Chương 224: [224] Unexpected Encounter
Chapter 224: Unexpected Encounter
"Oh? Didn't expect someone to be here already," Hachiman turned around to see the robust figure of Dojima Gin, draped in a bath towel, standing at the doorway.
"Good evening, Dojima-senpai," Hachiman greeted with a smile.
"Oh, it's Hikigaya-kun. Good evening," Dojima replied, smiling as well, rinsing off briefly, and entering the large bath.
As both were now completely unclothed, Hachiman could clearly see the sculpted muscles on Dojima's upper body—the solid pectoral muscles, broad latissimus dorsi, giving the impression of explosive strength throughout his body.
In comparison, Hachiman appeared much leaner, though his well-defined muscles drew an appreciative expression from Dojima.
"Didn't expect Hikigaya-kun to have quite a good physique," Dojima remarked.
Um, why does that sound a bit... never mind.
Hearing this, Hachiman's expression became somewhat odd, but he still smiled.
"Oh, not at all. Compared to you, Dojima-senpai, there's a long way to go."
"Hahaha, this is the result of my training," Dojima proudly spoke of his muscles.
"I'm used to doing muscle training during baths. Hikigaya-kun, want to join me?" Saying this, he struck a bodybuilding pose.
Seeing him in a "royal invitation" manner, Hachiman twitched his mouth.
"I'll pass. I think I'm fine the way I am now."
"Is that so? That's a pity."
Hearing Hachiman's refusal, Dojima shook his head regretfully. However, he suddenly remembered something and spoke again.
"By the way, Hikigaya-kun, are you close to Erina?"
Before, in the surveillance footage, he had seen the two of them looking quite familiar and even planning to have dinner together.
This made Dojima curious because, in his impression, Erina wasn't one to show friendliness to anyone of the same age.
"Me and Erina?" Hachiman paused for a moment, then chuckled as he began to explain.
"In fact, my acquaintance with Erina was also a coincidence."
He then recounted the conversation he had with Isshiki in the Home Economics Cooking class.
"Oh? So, you met through a cooking duel?" Dojima nodded.
He didn't doubt Hachiman's words; after all, Hachiman's culinary skills were not inferior to his own. Winning against Erina wouldn't be an issue.
"That's right. Since winning against her that time, Erina and I have been having a monthly cooking competition, and through that, we gradually became acquainted," Hachiman shrugged.
"Haha, that's a kind of fate!" Dojima laughed heartily.
"Perhaps."
After a brief exchange, Dojima once again immersed himself in his muscle training.
For a while, the spacious bathroom echoed with philosophical sounds like "Hmm" and "Ah," as if the air was filled with a purple hue.
This made Hachiman a bit uneasy, fearing that Dojima might suddenly decide to engage in a wrestling match between men.
Considering he had soaked long enough, Hachiman stood up.
"I've soaked for long; let's call it a day here, Dojima-senpai. I'll head for dinner. See you!"
Dojima waved to him as he spoke, "You go ahead, Hikigaya-kun. I'll soak a bit longer," and resumed his exercises.
Hachiman nodded, got up, and left the bath.
After changing into a yukata and just stepping out of the bathroom, he collided with a warm and fragrant body.
"Ah... That hurts!"
A familiar cry of pain sounded, and the person directly fell to the ground.
Hachiman looked down and realized he had bumped into Erina.
The girl, also dressed in a yukata, had her neckline slightly askew due to the fall, revealing a large expanse of delicate, snowy-white skin and a deep cleavage.
"Erina, are you okay?"
Seeing the girl on the ground, Hachiman quickly inquired.
"Eh?! It's you, the guy who doesn't watch where he's going."
Erina looked up, discovering that the person who collided with her was Hachiman. She angrily waved her small fist.
However, due to her vigorous movement, her ample bosom jiggled, catching Hachiman's attention.
Quickly realizing this, the girl followed his gaze downward, noticing the exposed whiteness at her chest.
"Ah, you pervert! No peeking allowed." Erina screamed, quickly covering the revealed sight and then glared at him with embarrassment and anger.
Hearing her words, Hachiman smirked.
When you wore a swimsuit at the beach, you exposed even more. I've seen it all, so what's there to be shy about now?
Hachiman couldn't comprehend the modesty points of girls. After all, the styles of swimsuits and underwear are similar. Why is one embarrassing to be seen in and the other not?
But considering he was the one who accidentally knocked Erina down, Hachiman reached out a hand, intending to help her up.
"Come on, I'll pull you up."
Seeing his hand, the girl hesitated for a moment but eventually extended her hand to let Hachiman pull her up.
Once on her feet, Erina adjusted her slightly disheveled yukata.
As the hem fluttered, revealing some fair skin, it naturally drew Hachiman's gaze.
When the girl looked up again, she noticed Hachiman still glancing at her chest. Blushing, she covered her chest with both hands. "P-Pervert! Where are you looking?!"
Why do girls always resort to the same phrases when scolding, Hachiman wondered. Nevertheless, he had to admit, the girl's figure was indeed perfect. Unable to resist, he complimented her.
"Erina, you have a great figure. You could easily become a model!"
As it turned out, girls like compliments. Hearing Hachiman's words, Erina's lips curled slightly, but her tsundere nature made her turn her head, emitting a light snort.
"Hmph, even if you compliment me, I won't be happy!"
Familiar gestures, familiar tsundere snorts—Hachiman was used to it. However, he was also a bit puzzled. Why did the girl appear here at this time, looking like she had already finished bathing?
Remember, he had come to take a bath not long after the evening assessment started. Even if he had chatted with Dojima for a while, the entire bathing time was around 30 to 40 minutes.
No matter how fast a girl is, preparing fifty servings of steak rice would take at least half an hour, not to mention the time needed for a typical girl to bathe. It was impossible for anyone to walk out of the bath within less than forty minutes.
How did she manage to finish bathing at the same time as me?
After thinking it through, Hachiman believed there was only one possibility.
"Erina, you didn't participate in the evening assessment, did you?"
Chương 225: [225] The Girl Who Begins to Change
Chapter 225: The Girl Who Begins to Change
"Erina, you didn't participate in the evening assessment, did you?"
After careful consideration, Hachiman could only come up with the possibility that the girl had skipped the assessment.
"Yeah, I didn't join the dinner assessment tonight." Erina admitted without hesitation.
"Those guys with muscles like gorillas, I really didn't feel like cooking for them. So, I simply used the authority of the Elite Ten to exempt myself from the assessment."
Hmm.
Hearing her words, Hachiman gave a wry smile.
"While those people do look quite robust, it's not very nice to describe them like that."
"And besides, using the authority of the Elite Ten to do this is not quite in line with the rules, you know. Be careful; I might have to report you to Chief Nakiri."
"Tch."
Erina rolled her eyes dismissively, paying no heed to his words.
Observing her reaction, Hachiman couldn't help but shake his head.
"By the way, what about Hisako? Didn't you also exempt her from the evening assessment?"
Upon hearing this question, Erina looked a bit helpless.
"Originally, I wanted to exempt Hisako from the assessment as well, but she insisted on participating, so I had no choice but to let her be."
"I don't understand. What's there to care about in such an assessment?"
Nevertheless, Hachiman didn't quite agree, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Although those assessments may seem trivial, they have their own significance since the academy arranged them. Besides, Hisako's culinary skills are not as good as yours, so it might be a good opportunity for her to improve."
"Oh, by the way, I ran into you. Want to grab a meal together?"
He was originally planning to call her after taking a bath, but since they crossed paths, he decided to extend the invitation.
"Um... sure," Erina hesitated for a moment but eventually agreed. At the moment, Hisako was still in the middle of the assessment, and Hachiman was the only one available to accompany her.
"I'll go back to change first."
She was currently wearing a yukata and needed to change into regular clothes.
"Mhm."
Hachiman nodded in agreement. After all, eating in yukatas wasn't the most suitable choice.
Shortly after, the two changed into their regular clothes and walked towards the restaurant. However, as they walked, Hachiman found it a bit strange because, in his memory, the restaurant wasn't in this direction.
"I remember the restaurant isn't in this direction, right?"
"Hmph, why bother about that? Just follow me..." Erina huffed.
"Tsk tsk, that way seems quite secluded. Is Erina planning to do something inappropriate to me?" Observing that they were heading towards a more isolated area, Hachiman couldn't resist teasing.
"Well, yes. I do plan to do something unspeakable to you. How about it? Dare to come over?" Erina shot him a disdainful glance.
Hearing her words, Hachiman showed no fear, shrugged his shoulders, and continued to follow her. If the girl really had some sinister plan, that could be interesting. With his current physique, resisting her would be a piece of cake.
However, Hachiman decided to play along for now and then counterattack later. Even if things got out of hand, he could justify it as self-defense.
But, it was just a wild thought. It was impossible for such a thing to happen. With Erina's tsundere personality, there was no way she would do something like that.
Yet, the recent scene did surprise Hachiman. He realized that the girl had learned to crack a joke, and that was quite astonishing.
It seems that the "training mission" assigned by Chief Nakiri is progressing smoothly.
Guided by Erina, the two turned around a corner, and Hachiman found himself in front of a luxurious restaurant. Moreover, in this restaurant, he spotted many familiar faces.
Several graduates who served as mentors for the residential training were dining here. Hachiman quickly scanned the area and realized that, except for Dojima still bathing and Hitoshi overseeing the dinner assessment, most others were present.
Approaching an available table, they sat facing each other. Many graduates, curious about the newcomers, glanced over, but Erina, the granddaughter of the headmaster and renowned as the "God Tongue," is naturally quite familiar to them.
As for Hachiman, being only sixteen and invited by the headmaster to act as a guest lecturer for the residential training, he had surpassed them not only in culinary skills but also in swordsmanship.
Seeing the two entering together, some graduates couldn't help but entertain a certain idea.
**Could it be that the headmaster wants Hikigaya-kun to become Erina's future husband?**
In this case, they hit the nail on the head. Senzaemon indeed had such thoughts.
Letting Hachiman correct Erina's character was also a way for the two to build a connection.
As for the girls around Hachiman, Senzaemon was well aware of it.
Although his old friend's granddaughter was among them, it was just a minor matter. Every successful person had beautiful women around them. Senzaemon understood this very well from his own experiences.
Back in his youth, he also had several confidantes, and in the end, he married Erina's grandmother.
Hachiman's talents were highly regarded by Senzaemon.
If building a connection with Erina could tie him to the Nakiri family's big ship, Senzaemon would be delighted.
However, even if it didn't work out in the end, he wouldn't forcibly interfere with Erina's choices.
After all, as one of the Japan's Top Four Conglomerates, Senzaemon didn't need to sacrifice his granddaughter's happiness for anything.
Of course, if the two of them could develop genuine feelings for each other, that would be the best outcome.
However, the graduates couldn't fathom all these considerations.
Seeing Erina Nakiri, who had never stirred up any rumors, sitting with a guy for dinner, they immediately assumed that Senzaemon intended for Hachiman to be Erina's future husband.
With these thoughts in mind, many people started to stir, as gossip was one of humanity's instincts.
"Oh! Hikigaya-kun, Miss Erina, good evening!"
Suddenly, a voice with a not-so-pure Japanese accent rang out.
A graduate with blond hair, blue eyes, and a prominent double chin approached their table, holding a glass of red wine. It was Donato Gotoda, a graduate from the 80th generation of Totsuki.
Swaying his glass of red wine and looking at the two facing each other, Donato smiled and spoke.
"Are you two on a date? Oh! This is indeed romantic."
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