Private Mixed High School, Home Economics Room.
...
"Um… is this really okay?"
Yuigahama Yui looked at the group in front of her and awkwardly scratched her cheek with one finger.
There are way too many people here?!
"Hehe! It's fine! We're also really interested in this, and we can help taste-test later!"
Ritsu patted Yuigahama on the shoulder.
"Th, then… alright."
Yuigahama nodded stiffly.
At this moment, a whole group had gathered in the spacious cooking classroom. Besides the two members of the Service Club and Yui, everyone from the Light Music Club was also present.
As for the reason… it was probably because the rich girl was extremely interested in this!
Tsumugi stood beside Yukino, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her eagerly.
"When do we start?!"
"Once you're ready, you can begin."
Yukinoshita replied, a bit unaccustomed. The girl in front of her seemed unusually enthusiastic about this.
From her past observations, this girl seemed to be a proper rich lady. Whether it was the sets of exquisite tea ware, or the daily tea and snacks, everything was quite expensive. She just did not understand why she was so interested in cooking.
"Alright, we've got all the ingredients."
Nohara Sato and Hikigaya Hachiman, who had gone to request the materials, returned with everything in hand.
"Since the ingredients are here, you can just follow the textbook and try making them first."
If it was just simple cookies, following the textbook would be enough. It was not a particularly difficult dessert.
"Okay!"
Yuigahama nodded and began flipping through the textbook somewhat clumsily.
"Alright! Let's do it too!"
Ritsu also grabbed some ingredients and handed them to Tsumugi. Tsumugi's eyes shone with excitement as she also started flipping through the textbook in a slightly flustered manner.
…
Sato and Hikigaya sat in a corner of the cooking classroom, waiting. Neither of them joined in.
"Why are you sitting here?"
Hikigaya looked at Sato with some disdain. A normie like you should be over there with them, he thought sourly.
Sato glanced at him, his gaze suddenly landing on the book in Hikigaya's hand.
"What do you think of that novel?"
"Hm?"
Hikigaya looked at the book in his hand.
"This? I got it from Komachi. Honestly, it's not that great. The plot is all the usual stuff, nationalism, family feuds, betrayal, romance, conspiracies, misunderstandings, justice, growth, power struggles…"
"But when all of that is combined into one book, it's still pretty interesting. The author's writing is solid. Even with so many elements, it doesn't feel messy."
Pretty interesting, huh?
Tch, getting that kind of evaluation out of this guy was not easy.
A faint smile appeared on Sato's face.
Why is this guy suddenly smiling?
Hikigaya frowned slightly, feeling puzzled.
"Oh right, do you know her?"
Her?
Hikigaya followed the direction Sato pointed and saw the pink-haired girl fumbling with the ingredients.
"You mean Yuigahama… we're classmates. Why are you asking? Don't tell me…"
Suddenly, the way Hikigaya looked at him changed.
Sato's mouth twitched.
"So it's not just your eyes that are rotten, your brain must be rotten too, right?"
How rude!
Hikigaya thought, looking displeased.
Actually, compared to Yukinoshita, this guy was the hardest person to deal with in the room. He had almost no weaknesses.
Not only did he have good grades, he was also not the friendless type like Yukinoshita Yukino.
Even though he felt a bit unwilling to admit it, Sato's appearance was quite good. And unlike Hayama Hayato, who was the flashy popular type, this guy was a normie who was low-key to an absurd degree.
People like that were the hardest to deal with.
Moreover, from his observations, Sato was not someone who wasted his days. Aside from Light Music Club practice, he was often seen holding a notebook, deep in thought, writing things down.
Sometimes when Hikigaya casually passed by and peeked, he would see mind maps and various complex connections drawn inside, as if he were planning something.
"Don't know?"
Sato suddenly smiled.
Hikigaya frowned.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Do you remember the car accident at the start of the school year?"
Hm? Why bring that up again?
Hikigaya did not understand.
Seeing this, Sato smiled.
"If I wasn't mistaken back then, she should be the owner of that dog…"
The dog's… owner?!
Hikigaya's gaze wavered. The way he looked at Yuigahama Yui suddenly changed.
"So… do you think the person she wants to thank might be you?"
Finally, Sato voiced his guess.
Thank… me?!
Hikigaya fell silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed, though the smile looked stiff and forced.
"That's impossible."
He immediately denied it.
How could someone like him be thanked? He had only saved a dog. Just something like that…
"I think it's quite possible."
Sato recalled the moment when Yuigahama saw Hikigaya. Perhaps because he knew the truth as an outsider, he could notice more.
"When she saw you, it wasn't the kind of disgust people have when they see a rotten, stinking fish. It was more like panic from being exposed. And her gaze avoided you quite a bit."
Rotten, stinking fish…
"Couldn't you use a better comparison?"
Hikigaya's mouth twitched.
Sato shrugged.
"Maybe you can think of a better one yourself. But I don't think someone with your personality would come up with anything nicer to describe yourself."
Hikigaya: "…"
This was exactly why he found this guy so troublesome.