Work Of Art Made By A Goddess

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[-Continuation-]

[-Location : Chiba Village-]

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[Hachiman's POV]

Guess I shouldn't voice this if I want to make it through the day in one piece.

With that, she returned her attention to her reading.

"So, where are the others?" She inquired from behind the paper.

"On their way, I suppose." I replied dryly.

Seeing no further interaction forthcoming, I decided to head into the dining hall.

It was a large area, almost resembling a college cafeteria, with rows of tables and chairs lining both sides. Each table was set up for four people, with two chairs on each side.

I positioned myself near the entrance, leaning against the wall for support as I observed the room.

Soon enough, the boys, Ryota, Hayama, Totsuka, and Tobe, arrived at the dining hall.

"You guys are late." I scolded them with a stern voice, adopting the image of a 'teacher' reprimanding their 'students' for coming late to school.

"Don't you dare say that." For some reason, Ryota seemed unreasonably agitated by my comment as he stared at me.

"What's with him?" I wondered aloud.

"..." Hayama shot me a look that was hard to pin down.

...It was like the gaze one gives to a clueless harem protagonist.

Yeah, that's exactly what it reminded me of.

Even Totsuka seemed a little unsettled, can you imagine it?

Then, leaving Totsuka and me behind, the other three passed by walking past me and took their seats at one of the tables.

Just as I began to search for a spot to sit and continue my solitary existence, a greeting interrupted my thoughts.

"Morning Hikigaya."

?!!... It was a girl with long black hair who approached from behind me.

"Yeah, morning." I replied nonchalantly, not recognizing the person at first.

??!!! But then it clicked.

Without a second thought, I found myself turning to follow her, almost as if I were being pulled by some invisible force.

"Morning President." I greeted her again as she stood before me.

"You already greeted me." She pointed out.

"Did I?" I feigned innocence, stepping aside to allow her to pass.

As I looked at her again, I noticed she was dressed casually in light green.

I realised that perhaps it was because I hadn't seen her in casual wear often that I didn't recognize her immediately.

"Whatever…" Yukinoshita walked away and settled herself on an empty table, far away from the guy gang.

Though I was tempted to take the opposite seat shamelessly, I didn't compile that notion as I saw Totsuka standing right beside me, clearly having the intention of sitting together.

Not having any objection to his kind suggestion, I selected a table right across from Yukinoshita and settled ourselves.

Obviously, Yukinoshita wasn't alone, as Yuigahama came right behind her and sat next to her, with Komachi on the opposite side.

Komachi greeted us as well, only to spring to her feet and hurry off somewhere right afterwards.

Well, that's how we all settled down.

"Oh, Hikki and Sai. Good morning!" Yuigahama exclaimed upon seeing us, offering a generic greeting from her spot at the table

"Good morning, Yui." - "Mmm." Touska replied politely, as I simply nodded as if we were a table apart.

Somehow or other, I could tell 'Yahallo' wasn't a morning greeting. Maybe you were supposed to use it after midday.

–clang!

Someone placed a tray before me with a clang.

"Hiii, sorry to keep you waiting. Here's one for Totsuka too!"

It seemed Komachi had gone to get breakfast for us. Me and Totsuka.

However, seeing the guy gang serving for themselves, I asked. "Should I have served for myself?"

"Obviously, Big Brother. This is not home." Komachi replied matter-of-factly.

"My bad."

"Nah~ I know Komachi will get some good rewards."

"You bet." I proclaimed.

"Th-thanks… I also apologise." Totsuka chimed in.

"No mention, Sai."

"Okay, itadakimasu(:I receive this food)." Totsuka said.

Following his lead, I clapped my hands together. We weren't really doing a drill or anything – just the standard blessing before a meal. "Itadakimasu."

The breakfast was honestly very homely: white rice, miso soup, fried fish and salad, omelettes, natto, seaweed flavouring, spices, and orange for dessert. It pretty much matched my image of your standard hotel breakfast.

Eating in silence, I noticed instantly that there was a white rice deficiency. I calculated that the natto and seaweed flavouring alone took up two bowls. Plus, a raw egg took up a whole bowl the way they serve it in traditional inns, which totally sucked.

As I peered at my almost empty rice bowl, Komachi's voice called out to me. "Big brother, do you want seconds?"

"Nah, I will get some for myself." I replied, standing up from my seat.

"Sure thing."

I made my way over to where the food was laid out while I saw Yukinoshita already present to fill her bowl.

"Can I have some?" I asked, stretching out my hand towards the rice container.

Yukinoshita's gaze met mine, her expression as unreadable as ever.

Anticipating a refusal, I started making up some random nonsense. "You know I don't quite wel–"

"Give it." She interrupted.

Huh? But to my surprise, she took the bowl from my hand and started digging out rice from the wooden container skillfully.

Oh wow. She whipped me a mountain of rice that wouldn't look out of place in a Japanese folklore tale.

"Here." She said, offering me the bowl filled to the brim with rice.

"Thank you."

With great solemnity, I let the bowl fall on my wrists carefully and held it over my head in worship as I walked back towards my table.

Only when I safely placed the bowl on the table and settled comfortably did I start eating a second time. To be honest, I couldn't wait.

But, surprise, surprise! This time, the rice was damn good.

Maybe this is a work of art made by a goddess.

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[-After A While-]

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Now that everyone had eaten their fill of breakfast, I washed my meal down by sipping on some tea. Just like me, Totsuka gave his compliments to the chef and reached out for the tea at a somewhat languid pace.

As we(:they) were chatting away idly about stuff that happened yesterday and what would happen today, Ms. Hiratsuka started folding up her newspaper.

"Now that breakfast is over and done with, let's talk about our plans for today."

Finally, it seems like we have reached the major act of [Quest].

And yes, I already decided on my role in this [Group Quest : Rescue the little girl].

In the narrative, this was the first hint at what kind of person Hachiman Hikigaya was to the viewers.

Even though it was just for a few seconds, it still gives me chills whenever I remember what kind of person 'I' was and 'I' am…

Every now and then I perceive the world before me through me with 'My' other pair of eyes… that still resides within me.

An ally that comes to my aid in an instance.

Today might be the day that I might need those pairs again…

And I know it is not going to be the last time, either.

She swallowed a mouthful of tea and continued. "The elementary schoolers have free time for the day. The test of courage and camp fire are scheduled for tonight. I want you to prepare for that."

I sighed. "A campfire, huh?"

I scrunched up my face at that unpleasant phrase.

What a shameful cultural inheritance. A legacy handed down through our seniors, and now you urge me to continue this heinous idiocy upon these untainted, unsuspecting souls? The gravity of this burden is nearly insurmountable!

It is such a neverending vicious cycle.

I am going to break it today.

"So what are we going to do?" I said totally contrary to my thoughts.

Well - Thoughts are Thoughts.

Since I suffered anyway, I might as well let my junior… I mean.

"Ah, that's when you do the folk dance." Yuigahama blurted out as if something had just occurred to her.

As soon as she heard that, Komachi's face lit up with a ping. "Ohh! You do the Bentora Bentora dance!"

"You mean the Oklahoma Mixer, I take it… but only the last syllable sounds the same." Yukinoshita said, not looking particularly surprised nor mortified at the error.

A mixer dance, dance mixer, or simply mixer is a kind of participation dance in a social dance setting that involves changing partners as an integral part.

The whole Bentora Bentora thing is – something you do when you're communicating with space people at the park in the middle of the night.

"Before that, we are also planning for the test of courage."

"So does that mean our job is to scare the kids?"

Well, that was on the outdoor school's itinerary. But still, having to stay in the forest at night was waaaay scarier.

"Yep. I mean, the course has already been decided, and we have a set of monster costumes ready. Well, you would best give them a try beforehand. Now then, let's get going, and I will explain how we will go about the preparations." Ms. Hiratsuka stood up.

We tidied up our tableware, too, and followed her outside.

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[To be continued….]

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