Classroom of the Elite: Free Will

V10: Chapter 10 - The Kindness of Others

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka POV

"Hey. If it's alright with you, can we talk for a little while now?"

It was a little past six o'clock in the evening, just before dinner. Suzune had asked me that question just as I was watching the burner heat up a pot. The water came to a boil, bubbling excitedly.

"Were you just in the middle of making dinner?" she asked.

"Yeah, but don't worry about it." All I had done so far was boil some water. I hadn't really gotten started yet. "So, you wanted to talk? What about?"

If she was planning to request I help her come up with events, then I was going to refuse.

"Don't worry. I'm not asking you to decide what events we're going with. I promise you that," she told me, apparently having guessed what I was thinking. "But, if it's okay with you, I'd prefer we meet in person to talk. It should only take about an hour. That's all."

Was it something difficult to talk about over the phone? Or maybe there was something she wanted to ascertain by meeting face-to-face? Well, an hour wasn't that long. I wasn't going to turn her down.

"All right. Are you coming here?" I asked.

"How about my room?" she replied.

Well, had gone to Suzune's room before. There wasn't really any particular reason for me to refuse her.

I turned off the burner, grabbed only my phone, and left my room. Then, I got onto the elevator and headed toward Suzune's room. The sun was already down, but it was still actually pretty early in the evening, so it wasn't a surprise to see boys walking around the upper floors, which was the girls' area.

Shortly after ringing Suzune's doorbell, I heard the sound of her door being unlocked. I expected her to greet me with her usual serious look, but got a surprise when she opened the door.

"Welcome," she said.

Surprisingly, she didn't look in a bad mood. I, on the other hand, felt a little uneasy at this surprising change. The scent of miso faintly wafted from further inside her room.

"I was just preparing dinner. Come in," said Suzune.

If she was in the middle of making her dinner, she could've just called me later...

When I hesitated to enter, Suzune gave me a look, urging me to get a move on, so I decided to come in. Maybe she'd been reluctant to have me over later at night, or something like that. I figured I'd just leave it at that and not overthink things. But as soon as I set foot inside her room, I noticed something strange.

For some reason, places had been set for two people at her small table. I wondered if she was going to have dinner with someone after we were done talking?

"Well then..."

Just as I was about to try confirming her plans were, Suzune interrupted me.

"Please, don't be shy. Have a seat."

Wait. Hold on a second...

There was clearly a pair of chopsticks placed on the table at the spot she motioned me to sit at. My instincts were telling me this was a trap designed to force me into doing something.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Rather than sit down, I tried to start the conversation immediately.

"Are you going to stand and talk? I still have some stuff to finish up, so could you please sit down and wait for me?"