During lunch break, in the Class 1-A classroom.
Compared to the cafeteria's clamor, it was much quieter here.
Not all students chose to eat in the cafeteria; some opted to stay in the classroom to enjoy their packed lunches,
or used this time to quietly review their lessons,
preparing for the upcoming First Year Midterm Exam.
Sakamoto sat upright in his seat.
A reference book lay open before him, his gaze sweeping over the text and formulas on the pages.
Just like the scene at noon that had shocked the entire cafeteria and was enough to become a campus legend,
to him, it was just a perfectly normal interlude.
The atmosphere in the classroom was peaceful,
until... a suppressed murmur began to rise from several corners of the classroom.
Some students who had just returned from the cafeteria, or were following the school's internal forums,
were exchanging phones,
and what was playing on the screens
was a video of Sakamoto providing that "candlelight lunch" for Nagumo and Asahina, as well as his subsequent cleaning performance.
The classroom's calm was broken.
However, Sakamoto, the center of the storm,
seemed to be in the eye of the typhoon, completely unaffected,
still concentrating on his book.
Just then, a petite figure, like a nimble butterfly,
darted over to Sakamoto's desk in a few steps.
It was Morishita Ai.
Her blue braids swayed gently with her movements,
her face flushed with extreme excitement and adoration,
her violet eyes sparkling,
and she clutched her phone tightly, the screen clearly showing a still image of Sakamoto kneeling on one knee, presenting a dish.
"Hey! Hey! Sakamoto!"
She practically bounced up to Sakamoto.
"This! This on the forum! It's you, isn't it? It's definitely you!"
She practically shoved the phone screen into Sakamoto's face,
"That's—amazing—! How did you do it?! That foie gras sauce! That plating! And the way you cleaned the table afterwards! It was like magic! You really are super strong!"
There was no hint of doubt or impropriety in her tone, only pure admiration.
In her eyes, anything Sakamoto did was reasonable, because he himself was the embodiment of the "extraordinary."
Sakamoto looked up from his book, pushed up his glasses, and looked at the extremely excited Morishita.
"Good afternoon, Morishita-san."
He nodded slightly, acknowledging her greeting, and to her string of questions, he merely replied calmly,
"It's just some necessary preparatory work and process execution; there's nothing particularly special about it."
"How can there be nothing special about it!" Morishita clearly didn't accept this humble statement.
She suddenly gave a sly smile, flipped her wrist, and a small eraser, conjured from who-knows-where, silently shot towards Sakamoto's forehead like a hidden weapon!
This was her unique way of "greeting" him.
However,
Sakamoto's gaze didn't even leave her face; he simply raised his right hand, which was holding a pencil, seemingly casually—
"Tap."
A soft sound.
The tip of the pencil precisely blocked the flying eraser, causing it to rest steadily on the pencil's tip.
The entire process was so fast it was almost imperceptible, and it didn't affect the writing motion of his other hand in the slightest.
"Wow!" The light in Morishita's eyes grew even brighter. "Amazing, as expected!"
She continued to ask a few more questions about the cooking details with a grin, and after receiving Sakamoto's concise and precise answers, she returned to her seat, her face beaming with the pride of "the person I know is super cool."
The classroom had just returned to a moment of quiet.
A faint, rhythmic tapping sound came from the back of the classroom.
Sakayanagi Arisu was seen leaning on her exquisite silver cane, walking steadily but slowly towards Sakamoto.
A faint smile played on her face.
She stopped in front of Sakamoto's desk, her cane gently tapping the floor.
"Good afternoon, Sakamoto-kun."
"Lunch break seems to have been quite eventful. Although I couldn't attend in person due to my physical condition, thanks to the internet, I didn't miss this... wonderful 'performance.'"
"Can you tell me?" She tilted her head slightly, her smile unchanging,
"What exactly is your relationship with Vice President Nan Yun of the second year? Is it worth you going to such 'great lengths'? As far as I know, he seems to be the Vice President of the Student Council?"
Sakayanagi-san had not taken any proactive steps these past few days.
She had intended to wait and see,
but she hadn't expected Sakamoto-kun to create such a sensational news story again.
Sakamoto-kun put down his pen and faced Sakayanagi-san,
"Good afternoon, Sakayanagi-san."
He replied calmly,
"I have no special relationship with Vice President Nan Yun. I am currently in a 'one-week interview period' for applying to join the Student Council, and Vice President Nan Yun happens to be this week's interviewer. The interview assessment he proposed is to 'completely obey his command and arrangements' within this week. Everything at lunchtime was merely a part of fulfilling my duties during the interview period."
His explanation was no different from what he had told Ryuuen-kun earlier,
clear and direct.
"Interview period? Completely obey his command?"
She repeated, her brow furrowed,
"That is a bit strange."
"As far as I know, the final decision-making power for Student Council recruitment should lie with President Horikita Manabu. The Vice President… seems to have no authority to set up an 'interview period' alone, especially with such harsh conditions that are almost like personal servitude."
She paused, as if reminding Sakamoto-kun.
"Sakamoto-kun, have you considered that this so-called 'interview period' and its content might not be an official Student Council procedure, but rather… Vice President Nan Yun's personal improvisation?"
Her thinking was meticulous,
and she immediately noticed the irregularities.
However, Sakamoto-kun's reaction remained calm.
He gently pushed up his glasses.
"Thank you for the reminder, Sakayanagi-san. I am also aware of the Student Council's rules and procedures."
Sakamoto-kun's tone was as if he had already seen through everything.
"However, since it is a request made directly by the interviewer, as an applicant, it is my duty to try my best to meet the requirements to show sincerity and ability. As for whether the request itself fully complies with the procedures, that is not something I need to question. Just execute it."
Sakayanagi Arisu gazed at Sakamoto-kun's calm, unruffled face for a few seconds,
then suddenly let out a soft laugh.
"I see… I understand."
She did not press further.
A conversation between intelligent people
does not need to be spelled out.
She already understood that Sakamoto-kun was not unaware,
but had chosen to respond in this unique way.
This made her even more interested in the developments of the coming week.
She nodded gracefully.
"Well then, I won't disturb your studying, Sakamoto-kun. I wish you… a smooth 'interview'."
Finally—
Hashimoto Masayoshi, sitting in the back row of the classroom, was now frowning deeply, staring at the frozen video on his phone screen, his expression fluctuating.
He had also been in the cafeteria at noon and had witnessed some of the scenes firsthand.
At the time, he only found it absurd and curious.
But now,
combined with Sakamoto-kun's explanation to Sakayanagi-san just now… "Interview period? Obey Vice President Nagumo's command?"
Hashimoto-kun muttered to himself, his fingers unconsciously tapping the desk.
"He actually established such a direct connection with the influential figure of the second year?"
A possibility that Ryuuen-kun had previously ruled out first,
now resurfaced in Hashimoto-kun's mind because of Sakamoto-kun's personal admission of a "subordinate relationship."
"Could it be that the exam paper distributed in his name was not a groundless frame-up, but perhaps really had something to do with him."
His thoughts were half a beat slow,
and he was currently heading in a potentially wrong direction.