My youth story cannot be a knight war

"Hey! You're actually charging for tea here!?"

"Xiaoxue, don't bully Youmiko."

Seeing that Miura was almost mad and stood up because of Yukinoshita's few words, Yuigahama Yui quickly reached out to hug her, then turned around and persuaded Yukinoshita with a wry smile.

Yukinoshita made no comment, but Yuigahama turned to look at Miura, who was still angry after being hugged by her, and asked.

"By the way, Yumiko, what exactly do you need our help with? Could you please tell me first?"

"..."

After hearing his friend's question, Miura, who was originally a little angry, fell silent, and his eyes were filled with worry again.

Looking at Miura who sat back in the chair and remained silent again, Yukinoshita narrowed her eyes slightly. It seemed that the other party came to find her and others this time for a very important reason.

Otherwise, Miura, who has always been as proud as Her Majesty the Queen, would not become like this when she was asked about the whole story. This shows that this matter is probably not a good thing.

"Actually, I came to you this time hoping that you could..."

Looking up at the four people sitting around the table, Miura bit his lips, which were lightly painted, and spoke softly with his head down.

"I hope that you, the Service Club... can help Hayato."

"?"

"Eh? Hayama-san?"

Hikigaya, who had been silent the whole time, raised his eyebrows when he heard the name, raised his eyes from the table and looked at Miura in surprise, while Zaimokuza tilted his head and said in confusion.

"Hayato? What happened to Hayato?"

Yuigahama, who is a good friend of Hayato Hayama, felt worried about her friend after hearing what Miura said, and asked Miura.

"that is--"

"—I refuse, Miura-san."

Just as Miura was about to speak, a calm female voice interrupted her.

It was Yukinoshita. Her expression at this moment was no different from before, but everyone present suddenly felt that something had changed about her.

That is the look in her eyes. Snow under the snow still looked clear and bright, but an inexplicable indifference had begun to gather deep in her eyes, turning that clarity from the transparency of lake water into the crystal clearness of ice and snow.

"minister……?"

Feeling the sudden change in Yukinoshita's aura, Zaimokuza was about to speak with some worry when a hand was placed on his chest.

Turning his head along the arm, Hikigaya looked at Zaimokuza, and when he saw him looking at him, he shook his head slightly without saying a word.

But Hikigaya's meaning was very clear: don't interfere.

Ignoring the small movements of the people around her, Yukinoshita stared into Miura's eyes, and her tone gradually began to cool down and become more ruthless.

"Miura-san, if you came here hoping that we could help Hayama-san, then I can tell you very clearly that you've got the wrong person."

Without giving Miura a chance to speak, Yukinoshita continued.

"Let's not talk about whether we have any reason to help Hayama-san. It's ridiculous for you to just come to us. We won't do every commission."

Having said that, there was a hint of sarcasm in Yukinoshita's eyes, and even her tone began to become as sharp as a spear.

"You know, Miura-san, the person you want us to help is Hayato Hayama, who used to be incredibly popular in the entire school. Unlike Hikigaya-san, whose phone contacts only include us and his family, Hayama-san has a friend count that can be counted according to the school's class roster, and that number is still constantly increasing."

"Hey……"

This time it was Hikigaya's turn to look at Yukinoshita speechlessly and roll his eyes, while Yukinoshita once again ignored his resentful gaze and spoke to Miura with an undisguised sarcastic tone.

"Especially during the incident four months ago, Ye Shan was in the spotlight. He was able to remain calm and coordinate with everyone in the school, preventing the entire school from rioting like the outside world. His sense of responsibility has boosted his popularity. If he needs help, there will definitely be many people in the school willing to help him for free."

"With so many people willing to help, why did you, Miura-san, come to us, who have such a distant relationship with Hayama-san? Isn't this what they call beating around the bush? No, it's more like missing the point."

"B-but-"

Miura was left speechless by Yukinoshita's words, his face flushed red, but he just couldn't utter a word.

"Please go back, Miura-san."

Seeing her like this, Yukinoshita lost interest and calmly ordered her to leave with a wave of her hand.

"This matter is not our responsibility. I believe there will be others who will help Ye Shan-san on our behalf, and they will be able to help better than we can."

“——But this matter is related to him!”

Seeing that Yukinoshita was really going to drive people away, Miura became anxious and pointed at another person present without caring about anything else.

Following the person she pointed at, the rest of the people turned their eyes, and their expressions suddenly became very subtle.

The person involved also had the same reaction.

"Ah I?"

Looking at the slender finger that was almost touching the tip of his nose, he subconsciously leaned back to avoid it. When he noticed that everyone was looking at him, Hikigaya couldn't help but point at himself and said, his eyes became extremely subtle and confused.

"It's not Bi Penguin! It's him!"

Miura realized that she was pointing at the wrong person and quickly turned her finger away. This time, the person she was pointing at also looked up in surprise.

"Hello……!"

"Me? Is Hayama-san's matter related to me?"

Hikigaya's mouth twitched violently when he heard that. Zaimokuza, who was pointed at by Miura, tilted his head in confusion, while Yukinoshita frowned and spoke directly.

"What's going on? Why do you say Zaimokuza-san is related to Hayama-san?"

"Yumiko?"

"No... Actually, to be precise, it's not Zaimokuza, but rather..."

Retracting his outstretched finger, Miura lowered his head under Yuigahama's gaze, and after hesitating for a while, he decided to speak.

"This matter...started on that day four months ago."

"...Could it be?"

When everyone heard Miura mention the time point four months ago, they immediately realized which day she was talking about. Zaimokuza, who was originally a little stunned, immediately became serious and stared at Miura closely.

"Miura-san, you said this request regarding Hayama-san originated four months ago... on the day when the 'Ultimate Darkness' descended?"

"!"

When Zaimokuza said this term, which was now considered a taboo nightmare by countless people, the other three members of the Service Club, including Miura, subconsciously tensed their bodies for a moment, and the palpitations that remained in their hearts from that day were also awakened.

No one in the world will forget what happened that day. It was a moment when true despair descended on everyone's hearts. Many people around the world have not yet recovered from the unforgettable experience of that day.

Although the darkness that obscured all light and the sky has long since dissipated, the remaining shadow still lingers in this world, and it is estimated that it will take a long time to erase the impact of that day.

The people in the Service Club also realized that if Miura's request regarding Hayama started from that day, then this matter was indeed inextricably linked to Zaimokuza and even the entire Service Club.

Because on that day, he and Kyosuke Kousaka, who is now in Tokyo, were the people in the world closest to all that, and the service club where the former was naturally also could not be separated from this relationship.

"...Miura-san, tell me, what's going on here?"

Yukinoshita didn't plan to chase anyone away anymore, but her brows were furrowed into clear lines, and this expression destroyed her usual calm image.

"If the reason is valid, we are willing to help."

"Thank you."

After getting Yukinoshita's promise, Miura also breathed a sigh of relief, and then with worry in her eyes she began to narrate the whole story.

"Actually, Hayato started to behave strangely after that day four months ago."

"But I saw Hayato recently. He looked the same as before, except for his tired expression."

Yuigahama raised a question at this time, but Miura just shook his head and spoke softly.

"Because it wasn't very obvious at first, but Hayato did start to behave strangely after that day. Especially as time went on, the abnormality in him became more and more serious, but he rarely showed it in front of others..."

"And in the past week, Hayato has been frequently experiencing absent-mindedness. Today, he even took the day off and stayed home from school."

"Come to think of it, I didn't see Ye Shan today."

After hearing what she said, Zaimokuza remembered that he had indeed not seen the classmate with a personality as bright as the sun today.

"So, Miura-san, you came to us because you were worried about him? Did Hayama-san tell you why he had these symptoms?"

Yukinoshita raised an eyebrow, and this time Miura fell silent, his hands on his knees clutching his skirt tightly.

“…It’s a sound.”

"Ok?"

"Hayato told me yesterday that recently... he has been hearing a very strange sound. The sound seems to be very harsh, but we can't hear that sound."

Under the puzzled gazes of the others, Miura said with a worried look in his eyes.

"That was the first time I saw Hayato cover his ears with his hands with such an uncomfortable expression."

"He said it sounded like a piece of glass breaking."

……

"Well……!"

Lying on his bed in his pajamas, Hayato Hayama was breathing heavily. He was sweating profusely and had his eyes tightly closed, but his expression was as painful as if he was suffocating while swimming.

He was dreaming, dreaming about that day, a dream he had been having frequently over the past four months.

But never before has the scene in a dream been as clear as this one.

The flaming meteors that fell from the sky enveloped the sky in despair and darkness. The falling meteors engulfed everything in sight in light and fire.

And in the raging fire, that slender and mysterious shadow, that roar lingered in my ears for a long time even in my dreams.

And this time, there was another voice besides this.

"It's an agreement~ Let's continue playing together in the future."

"So, we will definitely meet again."

……who is it?

Ye Shan clenched his collar with his hands, as if this could make his breathing rhythm smooth again.

"Please, please remember quickly, please stop it..."

"Now, you are the only one left. Everyone... please."

Who is it? Whose voice is that?

Who are you?

"Please remember quickly, you are——"

He suddenly opened his eyes and saw the familiar ceiling in front of him. The morning sunlight shone through the gaps in the tightly drawn curtains, shining on Ye Shan's dazed face covered in sweat.

The voice in his ear that sounded like begging and crying disappeared as he opened his eyes, leaving no echo.

"...It's this dream again."

Ye Shan reached out to wipe the sweat from his forehead and found that his pajamas, and even the remaining quilt and sheets were soaked with his sweat. He lowered his head and looked at his sweaty palms with gloomy eyes.

Four months, a full four months, and Ye Shan’s dreams have never been able to escape from everything that happened that day.

Recently, he has heard more voices that he had never heard before. Ye Shan is not sure whether this is a mental disorder caused by the trauma he had suffered, or it is simply an illusion caused by the chaotic dream.

But he knew that he couldn't go on like this, because there were already serious problems with his mental state. If he continued to deteriorate, the hospital's psychiatric department would probably be his only destination.

Find some time to see a psychiatrist, Ye Shan smiled bitterly and lifted the quilt from his body.

Because of the excessive water loss in his body, he now felt extremely thirsty. He happened to see a glass of water on the bedside table that he had not finished drinking last night. Although he knew that cold water was not good for the stomach after waking up, Ye Shan had no other choice.

Reaching out to take the glass of water, Ye Shan tilted his head back and poured it into his mouth.

hum-

Clap!

The glass water cup fell to the ground, and the cup broke into several pieces with a crisp sound. The unfinished water spread out into a small pool on the floor.

In the spreading water, Ye Shan's face was reflected on the bed, his face full of pain, he covered his ears with his hands, and his whole body trembled violently.

“—Damn it! What the hell is this!?”

Ye Shan only felt as if there were two chisels pressing against his temples on both sides, and as the sound in his ears rang out, they continued to drive into his brain with force. Even the white matter and lobes of his brain trembled at the alien sound, and then curled up.

"Get out of my way! Get out of my head!"