Uneasy daily life

"The day after tomorrow too!"

"Oh, then let's do it tomorrow. If you don't come, I'll talk to Miura about the things you and Hachiman have to talk about."

“Ahhh?!”

Bai Ying hung up the phone first, shrugged at the two of them, and said, "The matter is resolved, it's that simple."

"Is this a threat?" Yukino Yukinoshita's gaze was deep and unsettling.

"Let things develop in the direction you want, that's the definition of problem-solving," Bai Ying suddenly said seriously. "Some methods can only solve the surface, and some methods are even more counterproductive. Whether you can calmly analyze a matter and everyone's perspective, rather than subconsciously judging and acting based on personality and impulse, is a very important dividing line."

Bai Ying glanced at Yukino Yukinoshita and snorted, "Some things, if left unsaid, others won't understand; some things, even if said, might still be misunderstood. So, choose silence? Then choose to let speculation run rampant—a cowardly hero shouldn't expect anything from a cold-blooded demon king."

Upon hearing this, Hachiman Hikigaya looked at the two of them with some surprise... Although the minister was either having a fit or on his way to having a fit, only after looking back and thinking carefully, breaking down the past into individual threads, could one vaguely sense that it was not just a simple fit of madness.

Before Hachiman Hikigaya could think further, Yukino Yukinoshita picked up her pen again and said calmly, "Don't call me Hero. Those words always remind me of Hikigaya-kun's friends."

"Hahahaha!" Hachiman Hikigaya laughed heartily. "I have a lot of friends, Yukinoshita-san, are you envious?"

"Once you tell Miura about Yuihama, you'll probably have another friend."

"...Minister, that must have been a simple, coercive lie used to get Yui to agree to come to the activity room, right?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Bai Ying asked, puzzled. "If she really doesn't come tomorrow, it means the problem is quite serious. I will definitely have to take you, the person involved, to have a talk with Miura."

Hachiman Hikigaya remained silent—"I might as well take the day off tomorrow."

Bai Ying added, "By the way, I know where you live."

Hachiman Hikigaya remained silent, like a thinker.

Yukino Yukinoshita wrote, adding, "I still admire your attitude of keeping your word."

Life is truly difficult when faced with monsters that can see into people's hearts and cruel, indifferent snowstorms.

Hachiman Hikigaya sighed and continued working on the special science exam paper.

Is Yui Hama really not coming to the activity room because of herself?

Isn't this just a thought of excessive self-consciousness?

No, it's still impossible to be sure...

I don't understand at all what Yuihama is thinking. Didn't she make her point very clearly?

Rescuing the dog was a voluntary act, a foolish thing I did on my own initiative. It had nothing to do with Yuihama. I wasn't trying to get her gratitude or her friendship, so I didn't need any emotional or material compensation. In other words, she had no responsibility whatsoever.

She doesn't need to join a strange club, nor does she need to learn to bake cookies for herself; she doesn't need to do anything special for herself at all.

I was hit by a car while rescuing a dog, that's all. It was stupid, foolish, and I was out of my mind. It was my own responsibility and folly.

As the minister said, people have an instinct to shirk responsibility, so having no responsibility is a good thing for Yuihama, right?

There's no need for guilt or compensation, and your dog wasn't killed in a car accident. You can relax completely and pretend nothing happened. Isn't that something to be happy about?

She's clearly a silly, cheerful person, but I can't figure out what she's thinking.

The minister and Yukinoshita also felt something was off; they sensed that many of the minister's words were loaded with hidden meanings, and Yukinoshita's interrupted remarks also seemed somewhat ambiguous...

Yukino Yukinoshita stared at the knowledge points in the reference book, her mind adrift.

Occasionally, well, really just occasionally I'd glance up and quickly look in the direction of the white figure.

The latter was completely absorbed in battling the difficult questions, conquering one test paper after another, without even glancing in her direction.

There's absolutely no need to worry about suddenly making eye contact... it might actually make you more agitated.

Car accident...

Fortunately, the car accident did not result in irreversible consequences.

However, the things left behind still affect many people. Hachiman saved the dog, which belonged to Yui, and Yui felt guilty and wanted to make it up to Hachiman. That's normal, right? But what about the victims?

It's understandable that Hikigaya doesn't want to, or has already forgiven, Yuihama, but wants to keep his distance—perhaps because of the shadow of the car accident, or perhaps because he can't take it in stride and feels some aversion to this relationship that started out rather unusual.

No one else has the right to force him to be friends with Yui Hama. After all, he is still Yui Hama's savior, and he did nothing wrong.

what about me?

As Bai Ying explained, the matter has been resolved. It was an accident, and fortunately, there were no irreversible consequences.

When I first faced them again, I felt very calm because the matter had been resolved, so there was no need to bring it up again. That kind of accident was not a good memory for anyone, so why bring it up again? I'm not stupid.

And now? Why can't I be at peace with myself?

It was a crucial moment when I needed to explain things clearly, but I just couldn't bring myself to speak.

Why can't I openly admit that I was in that car at the time and that the car that hit Hachiman was my own private car?

Yukino Yukinoshita had her head down, seemingly engrossed in studying. Her bangs covered her delicate eyebrows, which were involuntarily furrowed together.

Ask yourself questions, answer them, and analyze yourself.

How can a general who doesn't know his troops march an army? How can one who doesn't know himself understand himself?

The answer is actually very obvious.

It is a friend, an interpersonal relationship, a friendship that one has lacked or has never experienced.

Unable to anticipate the reactions and attitudes of others, one experiences anxiety and fear.

It's strange that, despite the difference in the initial and later relationships—from strangers to acquaintances—the same issue can no longer be handled in the same way, and I can't bring myself to speak about it.

He feared that if he spoke up, Yui would silently distance herself, and he wouldn't be able to honestly say that he wanted to continue being friends with her. He also feared that Hikigaya would end up like he did with Yui, damaging and breaking off his own interpersonal relationships.

So he was alone again... no, there was still Bai Ying. What would he think?

Bai Ying probably doesn't care.

He interrupted repeatedly, his words carrying a hidden meaning. He clearly deduced something from his attitude, tone, or other aspects, and perhaps he had already guessed the truth.

Even though I didn't say it aloud, this guy still figured it out pretty much, didn't he...?

If I express the facts and put myself in the position of the perpetrators—they are all victims—shouldn't that solve the problem?

As long as Yuihama and Hikigaya reconcile and their relationship is repaired, it shouldn't matter if we lose two increasingly close friends, right?

I am not important; what is important is that Yuihama needs Hikigaya's understanding.

At least I have one, half, or even one enemy.

That guy will still be in this activity room, issuing challenges in a showy manner, trying to kick me, his 'colleague,' out the door, and I'll still complain about his occasional eccentricities...

In the end, I won't be all alone in this activity room; I definitely won't.

Just thinking about that scene sends chills down my spine.

When did I start to be afraid of being alone?

Brave... cowardly...

I'm such a coward. At this moment, I even feel a little resentful and scared, hoping that Bai Ying can tell me the truth on my behalf.

That guy is not a hero's companion; he has made it very clear that he is a cold-blooded demon king.

If you try to rely on him, you'll definitely be ridiculed, and you might even be told things like, "Why is a brave man so arrogant at first and then so obsequious?" or "I still prefer your unruly and unyielding way of being a colleague."

Yukino put down her pen, looked away from the reference book she couldn't concentrate on, placed her hands on her knees, covered them with the table, and clenched them into fists.

Bai Ying was obsessed with conquering exam papers—he only wanted to solve the problems and level up.

"The car that hit you was my family's private car. I was sitting in the back seat that day."

The quiet of the activity room was broken by Yukino Yukinoshita's sudden speech.

"Oh..." Hachiman Hikigaya responded subconsciously, then looked up blankly, snapping back to reality, "Huh?"

"That's it?!"

Bai Ying suddenly looked up, shocked, and said, "I saw you stammering and talking about other things, and there was a sense of guilt and a desire to reveal the truth in your words. I thought you were the one who drove the car to create the Hachiman!"

The silence that was broken returns to another level of silence.

Yukino Yukinoshita's forced composure crumbled, and she coldly said, "I'm still a student, how could I possibly be driving? White Fungus's logical thinking ability is really lacking, I suggest you immediately restart biological evolution—and by the way, what do you think I did?"

Bai Ying crossed her arms and rested her chin on her hand, saying, "On the surface, she's a well-behaved rich girl, but in reality, she has a bad habit of driving around in her own car to relieve stress. On the day of the entrance ceremony, Yukinoshita drove her family's private car on the road and crashed into Hikigaya. Afterwards, Yukinoshita's family, who are quite influential, quickly dealt with the matter, sealed off the information of the instigator, and threw out a driver to take the blame."

Yukino Yukinoshita leaned back involuntarily, her bright eyes wide, her lips slightly parted but unable to speak. In just a few words, how could her and her family's reputation have been so severely damaged?!

“I wasn’t blasted into flight,” Hachiman Hikigaya corrected. “If I really had been blasted into flight, it wouldn’t have been just a month-long hospital stay, would it?”

"You must believe in the power of the human body, Hachiman."

Bai Ying shook his head, speaking in an old-fashioned tone: "The three of you are truly unparalleled geniuses. It's a coincidence and adventure comparable to a novel plot... Unfortunately, the plot of this novel lacks twists and turns, the conflicts are not intense, and it's full of youthful recklessness and nonsensical thinking. There's no bloodshed or carnage, not even a hint of lifelong regret. It's a waste of emotion, not a trace of youthful pain, not a trace of suffering for the world."

Hachiman Hikigaya: "Then I'm truly grateful the author didn't create a character who's half-paralyzed..."

Yukino Yukinoshita, remembering that absurd idea someone had just given her, was about to explode—

Bang bang bang!

There was a knock on the door.

Yukino Yukinoshita instinctively said, "Please come in."

"Hey-"

A girl with pigtails opened the classroom door, her bright orange-red eyes cautiously surveying the three people inside.

"Um... I heard there's a club here that helps people with their problems?"

Chapter Thirty-Six: A God-Level Problem

The student organization needs help? And it just so happens to be at this time.

Wait a minute? I just made up my mind to tell the truth, but it seems that Bai Ying's jokes have messed things up again?

Yukino Yukinoshita hesitated. The most urgent thing was to solve Yuihama's problem, which was related to Hikigaya. The two of them's problems were also related to her. Should she put the club activities aside for now?

"Hikigaya-kun."

The white shadow gave Hachiman Hikigaya a wink.

Hachiman Hikigaya understood immediately and said, "The club is not accepting requests for the time being..."

"That's impossible! We're happy to help others, and helping others is our joy. From fighting against school tyranny to finding lost cats and dogs, the Aid Department will assist clients with all their difficulties!"

Bai Ying interrupted, pulling up a chair and placing it on the other side of the reception table, gesturing for the guests to sit down.

He sat back down, turned around, and said coldly, "Hachigaya-kun, as a member of the Aid Department, you openly betrayed me last time when I asked you to do something, and now you've refused again when I have a request. You've repeatedly made things worse for the club's survival! I think you're just pretending to be a member of my Aid Department, but secretly you've already become a ghost of the Service Department, haven't you?!"

Hachiman Hikigaya wanted to express his speechlessness, but seeing the cold killing intent flashing in the captain's eyes, many memories involuntarily surfaced in his mind—the tyrant forcing the poor Hachiman's younger brother, Ulmus, to swallow non-flammable cookies, the tennis brawl between The World and Star Platinum, the spokesperson for hellish spiciness's eagerness to recruit his own younger sister...

He even suspected that when Hikigaya came to ask him to learn how to make cookies, the minister saw through the other party's main goal as to express unnecessary apologies and guilt to him, which is why he eventually became Hikigaya and was reduced to being the one to test the poison.

This person is so profound, so terrifying!

Hachiman is no match for this ultimate darkness!

Hachiman Hikigaya exclaimed in awe, "My loyalty to you, Minister, is as clear as the sun and moon!"

"Hmph, I hope so." Bai Ying remained noncommittal, then turned to the client, "Student with a long name, state your request."

"Everyone says you can just call me Anxin'in, but actually I'm more used to hearing it as Angelina, although it doesn't quite fit Japanese social etiquette." The girl quickly withdrew her prying gaze and reached out to tug at the tip of her ponytail. "Isn't this place called the Aid and Service Club?"

"Haku-kun and Hikigaya-kun are in the Aid Department, and I'm in the Service Department."

Yukino Yukinoshita spoke up, "There's no difference for the client; it's just that the two sides are in a competitive relationship. Anshinin-kun, just state the details of your request."

The white figure chuckled calmly, "Hehehe, what can a lone hero accomplish? I've already seen the cutscene of your defeat!"

"It would be better if you didn't speak so definitively, Shiro-kun." Yukino Yukinoshita became serious. The matter with Yuihama needed to be resolved, but the club activities that were based on their ideals could not be compromised. "Don't forget the consequences of being betrayed by someone before."

"This time, my general was brave and resourceful. He single-handedly reduced the number of generals in the service department by one, thus achieving a numerical advantage."

The white figure said with great satisfaction, "Hachigaya-kun, I will remember your great achievements."

Hachiman Hikigaya felt a cold gaze from the other end—Yukinoshita was considering ways to bring Yui back, and clearly maintained a rather unfriendly attitude towards him, the culprit.

The minister even fanned the flames!

I was wrong, I was so wrong. If I hadn't written all that nonsense in social sciences, I wouldn't have caught the attention of that violent teacher. If I hadn't been noticed, I wouldn't have been brought here. If I hadn't been brought here, my life wouldn't be in such a predicament...

"I'm sorry you had to laugh at me; it was all just rambling."