"W-wait a sec..." Hachiman said, panting hard, his tired look showing he was at his limit.
"What's with this school... does it have to be this big? We started walking before the sun went down, and now it's already night... and it's freezing here too, the air is so chilly."
Hearing his complaints, Megumi could only give a helpless smile. For her, who walked this road every day, she was already used to it. Besides, this wasn't even the scary part. The real fear would begin once they reached the dorm...
She wasn't sure if bringing him into the Polar Star Dorm was the right choice or a terrible mistake. It almost felt like she was inviting divine punishment.
She took out a bottle of water and a sandwich from her bag and handed them to Hikigaya:
"Hikigaya, if you're hungry, go ahead and eat."
Even though he was dizzy from hunger—since he had only eaten a little at lunch—Hachiman couldn't just accept Megumi's food. Wouldn't that feel like accepting charity? That was something he could never allow himself to do.
More importantly, if he ate her food, she would be left hungry instead. If she ran out of energy because of him, Hachiman wouldn't be able to forgive himself.
Rejected like that, Megumi froze on the spot like she had been struck by lightning, turning into a motionless statue.
In her mind, Hikigaya must have disliked her cooking. But then again, it made sense. Hikigaya was amazing enough to be praised by Chef Chapelle even when he had just started cooking. For someone like that, looking down on her—the weakest in class—was only natural.
"Tadokoro, what's wrong?"
"N-nothing..."
Letting out a helpless sigh, Hachiman could clearly see her lack of confidence. But... the real problem didn't come from her.
"I can accept being kept, but I can't accept charity."
"Eh...?"
Though she was simple and kind, Megumi wasn't dumb. Realizing that he was trying to comfort her, she quickly cheered up again.
She hurried to catch up to him, speaking in a soft yet teasing tone:
"Hikigaya, you really are a troublesome guy."
"That's not true at all..."
She split the sandwich in her hand in half and handed one piece to Hachiman.
"This way, it's not charity." She showed that innocent smile again, and Hachiman found himself staring blankly for a moment.
He nodded, quickly looking away from her smile. "Thanks."
After regaining some strength, Hachiman finally felt the stabbing cold fade from his body. His legs had power again, and as he looked around at the buildings, he couldn't help but say with some emotion:
"By the way, this school is unbelievably huge, and the buildings are so grand everywhere... it really feels like some kind of noble academy. Could it be that our dorms are the same?"
Hearing Hachiman's hopeful words about the dorms, Tadokoro Megumi could only give a helpless smile.
"Hikigaya, you'd better prepare yourself..."
...
The two of them stood in front of the Polar Star Dorm, staring in slight shock. Not only was it in a very remote location, but the overgrown branches and the cawing of crows made it feel like the dorm had a horror filter over it. It looked...
Like a medieval castle, as if ghosts might be living inside.
Tadokoro Megumi tugged nervously at Hachiman's sleeve. "Hikigaya..."
Hachiman wasn't sure what to say either, and asked out of curiosity, "Megumi, you live here all the time... don't you get scared?"
For some reason, when Hachiman asked that, she didn't really think the dorm itself was scary. What truly scared her were the people inside—well, one senior in particular.
After all, every night he made strange, creepy noises...
Hachiman: "Getting my hopes up for no reason, only to be let down again. I really can't fix that part of me."
Tadokoro Megumi: "Hikigaya, it's really not like that inside. It just looks scary on the outside..."
Hachiman: "Well, since I'm already here, I won't complain. As long as they'll take me in, that's good enough." Just as he was about to step inside, Tadokoro Megumi stopped him again.
Her expression was anxious, as if she didn't know where to start.
"Um... well... Hikigaya, every dorm has its own condition for letting you move in."
"I've heard you say that before."
"And for our dorm, the condition is... you have to cook something on the spot that satisfies the dorm manager."
"Dorm... manager?"
"That's right..."
In Hachiman's mind, making a simple, down-to-earth dish that would please an ordinary person didn't sound hard at all. But seeing the look on Tadokoro Megumi's face, he realized it wasn't that simple.
"The truth is, she's really strict. Back when I joined Polar Star Dorm... it took me three whole months."
"Th-three months?"
Looking a little embarrassed, Tadokoro Megumi scratched her head, then clenched her fist in an adorable way to cheer him on.
"If it's you, Hikigaya, I think you could probably get in within a month!"
"One... one month..."
Just the thought of having to stay in a hotel for a whole month almost broke Hikigaya's spirit. Not to mention, he wasn't some rich young master, nor some fancy noble. His family just ran a shabby little restaurant. There was no way they could support something like this.
Forget a month, even his pocket money wouldn't last him through a week.
The worst part was... if he had to turn back and walk the same path again, he really didn't want to go through that a second time.
"And also... Polar Star Dorm is the easiest dorm to move into at our school..." Tadokoro Megumi gave him the final blow. At this point, Hachiman just wanted to go home and sleep.
He glanced once more at the run-down dorm building and could only shake his head helplessly.
"Well, I'm already here, so I might as well give it a try."
"Mm-hm! If it's Hikigaya-kun, I'm sure you can do it. Oh, right..."
"What is it?"
"Not only do you have to watch out for the dorm manager, but also... be careful of the other people living here too..."
Hearing Tadokoro Megumi's reminder again, Hachiman couldn't help but feel like he had walked into some sort of incredible place.