"To put it simply, Ibuki."
"When you sleep..."
Kakeru Ryuen shot a sidelong glance at Mio Ibuki. Seeing that she was still frowning, he sneered and asked, "Do you like to keep a gun under your pillow—one that has no safety on and could misfire at any moment?"
"Even if you know very well that you have good sleeping habits and won't move around."
"You mean..."
Ibuki revealed a look of realization.
"No matter how small the probability is, no one would be foolish enough to absolutely trust their own sleeping posture at night."
"Obviously, Ibuki, the current Natsuki Subaru is that gun for our Class C."
As he spoke, Ryuen's gaze became even sharper.
"So, you're preparing to make a move on Natsuki Subaru?"
Ibuki was quite simple and direct.
"Heh, no."
Hearing Ibuki's words, Ryuen smiled and denied it, saying, "Look at the essence through the phenomena. The so-called supremacy of ability in this academy, in the final analysis, is a competition of points between each class."
"There are too many things that can be done with five million personal points."
"..."
"Talking to you is really annoying. Anyway, you'll make a move on Natsuki Subaru sooner or later, right?"
"Just say directly what you want me to do when the time comes."
Ibuki's expression began to grow somewhat impatient.
She originally had her own affairs to attend to this afternoon, but she was suddenly called over specifically by Ryuen to block Subaru for a chat. And the chat didn't even amount to anything substantial; it was all cryptic and nagging. It was truly annoying her to death.
"That's why I already told you just now, Ibuki."
"When the time comes, you just need to follow my commands, just like Albert."
Looking at the somewhat impatient Ibuki, Ryuen didn't get angry. He simply said, "There is only one thing you need to do: trust me."
Inside the Movie Theater.
Subaru and Hiyori Shiina had already found their seats and sat down.
"I heard this movie is very good."
"It's not just the reputation; the sales are also very impressive. It's rare for a niche locked-room mystery movie like this to be both critically acclaimed and a box office hit."
Completely unaffected by Ryuen just now.
After finding her seat and sitting down, Hiyori began chatting with Subaru in a tone filled with a hint of anticipation.
"The Invisible Guest... is it?"
Subaru glanced at the name on the movie ticket and smiled, saying, "The name is unexpectedly ordinary."
"The title sounds very straightforward, even a bit plain."
"But the gimmick in the trailer was very substantial. Just watching the trailer, I felt it should be a very high-quality locked-room mystery film. Later, I looked at the sales and some reviews, and it feels fantastic!"
Hiyori held the paper cup containing milk tea in her palms. While drinking the milk tea, she analyzed the movie's brilliance with Subaru.
"Not just domestic sales in Japan, but even the global sales are very high."
"It belongs to the type of movie that appeals to everyone."
Speaking up to this point, Hiyori had already cast her gaze toward the screen, which had begun to light up.
"Hearing you say that, it really feels like it should be a very rare type."
Subaru adjusted his sitting posture slightly, allowing his body to sink completely into the theater's soft seat.
At the same time, from Subaru's angle, turning his head slightly allowed him to see Hiyori's side profile perfectly. He could also see her eyes, which appeared somewhat sparkling under the dim light.
Listening to Hiyori's description filled with a sense of anticipation, Subaru felt a sense of comfort that he hadn't experienced in a long time.
'Ah, really... incredible.'
Subaru looked at Hiyori, his thoughts drifting slightly.
Clearly, a long time ago, he felt that there would no longer be anything worthy of his expectation.
Even after returning to live in modern society for nearly two years—and indeed experiencing the comfort of the modern world which was completely different from the other world, where he wouldn't easily die a violent death and his life had a relatively obvious guarantee...
However, Subaru still didn't have any expectations for the future.
He had always been influenced by severe self-destructive emotions.
Ever since coming to study at this academy, Subaru discovered that he was constantly being changed.
He clearly couldn't even remember when the last time he felt 'expectation' was before enrolling... But after enrolling, Subaru found that he actually had a little bit of expectation for this world and for the future again.
And this expectation was becoming thicker and thicker, each day more expectant than the day before.
'So... it's not just reading books...'
'Just watching someone else being fully focused... feels like it's also very nice...'
However, Subaru soon temporarily gathered his drifting thoughts and refocused his attention on the movie.
Since it was a movie Hiyori strongly recommended, he might as well watch it somewhat seriously.
The movie was unexpectedly exciting.
Although Subaru said that he could only feel a bit of tranquility when reading inside the library, in the final analysis, that was just watching a sufficiently wonderful story in a special environment.
Now, Subaru was in just such a special environment.
Hiyori was accompanying him by his side, and the quality of the movie being shown was also very high.
The reason Subaru had those emotional sighs just now was because he actually felt some sense of comfort in a brand-new activity. Originally, Subaru hadn't planned to really watch the movie this time.
Because he felt that many things were meaningless.
The reason he came was purely because of Hiyori's invitation.
Hiyori's privilege level was very high; Subaru could accompany Hiyori to do a few things that he felt were meaningless, just like when he accompanied Kikyo Kushida to meet Suzune Horikita back then.
The movie duration was less than two hours.
It passed quickly amidst Subaru and Hiyori's focused viewing, finally coming to an abrupt end with a shocking final twist. The white credits on a black background began to scroll slowly across the screen.
"It was even more wonderful than I imagined."
"Natsuki, did you notice? That final twist, actually, during the second narrative flashback..."
Having finished the movie, as Hiyori stood up to leave with Subaru, she analyzed some small details she had found in the movie with him.
"It seems I got a bit immersed."
"Natsuki, how did you feel about this movie?"
Hiyori felt that she seemed to be talking to herself too much, so she smiled somewhat sheepishly.
Because she had never possessed a friend in the true sense, Hiyori didn't grasp the distance between friends very well. She felt that she had been talking non-stop since the movie started, which might have been a bit noisy.
"Very good."
"As for the detail you mentioned, Shiina, I noticed it too."
Subaru's footsteps didn't stop, but he slowed down slightly.
This was to allow Hiyori, who was enthusiastically analyzing the details, to walk naturally by his side.
Looking at the slightly embarrassed Hiyori, Subaru smiled gently and said, "The direction of the curtain's folds, and the frequency with which the male protagonist unconsciously rubbed his cuffs during the second narration... it was different from the first time. A very subtle flaw."
"As expected!"
"You discovered that too, Natsuki!"
Hearing Subaru's answer, Hiyori's eyes suddenly lit up.
The small unease of wondering if she was talking to herself too much was instantly washed away.
There was nothing more worthy of joy than the work she recommended being watched truly seriously.
"Natsuki, what do you think was the most amazing part about that mother..."
"Hmm, probably..."
Subaru and Hiyori walked toward the exit along with the flow of people leaving the cinema.
Although there were fewer than five hundred students in this academy, there were quite a few staff members—even more than the students—so the number of people in the cinema at this moment wasn't small.
The crowd consuming in the Shopping District wasn't limited to just students.
Staff members also needed to consume.
"Subaru-kun!"
Just as Subaru and Hiyori left the movie theater and were preparing to find a random place to stroll around, a voice carrying a slightly sugary sweetness drifted over.
Kikyo Kushida, accompanied by a few good sisters, waved at Subaru with a look as if she had just happened to run into him.
"What a coincidence, Subaru-kun."
Walking up to Subaru and Hiyori, Kushida greeted them with a beaming smile, saying, "My friends and I also planned to come watch the new movie. Did Natsuki-kun and this student just finish watching it?"
"How was it?"
This was a lie.
Kikyo Kushida did not appear here by coincidence.
Rather, she saw the message shared by Kei Karuizawa and the other two in the girls' group chat. Then, under Kushida's guidance, she came over to have a seemingly very 'coincidental' encounter with Subaru.
As for the purpose of the encounter...
Of course, it was to properly observe Hiyori Shiina, who was by Subaru's side, at close range.
"Hello, I am Natsuki Subaru's friend, Hiyori Shiina."
Hiyori looked at the somewhat overly enthusiastic Kushida. She was a little unaccustomed to it, but she still introduced herself, "The movie quality is really very good; it's definitely worth the ticket price!"
"Hello, hello. I am also Natsuki Subaru's friend, Kikyo Kushida."
Kushida looked at Hiyori, the smile on her face becoming increasingly brilliant. She said, "Since Shiina-san recommends it so much, then we definitely have to go see it."
"By the way, Shiina-san, I've heard of you~"
"Eh?"
"Me?"
Hearing Kushida's words, Hiyori was slightly stunned, and then began to recall carefully.
If her memory served her right, Hiyori remembered that she spent most of her free time soaking in the library with Subaru. There shouldn't be anyone outside her class paying attention to her.
"Yes!"
"After all, many girls in our class are very curious about Subaru-kun~"
Looking at Hiyori's somewhat confused gaze, Kushida explained with a grin, "Just what kind of girl is it that can make the cold and icy Subaru-kun clock in at the library steadily every day."
"Shiina-san is on a date with Subaru-kun today, right~"
Kushida launched her ultimate probe.
Although just like Arisu Sakayanagi, Kushida had come specifically to manufacture an encounter today, the object of this encounter was not Subaru. Subaru could at most be counted as a positioning target.
Who Kushida really wanted to encounter, wanted to probe, was Hiyori Shiina—the one who could make Subaru spend the vast majority of his time on her.
Even though she had already offered herself up proactively last time.
She had clearly told Subaru that he could do whatever he wanted, yet Subaru actually did nothing.
Before just now, Kushida could still use the excuse that Subaru might not be interested in many things at the moment, including beautiful girls like herself. But now, she couldn't convince herself at all.
Kushida admitted that Hiyori Shiina was very beautiful, but she wasn't bad either!
How could he remain indifferent to her when she delivered herself to his doorstep?
"A date?"
"Hmm... today should count as a date between Natsuki and me..."
Hiyori's face flushed slightly.
But she did not deny Kushida's speculation.
Coming out to watch a movie together, and since it was still early after the movie, preparing to stroll around the Shopping District again... Hiyori herself wouldn't believe it if she said such an arrangement wasn't a date.
Of course, this 'date' was not that 'date'. In Hiyori's perception, it had more components of an appointment between friends.
"Should count as... is it?"
"Could it be that Shiina-san and Natsuki-kun aren't in a lover's relationship?"
Kushida put on a somewhat surprised expression.
Besides the surprise, Kushida was thoughtful in her heart.
Just now, when she saw the news shared by Kei Karuizawa and the others in the girls' group chat, Kushida had unhesitatingly steered the topic with the friends around her toward movies.
Using this to make contact with Hiyori.
As for why she was unhesitating... of course, it was because she cared a little.
It wasn't that she cared about the fact that Subaru might have a girlfriend itself. Rather, she felt that if Subaru had a girlfriend, he might consider the girlfriend as 'one of his own' and share her secrets so that more people would know.
That was why she came for the encounter.
At least, that was what Kushida herself believed.
"No, no..."
Hiyori's face became even redder.
Looking at Kushida who seemed to have misunderstood somewhat, Hiyori hurriedly waved her hand and said, "Natsuki and I are friends."
However, saying so, Hiyori was somewhat concerned about how Kushida addressed Subaru.
Subaru-kun?
Isn't that a bit too intimate?
Generally, such a form of address is used by people who are very intimate, right...
Looking at Kikyo Kushida before her, Hiyori's gaze also began to size her up. Although she couldn't say why, Kushida's appearance gave Hiyori a little bit of a sense of urgency that she couldn't describe, nor put into words.
___
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