Uneasy daily life

She looked at her father.

The middle-aged man's eyes darted around; it was clear he had something to hide.

What happened at home that I didn't know about?

“Father.” Yukino Yukinoshita flipped through the documents, pulled out an application form, and said calmly, “My sister gave me an application for a fireworks festival performance. I’ve been dealing with other things lately, and I was planning to wait for my sister to come over, but I haven’t heard from her at all recently…”

Yukino's father: "He probably didn't want to disturb Yukino's work."

"Then I'll reject it?"

Yukinoshita's father: "Uh, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

"Haku-kun." Yukino Yukinoshita frowned and let out a soft sigh. "What exactly does Father mean by being so hesitant?"

"Report!"

Bai Ying immediately reported: "In my opinion, my elder brother must be in a great mood because he welcomed back 9528. He made a big promise to get 9528's application approved. He's been staying in the office without saying a word lately, which obviously means he thinks you are disrespectful, inhumane, ruthless, and rigid in your thinking. He thinks you wouldn't do something like a private deal, so it's hard for you to approve his application..."

"What kind of mud are you throwing around?!" Yukinoshita's father quickly denied, "I just saw that Yukino was busy and didn't want to distract her too much, so I wanted to wait until she was less busy before bringing it up."

"Don't be fooled, brave man!"

A white figure suddenly circled around to the back of the desk, stood beside Yukino Yukinoshita, leaned close, and spoke in a voice just loud enough for Yukinoshita's father to hear: "This traitor is clearly a remnant of the previous dynasty. He thinks that you, the new emperor, are wrong in everything you do, and wants to carry out the act of overthrowing Yukinoshita and restoring Yang, which is the greatest crime in the world! This guy wants to rebel!"

This traitor! How can I possibly bear such a label?!

Yukinoshita's father gasped, forgetting the close proximity between them, and immediately explained, "Actually, I've taken on too much and am in a bit of a bind. And then Haruno told your mother she trusted me and wanted me to handle everything... well..."

"I understand. Father was blinded by joy and promised something he could never do."

Yukino Yukinoshita tilted her head slightly, her small eyes forcing the white figure back a little, and she calmly concluded.

Yukino's father whispered, "You really can't do it?"

“Let my sister say it herself. Besides, how could I not personally oversee something so important? If we’re going to prepare for a performance, at least let me see what we’re going to perform. It’s my responsibility and my job. If I just brush it off, I’m lying to myself.”

The father agreed with his daughter's righteous reprimand, and when he looked up, he saw that the man was still smiling!

Damn it, it's inevitable that the goddesses of the middle and little will be grouped together... and this traitor has to be added to the mix, what kind of hellish scroll is this!

“Then…” Yukino Yukinoshita stood up and said, “I want to go and see how the recent preparations are going.”

Bai Ying: "Everything went smoothly."

Yukino Yukinoshita smiled slightly and said, "Shouldn't we take a look? Or has Shiro really done something shady?"

"Heh, I'm afraid they're just passing on a false imperial decree to line their own pockets." Yukinoshita's father immediately straightened up, looking like he was saying, "If I'm in this mess, you can't get involved either."

"I am aboveboard and honest."

Bai Ying chuckled, her attitude natural, which made Yukinoshita's father somewhat unsure... Could it be that this rebel really didn't do anything to deceive his superiors?

"Let's go check out the fireworks at the warehouse first."

Yukino Yukinoshita has decided on her first stop.

……

……

The Chiba Fireworks Festival is not very large, with only a few thousand fireworks displayed for half an hour. In addition to mass-produced fireworks, there are also special designs created by various pyrotechnicians.

To make their fireworks fly higher, explode bigger, and display more unique patterns, even those with a firework master's license often harbor a slight fear of insufficient firepower.

Because he had a fit of madness and someone filmed it and threatened him, Hachiman Hikigaya came to work overtime to help move and watch over the fireworks.

Guarding the warehouse isn't a difficult job; you can just sit in front of the gate, take out your phone, and slack off.

Safety manual? I've already read it.

When I saw the plump fireworks, almost as tall as my thigh, already made and packaged, being sent into the warehouse, and I thought about how there were probably seven or eight more of these big ones inside, and a bunch of smaller ones that were slightly less impressive but made up for their quantity...

Hachiman Hikigaya chose to work overtime voluntarily.

Forget about lighters, we'll clear out all flammable materials within 30 meters!

This thing is more effective than the safety manual.jpg

"Aren't your legs weak?"

Hachiman Hikigaya removed a withered weed from the field.

"It's alright," Oreki Houtarou said calmly. "There was an even bigger fireworks festival, and I was guarding the warehouse around that time."

Hachiman Hikigaya remained silent, then said subtly, "You've had a tough time."

"Fortunately."

It was just dealing with Chitanda's sudden whim to open the eyes of the people in her hometown, running around negotiating, inviting reporters to promote it, finding a pyrotechnician to design unique fireworks, and trying to attract tourists. These weren't the most troublesome things...

"Why did you suddenly run back to Chiba?" Hachiman Hikigaya asked. "Could it be that something happened between you and Chitanda?"

"No."

To be precise, there was some problem with Chitanda's father, but it can't be said that it was unrelated to Chitanda...

Houtarou Oreki asked, "Why did you suddenly come to check on the warehouse?"

"Probably for the same reason as you."

"Oh."

The two door gods fell silent again, one flipping through a light novel, the other through a poetry collection, both silently counting down the shift change time, displaying the excellent attitude of working people.

"Oriki, I have a question for you."

"You ask."

“Suppose, I mean suppose,” Hachiman Hikigaya began, setting the premise, and then said, “If you had… someone who could be considered a friend, confessing their feelings to you…”

"—!"

Houtarou Oreki's eyes twitched. He suppressed his emotions and looked at Hachiman Hikigaya, who didn't seem to be referring to anyone. Calming down a bit, he immediately interrupted, "Since you consider us friends, and even just friends, that means you don't have any romantic feelings for him. The fact that you sound so hesitant also shows that you don't want to hurt his feelings..."

puff!

Hachiman Hikigaya expressionlessly turned the page he hadn't finished reading: "You're a bit annoying."

"Ah, it's probably just as annoying as you are during your school trip."

Houtarou Oreki said calmly, "He usually seems like a loner who doesn't care about such things, but once he starts to connect with others, he can't be so cold and decisive as to continue being a loner."

Hachiman Hikigaya immediately retorted: "Yes, he's always listless and seems like he doesn't want to do anything, but when something really happens, he still works very hard and runs around without slacking off at all."

“Exceptions are bound to be unreasonable,” Oreki Houtarou said casually. “What are you worried about? Sometimes, not wanting to hurt someone’s feelings is actually hurting them.”

"...You guessed wrong."

Hachiman Hikigaya hesitated and said, "Perhaps I'm not worried about hurting the other person's feelings, but rather... about hurting our relationship."

“That’s even worse,” Oreki Houtarou said softly. “Controlling someone’s feelings is worse than hurting them, isn’t it?”

“…You’re right.” Hachiman Hikigaya was silent for a long time, then let out a soft sigh. “It’s such an ugly and greedy thought… It’s disgusting how excessive the self-awareness is. Even though there’s a choice, they want to avoid the consequences of that choice, and even want to blame the other person’s actions for this feeling.”

Houtarou Oreki said calmly, "Explode, you normal guy."

Hachiman Hikigaya nearly had his head thrown off the sharp turn, and angrily exclaimed, "You're the one who should be blown up by this 'normie' guy! Damn it! I want someone like Chitanda too..."

Houtarou Oreki looked at him.

"I'm not talking about specific people, but rather an undeniable relationship—you understand, right?"

“I understand. You feel relaxed in good relationships, but you can’t trust interpersonal relationships.”

puff!

Hachiman Hikigaya's expression twisted as he recalled Houtarou Oreki's words, "I'll remember this," and felt a sense of destiny, as if the sins he had instigated were now coming to pass.

Noticing the three approaching, Hachiman Hikigaya quickly said, "That's all for now, that's all for now. The captain and Yukinoshita are here..."

Yes, and there's also that uncle who used to be so malicious towards me.

Chapter 136 is going to be exciting!

In the slightly dusty warehouse, all kinds of fireworks were stored very neatly. The matching firework tubes for launching were stored in one corner, and boxes of large fireworks for decoration were classified according to the predetermined release steps. There were also some specially made firework shells to enhance the atmosphere, all wrapped into huge spheres.

Large fireworks manufacturer... quantity of fireworks...

Yukino Yukinoshita took stock of everything, and to make sure her memory was accurate, she held a document in her hand for comparison.

Nothing was added or removed; it was so normal that it seemed a little abnormal.

"Hero, you must trust my abilities." The white figure said sincerely, "I strictly follow the hero's instructions, complete the targets assigned by my superiors, do my best, and have never done anything insincere... Hachiman and Oreki can both testify to this!"

Yukino Yukinoshita looked at the two warehouse guards.

Hikigaya Hachiman: "..."

Houtarou Oreki: "I can't. I just got back to Chiba and was dragged from my dorm by Shirokage to help out. Apart from helping move fireworks and watching the warehouse door, I know nothing else."

"A major threat? You're being a bit too polite by saying that." Bai Ying frowned slightly, displeased. "Be careful I don't speak ill of you in front of my niece, Airu."

Before Oreki Houtarou could speak, Yukinoshita's father stepped forward with an air of righteous indignation: "What are you doing? Trying to destroy evidence? Trying to threaten witnesses? Confess honestly, what unforgivable things have you done by abusing Yukino's power? If you explain clearly, you'll be torn apart by five horses; if you don't explain, you'll be executed by slow slicing!"

"You need evidence to back up your claims," ​​Bai Ying retorted. "Big Brother sits in his office all day, his work consists of nothing but oral exercises and facial movements. How dare he criticize me, who's running around and focused on getting things done?!"

“In terms of quantity, there is indeed little evidence.”

Yukino Yukinoshita flipped through the comparison and found nothing unusual... Could it be that she had misjudged Haku's actions because of her stereotypes?

"let me."

Yukinoshita's father reached for the document, his eyes scanning the number of fireworks, manufacturers, and pyrotechnicians on it with piercing eyes. Suddenly, he sneered and said, "Such large-scale events inevitably involve budget allocation and expense records. Often, as long as you follow the money, you can naturally find out where the problem lies... Checking the accounts isn't about checking the accounts, it's about checking the insects!"

As someone with extensive experience, Yukinoshita's father was full of confidence, as the fireworks festival was basically a business he had taken in by the Yukinoshita family.

He knows everything about fireworks: prices, manufacturers, well-known pyrotechnicians, annual fireworks festival budgets and expenses. Checking accounts is a piece of cake. Even if the documents he has aren't detailed expenditures, he knows exactly how much each type of fireworks costs.

Yukinoshita's father glanced at the scene briefly, made a quick estimate, and then the smile on his face gradually disappeared, and he fell silent.

"What's wrong?" Yukino Yukinoshita asked, puzzled. If she had noticed something was wrong, her father should have jumped up and started biting Haku immediately, right? Why was he in such a strange silence?

"There's something wrong with the accounts."

Yukinoshita's father managed to utter a single sentence: "We have too much money."

Yukinoshita Yukino: “?”

"About 20%? Prices haven't changed much. Compared to last year's fireworks preparations, this year's fireworks preparations are 20% more, but the budget remains the same." Yukinoshita's father was puzzled and somewhat bewildered.

"This proves I'm highly capable," Bai Ying said. "Doing something worth 1 or 2 cents with only 1 cent—that's what professionalism is!"

"Do you think everyone else is doing charity?" Yukino's father's thoughts shifted, emphasizing the principle of presumption of guilt. "You wouldn't be buying fireworks with substandard quality but in excess quantity, would you? You wouldn't be illegally raising funds under false pretenses, would you? You wouldn't be using Yukino's name to deceive and defraud, would you?"

Bai Ying clapped his hands and said, "What a great way to put yourself in others' shoes! They're all bad people! Why are you so skilled at this, brother? Are you perhaps a master of this art?"

Yukinoshita's father scoffed, "It's absurd for a criminal to assume that a policeman is an expert in crime."

"Alright." Yukino Yukinoshita rubbed her temples and steered the conversation back on track. "Haku-kun, what's with the extra fireworks?"

"Sigh... Well, since things have come to this, I'll just be honest." Bai Ying sighed, scratched his head, and said, "Actually, I bought some fireworks with my own money, so the number of fireworks was a bit too much and didn't match the expenses on the books. I didn't expect that Uncle's sharp eyes would still see through it. You really are a grown-up."

The father smiled reservedly under the snow, but something felt off.

Yukino Yukinoshita asked curiously, "If you want to buy fireworks, you can buy them yourself. Why put them in the fireworks festival..."

"Is this enough?"

The white figure suddenly sharpened its gaze and stared directly at Yukino Yukinoshita.

Yukino Yukinoshita raised a hand to smooth her hair, her smile revealing danger: "Shiraki-kun, what are you trying to say?"

"Is it enough to hold a fireworks display every year? Do you think that surpasses your sister? Do you think that fulfills your dream? The brave one has already stepped onto the battlefield and is about to charge. What are you hesitating for?!"

Bai Ying's attitude turned serious.

Yukino Yukinoshita's expression stiffened slightly.

"How dare these traitors utter such nonsense?!"

Yukinoshita's father glared angrily. If he had a knife, he would have beheaded the traitor who dared to question the little goddess—"Even I wouldn't dare speak to the little goddess like that? Who do you think you are?!"

Hachiman Hikigaya's eye twitched slightly, while Houtarou Oreki kept his eyes down, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings, calmly enjoying the show.