People bring their own maids to the training camp

"If I get tomato sauce next time, I might try chicken cutlet." Fanbo had learned his lesson and joked with a smile, "You guys can divide the rest."

"Okay, then I'll have a Coke. How can you eat fried chicken without drinking Coke?"

The two then looked at Chihaya, the implication being quite clear—it was Chihaya's turn.

"So I'll just get the chicken cutlet, right?" Chihaya smiled helplessly. "You guys learn really fast."

“Absolutely, you can’t just keep fleecing one sheep,” Hayasaka laughed. “We have to be sustainable and exploit every last drop, otherwise there won’t be any left to fleece.”

“That’s right,” Fanbo nodded in agreement.

"Alright, alright, now you're on the same side." Chihaya sighed. "Okay, then next weekend when I cook, Honami will bring your ketchup over for dinner."

"Yay!" Hayasaka raised his hands in celebration. "Time for fried chicken!"

"It's next week, why are you getting so excited now?"

"You've been freeloading all the time, can't I get excited a little now?" Hayasaka argued. "Besides, I'm the one who cooked today, can't I even be happy about it?"

“Uh, I suddenly have a question.” Fanbo raised his hand.

"what's up?"

"I don't have your culinary skills, you know? Even if I had pork chops, I wouldn't be able to cook them very well!"

"Looks like Honami's pretty good at this, Ai." Chihaya looked at Hayasaka.

“Yes, Chihaya.” Hayasaka grinned mischievously. “You’re quite self-aware. Even though we haven’t even talked about what happened next.”

"Although I was the one who ordered the steak today, I only ate it and didn't help at all."

Because the room wasn't very big to begin with, and the kitchen area was even smaller, there wasn't enough space for anyone to stand around even if they wanted to help. In fact, it was faster for one person to get things done.

"How about we go to Ichinose-san's room to cook hot pot next time? You can provide the pot," Hayasaka said. "Wouldn't it be nice if we played a hot pot game?"

"A hot pot game?" Fanbo tilted his head, puzzled.

"Besides the regular food, each of us prepares a special ingredient, then we turn off the lights, use our chopsticks, and eat whatever we find," Hayasaka explained. "How about that? Isn't that interesting?"

“Indeed,” Honami agreed. “So, if we were to play this, what ingredients would Hayasaka-san prepare?”

"As for me... I'll probably prepare durian?"

"...Suddenly I don't want to play anymore. I feel like the neighbors next door will suspect that we're cooking 'that' in this room."

"Hahaha, just kidding! Actually, I'll probably prepare some small dumplings?"

"Surprisingly ordinary."

"But inside is my specially made cilantro filling, hehehehehehe." Hayasaka laughed very "evilly".

"Chihaya." However, Honami didn't comment on the so-called cilantro-filled dumplings. Instead, he turned to Chihaya and said, "Hayasaka-san's laughter sounds much more like yours."

"..." Chihaya fell silent.

"Huh? What interesting thing is this? Tell me, tell me!" Hayasaka immediately leaned over with a "I'm very curious" look on his face.

"It's like this—" Honami briefly recounted Chihaya's 'imitation show,' which made Hayasaka burst into laughter, pounding the bed.

"Hahahaha, as expected of Chihaya, I'm dying of laughter hahahahaha."

"That's enough, Ai?" Chihaya gently reminded her. "It's impolite to laugh any longer."

"Ahem, I suddenly feel like having a coffee, I'll go boil some water now." Hayasaka said, then slipped away to pour the water.

"Really." Chihaya shook his head helplessly. He could tell that Hayasaka was genuinely laughing from the bottom of his heart—just thinking about it made him realize that Chihaya under normal circumstances would never do something so innocent, especially in front of Hayasaka.

Moreover, Hayasaka wouldn't dare laugh so unrestrainedly if Honami weren't around.

"It's okay, Chihaya, I trust you, okay?" Honami said. "You can definitely do it if you just practice hard, I believe in you!"

As she spoke, the girl clenched her fist and gave Chihaya a thumbs-up.

“…Let’s have some water.” If it weren’t for Fanbo’s uncontrollable trembling, he probably would have believed him. “I don’t care much. I’m self-aware, unlike some actors who have no acting skills but still dare to act in movies.”

"Would you two like some coffee? But it's instant, you know?" Hayasaka's voice came from the kitchen.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony," said Honna.

"Alright, let me show you Chihaya's treasured instant coffee!" Hayasaka's energetic voice came from the kitchen.

"What?! It's just regular instant coffee! What's with all this talk about 'reserved' or 'precious' stuff?!" Chihaya said, both amused and exasperated. "Make me a cup too."

"no problem!"

Soon after, Hayasaka brought out two cups, one red and one blue, which were clearly a couple's set.

"Won't it get too hot to handle if you use a disposable cup for coffee? So I took the liberty of preparing a cup for you, Ichinose-kun."

"Hayasaka-san is very thoughtful." Honami's expression was a little off. "But this looks like a couple's set?"

"This is the cup that Chihaya won in the lottery last time. She just picked one to use, and I prepared a cup for myself to drink from, so you can use the other one!" Hayasaka explained. "If a boy and a girl use it, it's a couple's cup, but if Ichinose and Chihaya use it together, then it's a best friend's cup!"

“That makes sense!” Fanbo accepted this explanation.

She realized that she had become somewhat sensitive because of Bai Bo's situation, which led to her reaction.

From an angle unseen by Hoshino, Hayasaka gave Chihaya a smug look, as if he were taking credit for something.

"..." Chihaya ignored her, but didn't stop her either—there were other cups in his room, for example, Kushida had his own personal water cup. These were all specially prepared by Hayasaka for his future 'harem project', just in case.

"Or we can let Chihaya wear men's clothes from now on, so Ichinose-san won't lose out."

"What are you saying, Ai? Fanbo, she—"

“Indeed, I’ve hit the jackpot.” Before Chihaya could finish speaking, Honami nodded seriously, indicating that the matter was feasible.

Chihaya:? ? ?

126. Thank you for participating.

After seeing Honami off, Hayasaka entered the room, glanced at Chihaya, and then burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" Chihaya looked at the maid with an unfriendly expression. "What's so funny? Tell me."

"It's nothing. My sense of humor is a bit strange, so you probably won't find it funny, Miss."

"If your sense of humor involves me, then I really can't laugh." Chihaya's face hardened, and she glared at Hayasaka.

"Look, why did you have to say it out loud? Wouldn't it have been better if we just tacitly avoided the topic?"

“If I let you go now, you’ll definitely do it again next time.” Chihaya knew Hayasaka too well, so he decided not to let Hayasaka off the hook.

“You know me too well. Even if you let me off now, I’m still capable of doing it again next time,” Hayasaka said sincerely. “So your actions don’t really have any real impact on my partnership.”

"So, what exactly are you laughing at?" Chihaya asked again.

"I was laughing at you for making the girl you like happy, like a young boy experiencing his first love," Hayasaka confessed. "Because the contrast was so strong, I couldn't help myself."

"..." Chihaya didn't speak, but instead raised her fist. "I'm going to Normal Summon my fist in an attack stance!"

"Then I'm going to flip my card—ouch, that hurts!"

Chihaya launched an attack with her fist, but Hayasaka did not have a card, so she was injured.

"Strong contrast, huh? First love, huh? Couldn't resist, huh?" Chihaya delivered a triple tap to Hayasaka's head.

"You get beaten up for telling the truth? Shouldn't I be praised for being honest?" Hayasaka covered his head and crouched down to defend himself.

barley

"You think I should praise you after you've been mocked? Am I a masochist?" Chihaya was both annoyed and amused. "Well, you're really great, Ai."

"Hehehe, it's not that great~"

"So you're putting on an act now, huh?"

"To give you a demonstration." The next second, Hayasaka went from looking silly to being very serious. "This is how acting works, so do you have any inspiration now?"

"..." Chihaya raised her fist once again.

"If you improve your acting skills, you can continue to make Ichinose-kun happy, right?" Hayasaka shrugged. "Doesn't that make sense? You should be thanking me."

"Isn't my acting good enough?" Chihaya scoffed. "I've been playing the role of a rich young lady for months now."

"In this respect, you are absolutely deserving of the Best Actress award—I don't think anyone could be more deserving than you."

"Can you still call it acting if you win Best Actress?" Chihaya was speechless. "Shouldn't it be Best Actor?"

"Yes, I know, because I did it on purpose!"

Chihaya decided to ignore Hayasaka; the maid had become increasingly presumptuous and disrespectful lately.

"Haven't you noticed? You only act like a normal high school student when you're with Ichinose, like making her laugh," Hayasaka said. "I think this kind of interaction is a good thing for you, isn't it?"

"..." Chihaya thought about it seriously. It was indeed easier to be with Honami, and there wasn't as much scheming involved. For him, it already felt like a safe haven.

"It seems you agree with me," Hayasaka said immediately, noticing Chihaya's subtle change in expression. "That's why I hope you'll spend more time with Ichinose. Isn't this kind of relationship, free from any self-interest, what high school students should enjoy?"

Chihaya nodded, but didn't say anything more.

"This is what I think: you should also learn to enjoy your youth a little—after all, you're not the kind of person who finds pleasure in toying with others, are you?"

"I'm not going to be a fun person, I just want to give up." Chihaya waved her hand. "Forget it, let nature take its course. I should start preparing for the special exams now."

"Your partner is Kanzaki. Should we test him out? Or perhaps try to win him over?"

“I will consider it, but there is no need for it at the moment—at least Kanzaki’s position will not be affected before the leadership of Homura has major problems, and no one in Class B has a position that can affect us.”

“There’s no problem with that.” Hayasaka nodded. “After all, Class B is very united, and unity means there aren’t so many complicated issues. Class A wouldn’t have been able to have such a smooth run—before Sakayanagi completely got Katsuragi under control.”

"Speaking of this, Class A's lineup will definitely be Katsuragi, Sakayanagi and their partners, but according to the current trend, it's basically the girls who are in charge of directing and the boys who are in charge of the actions. Katsuragi will probably be at a disadvantage in this regard, since if he is in charge, he will suffer a lot if the girls encounter sports-related or strength-related content."

"I understand. So, regardless of whether Class A wins or loses, Sakayanagi will definitely still suppress Katsuragi. In fact, if Sakayanagi wins, Katsuragi's situation will be quite passive."

"That's right, but it's only a matter of time before Sakayanagi wins. For us, the focus of this exam is still observation. I just don't know what kind of extra reward the first place winner will receive."

"It shouldn't be just scores every time, right? That would be too boring, with no variables at all—it would be best if the first place winner opened the app and found a message saying 'Thank you for participating'."

"You're so heartless," Chihaya commented. "But if Class C or Suzune had gotten first place, they would probably understand what I got in this special exam last time."

"This should be inevitable, right? After all, even you can't guarantee being number one every time. Moreover, I think there will be more special group exams in the future, which will be more difficult for you."

"It's alright, let Ryuen be suspicious. He'll probably think it's a good way to control me, and use it as a secret weapon against Class B." Chihaya smiled. "By the time he decides to make his move, I'll probably have already been able to erase the evidence."

"Spend this directly?" Hayasaka made a counting motion. "Points can indeed be used, provided the president is still Horikita."