After Shigaisoshi was done applying the gel, I quickly made my escape from the infirmary with Yukina. When we returned to class, I spent the remainder of lunch time cardfighting Akihiro. While I didn't expect this deck from him, it was apparent he had put a lot of thought into it. Some good progress towards beating Zyriot was being made. His deck still needed some tweaking though.

The rest of the day went by as usual. After school, club sessions were on, so we were going to hold our training session after that. With about an hour of time to kill, I decided to take care of some loose ends in the meantime.

I made a phone call to Ichinose to arrange a meeting later that evening. Thankfully, she agreed, and even offered to come visit me in the Drachma Red dorm's lobby like the hospitable person she was. I didn't want to turn down her kindness, so I accepted that as our meeting spot.

Since there wasn't much else to do, I considered going to the library to get some new books to read. However, Nora, who also didn't attend any clubs like me, timidly approached me with a rectangular slip of paper in his hands.

"Umm, Takanori-kun..."

"Hm?"

"Tokihara-senpai... she asked me to give this to you."

Nora handed me the slip of paper. It read "Invitation for the Safe Room" with my name on it.

"...what's this?"

"It's a safe space... run by Hina-sama and a few other 2nd Years."

Hearing the Jack of the school was involved immediately caught my attention.

"Tokihara-senpai is one of the volunteers that helps runs it... and well, she thought you might be interested in checking it out."

"Safe room? I've never heard of this before."

"It's meant to be a secret... since, um, it's a room meant to help people feel safe at school. Like a place they can go to escape how noisy school can be... that kind of thing."

I could infer that much from the name alone.

"Huh... and I was invited to come?"

"Yes... they give invites to vulnerable students... to make them aware it exists... and hopefully so they'll come visit the safe room. Tokihara-senpai thinks you're one of them... hence the invite."

I guess the video of me getting beat up by Mikitaka and the others did make me look like I fit in that category. It was only one time, though... surely that wouldn't be enough to get me access to it?

"I'm guessing you got an invite too, since you know about it?"

"Ah... um, I got mine a long time ago... in April."

Considering Nora had been bullied by others that early on, it made sense.

"I have visited a couple times... it's a come when you want, leave when you want sort of deal. Everyone's really chill and you can do basically anything in that room... it's quite fun."

Since there was time to kill, I guess there was no harm in checking it out.

"Do you want to go together, then? The training session doesn't start until awhile."

"Sure thing. I was kind of hoping you'd say that, actually..."

Nora smiled slightly when I made that proposal. Together, we headed to the safe room, which was located in the special wing's 3rd floor.

"I've never been in this part of school before."

"There's not much here, is there...? Though, being so barren makes it a good place for the safe room..."

"Yeah. No one has a real reason to visit here, so no one can discover the room by accident."

"Exactly. If you know, then you know."

In some ways, this felt more like a secret club than a safe room.

"E-excuse me..."

Nora quietly opened the door for the safe room. There wasn't any signs pointing to it being the safe room, obviously. You had to use the invite to discern which room it was in the special wing.

"Nora-san, glad you could make it!"

Greeting him was one of the student librarians, Tokihara Mutsuki.

"H-hello, Tokihara-senpai. I gave the invitation to Takanori-kun, like you asked."

"Great, thanks for doing something so troublesome. Did he come with you?"

"Yes. Takanori-kun... you can come in."

I entered the safe room with my invite in hand. Immediately, I was taken back by the size of the room. It was about the size of two 1st Year classrooms. Inside, there were various students from all years doing different things.

Some were on their phones, some were studying, some were on laptops, some were napping, some were playing video games, some were watching TV, some were talking to friends, some were reading, some were eating food, yet somehow everyone was respectful of each other's spaces and kept the noise to a minimum.

This was the ultimate leisure paradise for introverts...!

"Hey."

"Impressed, huh?"

Tokihara, noticing the shocked expression on my face, laughed slightly.

"...that's an understatement. There's a lot of people here that I don't know, yet... I feel kind of at ease."

OST: Kaikai Kitan (Lofi Remix)

It was certainly a warm, cozy, and relaxing atmosphere, enhanced by the lofi music that was playing quietly in the background. No wonder people could nap so freely on the fluffy carpeted floor. There were beanbags, as well as regular tables and chairs, scattered all over. There were even two TVs, one for watching shows on, one for playing games on.

"I can't believe students run this..."

"Well, everyone here has a similar personality. At the very least, they're sensible people, so the temptation to do something silly doesn't come up. That's why it's so peaceful."

"Everyone came here to do the same thing. Relax. The safe room is a place perfect for that."

Adding onto Tokihara's explanation was the Jack of the school, Hina Hikari. The one who was apparently in charge of running the safe room. She appeared suddenly and captured everyone's attention.

"Welcome, Takanori-san. I hope you'll enjoy your visit here."

Hina smiled. Even though it was the first time I saw that tender smile, I felt a sense of nostalgia rush into my throbbing heart. There was something warm and comforting about her aura which made me slowly understand why the safe room worked.

Admittedly, I personally found Hina extremely beautiful. There was something about the mature way she looked and how she conducted her modest posture that captivated me. In all honesty, I think she might have been my type...

"Uh... I will. Um... thank you."

I lost my composure and awkwardly replied to Hina while looking at my feet. I was completely unable to make eye contact. Is this how Katsumi feels around Mikitaka? A sense of panicked nervousness because someone their brain finds attractive is close to them?

I didn't have a crush on Hina. I swear I didn't. I knew I didn't. But... my brain kept making me look at things through romantic tinted lenses just because she was hot. Why was I born in a boy's body... why couldn't I have been born as a girl...

My own hormones aside, I wanted to ask Hina some questions about this place since I was still unfamiliar to it all, but I felt like it was better if I asked Tokihara them, since I was closer to her.

"Um... Takanori-kun, I'm going to brew some tea... do you want some?"

"I'm fine. Thanks for the offer."

Nora nodded, going to the kitchenette attached to the safe room to make a drink for himself. I scratched the back of my head, unsure where to even start.

"...is it okay if I stick by you for now, Tokihara-senpai?"

"Sure thing. I was just going to read anyways."

Tokihara took out a light novel, White-winged Xros, from her bag and sat down in one of the beanbags. I sat in a beanbag adjacent to hers and sunk into it's soft material.

"Mecha, huh?"

"It's not usually my cup of tea, but since it's critically acclaimed, I thought I'd give it a shot."

"Xros is as good as the reviews say. Though, there's a certain arc which was pretty bad."

"You mean the Red-winged Freejok arc? Yeah, that was... a nosedive."

Tokihara laughed a little at her own pun. The Red-winged Freejok arc ended with the Freejok nosediving to it's demise in a last ditch effort to save the Black-winged Yrozel from destruction by the antagonists, the Edross Corps. A waste of a volume, if I'm being honest.

"So much for redeeming Freejok's pilot... killing him off instead ruined his development."

"The current arc I'm reading is pretty good though. I really like Lime-winged Tsekirzt so far."

"Lime-winged... isn't that the combination of Green-winged and Yellow-winged after both mechs were destroyed beyond repair in the mission to take back Ilhod from the Sphere-dressed's control?"

"Yeah, their pilots are fighting for who gets control over it, but there's a new guy saying he's gonna pilot Lime-winged."

"I vaguely remember this... I won't spoil for you, though. I know how you feel about them."

"Spoilers can burn in the pits of hell."

Tokihara was smiling as she said that. Scary.

"They sure can."

I closed my eyes. I really did feel like I could fall asleep here. However, I pushed my body up and continued talking to Tokihara.

"I heard from Nora-san that you're a volunteer here. Does that mean Hina-sama's the only person who's actually in charge?"

"Technically, yes, but in practice, no. Her role is more closer to being the founder of the safe room. Setting up this place was only possible because she's Royalty, so all responsibility over this room fell on her, document-wise at least. In reality however, the duties of taking care of this place are divided between her and us volunteers, so it's not really that much of a burden."

"How did you even become a volunteer? I thought this room was a secret."

"It's a secret, but it's also quite young. It was only set up last year, around... I'd like to say December? Back then, I was still in A Class, so I was in the same class as Hina-sama. When she proposed the idea to her friends, I was one of the few that was willing to help out."

"You were in A Class, Tokihara-senpai?"

"Believe it or not. I knew I was hanging on by a thread though, so when I was moved to B Class, I wasn't too shocked or anything. While it would be nice to be in A Class again, I think I've made peace with being in B Class for the rest of my student days."

"But you won't get the benefits of graduating from A Class... don't you want that?"

"I do. I'd love that, actually. But to be honest, I don't hold a candle compared to the people in A Class. If that's the sort of ability needed to stay in A Class, I never had a chance from the start."

"I see..."

"Hey, don't be disheartened by what I say. Everyone has their own way of doing things. If you really want to get out of E Class, I believe you can."

Tokihara offered some words of encouragement to me, since she knew I was in a lower class. In fact, almost everyone in the safe room seemed to be from a lower class. It was mainly D Class and E Class students here. Only a couple were from C Class and above.

"Who else here are volunteers?"

"Right now, it's just me and Kamo-san who are here today."

"Kamo-san?"

"Over there. He's the one playing on his phone. He's a 2nd Year, like me and Hina-sama."

Tokihara pointed over to the desks, where a boy with a low ponytail and white tie was playing a gacha game. An A Class student, huh? There were heavy bags under his eyes and he had a wide physique.

"He seems kind of scary..."

There was an intimidating lone wolf aura radiating from Kamo. His face was stern and lifeless as he tapped his phone screen mindlessly. You'd think he'd be smiling, enjoying himself at least. Was grinding for materials that bad?

"He's actually pretty similar to you."

"Are you telling me to grow my hair into a ponytail?"

"I mean personality, silly. Though, you wouldn't look half bad with a ponytail."

"He looks like the gruff, serious type... like a war veteran."

"You really have shallow views on people..."

"First appearances are important, as they say."

"Well, you're not too far off. Kamo-san's a quiet loner, like you. He doesn't show much emotion either. It's like his heart's made of stone."

"I guess in those aspects we're similar. Though, he doesn't really seem like the vulnerable type. With a face like his paired with that large body, I couldn't imagine anyone targeting him."

"You'd be surprised. Hina-sama actually set up the safe room because of an incident involving Kamo-san."

"What happened?"

"Back when I was in A Class, lots of students picked on Kamo-san because of his passive and quiet nature. One day, this boy named Adachi-san broke Kamo-san's game console after they got into a spat of some sort. When that happened, Shinsei-sama, who's Kamo-san's best friend, fought Adachi-san for Kamo-san's sake, since Kamo-san still refused to stand up for himself, even when that horrible thing happened to him."

As Tokihara recalled the story, my eyes widened. This was the same story Ken had told me yesterday. I checked the school app and searched for Kamo's account. When I found it, everything made sense.

His full name was Kamo Arinaga.

"Seeing that incident spiral out of control and make A Class lose two students was the trigger for Hina-sama to make a change. After witnessing all the abuse that goes on in the shadows of the school, she became sick of being a bystander and decided to create a safe space in the school for people that got harassed, such as Kamo-san, Nora-san, and even yourself."

"It looks like it worked. The atmosphere here is really calming."

"It is, isn't it? It's also a volunteer's job to keep it that way. Whenever ruckuses occur, it's our responsibility to protect the weaker students. And that's what Kamo-san excels at!"

"Oh, I get it. He uses his intimidating appearance to threaten consequences in order to bring the rising situation under control. Then someone else, like you, can diffuse it using gentler methods."

"You catch on fast. That's pretty much how we deal with those sorts of situations here."

"Have you ever had to kick anyone from the safe room? Or not allow certain students to come back?"

"Nope. Even if a few people can become rowdy, once they calm down, it usually returns to normal. There's no reason to turn them away. We're all here for the same reason after all."

"A moment of peace in this whirlwind of a school, huh..."

A few people left the safe room. A few people came into the safe room. Come when you want, leave when you want. There was no commitment. As long as the room was open, you were welcome inside. It really was casual. 

I would've never expected this oasis to exist inside this hellhole of a school. I'm kind of glad I got an invite here now. Like everyone else here, I'll do my best to protect it by keeping it a secret. If this room got leaked to everyone else, then who knows what trouble could come from it.

"Umm... does anyone want some tea? I accidentally brewed too much..."

Nora gently called out as he came out from the kitchenette with a tray of tea in his hands.

"Ooh, I'll have one Nora-san!"

Tokihara put down her novel and took a cup of tea. She blew on it and took a sip.

"Fuaa~. This would go great with some mochi."

"Funny you say that, Tokihara-senpai, I'm eating some right now."

Catching my attention was the voice of a boy who seemingly appeared from thin air. When I looked at him, I tried to remember who he was, but I was drawing a blank. He reminded me of a mob character, an NPC.

"Do you want one of mine?"

"Yes please, Imaishi-san!"

When Tokihara mentioned his name, I finally remembered. It was Imaishi Reo, a student who I deemed forgettable due to a lack of any outstanding features. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised a D Class student from our year was here as well.

"Here ya go."

Imaishi grinned, handing Tokihara one of the mochi he was snacking on. Since he was already here, it wouldn't hurt to glean some information from him.

"Imaishi-san, you're here too?"

"Huh... Takanori-san, I didn't notice you were there."

That was one thing me and Imaishi had in common. We blended into the background like wallpaper. It wasn't unusual for people to forget or not realise we were present.

"It's fine. Can I have a mochi too?"

"Sure thing. Here ya go."

Imaishi handed me a mochi too. I popped it into my mouth and continued to make light conversation with him.

"How has D Class been doing preparing for the war tomorrow?"

"We're doing good so far! A little too good... it makes me worry that something bad's gonna happen in the real thing."

Imaishi laughed to himself.

"I guess if you have a streak of good luck, you'll land on bad luck eventually."

"Right?! That bad luck's gonna manifest in the war, I can feel it..."

What a fatalistic mindset.

"Don't worry, our classes should be evenly matched. It's a matter of skill, not luck."

"Evenly matched, huh...? Maybe I shouldn't be slacking off here and return to class to practice some more... they're all relying on me, ha ha..."

"They're relying on you?"

"Uh... well, kinda. On second though, I shouldn't be telling you about this..."

Even though I was getting somewhere with gathering new information, the talkative Imaishi slowed down. Maybe he was D Class's secret weapon, like how Akihiro was our trump card? His almost ghostly presence would make him a great surprise attacker.

"That's fine. Did your class receive Akari-san's list of players and their clans?"

"Yep, Rikuto-san got it from her yesterday. You use Eradicators, don't ya?"

"Yeah. You use... Agravain?"

"Yessiree. One hangry boi."

"You also seem like that."

"Aha, don't let the mochi fool you! I don't eat that much - probably. At the very least, I don't get angry."

"Well, best of luck to your class tomorrow."

"Same to you! I can't wait to get it over with."

Imaishi left to return to his desk, where he was eating snacks and doing work. Yeah, he was definitely like Agravain without the anger issues... in other words, just a regular hungry person.

My stomach rumbled slightly. I guess my body thought more food was coming after that single piece of mochi. I got up and wandered inside the kitchenette, wondering if there was any food in the cupboards or drawers I could snack on.

As I rummaged through a drawer, a large shadow loomed over me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Kamo standing behind me, reaching out to the cupboard above my head silently. I shuddered.

"Uh... excuse me?"

I wanted to get up to avoid being squashed by this giant 2nd Year as he leaned forward to get something from the cupboard. Kamo stopped and looked down at me with piercing eyes.

"Sorry."

He stepped back and let me get out from under him. I shuffled to the side, watching as Kamo took a share size bag of crisps from the cupboard. Taking a bowl from the adjacent cupboard, he opened the bag and poured about half the packet inside the bowl. Kamo then turned towards me and offered the remainder of the crisps in the bag.

"Want it?"

"Uh... sure?"

I wasn't sure why he was being so nice to me, but free food was free food. I took the bag and checked the flavour. Sour cream and onion. Good taste.

Afterwards, Kamo opened the fridge and took two bottles of water out. He placed a bottle next to me and carried the other in his blazer pocket.

"You'll need it."

"...ah. Thanks?"

I was very confused by Kamo's actions. I get that he was being nice, but we didn't even know each other... to him, I was a complete stranger. He didn't even know my name... or, so I thought.

"You don't have to thank me. You're Ken's little brother, so I should treat you like one as well."

Right... he was Ken's best friend, so of course he would know about me. Though, treating me like a little brother as well... that was a bit far, wasn't it?

"You don't have to be nice to me just because I'm his sibling."

"True."

What a blunt response... I guess this is what Ken meant when Kamo wasn't very good at socialising.

"Since we haven't formally met before... uh, I'm Takanori Yuuto, 1st Year E Class."

"Kamo. Kamo Arinaga."

Even though it seemed unnecessary to introduce ourselves to one another, I wanted to make sure he knew my name and vice versa.

"So, Kamo-senpai... uh, how long have you been friends with Ken-nii?"

"Since June of last year when we were put into a group together. All I wanted was to be left alone, but the team leader, Ken, still made an effort to communicate to me despite that."

I could painfully relate to Kamo. I also hated being forced into groups and interacting with the people inside it.

"When we started talking, I found out that me and Ken shared similar interests in otaku culture, so our friendship only grew from there."

"I'm guessing your a big fan of gacha games then? Since I saw you were playing one earlier."

"Yes. I play five religiously at the moment, and three others infrequently."

"It sounds rough for your phone's battery..."

"I'm more concerned with the heat. Sometimes it feels like I could fry an egg on the screen."

"Wouldn't your fingers be at risk of burning then?"

"That was a joke."

"Oh..."

I was slowly starting to understand what Tokihara meant by us being similar. Not only were we both gloomy otakus who liked to be left alone, but our jokes also landed flatter than a pancake.

"Do you play any gacha games?"

"No... I'm more of a light novel guy."

"I like light novels too. My favourite's Chess King."

"Really? I'm actually reading that series currently. Tokihara-senpai recommended it to me."

"She has good taste. Which volume are you on?"

"Volume 2 currently. Still new to the series."

"Ah, I see. Come talk to me once you've read a certain volume."

"Which one would that be...?"

"You'll know when you get to it. No spoilers."

"Uh... if you say so."

Since the conversation between us had died, Kamo gave me a parting nod before leaving the kitchenette with his bowl of crisps. I also left the kitchenette, returning to the safe room.

Kamo went back to playing his gacha game. Nora was sitting at a desk, doing homework. Imaishi was now stretched across the sofa taking a nap. Tokihara was still sitting on the beanbags, reading. I decided to return to where she was.

To my surprise, someone else had taken up the beanbag I was sitting on originally. It was Hina. Since she was engrossed in reading a novel, I quietly tried to sneak away, but she noticed me. Damn, I think the bag of crisps rustling baited me out...

"Takanori-san? Is something wrong?"

Hina's angelic voice caressed my ears. I didn't know what had come over me in that moment. I was actually enjoying a girl's presence and becoming flustered over it.

"Uh... no, it's nothing."

I tried to run away, but Tokihara noticed and laughed.

"Hina-sama, you're sitting on the beanbag Takanori-san was sitting on earlier. He probably wants it back."

"Oh, sorry about that!"

Hina got up immediately, moving to the next beanbag over. I felt even more nervous to sit in that beanbag now because she had already sat in it. It would be indirectly touching her...

"Please don't be intimidated by my status. You can talk to me like any other person. I don't mind."

Realising that part of my reluctance to ask her to move was because she was Royalty, Hina tried to reassure me that we were equal in status while in the safe room. Such kindness... wasted on a guy like me.

"Uh... right... um... thanks."

Like the bumbling and awkward loser I was, I sunk into the beanbag excitedly. Then, I started to drown myself in sour cream and onion crisps to distract me from the fact that I was sitting next to the Jack of the school.

After I had finished the remainder of the bag, I chugged the entire bottle of water Kamo gave me to try and wash away the bad breath I'd inevitably end up with from eating such onion heavy crisps. I think it worked? Probably didn't.

"Takanori-san, there's crumbs all over your uniform."

Hina, who had taken notice of the mess I had made out of myself from eating those crisps, took out a handkerchief from her pocket and reached over, dusting away the crumbs herself.

"...I-I can do it myself!"

I started panicking as Hina innocently cleaned my shirt for me. The distance between us was probably less than five centimetres. I could smell a gentle citrus scent come from her clothes. Something bad might happen if she came any closer.

"It's fine, I don't mind. I've done this a bunch of times before, my little brother's a messy eater like you."

...is this how Hina saw me? A little brother? I didn't hate it, though...

"There, all clean."

Somehow, in the time between my mental meltdown and return to reality, Hina had already swiftly wiped away the crumbs.

"We should probably fix your tie too. Why don't you boys ever do the top button? You don't look cooler from having it open."

Hina, who noticed my small uniform infraction, also reached in to fix it. She buttoned together my open top button and adjusted my tie accordingly.

"Tuck in your shirt too."

Even though I hated the feeling of tucked shirts, because it was Hina asking me, I did it anyways. God damn it brain, work with me here!

"Much better! You look a lot smarter now, Takanori-san."

"Y-you think so? I think this is kinda dorky..."

"Dorky is cute. Besides, you'll lose less class points this way."

This was true. Uniform infractions did negatively effect how many class points we'd receive for the month. While I usually wore the regular uniform perfectly, with the summer uniform, I had broken a few rules for the sake of comfort.

Also, d-did she call me cute?

Actually, that reminded me. I had noticed something unusual when I walked in here, but hadn't been able to confirm it yet. I looked up to the ceiling, scanning it for any surveillance cameras. To my surprise, there was none.

"The school doesn't monitor this room?"

In the middle of my observation, I accidentally blurted my thoughts out loud. Hina noticed and answered my question.

"Nope. It was a bit difficult to negotiate for with the Student Council, but thankfully I managed to get an exception for surveillance cameras here. I think people would be put off from coming here if they knew the school was spying on them."

"You need permission from the Student Council? But you're Royalty."

"The school system is a bit more complicated than that, unfortunately... I'll spare you the boring details, but essentially there are three major powers that can enact change in the school: the Royalty, the Student Council, and the School Faculty. Each one checks and balances the others. Before any change can happen, all three groups must agree to it."

It was difficult to concentrate listening to her because Hina was sitting very close to me, but I kind of understood the basic concept of GEN's government. She had to convince all parties involved to go through with the change, which included the Student Council.

"That sounds like a tedious process to go through... how does each group balance each other out anyways? I always thought Royalty held most power. I didn't know the Student Council mattered as well."

"I'd like to teach you more about it... but unfortunately I can't. It's against the school rules."

"Oh... does that mean I need to be part of the Council or Royalty to know, then?"

"Unfortunately, yes. For what it's worth, personally, I think the general student body should be aware of how it works, since the changes we make affect them the most. Sorry to disappoint."

Hina made a slightly sad face as she said that. It stung a little seeing her look like that.

"Couldn't you ask to make that change?"

"I have and I tried before. It always gets vetoed by the Council though, since Kishou-sama is a traditionalist. He doesn't really like change."

The King and President of this school is a stickler for preservation, huh? That's what always bothered me a little about the Student Council at GEN. It's President was also it's King. One man having all that power... it seemed wrong. It seemed dangerous.

It must be difficult for progressive students like Hina to make positive changes when she has to somehow convince a conservative like him. Well, I guess it didn't concern me too much. At least knowing that, in normal circumstances, the Student Council had power, made me feel relieved a little.

"I never knew he was like that."

"It's not a bad thing. There are aspects of this school I'd like to keep too, but at the same time, there's a lot that I think could be changed as well."

"I agree. This school's pretty nice, except when it isn't."

Since I had dug so far into matters I shouldn't have poked my head in, I added an apology at the end for my nosiness.

"And... uh, sorry for asking those weird questions... the curiosity got the better of me."

"You're fine. Keep staying curious, Takanori-san! You might find some unexpected answers."

Hina smiled, leaving me with that piece of helpful advice. She went back to reading her novel. I slumped in the beanbag and noticed the cover of what she was reading. It was TOP, one of my favourite light novels.

I was about to speak up with excitement, but decided it was best to stay quiet and give Hina her own private time to enjoy the story. Being Royalty, I'm sure she didn't get many truly peaceful moments like these in her daily life.

I closed my eyes and drifted away into a peaceful sleep.

I think I'll be coming back to the safe room again soon.