After a short wait following Chisato's knock, the door was opened by the student council president of Minejo Academy.
Only, his appearance was somewhat different from usual.
Wearing a suit with a bow tie, and his typically unstyled hair now slicked back with gel into a pompadour, he stood out strikingly under the warm orange lighting of the room.
The intense dissonance of his current look made Chisato slightly open his mouth in disbelief, wondering if the person in front of him was the president's twin brother or something.
"Ah, Suzumiya, you're finally here. Come on in!"
The president patted Chisato on the shoulder, then smiled and stepped aside to let him in.
Feeling a little awkward, Chisato slipped off his shoes and entered the private room, sitting down next to Fukube Satoshi who had waved him over.
Judging by the familiar way the person who opened the door interacted with everyone—his speaking patterns and habitual gestures—it was definitely the same president, no doubt about it.
Chisato leaned closer to Fukube's ear.
"What happened to the president?"
"I heard from some upperclassmen in third year that he got an early admission offer from his dream university and got a little too excited."
"I see."
Well, that explained everything.
"Not everyone's here yet, so we'll need to wait a bit. If you're hungry, I've got some biscuits you can snack on."
"Are these bear-shaped cookies? You've got surprisingly childish tastes."
"Moyaka likes them, so I've just gotten used to always having some on hand."
"Tch~ So jealous. Having a childhood friend must be nice."
"Cut it out. You're such a flirt, always surrounded by girls. You're the last person allowed to say that."
When Chisato arrived, there were only a little over a dozen people in the room.
Two large tables still had plenty of open seats, but since everyone was young and had worked together before, the atmosphere was lively.
Some people were already holding the microphone and singing their hearts out. While the singing wasn't exactly amazing, it was met with thunderous applause anyway.
Once most of the pre-ordered dishes had been served, more people began arriving.
The three members of the Service Club also came in at the last moment alongside Shiromeguri Meguri.
The presidents of both schools counted their respective groups, and once it was confirmed everyone had arrived, the celebration officially began.
A student dinner party was far more casual than one for working adults. There was no need for long-winded speeches from any higher-ups—they all just dove right into eating.
But burying their heads in food for too long started to feel a little dull.
Midway through the dinner, sensing the atmosphere stagnating, the two student council presidents stood up and suggested that students from both campuses switch seats to mingle with new people instead of just sticking with their own groups.
The suggestion was well received, and many people began changing seats.
"Well, I'll get going then."
Fukube Satoshi patted his friend on the shoulder and stood up.
"Mm."
Chisato replied casually.
He remained seated and unmoving, showing no intention of switching seats.
However, after leaving Chisato's side, Fukube Satoshi walked over to the table from Soubu High—specifically to the side of the three members of the Service Club.
Smiling, he said something to them, then glanced back toward Chisato. The three girls also looked his way.
Chisato paused mid-bite as he picked up a slice of beef. He had a pretty good idea of what that guy just said.
Sure enough, the next moment, Iroha stood up, full of enthusiasm, and Yui linked arms with the clearly uncomfortable Yukino as they walked over together.
"Can I sit here, senpai?"
Iroha asked cheerfully, though she had already taken Fukube's former seat without waiting for an answer.
"Hello, sorry to barge in."
Yui smiled as she linked arms with Yukino and sat on Chisato's other side.
"That Fukube guy definitely said something unnecessary, didn't he?"
Chisato dipped his grilled beef in sauce, blew on it, and put it in his mouth.
"Not really. Fukube-kun just asked us to switch seats and invited us to come over here."
Yui answered honestly.
As Chisato had guessed, the words didn't matter—his goal was accomplished either way.
He glanced over at Fukube, who gave him a thumbs-up with his left hand tucked under his right arm.
A silent hero.
"..."
While he understood that Fukube had done it out of concern for him, Chisato couldn't exactly say he was happy about it.
"To be honest, I always thought people like you wouldn't have any friends, senpai."
Iroha stared at Chisato's side profile and abruptly shifted the topic.
Chisato gave her a displeased look.
"What do you mean 'people like me'? Do I have some obvious trait that makes me unlikeable?"
"It's not that you're unlikeable, per se, but you're definitely flashy in certain ways.
People who are too flashy might attract attention from the opposite sex, but they usually don't get along well with others of the same gender, right?"
"By that logic, Yukinoshita's in the same boat as me, yet she still has friends like you guys."
Iroha pouted.
"Yukinoshita-senpai's situation is totally different from yours, senpai."
"How is it different?"
"At the very least, I haven't done anything particularly off-putting, like monopolizing multiple shared resources at once."
Yukino suddenly spoke up to clarify the difference between them.
Right after saying that, she reached for one of the many condiment jars on Chisato's table.
But instead of placing it in front of herself, she simply gave it a slight shake in the air to show it to Chisato, then returned it to its original spot.
Seeing Chisato's brief moment of stunned expression, Yui and Iroha couldn't help but turn their heads slightly, shoulders trembling as they chuckled silently.
Yukino's words and actions seemed to be only about the condiment jar, but everyone present understood the deeper meaning behind them.
After laughing, Yu quickly realized the situation and took control of the conversation, as she was always good at reading the room.
"Let's not talk about the condiments anymore.
Actually, the reason we came over isn't just because Fukube asked us to—we also wanted to thank you, Suzumiya-kun.
Thanks to you, we were able to get some of those prizes earlier."
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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