Inside the dormitory.
Looking at the refreshed room, Hikigaya touched the handheld console in his pocket and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Um..."
Hikigaya looked at the three girls in front of him and hesitated. "In any case, thank you."
Regardless.
Kobashi Yume and the others helping him clean was something worth thanking them for.
It only took less than an hour.
They had cleaned the dorm thoroughly, much better than he could have done.
"No, no, it's just a small thing. Alright, let's hurry up and go out to play~"
"Oh."
Hikigaya changed into his windbreaker and followed the three of them out of the dorm, waiting by the elevator.
"Speaking of which."
Kobashi Yume turned her head, looking a bit confused. "Hikki, do you always just eat instant noodles?"
"Occasionally. I wouldn't say I eat them all the time."
Hikigaya wasn't quite sure.
In any case.
He would often go out to improve his meals.
Recently, he also felt he couldn't quite control his private points; his monthly expenses were steadily increasing in units of hundreds.
As expected, money is the source of evil that corrodes the spirit.
"Then how much are Hikki's monthly expenses?"
"Around thirty to forty thousand?"
Hikigaya hadn't calculated it carefully, but it should be roughly that much. Fifteen thousand of that was club funds that could only be used for nutritional meals and energy drinks.
Compared to other people.
It should also count as high spending.
"That's good then... it's about the same as ours."
Kobashi Yume said in a relieved tone. "Hikki shouldn't neglect his body just to save points."
"Oh, oh."
Hikigaya nodded. Beside him, Himeno Yuki frowned, looking a bit dissatisfied.
Thirty or forty thousand was indeed high spending.
But at least half of that was club funds that couldn't be used freely.
That means.
Hikigaya's own spending was only around fifteen thousand.
In the dorm, he only ate instant noodles; he really didn't know how to cherish his own body.
Although he occasionally went out to improve his meals.
That was clearly not enough.
Just then.
The elevator stopped at the fifth floor.
The doors slowly opened in front of them (710), and several familiar figures came into view.
It was Class D's Sakura Airi, Kushida Kikyo, and that girl named what's-her-name.
"Ah, Kobashi-san~"
"Kushida-chan! What a coincidence."
Several people greeted each other and walked into the elevator. Hikigaya followed at the very end.
Although he had many detailed plans when acting alone.
When in a group, he always followed at the end without expressing an opinion, just going along with it.
Looking at Kobashi Yume and the others walking into the elevator with Hikigaya, Sakura Airi and Hasebe Haruka's pretty faces instantly stiffened.
As expected, they were one step too late.
And on the other side.
What's going on?
Looking at the area of unlit buttons, Hikigaya frowned.
This meant the destination of Kushida and the others, who had entered the elevator before, wasn't the first floor, but the fifth floor. Otherwise, the button lights wouldn't have gone out.
"Ah?"
Kushida Kikyo, in the back row, suddenly realized.
"Sorry, we forgot to press the floor button just now. Hikigaya-kun, could you help us press the first floor?"
"Oh, oh..."
Hikigaya pressed the first floor.
It was currently winter break, and there was a lot of foot traffic in the dormitory building.
Even if one forgot to press the button, the elevator would basically always arrive at the first floor; it just happened to be blocked by them this time, so it didn't seem to be a problem.
Only then did Hasebe Haruka and the others snap out of it, realizing they had almost forgotten that their original destination was the fifth floor.
Once the elevator stops at the target floor, the button light turns off.
If Kobashi Yume and her group noticed anything unusual, it would likely trigger their suspicion instantly.
As expected, bringing Kushida Kikyo along was the right move!
"Kobashi-san, are you all heading out to have some fun too?" Kushida Kikyo started the conversation inside the elevator.
"Yeah, is it the same for you, Kushida-chan?"
"Yes." Kushida Kikyo glanced at Sakura Airi with a bit of helplessness and said, "Must be nice. Unlike us, we only have girls here."
"Oh, come on," mako asakura teased with a laugh. "If Kushida-chan wanted to go out with boys, I'm sure plenty of guys in your class would be willing."
As expected of the "green tea" Kushida Kikyo and the little angel Kobashi Yume. Their relationship was clearly very good.
"While that's true, today is Christmas, you know," Kushida Kikyo said helplessly. "Even though everyone in our class is nice, it feels a bit strange to go out together on Christmas."
"Indeed..." Kobashi Yume expressed her understanding.
She had some impressions of Class D; while they weren't necessarily bad people, it was hard not to look down on people like Yamauchi Haruki.
By Kushida Kikyo's standards, she probably wanted to find a more outstanding boyfriend.
"At least," Kushida Kikyo continued, "I wish the boys in our class could be as steady as Hikigaya-kun."
"Hmm?" Kobashi Yume immediately grew alert, only to hear Kushida Kikyo laugh.
"Since we're all friends anyway, why don't we go together?"
"..." Hearing this, Hikigaya, who was at the very front, felt his face stiffen.
Everyone present indeed knew each other, though he didn't remember the name of that "Hase-whatever."
However, forgetting to press the floor button was definitely an excuse.
That green tea Kushida Kikyo's original goal was the fifth floor; she definitely had an ulterior motive.
To his surprise, she was now dragging Sakura Airi along. Did she think having more people would make him more likely to agree?
What a despicable green tea. Why was this girl always pestering him? Just because he blocked her once? Was it really necessary?
Please, this is the Hikigaya Group's gathering. How could outsiders be allowed to join? Kobashi-san, you must refuse firmly.
"Eh?" Kobashi Yume said in a hesitant tone. "Would that be okay? Wouldn't we be bothering you?"
The implication was: "Please don't bother us."
PAGE 2
However, Hikigaya's face turned even paler.
Although Kobashi Yume was very assertive in her debate with Yukimura and could stand up for him without hesitation, she didn't seem good at rejecting the "kindness" of others.
Such a weak way of refusing would likely have no effect on a top-tier green tea like Kushida Kikyo.
"Eh, not at all! It feels like it would be more fun if we all played together," Kushida Kikyo turned back, smiling at Hasebe and the others, who immediately caught on.
"Yeah, I don't mind either. Let's all play together."
"Mm." Sakura Airi also mustered her courage and gave a soft reply.
As expected, a weak approach was completely ineffective against Kushida Kikyo.
"No," Hikigaya quickly turned back and looked at them. "We are in different classes after all. It's not appropriate to get too close, right?"
He really did not want to deal with a green tea like Kushida Kikyo.
Kushida Kikyo's beautiful face stiffened.
She had realized it: the main reason she could never get a handle on Hikigaya Hachiman was that this guy was too direct.
If he didn't want to associate with you, he said it straight. He didn't bother with social pleasantries at all.
Hasebe Haruka's expression turned extremely sour.
Even if that were the truth, you can't just say it out loud, especially not in front of Sakura Airi. Isn't that like handing Sakura Airi a death sentence?
She stole a glance and, sure enough, Sakura Airi looked like she was on the verge of tears.
This was too much. Just as she was about to speak—
"That's not true at all!" Kobashi Yume puffed out her cheeks, sounding a bit dissatisfied. "Even though we all want to reach Class A, we can still be friends even if we're in different classes!"
This time, it was Hasebe Haruka, Hikigaya, and the others whose faces turned stiff.
Kobashi Yume would stand up for him, but she would do the same for others.
Although many in Class B wanted to reach Class A, at their core, they hadn't clearly distinguished their positions.
They didn't separate class loyalty from friendship.
They wanted to reach Class A while also maintaining friendships with good friends in other classes. Isn't that a bit too greedy?
However, Hikigaya asked himself, was there anything wrong with that?
Taking a step back, even if their relationship was a superficial one, it didn't change the fact.
It was natural to want the freedom to choose one's career, and natural to want to stay in touch with friends forever.
But why did it always feel like something was off?
"Yeah."
"Even if our classes are different, we can still be good friends."
Kushida Kikyo calmed down as well, clenching her pink fists. "Kobashi-san, let's go together. Let's show Hikigaya-kun that even if our classes are different, our relationship can still be great."
"Uh..."
Kobashi Yume's face froze. Her words just now were an instinctive reaction, coming from her most honest thoughts without any deep thinking.
She and Kushida Kikyo were originally good friends; why shouldn't they play together?
But thinking carefully, didn't this just sell out Himeno Yuki?
Normally, she would be happy to play with Kushida Kikyo, but how could she bring an "enemy" like Sakura Airi into the fold today?
But having said all that, Kobashi was helpless.
"Alright."
"Great~~"
Kushida Kikyo hugged Kobashi Yume intimately, their friendship looking dazzling.
However, Hikigaya looked on with hesitation. Why was he always the one in the minority?
That wasn't right. This green tea Kushida Kikyo definitely wasn't thinking that way in her heart.
In reality, Kushida Kikyo was also mocking them internally.
To reach Class A, one must do whatever it takes. How could people from different classes be true friends? The people in Class B were far too naive.
Dealing with someone as simple and kind as Kobashi Yume was incredibly easy.
"Or rather," Kushida Kikyo asked pitifully, bringing Sakura Airi and Hasebe Haruka onto her side, "is it that Hikigaya-kun hates us?"
Hikigaya's mouth twitched. How could he hate Sakura Airi? The only person he hated was her—only Kushida Kikyo, that green tea.
He felt that taking Sakura Airi and Kushida to eat noodles last time was a major mistake.
While it had suppressed Kushida's enthusiasm then, Kushida was now using Sakura Airi as a countermeasure.
Wasn't this manipulative girl a bit too despicable?
"No..."
Honestly, seeing Sakura Airi's face looking like she was about to cry, Hikigaya could only answer that way.
Upon hearing this, Sakura Airi immediately broke into a smile.