Free Web NovelChapter 100: A Transferee?!
After the forgotten bodyguarding duty and the spontaneous accident by Ameyoko, the night went by in an uneventful manner to Hajime’s relief. Setting aside the earful he received from Kichiro and the others after he left the group without proper prior notice, nothing much transpired. They even forgave him in an instant and played a few rounds of cards with him before lights out.
"Still, who would’ve thought that you’re actually not a delinquent? What were you doing these past few months?" Kichiro asked out of nowhere just when Shoichi and Shinji paired their last pair of cards in the third round of old maid.
With Kichiro and Hajime the only two left, the atmosphere in the room intensified as they bluffed and tricked each other with their movements and body language.
"To be fair, Hajime never did anything regarding his misplaced reputation. That’s why we were led to assume that he was a delinquent despite being not one." The aloof Shinji pointed out as he returned to reading his half-finished novel. "And even then, we also didn’t do anything about it. Sure there were rumors going around but we never confirmed anything. Instead, we blindly believed the rumors and caused the rift between truths and lies to widen. Just as Hajime played a major part in the misunderstanding, we also played a considerable part in it." freēwebnovel.com
"I suppose so," Shoichi chimed in, watching both Kichiro and Hajime as they glared at each other.
There were only three cards left, and Hajime had two. If Kichiro could get the last pairing, then it would be Hajime who’d drink the one-liter bottle of water sitting by the corner of the room. Usually, the punishment for the loser would’ve been to drink a shot of alcohol but since such hard drinks weren’t allowed on the school trip, they’d just have to make do with water.
"But why go through such great lengths? I mean, you did miss almost all the morning classes. Even if we were to assume that you’re not a delinquent, how would you reasonably explain ditching morning classes?" Shoichi continued.
After much contemplation, Kichiro picked the card to the right, confident that he’d have won the round of old maid. But as soon as he flipped the card, all the colors drained from his face. His lips twitched as he hid the two cards behind his back. "Who would’ve thought I’d get the joker... tsk~!"
Hajime smiled in a satisfied manner before leaning back. "You’re going to have to drink one liter, I guess," He shrugged.
"Grr... let’s see who’ll get the last laugh." Kichiro returned the smugness that emanated from Hajime, extending his hands towards Hajime as he held out two cards. "Your turn,"
"Let’s see..." Hajime licked his lips. He had been holding on to the old maid that he knew what the card felt like face-down. Closing his eyes, he felt both cards that Kichiro held out in front of him. There was nothing Kichiro could do but wait in anticipation as his loss drew closer.
Kichiro gulped, flinched, and fidgeted on his seat while waiting. Half a minute later, Hajime finally picked a card.
"This one!"
Hajime was right in his celebration since he picked the last pair. With the joker/old maid left in Kichiros hands, it was obvious who lost. Kichiro heaved a sigh, supporting himself on the floor with his two palms planted on it. "I lost... how many times was it already? I don’t want to drink water anymore."
"Sorry, Kichiro, but rules are rules," Shinji voiced out.
"What?! But I... I already drank like seven liters of water..." Kichiro softly muttered. Nevertheless, there was no getting out of this one and he had to drink up the last liter of water for the night.
He downed it in one go, making him gag by the end of it as water almost burst out of his mouth from his stomach. An urge to puke was suddenly triggered in his gag reflex and it took all of Kichiro’s literal self-control to stop it.
"That was a good game. Do we still have ice cream?" Shoichi said, stretching his arms before crawling towards the small refrigerator exclusive to the room they were in.
Knock. Knock.
Knock.
It was almost lights out, and yet there was a knock on the door. The knock seemed rather ominous since it was almost an hour before midnight. Even Kichiro who prided himself as the leader of the group, cowered in slight unease as his eyes connected to the door handle. The Aoi Umi Dormitory was quite a traditional dormitory so its doors didn’t actually have doorknobs— but rather, they had handles— and the doors were made out of paper and wood, also known as a shoji. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
That’s why there was no way they could lock themselves inside, nor could they stop anyone from entering.
"Who do you think it is?" Kichiro whispered underneath his breath, observing the shadow that stood still in front of the paper-thin walls.
"Maybe a teacher?" Shinji couldn’t be bothered so he just blurted out a guess without thinking twice.
As for Shoichi, he already got his grip on his bag. Hajime wondered if he was preparing to jump out the window or to chuck the bag at the person as soon as he/she opens the sliding door.
"Maybe a classmate of ours. It’s not lights out yet so they probably wanted to hang out?" Shoichi asked.
Still, the mysterious figure behind the door didn’t move. It motionlessly stood there, waiting for some sort of stimulus.
"Ah!" A voice suddenly exclaimed. "I had to double check just to be sure but this is really their room, huh." He continued.
Without further ado, the figure who rapped on the door three times finally opened the door and he let himself in.
The figure belonged to someone of their age, probably another student from a different class. Before he greeted everyone, he glanced at every corner of the room before setting his sights on Hajime and the others. "Nice to meet you, I’m Keiichi, nice to meet you, guys. Akamine-sensei told me that I’m a part of this group."
"What? She didn’t say an— " Kichiro, who was the leader of the group, decided to speak up about the matter. As far as he knows, Akamine-sensei didn’t tell him anything about an additional member.
"And I just transferred today. I look forward to spending time with you all." Keiichi greeted, smoothly interrupting Kichiro’s rebuttal.
