After school.
In front of a large supermarket at Keyaki Mall.
The shop assistant leaned boredly against the counter, chin in hand, observing the scene before him.
"Um."
"Do you want to check out the latest volume of Sword Art Online?"
"I heard this volume is very exciting!"
"There's fanservice, and the illustrations are great—you know what I mean."
Hikigaya lowered the brim of his hat and whispered in a low tone.
To someone who didn't know better, it probably looked like he was selling adult films.
It couldn't be helped.
He felt like Himeno Yuki would likely ruin this business.
He had to get rid of these books quickly, otherwise, they would definitely be stuck on his hands.
Fortunately.
"Hmm?"
"Really? Give me one."
A boy looked around and responded in a similarly low voice.
After all, the thoughts of these otaku were easy to guess; they couldn't resist hearing about "fanservice" illustrations.
Approaching six o'clock.
He had already sold nearly two hundred copies, totaling 312 copies including yesterday.
He had finally recovered the costs.
He even earned 12,000 personal points.
But if you factored in the clothes, ID badge, and hat—plus covering Himeno Yuki's clothing costs—it was hard to say if he was turning a profit or a loss.
It didn't really matter.
Anyway, from now on, every copy sold was pure profit; he couldn't lose too much.
As long as he proved that this method was indeed feasible.
That was enough.
Soon.
Before she even got close, Hikigaya saw Himeno Yuki walking toward them, wearing a blue work uniform and carrying a shopping bag.
"Good work. How many are left?"
Himeno Yuki sat down beside him and placed the shopping bag between them, her tone clearly a bit excited.
"There are 38 copies left."
"They sold quite fast."
Himeno Yuki patted the thick stack of light novels on the table, feeling a bit surprised.
"What's this?"
Hikigaya glanced at the shopping bag between them.
The wine-red uniform and white pleated skirt were lying there quietly, along with the black stockings she usually wore.
Hikigaya's old face immediately turned red.
This girl was unbelievable.
"It's my uniform."
"Didn't you go back to the dorm before coming here?"
Hikigaya was speechless; what normal person changes their clothes out in the open?
"That's too much trouble. I changed in the restroom before coming over."
Himeno Yuki glanced at Hikigaya, and seeing his face flush, she leaned toward him and said teasingly:
"What, are you interested?"
"No... not at all."
Hikigaya quickly looked away.
It was just the uniform she usually wore; what was there to see?
"Is that so..."
Himeno Yuki tilted her head in thought, then suddenly leaned into his ear and whispered:
"My panties are in there, too."
What?
If you say it like that, how could a guy not be interested?
"Haha, you're blushing, you're blushing!"
Himeno Yuki clapped her small hands happily.
"Tch."
Hikigaya turned his head away in annoyance.
Calm down. There's no way someone would change their underwear along with their clothes; she was just teasing him.
What a little devil.
Playing with a boy's pure heart is truly detestable.
"Alright, don't be mad."
After laughing, Himeno Yuki patted the back of his hand and changed the subject:
"How should we sell these?"
"Just sit here and wait for people to come to us," Hikigaya said with a sigh of relief.
With such a wicked personality, she should be exposed in front of Ichinose and the others—but then Himeno Yuki might kill him. Thinking about it, he decided against it.
"That's it?"
"What else did you want?"
"Hmm..."
Himeno Yuki said dissatisfiedly: "It feels different from what I imagined."
On their first day of work, most people would be very nervous, or even try desperately to perform well for fear of being criticized.
But in reality, after working, you realize it's just not that big of a deal.
"It can't be helped."
"After all, it's not exactly a 'proper' job."
"Moreover, there's no official employment, not even staff meals."
"Naturally, the work content is very simple."
As he spoke, Hikigaya felt like some kind of black-hearted entrepreneur; how could anyone work under these conditions?
Himeno Yuki was indeed an outlier.
"So how much is one copy?"
"Didn't I tell you yesterday? Purchase price is five hundred, selling for six hundred."
"That's too little, right? We should at least sell them for a thousand!"
Forget it.
This is what happens with people who haven't done market research. Himeno Yuki's family background likely wasn't bad, so she had no concept of money.
"That's impossible..."
"Then let me try."
Himeno Yuki stood up, waving a light novel excitedly:
"The latest volume of Sword Art Online, only 1,000 points! First come, first served!"
There's no way you'll sell anything like that.
"Aren't you afraid of being discovered by Ichinose and the others?"
Hikigaya asked curiously. Doesn't this girl usually pretend to be a "good girl"?
"Oh no, I forgot."
Himeno Yuki's face stiffened. She looked around nervously, and only after finding no one did she sit back down quietly.
"But..."
After a while, Himeno Yuki said speechlessly: "Isn't this job very boring?"
"Don't mind it..."
Hikigaya said indifferently: "Most jobs in the world are bullshit jobs; you'll get used to it. If you're bored, you can go back first."
Wait.
Speaking of which, it would be better for her to leave quickly. Hikigaya had already felt several suspicious gazes.
"Forget it."
Himeno Yuki pursed her lips and thought for a moment before saying: "It's not good to give up halfway. I should at least stick it out until these are all sold."
"Is that so? Thank you for your hard work."
Hikigaya nodded.
Even though she was just acting "good" in front of Ichinose and had a bit of a mean streak.
Still.
Himeno Yuki was a member of Class B after all, and her work attitude was quite professional. He felt she would become a reliable member of society in the future.
"By the way."
Himeno Yuki seemed to remember something, saying in a conversational tone while looking at her phone:
"You and Ichinose seem to be practicing the three-legged race. I didn't expect you to participate in the recommended competitions; it's almost unbelievable."
"How could I participate voluntarily?"
Like a robot, Hikigaya looked straight ahead with dead-fish eyes: "Ichinose signed me up without permission. I heard the entry form has already been submitted, so there's no chance to change it."
He felt like he would make a qualified convenience store clerk.
"Hmm... I see."
Himeno Yuki drew out her words as if she didn't care, but her fingers tapping on the phone paused slightly.
"This is the latest volume of Sword Art Online, right? Why is it displayed outside?"
At that moment, a boy walked up to them, asking a question that almost everyone had asked.
Actually, from Hikigaya's observation.
These people didn't really care about the answer; it was just a simple social pleasantry.
After all, there are always noisy people in the world.
They feel awkward if it's quiet, and it's like they can't survive without saying something pointless.
But any made-up answer would do.
"This..."
Himeno Yuki, who had just stood up, froze. She seemed to lack the ability to improvise.
"Sorry, it's because there's no more room to display them inside."
Hikigaya stood up and spoke.
In these situations, just making up a random lie is enough; the other person won't care.
"I see. How much?"
"One thousand yen!"
Before Hikigaya could speak, Himeno Yuki said excitedly, finally getting to experience the feeling of working.
"Huh?"
The person in front of them was stunned. He looked up in surprise: "One thousand for a light novel?"
"Uh... yes."
Himeno Yuki nodded like a chick pecking at grain: "We've already sold over three hundred copies."
The implication was: So you should hurry up and buy one.
Hikigaya stood to the side, completely speechless. Did this girl really think making money was that easy?
"Hmm..."
The unknown boy looked at them, then suddenly felt something was wrong. He looked at Himeno Yuki and said:
"To be honest, putting him aside, you look really young."
Hey—
Bastard, isn't that just saying he looks old?
What's with this guy? Is he looking for a fight?
"Haha."
Himeno Yuki couldn't help but steal a glance at Hikigaya, blinking as if to say: What are you waiting for? Help me out!
"Yes, people say that about her a lot."
Hikigaya said speechlessly: "When she was hired, our boss even suspected she had forged her age."
My boss is Ichinose, so I'm not lying.
"True."
Passerby A nodded and smiled: "I almost felt like she was the same age as me. No wonder you have to train her."
"It can't be helped."
Hikigaya forced a smile: "In fact, the checkout only needs one person, but since she's new and not familiar with the business, I'm showing her the ropes first."
Damn guy, this jerk is definitely here to pick a fight. Does he really not look young?
"Customer, would you like to buy it?"
Hikigaya handed a light novel to him. At such a high price, naturally, no sucker would buy it; he mostly wanted to send the guest away.
He felt the other party was already starting to get suspicious.
"Yes, are you buying?"
Himeno Yuki held a light novel with both hands, her eyes sparkling.
She was only a high school freshman; this was about what you'd expect for her first job. You couldn't expect too much from her.
"Hmm..."
The passerby thought for a moment, then pulled out his phone: "Fine."
Wait?
Really?
He's actually going to buy it?
Hikigaya was stunned. There really are suckers like this in the world? Could he have been blinded by Himeno Yuki's beauty?
"Thank you! Please come again."
The two completed the transaction, and Himeno Yuki bowed quickly.
"There probably won't be a next time."
Passerby A shook his head and said: "I feel like I'm pretty famous. I'm the Red Team's commander-in-chief for the Sports Festival and even gave a speech on stage. You guys don't recognize me?"
"Uh..."
Hikigaya's face immediately stiffened.
Seriously, who are you?
Hikigaya looked at Himeno Yuki beside him.
Because he had memorized everyone's face and name on the first day of elementary school and was called "disgusting," he hadn't bothered to remember the names of irrelevant people since then.
As it turned out, Himeno Yuki looked equally bewildered. Then again, she wasn't exactly the standout type.
She probably spent the Sports Festival speeches spacing out.
"No need to make that face."
The boy looked at Hikigaya, reached out a hand, and smiled: "I'm Fujimaki from 3rd Year Class A. Nice to meet you."
"Hikigaya Hachiman."
"Himeno Yuki. Nice to meet you."
The two quickly introduced themselves. Hikigaya asked troubledly: "Um, Senpai, since you've already found us out, why..."
"No special reason."
Fujimaki shook his head: "Although it is indeed a bit expensive, it's nothing to me. And it's rare to see such interesting juniors, so I wanted to look out for you."
"Is that so? Thank you, Senpai."
Hikigaya forced a smile. Why did he feel like the guy just wanted to tease them?
"Then I'll be going."
"That..."
"Don't worry."
Before they could speak, Fujimaki smiled: "I won't tell anyone about this, but it's only a matter of time before you're caught."
"A loophole sufficient to earn twenty million personal points... I'm also curious how Horikita would react if he found out. It should be quite interesting."
"Is that so? Thank you, Senpai."
Himeno Yuki bowed slightly and breathed a sigh of relief.
Hikigaya watched him walk away. As expected of someone from 3rd Year Class A; his insight was astonishing.
After Fujimaki left, the two looked at each other helplessly.
"Pfft..."
Himeno Yuki burst out laughing, covering her small mouth.
"What are you laughing at?"
"No, it's just because it was so funny!"
Himeno Yuki pointed at him, unable to suppress her laughter: "You clearly blush just seeing my stockings, yet you can tell lies without even blinking."
"Hmph."
Hikigaya turned his face away in annoyance.
This detestable woman; can we not get past this hurdle? He felt this incident would probably become his lifelong dark history.