The azure sea, but a lonely, fulfilled life.

The girl turned around upon hearing the strange noise, realizing that the school rooftop no longer belonged to her alone.

"To be honest, you didn't even notice the door opening so loudly, but you noticed the sound of me patting my face."

Hachiman spoke helplessly; he was tired.

Instead of approaching the girl, he slowly sat down against the wall next to the door.

"I thought it was the voice from within that made the decision for me," the girl said softly, yet her voice betrayed a deep-seated gloom.

"That's an awkward answer." Hachiman rubbed his head; the excessive alcohol was still making his brain a little dizzy. "That answer is like saying, 'You don't want to die at all.'"

"But I have no face to live anymore." The girl said in a somber tone, looking down at the ground below.

"As someone who may be the last listener in your life, may I ask you first, why is that?"

“…I’m heartbroken.”

"Are you some kind of psychologically sensitive high school girl?"

Even Yuihama wouldn't jump off a building because she's heartbroken!

"It's my fault. I thought that since we got into the same university, we would have a chance, but it was just wishful thinking." The girl seemed to have lost her sparkle, and her eyes became lifeless.

"So you're not even dating yet!" I retorted habitually.

Hachiman looked at the girl who was looking back at him and swallowed hard.

"Goodbye."

"Wait! Wait! It was my fault! I said something I shouldn't have! Calm down! Can't we talk things out? How about we have some drinks and chat for a while? It's still early today."

"I can not drink."

"I can buy you whatever you want to drink. Anyway, you should leave where you are now. Standing for so long must be tiring, and it would hurt a lot if you accidentally fell."

"But I'm standing here precisely to fall down."

"Stop talking so much! You shady JD girl! Come sit down and chat! Otherwise, after you jump, I'll tell the person you like to call him a scumbag before you jump! (｀Δ')ゞ"

After drinking alcohol, I felt that even my mentality deteriorated.

So it really was those two bastards who made him angry...

Chapter Twelve: Consolation and Additional Expenses

"So, tell me the specifics."

Hachiman glanced sideways at the girl sitting beside him, who was trembling for some reason. After a brief exchange, they had exchanged names.

Ochiai Sengen is a first-year literature student majoring in modern and contemporary literature. She likes authors such as Natsume Soseki and Haruki Murakami, and is very popular among high school students.

"Yes..." she muttered softly. This person gave her a scary feeling, just like her Chinese teacher in middle school.

"One day during the second semester of my senior year of high school, I was walking home alone as usual when I ran into him on the way. I thought we would just pass each other, but he took the initiative to greet me. My heart skipped a beat at that moment, and I thought this was the message that love had arrived. But because I was afraid, I never spoke a word to him again until graduation."

Ochiai Sengen's mood plummeted, and his entire art style resembled an uncolored draft in a manga.

"After I got into this university, I was surprised to find that he was also a freshman. Thinking that I couldn't wait any longer, I decided to muster up the courage to say something to him, but then I saw him with a very cute girl..."

She emphasized the word "very" when she said it.

After listening in, Hachiman gave a fair and reasonable answer.

Are you sure your heart skipped a beat and it wasn't because you were startled?

"Huh?" Ochiai Sengen opened his eyes upon hearing this and stared at him blankly.

"After all, you didn't expect him to talk to you at first, so subconsciously you indicated that you didn't want him to talk to you. But he did talk to you, and you weren't prepared, so you were startled, and your heart skipped a beat."

As someone who is also melancholic, Hachiman, after three years of training in high school, is already able to express his true feelings. He answers the girl's questions like a caring teacher.

"Is that right?"

The girl began to doubt her feelings at the time. In the end, she didn't understand what kind of feelings she should have when she was in love.

Hachiman nodded. Even if the situation wasn't like this, it had to be this way. If things weren't going to be so harsh, this guy might turn around and jump. As the first person to discover it and the last person to witness it, he wouldn't be able to avoid eating some pork cutlet rice.

Do you know the name of the girl he likes?

"do not know."

"That settles it. You don't even know the name of the girl he likes, which means you don't like him at all."

He even began to admire his ability to spout nonsense with his eyes wide open.

"But normally, shouldn't they ask about your favorite things or the date of your birthday?"

Ochiai Sengen blinked blankly, a bewildered expression on her delicate face. [?_??]

"That's all so outdated! It's a new era now! Anyone who doesn't know the name of the girl their crush likes is a loser!"

Even if I knew, I'd still be a loser.

"Is that so?!" The girl was utterly shocked. Had Japanese views on love developed to this point? What's next? Should one like the person they like, and also like the person they like?

That's really...so lewd.

Ochiai Sengen's face flushed slightly, and her eyes became glazed over, whether from the smell of alcohol coming from the boy or something else, it was hard to tell.

"I know you might be thinking the wrong thing, but, well, that's how it is!"

Who cares? Let's just try to calm him down first, and then it's none of his business what happens next.

Hachiman chuckled, his words conveying a sense of affirmation.

"Besides, you're not a bad girl, you'll definitely meet other people who like you."

"But I'm not good at getting along with people..."

"Then what am I?" Hachiman retorted. "Although my eyes look a bit worn out, and people used to call me a penguin, a frog, or a bacterium, I am, in fact, a human being."

Ochiai Sen looked at her with sympathy after hearing this. Was this person even more unfortunate than her?

"Keep going, don't pay attention to what others say, live bravely." She clenched her fist and encouraged him.

"How come you're the one comforting me?"

"come on."

"Okay, okay, I know, I will live on, I will live on tenaciously! And, as someone who helped me, you must live on too, otherwise I will lose confidence."

……

After the girl left, Hachiman smiled helplessly, stood up, walked to the railing, felt the gentle breeze, and squinted his eyes.

I've sobered up a bit, but to avoid being forced to drink more alcohol later, I'll stay here for a while.

"I didn't expect you to be so good at comforting girls."

A familiar voice came from behind him. Hachiman turned around and saw it was Kotegawa.

"However, using lies is certainly not a good method."

"As long as it works, that's fine. I don't want to spend the night in the detention center."

"There will be free pork chop rice."

"It's very nice, but I refuse."

If that were to happen, no matter how much he insisted, his family would not agree to him staying here, or rather, they would not allow him to go out alone again. That would be a terrible thing. Although he was a homebody, he still hoped to see the world.

"Pork cutlet rice bowls taste best in a spacious, well-lit restaurant," Hachiman said softly, looking at the other person. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw you at the party and followed you. After all, someone doesn't have a good image with me, and I was afraid you might do something you'd regret," Chisa explained.

"Wasn't it made clear that it was a misunderstanding last time?"

Several black lines were visible on his forehead.

"I thought so too at first, but when I think about how naturally you lied just now, I suddenly feel that maybe you were just lying to me."

Chisa brushed a stray hair behind her ear, her words drifting away on the wind.

Hachiman looked at her. In the light of the morning sun, even the fine downy hairs on the girl's delicate profile were clearly visible. Her expression was somewhat nonchalant, but a sense of ease could be seen in her calm eyes.

She was clearly relieved that he didn't intend to do anything foolish; what a hypocrite.

"However, I didn't expect you to lie to me. After all, we don't have any relationship, and everyone has their own little secrets that they don't want others to know."

"I think I'm a little drunk, and I might not be able to find accommodation this afternoon. Could I stay at the inn for another night? I'll pay for it," Hachiman interrupted her.

Upon hearing this, Chisa smiled faintly.

Dinner and breakfast are charged separately.

Chapter Thirteen: Steamed Goose Hearts (Four Dishes)

"Today's perspective is strange. When I opened my eyes, I didn't see the familiar ceiling, but the face of the substitute teacher. After looking around, I realized that I wasn't in the rented room, but in the classroom. Do you two know anything about this?"

Rubbing his still-shaking head, Hachiman looked at the two people who were only wearing underwear with a regretful look in his eyes. Then he looked down at himself, who was missing his shirt but still had his pants. His tone was calm, but it seemed to contain a faint sense of despair.

"do not know."

"Perhaps we accidentally entered the Anywhere Door."

Kohei and Iori replied that they had also drunk a lot yesterday and were still not fully awake, their eyes wide and wooden as they answered.

Feeling the gazes of all the students in the class, except for the three of them, focused on them, Hachiman couldn't help but want to cover his face, unable to hide his shame and anger.

Yesterday, after he went downstairs, he happened to see two people being chased by two senior students. Without thinking, he prepared to go back into the stairwell, but was spotted by Iori, who has sharp eyes.

"Penguin Man!"

He didn't want to go into detail about what happened next, but could only give a general overview: he drank nearly ten cups of oolong tea, three or four cups of pure vodka, and then, after getting tipsy, he drank a cup of water that someone handed him, and then his brain went blank.

When he woke up, he saw the substitute teacher looking at him with a gentle expression and kindly asking his name.

"Kitahara Iori is a pervert."

That was his answer, and he wasn't lying.

Just kidding, he didn't want to reveal his real name in such a socially awkward situation.

Hachiman couldn't help but cover his head with his hands and point his index finger at the two of them: "Meeting you two is definitely the most unfortunate thing that has ever happened to me in my life!"

“Likewise.” Iori sneered.

"Hmph~ Ptooey." Kōhei spat on the ground and gave a thumbs-down.

No, these two are shameless, but he still has a sense of shame. He needs to find something to cover himself up.

Hachiman's mind raced, and his first thought was of the curtains he had suggested yesterday.

The exquisite floor-length curtains were painted with various floral patterns, and the elegant and dignified light purple color scheme gave them an impression of being very expensive.

No, if we tear this thing apart, he might have to sell a kidney. Ah, how about we get these two drunk, take advantage of them, and then frame each other? Hmm, perfect solution.

Hachiman smiled slightly, waiting for the students in his class to leave.

……

"Why aren't you two leaving?!" x3.

Forty minutes had passed since the end of class, and most of the students had already left, except for Hachiman, Iori, and Kohei, who hadn't moved an inch.

The three of them shouted and stood up at the same time, looking at each other with distorted faces.

How could this be? Could it be that they saw through my plan? Hachiman looked at the two men with a grave expression.

"My plan is flawless, how could it possibly fail?" Iori hid the paper cutter behind her back, looking surprised and suspicious.

Could it be that they already know that if you sit in the classroom for a full hour after school, there's a chance that a cute girl passing by the door will become curious about the girl sitting alone in the classroom after school? Kohei sneered inwardly. What a formidable opponent, but he would never give up this opportunity to reach the beautiful world.

"Why do you have such unconventional ideas?!" Hachiman and Iori pointed at Kohei and scolded him angrily!

"No way! What kind of beautiful girl would fall from the sky and become interested in a reclusive guy?!" Iori shouted.

"That's right! That kind of thing only happens in novels!" Hachiman was about to nod when he stopped.

Hmm? Hmm... Oh~

"Exactly! What beautiful girl would be interested in a reclusive guy? It's just fantasy, it's unrealistic!"

Hachiman said, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.