Chapter 86: The Clues Revealed
"Thank you, Yuigahama-san."
The latter sentence was spoken by Yukinoshita Yukino, expressing her gratitude toward Yuigahama Yui.
"I'll do my best!"
Upon hearing Yukinoshita Yukino come forward to thank her, Yuigahama Yui's motivation surged even higher, and she nodded vigorously. "Leave it to me!"
Hikigaya Hachiman and Yukinoshita Yukino were naturally not very talkative people. Now that Yuigahama Yui was there, the atmosphere of the Service Club became much more cheerful. With the three of them working, the labor felt less taxing, and their efficiency skyrocketed. The preparations and layout for the Service Club were now essentially complete.
"Hikigaya-kun, could you help me request a leave of absence from Sensei for this afternoon?"
For Yukinoshita Yukino, her peaceful daily life had been shattered. Her energy was limited, and the tasks assigned by the "Post Office" were already enough to leave her overwhelmed.
Yukinoshita Yukino had even prepared for the worst; days like today, where she was absent without cause for half a day, might become her new normal.
Ultimately, however, Yukinoshita Yukino did not say the words "I am here to end the Service Club." Instead, she accepted Yuigahama Yui as the club's third member. With the three of them, the clubroom finally met the minimum requirement for establishing an official club, ensuring that outsiders wouldn't gossip and there would be no more room for criticism.
Yukinoshita Yukino asked Hikigaya Hachiman to request leave for her simply because she had already wasted half the day; the remaining half didn't make much difference. Furthermore, since it was exam week, they were let out early in the afternoon, providing plenty of time.
She felt it was better to quickly resolve the task of "challenging eighty-eight strong experts" to avoid further complications. With two heavy burdens weighing on her, she had no heart for exams; it was better to seize the time to finish one of them.
"I can do that, sure."
Hikigaya Hachiman nodded.
This was a small matter, but Yukinoshita Yukino's abnormal behavior was quite concerning. Seeing the worry in Hikigaya's eyes, Yukinoshita Yukino feigned indifference and gave him a smile.
"Don't worry about me. Didn't you say it yourself?
Try to kill your weak self and embrace a stronger version of yourself."
Yukinoshita Yukino pulled herself together, hoping to use the words Hikigaya once told her to dispel his concerns.
"That's the principle you taught me."
The once-weak Yukinoshita Yukino had died; the one who woke up now was the messenger of the [Post Office], Yukinoshita Yukino.
"I am making myself strong."
Hikigaya Hachiman shook his head. He naturally remembered saying those words to her—it happened when he had invaded her dream and spoke to her while she was being bullied by her classmates.
"I didn't say those words so you could force yourself.
I don't know what's happened to you, but if this continues, you look like you're going to break."
Hikigaya Hachiman shook his head as he looked at Yukinoshita Yukino, who felt as though she had aged years in just a single night.
He didn't know what could have happened to change her temperament so drastically.
"Help me more in the future—those were the words you said to me.
Thank you, Hikigaya-kun."
Yukinoshita Yukino took a deep breath. Her fingers gripped her own arm so hard they turned white, showing her inner turmoil.
"But I'm really fine.
I'll leave the matter of requesting leave this afternoon to you. I'm not feeling well, so I'll be leaving early."
Yukinoshita Yukino chose to evade him directly; she could not answer him right now.
"I'll leave things to you and Yuigahama-san today."
She turned and left, departing before Hikigaya Hachiman even had time to react.
'No, I absolutely cannot involve him in this.'
Yukinoshita Yukino had witnessed the power of the cursed spirit named [Hagoromo Gitsune] with her own eyes, yet that terrifying spirit, under the influence of the Ghost Post Office, couldn't even control the body of a normal person like her. Hikigaya-kun had already helped her with so many things.
Hikigaya Hachiman stood in the empty Service Club, watching her panicked, departing figure and simply shook his head.
Of course, to say there were no clues at all was impossible for someone with Hikigaya Hachiman's powerful observation skills.
He had noticed a few oddities about her. For instance, although she had changed into her school uniform, she hadn't brought any books or materials, looking so hurried it was as if she had forgotten them instantly.
Based on her personality, that was impossible.
Hikigaya Hachiman checked with the teacher in charge of attendance and discovered that Yukinoshita Yukino had not signed in at the school entrance.
This was very strange because entering the campus required passing through the main gate, where student cards are used to sign in. Yet, there was no record of her entry, making it seem as though she had appeared at the school out of thin air.
A simple investigation revealed more unusual details. Hikigaya Hachiman approached the security office to retrieve surveillance footage. He found a figure suspected to be Yukinoshita Yukino on a camera near the school's rear garden area.
Coming from an unknown location and using unknown means, her image appeared mysteriously in the camera's view after a brief blur.
Yukinoshita Yukino looked the same as when Hikigaya had observed her earlier; she hadn't noticed the hidden cameras along the street and was talking to herself as if to an invisible friend.
In the footage Hikigaya found, her figure was entirely blurred and showed double images. The cameras used in Shuchiin Academy's public areas were high-definition HDvision models; there was no reason for the image to be unclear.
He immediately linked this to the fact that cursed energy affects electronic devices. The severe interference and distortion in the footage of Yukinoshita Yukino were the same effects that would occur if those instruments were used to film Hikigaya Hachiman.
Having no innate technique yet producing an effect even greater than one—for Hikigaya Hachiman, the fact that Yukinoshita Yukino had come into contact with the jujutsu world was essentially confirmed.
Once an action is taken, traces are inevitable.
A cursed tool that could allow someone to appear like an ordinary person without revealing any flaws even in front of him was no simple thing—it was at least Special Grade.
He even began to wonder if Yukinoshita Yukino had been identified as the next successor by some powerful jujutsu sorcerer family.
Given the severe conflicts in the jujutsu world, this was highly possible. Most parties had fought into the late game, their tempers flared, and the situation was beyond control.
However, the methods of this party didn't involve "courtesy before force" like the Kamo family; instead, they had roughly included her in their evaluation without explanation. If she passed, she would gain everything; if she failed, she would be discarded.
The inheritance and power shifts of jujutsu families were incredibly cruel. Although this area wasn't large, the competition was fierce—as the saying goes, "the temple is small, but there are many turtles" (meaning many big shots in a small pond). Nothing would be surprising.
Thus, Hikigaya Hachiman had previously placed a signal coordinate marker on her.
This technique had no destructive effect; it was merely used to broadcast her location to him.
Similarly, this was a benchmark to test whether there was indeed a problem with her. Any sorcerer with even a bit of talent would be able to sense this marker. It wasn't meant to be hidden; it was purely a sign to verify her contact with the jujutsu world.
Generally speaking, any sorcerer belonging to a family would not allow someone else to carve such a mark on themselves or their kouhais.
Once it was erased, Hikigaya Hachiman would know instantly. This confirmed that there was indeed a problem with Yukinoshita Yukino, and the worst-case scenario was that she had already been drawn into the strifes of the jujutsu world.
"Eh! Hikki, where is Yukinoshita-san?"
Yuigahama Yui returned after washing the cups. One could see a bit of disappointment on her face; she had gone out excitedly, but her smile was no longer as bright. To her surprise, only Hikigaya remained in the Service Club.
"Yukinoshita wasn't feeling well and went home," Hikigaya Hachiman replied.
"Oh, okay."
Yuigahama Yui didn't ask further. She had heard rumors that morning that the transfer student hadn't even attended the first exam. She must be sick, so it wasn't strange.
"Then Hikki, where should I put these things?"
Hikigaya Hachiman stepped forward to help her.
"You can just put them in the disinfection cabinet over there on the side."
The disinfection cabinet had been turned on earlier, so she just needed to put all the teacups inside.
"Also, thanks for your hard work, Yuigahama."
"It's no trouble at all."
Together, they placed the new cups into the cabinet. Hikigaya Hachiman, seeing her hesitant look, spoke directly.
"If you have something to ask, just ask."
"Did Hikki and Yukinoshita-san buy these things together?"
Yuigahama Yui gave a silly "hehe" smile and asked cautiously. While washing the cups, she had seen the exclusive cups belonging to Hikigaya Hachiman and Yukinoshita Yukino; they clearly looked like a set used by a couple.
Hikigaya Hachiman didn't deny it. "We went to buy them together after school yesterday."
Hearing this answer, Yuigahama's hand twitched as if she had touched an electric current. To her, being able to go out and buy so many things together after school suggested they were already quite close.
'That's a date, isn't it!'
"I asked a weird question, sorry."
She had seemed so energetic just a moment ago, but now she looked completely wilted.
"You're aware of Yukinoshita's club philosophy, right?
I only joined because I wanted to see how far she could go."
Hikigaya Hachiman reached out and gave her a light tap on the head.
"Also, the reason I seem so familiar with the transfer student is that when she transferred in, I found out she lives right next door to me.
We're neighbors."
Hikigaya Hachiman didn't hide the truth from her and told her about Yukinoshita living next door. It was better to say such things sooner rather than later; besides, it wasn't anything embarrassing.
"Ah?"
Yuigahama Yui was incredibly surprised. Hikki and Yukinoshita-san were neighbors.
"And here I thought..."
"Yeah."
Hikigaya Hachiman nodded. That was the real reason they got to know each other so early. This girl, Yui, was as easy to read as ever; the moment anything happened, her mind jumped straight to romance.
"Also, are you okay with joining the Service Club?"
Hikigaya Hachiman knew that in order to keep up with the pace here, Yuigahama Yui studied very hard, but she was the type whose efficiency was relatively low. She usually spent her club
time doing homework, so joining the Service Club would inevitably take up her after-school time, even if their club was a quiet one.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
"Mou, Hikki, don't talk like I'm an idiot! I passed the Shuchiin entrance exam on my own merit, you know."
Yuigahama Yui was annoyed by the "looking at an idiot" gaze he just gave her. Having entered as an external student, she had at least been a prominent figure in her previous school.
"Plus, Yukinoshita-san in this club seems like she's very good at studying."
"Then do you have confidence for tomorrow's science exam?" Hikigaya Hachiman asked her bluntly.
"That... well..."
Science was Yuigahama Yui's weakest subject. Her eyes darted around, and her two index fingers poked together in front of her.
"I might indeed lack a lot of confidence."
"You can ask me if there's anything you don't understand on the mock exam paper right now," Hikigaya Hachiman said directly.
The mock exam was on his phone; he only needed to open it to see the full paper. Even though he had only glanced at the paper Yukinoshita handed over, he could recite every question on it.
"Okay! Okay!"
Yuigahama Yui was very happy. Her other friends were all "idiots." Even Ai-chan (Hayasaka Ai, who was hiding her grades) only barely maintained a position in the top 60% of the grade.
As the one with the best grades among her group of friends, she had always been under a lot of pressure. Studying alone was always exhausting.
The person in front of her, Hikki, had consistently held the number one spot in the grade. How could she not be happy when the top dog offered to tutor her?
'Hehe, as expected, I like Hikki the most!' Yuigahama Yui couldn't help but think.
"Pay attention to the lesson!"
Hikigaya Hachiman tapped the table dissatisfiedly. Answering her questions was also a form of review for himself.
"Hikki, do you want some snacks?" Yuigahama Yui asked carefully.
"Get this question right first before we talk about that.
Dummy, you wrote this part wrong again."
Hikigaya Hachiman was relentless.
After the session ended, there was normally student council business to attend to, but Hikigaya Hachiman requested leave from that as well. He needed to go catch a cursed spirit suitable for Wakaba Mutsumi.
He hadn't expected that Mutsumi, whom he planned to pick up after dinner, was already waiting for him at the gates of Shuchiin Academy.
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