The next day.
Class B classroom.
Hikigaya lay slumped on his desk, looking no different than usual.
At the end of the day, Himeno Yuki just thought it was fun to tease him; although this kind of playful mindset usually evolved into bullying.
But at least for now.
Himeno Yuki's jokes were still within the permissible range.
As for Himeno Yuki, Hikigaya took a secret peek at her.
That girl was indeed acting as if nothing had happened; a sweet smile sat on Yuki's face as she talked and laughed with Ichinose and the others.
Truly a girl.
A natural-born actress.
She's really good at pretending.
Hikigaya closed his eyes, familiarizing himself with a newly acquired skill.
That's right.
The "Hachiman 108 Techniques" had gained another entry.
Future Sight!
As long as the class bell rang.
Within three seconds.
Someone would poke his back.
Here it comes!
A "ding" sounded in Hikigaya's mind.
Feeling Shiro (Chihiro) poke his back, Hikigaya straightened his upper body and entered "Class Mode."
See?
100% precognition ability!
Hikigaya felt like he was about to awaken as an esper.
Furthermore.
Class Mode was also one of his abilities.
In this mode, Hikigaya's learning efficiency increased by 0.01%.
What useless abilities these are.
Also.
Shiro, how did your eraser fall again? You're so careless.
Hikigaya leaned down to pick up the eraser and handed it back to Shirami Chihiro, only to see her smiling and pointing her finger toward Himeno Yuki.
"Hm?"
Hikigaya turned to look at Himeno Yuki, only to find her staring back at him with a secret, puzzled glare.
What the heck.
So it was yours that fell.
How did you become as careless as Shirami Chihiro?
Himeno Yuki held out her snowy white hand, and Hikigaya placed the eraser in her palm.
A loner of his level...
...would properly put his eraser back in the stationery box and never cause trouble for others.
The two of you had better learn this skill as soon as possible.
After school.
Hikigaya packed his school bag.
He picked up the activity report he wrote last night and took a deep breath.
He had to go see "Commander" Horikita Manabu again. It felt like going to an execution ground. By the way, if he submitted this activity content, he probably wouldn't get hit, right?
The problem is the school, not him!
That's right.
That's how it is.
Hikigaya summoned his courage.
"Hikigaya, there's another girl outside looking for you."
"Eh?"
Hikigaya was slightly stunned.
Again?
Why do girls come looking for him every day? Since when did he become so popular?
"It's that girl from the day before yesterday."
The "human megaphone" smiled and said: "Hurry up, don't keep her waiting too long."
Since this person had passed the message three times, from now on, he'll be called Class B's Megaphone-kun, Hamaguchi-kun.
"Thanks."
Hikigaya nodded and left the classroom. Sakura Airi stood in the hallway with her head lowered, while the boys of Class B collectively peeked out.
The day before yesterday, he had accidentally called her by her first name, which scared Sakura Airi so much she ran away.
She was clearly here to return those 20,000 personal points.
Even without a contract.
She really is a good girl who keeps her promises and has a kind heart.
Hikigaya would definitely not fall in the same spot twice!
"Hello."
Hikigaya walked up and greeted her: "Sakura-san."
"Ehh!?"
Sakura Airi was once again struck by shock.
What now?
I can't call you by your first name, and now I can't even call you by your surname?
"What's wrong?"
Hikigaya was somewhat bewildered. Then what should I call you?
"Um..."
Sakura Airi's face turned bright red, but she still squeezed out a few words:
"You called me Airi-chan the day before yesterday."
"Oh, sorry."
Hikigaya quickly apologized: "That was because I was a bit dazed from sleep, please don't take it to heart."
"Uuu..."
Sakura Airi looked distressed.
How could it be like this!
When she heard Hikigaya call her name the day before yesterday, her heart raced so fast she almost fainted; that's why she ran away out of embarrassment.
Afterward, she was incredibly happy.
She had finally built up the determination to come over today, and yet he switched back to "Sakura-san."
"Actually... actually... actually..."
Sakura Airi lowered her gaze, her face as hot as a branding iron as she stammered:
"I don't mind... please keep calling me Airi-chan."
"Oh, I see."
Hikigaya nodded.
Even their conversations were like this; Sakura Airi was really so timid and introverted that it made one's heart ache.
Oh no.
He slightly understood Ichinose's mindset of wanting to look after him now. Is this how he looked in Ichinose's eyes?
"Then I'll continue to call you Airi-chan?"
"Yes."
Sakura Airi hunched her shoulders and said in a voice as faint as a mosquito: "Can I also call you Hachiman-kun?"
"Sure."
Hikigaya didn't mind. He felt a bit embarrassed to proactively ask for the money; what if he had misunderstood?
So, he changed the subject: "Is there something you need me for?"
"Oh, actually..."
Sakura Airi hurriedly pulled out her student ID card, which had a cute crystal accessory sparkling on it.
"Our class didn't have many points for the past few months, so I'm here to return the 20,000 personal points now, but I... I... I..."
As she spoke, Sakura Airi's voice grew smaller and smaller, and she began to stutter again:
"I didn't know your contact information, so I had to come here myself. H-H-Hachiman-kun, can you tell me your contact info?"
Before September.
Class D's class points had always been around one hundred.
After subtracting living expenses, it was basically impossible to save any personal points.
It wasn't until the two special exams ended.
Only then did Class D have 209 class points, and Sakura Airi immediately came to pay back the money.
"I can do that."
Hikigaya took out his phone to exchange contact info with her. Seeing Sakura Airi clutching her phone to her chest with a smile on her face.
He said with some confusion: "But it seems your class only has a little over 20,000 this month? Won't life be difficult after paying back these 20,000 points?"
"It's fine, it's fine."
Sakura Airi hurriedly said: "I can cook for myself, it won't cost many points."
Hikigaya looked at the girl in front of him.
Even if she cooked for herself, she would still need at least 10,000 to 20,000 points a month, unless she "scraped wool" (hustled) like him.
However.
Speaking of which.
Although he had established the "Wool Club," his monthly expenses were still 10,000 to 20,000, and he hadn't achieved his goal of saving money at all.
There was no helping it.
He always wanted to improve his meals to reward himself.
It was normal that he couldn't save much money.
He himself wasn't the type to be thrifty or manage a household well, and for the Sakura Airi in front of him, a girl's life would only be more difficult.
"How about this."
Hikigaya hesitated for a moment before saying: "I'm not in a hurry right now, you can pay it back in a few months."
Since Sakura Airi was so trustworthy, it would be the same even a few months later. Anyway, the money would just be sitting in his account.
For some reason, Sakura Airi's face turned even redder, and she lowered her gaze, thinking about something.
After a long time, she said softly: "Thank you, as I thought, Hikigaya-kun is a very kind and gentle person."
Yeah, yeah.
In a girl's mouth, a "good person" is someone who doesn't matter either way.
Hikigaya wouldn't misunderstand.
But he just felt sympathetic toward her and had no room to complain.
Oh no.
He was starting to understand Ichinose's thoughts more and more. Ichinose must have felt the same way back then.
"However."
After a long while, Sakura Airi mustered her courage and said: "I feel very bad for dragging this out so long. Could I please treat you to a meal as... interest?"
"No need."
Hikigaya shook his head and said: "It's not a huge amount of money, and I'm not a loan shark. Forget the interest."
"Eh?"
Sakura Airi looked a bit disappointed: "But I really want to thank you properly, is that not okay?"
He just couldn't stand seeing a girl like this.
Forget it, a free meal tastes the best.
"Alright."
Hikigaya nodded and said: "But I have things to do today, and there's training for the Sports Festival lately. Let's do it after the Sports Festival?"
"Yes, yes, yes."
Sakura Airi nodded excitedly: "I understand."
Hikigaya looked at the girl in front of him, and the two fell into silence.
After all.
They had only met two or three times.
The other party just simply wanted to thank him; they weren't close at all.
So there was no room for misunderstanding.
"Then I'll be going now..."
"Yeah."
Seeing Hikigaya nod, Sakura Airi could no longer contain her excitement and ran off.
Watching her leave, Hikigaya turned to go, only to find a crowd of Class B boys and girls surrounding him.
"Ho, ho."
A boy stepped forward with a mischievous grin to tease him: "Hikigaya, do you like that girl? What was her name again?"
Don't talk to me like that.
You're making it sound like we're friends!
Ichinose and the others were also looking at him with smiles, but Hikigaya felt that Himeno Yuki's gaze seemed a bit hesitant.
Does she look down on him?
As expected.
Both boys and girls are equally gossipy, but why didn't you guys react yesterday?
"How is that possible?"
Hikigaya was a bit speechless; he didn't quite understand what their criteria for judgment was.
"Here we go again, here we go again."
The "megaphone" Hamaguchi said helplessly: "Your attitude toward her is completely different from your attitude toward Horikita-san."
"Everyone, what did Hikigaya just say?"
"Won't life be difficult after that?"
Shibata's tone was sarcastic and extremely excited; he probably felt like he had one less competitor.
Unfortunately, it really wasn't like that.
"Shibata."
Hikigaya was speechless: "What's with that expression?"
"Yeah, it's a bit disgusting."
Shiro stood next to Ichinose, looking a bit scared.
"I'm imitating Hikigaya."
Shibata's face stiffened: "Does it not look like him?"
"Not at all."
Shirami Chihiro said with some dissatisfaction: "Hikigaya-kun doesn't look like that."
"I don't."
Hikigaya's expression was flat.
He felt that if this continued, the rumors would get more and more ridiculous, which wouldn't be good for Sakura Airi and might even cause trouble for others.
After thinking for a moment.
Hikigaya decided to explain:
"Sakura-san just owes me 20,000 personal points, there's no other relationship."
"But your attitude toward Horikita-san and Sakura-san is completely different."
"Eh..."
Hikigaya said helplessly: "As for Horikita-san, I don't think she's the kind of person who needs me to worry about her, so I didn't say much."
"As for Sakura-san, I feel like she's the type that I can't just leave alone. It's like an irresistible force. Don't you all feel the same?"
Setting Sakura Airi aside.
Who would worry about that arrogant girl Horikita Suzune? At the very least, whether her living expenses were sufficient was none of Hikigaya's business.
After all, it's all a transaction.
In any case, he took the money with a clear conscience.
But Sakura Airi's timid appearance really made one unable to feel at ease.
Although it sounded...
...like he had designs on Sakura Airi, Hikigaya believed that the people in Class B would definitely understand.
"True."
Ichinose nodded, then turned to Shiro next to her and smiled: "I feel like Sakura-san is a bit like Chihiro; she really makes people feel like they can't leave her alone."
"Uu..."
Shirami Chihiro's face turned red.
At the very least, the people in Class B were kind-hearted and easily understood this pure sense of goodwill.
"I see..."
Only the "pure-hearted" Shibata looked slightly disappointed.
He had been hoping that Hikigaya and Sakura Airi would start dating.
"Me."
"But, I feel like Sakura-san probably likes you?"
"How is that possible?"
Hikigaya was even more speechless: "Didn't I just say? We've only met twice or three times, how could she like me?"
Shibata-kun.
You look quite ugly like this.
They'd only met a few times. Although he had helped her deal with that stalker, he had only helped by reporting it and had used a rather ridiculous method.
She'd fall for him just because of that?
Anyway, Hikigaya would never believe it.