While Katsuragi and Hashimoto were deep in discussion about how to handle the current crisis, Hikigaya quietly slipped out of the café, his thoughts focused on finding a place to grab dinner.
Though it was only around 4:30 p.m., Hikigaya was already feeling a bit hungry. After all, his lunch had consisted of just a sandwich, and he wanted to avoid the dinner rush. The last thing he needed was to be caught in a crowd—he couldn't stand the idea of being squeezed into a busy restaurant with so many people.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much on this floor that caught his interest. Most of the good food places were located on the first and second basement levels.
"Why is the elevator taking so long?" Hikigaya muttered to himself as he stared at the display. Both elevators seemed stuck at the top floor, and after waiting for a while, he began to wonder if they were overloaded with people.
Sighing, he made up his mind. Forget it. I'll take the stairs.
It wasn't a long walk, and he didn't have the patience to wait any longer. He turned on his heel and headed toward the stairwell, pushing open the door. The moment he did, a burst of laughter greeted him.
"Hahaha, did you see the look on her face? That was hilarious!"
"Come on, Manabe, that's so mean."
"What? You were having fun too! Besides—oh…"
The voices belonged to a group of girls, and Hikigaya instantly recognized one of them: Manabe Shiho from Class C, the same girl involved in that fight a while ago. They were chattering away, laughing, and climbing the stairs. However, the moment they noticed Hikigaya's presence, the conversation died abruptly.
The air turned thick with awkwardness as they exchanged glances with him before continuing up the stairs in silence.
Hikigaya, trying to act nonchalant, resumed his walk. Yet beneath his calm exterior, he couldn't help but cringe inwardly.
This is way too awkward.
The uncomfortable situation stirred up memories of his high school days when he had tried joining conversations about anime with some of his classmates, only to be met with awkward silences. Why does this feel so familiar?
Shaking off the thought, Hikigaya pressed on. No, this is different. He barely knew Manabe and her group, so there was no point in comparing this to his past experiences.
Just then, he hesitated. Something wasn't right. He paused, glancing back at the stairs. The girls had come from below—wait a minute…
What the hell?
Hikigaya was on the third basement level, and below that was the bottom deck of the ship, an area restricted to students. He recalled that the power room was located there, and access was generally off-limits. The elevators didn't even go further down from this point, meaning the girls must have taken the stairs.
Why were they down there?
The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. But then again, it wasn't his problem. They were probably just sneaking around for fun.
As Hikigaya prepared to leave, something unexpected happened.
"Hey, why did you stop?"
"...Huh?"
Manabe's voice startled him. She had suddenly turned around and called out to him. He glanced over at her and noticed something odd. Despite their nonchalant front, there was a hint of nervousness in their expressions.
They were trying to hide it, but it was there.
Weird...
Hikigaya couldn't understand why they seemed so tense. Even if they'd been caught in a restricted area, it wasn't a big deal—probably just a minor scolding from a teacher at worst. Still, the way these girls were acting didn't match the situation.
"I was just curious," Manabe said with a casual wave. "By the way, you're Hikigaya from Class D, right? I'm Manabe Shiho from Class C. These are my friends. Nice to meet you."
"...Nice to meet you too." Hikigaya responded automatically.
What's going on here? The friendly introduction only made him more suspicious. Were they trying to divert his attention? The more he thought about it, the stranger the whole situation felt.
"So, Hikigaya-kun, where are you headed next?" Another girl from the group chimed in, and soon, they were all talking at once. Hikigaya gave brief, vague replies, but his mind was working furiously.
They're hiding something.
His gaze flickered toward the stairs leading down to the restricted area. Whatever they were hiding, the answer was probably down there.
Suddenly, he stopped again. Should he check it out?
"Sorry, I just remembered I have something to do," Hikigaya said, turning to leave.
Before he could take another step, Manabe dashed forward and grabbed his arm, locking it in a firm grip.
"Eh?!"
Hikigaya froze, completely taken aback by her boldness. The other girls were equally stunned, looking at each other in confusion.
"Manabe, what are you—?"
"Come on, Hikigaya-kun! Don't go yet," Manabe said in a tone that was far too cheerful. "We were just about to head off somewhere fun, but we need someone to join us. Why don't you come along?"
"...Huh?"
Hikigaya blinked in disbelief. What the hell is she talking about? They're four people!
Something was definitely off. These girls were hiding something, and now they were trying to distract him. Before he could react, the other three surrounded him, closing off any escape route.
"Yeah, the more, the merrier!" one of the girls chimed in.
"You'll have a great time with us, we promise."
Is this for real?
Hikigaya could feel his arms being held on both sides, while his front and back were blocked by the girls. Their perfume overwhelmed his senses, making him dizzy. It didn't take a genius to figure out they were trying to keep him from leaving.
As they herded him toward the second basement level, Hikigaya's mind raced. What could they possibly be hiding?
Just as Hikigaya was about to resign himself to this bizarre situation, he heard hurried footsteps behind them.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The voice was sharp and unfamiliar but carried a certain authority. Hikigaya turned to see Ibuki, glaring at the group with a look of disbelief.
Ibuki? What is she doing here?
Manabe seemed equally surprised, clearly not expecting Ibuki to show up. "This has nothing to do with you, Ibuki. We're just taking Hikigaya-kun out for some fun. You got a problem with that?"
"Fun?" Ibuki's eyes narrowed, and she shot them a piercing look. Then, without a word, she pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the scene.
"You should let him go," Ibuki said coolly, holding her phone up. "Unless you want me to send this to Ryuen."
"W-What?"
Hikigaya was utterly confused. Why would Ryuen care about this?
Whatever it was, Manabe and her friends froze at the mention of Ryuen's name.