Chapter 167: Hidenori Tabata: "Heh, a man who refuses to lose even an inch of dignity~"
...
The scene inside the room was pure pandemonium.
Aside from Seito, who was still fully clothed, the rest of the boys hadn't a single stitch of fabric left on them.
"ROAR—!!"
Iori Kitahara was brandishing a bottle of sake in his left hand while wildly spinning his shirt in the air with his right. He was clearly beyond wasted. The other boys were cheering him on, caught in the same drunken frenzy.
The sight made everyone's lips twitch in unison. Chairwoman Minami stepped into the room, her face dark with an ominous shadow. Hearing the footsteps, Seito and the 1-E boys turned their heads.
The moment they locked eyes with the Academy Chairwoman's freezing glare, a collective shudder ran through them. The fog of alcohol vanished instantly. Realizing their current state, the boys scrambled to drop into a crouch, trying to hide behind whatever was nearby.
Only Seito remained standing.
"Ahem." Seito cleared his throat, took a few steps forward, and stopped right next to Chairwoman Minami. He looked at his classmates with an expression of profound disappointment. "Chairwoman, I just got here and found them in this disgraceful state. You absolutely must punish them severely."
Chairwoman Minami: "..."
Do you honestly take me for a fool?
"Everyone, go to sleep. Now!" Chairwoman Minami didn't waste words; she turned and left. The rest of the "angry mob" followed her lead, dispersing into the night.
Seito surveyed the wreckage of the 1-E boys' room. Between the spilled drinks, the discarded clothes, and the lingering smell of BBQ, he decided there was no way he was sleeping here. He followed the crowd out.
Class 1-D: Girls' Dormitory.
Settling back into her futon, Maple whispered to Risa, "Finally... peace and quiet~"
"Yeah. Between the hot pot smell and the screaming, I thought I'd never get to sleep," Risa replied, feeling the tension leave her body.
"Once the 1-E boys finish cleaning up, the smell should dissipate soon," Maple noted, sniffing the faint, spicy aroma still hanging in the air.
Risa rubbed her eyes. "Let's get some rest."
"Agreed. I'm all for that!" a masculine voice chimed in.
Maple: "..."
Risa: "..."
Whose voice was that?
It wasn't just them; every girl in the room froze. They all turned toward the source of the sound, near Maple's spot on the floor. An extra silhouette had appeared out of nowhere.
"S-Seito-kun...?! Why are you here?!" Maple squeaked, her face flushing crimson as she pulled her blanket up to cover the lower half of her face.
Seito was lying comfortably in a spare bedding set, smiling warmly at her.
Just a few minutes ago, as he followed the group back, Seito had weighed his options. The 1-D boys' room was out. He didn't know most of the 1-E girls. The other classes were even less familiar. That left only one logical choice: the 1-D girls' room!
After all, they were all friends. He wouldn't feel awkward at all. As for the girls? As long as he wasn't embarrassed, they were the ones who would have to deal with the awkwardness!
Seeing everyone staring at him, Seito felt a brief shiver. What if they actually kick me out? Acting fast, he squeezed his eyes shut and pretended to fall asleep instantly.
"..." The girls exchanged looks, words failing them.
"Milady, shall I throw him out?" Ai Hayasaka asked with her signature dead-fish eyes, looking toward Kaguya Shinomiya.
"Don't ask me," Kaguya replied, promptly lying down and turning away.
Hayasaka shook her head. Is it really okay to let a guy sleep in a room full of beautiful girls? The others shared a silent glance, but seeing as no one was stepping up to be the executioner, they one-by-one lay back down to sleep.
Seeing the room quiet down, Maple peeked out from her covers and leaned closer to Seito. "Seito-kun, why did you come here?" she whispered.
"The 1-E room was a disaster zone. I needed a change of scenery," Seito whispered back before grinning. "Maple, want to share a blanket? It'll be warmer."
"N-No... I'm okay..."
"It's fine, it's fine."
"Mm..."
The other girls in the room: "..."
You two... seriously, enough already! They silently watched the pair as Maple eventually ended up tucked against his side. Seito, for his part, drifted off to sleep with a look of pure contentment. Needless to say, many girls in that room didn't get much sleep that night.
The next morning.
A group of girls stood in a circle, staring down at the still-sleeping Seito.
After a long silence, Asuna spoke up.
"Hiratsuka-sensei will be here any minute for morning inspection. Should we wake him?"
"Just leave him," Kaguya said, crossing her arms and rubbing her temples. "Let Hiratsuka-sensei deal with him." The others nodded in solemn agreement.
A few minutes later...
Slap! The sliding door flew open.
"How did you all sleep last—" Shizuka Hiratsuka walked in with a casual air, but her sentence died in her throat as her eyes landed on the boy sprawled out in the middle of the girls' futons.
She stared for a long, silent beat. Then, she looked at the students. "Why is Seito here?"
The girls explained the events of the previous night. As the story unfolded, Shizuka's eyelid began to twitch violently. Her fists clenched. Without a word, she marched over, stood over Seito, and delivered a swift, heavy punch to the floor right next to his head—or perhaps his shoulder.
"Brat! WAKE UP!"
"HOLY—! What kind of monster?!!"
8:00 AM. Breakfast time.
Class 1-E: Boys' Room.
The guys were munching on soy milk and deep-fried dough sticks they'd bought earlier. Their eyes were all fixed on Seito, their faces screaming that they were dying for the "tea."
"I heard you slept while hugging Honjou-san?" Hidenori asked tonelessly.
"What do you mean 'hugging'? That was 'close-proximity protection'!" Seito argued with righteous indignation.
"Close-proximity protection? The kind where you're minus one centimeter apart?"
Iori joked with a lecherous smirk.
"What kind of talk is that?!" Seito barked, before lifting his chin arrogantly. "It was at least minus thirty centimeters!"
"Heh... a man who refuses to lose even an inch of dignity, to the very end~" Hidenori shook his head.
Seito: "..."
The other students: "..."
The way you worded that... we honestly don't know how to respond.
....
Thank you for reading.