Being chosen for the Autumn Selection was without doubt something wonderful. It meant that every member of Polar Star Dorm had the chance to climb up to that seat of honor.
Maybe because of the Autumn Selection, everyone started waking up earlier. Before the sun even rose, the kitchen was already full of people. Clearly, everyone was working hard in their own way to prepare.
After his match with his father, Hachiman also became less passive. At the very least, after being chosen, he finally understood the true key to cooking. If he just kept waiting around, one day he would be eliminated.
Of course, there was another reason for his sudden change in mindset—Komachi. Knowing that after the Autumn Selection ended his sister would also be entering the academy, Hachiman couldn't help but feel excited.
While everyone was focused on studying their cooking, it was Granny Fumio who broke the mood.
"A letter just arrived outside. Take a look and see what it says."
After handing the envelope to Hachiman, Granny Fumio gave a gentle smile and left the kitchen. Having lived in Polar Star Dorm for more than twenty years, seeing each new group of students so fired up was her greatest happiness.
On the other side, as soon as Hachiman accepted the letter, everyone crowded in on him. In a second, he was squashed flat.
Marui: "Could it be a love letter from a girl in our school? Amazing..."
Ryoko: "Marui, what kind of nonsense fills your head? Clearly, it's nothing like that..."
Not wanting to be crushed any further, Hachiman quickly pulled out the letter.
But...
On the white sheet, there were only two big characters.
Curry.
Tadokoro: "This must be the theme for the Autumn Selection."
Marui: "How do you know?"
Ibusaki: "Because it's written on the back."
The mood dropped again. Marui looked embarrassed, while the others were holding back laughter.
Still...
"Curry, huh..."
Everyone at Polar Star Dorm had their specialties, but curry wasn't really anyone's strong point. It looked simple, but to make curry truly delicious, you had to pay attention to many details.
In Totsuki Academy, the group best known for curry was probably the Shiomi Research Society. Maybe not famous to everyone, but with their curry dishes, they had carved out their own territory inside the academy.
Ibusaki: "This is going to be tricky..."
Ryoko: "Yeah. If it's curry, our dishes would probably only be average at best. But in the Autumn Selection, showing up with just average dishes will definitely get us eliminated."
Mito: "I've made curry with beef offal before, so I have some confidence. But... if our opponents are people like Yukinoshita..."
Yoshino: "Looks like we'll have to do a training camp!"
Hachiman: "Again?"
Hachiman still remembered the last time, before the school trip, when Ryoko had pushed him through intense physical training. In the end, it had been helpful, but...
That painful process was not something he wanted to go through again.
As for curry, Hachiman hadn't really studied the ingredient much recently, but he remembered a lot of dishes his father had made.
The classics—curry fried rice, spicy curry shrimp, pan-fried curry chicken, curry beef rice—these were signature dishes of Hikigaya Diner. He could easily pull them out now with no problem. Those memories of his father cooking them were still vivid in his mind.
But...
As his father Joichiro had said, if you want to walk your own path, you can't stay stuck in the past. Only by moving forward on the road you choose can you truly grow.
Because of that, Hachiman quickly gave up on the old recipes. Since the theme this time was curry, he decided this was a perfect chance. His goal was to keep going forward using his own cooking.
Marui: "Hey, how about we head to the Shiomi Research Center and look for that curry expert there? Maybe he can teach us a thing or two about curry cooking."
Mito: "That actually sounds like a good idea."
Ryoko shook her head: "No, there's someone named Hayama Akira in the Shiomi Research Center. He's the same age as us, a first-year, but he's already joined the lab. The real problem is, we'll be facing him in the Autumn Elections. I don't think he'd just hand over his curry cooking methods so easily."
Hachiman: "Hayama?"
Ibusaki: "A first-year joining the Research Center already? That's impressive."
'They're not even focusing on the same thing at all...'
From their conversation, Hachiman realized they weren't talking about the same person. If he remembered right, that damn normie was named Hayama Hayato...
Tadokoro crossed her arms, clearly unable to make a decision right away.
Hachiman: "We're going."
"Eh?"
Everyone froze, a little startled by Hachiman's sudden declaration, not sure what to say.
Then Hachiman seemed to realize he'd gotten carried away, scratching his head awkwardly:
"If we keep standing still, we'll never make any progress. Instead of waiting here, we should at least give it a try."
Ryoko: "Since Hikigaya says so..."
Tadokoro: "Yeah, I believe in Hikigaya..."
Marui: "Hikigaya, what happened to you? If you said that before, I'd think you were possessed or something."
Ibusaki: "Haha, I like this change though."
Yoshino: "Yeah! I agree. But with so many of us going, isn't that a little..."
Yoshino didn't even need to finish. If the entire Polar Star Dorm showed up, it would definitely cause trouble. They might even get mistaken for some suspicious group and be stopped at the door.
So in that case...
Tadokoro: "Um... um, then how about just me and Hikigaya go!"
Yoshino seemed to understand right away. For a usually shy girl like Tadokoro to suddenly speak up like that, the only one clueless was Hikigaya himself—everyone else quickly picked up on her real reason.
But then...
Ryoko: "Better let me go instead. After all, I actually know the professor there, thanks to some coincidence in the past..."
Ryoko could see how much courage Tadokoro needed to say that, but some things couldn't just be handed over—you had to fight for them yourself. Like now\... if you kept relying on others, you'd never grow.
Ibusaki got himself out quickly, seeing where things were heading:
"Alright, then I'll leave this to you guys. Marui and I are heading out."
Marui: "Yeah, exactly!"
Mito: "I already have my own goal, so I won't get involved either..."
She gave Hikigaya a slightly pitiful look before turning her focus back to her cooking.
Even Yoshino, who had been joking a moment ago, now realized how serious the situation was. Still, she couldn't decide what side to take, her thoughts swinging back and forth.
Hachiman: "So then... maybe I should just hand this over to—"
Ryoko: "No way. Without a guy, it'd be too easy for us to get pushed around. Hikigaya, as a gentleman, don't you think it's your duty to protect us weak girls?"
Of course, Hachiman wanted to dump this so-called "manly duty" onto Ibusaki, but those two were already long gone. And he knew full well that at Totsuki Academy, there was no such thing as being bullied—this place was about cooking, not violence.
But since Ryoko put it that way...
The Hachiman who had been hoping to just coast along had no choice but to nod helplessly.
At the same time, Tadokoro once again gathered her courage and spoke:
"I... can I go too?"
Sensing her determination, Ryoko gave her a faint smile:
"Of course."
So, with Hikigaya, Ryoko, and Tadokoro forming a temporary team, they set off toward the Shiomi Research Center. But compared to what Hachiman had pictured, the place was completely different. Leaving behind the rundown Polar Star Dorm, they had only arrived at another rundown spot in the middle of nowhere.
And compared to Polar Star Dorm, this place looked even more worn down...
Hachiman: "Hey, are we sure we didn't take the wrong way? Feels like this place has a lot of abandoned buildings..."
Ryoko: "Uh, according to the address Professor Shiomi gave us, it should be here. But to be honest, this is my first time coming too..."
Tadokoro: "Anyway, let's just go in first..."
Hachiman: "Excuse us..."
When he gently pushed the door open, the lab looked like no one had ever lived there. Everything was old and worn.
Ryoko: "No one here?"
Tadokoro: "Feels kind of creepy..."
Hachiman: "Finally, someone said what I was thinking. But..."
It seemed he had found something. Scattered notebooks lay on the floor, lining up into a straight path that pointed toward the room ahead.
Hachiman: "So this is like unlocking a hidden clue? That's impressive."
Tadokoro: "Honestly, before I came I was worried this place would get too many visitors. Guess I was overthinking..."
With Hachiman leading the way, the two girls followed behind him. When they entered that room, the scattered notebooks had piled up into a huge heap in the center.
And behind the door stood a petite yet curvy girl with glasses, her hair tied in a ponytail.
Hachiman: "You scared me to death!"
Tadokoro: "Hikigaya, that's not very polite... saying that to a little girl..."
Realizing the awkwardness, Ryoko quickly stepped forward to smooth things over.
Ryoko: "Sorry, Professor Shiomi, let me introduce them. These two are members of Polar Star Dorm, Hikigaya Hachiman and Tadokoro Megumi. And this is Professor Shiomi."
Hachiman: "Shi... Shiomi-sensei..."
Tadokoro: "P-Professor..."
What's with this perfectly synced shock? It's not like the two of them are about to jump into a mecha with matching teamwork...
But really, anyone would be surprised to see such a young girl being called "Professor."
Finally noticing the three standing there, the slow-to-react Shiomi leapt up like a startled frog, panicking as she stammered:
"Gu-gu-gu-gu-gu-guests..."
"P-p-p-please sit..."
"I-I-I-I'll pour you some tea..."
'What's with all the stuttering? Did we really not come to the wrong place?'
Before anyone could complain, faced with Shiomi's nervousness, Tadokoro just lowered her head and said:
"Sorry for disturbing you!"
Seeing Tadokoro apologize, Professor Shiomi quickly lowered her own head and earnestly replied:
"I'm sorry, I didn't notice guests had come."
And then, like a switch had been flipped, the two of them started a back-and-forth apology exchange.
"Sorry, please don't trouble yourself."
"Sorry, I space out a lot."
"Sorry for barging in so suddenly."
"No, not at all, don't say that, I should be the one apologizing..."
"...."
At this rate, the apologies could go on until the end of the world. Luckily, Ryoko quickly stepped in and pulled the two apart.
Ryoko: "Let's put what just happened aside for now. Professor Shio, do you still remember me?"
It seemed like Professor Shio finally snapped back to her senses. She stared at Ryoko's face for a while, then suddenly spoke as if she had realized something:
"Oh! You're Kawashima Urara, right?"
"No, I'm not… completely forgotten again…"
Realizing she got the name wrong, Professor Shiomi immediately slipped back into apology mode.
"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it…"
Basically, her head hadn't been lifted once. Hachiman could finally understand why nobody else was around here…
Ryoko: "It's fine, Professor Shiomi. It's my fault, really. I shouldn't expect you to remember my name. We only met once, after all."
"Let me introduce myself again. My name is Sakaki Ryoko, I'm a first-year in the high school division, and also a member of Polar Star Dorm."
Suddenly, Professor Shiomi smacked her forehead as if something had clicked:
'What a rock head…'
"I remember now! I couldn't find my way back to the Shiomi Lab, and you were the one who led me to the road I knew."
Ryoko: "Well, that was a long time ago. It's not a big deal."
Professor Shio shook her head. "No, no. Whatever the case, you really did help me back then. That fact doesn't change."
Seeing her stubbornness, Ryoko only smiled faintly. Then she shifted her gaze to the curry Professor Shiomi had been busy stirring.
"Actually, the reason we came here this time was to learn about curry."
"Curry?"
"That's right. The theme for this autumn's selection exam is curry dishes, so I thought maybe…"
But as Ryoko began explaining, Professor Shiomi—sitting on the other side—suddenly froze, staring straight at Hikigaya Hachiman as if she had seen something deeply familiar. She didn't hear a word Ryoko was saying.
Hachiman: "Um, Professor Shio,i… did I do something wrong?"
Honestly, this was the first time Hachiman had experienced something like this. Normally, he barely had any presence—just being noticed accidentally was rare enough. But being stared at like this? He wasn't used to it at all. It felt uncomfortable.
Ryoko assumed Professor Shiomi had missed the earlier introduction, so she repeated herself:
"This is Hikigaya Hachiman, also a member of Polar Star Dorm."
"What's your name?" Professor Shio asked again.
"Huh?" Hachiman looked dumbfounded. Actually, it wasn't just him—even Tadokoro and Ryoko were completely lost. Neither had expected this situation.
Sure, Professor Shiomi looked like a little girl, but if she was from "that era," then she should be around thirty-five or so by now. Love at first sight wasn't impossible in this world, but this whole "old cow eating young grass" thing…
Yeah, there was no way Professor Shiomi would do that.
And if she heard anyone call her old, she'd probably explode on the spot. That was the one thing she couldn't stand.
Of course, her staring had nothing to do with some cheap romance plot. She simply thought Hikigaya Hachiman looked more and more like someone she once knew.
"Hikigaya Hachiman…"
Out of courtesy, Hachiman answered, but Professor Shiomi only shook her head.
"You look a lot like someone I consider an enemy. His name is Saiba Joichiro."
Hachiman's eyelid twitched, but he forced his expression to stay calm as he replied:
"Never heard of him. You must be mistaken, Professor."
But then the ever-naive Tadokoro unknowingly added fuel to the fire:
"Huh? Saiba Joichiro? Isn't that Hachiman's dad?"
Before Hachiman could react or explain, Professor Shio's fist was already flying at his face. Luckily, he reacted fast enough to dodge back a few steps.
Then she charged forward, fists raining down in a storm of fury. Only then did Tadokoro Megumi realize she had really messed up.
There was no escape, but luckily Professor Shio's punches had little strength behind them. Compared to the shock Hachiman felt from those two giant symbols of justice bouncing around, her attacks didn't even hurt.
That's right—they were completely harmless.
To outsiders, the two of them looked more like a sulky couple, one throwing little punches into the other's chest...
"Alright, stop it, Jun."
From behind the door, someone a bit more reliable finally stepped out, pulling Professor Shiomi back. But Shiomi still refused to give up, shouting:
"I'm going to have a duel with Saiba Joichiro's son! Today it's either him or me!"
'Hey, Dad, what shady thing did you do to make someone hate you this much? Don't tell me...'
In Hachiman's head, an image of a two-timing playboy floated up, and with Joichiro's already suspicious character, the pieces fit a little too well...
'What a pitiful sight.'
...
Once the man who just stepped in finally calmed Professor Shiomi down, he introduced himself:
"Everyone, my name is Hayama Akira. I'm also a first-year in high school like you, and a member of this research group."
Hachiman: "Thanks for helping just now. But really, why does my dad make you hate him so much? I seriously need to know."
Hachiman never asked others for favors, but the thought of uncovering his idiot father's past crimes filled him with an odd excitement.
Shiomi still seemed upset, crossing her arms and pouting as she said:
"Joichiro's son, remember this—your dad is the biggest jerk in the world. That will never change."
"On that point, we agree."
Hearing Hachiman share the same opinion, Shiomi's expression did a complete 180. Her face lit up, and she started rambling excitedly:
"You really think so? Exactly! You're totally right! Sorry about what happened just now!"
"No problem. But more importantly, I want to know—what did my dad actually do?"
Ryoko: "You two... seriously..."
Tadokoro: "It's rare to see Hikigaya act this unserious."
Hayama: "I've also never seen Jun like this before..."
Hachiman and Shiomi replied at the same time:
"You wouldn't understand!"
Moments ago they were enemies, but now it was as if they'd been reborn, instantly becoming the most in-sync pair in the room.
Shiomi: "Hachiman, listen. This goes back a long way..."
"You're calling him by his first name already!" Everyone was stunned.
Hachiman: "Go ahead. I need to know!"
Shiomi: "When I first entered Totsuki Academy, I went through all kinds of trials before finally reaching the famous Polar Star Dorm. They said every student there was outstanding."
"But that day, when I arrived at the dorm, I met the man who gave me memories I'll never want to recall—Saiba Joichiro."
"At first, I thought he was a kind and gentle senior. But because I was the youngest, he used me like a toy, constantly testing his dark cooking on me. I was nothing but his lab rat. And that left a scar in my heart I can never erase."
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