After getting away from the group's solicitous inquiries, Uchiha Ryo walked towards Shinomiya Kaguya at the foot of the school building.
"Yo, Shinomiya. What are you doing here?"
Shinomiya Kaguya glanced at Uchiha Ryo and said calmly, "Fulfil Ryo the promise I made to you at the banquet. Weren't you going to investigate the incident from thirty-three years ago?"
At the mention of this, Uchiha Ryo also nodded.
"Then take me to the school archives. But let me ask, are the records on paper or in digital format?"
Shinomiya Kaguya thought for a moment. "There should be both. It depends on which version you want."
Uchiha Ryo took a USB drive out of his backpack. "Since there's a digital version, it'll be simple. Let me make a copy."
.....
After returning to the classroom, Shirogane Miyuki finally got to greet Uchiha Ryo as he had wished. Congratulations were in order.
"Uchiha, you didn't come yesterday. The bento I prepared for you went to waste."
At noon, Shirogane Miyuki complained casually, then took out a second lunch box from his desk.
"So today's bento is a special edition."
Uchiha Ryo took the bento box. Before he could open it, he heard the voice of the gyaru Hayasaka from the doorway.
"Ryo-kun~ Let's eat together!"
Shirogane Miyuki: "....."
Male Classmate A: "What's going on!"
Male Classmate B: "Uchiha Ryo, you traitor!!"
The boys in the class erupted. Uchiha Ryo, amidst a sea of hostile gazes, walked out coolly.
Uchiha Ryo: "Come with me, let's eat somewhere else. Also... why did you ask me out for lunch? Are you trying to investigate me again?"
Hayasaka Ai blinked. "Eh, aren't we friends?"
Uchiha Ryo sighed. "So in your persona, does the school-specific gyaru Hayasaka often ask guys out to eat?"
"Of course not! My persona at school is an energetic gyaru who has never dated a guy, not a compensated-dating gyaru!"
In the Classic Literature Club's activity room, the three girls, who were used to eating in the clubroom, were sitting and chatting.
Just then, Uchiha Ryo pushed open the door and entered, followed by a bewildered Hayasaka Ai.
Weren't we going to a secluded place to eat alone? Why did he bring her to the club activity room!
Amakusa Shino noticed the newcomers. She first glanced imperceptibly at Yukinoshita, then asked curiously.
"Uchiha? And this is... your girlfriend?"
Uchiha Ryo pulled over a chair and sat down. "No. She said she wanted to join the club, so I brought her over."
Hayasaka Ai: "???"
I never said that! Who wants to join a club? And why is your club full of pretty girls?!
Hayasaka Ai noticed the three girls whose looks were by no means inferior to her own, and a strange decision suddenly formed in her heart.
"Yes, President! I want to join your esteemed club!"
Amakusa Shino nodded. "Then come eat with us first. You can fill out the form later."
And so, the number of people eating bentos in the clubroom became five.
Yukinoshita Yukino hadn't said a word since Uchiha Ryo came in. She hadn't figured out what to say yet, so she decided to just ignore him for now.
The five of them ate their bentos quietly. Amakusa Shino, the first to finish, suddenly felt a little bored and looked at the others.
"Yukinoshita, you cut your steak into such small pieces."
Yukino wiped her mouth. "Because my family taught me from a young age to never open my mouth wide when eating. And my mouth is naturally small. So I always cut my food into very small pieces before eating."
→
Amakusa Shino nodded.
"I see. That'll be tough for your boyfriend when you find one...."
Yukinoshita didn't understand. She just tilted her head and looked at Amakusa Shino, then glanced in Uchiha Ryo's direction. Chitanda, who also didn't understand, quietly ate her food.
Hayasaka Ai, however, nearly choked. She quickly took a sip of water, and Uchiha Ryo, sitting beside her, patted her on the back.
He casually looked up at Yukinoshita's cherry-like lips. He suddenly remembered when he was feeding her congee, it was also because her mouth was too small that a little would always spill onto the corners of her mouth.
Unable to stay quiet, Amakusa Shino turned her gaze to Uchiha Ryo.
"By the way, Uchiha-kun, you're pretty popular among the first-years, right? Do you have a girlfriend?"
Uchiha Ryo: "Not yet."
Amakusa Shino nodded again.
"I see. So it's still your right hand, then?"
Uchiha Ryo put down his chopsticks. "President Amakusa, if you're bored after finishing your meal, then go over there and study the data I copied."
He handed over the USB drive he had gotten from the archives with Shinomiya Kaguya that morning. Amakusa was curious.
"What data?"
"All the events recorded by the school from thirty-three years ago are in here. I think we'll definitely find something about Chitanda-san's uncle inside."
Chitanda Eru looked over excitedly, then began to eat rapidly. As expected, she choked. Uchiha Ryo, sitting beside her, also patted her on the back.
"Chitanda, the USB drive isn't going to run away. You can look at it after you finish eating."
Hayasaka Ai looked at Chitanda in confusion. "What are you guys investigating?"
Uchiha Ryo explained.
"It's about Chitanda's uncle. Because Chitanda really wants to know what her uncle said back then, she asked us to investigate."
"And today, I think the truth of the matter should come to light."
Yukinoshita, the second to finish, packed up her bento box and also went over to where Amakusa Shino was, plugging the USB drive into the classroom's old computer to start searching.
Yukinoshita Yukino's eyes lit up.
"Eru-san, I think I found it!"
Chitanda Eru quickly swallowed the last mouthful of rice, then patted her chest and came to the computer.
——
Thirty-three years ago, the upper management of Shuchiin, in order to promote that academics were more important than extracurricular activities, wanted to shorten the school's cultural festival.
Changing the five-day cultural festival, which had been established since Shuchiin's founding, to two days naturally caused dissatisfaction among the entire student body.
And the students of Shuchiin were no simple characters. These guys, with power and background, began to secretly organize large-scale protest actions to express their dissatisfaction with the school.
This large-scale protest eventually caused a considerable commotion. The specific content of the protest was not recorded, but the final result achieved by the students was... the length of the cultural festival was not changed, it was still five days.
At this point, it could be said to be the students' victory. But Chitanda's uncle, Sekitani Jun, was expelled from the school for being the leader of this incident.
The story ended here, but Chitanda's expression was very calm. She didn't seem satisfied with this investigation result.
Because there was still one more point. What exactly did her uncle say back then that made Chitanda Eru cry so much?
Uchiha Ryo, who had finally finished his meal, stood up and brought "Hyouka" to Chitanda Eru.
"Actually, 'Hyouka' is just a boring word game..."