Chapter 275 Reunion
"Excuse me for intruding..."
Following behind Yukinoshita Yukino into the entrance hall of the apartment she lived in, Hikigaya Hachiman politely called out towards the interior of the room.
"You can wear these slippers."
Yukinoshita Yukino, who had already changed her shoes and walked into the room, brought a pair of spare slippers and placed them by Hikigaya Hachiman's feet.
"Do you usually live here alone?"
Looking at the dust-free living room, Hikigaya Hachiman first expressed approval for Yukinoshita's cleaning skills. Immediately, he looked at the empty room, turned his head, and asked Yukinoshita.
He had been to the Yukinoshita family's mansion before. To be honest, Yukinoshita, who had a private car for school pick-ups and drop-offs, shouldn't have needed to live alone in this apartment.
"Because my ideas clashed somewhat with Mother's, I moved out to avoid arguing with her."
Yukinoshita, who knew Hikigaya Hachiman must have met her mother, did not use any pleasant rhetoric to cover up the real reason for moving out.
"You really have it rough..."
Recalling Mrs. Yukinoshita's stern face from their last meeting, Hikigaya Hachiman's face twitched a few times. It was clear that Mrs. Yukinoshita was a woman with an extremely strong desire for control, a fact evident even from Haruno being helpless against her mother. And Yukinoshita Yukino was unwilling to have her life completely planned out by her mother like that, so conflicts between family members naturally erupted inevitably.
"Did you ultimately choose to run away?"
Gazing at Yukinoshita's profile, Hikigaya Hachiman's eyes flickered.
In his impression, Yukinoshita Yukino was an extremely strong-willed woman. She must have communicated with her mother many times before moving out. But the final choice to move out and live alone actually proved that communication between mother and daughter was not smooth.
Recalling the previous commotion over the engagement, Hikigaya Hachiman involuntarily felt a trace of pity for Yukinoshita Yukino.
"The drinks in the refrigerator are gone, so I can only offer cold water instead."
While Hikigaya Hachiman was deep in thought, Yukinoshita had already poured a glass of water and placed it on the coffee table in front of him. After saying 'one moment,' she entered
her room to start searching for the award certificate Hikigaya Hachiman had left behind earlier.
In the living room, Hikigaya Hachiman picked up the water Yukinoshita had personally poured for him and took a small sip. This wasn't because Yukinoshita had personally poured the water for him. After all, in the Service Club, when Yuigahama Yui was occasionally absent, Yukinoshita would also pour him tea. Drinking a sip of water now was largely just a matter of showing courtesy.
He did not wait for too long. Yukinoshita, who kept things orderly, quickly found the well-preserved award certificate from a drawer.
"This is your award certificate."
Exiting the room and handing the certificate to Hikigaya Hachiman, Yukinoshita then sat down on the other side of the sofa.
"Thanks..."
Looking at the completely brand-new award certificate, Hikigaya Hachiman mused for a moment about how Yukinoshita had managed to keep it so well-preserved, then he carefully placed the certificate into his backpack.
"........."
The air fell into silence. The two people, who completely didn't know what to say, just sat on the sofa silently without a word.
"It's already this late; I should probably head back..."
Hikigaya Hachiman, feeling a bit awkward, was the first to break the deadlock. He stood up while speaking, his eyes fixed on the silent Yukinoshita on the sofa, but his body showed no sign of moving.
"Yes, that's right. It is quite late..."
Yukinoshita, not understanding what she was expecting but feeling a sudden sense of emptiness, stiffly responded to Hikigaya Hachiman's words. She also stood up and saw Hikigaya Hachiman out the door.
"Well then, goodbye."
Standing outside the door, Hikigaya Hachiman's Adam's apple bobbed as he looked at Yukinoshita Yukino, who was resting one hand on the door frame, but in the end, he could only manage a simple farewell.
"Be careful on the way..."
Watching Hikigaya Hachiman walk into the elevator and completely disappear from her sight, Yukinoshita sighed and turned to close the apartment door.
.
.
.
"What was wrong with me just now?"
On the way back to Yuigahama's house, Hikigaya Hachiman gently tapped his forehead with his finger. While spending time with Yukinoshita just now, an impulse inexplicably arose within him.
"But that's not allowed, is it?"
Thinking of Yukinoshita's clear, cold, and beautiful face, Hikigaya Hachiman closed his eyes. Immediately, two other faces appeared next to Yukinoshita's.
"I originally thought that this kind of normie-like trouble wouldn't happen to me. Now that I think about it, was I too naive?"
Yotsuya Miko's feelings are a separate matter for now, as her feelings are already quite straightforward, only a verbal confession is missing. Yukinoshita Yukino and Yuigahama Yui clearly also held a considerable amount of affection for him; this was not a delusion but a fact supported by multiple pieces of objective evidence. If this situation were to continue, there was no doubt that the relationship among the three members of the Service Club would eventually become an extremely complicated one.
"Someone will end up getting hurt, won't they?"
Whether it's Yukinoshita or Yuigahama Yui, and perhaps even Yotsuya Miko, who is not a member of the Service Club, they would likely all be affected.
"If only reality were like a light novel..."
Thinking of that tragic future, Hikigaya Hachiman couldn't help but sigh.
After all, protagonists in novels don't face as many emotional entanglements as they do in reality. Even if they did, all they need to do in the end is say "You are all my wings," and everyone will live happily ever after with a happy ending. But people in reality are quite selfish beings. If you fall in love with someone, you want to possess everything about that person, so how could you be generous enough to share them with others?
"Light novels are originally created based on real life, you know~"
A gentle male voice came from the side of the road.
"Senpai?"
Hikigaya Hachiman's face flashed with surprise as he looked at the man leaning against the side of the road, who had raised his hand in greeting as Hikigaya Hachiman turned his gaze, and who called himself 'Key.'
"Long time no see. You took a trip to another world; it seems you gained quite a lot."
Key smiled, waved at Hikigaya Hachiman, and immediately revealed the matter of Hikigaya Hachiman's previous crossing (to another world).
"It seems nothing can be hidden from you..."
Although the System crossing was just the blink of an eye, Key readily knew about his crossing. At the same time that Hikigaya Hachiman was surprised by this, he couldn't help but increasingly respect Key's power.
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