The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

Who could have upset Kawasaki Saki so early in the morning...?

After leaving the classroom, Saki Kawasaki, ignoring the stares of the students around her, dragged Hachiman Hikigaya to a secluded stairwell.

Kawasaki Saki then pulled out her phone and demanded, "What do you mean by this?"

"what happened?"

Looking at the more than five million yen displayed on his phone, Hachiman Hikigaya scratched his head in confusion.

The amount transferred to Kawasaki Saki was correct, so why is she so angry?

"What kind of person do you take me for? How could a middleman's fee be so high!"

Upon hearing Hachiman Hikigaya admit that the five million yen he received last night was transferred by him, Saki Kawasaki's emotions instantly erupted.

What she wanted was to repay Hachiman Hikigaya's kindness by working as his intermediary while also saving up money for tutoring classes.

Instead of being given a task by Hachiman Hikigaya as a favor, and then having a huge sum of money handed to him!

"Calm down..."

This was the first time Hachiman Hikigaya had ever seen Saki Kawasaki so angry.

"How can I calm down? I haven't been able to help at all... What is this? Do you pity me?"

As she spoke, Saki Kawasaki clenched her hands tightly, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Feel sorry....."

Seeing Kawasaki Saki suddenly burst into tears, the explanation that Hikigaya Hachiman was about to give instantly got stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter it.

He stood in front of Saki Kawasaki with his head down, looking somewhat lost.

He hadn't done anything wrong, but hearing Kawasaki Saki's sobs made him feel like he had committed some heinous crime.

Chapter 44 In His Words

"fine..."

Saki Kawasaki quickly regained control of her emotions.

Her outburst just now was simply because all the recent events had been weighing on her nerves, causing her to accidentally explode.

Coming to her senses, Saki Kawasaki realized that Hachiman Hikigaya wanted to help her, but she just didn't like the way he did it.

"I'll only take my share of the money. I'll transfer the rest to you right away..."

"etc...."

Hachiman Hikigaya reached out and grabbed Saki Kawasaki's phone, stopping her from transferring the money back.

"You truly deserve this..."

With a wry smile, Hachiman Hikigaya briefly recounted what had happened after Saki Kawasaki left the previous night.

Of course, he didn't reveal the strength of those evil spirits or his subsequent speculations.

It's just that the client, not entirely devoid of conscience, gave him all the money he had before committing suicide as payment.

"But this is too much money!"

Upon hearing Hachiman Hikigaya's explanation, Saki Kawasaki's expression softened considerably, and she looked at Hachiman Hikigaya with a hint of apology in her eyes.

She never expected to receive so much money from just one commission.

"This is what you deserve."

Hachiman Hikigaya's tone carried an undeniable air of authority.

I had already agreed with Saki Kawasaki that I would give her one-twelfth of the commission amount. How could I break the contract just because the amount has increased?

"But it's really too much. Tutoring classes don't need to cost this much..."

Because she felt she was in the wrong, Kawasaki Saki's tone unconsciously softened.

She stammered as she spoke, wanting to return the money, excluding the tutoring fees, to Hachiman Hikigaya.

"So you want me to be a person who breaks their promises?"

As the saying goes, "an eye for an eye," Kawasaki Saki had just used righteousness to suppress Hikigaya Hachiman, wanting him to take back the extra money. Now that Hikigaya Hachiman had the upper hand, he used the same method to prevent Kawasaki Saki from returning the money.

"That was not what I meant..."

Upon hearing the familiar words, Kawasaki Saki paused for a moment, then began to defend herself.

"Then you should keep the money."

Hachiman Hikigaya decisively brought this matter to a close.

Since Kawasaki Saki didn't want him to be a man of his word, she had to accept the money.

"I...."

Kawasaki Saki opened her mouth, but suddenly didn't know what to say.

She was the one who called out Hachiman Hikigaya to question him about why he gave her so much money, so why did it suddenly become that she looked down on him for not accepting the money?

"Alright, let's leave it at that..."

Hiratsuka Shizuka was already standing at the corner of the corridor at some point.

She clapped her hands, drawing the attention of Hachiman Hikigaya and Saki Kawasaki.

"Shizuka-sensei?!"

Upon seeing Hiratsuka Shizuka, Kawasaki Saki immediately tensed up.

After all, she and Hachiman Hikigaya were discussing money, and given her usual reputation, it's easy for people to misunderstand that it was something like that.

Unlike Kawasaki Saki, Hikigaya Hachiman remained much calmer upon seeing Hiratsuka Shizuka appear.

After all, he had been dealing with Hiratsuka Shizuka for over a year.

The two understand each other very well, and Hiratsuka Shizuka would definitely not have the kind of misunderstanding that Kawasaki Saki was worried about.

"Alright, Kawasaki-kun, the first class is about to start, hurry back to the classroom and get ready. As for you, Hachiman-kun, please come with me to the office and explain yourself..."

"Wait, teacher, this has nothing to do with him!"

Because she was more familiar with Hachiman Hikigaya, Shizuka Hiratsuka decided to ask him for the reason, but Saki Kawasaki misunderstood her intentions.

According to Saki Kawasaki, there are only two situations in which someone is called to the office for a talk.

As for the positive side, it seems to have nothing to do with Hachiman Hikigaya.

Almost instantly, words like calling parents, public reprimands, and expulsion flashed through Saki Kawasaki's mind.

This situation was clearly unacceptable to her.

Therefore, instead of listening to Hiratsuka Shizuka's words and obediently returning to the classroom, she stood in front of Hikigaya Hachiman, wanting to explain what had just happened.

"Didn't you hear what I said, Kawasaki-kun?"

Looking at Kawasaki Saki blocking her way, Hiratsuka Shizuka's eyes flashed with approval, but her face remained serious.

If it were any other girl, she probably would have fled as if her life depended on it, and wouldn't care at all about Hachiman Hikigaya's fate.

However, Hiratsuka Shizuka's current identity is ultimately that of a teacher.

Therefore, she had to maintain a stern image to intimidate the other students.

"I...."

Kawasaki Saki was startled by Hiratsuka Shizuka's sudden outburst of energy.

The natural fear that students have of their teachers surfaced in her mind at this moment.

"Okay, I'm fine, you can go back now."

Just as Kawasaki Saki mustered her courage, Hachiman Hikigaya, who was behind her, suddenly spoke up and urged her to leave.

"Really no problem?"

Noticing Hachiman Hikigaya's calm tone, Saki Kawasaki asked a question in a low voice.

"of course."

Hachiman Hikigaya gave a fairly accurate answer.

Given Hiratsuka Shizuka's personality, even if something really happened between them, the worst outcome would be that she would beat herself up and order her to correct her behavior, not to mention that nothing had happened between them before.

"Then be careful..."

Kawasaki Saki breathed a sigh of relief after receiving Hachiman Hikigaya's assurance.

She then apologized to Hiratsuka Shizuka for her rudeness and hurriedly left the stairwell.

"It seems your words have more influence on that child than mine..."

Seeing Kawasaki Saki leave, Hiratsuka Shizuka, who had been leaning against the wall, got up and walked smilingly to Hachiman Hikigaya.

"I think I can explain this..."

Hachiman Hikigaya keenly sensed the murderous intent hidden beneath Shizuka Hiratsuka's seemingly calm tone.

He quickly raised his hands in surrender, indicating that he would absolutely not resist.

"Of course you have to explain this to me properly!"

Shizuka glared fiercely at Hachiman Hikigaya, then grabbed his hand and headed toward the office.

Because they had already started class, they didn't encounter any students along the way.

However, to Hachiman Hikigaya's surprise, there was no sound from any other teachers in the office.

"Stop looking, they were all called in for a talk by the principal this morning..."

Seemingly knowing what Hachiman Hikigaya was thinking, before Hachiman could even ask a question, Shizuka Hiratsuka gave him the answer to his question.

He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, took a deep drag, and looked at his student with a complicated expression.

"Then shouldn't you explain this to me?"

Chapter 45 Hiratsuka Shizuka Helps Clean Up the Situation