Uneasy daily life

Kita Ikuyo raised her hands and held her head, looking extremely dejected.

Wearing a sun hat, Ijichi Nijika was shocked: "Male version of Pochi-chan?!"

Yamada Ryo observed thoughtfully: "Poch's aggression is too weak."

Hachiman Hikigaya felt extremely uncomfortable, as he was sensitive to stares, and quickly changed the subject: "You guys seem to be looking for someone? What happened?"

"Boqi's class runs a maid café, but I heard from her classmates that Boqi went into the dressing room with a maid outfit and disappeared sometime during the day. Only her original clothes were left in the dressing room..."

Ijichi Nijika gave a concise summary, glancing sideways as she said, "Then Kita volunteered, claiming he could definitely find Pochi-chan."

Instead of finding Goto Ichiri, they found Hikigaya Hachiman.

Kita Ikuyo was greatly shocked.

"Oh? Then let us help you find someone."

Hachiman Hikigaya suddenly spoke up, saying that instead of just strolling around the school festival with Yui Hama, it would be better to join more people.

It may seem more lively, but it's actually not the same thing.

The more people there are, the more attention is focused on the main figures, the more transparent the silent ones become, and the fewer people there are.

"Well—accidents happen to everyone, but once you overcome them, there's no problem!"

Kita Ikuyo quickly rallied: "Let's continue the great operation to find Goto-kun!"

Target: Goto Ichiri.

Appearance: Long pink hair, with a tuft of hair tied at the side of her head with a hair tie decorated with one yellow and one blue small square, wearing a black and white maid outfit (the possibility of her dressing up is small).

Personality: Lonely.

Habits: When quiet, it is extremely quiet; when restless, it is incredibly powerful.

Ecology: They often appear in inconspicuous, dark, damp corners of the campus where reptiles may proliferate.

"Mmmmmmm..."

Yui Yuigahama nodded to indicate that she remembered, and remarked, "It does look quite like Hachiman?"

"Hey, don't make baseless accusations." Hachiman Hikigaya pointed out a clear error. "What do you mean by 'lonely personality'? Loneliness is clearly a state, not a personality trait, isn't it?"

"Xiao Qi used to say that he was just a lonely knight-errant..."

“That’s a lone wolf!” Hachiman Hikigaya rolled his eyes. “If you have to say I’m a loner, then it’s the kind of loneliness that comes from being a solitary person and going it alone—besides, I don’t usually hang out in any dark, damp corners with bugs, do I?”

Yui Yuigahama exclaimed in shock, "Don't you always eat lunch in the corner every day at noon?!"

"that is not……"

"You just hate being disturbed while you're having lunch, right?" Yamada Ryo pondered. "So you're a loneliest person like me."

Hachiman Hikigaya's eye twitched: "I think these are two different things."

Yui Yuigahama chimed in, "It seems like no one in the class has invited Hachiman to lunch together..."

Hachiman Hikigaya immediately retorted, "After all, I don't have the habit of going to the toilet with other people."

"It was just a normal lunch! The whole 'going to the toilet' thing is just something Xiaobai made up!"

Yui Yuigahama was extremely frustrated.

“Shirokage…” Kita Ikuyo led the way, then added with a strange expression, “I thought he was just naturally outgoing, but it turns out he’s strange at school too?”

Hachiman Hikigaya casually remarked, "The leader of the weirdos."

"Haha, not really..." Yui Yuigahama subconsciously wanted to defend the white figure, but then thought it was completely unnecessary. "It might be even stranger than you think?"

Ichi Nijika asked, puzzled, "Does he really think he can get people to dance in the classroom?"

"Given the minister's thinking, even if he were dancing in a classroom, he would probably choose to pretend to be holding someone while dancing?" Hachiman Hikigaya's thoughts wandered. "For example, the first dance is with a male figure, the second with a female figure, and then there's a bit of impromptu literary recitation in between..."

Yamada Ryo took a slight breath: "Doesn't he wail in bed at night?"

The minister doesn't know, but I do.

Hachiman Hikigaya raised his head slightly, his gaze becoming vacant.

The two groups became quite familiar with each other after talking about the white shadow. Soon, led by Kita Ikuyo, they searched the women's restroom, while also having Hikigaya Hachiman search the men's restroom. Then they ran down to the first floor to observe the back corner of the stairs...

Although we're looking for someone, it doesn't feel like we're looking for the right person.

Yui Yuigahama suggested, "How about we go check out the corner of the school flower bed, or the back gate, or the rooftop?"

Hikigaya Hachiman: "..."

Looks like I'll have to find a new place to have lunch from now on.

“No, no, no, that kind of spacious, well-lit place isn’t Goto-kun’s choice.” Kita Iku led the way, confidently stating, “The dimmer the light, the calmer he feels; the smaller the space, the more at ease he feels… Behind that door is a small, narrow courtyard where cleaning supplies are stored; Goto-kun is very likely to be there!”

The group arrived at the door at varying speeds. The door was a typical classroom door—with a glass panel above it that constantly reflected the face of the homeroom teacher.

Kita Ikuyo peeked out and exclaimed, "Hmm? It's not here either... wait a minute!"

Kita Ikuyo quickly opened the door.

On the stone slab in front of the door, a hair tie with yellow and blue squares is clearly visible.

Kita Ikuyo picked up the hair tie and exclaimed in shock, "This is Goto-san's hair tie..."

“This…” Yui Yuigahama examined the floor. “The marks left by the dust look like someone has been lying on their side here.”

Yamada Ryo frowned: "The Pochi disappearance case?"

Ichiji Nijika glanced at him and said, "Couldn't it be that Pochi thought it over and decided he couldn't run away, so he went back to class on his own?"

"Shall we go back and take a look?"

Kita Ikuyo was a little frustrated, as it seemed she had guessed wrong at every step.

……

……

"Idiom chain games, handmade goods sales, and even video game battles... these are all things beyond my expectations."

"Ah."

"It's much more exciting than the cultural festival I attended in junior high school."

"Correct."

"Oreki-kun must be shocked too, right?"

"of course."

Chitanda Eru, holding a small notebook she had bought and jotting down notes, excitedly asked, "Oreki-san must have a lot of ideas too, right?"

"Yes……"

The fully automatic origami machine, which erases its own self and thus the noise, inevitably jams.

He glanced at Chitanda Eru, who was looking around curiously, seemingly no different from usual...

“Jinshu is a relatively rural area, and high school students have more autonomy, so it's naturally different.” Oreki Houtarou rambled on for a few moments, then quickly added, “If we want to make the school festival more exciting…”

"Sniff, sniff, sniff..."

Chitanda Eru sniffed and suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Why does it smell like food in the building?"

Houtarou Oreki sniffed around but found nothing wrong, but Chitanda's sense of smell was trustworthy: "It's probably coming from the cooking class. Maybe some students are preparing for an activity like opening a restaurant?"

"Let's go take a look!"

Chitanda Eru went upstairs excitedly.

Inside the cooking classroom, a lively scene was unfolding. Students with different needs had divided up the cooking stations, each carving out their own area and displaying their unique skills to create dishes, which were then delivered to the classroom by others, creating a truly bustling atmosphere.

"There are three levels of cooking: the lowest level is microwaving cold bento boxes, turning them into bowls, and serving them out, showing a strong focus on profit; the middle level is characterized by inaccurate cooking times, poor seasoning, and clumsy knife skills, demonstrating a lack of professional competence..."

"This classmate..."

"He...he's from outside."

“Oh, this guest…”

"The one above is me."

The challenger used provocation: "There are so many fancy-named omelet rice dishes on the menu, but you only know how to make one—your omelet rice is so boring!"

"#!"

The student in charge of cooking: "If you're so good, you do it!"

"Then open your eyes wide—what is this omelet rice?"

student:"……"

"Hmm, it seems to be..." Goto Ichiri muttered softly, "Hula Hula Miracle Bloom☆ Omelette Rice?"

The challenger stood in front of the cooking counter, and his aura changed instantly. He picked up an egg, gently tossed it, and placed it on the rim of the bowl with one hand. With a snap, the egg white and yolk began to swirl gently in the bowl without touching the shell.

Open an egg with one hand!

The student was stunned; a single move was enough to make him admit defeat.

The egg mixture swirls in the pan, chopsticks flip the half-cooked egg skin with lightning speed, wrapping the still runny egg mixture inside, a spoonful of salt is added with lightning speed, the pan is tilted, and with a few precise shakes, an oval-shaped omelet rice is placed on top of the rice on the plate.

"How about it? The miracle of omurice is blooming!"

"Master! Please help our maid café!"

The students were deeply moved: "You're in charge of this kitchen!"

A few students who were in charge of cooking immediately said, "This egg should only exist in heaven," and one of them said, "If you don't mind, I'd like to become your cleaner."

"Alright—Brave Pro, deliver the omelet rice. I'm going all out today!"

"Huh? Oh, there's also a Dark Plop Plop Heart-Pumping Omelette Rice..."

Goto Ichiri nodded stiffly, carrying the omelet rice as she ran out of the bustling kitchen, brushing past Oreki Houtarou and Chitanda Eru who were coming upstairs.

Houtarou Oreki couldn't help but glance at it... Hmm? It looks like the closing band for the fireworks festival...

"What a lively cooking class... Wait, are they cooking?"

Chitanda Eru suddenly let out a gasp.

Houtarou Oreki turned his head at the sound, and his eyes twitched involuntarily.

In the cooking class, the most conspicuous one was undoubtedly the darkest one—wearing a ghost mask on his face and a hooded black robe, revealing no part of his appearance. He was stirring a bowl with chopsticks while pouring egg liquid mixed with a lot of black fragments into a pot.

It's less about cooking and more about a villainous witch brewing dubious potions.

"What is darkness? It's black, of course. Finely chop black fungus and add it to the egg mixture, stir-frying it in two batches until the egg skin is fragrant and black. Then pour in the remaining egg mixture to wrap and stick it together, making an omelet rice. After that, get a knife! Make a decisive and clean cut to slice the entire omelet rice in half. Be quick and ruthless, leaving the sharpest part, so that people can associate it with a sharp weapon and make their hearts race!"

The masked man in black robes calmly sheathed his sword.

Several students clapped their hands.

"Huh? What was that shout just now... anyway, the Miracle Omelette Rice? It looked perfectly normal."

"A miracle is a contrast, a low probability, a rarity, and an unexpected event!" the masked man in black explained. "I deliberately concentrated salt on a portion of the egg mixture in the omelet rice. The sustained temperature caused the egg mixture and salt to solidify together—when a customer is eating a normal, delicious omelet rice, they suddenly scoop out a high-salt portion, and the super salty taste bursts on their tongue unexpectedly... That's what a miracle is!"

"As expected of the head chef!"

“What a great idea!”

"Humans simply couldn't have come up with that!"

The students applauded, sensing a familiar yet contradictory emotion emanating from them: 'striving to slack off'...

Although I don't know what the head chef looks like, it seems I already know who he is.

Houtarou Oreki glanced into the distance.

"This looks interesting, Oreki-kun. Let's go get some omelet rice!"

Chitanda Eru, who had been peering out from outside the classroom, turned her gaze back, her eyes sparkling: "I'm very curious about the menu of that maid café!"

"Hmm, it should be downstairs."

Houtarou Oreki was secretly thinking about ordering a normal-sounding omelet rice when Chitanda Eru dragged him downstairs to find a maid cafe.

In the cooking classroom, the gaze behind the demon mask shifted from looking towards the door.

Hmph, a major threat...