"A hotel?"
Hikigaya looked at Horikita in disbelief.
There was no mistaking her words—they carried a clear and suggestive implication.
"Don't you… have any thoughts?"
Horikita's cheeks were red, but her gaze was serious as she looked at Hikigaya.
"Uh… I have a girlfriend," Hikigaya said, avoiding her eyes and stumbling over his words. "So… sorry."
"You—!"
Horikita almost lost her temper right there, glaring at him in disbelief.
"Then why did you agree earlier?! Why did you… why did you go that far with me?!"
"I… I'm sorry. It was my fault. I'm a terrible guy."
Hikigaya closed his eyes and sighed deeply, as if resigned to any punishment Horikita might hand out.
Even though his mind was filled with thoughts of his girlfriend, why had his body acted so sincerely?!
Sure, Horikita was—objectively speaking—better than his girlfriend in some ways, but… Hikigaya only loved Yukinoshita.
Then why had his body betrayed him?
It felt almost like someone else had taken control—was someone manipulating him behind the scenes?
Sigh. In any case, what he had done was wrong. He had sinned. He had let Yukinoshita down.
Seeing Hikigaya in full repentance mode, Horikita fell silent for a few seconds before speaking again:
"Then just treat me like your girlfriend."
"Huh?"
"I said, treat me like your girlfriend. Don't we look pretty similar?"
Horikita bit her lip. "If you see me as her, then… wouldn't that ease your guilt?"
"Uh… that's not something I can just pretend," Hikigaya replied, glancing at Horikita's face… and then at her considerably more developed figure.
Especially her figure.
Her upper body clearly outclassed his girlfriend's.
"I could just cover my face," Horikita offered shyly. "That way… you wouldn't be able to see and could imagine it's her."
"…"
Hikigaya stared at her for several seconds, then slowly said:
"You're… surprisingly thoughtful. You're actually a very kind girl, Horikita."
"Huh?!"
Flustered, Horikita immediately snapped:
"Don't flatter yourself! Who's being thoughtful for you? I just… don't want to see your face either!"
Hikigaya gave a bitter smile, then continued, "Even so, you and my girlfriend are still different. I can't see you as her."
"Why? What's different? Personality?"
"No, your personalities are actually kind of similar."
"Looks?"
"Also pretty similar."
"Hair?"
"Looks about the same…"
"Figure?"
"…Similar-ish…"
Hikigaya said, instinctively glancing down at Horikita's chest.
"?!"
Horikita's face turned crimson in an instant. She quickly crossed her arms over her chest and snapped:
"W-What? Are you saying… my chest isn't as big as your girlfriend's? Is she… well-endowed?"
"No, not really."
Hikigaya shook his head.
"Not really?"
Horikita frowned, then thought for a moment before realization dawned.
"Wait… don't tell me she's flat? Smaller than me?"
"…"
Hikigaya fell silent.
Horikita also fell silent.
The two of them stood awkwardly in the corridor of the shopping mall, the air thick with embarrassment.
Eventually, Horikita couldn't take the tension anymore and muttered, flustered:
"How much bigger am I… compared to her?"
"She's… kind of flat-chested."
After looking around to make sure Yukinoshita wasn't nearby, Hikigaya dared to spill the truth.
"…"
Horikita's eyelid twitched. Her voice was full of disbelief.
"Then you're saying… she's nowhere near my level?"
"You could say that. She's like… a total washboard."
It was a cruel reality—at least from a girl's perspective.
"Heh. A washboard, huh."
Horikita's face broke into a rare smile. She couldn't help but chuckle.
"You guys really don't like small ones, do you? It's obvious—you're clearly not satisfied with your girlfriend's chest."
"It doesn't matter to me," Hikigaya said plainly. "I love her for who she is. Big or small, it's irrelevant."
"Hmph!"
Horikita snorted.
"You say it doesn't matter, but your eyes have been glued to my—cough—chest this whole time. Can you really say you're not even a little curious? Be honest!"
"…"
Hikigaya looked away.
"No thoughts."
"Look me in the eyes and say that again!"
Horikita raised her voice slightly, invoking the commanding tone of a student council president. The aura of leadership she exuded made Hikigaya instinctively glance back up at her.
"…Fine. Of course I've thought about it," he admitted. "But for a guy, that's pretty normal. Anyone would have those thoughts when looking at a cute girl like you."
It was a full confession… or rather, a self-exposé.
That's right, Horikita—look closely. I'm a total perv.
Naturally, Hikigaya was doing this on purpose.
Horikita was such a proper and serious girl. She'd surely find this kind of behavior disgusting, right?
If he went full degenerate, she'd probably spit on him and say something like: "You perv! Get lost! I never want to see you again!"
Now that would be the ideal script.
"What? You… you've been thinking about my chest?!"
"Yup. Lots of very inappropriate thoughts."
"You—!"
Here it comes. She's definitely going to slap me now.
Horikita paused, her cheeks even redder than before… but somehow, there was a flicker of excitement in her expression.
Still, she responded coldly:
"You've got guts, huh? Since you're so bold—fine. You've been thinking about my chest, right? Then prove it. Show me your resolve!"
"All right, then you better—wait, huh?!"
Hikigaya froze, eyes wide.
"—Wait, what?"
"What, you think this is something we can just do in public? The restroom's off the table now. If you want to prove yourself, we'll do it properly at the hotel!"
With that, Horikita grabbed Hikigaya's arm.
"W-Wait! Horikita, it's not even 10 a.m. yet!"
And it was still morning!
"I want to see your resolve," Horikita said, dragging him determinedly toward the exit—looking completely set on checking into a hotel.
"W-Wait! I didn't bring my ID!"
"No need. There's a hotel in Chiba City owned by my family."
"…?!"
Hikigaya stared at her, dumbfounded.
Holy crap—she's rich?!
---
Meanwhile…
Yukinoshita was hurrying behind them, tailing Hikigaya and Horikita at a distance.
Along the way, she reached up and lightly touched the air in front of her, grumbling under her breath:
"So what if I'm a little small… Just wait! After I have kids, I will get bigger! Definitely!"