Hachiman Hikigaya, who returned from his studies after completing his training.

Komachi would probably be very surprised to see herself like this.

After feeling he had finished wiping himself down, Hikigaya put down the towel, put on the light and comfortable sportswear that Shiina had chosen for him, and walked out of the bathroom. Ichinose was standing at the head of the bed, holding a hairdryer and smiling at him.

Hachiman touched his hair, which was only slightly damp. "No need to blow-dry it, just let it air dry."

"Even though it's summer, you've just recovered from a cold, so it'll be better if you get some fresh air."

"Then I'll do it myself."

Hikigaya walked up to Ichinose and tried to take the hairdryer from her hand, but Ichinose dodged him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m very good at blow-drying people’s hair. I used to blow-dry my sister’s hair all the time.” Ichinose squinted slightly.

Feeling the increased pressure on his shoulder, Hikigaya could only sit up on the headboard. As he felt something foreign being inserted into his hair, Ichinose's body moved even closer to him, and the faint aroma he had smelled while drinking porridge became even stronger.

With just a slight lift of his gaze, he could almost touch the fair, pinkish skin exposed beneath the halter-neck dress that clung to her body's curves. The delicate satin material of the dress created an astonishingly bulging effect at the bust.

"Men's hair feels a bit stiffer than women's."

"Yeah, it will be a bit harder," Hachiman replied absentmindedly.

A young woman exuding an alluring perfume walks on the sea in an elegantly decorated luxury cabin on a cruise ship, the gentle swaying sensation mirroring his own emotions.

Amidst the warm air from the hairdryer, the soft touch of small hands could be felt from time to time.

Just as Ichinose said, she was an expert, and it was very comfortable.

"They should all be done by now, Honami."

The atmosphere seemed to have become somewhat romantic, Hachiman hurriedly said.

Even without hot air blowing, body temperature is rising.

"It's only just begun, it can't be that fast."

"That's good enough."

"-Moon*Ripple/: 1 Scattered Owls and Kicking Willows and Caskets cannot be abandoned halfway."

About half a minute later, the not-so-noisy hair dryer stopped blowing warm air. Just when Hachiman thought it was finally over, Ichinose put her hands on his shoulders.

"Hachiman, are you trying to distance yourself from me?"

Very close to his face, Ichinose's cute face had deep and gloomy eyes, and her long, loose pink hair even fell into his hand.

“I’ve been watching Hachiman closely, so I can clearly sense what he’s thinking. You’re planning to abandon me, aren’t you?”

Indeed, Ichinose is right. He does want to distance himself from Ichinose now, which is a good thing for both of them.

Despite being known as Ichinose's boyfriend, he not only fails to gain support from Class B but also faces their hostility. If it weren't for the Kushida incident, he would have decisively cut ties long ago.

"I just wanted to think about whether we could separate for a while and avoid the limelight. Look at the other students in Class B—!!!"

"It's all your fault, Hachiman."

When Hikigaya was about to defend himself, Ichinose did something unexpected.

Bright, delicate cherry lips pressed down heavily on his, landing on his mouth. As their lips met, a tongue carrying the sweet scent of citrus entered his mouth, rendering him speechless.

The hands that were on his shoulders changed to wrap around his neck, and Ichinose leaned weakly against him.

To avoid being pinned to the bed, Hikigaya braced himself on the bed with one hand and supported Ichinose's slender waist with the other.

I was forcibly kissed by Ichinose!? And it was a French kiss!!

Staring wide-eyed at Ichinose's flushed, beautiful face, Hikigaya's heart pounded. Her eyes, shimmering with a thousand charms, gazed at him.

Between breaths, Ichinose's soft tongue moved erratically in his mouth like a headless fly, and Hachiman's body became increasingly stiff. Under Ichinose's burning gaze, he closed his eyes.

What kind of nonsense is this...?

Three minutes? Five minutes?

After an unknown amount of time, Ichinose, panting heavily, rested her head on his shoulder, wrapped her arms tightly around his back through his armpits, and sat completely on his lap.

"It seems I'm not entirely unattractive to you, Hachiman."

"No matter what, I'm a boy, and you're so cute, Fanbo."

The body doesn't lie; how could he not react to such a big movement from Ichinose?

There are prerequisites for lying. It was impossible for Ichinose, who was sitting on him, not to feel it. Sixteen or seventeen-year-old boys are in the prime of their lives.

"Should we continue? I'm in my safe period today."

Ichinose shifted her body, causing Hachiman to gasp. Hachiman unconsciously tightened his grip on Ichinose's waist, feeling the warmth of her waist beneath the halter skirt transfer to his palm, the touch delicate.

"How could that be? What time is it? If you don't go back soon, your roommates will start to suspect you."

Students stay in three-person rooms on the cruise ship. He was feeling unwell, so he asked Chabashira to change him to a single room. If it had been any later, Ichinose's current roommates would probably have been searching for her everywhere.

"And how could I do such a thing to you? That's something only husband and wife should do, or rather, what just happened was something only husband and wife should do." Hachiman's tone became agitated.

Although he had the upper hand according to worldly standards in relationships between men and women, this advantage was not so easy for him to obtain, and he would feel guilty.

He's starting to regret letting Ichinose in now. Even after all this, he's still implying she should break up with him—what's the difference between him and a scumbag?

"I already texted Asako and the others that I won't be going home to sleep tonight, my excuse is that I'll be sleeping with Hoshinomiya-sensei." Ichinose whispered in Hikigaya's ear, "And I'd be more than willing to be Hachiman's wife."

"The Star Palace will help you with this?"

Hikigaya was puzzled. Logically speaking, Hoshinomiya would have a conscience if she didn't break up the couple, so why would she cover for Ichinose?

"Hehe, she can only rely on me now. There are no other leaders to choose from in Class B besides me."

...Isn't this the same situation as Chabashira? Hoshinomiya truly lives up to her reputation as Chabashira's best friend; the two of them are even in the same predicament in this regard.

But both of them deserved it.

Chapter 90 Let's sleep here tonight

"As for wives, we're only in our first year of high school. It's too early to talk about that. We should get married at least when we're eighteen."

Although the minimum legal age for women to get married used to be sixteen, it has now been changed to eighteen, the same age as men.

Hikigaya now feels that his feelings for Ichinose are more lustful than affectionate, far from being mutual.

He can't bring himself to deceive himself.

"I don't want you to regret it."

Silently chanting Amitabha Buddha to calm his inner turmoil, Hikigaya lifted Ichinose's plump thighs up and stood up. He turned around and placed her on the somewhat messy bed, trying to leave, but was tightly embraced.

"I won't regret it." Ichinose's voice was serious, and her eyes never dared to look away from his.

"Even if you don't regret it, we'll wait until you turn eighteen. Let go of me now and we can have a proper talk."

Hikigaya placed his hand on Ichinose's head and stroked it like he was coaxing a child; her long pink hair had a smooth feel that rivaled Sakura's.

As he gently stroked Ichinose's face, her expression softened. "Be good, listen to me first."

"Well, it's up to you."

Seemingly sensing the change in Hachiman's attitude, Ichinose obediently let go of his hand. After Hachiman sat down next to her, she sat up and snuggled up to him, grabbing his hand with her right hand and intertwining her fingers.

"I assure you that I will not do anything to distance myself from you or get closer to you, but you also have to listen to me and tell the students in Class B that you have broken up with me. In front of outsiders, you should restrain yourself and not act so close. If no one is watching, you don't have to."

Even after going to such lengths, Ichinose didn't want to put Ichinose in a difficult position between him and the students of Class B. He still believed that this was the best solution.

Ichinose insisted on maintaining the relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend only because he was afraid that the two of them would drift apart. Now he has decided to give his own assurance.

“Since you’ve already told Amakura and the others, you can sleep here tonight. I’ll stay right next to you.” Hikigaya placed his other hand on Ichinose’s hand.

"Yes, I'll listen to Hachiman."

Hearing the joy in his voice, Hikigaya breathed a sigh of relief. Although this wouldn't solve the problem at its root, it would undoubtedly greatly improve Ichinose's situation.

Looking at his phone, it was only a little past nine o'clock. Sleeping was out of the question. Hachiman remembered what he had planned to do tonight.

"Want to read a book together?"

"Listen to you."

After washing his face and calming down in the bathroom, Hikigaya turned on the air conditioner in the room and lowered the temperature. He took the book he brought back from the deserted island and leaned against the headboard. Ichinose, who was already prepared, immediately moved closer to him.

They placed the book in the middle, and the two snuggled together like a real couple, reading the same book.

Meanwhile, at the bar on the cruise ship, in the dim light, each of the four first-year homeroom teachers had a glass of wine in front of them.

"Another one, bartender, another Moscato."

With a flushed face, Hoshinomiya dazedly shook his empty wine glass.

"It's time you stopped, Chie." Chabashira took a sip of the low-alcohol sake. Although she was always smoking, she didn't have a high alcohol tolerance or rather, she didn't like drinking much.

Hoshinomiya, on the other hand, is the opposite; she drinks alcohol but doesn't smoke.

They were both students who seemed completely unrelated to these two things when they were in school, so why did they turn out like this?

"No way! It's all Hikigaya's fault, Kosae. He shamelessly slept with Ichinose from our class. I'm going to get really drunk."

"When have you ever not said you wanted to get really drunk?"

Class C's homeroom teacher, Kazuma Sakagami, ruthlessly exposes Hoshinomiya's unreliable side. Although Hoshinomiya is very cute, her alcoholism and constant scandals make Sakagami no longer have any fantasies about dating her.

"Anyway, I'm the school nurse, so I can just teach however I want."

Hoshinomiya loudly retorted before changing the subject, "The school is unfair. Why should a student like Hachiman be assigned to Class D? And Ayanokouji and Koenji are monsters who got full marks in all subjects. How can this be Class D? We might as well just give you Class A."

"Indeed, I also have some doubts. The quality of this year's Class D students is a bit too high."

"Something is amiss, especially considering that Hachiman's judgment and athletic ability are top-notch."

Sakagami nodded, and Majima, who had been drinking alone, also agreed. Having spent a lot of time in the gym, he could clearly judge how excellent Hachiman's physical abilities were.

The entrance interview has five evaluation criteria. Based on Majima's assessment of Hachiman, apart from his social coordination skills which might be a little lacking, he would undoubtedly get an A rating in the other four categories.

Just like the current student council president in the third year, she is powerful in almost every aspect.

"You've all seen the interviewer's comments, right? These three weren't as outstanding when they first enrolled, and Ayanokouji even transferred to Class C."

"That was obtained by exchanging the best girl in our class." Sakagami said, feigning innocence despite getting the benefit.

“Then Hachiman should be transferred to our class too. I’ll trade Ichinose for you.” Hoshinomiya hugged Chabashira around the waist and buried her head in her chest. “This is what you owe me, Sae-chan.”

"What do you take your students for? Toys? You almost abandoned them because they were your own students?"

Before Chabashira could retort, Majima slammed his hand on the table in a bit of anger. Although the class was going to drop from Class A to Class D, he wasn't too angry. As long as the students could grow from it, it wasn't a bad thing.

When he was studying at this school, Chabashira and Hoshinomiya were not his classmates and were even rivals, but he felt bad seeing them like this now, even though they were so full of vigor back then.

"Students who graduate from Class A are really tough. I also want to graduate from Class A, don't you think? You culprit, Kosae."

While Majima continued to grin and joke at the Palace of the Raging Fire Star, Chabashira's expression grew even more somber.

"Even if you don't graduate from Class A, I would still say this: you'd better watch yourselves."

Majima, having finished his drink in one gulp and unable to resolve the conflict between the two, chose to retreat, while Sakagami, without even finishing his drink, followed him away.

"Your drink is ready, miss," the bartender politely reminded Hoshinomiya, who was still clinging to the tea stalk like a child.

"Pour it on this woman's head and I'll make you my boyfriend, okay?"

Hoshinomiya looked up, but received no reply. She stood up from her seat and staggered out, with Chabashira silently following behind her.

To facilitate management, the four teachers' single rooms were adjacent, but now there's another single room next to Hoshinomiya's, occupied by Hachiman.

As Hoshinomiya passed by Hachiman's room, she suddenly grinned mischievously, banged on the door a few times, and then hid in her own room.

When a bewildered Hikigaya opened the door a crack, he saw Chabashira, who rarely showed a helpless expression.

The two looked at each other in silence.

Chapter Ninety-One Three People Reading - yi "鹨? Art and Qi also (II) Dam 〧? Fourth Dad Night Talk

"Are you feeling better?"

Under the bright moonlight, Chazhu's slightly flushed face regained its usual indifferent expression, and her glossy black hair fluttered in the sea breeze.

"It's all over now. Was it Hoshinomiya who was knocking on the door just now?"

Seeing Chabashira's helpless expression and knowing him well, Hachiman quickly realized that the one who had been banging on the door so hard must have been the unreliable Hoshinomiya.

"Come in, I need to ask you about the Star Palace."