Ti flies.
Juke and the others have been spending their days in the Wool Departnt, and it seems like they’ve earned Ichinose’s approval. Even Hikigaya feels a bit more relaxed now.
At least, after the first day, nlai and the others weren’t just chatting aimlessly. They were genuinely studying hard. And in the realm of academics, they asked questions whenever they hit a roadblock. Sotis, they didn’t even need to ask—just seeing Hikigaya’s puzzled expression would prompt nlai or Asako Okakura to step in and explain.
It was all quite flattering for Hikigaya.
Compared to his previous isolated school life, this felt completely unreal.
At the mont, Hikigaya was sitting at one end of the square table, with Hinoyuki directly across from him. nlai and Asako Okakura flanked him on the left and right.
The seating arrangent was different, but the change was hardly worth ntioning.
When Hikigaya glanced up, Hinoyuki quickly averted her gaze, pretending not to notice. Hikigaya didn’t mind. It wasn’t his job to interfere with how Juke acted around others.
But man...she could really keep up the act.
"So, I heard from Kanzaki that this club isn’t really busy. You can co and go as you please?" nlai asked curiously.
"Uh-huh."
Juke explained softly, "I’m just a mber of the Ghost Club. nlai, are you thinking of joining?"
"Well...I don’t think so!" nlai shook her head. "It’s a nice place to study, but I still prefer playing outside."
"Can Ghost Club mbers even play outside?" Asako Okakura asked, frowning slightly. "Isn’t it wrong to be in a club and just use points without doing anything? Would the school even allow sothing like that?"
Everyone’s eyes turned to Hikigaya.
"Well...every year, the club has to submit a performance report. It’s easy to form a club, but it’s difficult to maintain it."
He scratched his head, a little embarrassed by his explanation.
"Also, the Student Council randomly checks in. At least one mber has to be around to keep things running."
In truth, most students joined clubs for fun or for prestige.
The Wool Departnt couldn’t compare to real clubs. And even if it did participate, its mbers would just be cannon fodder. The way departnt funds could be used was also restricted.
There were no real benefits beyond borrowing this classroom and the 5,000 personal points.
"That’s kind of la." nlai frowned. "Leaving one person here while everyone else goes out to play feels sneaky."
"Yeah, I couldn’t do that either." Asako Okakura shook her head.
"So, how long can the Wool Departnt stay active?"
"Uh...if nothing happens, probably until April of the third year," Hikigaya said uncertainly. "The departnt was established in April. So, if you include the initial year and the reporting year, it should be good until third grade."
"Eh? So, you already submitted a report?" nlai sounded surprised.
Hikigaya glanced at Hinoyuki. As expected, she wasn’t about to ntion his role in things. No wonder nlai and the others had no clue.
"So...yeah. About that."
He then explained the whole book-selling strategy but deliberately left out Hinoyuki’s involvent. After all, Juke never brought it up, so why should he?
"Wow! That’s amazing!" Asako Okakura’s eyes sparkled. nlai looked equally impressed.
"Small business or not, you’ve got so real brains, Hikigaya. Finding a loophole like that...couldn’t you easily save 20 million personal points? Why stop?"
"It’s not that simple." Hikigaya felt awkward from all the praise. "If I kept at it, people would eventually notice, and the loophole would be patched. I don’t want to keep working hard on sothing that might get shut down any mont."
"I see..." nlai nodded thoughtfully. "You’ve got such an adult mindset, Hikigaya."
"No, not really..."
"Then let’s have a celebration party tomorrow!" nlai said excitedly. "Since the Student Council only checks randomly, and we can skip one day without trouble, let’s et at Pallet and bring so dishes we prepared. How about it?"
"Great idea!" Asako Okakura cheered, and Juke didn’t object either.
"What do you think, Hikigaya?" nlai asked cheerfully. "This way, you won’t have to worry about making dinner, right?"
Uh-oh. These guys were serious. They wanted to throw a party and even make handmade dishes.
If he had known, he wouldn’t have spun those little lies. Regret seeped into him, but he still really didn’t want to go.
Ordinary people would just decline once or twice and never be contacted again.
So why couldn’t he just turn them down?
"I’m really sorry." Hikigaya apologized sincerely. "My cooking skills are only at a sixth-grade level. Maybe I should just skip it?"
"Eh?" nlai looked genuinely confused. "Isn’t that normal? Most boys’ ho economics classes only teach the basics. It’s not like everyone’s a chef."
"Yeah, I’m only at a sixth-grade level myself," Juke admitted softly. "Besides, most of the boys were just ssing around in those classes."
"Sa here," Asako Okakura said with a hopeful grin. "But it’s pretty rare for a guy to cook, you know? I’ve never had food made by a guy before. Kinda looking forward to it!"
Wait, was that really the case?
Well, considering how ho economics classes in Sakurajima were more geared toward girls, boys were mostly goofing around.
And yet, Hikigaya had seriously tried to learn. After all, he dread of being a househusband soday.
"So, can you please stop praising like this?" Hikigaya scratched the back of his head. "I’m really not so amazing guy like you all seem to think."
"Here we go again." nlai waved her hand dismissively. "Being too humble just makes you sound fake."
"Exactly." Asako Okakura nodded. "We’re just speaking the truth. We haven’t beaten you, right?"
Hikigaya sighed. People were just going to believe what they wanted to believe.
"Well then, it’s settled!" nlai clapped her hands with excitent. "Tomorrow, after school, we’ll cook at Pallet’s studio!"
Back in his dormitory, Hikigaya stared at the ingredients in his kitchen, lost in thought.
Was he really going to prepare handmade food?
It wasn’t just a matter of cooking.
It was the pressure of being expected to deliver sothing impressive.
Sure, the feeling of being expected wasn’t all bad. But the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointnt when you inevitably fall short.
Suddenly, Hikigaya could relate to Ichinose’s situation.
nlai and the others had probably done the sa thing to her, expecting her to lead them flawlessly. And Ichinose, being as kind-hearted as she was, desperately tried to et their expectations.
Hikigaya knew one thing for sure.
He didn’t want to be the leader of Class B.
He didn’t want to be the next Ichinose.
Why should he go all out for people he barely knew?
Besides, he didn’t even have the strength to do it.
With a determined look, Hikigaya closed the refrigerator.
Forget it.
He wasn’t going to make that food.
He had no intention of living up to anyone’s expectations.
If being a loser was what it took to avoid all that pressure, then that’s what he’d be.
No way was he going to let himself get dragged into their expectations.
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