The azure sea, but a lonely, fulfilled life.

After all that commotion, there was very little time left before Goto's performance. The group headed to the performance hall. To avoid running into the group if one of them went back alone, Hachiman asked Ochiai Sengen to go with them to the concert, keeping a safe distance.

As for Yoshida Saki, even if she were asked to go back alone, she probably wouldn't agree, so she stayed with the others.

Nanaka, who didn't participate at all, was originally someone Hachiman wanted to keep away from the group like Origami, but after hearing about this, she became even more determined to stay by everyone's side.

She is taking on the responsibilities of her parents.

Just in case, she called Tokita-senpai over. As for Kotobuki-senpai, he had work to do that night.

Trailing behind the crowd, Hachiman wasn't in a particularly good mood, but not because of what had just happened. In the end, he also thought that Iori and Kohei had done the right thing. Those thugs wouldn't know pain if they weren't dealt with by violence.

The problem is, this beating was still too lenient.

The thought of encountering troublesome matters in the future, no less troublesome than those entrusted by the Service Department, made Hachiman feel somewhat exhausted.

"Are you alright?" Chisa, who had slowed her pace with him, asked, noticing his gloomy expression.

"It's alright." Hachiman pondered how to eliminate the problem as soon as possible. "Iori and the others did a good job."

"Don't worry about what happens next, we live in a society governed by the rule of law now."

Chisa, who had long understood the meaning behind his words, comforted him. In her opinion, this was indeed the worst of all the memories she had experienced, but it was not without a solution; it was just that they hadn't found one yet.

"The worst thing for a society governed by the rule of law is when others do not uphold the rule of law."

Those guys don't seem like the kind of people who would forgive and forget. Sure enough, out of all the people in the world, there are always some who are just animals.

Hachiman instinctively wanted to sigh, but not wanting to embarrass them, he dismissed the thought and instead started talking about other things that happened that evening.

"Speaking of which, Chisa, what do you think of that boss's grumble room?"

"Your opinion? It's quite novel, isn't it?" Chisa thought for a moment and replied.

In today's society, people who are willing to listen to others' troubles are people with big hearts. The probability of this is as small as someone willing to be beaten up.

"By the way, do you have a lot of worries?"

"If I said yes, what would you think of me?"

"Isn't it normal to have worries?" Chisa's lips curved upwards, forming a relaxed smile. "Could it be related to us?"

“Worries are definitely related to myself.” Hachiman shook his head. He rarely worried about other people’s affairs. At most, he would worry about Komachi’s love life and studies.

"Are you willing to talk?" Chisa blinked and asked.

"It would be very annoying." He refused with ambiguous words, as sharing his secrets with others would not only cause them worry, but also make them feel awkward.

Chisa looked at his profile: "You look like a morning glory."

"Morning glories? Does that refer to longhorn beetles?"

That's quite a novel metaphor; he certainly doesn't have two long, thin antennae.

Chisa nodded.

What is the meaning behind this?

If it's because their appearance doesn't resemble ants, then it can only be referring to their metaphorical meaning. But what could a longhorn beetle possibly symbolize? He's never had the habit of looking at ants since he was a child, so he doesn't know much about insects.

"It doesn't have any special meaning; it's just something I said."

After she finished speaking, Chisa ran off to Nanaka's side, leaving Hachiman staring at her retreating figure, completely bewildered.

Or, why don't you look it up online?

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Senior's Hidden Identity

Apricot and Orange Exhibition Hall

Hachiman Hikigaya walked over to the group with two drinks, giving one to Chisa and the other to the somewhat reserved Saki Yoshida. The girl accepted the drinks and said thank you, holding the cups in both hands, the hot coffee warming her palms.

Her expression was somber, her eyelids drooping as she stared at her reflection in the coffee, a gloomy mood rising in her heart like a sudden downpour.

After a brief ten seconds, Yoshida Saki looked up at Kohei, who had stepped forward to protect her. Noticing the bruise on his lip, she asked timidly but with concern, "Imamura-kun, are you alright?"

"Huh?" Kohei was momentarily slow to react. After realizing that the other person was referring to the injury on his face, he casually waved his hand. "It's nothing serious, just a minor injury."

The more indifferent he was, the more distressed Yoshida Saki felt inside, because because of her, he had been beaten up and hadn't even complained about her.

Tonight's trip was definitely a mistake. She shouldn't have gone to this unfamiliar city alone just to buy a boring decoration.

It's bad enough that she's being harassed by strangers, but she's also getting her classmates into trouble. It seems like changing herself isn't really her thing.

Even without close observation, everyone could notice her dejected look. Although Kohei was a master at navigating galgames, he was genuinely at a loss when this actually happened in real life.

"That's a really cool thing to say, Kohei. If I were a woman, I might not be able to resist falling in love with you."

Iori's smug teasing words reached everyone's ears. Kohei was speechless, his face contorted with nausea. Turn this guy into a woman? He'd definitely become another corpse-masking monster.

"Don't disgust me."

Kohei frowned, looking disgusted as if he had swallowed a fly. Joking aside, he shouldn't make a fuss about sexual orientation. He hadn't forgotten that Iori had personally admitted to being a dual-wielder, although he later clarified it. But could one really trust what someone said?

"What's wrong~ If I were a girl, I'd definitely be a stunning beauty." Iori swayed her hips, displaying her alluring figure, leaving everyone speechless.

Hachiman breathed a sigh of relief. Although this way of changing the subject was a bit too much, it did ease the atmosphere. Not bad, Iori has potential. Learn self-destruction from him.

"Hachiman."

Ochiai Sen tugged at his sleeve.

Having already entered the performance hall, and with the group of mohawkers not yet inside, she naturally didn't heed Hachiman's advice to stay away from the crowd.

"what happened?"

The space was dimly lit, with only the bright light from the stage coming from afar. The lead singer of an unknown band, along with the sounds of drums, guitar, and bass chords, stirred the audience's interest.

In this sacred place of rock and roll, her voice was so soft that Hachiman could only hear it by putting his ear very close.

"Is everything alright about what happened just now?"

"Although I really want to say it's no problem, there might actually be a little trouble."

After all, what we fear most is not trouble coming, but being targeted by trouble. Those scum of society are like toads that jump onto our shoes—they don't bite, they just disgust us.

We need to find a way to get this sorted out as soon as possible.

Otherwise, let the seniors go and intimidate them. People have an instinct to bully the weak. Being able to suppress them only shows that the person is well-mannered. However, those real bastards obviously don't have that. Besides, he seemed to have seen needle marks on their wrists just now.

Hachiman was somewhat speechless. He was young, yet he was a scoundrel. His hair was almost all different colors, he spoke rudely, he forcibly dragged young girls, and he was also a drug addict. This was practically a full set of buffs. He didn't even know if he would live to see the sun rise at twenty-five.

Compared to them, the guys around him who only sabotage each other are just a bunch of kind-hearted bastards, as smooth as boiled eggs on the surface.

"Then, do you need my help?"

Ochiai Senen pursed her lips. Although she didn't have any social connections and couldn't possibly get things done with just a phone call, she couldn't just sit idly by when her friend was in trouble. She would do her best to help if she could.

"I can handle it, don't worry."

She answered with a deep breath, and Hachiman gave her a reassuring look. No matter what, they couldn't involve innocent people.

If things really don't work out in the end, he might have to be prepared to deal with the problem in an extreme way, not treating it as a problem at all. You know, in this state, his chances of winning are 100%.

Wow, that's really something. Someone like him can actually have such a powerful form.

Hachiman chuckled to himself. For some reason, the word "powerful" reminded him of that classic quote.

If the red state is the strongest, then why not just use the red state from the start?

When he was young, he thought this scene made a lot of sense. Later, he realized that sometimes it's not necessary to be so extreme. Just like in the Chinese classic novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", why did Cao Cao have two great strategists but rarely use their schemes?

Compared to them, Boss Cao is far too kind.

"I will do my best to help if I can." Ochiai Sen looked into his eyes. She had once said that the eyes are the first expression of emotions, and now her eyes were full of sincerity and affirmation.

Hachiman smiled and nodded. For some reason, he noticed a resemblance between the other person's face and Yuihama's. Perhaps it was because they both cared about troublesome matters. "If I need any help, I'll definitely call you."

"Yes, definitely."

The girl stretched out her little finger, as if she wanted to make a pinky promise with him.

Even in the dim light, her cheeks still showed a hint of red, a scene she had seen in a comic book where friends would pinky promise each other.

This was the first time Ochiai Sen had done something like this. With the other party's encouragement, she had made two friends before, and they had made promises during their time together, but they had never held hands. Whenever the other party brought up this idea, she would politely decline on the grounds that it was childish.

But actually, she just felt that she should give the first chance to her first friend, who taught her to forget some unhappy things and get through this difficult time from a different perspective.

She wanted to make a promise with him: to be friends for life. Before that, she didn't want to make a pinky promise with anyone else.

Fortunately, her two friends were both very broad-minded and didn't get angry about it. In fact, they were delighted and said that she was very cool.

Hachiman looked at the girl's little finger and then extended his own little finger as well.

"Pinky promise, a vow that will last a thousand years."

"Is the next line going to be 'The deceiver will be tortured with a thousand needles piercing his belly'?"

"No, only the first half of the sentence."

The girl answered, and was just about to explain the reason when she saw two arms suddenly extend from behind him.

"Hey, having fun?"

"Even at a time like this, you still can't resist flirting? Hajifan, you bastard."

Iori and Kohei grabbed Hachiman by the shoulders and dragged him away. If Chisa hadn't told them that Hachiman had something to deal with, they wouldn't have realized that this emperor penguin was in heat at such a crucial moment.

As they were leaving, Iori smiled kindly at Ochiai Sen and said, "Sorry, we need to borrow him for a while. We'll return him to you once we've taken care of something."

"What the hell is 'return it'?" Hachiman was speechless. Was he some kind of object?

Ochiai Sengen waved her hand, indicating that it was alright. Her cheeks were still flushed and had not yet cooled down. Just then, she seemed to sense that someone was watching her.

Following that gaze, one could see a chestnut-haired girl turning her head away.

Is it her? Ochiai Sengoku remembered that the other person was a member of the same club as Hachiman, and had been by her side just now.

It turned out to be the case.

She tapped her palm.

Tonight is the team-building activity for Hachiman's club.

-

"Oh, we've returned with sinners."

Less than ten meters away, Hachiman was dragged in front of everyone. He glanced at Iori, who was speaking, and then looked at Shinji Tokita, who had arrived at some unknown time.

"When did I become a sinner?"

He didn't participate in the fight, he didn't participate in the cursing, but he was responsible for cleaning up the mess. With such an excellent support, he would be called "Daddy" anywhere. These two unfilial sons treated him like a Japanese.

However, it seems he was originally from Japan.

"When you break the brotherhood code to flirt with girls."

"Putting aside where our brotherhood code came from, doesn't Kohei's heroic rescue of the damsel in distress count as flirting?"

“He’s a first-time offender, and he did something good,” Iori asserted. “You’re a repeat offender! You should be punished!”

"This is definitely preferential treatment," Hachiman muttered, glancing around to make sure Nanaka and Yoshida weren't there. He then asked, "Where are Nanaka-senpai and Yoshida-san?"

"My sister went to the restroom with Yoshida." Chisa walked to his side and handed the coffee back to him. "I didn't drink it, it was too sweet."

"Your statement is clearly grammatically incorrect." Hachiman gripped the cup; it cost 500 yen, more expensive than the entrance fee, and he was reluctant to throw it away.

Just change to a clean cup and pour out the top bit; indirect kissing is something that won't happen to him.

"So, Hachiman, what happened to you guys?" Shinji Tokita asked. He was lying at home drinking when Nanaka called him. He didn't explain clearly over the phone, just said that he was in trouble.

Hachiman recounted what had just happened, and it seemed that everyone thought he was the best at explaining things, so he was usually the one to do it.

"I see."

After listening, Shinji Tokita nodded. The public security in society is very bad now. After all, once there are many people, the rules of law can only be limited to reasonable people. People who do not understand the law will break the law to some extent, even if they know the law. Not to mention that the other party is a group of thugs who may not even know the law.

"This situation needs to be resolved as soon as possible."

He touched his chin, and the bulging, muscular chin made Hachiman think that his previous proposal might work. After all, violence is often the best way to stop another kind of violence; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many American superhero movies.

However, this solution can only be implemented when there is absolutely no way to negotiate or when there are no more worries. No one can be sure that there might be a masochist among the group of people you're beating up.

"Yes, that's what we think too."

Iori sighed. He spent a long time flipping through his memories of military books and found many solutions, but unfortunately they were all a bit brutal and didn't quite fit their image.