Inside the bedroom.
The three sat around a low table.
Just now, Ms. Hoshinomiya had already approved their sick leave.
Staring at the "pitch-black holy sword" pointing toward the sky, Himeno took small bites of rice. Yesterday, it was this bad thing that had taken her night away.
However.
Such a majestic holy sword.
How did it even go in?
Himeno still found it unbelievable.
The two girls ate their rice in silence, their eyes occasionally drifting toward him.
Feeling Himeno's gaze, it was truly shameful. Hikigaya pulled the bedsheet over himself; he really had no appetite.
The group finished their breakfast absent-mindedly.
Only Himeno seemed to be in a somewhat good mood.
Since Ichinose had no objection.
Then there was basically no problem.
As for Hikigaya?
How could a mere Hikigaya dare to have an opinion?
To be surrounded by great beauties like Ichinose and herself!
He's hit the jackpot, okay?
"Hikki..."
Ichinose pursed her lips and looked at Himeno, then at Hikigaya, saying with self-reproach:
"I'm sorry... I really couldn't do it. Koyuki... she likes you more than I do..."
"Ah..."
Hikigaya also gave a bitter smile: "No, it's that I wasn't firm enough, failing to refuse..."
"Huh?"
Before he could finish, Himeno gave him a sharp glare. Hikigaya obediently shut his mouth, though his heart still felt bitter.
Ichinose clearly knew this.
However.
The most fundamental reason.
Was that he was intimidated by Himeno's momentum. It turned out human emotions could be so complex.
That aura of being fierce, crying, and being in love all at once was truly terrifying.
"Then, Hikki..."
Ichinose pursed her lips, saying somewhat bitterly: "What is your opinion..."
Perhaps.
It was just as Himeno said.
She really was a selfish and despicable person.
She hoped Hikigaya would agree so that Himeno wouldn't be hurt.
Yet.
Deep down, she simultaneously hoped Hikigaya would refuse, so Himeno would have no choice but to give up.
"I..."
Hikigaya opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
In this matter, the most painful person was undoubtedly Ichinose. Yet if Ichinose had no objection, what right did he have to have one?
After reflecting for a moment.
Hikigaya looked up at Himeno, hesitating over what to say, and finally asked.
"Do you like me..."
"Huh?"
Himeno's gaze sharpened, and Hikigaya quickly shut up. Beside him, Ichinose also felt a sense of bitterness.
That was true.
Things had already reached this point.
How could it be anything other than liking him?
And, liking him even more than Ichinose did.
But.
"When did it start?"
Hikigaya really couldn't understand.
Their relationship wasn't bad, but it wasn't exactly good either.
Himeno not only punched him frequently but also liked to intimidate him, glaring at him at the slightest thing, and always showing disdain for him.
Where in all that was there an element of liking him?
"Since the start of school..."
Himeno hugged her knees, tilting her head to the side.
Her crimson face showed her embarrassment as she said:
"Seeing how you could speak so bluntly made me feel you were very cool, and then I felt like you were actually very smart and also quite interesting... Hmph."
As she spoke.
Himeno gave a cold snort.
Why should she tell him these things? He was just a Hikigaya, yet he dared to be so arrogant.
"Actually, it's not even that much of a 'liking'."
"Then you..."
"Huh?"
Himeno immediately glared again, and Hikigaya quickly shut his mouth.
That should be impossible, right?
By the way.
Why can't this girl just say what she means?
One moment she likes him, the next she's disgusted, one moment she's crying, the next she's laughing.
Like this.
Who could understand her?
"Koyuki..." Ichinose shook her head bitterly: "It's hard for Hikki to understand you like this."
"I know, it just feels a bit irritating."
Himeno turned her face away, muttering with dissatisfaction.
She's a girl, after all.
How could he keep making her say such embarrassing things?
Things had already come to this.
And yet he could still ask if she liked him.
It was simply too infuriating.
However.
Himeno took a deep breath and understood that dealing with Hikigaya required being more direct. Being reserved would only backfire.
She had learned her lesson.
Anyway, the result was already decided; Hikigaya had no choice.
If.
Just if.
Himeno had liked him since the start of school, liked him to her very core.
Even knowing he had Ichinose as a girlfriend.
Himeno didn't mind.
Then.
"Is it worth it?"
Hikigaya lowered his head and asked bitterly.
In middle school, he was just a marginal figure who was laughed at. What had he done to deserve being liked so much?
Had they even considered what would happen afterward?
"I don't care about any of that."
Himeno buried half of her pretty face in her legs, saying indistinctly:
"I just want to do this, that's all. If... you're not willing, then forget it..."
Hikigaya opened his mouth.
At this point.
It was impossible to leave Himeno alone.
Since Ichinose had no objection and Himeno had no objection.
He naturally couldn't have one either.
But.
"Then what about the school situation?"
Hikigaya said helplessly: "It's definitely going to cause a commotion when the time comes, right?"
At those words.
Himeno completely buried her head in her legs.
Playing the ostrich.
The school was quite open in this regard, so it shouldn't be a problem with the administration.
But if this matter spread through the school, people would certainly gossip, or even point and stare to their faces.
After a moment of silence.
Himeno revealed her two large eyes, gazing at Hikigaya with a complex expression.
"Do you care that much?"
"I don't care for myself, but what about you and Honami..."
Hikigaya shook his head bitterly.
He had grown up amidst the ridicule of others, so he was fine.
But this matter.
Whether for Ichinose or Himeno.
It would be a massive blow.
Moreover, Himeno was already bad at handling the atmosphere; it was precisely because she cared about others' evaluations that she had been acting like a "good girl" in class.
For Himeno, this was clearly unacceptable, wasn't it?
"I..."
Himeno pursed her lips.
In her mind, she couldn't help but imagine what would happen at school tomorrow.
Her former friends or others pointing at her nose and cursing her, calling her shameless.
Suddenly, Himeno buried her head and said:
"Let's just act as if nothing happened. Anyway, in the dormitory, others won't know."
Wasn't it just continuing to act?
It wasn't that hard to just act behind everyone's backs.
She had been acting for so long anyway; it didn't matter if she kept it up.
"No..."
At this point, Ichinose shook her head, biting her lip and saying:
"That would be deceiving everyone, and it wouldn't be fair to you, Koyuki. I believe if we talk to everyone properly, we can definitely make them understand."
"When the time comes..."
As she spoke, Ichinose said with a complex tone: "I'll be the one to say it."
"That works too."
Himeno breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.
It would be more persuasive coming from Ichinose. However, her clenched fists also showed she was still nervous.
Watching the scene.
Hikigaya lowered his head, feeling equally downcast.
Even if Ichinose really could persuade the people in their class, at the very least, people in other classes definitely wouldn't approve.
Gossip would certainly be unavoidable.
Since Ichinose and Himeno were both okay with it.
He naturally wouldn't have any objections.
It wasn't that difficult of a task.
However.
Regarding the future.
No one touched upon it.
Hikigaya could no longer make any guarantees.
Although the problem had been resolved.
An insurmountable barrier had also been created between them.