
Hayama gently supported her hand, then stood up first and followed the teacher out of the classroom.
“If only Tobe had died, it wouldn’t be a big problem. But now, for everyone, two people have died one after another, and they were their friends, so they should at least know something.”
Hachiman watched the people that Hiratsuka had taken out for questioning, while Renji muttered quietly beside him.
“Do you have mind-reading skills? How do you know what I’m thinking?”
Hachiman looked at the muttering Renji and asked, and what Renji said was generally correct.
“I did.”
Hearing Renji’s words, Hachiman felt that his intuition was indeed frightening.
Then, through the window, he saw these students being led to an empty classroom at the end of the hallway, which should have been the same room as yesterday.
After Tobe’s death last time, it had been the same.
The police came to the school, questioned a few people, and then left.
But this time, it wasn’t just their class — other classes were also called in for questioning.
“Because of the continuous crimes, the scope of questioning has been expanded?”
This time, the questioning session was clearly longer than last time.
By the time Hayama and the others gradually returned to the classroom, the third class was already halfway through.
When Hayama returned, his expression hadn’t changed much, but his face didn’t look its best, as if all his energy had been drained after repeated interrogations.
Hachiman suspected that he had been questioned as a suspect.
Hachiman averted his gaze from observing Hayama and the others.
Then Hachiman noticed that Renji, sitting in the back seat, had somehow collapsed on his desk, closed his eyes, and fallen asleep, breathing evenly.
Hachiman wondered how this guy could still sleep in such an atmosphere.
During the lunch break, there were far fewer people in the classroom than usual.
Most probably thought the classroom was unlucky.
Renji noticed that as soon as the bell rang, the leader turned into a pink storm and dashed out.
Although he was usually not in the classroom, this time he was much faster.
“Poor kid, sitting in the classroom must be unbearable.”
Then Renji followed him out of the classroom.
There are only three types of people who don’t eat in the classroom: first, those who choose the cafeteria; second, those who buy sandwiches or rice balls at the convenience store; and third, those who eat in various corners of the school.
As for not eating at all, you’d have to be an iron man.
Hachiman bought a carbohydrate-loaded fried noodle bread at the convenience store, then quietly ate it at his seat with the MAX coffee he had bought on the way to school.
Hachiman saw that Renji’s seat was empty and thought he had probably gone to find his own place to eat.
As a transfer student, Hachiman noticed that Renji didn’t show any need to adapt to the environment; he did whatever he needed, even maintaining a relaxed routine in this atmosphere.
Hachiman had to admit that Renji’s psychological resilience was much better than his.
He wasn’t swayed by the atmosphere and didn’t think about joining any small group, which essentially contradicted the unwritten rules of the campus.
One thing about Hachiman seemed strange — the atmosphere in this class was completely different from middle school, as if something was uncertain.
It seemed that no one in the class particularly cared about the so-called atmosphere.
If Renji knew why Hachiman was so curious about this, he would definitely laugh — there weren’t that many people in their class.
A bunch of male and female main characters and side characters, regardless of unwritten rules or campus atmosphere, and Renji knew that they existed in other classes too.
In Renji’s eyes, this school was not an ordinary place, but now he was the most outstanding one.
Only when the lunch break was almost over did Renji slowly return.
He pushed open the back door of the classroom and entered, carrying a carton of strawberry milk and a can of green tea bought at the school store.
His hair was a little disheveled from the wind outside.
Renji deliberately took a detour and didn’t go straight back to his seat.
Passing by Hachiman’s seat, he placed something on the corner of Hachiman’s desk — a chilled can of green tea, with condensed droplets hanging from the bottle.
“I brought this for you.”
Renji said indifferently.
Hachiman stared at the can of green tea, stunned for a moment, then looked up at him.
This was the first time in school that a so-called classmate had brought him a drink, and it felt stranger to Hachiman than anything.
“Friend.”
This phrase suddenly surfaced in Hachiman’s mind.
Renji had already walked to his seat and sat down, looking out the window.
His expression was so calm that it seemed like today was just an ordinary Tuesday at school.
He didn’t notice that Hachiman had become a much more respected figure in his heart at this moment.
Just at noon, Renji had gone to find Bocchi.
Since she wasn’t a main actor and not a cameo, she didn’t remember what she had experienced during the performance.
The main reason for finding Bocchi was to confirm the plot development, because according to the original story, Bocchi had joined the End Band soon after entering high school.
But now they were in the same class with her, and it seemed she hadn’t joined the group yet.
Plus, it was almost the end of April, and there was still some time before the semester started.
However, Renji didn’t think this was too strange; since the worldviews had already merged, changes were the norm.
Then, at noon, Renji successfully got Bocchi to open up, although he was a bit puzzled by her gaze, since he wasn’t some kind of “yandere.”
“Classmate Renji, are you training me to be a detective? Will he come up with something? His gaze looks so scary.”
“Abebaba, I… I think I can’t feel my body anymore.”
Bocchi, whom Renji had found at noon and dragged along to talk, was a bit nervous, mainly because she had “accidentally” overheard Renji and Hachiman talking this morning.