A boy with glasses walked up first and spoke naturally to Hikigaya:
"I'm Marui Zenji, nice to meet you. These two are Aoki Daigo and Satou Shouji."
"I'm Sakaki Ryoko, but you can call me Ryoko-neesan. That was really amazing just now. By the way, you're actually the only one among us who passed Granny Fumio's dorm entry test on the very first try."
Hachiman just shook his head calmly at this intellectual older-sister type's words. He clearly didn't think what happened earlier was worth bragging about:
"Just luck, that's all."
"Was it really just luck? I heard from Satoshi that both your cooking this afternoon and your performance tonight were amazing. Oh right, I'm Yoshino Yuuki." She was clearly a lively girl, full of endless questions.
"I'm Ibusaki Shun. Compared to Yoshino's question, I'm more curious about how you passed the transfer test. If I remember right, today's examiner should have been that 'God Tongue' girl, Nakiri Erina."
At Ibusaki's words, everyone's attention instantly turned to Hachiman, waiting for his answer.
But Hachiman only shook his head again: "I didn't get Miss Nakiri's approval. But by chance, I got recognized by some old man, and that's how I got in."
Ryoko: "You make it sound so easy... but this Totsuki Academy isn't the kind of place you just walk into."
Isshiki Satoshi: "That may be true, but in this fast-paced campus life, what we should treasure is the present. I'm really happy—there's nothing better than gaining another companion to share this short youth with!"
"Do you all realize? Eating from the same pot, living under the same roof, sharing life together as young people—this is youth, this is student life! That's the dream that made me join this dorm!"
"Come on, let's celebrate the shining dorm life ahead of us and sing about youth together!" Not caring about anyone else's reactions, Isshiki kept talking on his own, as if he was about to break into dance at any moment.
Everyone else was clearly used to this, while Tadokoro Megumi, sitting beside Hikigaya, sighed helplessly and said:
"Don't be fooled by Senior Isshiki acting like this. He's actually really amazing."
For some reason, even though Isshiki was also someone who praised youth, Hachiman didn't feel any dislike toward him at all. Was it because of the sincerity in his eyes, or was it simply that he wasn't fake like others?
He couldn't really explain the feeling, but deep down, Hachiman knew he didn't mind the people in this dorm. Maybe it was because they were all oddballs, and that's why fate brought them together here.
Ryoko: "By the way, Hachiman, were you really just a cook starting only recently?"
Everyone had clearly wanted to know this for a while. Their wide eyes all turned to him, waiting for his answer.
Sitting next to him, Tadokoro Megumi quickly felt the heavy pressure of their stares. Faced with that scary atmosphere, she shrank back into the corner, whispering so softly that no one else could hear:
"Please... don't make things hard for Hachiman..." But her voice was too quiet, and no one noticed.
To stop them from pressing him further, Hachiman gave a helpless nod.
"The truth is, my family runs a restaurant. But it's usually my sister who helps with cooking. I'm the one serving food and washing dishes..."
"But because something special happened yesterday, the restaurant had to close for the day. That's why I came here as a cook..."
Hachiman wasn't lying. He only left out the messy part about his clash with his middle school classmate Miura. Other than that, everything was true.
But once they learned this fact, everyone froze, their faces going pale as if the life had been drained from them. They looked like statues, not moving at all.
Tadokoro Megumi: "Ryoko, Yoshino... Isshiki-senpai, what's wrong with you all..."
When they finally snapped back to reality, they just couldn't accept it. In fact, it felt even worse than being lied to.
Marui: "So that means... you're actually a genius..."
Hachiman quickly waved his hands to deny it. "No way! I just memorized some recipes, that's all."
Yoshino: "You should've just lied to us. Now it feels like our pride has been crushed..."
Ryoko: "Megumi, don't you feel shocked deep down?"
"Haha... well, I've always been at the bottom anyway... so this kind of thing doesn't surprise me anymore." Tadokoro Megumi said with a small, helpless laugh.
Isshiki's gentle smile returned, filled with warmth and recognition of Hachiman's skill. "If that's the case, then maybe your school life will turn out much more exciting."
Ibusaki: "Come to think of it, with you here, Polar Star Dorm now has a strong fighter. At least when others try to take over our territory, we'll be able to fight back."
Hearing the word "territory," Hachiman almost doubted his ears. Wait... wasn't this supposed to be a school?
Maybe sensing his confusion, Isshiki explained:
"At Totsuki Academy, everything is decided through cooking. In other words, all conflicts and disputes are solved with food battles."
"And as long as three conditions are met, you can challenge the other side. Polar Star Dorm might be in a remote location, but because it has a huge amount of space, it's often targeted by others."
At that, the room lost the lively atmosphere it had earlier, turning heavy and serious.
Ibusaki: "Normally, with Isshiki-senpai around, others wouldn't dare push us too far. But lately, Totsuki has been unstable. Some groups challenge us through 3v3 battles."
Marui shook his head. "And not only that. Because Isshiki-senpai is part of the Elite Ten, he can't take part in certain food battles. So... with our weak skills, we've already lost quite a bit of ground."
Tadokoro Megumi: "It's really because our cooking is too poor... we've been dragging Isshiki-senpai down."
Isshiki: "No... we're all members of Polar Star Dorm. Don't say things like that. I believe we can definitely restore our dorm's glory one day."
Ryoko: "That may be true... but if things keep getting taken from us, even our living space will shrink..."