My youth story cannot be a knight war

"Before you ask me this question, where do you think this place is?"

Hikigaya threw the question back, and the pair of eyes in the darkness looked slanted, probably because the owner was thinking with his head tilted.

"The interior of this room, under restricted mode, has generated a localized, non-corrosive, fused heterochronic space... No, the entire space has experienced a strong information distortion, rejecting the existence of real matter and exerting a strong corrosive effect on it."

"Based on my physical and emotional analysis, if I continue to stay in this space for another ten minutes, I will suffer irreversible physical damage to my body."

Nourishes—

A faint noise suddenly sounded, and a tiny stream of fuzzy particles appeared on the pair of feet in socks, but it was suppressed again within just a second.

"Now that you understand this, it's time for you to leave."

With his back to the owner of these feet, Hikigaya spoke without turning his head, his eyes still fixed on the mirrors in front of him.

"If you get swallowed here now, things will become more troublesome later."

"Is this—the human concept of 'concern' for one's own kind?"

After hearing what Hikigaya said, the voice did not change at all, but continued to ask.

This time, Hikigaya reacted to these words. He slowly turned his head and looked directly at the being hidden in the darkness, his eyes cold and empty.

"...Same kind? I never thought that I was the same kind as beings like you."

The same goes for his tone.

"I don't care whether you live or die. I don't want you to disappear because I don't have time to contact the next envoy you send. Since maintaining the status quo is a good thing for both parties, there's no need to make any unnecessary changes."

"Based on reducing time consumption? Got it."

The voice continued.

"Before you leave, could you please answer my first question?"

"explain."

"Repeat the question: Was the reason you let those men and women leave based on the 'bonds' you mentioned? Or was it 'emotions'?"

Hikigaya's expression and gaze remained unchanged after hearing this, he simply asked back calmly.

"Is this a question from your superior, or is it your own?"

“Is there a difference?”

Hikigaya withdrew his gaze and turned his head.

"When you appeared before me in human form, I assumed you had thoroughly researched the human condition before choosing such an image. It seems I made a mistake in my judgment."

"You don't understand humans, nor do you understand the human heart. After all, even your appearance is just a 'fake' created through imitation."

"And you, too, don't seem to have the self-awareness to become a 'real thing'."

"?"

The voice didn't respond, but Hikigaya seemed to see the other person's puzzled expression in the darkness and gave his own answer.

"Your doubts are meaningful, but they are limited to the question itself. When you no longer have doubts about this issue, you will transform from a 'fake' to a 'real thing'."

"I don't understand. Please don't answer questions with questions. Can you answer the question directly?"

A pair of slender legs stepped out of the darkness, a slender outline emerged from the darkness, and a pair of dark brown eyes reflected Hikigaya's back.

"Based on your language usage, I've decided to ask you directly: Why do you, someone who is essentially separate from humans, still use human thinking and human language habits that are full of meaningless information?"

"Your understanding of the reality of the world and the underlying logic of the universe is far superior to that of ordinary human thought. The nature of your existence has approached the level of a natural phenomenon. According to physical definitions, you are a perverted form of existence, distinct from all other life forms on this planet."

"I can't understand why a higher-level being like you would behave and think the same as a lower-level human trapped in physical information."

The figure paused for a moment, and Hikigaya turned his head again, his gaze meeting those brown eyes deeply.

Two pairs of eyes without human emotions stared at each other quietly, Hei and Cha reflected each other's appearance. Neither side spoke for a long time, letting silence linger in the space.

"...I take back what I said before."

The first to break the silence was Hikigaya.

"It seems that your view that you don't understand humanity is incorrect... because you have indeed taken the first step towards becoming a human, and have begun your evolution towards humanity."

"However, I probably won't see the day when you truly become a human being."

"What is this sentence——"

A dazzling light came on, covering up the other party's questions.

A blazing glow emanated from the Book of Controlling Myriad Living Beings. Hikigaya held up the book and spoke while looking at the countless mirrors in front of him that reflected the light, shining as brightly as the stars in the night sky.

"If you have any questions you want answered, find them with your own eyes in the following 'story' and come up with your own answers."

"Then, tell me about your 'God'."

Under the light, Hikigaya's eyes were still pitch black. The light was completely unable to illuminate his eyes, which were so deep and dark that nothing could penetrate them.

"Our deal remains valid. You can get everything you want, but only on the condition that you do not interfere with my actions or plans. If you violate this condition, then depending on the circumstances, I don't mind treating you as an enemy and eliminating you as well."

There was no sound behind him, but Hikigaya could feel that the other party had left.

Withdrawing all his attention and holding high the Book of Man that shone with infinite brilliance, Hikigaya was like the darkness born from this light, standing firmly in the glory of the story.

"Let's begin a new story."

Countless mirrors glowed with the same brilliance one after another under the illumination of this light. Hikigaya spoke indifferently.

"For your wishes, for my sins... I will fight until the last moment of my life, until death comes, until my soul disappears."

Half of his face was reflected in the light, and the other half was hidden in the darkness. The nature of being human was rapidly fading away at this moment, leaving behind only a certain indescribable quality.

"The story's 'protagonists'."

1. Story, opening

September 1st, the first day of summer vacation.

For Japanese junior high schools and even high schools, summer vacation usually runs from early August to late September. By the first day of September, summer vacation is already half over.

But this is usually the case.

Nearly half a year ago, due to a well-known incident, the original holiday arrangements of schools not only in Japan but all over the world were greatly affected. Most countries like Japan that pursue a relaxed education system chose to postpone the original holiday by one month.

As for those countries that pursue the "roll culture", because the incident had such a severe impact on the students' mental health, even the teachers were affected. After considering many factors, they decided to restart directly from the beginning of the school year.

The biggest victims among them are undoubtedly some students who were preparing to take the life-stage examination halfway through their senior year of high school. Because of this incident, they had to start from scratch like repeaters. This led to this class of students being nicknamed the uncrowned model students of the senior year system by people in society.

Perhaps the only lucky thing is that each country has subsidized these poor students, and their food, accommodation and tuition are free for this year, which has reduced the complaints of most parents.

But none of this has anything to do with Hayato Hayama. He is wearing casual clothes and walking in the deserted corridor above Sobu High School with a somewhat tired expression. The crisp footsteps echo in the silent corridor as he moves forward.

His fair face looked a little haggard at this moment, with faint blue-gray dark circles under his eyes, and even his steps were slightly shaky when he walked.

Recently, Ye Shan's spirit has suffered a huge blow compared to before. The strange noise has been following him all the time, and because of this, even his life has been affected.

Not only did his grades drop rapidly, but he also looked much thinner. After seeing a doctor, the doctor concluded that he was suffering from auditory hallucinations caused by excessive stress, and prescribed some medicine.

But Ye Shan felt that these medicines had no effect at all, because the sound would still ring in his ears even when he fell into a deep sleep after taking the medicine. As a result, he developed sleep paralysis. This time, his sleep quality plummeted, which was simply a typical example of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

However, just when he was about to feel that he could no longer bear it, about three days ago, the voice suddenly disappeared, just like when it first appeared, catching Ye Shan off guard and leaving him completely unable to react.

Logically speaking, this is indeed a good thing. After all, he no longer has to suffer from that strange sound, but for some reason, Ye Shan still feels that his heart is filled with unrelieved worries and irritability.

He inexplicably felt that something in his life seemed to have changed, and it was a permanent change, but he had no idea which part had changed.

This strange feeling of having a premonition that something was going to happen but not being able to find even a hint of it, not only did not improve Ye Shan's physical and mental condition, but it was actually developing into anxiety disorder.

In order to heal his increasingly abnormal self, he planned to take a "poetry and distant" type of personal trip when summer vacation came. He wanted to leave behind all the burdens and responsibilities of daily life and go to a quiet and unknown place to release himself... This was originally the plan.

But an invitation for a meeting from the Service Club forced Ye Shan to temporarily put this idea aside.

Probably since the universalization of education in human society, no student club has had a name more famous than the three words "Service Club". To some extent, the achievements of this club have become a milestone in the history of human education, and will even become an abstract symbol representing the education system in the future.

From now on, the life and learning aspirations of young people all over the world will no longer be limited to "poetry and distant places", but also "serving and teaching people to fish". The regulations set by the Ministry of Service now symbolize this meaning.

Ever since the Service Club became famous, there have been countless people seeking to commission them. The scope of commissions is no longer limited to Sobu High School or Chiba Prefecture, but has spread all over the world. Sobu High School's official campus website was once crashed due to the attack, and finally, with the help of the country, a new exclusive website for the Service Club was established.

Even so, the Service Club has changed its previous practice of accepting any and all commissions. On average, they only receive about two commissions per month. The last commission was from the only daughter of a Middle Eastern oil tycoon. When the daughter saw Zaimokuza Yoshiki, who was on his turn to receive a receptionist across the screen, she immediately made a startling statement:

"Please be my husband!"

The result was of course a rejection, but this incident caused quite a diplomatic storm afterwards. To some extent, it can be said that the Service Department is now actually performing the functions of the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The word "terrifying" is no longer enough to describe it.

However, such a service club extended an invitation to a meeting to Ye Shan alone. Since the former became famous, no one has ever heard of any person being able to receive such an "honor".

So even if Ye Shan didn't want to come, he had to come. After his father knew about this, he gave him a death order directly, that he must take this opportunity to establish a good relationship with the Service Club, otherwise he would not be able to come back!

Thinking of his father's extremely serious expression when he said this, although he could understand his difficulties and hopes, Ye Shan still did not have any expectations for this interview invitation... It's not that the relationship with the Service Club is very unfamiliar, but in a sense, the relationship between Ye Shan and the star club of the Service Club is in a very awkward state.

This embarrassing situation originated from the current and first ministers of the service department.

"...huh~"

Looking at the old sliding door of the classroom in front of him with a troubled look, Ye Shan let out a breath and reached out to knock on the door with a slight hesitation.

knock knock knock.

"come in."

There were several crisp knocking sounds, and then an even crisper and more indifferent voice was heard in the classroom.

"excuse me."

He said in a low voice, then Ye Shan reached out and opened the sliding door of the service department, and the three people sitting around the table immediately caught his eye.

Just like Hayama, the three of them took off their usual school uniforms and changed into their casual clothes. When they saw Hayama standing at the door, Yuigahama Yui, who was dressed in a youthful outfit, stretched out her hand and waved to him, with a smile on her slightly chubby face.

"Ya hello~! Hayato!"

"Hello~ Yui."

When he saw his familiar friend appear, Ye Shan's still uneasy heart suddenly felt a little calm, but when he looked up and saw the other two people, the smile on his face suddenly became awkward and difficult to control.

"Hello, Hayama-san."

Yukinoshita, wearing black jeans and a white shirt, tied her hair into a long ponytail. She glanced at Hayama at the door, and the tone of her words was more like that of an officer in a Taiga drama who held a torture instrument and asked a spy, "Do you confess or not?" rather than a greeting.

Even the gaze in his eyes was faintly flashing with a sharp cold light. Ye Shan, feeling stabbed, quickly turned his head, and this time what he saw was a pair of dead fish eyes filled with the smell of decay.

"Hey, Hayama-san."

Hikigaya Hachiman, dressed in all black casual clothes, raised his hand expressionlessly and spoke in a tone as hard as a frozen fish.

"Hello, Hikigaya-san."

When he saw Hikigaya, Yeshan couldn't help but twitch his eyes subconsciously, and the smile he forced on his face almost collapsed on the spot.

He didn't know why, but when he first met Hikigaya, an intuition told him:

I don't get along with this guy.

There was no reason, no excuse, but the dual physical and psychological feelings were conveying this fact. Obviously, there was no hatred or grudge between the two sides, but Ye Shan just felt that when he saw Hikigaya, he couldn't help but feel an indescribable discomfort in his heart.

I don't know what's going on with this inexplicable feeling. Many times when Ye Shan thinks of the other person, he feels that he doesn't actually hate the other person.

Of course, Ye Shan believed that Hikigaya had the same feeling on this point. It would be better to say that the greeting between the two sides was theoretically their most harmonious meeting.

"Hayato, sit here~"

"Ok."

After greeting Hikigaya indifferently with a forced smile, Hayama walked towards an empty chair that Yuigahama was smiling and patting, but when he sat down, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

"Wait...where's Zaimokuza-san?"

After glancing at the people around him and noticing that the most iconic figure in the service club was gone, Ye Shan asked in confusion.

"Zaimokuza and Kousaka went to the United States together to participate in a study diplomacy event held by American universities and our country. They just got on the plane last night, and the TV station broadcast the entire event live."

Hikigaya opened his right palm to support half of his face, glanced at Hayama beside him with his dead fish eyes, and then spoke.

"Why, didn't you watch the news?"

"Well, I haven't been feeling well lately. I've been resting since I got home yesterday..."

Ye Shan forced a smile, and his eyes were filled with a hint of fatigue as he spoke.

"It seems like you've been really troubled recently... Tell me, is there anything we can help you with?"