It was a bit chilly that night. I stood in my kitchen, cooking with the large quantity of leftover ingredients from yesterdayâs shopping spree. Of course, this time I was using recipes and videos as references for what I was doing.
I was making the dish that I had made for Amasawa before, wanting to try it for myself.
The name of the dish, tom yum goong, was a combination of three different Thai words, meaning âboiledâ, âmixedâ, and âshrimpâ respectively.
âItâs got a unique taste, but it isnât bad.â
The way its spicy yet sour flavor spread through my mouth and its distinct aroma pierced my nose made it seem like itâd be an addictive dish for certain types of people.
After cleaning up, I turned on the ventilation fan above my stove, looking to let out the smell that had filled the room. I eventually noticed my phone vibrating on my bed, the sound drowned out by the noise of the fan. I thought about just calling back later, but it never stopped ringing, so I picked up.
[You took like, forever to pick up.]
This was the first time Kei had been the one to contact me in a few days now. The last time was back when the special exam had just begun.
The first thing out of her mouth was a complaint.
[Youâre the one who told me to call around this time. Get a grip, would ya?]
âMy bad. So, did you find out about that thing I asked you to look into this morning?â
[Iâm only calling cuz I did my research properly, so donât you think you arenât, like, being grateful enough?]
âIâm very grateful. Soâ¦?â
[It doesnât seem like youâre grateful at all⦠Well, whatever. According to the store person, only one of âem has been sold since April. They told me that they like, pretty much never sell that model compared to the other similar ones theyâve got, and that theyâre lucky to sell even one or two of âem a year. But the thing is, apparently one of the new students tried buying one too.]
There was no need to tell me about the identity of the person who bought one recently. I was far more interested in the new student who tried to buy one.
âTried buying one, huhâ¦? So they didnât buy one, then?â
There was no physical way this new first-year student wouldnât have been able to buy it unless they had done something absurd like spending all of their points immediately after they first came to the school.
And, given this yearâs batch of new students, I didnât think theyâd do something that foolish.
[I tried asking the clerk about that too, just in case. Apparently, just as the first-year was about to pay for it at the register, somebody else showed up and stopped them from going through with the sale. Anywho, the clerk told me the student who tried to buy one lookedâ¦]
As Kei described the studentâs appearance, I began to sort out the situation in my head.
It was a little⦠no, considerably different from what I had in mind at first.
I never wouldâve expected that âthat personâ would be involved in all of this.
âDid the clerk say anything about the person who stopped the first-year from buying it?â
[Nope, they didnât know much about that. They just said they were pretty sure it was a girl.]
Students have to present their student ID cards to make purchases, so while the clerk knew the name of the person who tried to buy the item, they didnât know anything about the person who stopped the sale.
[Is my information useful?]
âYeah. It might be much more useful than I thought itâd be.â
[Hehe, Iâm like, super talented, after all. Make sure you thank me properly, kay? But like, whyâd you have me look into something like this? I seriously donât get it at all.]
âMe neither.â
[Wha?]
I had hoped that having her ask around would help explain the mysterious behavior, but this development was far beyond anything I had imagined.
In fact, because it was so far off from what I had imagined, it made me wonder if any of this was even relevant at all.
âCome to think of it, I heard that youâve already found a partner for the special exam.â
[Ah, yep. Shimazaki-san from Class 1-B, was it? Feels like Iâve been saved thanks to Kushida-san.]
Now that our main business had been dealt with, I changed the topic ever so slightly.
âI donât think youâve got a bad partner, but Kei, have you been studying properly?â
[Well, uh, how do I put itâ¦? Like, I was thinkinâ itâd be fine if I like, just put it off âtil later, you know?]
I knew it. I hadnât heard anything about her attending one of the study sessions yet.
âThis exam isnât something you can get through all on your own. Your rating is a D+. If you arenât careful with your grades, you might end up suffering later.â
[I know I know, I just canât get myself interested, and like⦠even if I went to a study group, itâs not like youâd be there or anything.]
âSo what, youâd study diligently as long as Iâm around?â
[â¦Uh, yeah? Iâd work hard in front of my boyfriend.]
I wasnât sure if that was true or not, but since she said so, the solution was obvious.
âThen letâs see⦠How about you come over to my room at around 6:00 tomorrow?â
Considering that weâd be meeting with Nanase after school tomorrow, that seemed like a fair enough time to schedule things.
[I can come hang out at your place!?]
âYouâll be here to study, not to hang out.â
me ow no vel.com is releasing your favorite novel
[Eh?]
Donât âehâ me.
âIâll help you study. That should at least get you motivated, right?â
To start out, Iâd evaluate the full extent of her abilities.
And if it turns out that she needs to participate in additional study sessions, then Iâd urge her to do so.
[Youâre worried cuz youâd be real sad if your girlfriend were to get expelled, huh~?]
She suddenly asked, noteworthy traces of excitement in her voice, almost as if she thought she had the upper hand now. I was tempted to tease her a little bit in response, but I figured that sheâd feel more motivated to study if I just went along with her and agreed.
âWell, naturally? If the girlfriend which I had only just started dating got herself expelled, itâd be no laughing matter.â
[I-I see~ Thatâs true isnât it! Well then, I guess I have no other choice. I actually had all sorts of things planned for tomorrow, but Iâll make a special appearance, just for you.]
While it wasnât very straightforward, it was a small price to pay to get her to push forward with her studies.
[What should I bring with me?]
âI have everything youâd need in my room already. Just donât be late and that should be fine.â
[Okay~!]
âWell then, Iâll be hanging up now.â
[Wha!? Hold up! Wait! Weâve, like, only talked about the special exam and studying so far, though!]
Apparently, she wanted to chat about something completely unrelated to any of that.
âI guess youâre right about that.â
[Hrmph, you seriouslyâ¦]
While we didnât talk about anything related to the exam or studying after that, she continued to chew me out nonetheless.
(Part 1 End)