Shiina's bad mood only lasted for a brief moment before it faded away. However, her next words caught Hikigaya by surprise.
"Hikigaya-kun, are you... a little wary of Kushida-san?"
"…You can tell?"
Hikigaya didn't bother denying it. Since Shiina had noticed, there was no point in hiding it.
Shiina nodded thoughtfully.
"Well, although Kushida-san appears cute and gentle, her attitude toward others is almost too idealistic, which makes it seem like she's hiding something."
"Yeah, she's wearing a thick mask," Hikigaya sighed in relief. If this was all Shiina had noticed, then there shouldn't be too much to worry about.
Maybe Kushida's acting skills weren't as impressive as she believed, and Hikigaya had sensed something was off from the moment he first met her. She might fool most boys going through puberty, but girls—especially someone as observant as Shiina—are usually more perceptive.
In this case, it was likely that Horikita had realized Kushida disliked her long ago, which would explain why she was so averse to her presence.
Though to be fair, Horikita seemed to be averse to everyone...
"Hikigaya-kun, I might be overstepping here," Shiina hesitated, "but please be careful. You never know what Kushida-san might do."
"…Yeah, thanks for the warning."
Hikigaya couldn't help but glance up at the sky, feeling a bit conflicted.
How should I put it… It feels like it's already too late.
"Okay, let's not dwell on this for now. I brought a great book today."
Shiina, seemingly eager to shift the conversation, reached into her bag with a smile, but then paused, looking uncertain.
"Um, Hikigaya-kun... what would you like to eat for lunch?"
"Oh, I could go for some ramen."
"Eh? Ramen might be a bit difficult."
Hikigaya raised an eyebrow at Shiina's reaction, then waved his hand dismissively.
"No, no, I was just saying that. You can pick the place."
"No!... Ah."
Shiina suddenly yelped, then quickly lowered her head, her face turning red.
"I mean... would you like to try my cooking?"
"…Huh?"
Hikigaya's mind went blank, but seeing the hopeful look in Shiina's eyes, what else could he do but nod?
If this was a Dating Sim, there wouldn't be a second option here, right?
---
June passed in the blink of an eye, and soon the month was over.
During this time, Kushida's efforts bore fruit. She successfully recruited more than a dozen students to join the study sessions she organized.
The results were quite promising. Several students with weak foundations started reviewing junior high school material on their own after class. Although the progress was modest, there was a noticeable shift in the atmosphere of Class D.
"Ah, another month of high school life has come and gone."
During the lunch break, Hikigaya stretched vigorously in the student council room, feeling the strain of his work.
Finally, he had finished grading the last document for the month and could take a short break. But the thought of the mountain of tasks waiting for him next month quickly dampened his brief moment of relief.
Why is there always endless work?
"Hikigaya, sit up straight," Horikita Manabu, seated at the head of the table, reminded him.
"…Oh."
If he had the energy, Hikigaya would've loved to complain.
——Who do you think is responsible for making me so tired?
In such a large school's student council, apart from himself, President Horikita, and Tachibana-senpai, were there no other members?
At least, Hikigaya hadn't met anyone else yet.
Of course, he had his suspicions. It was clear that Horikita Manabu deliberately staggered his schedule with the others to prevent them from crossing paths.
Though Hikigaya didn't know the reason behind this, he figured it must be something troublesome, so he decided not to ask.
Anyway, Horikita Manabu would say what needed to be said when the time came.
"President, I have something you need to see."
At that moment, Akane Tachibana suddenly entered the room, her expression a mix of curiosity and concern as she looked at Hikigaya.
"What is it?"
"Please, take a look at this first."
Tachibana handed a document to Horikita Manabu.
"…Hmm, interesting."
Horikita Manabu scanned the document for a few seconds, then unexpectedly smiled before tossing it to Hikigaya.
"Here, take a look too. It's about your class."
"From Class D?"
Hikigaya muttered, "What are they up to now?" as he began flipping through the pages.
Moments later, he nearly burst out laughing.
It turned out that some students from Class C had filed a complaint after being beaten by students from Class D. The culprits were some familiar faces.
What made it even more amusing was that the fight had been sparked by a girl.
Here's the gist of it: Ike and Yamauchi from Class D had been harassing girls from Class C. A boy from Class C, unwilling to stand by, confronted them, hoping they would stop. Unexpectedly, the two brought their friend Sudo along, and the three of them ended up beating the boys from Class C.
Of course, these were just accusations from the Class C students, and the truth was still unclear.
From Hikigaya's perspective, there were too many suspicious elements.
First, it wasn't just one boy from Class C who got beaten up—there were three. And these three weren't exactly pushovers. Two of them were on the basketball team and were in good shape.
The third one was Ishizaki Daichi, Ryuuen's follower, whom Hikigaya had met before.
He wasn't an easy person to deal with either.
In other words, it was a gang fight.
But here's the problem—would Ike and Yamauchi have the guts to fight? At most, they'd exchange some harsh words.
Sudo was a different story, but could he really take on three opponents at once?
However, the three boys from Class C were indeed injured, and the health center had issued certificates confirming their treatment.
What was even more suspicious was that the incident took place in a special teaching building where, coincidentally, there was no surveillance.
Honestly, the moment Hikigaya saw that detail, he had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
That guy Ryuuen… he's actually using a honey trap.
Although it's a simple trick, it's effective and has been a classic strategy from ancient times to the present.
No matter how powerful a boss might seem, they could fall for this and end up in serious trouble, becoming the laughingstock of the entire internet.
But what impressed Hikigaya the most was that this time, Ryuuen seemed to be putting genuine thought into his actions.
Sure enough, it was just as expected.
This guy is evolving!
At least from the information available, Hikigaya couldn't see any way for the defendants to escape punishment.
He couldn't help but wonder how his classmates would react when the time came.
Hikigaya placed the documents back on the table, a smile playing on his lips as he anticipated tomorrow morning's class meeting.