The azure sea, but a lonely, fulfilled life.

They then began blaming each other.

"It was his idea!" "He was the one who did it!"

Their feeble and weak excuses prompted Hachiman, who had already been punished, to silently make the sign of the cross for them.

Amen.

Chapter Fifty-One: Hero Saves the Beauty

When I woke up again, I was greeted by two people sleeping soundly with their eyes rolled back and drooling. You have to understand how much damage such a morbid scene would cause to my fragile little heart if I saw it before I was fully awake!

Hachiman rubbed his forehead and got up from the table. These two guys insisted on dragging him to drink with them last night, saying that there's strength in numbers. But what does this have to do with him? Why should he share the punishment in the end?

But they have this arrogant attitude, like a dead pig not afraid of boiling water, and they bring up the old story of brothers sharing the good times and the bad. The three brothers in the Peach Garden Oath formed three men of great ambition, but these three formed two good-for-nothings. How can the difference between people be so great?

"Are you awake?"

Chisa, who was making okonomiyaki, heard the rustling sound behind her and spoke without turning her head, her confident tone as if she knew it would definitely be him.

"Ah."

Hachiman responded, walked to her side, picked up a spatula, skillfully flipped the meat patty she pushed over, and after frying it, put it into a disposable box and sprinkled it with seasoning.

"You're really considerate of them, you even drank with them."

"The word 'help' is not appropriate in that situation."

Chisa smiled faintly, took an egg from the box under the table, cracked it into the egg ringer, and the aroma of the egg attracted Hachiman's taste buds. He hadn't eaten anything that morning.

"If you want to, they will listen to your rebuttal."

"Those two beasts have no humanity whatsoever."

Hachiman held up the spatula, waiting for the other person to push the meat pie over, but Chisa unexpectedly continued his steps and made a mixed savory dish.

She packed the assorted dishes into a box and handed it to him.

"Remember to brush your teeth later."

"Although I am very touched by this scene, I still want to ask, you just accidentally added a serving of fried noodles, right?"

"No, I did it on purpose."

Chisa tilted her head, her eyes curving into crescent shapes.

Hachiman looked at the yakisoba mixed with fried noodles in his hand: "Shouldn't I have atoned for all my sins? Is there anything I've forgotten?"

"I just hope you can eat more."

Gentle people seem to have a sense of tolerance towards everyone, and when this tolerance exceeds the distance between opposite sexes, it creates a sense of closeness that is not romantic love. He calls this closeness a maternal outburst.

Rebellious children often cannot accept their mother's gentle care, especially when there is a jerk as a reference point. Speaking of which, at home, his relationship with his mother is better than with his father.

The man who always complained about how tiring his work was always making excuses to avoid the house cleaning. Fortunately, Komachi already had all the qualities of a young mother; she was as good as three of herself.

Having such a hardworking and capable younger sister, I don't know whether to feel fortunate or helpless because the men in my family are all good-for-nothings.

However, Hachiman believed that he could still be saved. He was just temporarily depressed because he had inherited his bastard father's genes. One day, he would definitely become an older brother that Komachi would look at with new eyes.

Yes, it's time to prepare for taking the plunge and strive for a better tomorrow.

As Hachiman tossed the disposable lunchbox into the trash bag, he turned to Chisa, intending to discuss with the upperclassmen whether they should mention the club activities. However, he unexpectedly saw a familiar man with a greasy smile.

"Hey, I heard you won a beauty pageant. That's amazing! I wonder if you'd be interested in visiting our 'Tinker Ball'? It's full of handsome men and beautiful women, I'm sure you'll have plenty to talk about."

Kudo, the captain of the tennis club, is a flamboyant man who is even more flamboyant in his speech and has an inflated sense of self-importance. He is known as a scumbag who is a walking sex machine.

He was leaning against the table at the stall, blinking as he asked Chisa a question. Looking at Chisa's beautiful face, he sighed inwardly. Why would such a striking girl join a club full of perverted naked men? Joining their club would have made her even more dazzling.

"Sorry, I've already said before, I'm not interested."

While making the assorted omelet with a blank expression, Chisa replied without looking up, "I really should have checked the almanac before going out today. It probably says that it's not a good day to go out, or I'll run into trouble."

"Don't be so heartless. It was just a friendly exchange. I didn't force you to join our club. I just wanted to make friends."

"You're a bit annoying."

Chisa looked up, speechless. How could this guy be so shameless? He was almost as thick-skinned as Iori.

Kudo's smile froze. This was only the second time in his life that he had been so disrespected. The first time was also by two scoundrels from the diving club. Did this club clash with his personality? Or were they just like everyone else, with the same stubbornness?

Hachiman, who was watching this scene, turned his gaze to Iori and Kohei, who were still unconscious, and then to Chisa, who was radiating coldness. It seemed that he did not need to take action in this situation.

So he turned and walked towards the rest area, picked up a scarf and put it on. When he looked back, he saw that Kudo had already grabbed Chisa's wrist.

Huh? A frame skip? What happened in those few seconds?

Although he didn't understand how things had gotten to this point, seeing Chisa's unwilling expression, Hachiman blinked and quickly walked to her side.

"I've already said I'm not interested."

Chisa looked at Kudo with the same look she gave the man below. If it weren't for the other guests, she would have already thrown him away.

“I know, I won’t force you. I just hope you can inform your club president that ‘Tinker Ball’ wants to hold a social event with ‘Pab’ in two weeks.”

"You can just talk to them about this yourself."

Feeling her wrists being restrained, Chisa couldn't help but show disgust in her eyes. Just then, a fine piece of salt hit Kudo's bronze-skinned hand.

"I'm sorry, but this salt block seems to have a mind of its own and will automatically seek out and attack evil spirits. I can't control it."

As he said this, Hachiman threw a piece of salt, about the size of a fist, onto Kudo's right arm. The rock-hard salt made him wince and loosen his grip. Chisa took the opportunity to hide behind Hachiman.

Kudo gripped his right arm and gazed at Hachiman.

This guy looks familiar, but it must be my imagination. How could he possibly remember a guy with such a颓废 (颓废 is a difficult word to translate directly, but it implies a state of being listless, dispirited, and vacant) look?

He glanced at the girl hiding behind the other party. Oh well, the message had already been conveyed. If they continued to make a scene, it might cause trouble.

Without a second thought, Kudo turned and left. "Pag!" He was determined to make them return all the prize money from the men's competition at this social event, or he would change his mind!

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, we're companions."

Would saying that make me overly self-conscious? They're probably friends.

After what wasn't exactly a heroic rescue, the atmosphere suddenly became a bit awkward. Fortunately, the announcement came over the loudspeaker that the awards ceremony was about to begin.

The two looked at each other.

"Then let's close the shop and go participate in the final Izu Spring Festival."

"Ah."

……

"Senior, two naked men foaming at the mouth have been found in a shop. Should we take them back for questioning?"

After receiving news that he could clean up the shops of various gangs, the young security guard arrived at the location and saw two strangely dressed teenagers somewhere. Lacking much work experience, he instinctively asked his senior for advice.

Which organization owns the shop?

The steady and reliable voice of the senior came through the communicator.

"Let me see, it's a club called 'pab'."

“'pab' ah.”

The senior's tone suddenly turned melancholy.

"forget it."

"Eh? Why?"

The words of the senior echoed from afar.

"Because they're a bunch of idiots."

Chapter 52 He's Not a M

Hachiman Hikigaya and Chisa Kotegawa arrived at the outdoor stage and met with their seniors who were already waiting there. After exchanging morning greetings, he walked over to Komachi and Hiratsuka-sensei, who were standing on the other side looking in their direction.

"Was everything alright last night?"

Hiratsuka Shizuka, holding a chocolate bar, asked, feeling embarrassed to smoke in public, especially in front of a group of students who hadn't yet graduated.

"Not bad."

Aside from accidentally stepping on Iori's leg while moving their senior, accidentally hitting Kohei's right hand, and drinking nearly ten liters of shochu together, everything was alright.

"Hiratsuka-sensei, did you all get a good rest yesterday?"

"I have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar beds."

Hiratsuka Shizuka blinked wearily. The hotel bed was too soft and not suitable for a passionate young woman like her. Lying down felt no different than lying in cotton.

"Komachi is sleeping very well!"

Komachi smiled brightly. In that respect, she was very similar to him. They were both people who could easily adapt to the outside environment. That was great. With this advantage, even if they fell on hard times in the future, they could sleep under a bridge.

“That’s really good news,” Hachiman nodded in agreement.

"Hehe." Komachi gave a thumbs up, her adorable smile like that of an angel. "Onii-chan has good news too. I heard that the champion of this competition is from your club."

"Ok, I know."

He felt a little embarrassed when this was mentioned, because he still didn't know if the other party had seen his performance on stage.

"Onii-chan's performance was great."

"..."

Okay, now I know.

“That’s just a script, Komachi. You have to understand that your dearest older brother is actually a very talented actor.”

Komachi stared at him, a slight smile playing on her lips, and nodded obediently.

"I know, whenever Onii-chan is having a great time chatting with his virtual friend, I can always tell that Onii-chan is very suited to make it in the entertainment industry."

Although the meaning is correct, why does it sound so inexplicably melancholic? Did Komachi really think he was a fool who used to talk to himself all the time?

Hachiman Hikigaya immediately slumped down, feeling as if there was no meaning to living after being told that by his cute little sister.

"Wow, Onii-chan looks like a salted fish that's been baking in the sun."

Hiratsuka Shizuka looked at the little toys that belonged exclusively to the Hikigaya family. She wanted to say something, but a gust of wind blew by and she smelled a familiar yet unfamiliar scent.

"Welcome everyone to the final event of the Izu Spring Festival: the awards ceremony! Here we will present awards to the Mr. Club and the Miss Club. Without further ado, let's begin."

The host stood on the stage, holding the microphone, and opened the awards ceremony.

"Let's invite the two champions of the competition, who belong to the same club 'pag', to come up to the stage to receive their awards!"

"Hachiman!"

Not far away, Shinji Tokita waved.

"Then, I'll go over there first."

"it is good."

The sudden opening remarks interrupted Hiratsuka Shizuka's train of thought. After Hikigaya Hachiman left, she sniffed the lingering scent in the air and clicked her tongue. Why does it smell like strong liquor?

"Hachiman, go up on stage to receive your award."

As soon as he walked up to the group, Shinji Tokita patted him on the shoulder and said.

"Eh? Me?"

"Well, Iori and the others are nowhere to be found, so you'll have to go on stage." Kotobuki Ryujiro pointed to the empty space around him. Seriously, this was supposed to be an exciting moment, and those two were absent.

"..."

Hachiman and Chisa exchanged a glance, both looking guilty. It seemed they had forgotten to wake the two guys before they left.

--split line--

The awards ceremony proceeded quickly. After everyone had given their acceptance speeches and shared their experiences, Hachiman and Chisa stepped off the stage with a generous envelope. They handed the envelope to Shinji Tokita, who said it would become funding for their club's future activities.

Back at Komachi's side, she was eating takoyaki, which she had bought from somewhere. As he approached, Komachi poked one with a toothpick and held it up. He naturally bit into the takoyaki and began to chew. The octopus meat was very tender.

"What are you going to do next?"