The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

It's clear that Hachiman Hikigaya still doesn't understand why he killed Kazuki Otani yesterday.

Hiratsuka Shizuka patiently explained the consequences to him.

"Although we don't know his true identity, just from a human perspective, his status in Chiba is equivalent to that of Yukino Yukinoshita's father."

"What do you think would happen if someone of such high status suddenly disappeared from the Yukinoshita family home?"

"You mean the police will get involved?"

Upon hearing Hiratsuka Shizuka's words, Hachiman Hikigaya's heart leaped into his throat.

While his stealth skills allow him to remain undetected, electronic surveillance remains unaffected.

In particular, as soon as he left his house after the snow, he would take a taxi home from nearby.

If the police really wanted to investigate, they probably could find him in less than ten minutes.

"Now you're scared? Why didn't you consider these things back then?"

Seeing a hint of panic finally appear on Hachiman Hikigaya's face, Shizuka Hiratsuka smiled and continued with a hint of self-satisfaction, "Don't worry, the matter of Otani Kazuki has been suppressed by me and the Yukinoshita family. It's impossible for this matter not to be traced back to you."

"Is that so? Thank you very much, teacher..."

Hearing that Hiratsuka Shizuka had already cleaned up the traces for him, Hachiman Hikigaya showed a grateful and embarrassed expression.

He had just asked Hiratsuka Shizuka to help him deal with a problem yesterday, and now he needs her help again today.

Although Hiratsuka Shizuka said she easily suppressed the matter, she probably paid a heavy price in secret.

Such kindness can only be repaid slowly in the future...

"Oh, right, Yukinoshita didn't come to school today. But she asked me to give you a message."

"What?!"

As expected by Hachiman Hikigaya, Yukino Yukinoshita wouldn't be coming to school for a while after what happened last night.

But Hachiman Hikigaya hadn't expected that she would ask Shizuka Hiratsuka to deliver a message to him.

"It's not like it's a love confession, why are you getting so worked up!"

Seeing that Hachiman Hikigaya became excited upon hearing the name Yukino Yukinoshita, Shizuka Hiratsuka rolled her eyes at him speechlessly.

"Ahem, of course it couldn't be anything romantic. After all, we're just colleagues."

Hearing Hiratsuka Shizuka's teasing, Hikigaya Hachiman quickly coughed twice to defend himself.

"Of course I know that. If you could win over Yukinoshita in such a short time, she wouldn't be called the Ice Princess. Okay, enough of the nonsense. The reason for Yukinoshita is that you have to work in the Service Club when she's not around."

"That's natural..."

Hikigaya Hachiman shrugged.

Is he the kind of person who would skip club activities and go straight home?

What a joke! After Yukino Yukinoshita left, the Service Club became his private space all to himself!

"Is that so?"

Seeing that Hachiman Hikigaya agreed so readily, it was now Hiratsuka Shizuka's turn to be puzzled.

She had originally planned to use force to coerce this guy into agreeing to Yukino's request, since given his laid-back attitude towards life, there was a 100% chance that he would go straight home if Yukino wasn't around.

"Of course, I'll go back to the Service Department after school this afternoon to keep it running. If you don't believe me, teacher, you can come and check it out then."

Seeing that Hiratsuka Shizuka didn't believe him, Hikigaya Hachiman didn't bother to explain.

Anyway, he'll definitely go to the Service Department.

After leaving Shizuka Hiratsuka's office and returning to the classroom, Hachiman Hikigaya had barely sat down when the afternoon classes began.

After enduring three tedious classes, the school bell finally rang.

Hachiman Hikigaya quickly packed his things, grabbed his schoolbag, and headed towards the Service Club.

Pushing open the door to the Service Department, what greets you is no longer the scene of a girl holding a book and basking in the sunlight.

After staring blankly at the empty bench for two seconds, Hachiman Hikigaya walked into the classroom and closed the door again.

Convinced that Yukinoshita wasn't there and no one would come, he moved all the seats in the classroom to the back.

Then they prepared to begin special training.

"Yo hello!"

However, just as Hachiman Hikigaya was warming up, the classroom door, which had been tightly closed, was suddenly pulled open, and then an excited female voice came from outside.

After seeing Hachiman Hikigaya accept her cookies in the morning, Yui Yuigahama spent the whole day looking forward to the school bell ringing.

However, because she had a lot of things to pack, by the time she looked up to go to the Service Club with Hachiman Hikigaya, she found that Hachiman Hikigaya had already left.

But it doesn't matter.

With cheerful steps, Yui Yuigahama hummed a song as she skipped and hopped all the way to the outside of the Service Club.

After taking a deep breath and gathering her emotions, she suddenly flung open the classroom door and greeted the two members of the Service Department in her unique tone.

But the expected response did not come; instead, a "thump" sound of someone falling down came from the classroom.

"Hey, where is everyone?"

He poked his head out to look into the classroom.

Yukino Yukinoshita was nowhere to be seen, and Hachiman Hikigaya was lying face down on the classroom floor, seemingly doing something.

"Yukinoshita didn't come to school today because she had something to do. What brings you here today, Yui-chan?"

Hachiman Hikigaya got up from the ground, dusted himself off, and looked at Yui Yuigahama, who was looking around the classroom with the curiosity of a child. He immediately felt a headache coming on.

Is she here to improve her cooking skills again today?

Chapter 73 The Quite Troublesome Dumpling

"Not."

Yui Yuigahama shook her head, denying Hachiman Hikigaya's conjecture.

She then pulled a bag of cookies from her bag and said, "I just came to thank Xiaoxue..."

Xiaoxue?

Hearing Yuigahama Yui address Yukino Yukinoshita as "Yukinoshita," Hachiman Hikigaya raised an eyebrow.

He discovered that this seemingly foolish guy was surprisingly easy to get along with.

Even though I only met Yukino Yukinoshita for the first time yesterday, I dare to use such an intimate nickname for her today.

That's a rare talent, isn't it?

"By the way, Dudu, do you know why Xiaoxue didn't come today?"

However this is not over.

Upon hearing that Yukino Yukinoshita had not come to school, Yui Yuigahama immediately turned her attention to Hachiman Hikigaya.

"Staying at home? Why do you call me that?"

Hachiman Hikigaya had been thinking about Yukino Yukinoshita's reaction when she heard Yui Yuigahama call her name, but after hearing how Yui Yuigahama addressed him, he was instantly annoyed.

Was Yuigahama Yui really calling him at the crossroads last time?!

"Because you stay home all the time, you don't talk much in class. Everyone says you're a shut-in or something..."

Although Yui Yuigahama had tried her best to explain the origin of why Hachiman Hikigaya was called "the squatter," Hachiman Hikigaya could still guess what his classmates were saying about him behind his back.

"It's nothing, call me whatever you like."

Seeing the unease on Yui Yuigahama's face, Hachiman Hikigaya softened his voice to comfort her.

Let alone now that he's become an exorcist, even before he got the system, he would have just laughed it off and not taken it to heart at all.

After all, what do other people's gossip have to do with him?

It's nothing more than a group of worldly people using the trivial means of belittling others to highlight their own status.

"I'm glad you're not angry..."

After discovering that Hachiman Hikigaya wasn't angry about her nickname, Yui Yuigahama patted her chest in relief.

"........."

Hikigaya Hachiman silently stared at the trembling mountain before him, his mind subconsciously comparing it to the scene he had witnessed in Yukinoshita's room the previous night.

"Cough cough..."

After realizing he had misunderstood, Hachiman Hikigaya's face instantly turned red.

"Staying home? What's wrong?"

Upon hearing Hachiman Hikigaya suddenly cough, Yui Yuigahama quickly went to him with concern.

"nothing!"

As the mountain peak approached, Hachiman Hikigaya involuntarily took a few steps back.

However, Yui Yuigahama misunderstood his shy reaction as a sign that he disliked her.

"Do you hate me for staying at home?"

The light on her face dimmed, and Yui Yuigahama revealed a tearful expression, looking at Hachiman Hikigaya like a puppy abandoned by its owner.

"Absolutely not! Why would you have such a misunderstanding?!"

Seeing that Yui Yuigahama looked like she was about to cry, Hachiman Hikigaya covered his face and made a troubled expression.

"Because every time I talk to you, you always seem like you want to end the conversation quickly... but you don't act like that when you talk to Xiaoxue..."

Yui Yuigahama explained her reasoning with a pitiful expression, which made Hachiman Hikigaya's head turn black with annoyance.

He was arguing with Yukinoshita, okay?

If it's an argument, how can it be over in just a few words?

"Okay, Yuihama-san, I don't dislike you."

Holding his forehead, Hachiman Hikigaya spoke to Yui Yuigahama with a serious expression, word by word.