By the time Natsukawa Kanade returned to his dorm room, his frustration had completely dissipated. Not that he had been truly angry in the first place—just annoyed that his efforts to maintain a pristine image had been, essentially, for nothing. A hot shower had done wonders to clear his mind.
Of course, there was no way he'd miss out on tonight's gossip. That would be a million-yen loss in entertainment value.
"Alright, your turn! If you don't spill some juicy stories tonight, none of you are getting any sleep!"
"Isn't that a bit unreasonable?" Hikigaya Hachiman grumbled but froze under Kanade's piercing glare from where he lay sprawled on his bed.
"Let's start with you, Hachiman!" Kanade declared, wasting no time.
"H-huh? Me? What could I possibly have to share…?" Hachiman stammered, retreating slightly.
"Your thing with Yui Yuigahama," Kanade said bluntly, even dropping her full name. "Don't forget, I'm the student council president. I've seen the pairings list for the test of courage."
"…" Hachiman had no comeback.
The other two immediately turned their attention to him, their eyes gleaming with interest as if to say, Come on, let's hear it.
"It's—it's not what you think!" Hachiman protested weakly, but the others were already sitting up, ready to pounce on the story. Kanade even scooted closer, giving him a meaningful pat on the shoulder.
"If you don't want people to think you're either into guys or a closet perv, you know what to do."
Hachiman's eyes widened in panic as if Kanade had hit a nerve. He considered denying it but realized Kanade had a point. Wait—how did he know about that? Hachiman wondered. Was it that obvious?!
Ultimately, he sighed in defeat.
"F-fine. It's nothing special, though. She wanted to participate but didn't want to pair up with someone she didn't know, so she asked me to help out. That's all," he muttered.
The others exchanged knowing looks.
"Seriously! That's all there is to it!" Hachiman insisted.
"Come on. Under that atmosphere, not even during the event?" Tsubasa Tanuma pressed, clearly the most invested in romance among the four.
"Of course not! What do you think this is, some kind of rom-com light novel?" Hachiman shot back reflexively but abruptly fell silent as if something had crossed his mind.
Kanade narrowed his eyes. "Oh, there's definitely something you're not telling us."
Seeing Hachiman's flustered expression, Kanade decided to let him off the hook. "Alright, alright. At this rate, maybe I should just encourage Yui to be a bit braver, huh?"
"What?!" Hachiman turned sharply, disbelief written all over his face. "What are you talking about?! You better not have done anything!"
Kanade smirked, satisfied with Hachiman's reaction. "Don't worry, it's nothing serious. She just asked me a few questions about you, and I gave her some tips. That's all."
"You—what?! You told her about me?!" Hachiman exclaimed, his indignation mounting.
"Relax. Just harmless stuff, like your favorite novels or hobbies. Things anyone could figure out if they paid a little attention," Kanade replied, rolling his eyes.
"Still—!"
"Enough already. Keep it down before the dorm supervisor comes by, and we all lose our fun," Kanade interrupted, waving off Hachiman's protests as he turned to the next victim.
Seeing Hachiman silenced, the others also shifted their focus—to Miyuki Shirogane.
Shirogane's love life wasn't particularly dramatic, making it a good warm-up before they moved on to the "main event." Kanade's thoughts aligned perfectly with theirs.
"Alright, Shirogane, you're up next. You've got a story ready, right?"
"A story? Not really…" Shirogane began, waving his hands in protest, but under the expectant gazes of the group, he caved.
"Well, everything went… smoothly, I guess?"
"Oh? Do elaborate!" The group leaned in eagerly.
"I mean… I invited her, she accepted, and we had a good time," Shirogane said, trying to recall the details. "There were some challenges along the way, but we solved all the puzzles and got the courage medal and a few trinkets…"
"And that's it?"
"That's it." Shirogane nodded firmly.
The room fell silent for a moment.
"That doesn't sound smooth at all," Hachiman muttered, breaking the silence.
The other two nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, Shirogane. Even I can tell that doesn't sound like a 'successful date,'" Tanuma added, the budding romantic now surprisingly opinionated.
"Shouldn't something unusual or exciting happen at times like these? Just solving puzzles and clearing stages makes the test of courage meaningless," Tanuma said.
"Huh? Is… is that so?" Shirogane looked uncertain, glancing at Kanade for confirmation.
Kanade nodded, albeit with a complicated expression. "In a way… yeah, that's true."
"…"