essive.."

Shimada stared at me fiercely as if I was a murderer who killed her dad.

I don't understand what fierce girls think either.

"Then, since we have someone who made lunch, let's eat at the rooftop instead of at the classroom."

"That's right."

For such high-class food, it's not acceptable to eat in a lousy room filled with rotten tatami and the stench of male sweat. We should go to an enjoyable location such as the rooftop, enjoy the food there, and feel grateful to the chef.

"Is it? Then you guys can go there first."

"Huh? Yuuji, where are you going?"

"I'll go get some drinks, as a treat to you guys for the effort yesterday."

"Ah, then I'll go with you! You can't carry so many drinks at the same time, right?"

It was very rare to see Shimada being so caring. Did she take the wrong medicine?

"Thanks."

"OK."

Yuuji agreed without a doubt. If it were me, I'd surely feel wary of being taken to some place and getting beaten up badly.

"Remember to save a share for us."

"Don't worry, but I can't guarantee anything if you get back too late."

"I don't think I'll be late. Let's go!"

Yuuji and Shimada took their wallets and left the classroom. Looks like they're heading to the convenience store on the first floor.

"We should get going as well."

"Yeah."

I took the package from Himeji and walked to the rooftop.

These boxed lunches are pretty heavy. It seems like she put a lot of effort into making lots of different dishes; I am so touched.

"Great, the weather is pretty good!"

"Yeah!"

We reached the rooftop and opened the door, and a clear, cloudless sky welcomed us. This was the best weather for eating boxed lunches.

"Ah, I brought the blanket."

Himeji took out the blanket for picnics out of the basket. She seems to be well-prepared; maybe she brought the whole picnic equipment set.

We felt excited and started preparing together. There was no one else on the rooftop, as if we had booked the rooftop for ourselves; that's great.

"This feels really good.."

".. *nod*"

I lazily laid myself on the blanket, enjoying the sunlight and the breeze that was blowing towards me.

"Er, I'm not very confident.."

Himeji opened the cover of the meal box that was only used during New Year's time.

"OH!"

All of us gasped in surprise.

It looked so delicious. There were karaage, tempura, onigiri, bamboo shoot rolls.. whatever dishes you could name, all were there in the meal box.

"Sorry, Yuuji, I will start.."

".. *took a piece*"

"Ah, Muttsulini, you are too cunning!"

Then, he smoothly put the food into his mouth..

".. *collapse*"

*Sound of Muttsulini collapsing*(?)

Muttsulini boldly collapsed, and his muscles were slightly twitching.

".."

".."

Hideyoshi and I looked at each other.

"Wa! Tsuchiya!?"

Himeji panicked and dropped the disposable chopsticks that she was preparing to give to us on the ground.

".. *sudden standing*"

Muttsulini stood up.

".. *Great!*"

Then, he faced Himeji and raised his thumb.

He probably tried to say "delicious"!

"So, so that suits your taste? That's good."

Muttsulini's thinking must have been delivered to Himeji, because she looked so happy.

However, Muttsulini, why do your legs keep shaking? You look just like a boxer who was about to get KO'd.

"Don't restrain yourself; eat as much as you can!"

Himeji showed her smile, and told us to eat more.

When she put it that way, it looked like we couldn't refuse at all. I even had a feeling that I should eat all of it no matter how awful it was.

..But I still couldn't forget Muttsulini's empty-looking eyes and shaking body.

"Hideyoshi, those dishes, what do you think?"

I whispered to Hideyoshi, using a low volume so that Himeji couldn't hear.

"..No matter how I look at it, that was not faked."

"That's right, now we're in deep trouble."

"Akihisa, is your body strong?"

"To tell the truth, my stomach is very weak. It's degenerated because I rarely eat anything."

Of course, Hideyoshi and I were using our happiest-looking faces to talk to each other; we couldn't allow Himeji to discover our conversation and the shock in our heart.

"Leave this to me!"

Hideyoshi bravely spoke in a low voice.

"Stop kidding, this is too dangerous!"

"No problem. Although I might not look like it, my stomach is very strong. Even sprouted potato can't harm me."

(?)

"But.."

"Don't worry! Believe in my iron stomach.."

He had the appearance of a pretty girl, but he was saying some manly lines. At this moment..

(?)

Yuuji appeared on the stage.

"Ah, Yuuji."

Before we could stop him, he used his hand to take a piece of fried egg.

*Sounds of munching*. *Sounds of Yuuji collapsing*.. *Sounds of juice cans hitting the ground*.

The juice cans fell to the ground, and rolled everywhere.

"S-Sakamoto!? What's wrong!?"

Shimada appeared behind him and saw what happened. She immediately dashed towards Yuuji.

..There's no mistake about it: Himeji is a real killer chef..

I looked at Yuuji, who was shaking crazily like Muttsulini.

After that, Yuuji, who was on the floor, used his eyes to ask me:

Did someone put poison in the food?

This is not poison; this is the true ability of Himeji.

I also used eye contact to answer his question. This was the secret technique that could only be used by us since we've stuck together for a long time; it was very useful in a situation like this.

"Ah, my leg.. suddenly cramped."

Yuuji told a kind lie because he was afraid to hurt Himeji's feelings. Himeji, maybe it is just like what you said yesterday; Yuuji is a gentle guy.

"Ahaha, it must be because you've been dashing up and down the stairs, right?"

"Ah, maybe that's the reason."

"Really? I thought Sakamoto was pretty strong and healthy."

Shimada, who was totally unaware of the situation, showed a doubtful face. It seems we should make her get off the stage before she speaks too much.

"By the way, Shimada, the spot where you placed your hand.."

(?)

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"A bug just died there not long ago."

This was total bullsheet.

"What!? You should've said so sooner!"

She panicked and moved her hand away. That made her look a bit more like a girl.

"I'm sorry. You better go wash your hand."

"You're right. I'll be right back."

Shimada left the scene. Now the danger was lowered by a little bit.

"We can't let Shimada eat something like this, right?"

"Of course."

HAHAHA.. the frank laugh of three guys spread all across the rooftop.(?)

Akihisa, it's your turn now!

D-Don't be silly! I will definitely die!

What happened just now has lowered my determination..

Yuuji, eat it! Himeji definitely wants to see you eat it.

Does she? I thought this was for you, Akihisa.

No way! You don't understand a girl's mindset!

No, if you put it that way, you are the one here who doesn't understand..

Shut up! Stop struggling!

"Whoa! Himeji, what's that!?"

"Huh? What?"

Himeji turned around and looked in the direction where my finger was pointing.

Eat this!

Huh!?

I took the chance and stuffed all the food into Yuuji's mouth.

Yuuji's eyes had already turned white, so I grabbed his lower jaw and helped him swallow the food. When you're eating, remember to munch carefully and swallow it slowly.

"Hoo, finally finished it."

"..I didn't know you were so good at torture!"

Although I was being commented like this by Hideyoshi, I didn't care at all.

Yuuji was lying on the ground and shaking even more crazily than earlier, but I still didn't care.

"I'm sorry, I think I saw wrong."

"Ah, I see."

I never would have imagined that Himeji would fall for such a classic trick; this is so helpful. But she is too pure; I'm worried for her now.

"The lunch was very delicious. Thanks for the food."

"Yeah, your cooking skill is very good."

Thanks to Yuuji, the meal box was cleared without any problems. Our hearts were as clear as the sky now!

"Aww, that was fast. Have you finished it all?"

"Yeah. And Yuuji kept on saying, 'Delicious, delicious,' while he was still eating it."

Yuuji, who was at the corner of our eyes, weakly shook his head.

Don't worry, you've left a good impression on Himeji. Maybe she'll make lunch for you again.

"Is it? I'm so happy.."

"No, no, no, we are the ones who are happy. Right, Yuuji?"

I signaled Yuuji to show a reaction. Since he was still conscious, there should be some reaction from him.

"Augh.. augh.. Th-Thanks, Himeji.."

This is so terrible; his eyes look very empty.

"Speaking about good food, there's a café in front of the station that just opened not too long ago.."

In a situation like this, the person who changed the topic was me. This was all to keep Himeji from saying, "Then I will bring lunch for you guys tomorrow."

"Ah, the comments about that shop are pretty good."

"Huh? There's a shop there?"

"Yeah. To thank you for the lunch, Yuuji will treat you there."

"You bastard, don't simply make promises in other people's stead."

It seems our tactics were successful. We have finally avoided the crisis.

Now we were just chatting about everything and enjoying this warm time together.

"Ah, that's right."

Himeji put her hands together.

"Huh? What's up?"

"Actually.."

She put her hand into the bag and searched for something.

"I prepared dessert as well."

"Ahh! Himeji, what's that!?"

"Akihisa! Even I will die if you do it again!"

Yuuji risked his life to stop my plan.

Tch, you little bastard, your reaction was pretty quick, huh?

Akihisa! Are you planning to kill me!?

There's no other way! This mission can only be done by you, Yuuji! I will leave this to you!

Don't be an idiot! I won't do it even if you use that shonen manga-like frank smile and ask me to.

You're hopeless!

If you say that, why don't you do it yourself!?

What!? Why are you posing like that!? What are you trying to do to me!?

I am going to punch your heart using my fist, and then stuff everything into your mouth after you faint! Take this!

No! Crazy killer..!

Yuuji held his fist firmly, but exactly one second before the fight began, Hideyoshi quietly stood up.

..Let me do it.

Hideyoshi!? Don't be reckless, this is life-threatening!

And you actually want to sacrifice me!?

Of course! Compared to a smelly guy like you, Hideyoshi, who has a pretty appearance, is so much more important.

No problem. My stomach is very strong; eating these will at most cause me to get dyspepsia.

That's true: Hideyoshi's stomach can nullify the poison, so maybe he can resist these desserts.

"What's wrong with you guys?"

"Ah, nothing! Nothing at all!"

"Ah, could it be..?"

Himeji's face suddenly darkened.

Did our unwillingness to eat these desserts get exposed!?

"I'm sorry. I left the spoons in the classroom!"

The desserts inside the container were fruit mixed with yogurt (or looks like it, anyway), so chopsticks were really not suitable for eating them.

"I'll go get them now."

Himeji disappeared at the stairs' entrance. Now is the time.

Use this chance and eat them!

Hideyoshi held the container in his hand, looking like a warrior who treated death like returning home.

"..I'm sorry. I will never forget your kindness."

"Sorry. And thank you."

Facing us who were bowing and quiet, Hideyoshi smiled and spoke, as if nothing would happen:

"Don't make it like I'm going to die. I don't plan to do so yet!"

"T-That's right!"

"Ah! Hideyoshi, we're counting on you!"

"OK. Leave this to me. I'll start eating now!"

Hideyoshi raised his head, and ate the entirety of what was inside the container.

"*Munch munch*. What, this is just normal.. Ack!"

Life is like a flower of virtuosity, and another flower has fallen in the blink of an eye.

"..Yuuji."

"..What?"

"..Sorry for forcing you to eat that food just now."

"..I'm glad you understand that."

The person who proclaimed himself "Iron Stomach" was now lying on the floor, white foam coming from his mouth.

☆

"By the way, Sakamoto, about the next target.."

"Huh? Regarding the Summoner Test War?"

"Yeah."

After the very eventful lunch, everyone revived and casually enjoyed the tea, especially Hideyoshi. He was trying to drink as much green tea as he could. I heard that green tea can help kill bacteria!

By the way, Shimada only managed to buy green tea. Although she was very angry, we were very grateful.

"The next opponent will be Class B, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

This reminded me that Yuuji mentioned something yesterday about destroying Class B's air conditioner that was outside Class D. What was that about?

Since Class B's air conditioner had nothing to do with attacking Class A, would that mean we will be dealing with Class B next?

"Why Class B? Isn't our final target Class A?"

Class A was our target. Everyone must be wondering why we were challenging Class B, which was one rank lower than Class A, right? By the way, I didn't understand why, either.

"I'll be frank."

Yuuji suddenly turned serious.

"No matter what tactics we use, we can never win against Class A with our fighting ability."

Admitting we lost before fighting? This was not what Yuuji would do.

However, this was not news to us. Fumitzuki Academy divided the classes from Class A to Class F, and Class A wasn't just any ordinary class; you could say that their abilities were in a totally different dimension from the others'. For all fifty people in Class A, forty of them were still beatable; they were just normal students whose results were a little bit better than Class B's.

The remaining ten students were totally different. Especially the Class Representative Kirishima Shouko; her ability was totally beyond anyone's imagination. Even if we managed to take them by surprise and surrounded her, we'd end up getting beaten badly.

No matter what tactic you used, if you could not defeat the Class Representative, you could never win the War. Since we couldn't defeat her, we had no chance of winning at all.

"Then our final target will be changed to Class B?"

Although it was still some distance away from Class A, Class B equipment was pretty good as well; I believe that no one would be unhappy about it.

"No, that's not going to happen. Our final target will still be Class A."

"Yuuji, this is totally different from what you just said, right?"

I continued the conversation after Shimada. Being able to defeat Class A or not meant a lot to me.

"If we fight as a class, we can never win, so I decided to challenge them to a duel."

"A duel? How are we going to do that?"

"We'll use Class B to achieve that."

"Use" Class B? How?

"Do you know what happens when the lower-ranked class loses in a Summoner Test War?"

"Eh? O-Of course!"

Actually, I didn't know.

"Yoshii, if the lower-ranked class loses in the War, their equipment will be one rank lower."

Luckily, Himeji reminded me from my side. I see, so that's what would happen!

"The equipment will be downgraded, right?"

"That's right.. which means that if Class B were the lower rank, their equipment would be downgraded to Class C."

"Of course. That's common sense, right?"

"And what if the higher-ranked class loses?"

"They will be sad."

"Muttsulini, go bring me a pair of pliers."

"Wait! Are you trying to transform my body into one that will never need nail clippers?"

I didn't say anything wrong. They would be sad, right?

"They will need to exchange their equipment with the lower class."

Himeji helped me answer the question again; she was such a good girl.

"Yeah, I am going to use this rule to negotiate with them."

(?)

"'Negotiate'?"

"If we win against Class B, I will ask them to attack Class A so that they won't have to exchange equipment with us. Even if they lose to Class A, they will only get Class C equipment, which is much better than Class F equipment. This should work smoothly."

"Hmph. Then?"

"Then I will use this to negotiate with Class A, warning them that 'we will start attacking you after you have finished fighting with Class B'."

"I see.."

It would be tiring for them to fight another War after they finished a fight with the second-highest class in the same Year.

Although this was the same for Class F, we had our unhappiness which motivated us. We might not be as smart, but we were very motivated.

However, it was very different for Class A; they wouldn't get anything from winning a War, and they didn't want to waste time with an opponent like Class F. The morale between Class A and us would be very different.

"However, there is a problem with this strategy. It might cost more energy, and the process will be troublesome, but a Summoner Test War is a much more secure way to win against Class A compared to a duel, right? Also.."

"'Also'?"

"Are you sure that we can win the duel? Surely they already know that Himeji is in our class?"

After Class F won against Class D, everyone would definitely focus on the winner. Himeji was not our secret weapon now; therefore, they must have prepared tactics to fight against Himeji.

"I am well aware of this and am well-prepared; don't worry."

Yuuji looked confident, which was totally different from me who was really worrying now.

"Anyway, we'll need to fight against Class B first. I will fill everyone in on the details later."

"Is it? Well, it's fine by me as long as you have tactics for it."

If there was no chance of winning, he wouldn't be able to say something like that.

"By the way, Akihisa."

"Huh?"

"After the tests today, go declare war on Class B."

"No way. You can go do it yourself."

No matter what you say, I won't change my mind.

"Well, then, let's decide on who will do the job using Rock-Paper-Scissors."

"'Rock-Paper-Scissors'?"

Well, at least this is better than him forcing me to go.

"OK. I accept the challenge."

"Good. Then, whoever loses will go, okay?"

Yuuji nodded and said,

"It'll be boring if we just play normally; let's include a psychological battle as well."

This was Yuuji's suggestion.

About the psychological battle, it's that, right? Everyone says what they'll use, and then guesses whether the opponent will do as they said or lie. I see, this is interesting.

"I understand now. I'm going to use rock."

Yuuji made a pose for Rock-Paper-Scissors, and told me,

"Are you? Then I am.."

Yuuji, what will you think? Am I going to be honest and use rock, or am I going to use something else? This is a battle of wits as well.

"Going to kill you if you don't use rock."

Wait..! What kind of psychological battle is that!?

"Ready? Rock, paper, scissors!"

"Waaa!"

Paper (Yuuji) vs. Rock (Me)

"Then it's decided; you will go."

"I will not go!"

I will not accept this! This was so different from the psychological battle I imagined!

"Are you still worrying about being beaten up badly like with Class D last time?"

"That is one of the reasons!"

"If that's the reason, you can rest easy; I can guarantee that it won't happen again."

Yuuji stared into my eyes.

I won't be cheated again! You keep using the same technique in asking me to do the dirty work!

"Because there are a lot of people in Class B who like handsome boys."

"Really? Then there's nothing to worry about!"

Only I can complete this difficult mission. The responsibility is huge!

"However, you're so ugly.."

Yuuji gave a long sigh. Nonsense, that was not true!

"You're so impolite! I am a handsome boy when I look at myself from 365 degrees!"

"There is an extra 5 degrees."

"I think there's only 5 degrees."

"I hate you two."

I only mixed up 365 days in a year and 360 degrees in a circle, so why are you using a magnifying glass to look at my small mistake!? Damn!

"Anyway, I'll leave this to you.."

Yuuji's voice came from behind me as lunchtime ended; the afternoon which was full of tests had just started.

☆

"..I'd like to listen to your explanation."

The tests in the afternoon had ended safely; it was now after school.

I used my hand to cover the sleeve that Class B had pulled to pieces, and walked towards Yuuji slowly.

"This was just as I thought."

"Argh! I'm going to kill you! I'll cut you into pieces!"

"Calm down."

"Urgh!"

A.. attacked in the heart.. This is terrible.

"I'm heading back home now. Tomorrow morning we will have tests; don't oversleep."

After saying that with a frank tone, Yuuji left the classroom. You're a devil!

"Urgh.. my stomach.."

My whole body was in serious pain. It looks like I can't move at all before the effect that Yuuji's technique caused on my body disappears.

I could only lie on the ground and watch every one of my classmates leave the classroom. No one's worried about me or bringing me to the nursing room. Am I so hated? Then again, I think Himeji will worry about me and come to me.

Because I couldn't move my body, I turned my neck and looked around the classroom. I saw Himeji still remaining in the classroom, holding her back and looking around as well. She looked very suspicious; it seems like she was guarding something.

..Ah, now I remember: Himeji wrote a letter yesterday. Maybe she was thinking about where she should put it?

"Urgh.."

I felt shy about continuing to watch her, so I slowly crawled out of the classroom.