Uneasy daily life

You should try to figure it out yourself first...

The simplest and most direct method is definitely not to randomly grab someone on the street and ask, "Do you know Mai Sakurajima? If not, let me introduce her to you." Instead, use the convenience of modern technology to search for Mai Sakurajima's fan groups. If there are people who have forgotten Mai Sakurajima, it will be very obvious.

I joined several of the fan groups that came up in the search results to get a better understanding of the situation.

In addition, to avoid forgetting, while I still remember, I tried to copy the information about Mai Sakurajima that I found online into my notebook.

Hmm? Some applications to join the group have already been approved?

Hachiman Hikigaya glanced at a message that popped up and his expression froze.

Mai Sakurajima Fan Club

Bai Liang and Bai Ying have accepted the Lone Ranger's group membership application.

[Bai Liang Bai Ying: Welcome!]

[Crow: Newbie, run!]

[Puppet: Newcomer, run!]

[Little Pockmarked Guy: Newbie, run!]

Insomnia: Newcomers, run!

The Mavericks have left the group chat.

【crow:?】

[Puppet: Did it really run away?]

[Little Pockmarked: First of all, it wasn't my fault... I was just adding +1 as usual.]

[Insomnia: Accidentally joined the wrong group?]

[Wanting to be a bunny girl: Maybe she was scared away by the crazy administrator.]

[Crow: The group owner is alive?!]

[Puppet: The group owner actually survived Lu Bu's betrayal.]

[Bai Liang and Bai Ying: Ha, trying to escape?!]

Hachiman Hikigaya looked at his phone screen, and sure enough, a group invitation popped up from the department head.

It's summer vacation now, no need to go to school, and the minister can even hunt down enemies across different maps... He definitely can!

[Bai Liang and Bai Ying invited Lone Ranger to join the group chat.]

[Bai Liang Bai Ying: You can run away from the monk but not the temple, you can run away from the brother but not the sister. You're already surrounded. As the saying goes, a wise man submits to circumstances. Don't struggle, lest you suffer unnecessary pain. Hehehe!]

[Lone Ranger: ...]

[Bai Liang and Bai Ying: Meeting an old friend elsewhere in life is a joyous occasion, so why remain silent?]

[The Lone Ranger: A trap.]

[Crow: Hmm? The newcomer knows Brother Lü Bu?]

[Puppet: I think it's more like being forced into a corner.]

[Little Pockmarked: @Lone Ranger, are you a fan or a hater?]

[Mavericks: Isn't this a fan group?]

[Want to be a Bunny Girl: This is a group of haters for Mai Sakurajima.]

[Lone Ranger: Oh.]

[The Mavericks: Then I'm a hater.]

[Little Pockmarked Guy: Hey! You spineless, blindly following enemy!]

[Bai Liang and Bai Ying: It's alright! True friendship is revealed in times of trouble. I will make Sakurajima Mai great again, punish the traitors, and reclaim the throne!]

[Bai Liang Bai Ying: @Lone Ranger, I'm giving you one more chance to choose. Return to the right path, and let Mai Sakurajima's light shine upon us!]

[Lone Ranger: I'm a huge fan of Mai Sakurajima.]

[Crow: What a masterful skill in switching sides.]

[Puppet: The strange group has grown again; Prime Minister Dong has begun recruiting soldiers and horses, plotting to seize the throne.]

[Little Ma Zi: The number of fans in the group has now tripled, but Ms. Sakurajima has sadly retired from the entertainment industry. How cruel fate is! Waaaaah...]

[Bai Liang Bai Ying: @Want to be a bunny girl? It won't be long before I take her place!]

[Want to be a Bunny Girl? Bai Liang and Bai Ying are banned from commenting for 30 minutes.]

Something's definitely not right where the minister is, even in a group chat.

As expected, Hachiman Hikigaya clicked on the private message that popped up.

[Bai Liang and Bai Ying: My dear subordinate, confess the truth.]

Because I suddenly wanted to be a fan of a celebrity? Come on, even Komachi couldn't fool her with that excuse—Komachi still remembered when she asked Mai Sakurajima if she remembered her, and she firmly believed that she wasn't a fan of a celebrity, but rather helping someone else be a fan…

[Lone Ranger: Minister, I've noticed that people around me, like Yukinoshita, seem to have forgotten about Mai Sakurajima's existence. Do you have any clues about this strange situation?]

[Bai Liang and Bai Ying: ?]

Hikigaya Hachiman fell into deep thought. What was the deeper meaning behind this question mark?

[Bai Liang Bai Ying: Didn't you think I was still a hater, so you pretended to be a fan to betray me?!]

[The Lone Ranger: What a convoluted betrayal plan.]

Hachiman Hikigaya thought to himself, "Because of the internet, the department head can't fully utilize his formidable observational skills?" Great!

[Bai Liang Bai Ying: Why do you think it's abnormal to forget Sakurajima Mai?]

[Mavericks: Minister, are you sober?]

[Bai Liang and Bai Ying: I'm perfectly clear-headed. Are you perhaps trying to solve the problems of this dynasty using the logic of the previous one?]

[Lone Ranger: Maybe it's because I've always been relatively unknown? Someone who's practically forgotten.]

[Bai Liang Bai Ying: The hero is pretty much the same, but she forgot.]

[Lone Ranger: I wouldn't know then.]

[Bai Liang and Bai Ying: Let's discuss it again tomorrow. Come to Kanagawa, and we'll play a little game.]

[The Mavericks: I refuse.]

[Bai Liang and Bai Ying: I refuse your refusal.]

[Lone Ranger: Is Mai Sakurajima facing a serious problem?]

[Bai Liang Bai Ying: Small problems can be ignored, big problems can be left undone, but a jumbled mess of problems is really troublesome~]

What exactly happened?

Hachiman's worldview is starting to crumble. Should I go to Kanagawa tomorrow to have a serious talk with the club president?

Hachiman Hikigaya thought for a moment, then went to sleep.

The next day.

Hachiman Hikigaya is happily enjoying his summer vacation, while also worrying about Komachi's unspeakable contact with the club president's brother... Should he tell Komachi that he doesn't need any birthday surprise? He'll definitely get scolded by Komachi.

Why did the minister call?

[Hachigaya, I forgot to tell you the address last night. Remember to come to Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture. I'll pick you up at the train station.]

Hmm? Last night, it seems I made an appointment with the department head to go to Kanagawa?

Hachiman Hikigaya was terrified—Am I even conscious?!

I can't quite remember what it was about, but it certainly wasn't important.

The knife was already at my neck, and instead of dodging, you were yelling, "Why are you trying to kill me?!"

"Minister, I have to tutor Komachi today, so I won't be going."

Hachiman Hikigaya used his sister as a shield, frantically pondering how to avoid the 'going to Kanagawa' timeline if the department head contacted Komachi.

Do you know Mai Sakurajima?

"Who?" Hachiman Hikigaya asked alertly. "No one, I don't know anyone named Mai Sakurajima."

Okay, then spend some time with your sister.

Bai Ying hung up the phone.

Hachiman Hikigaya grew serious, pondering the deeper meaning behind it; perhaps it was about to make a grand declaration for himself.

The notebook lay quietly on the corner of the table, unnoticed by Hachiman Hikigaya.

……

……

Kanagawa Prefecture.

It's still Mai Sakurajima's house.

Bai Ying was on the phone with Azusagawa Sakuta, feeling quite disappointed in him.

"My subordinate has already fallen for it. He immediately asked me who Sakurajima Mai was, forgetting our agreement from last night. He not only forgot about Sakurajima Mai, but also forgot that he would forget about Sakurajima Mai. His factory settings have been completely restored."

Chapter 78 Quantum Mechanics

[According to Futaba's guess, it's because of sleep—once a person falls asleep, the intensity of observation decreases or even approaches zero. Sakurajima-san's disappearance should be related to observation; even if observation of her continues, once the intensity of observation stops or decreases, Sakurajima-san disappears from the observer's world.]

"So, that situation where you're awake during the day, suddenly can't remember Sakurajima Mai, and then suddenly remember her again, is like being distracted, not paying attention for a moment, or realizing, 'Where did I put this?'"

For example now.

Bai Ying raised his hand and poked at the dummy's head that popped out from beside his neck. Unfortunately, his fingers passed right through it and couldn't cause any real damage, but that didn't stop him from trying to poke out the cat's eyes.

There was absolutely no attempt to hide it. Did the hater know that I knew about that strange thing? I was originally planning to observe further before asking.

Sakurajima Mai, biting her straw, glanced at the strange thing emerging from the white figure. Could this also be a kind of puberty syndrome? Or was it just a unique and illogical problem caused by the anti-fan?

Futaba stated very seriously that this was a valid guess.

Bai Ying said logically, "In other words, we must think about Sakurajima Mai without sleep or rest, think about Sakurajima Mai every moment, and pay close attention to Sakurajima Mai with all our heart and soul. Only in this way can we ensure that as an observer, we will not suddenly forget about Sakurajima Mai?"

[Sounds like the ultimate fanatic.]

Bai Ying suggested, "Let's not call it Adolescent Syndrome anymore. I suggest renaming it 'How to Become a Fanatic'."

"Isn't this just right?" Mai Sakurajima said with a smile. "Anyway, you consider yourself my fan, so it's only natural for Ji to go to this extent, right?"

“Hmm…” Bai Ying stroked his chin, glanced at the stand-in next to him who was trying to push him back into his body, and said subtly, “In a sense, I did manage to do that.”

Mai Sakurajima: "?"

Why are you looking at that strange thing? Could it be that the reason the hater hasn't forgotten him is because of that pinkish-purple, cracked, roughly human-shaped supernatural object?

Look at this, so eager and impatient, it's probably an instinctive urge to do it as soon as you have hands. It's true that he's thinking about Sakurajima Mai's hands non-stop, chanting about Sakurajima Mai's claws every moment, and paying close attention to Sakurajima Mai's palms...

Bai Ying nodded to himself and said, "It seems I really am your ultimate fanatic."

Mai Sakurajima glanced at him sideways and said, "I have a feeling that what you said wasn't meant to be friendly."

[I asked about it, and Futaba said it was just a far-fetched deduction from a quantum mechanics perspective. Essentially, it could be that God rolls dice—when He rolls them and what number he rolls determines who will forget Mai Sakurajima and when. What we see is already the result.]

"Is there a solution from the perspective of quantum mechanics?"

【cannot. 】

Rio Futaba's soft voice rang out.

"Huh?" Bai Ying urged, "Shuangye, quickly use your invincible quantum mechanics to think of a solution!"

[You might have some strange misunderstanding. I don't understand quantum mechanics, or rather, nobody understands quantum mechanics. I'm just trying to explain these phenomena that defy common sense from a quantum mechanical perspective. After all, only quantum mechanics, which nobody understands, can explain puberty syndrome, which nobody understands either.]

"Because it is something that is mysterious and profound, it can be used to explain everything."

Bai Ying nodded and said, "I understand now."