Library

When Hiyori and Ren arrived at the library, he didn't see any of the Class D students around so he thought it was still too early for their group study.

Both of them ended up spending most of the time browsing the library and talking about the books they have read.

"Hmm"

"Is something wrong?" Hiyori asked when she saw Ren immersed in his thoughts.

"Nah, I was just thinking how there is a very small number of...disturbing books here but I guess that's expected since it's the school's library."

"Disturbing?" Hiyori raised her eyebrow in question.

"Yeah, like...The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris for an example. I guess the school doesn't want students turning psychopaths" Ren replied in a joking tone.

"Do you like Thrillers too?" Hiyori asked curiously. It was probably the most she spoke in a single day since she arrived at this school. She really wanted to befriend Ren and know all his preferences in books.

"Sometimes...but I just read those occasionally since they can be very depressive. You could also say it sort of shows me what everything humans are capable of doing. It also shows how experiences mold us into what we are today or how kind-hearted people do atrocious actions for the sake of their loved ones just to later see the same kind-hearted people slowly turn evil while they still think they are doing the "right" thing."

Hiyori just nodded her head with a serious expression, showing that she pays good attention to Ren's mumbling.

"Chiba-kun...May I ask one question?" Hiyori's tone suddenly changed, however the fact that she asked this way was more than enough for Ren to guess it's not about the books.

"You already did-" Ren wanted to avoid any questions that didn't involve books so he tried to shake her off with a silly joke but after seeing her resolute expression, he sighed aloud.

"-go ahead"

"You aren't really afraid of Ryuen, right?"

Hearing her question, Ren who was putting a book back on the shelf stopped and glanced at her.

"What makes you think so?" Ren resumed his actions as he asked in a neutral tone.

"If I ignore what happened one month ago, your tone sounded so dismissive whenever the topic regarding Ryuen came up. You also talk in...well, in a relatively rude manner, you also rarely use any honorifics."

"Fear...huh?" Ren turned to face her after he was done putting books away.

"This is the real me, as I have said before, our experiences shape us into who we are today. I don't talk in a rude manner because I find it easier, enjoyable, or whatever. I speak that way naturally. If that bothers you-" Ren started explaining his reasoning but before he could finish the last sentence, he was interrupted by Hiyori.

"No! It doesn't bother me so don't worry about it!" Her interruption combined with her strong response slightly surprised Ren but he could understand where she was coming from.

'She most likely misunderstood what I was going to say next' Ren just nodded his head before making sure he has everything in his bag, seemingly preparing to leave.

"Do you want to leave already?" Hiyori sounded a bit disappointed...sad.

"Look at the time, we should probably leave now." Hearing Ren's response, Hiyori quickly checked the time on her phone opening her eyes widely.

"You are right, I completely lost the track of time." Hiyori quickly grabbed her bag and started leaving but after being several steps ahead of Ren who was just watching her, she glanced back at him with a confused expression.

"Are you coming?"

At her innocent question, Ren closed his eyes and chuckled a bit.

"Pff, sure...Let's go back to the dorms"

[New side quest!]

[Make Hiyori Shiina your confidant/girlfriend]

[Reward: Private Points]

As they were returning to the dorms, a text appeared in front of Ren's eyes that caused his mood to deteriorate.

'Jeez, you really have to ruin everything for me, don't you? Forcing friendships and relationships on me left and right...'

"Did you join any club at the beginning of the school year, Chiba-kun? I joined Tea Ceremony Club, you are free to join me inside the club room to read some novels since there are no strict rules regarding who can spend time there."

"I joined the Archery club and now that I think about it, I should most likely attend it once in a while." Ren put his glasses on.

"Is there any specific reason why archery? Do you have an experience with archery?"

"Hold your horses with those questions, though I guess it doesn't matter since both questions are connected to a single answer...I would say I am pretty good at it."

"So it's another hobby of yours..." Hiyori said while looking up.

"Hobby huh?... I was more like forced to pick it up"

Hiyori looked at Ren who muttered those words in a strange tone, if she had to pinpoint it, she would say he was sad, even disappointed, she could only assume it was a quite sensitive topic so she decided to drop it, however the more time she spent around Ren made her more interested in him.

She couldn't explain the feeling, but she could tell that Ren wasn't as simple as everybody in class C thought.

"Shiina-san" Ren suddenly stopped walking and called her name.

"Huh? What's the matter?" She was confused mainly by the change of atmosphere around them.

"You have asked me plenty of questions today so I would like to ask you something too...I understand you approached me because we have the same hobby but you have asked several questions out of topic today. My question is- why?"

"Because I want to become friends with Chiba-kun and as far as I know, friends don't talk only about their shared hobbies. The reason for my questions was to understand what kind of person Chiba-kun is!" Hiyori returned to her extremely polite manner of talking as if to show her sincerity.

'Her voice, actions...she really means it' Ren inwardly frowned, finding her sincerity unbelievable.

"Friends...I understand now, let's go" Ren resumed walking, leaving his back wide open for Hiyori's eyes.

Only then she understood what she was feeling when looking at Ren...loneliness, on completely another level.

Not social loneliness, nor emotional loneliness but existential loneliness.

'Maybe I will mess around a little bit around Ryuen' Ren thought out of nowhere, completely unaware of Hiyori's thoughts as she was quietly walking right behind him.