章 23: In My Next Life, I'll Reincarnate as a Nuclear Bomb
At Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, the girls' and boys' dormitories are housed in the same building. However, the girls' dorms are located on the higher floors, while the boys' are on the lower ones.
Hikigaya's room was 111, which was on the first floor. According to the dorm manager, Karuizawa Kei's room was on the fifth floor.
Hikigaya took the elevator and quickly arrived at the corresponding floor.
As soon as he stepped out, he cautiously surveyed his surroundings, moving forward as stealthily as a ninja, hoping not to be seen by anyone.
If anyone found out he was sneaking into the girls' dormitory, it would be social suicide!
Luckily, it was currently downtime, and since the school had generously equipped each dorm with private bathrooms, the corridors were practically deserted.
Hikigaya went to Karuizawa Kei's room without a hitch and gently knocked on the door.
"Uh, Karuizawa-san, I'm here to return your lunchbox," he called out, trying to keep his voice calm.
However, after knocking for a while, there was no response from inside.
Was Karuizawa ignoring him? Pretending not to be there?
A bad feeling crept over him.
This suspicion came from his dark past. Back in middle school, when he finally managed to exchange LINE IDs with a girl in his class, he eagerly sent her a simple "Good evening" that night.
He didn't receive a reply until the next morning—"Sorry, I forgot to check my messages."
The worst thing about LINE was the dreaded "read" receipt. That girl hadn't even bothered to fake interest. She had read the message and left it hanging for the entire night before giving him that half-hearted reply.
Just thinking about it made him want to die.
In any case, whether Karuizawa wasn't home or was pretending not to be, Hikigaya couldn't afford to stay any longer.
If any girl stepped out and spotted him here, his social life would truly be over!
With that in mind, Hikigaya headed back toward the elevator.
But just before he could enter, he noticed the elevator's indicator light showing it was ascending. Panicking, he quickly concealed himself behind a nearby potted plant.
"Ding!"
The elevator chimed and out stepped two familiar figures: Karuizawa Kei and Hirata Yousuke.
So she wasn't pretending not to be home after all...
Hikigaya let out a sigh of relief. He didn't want a repeat of his middle school trauma.
Karuizawa was smiling as she walked alongside Hirata. From the looks of it, they seemed... quite close.
"Well then, I'll be counting on you from now on, Hirata-kun," Karuizawa said with a bright smile, even addressing him by his first name in an almost intimate way.
"If people found out about this..." Hirata's expression, however, wasn't as carefree as hers. He didn't look relaxed or at ease like a boyfriend should, but rather, he appeared tense.
"Hmph, who's going to find out if we don't say anything?" Karuizawa scoffed, her tone dismissive. "You've already agreed to this, so you'd better take responsibility!"
Hirata sighed in defeat, clearly not thrilled with the situation. "Fine, I'll leave you here then."
"Mm, make sure to do the same next time too," Karuizawa waved goodbye as Hirata stepped back into the elevator.
The moment he was out of sight, the blonde girl's demeanor instantly changed.
"Spineless idiot," she muttered to the air, spitting as she turned away. Her sharp, cold expression now fully revealed the true face of the bratty, tough girl she was.
Hikigaya had witnessed everything, all while remaining hidden behind the plant.
He didn't know exactly what was going on between Karuizawa and Hirata, but one thing was clear—if he showed himself now, they'd assume he had overheard something he wasn't supposed to.
Only after confirming that Karuizawa had left did Hikigaya emerge from his hiding spot and press the elevator's down button.
Were Karuizawa and Hirata dating? But something about it seemed... off?
Damn, this class is way too complicated! Is it still possible to request a transfer? A-Class or B-Class might be out of reach, but maybe I could at least slip into C-Class?
As he stepped into the elevator, Hikigaya let out a deep sigh, feeling an overwhelming sense of uncertainty about his future in D-Class.
And as for the lunchbox? It looked like he'd have to return it another day.
…
After the exhausting day, Hikigaya collapsed onto his bed back in his dorm room and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, he woke up, washed up, and stuffed the pink lunchbox into his bag before heading to class.
Just like yesterday, he arrived fairly early, but, as usual, Horikita Suzune had already beaten him there.
Hikigaya had grown accustomed to this, so he wasn't surprised. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he made his way to his desk.
He thought it was going to be a normal start to the day, but then—
"Good morning."
Horikita greeted him.
Wait, what? Is the world ending? Or has the sharp-tongued Horikita been replaced by an alien doppelgänger?
Hikigaya stared at her in disbelief, clearly not expecting her to initiate a conversation.
"Your intelligence seems to degrade with each passing day. Are you down to penguin-level IQ now?" Horikita added, her usual biting tone back in full force.
Ah, there it is. Yep, it's her.
"Hah, I know you're trying to insult me, but too bad for you—penguins are a compliment in my book," Hikigaya replied coolly, unfazed by her sharp words.
"While you may be trying to spin it as penguins having some redeeming qualities, the fact that you're comparing yourself to an animal means you're already no longer part of the human race."
"Why do you care? Humans are the ugliest creatures on this planet. My goal is to wipe them out and give the Earth a fresh start!"
"So, you plan to reincarnate as a nuclear bomb in your next life?"
"Please, spare me the dark humor..."
Completely defeated by Horikita's cold, cutting remark, Hikigaya realized once again that he stood no chance against this woman.
"Oh, by the way..." Horikita's tone suddenly became odd as she watched him sit down. "Hikigaya, you went to the club recruitment fair yesterday, didn't you...?"
"..."
Caught off guard by her question, Hikigaya fell silent for a moment before giving her a slight nod.
At this, Horikita's expression became strangely unreadable, almost as if she was struggling to remain composed.
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