Jet-black, glossy long hair, a fresh and gentle temperament.
The neighbor previously encountered, Hayasaka Yuuko, was cautiously poking her head out and looking at him.
"G-Good evening…"
Seeing Hachiman looking her way, Hayasaka Yuuko timidly greeted him in a low voice.
"Sorry, Miss Hayasaka, was I being too loud and disturbed you?"
Seeing Hayasaka Yuuko with her delicate and pretty face, gentle and submissive temperament, Hachiman unconsciously softened his tone.
They had only met once, and no mission had been triggered involving Hayasaka Yuuko. Normally, since she was attending university and didn't interact much with him, he had nearly forgotten that there was still an underworld heroine living in the apartment next door.
However, since there was no warning on the romance list, Hayasaka Yuuko should be living a normal life and hadn't encountered any problems. After all, her original story was supposed to take place after marriage, and right now she was still just a university student.
"No, no, I was just heading out."
Seeing that Hachiman had misunderstood her action of opening the door, Hayasaka Yuuko quickly waved her hands to deny it and walked out from behind the door, lifting the small shoulder bag slung on her shoulder to indicate.
"So late and still going out for an appointment?"
Seeing Hayasaka Yuuko dressed neatly and carrying a small bag as if to go out, Hachiman found it a bit strange.
He had returned home around seven in the evening, cooked, eaten, and rested, and now it was already past eight.
Although for many people nightlife was just beginning, Hayasaka Yuuko clearly wasn't the type of girl who liked going out late at night. From her appearance and her soft personality, she might even get bullied and didn't seem to have many friends.
"I'm not going out for fun. I'm helping out at a hamburger fast-food restaurant."
Hayasaka Yuuko shook her head.
"A hamburger fast-food restaurant? Will you be working until late?"
Hachiman's mind stirred, and he continued asking.
Though not as tough as a 24-hour convenience store night shift, many hamburger fast-food places still closed quite late.
"Not too late. It should end around ten. It's my first day helping out today, but I have a junior from high school going with me, so it should be fine."
Although Hayasaka Yuuko was a bit confused about why Hachiman was asking all this, she could tell that his questions were out of concern for her. She quickly waved her hands, indicating there was no need to worry about her.
She knew her own personality wasn't great at socializing, and since her family's financial situation was okay, she hadn't done much part-time work in high school.
But now that she was in university, it was about time to start taking care of her own tuition and living expenses.
Currently, her parents were worried that her personality made it hard to find someone to marry. She also felt that she should go out and work more to train herself.
It just so happened that she could go together with a junior she knew, and having someone familiar with her gave her some peace of mind.
"A junior from high school… Miss Hayasaka, since you've just started college, she must still be a high schooler, right?"
"Yes. But I heard that hamburger shop is really short on people. The night shift pay has increased by forty percent, which is quite attractive."
Hachiman contemplated. Going out to work with a junior didn't sound like a big deal, but considering Hayasaka Yuuko's underworld role, it was easy to imagine her being led astray by that junior or maybe the store manager or something.
Though he didn't remember Hayasaka Yuuko's story involving being coerced while working, she was now just a new college student, not the twenty-something housewife her original story depicted, who was fo*ced by her parents to ma*rry a divorced man with a child. [T/N: I can't find it. Let me know if you can find it.]
In this world full of underworld characters, Hayasaka Yuuko could easily be led off track.
Even the surface world had some ridiculous characters and storylines. A gentle girl like Hayasaka Yuuko might not even resist if bullied.
Thoughts flashing through his mind, Hachiman looked at Hayasaka Yuuko, pondered briefly, then handed over his phone.
"Let's exchange contact info. You might encounter a lot of problems your first day on the job. If you run into any trouble, you can call me."
"Eh? Mr. Hikigaya, that's too much trouble for you…", Hayasaka Yuuko was startled and instinctively declined the neighbor's kind offer.
"I also have something I need your help with. Just add me first, and let me know when you get back from work."
Hachiman didn't continue explaining. He simply gave a random excuse and firmly pushed his phone into Hayasaka Yuuko's hands.
"Uh… okay, I'll add it now…"
Seeing Hachiman being so firm, Hayasaka Yuuko hesitated but couldn't bring herself to keep refusing. She quickly took out a cute little flip phone from her shoulder bag.
Seeing that Hayasaka Yuuko was indeed as soft as he thought, and that even slightly forceful requests were hard for her to refuse, he quietly shook his head.
For Hayasaka Yuuko to have lived peacefully up to now, her luck must have been very good. With a personality like hers, being bullied would've been totally normal.
With the romance list's warning system, he didn't actually need to exchange contact info, he could just show up when danger occurred.
But he'd then have to explain how he appeared, so it was better to add her contact now and leave a deeper impression. Then he could just say he happened to be nearby.
Though the way he asked to exchange contacts was a bit abrupt, it was just right for someone as conservative and gentle as Hayasaka Yuuko.
"Thank you very much for your concern, Mr. Hikigaya. My shift is about to start, so please excuse me."
After using infrared to add him to her contacts, Hayasaka Yuuko returned the phone to Hachiman. With both hands folded over her abdomen, she bowed deeply and politely took her leave.
"Just to repeat, if you run into danger, call me."
"Yes! I'll remember!"
Hachiman checked the phone and confirmed that Hayasaka Yuuko had honestly added her contact, then reminded her again and watched her hurriedly leave, shaking his head inwardly.
Aside from showing a bit of hesitation when asked to add contacts, she didn't show any strong resistance toward him at all.
A gentle, traditionally-minded girl with a dependent personality like that, if she met a good person, she'd live happily ever after. If she met a bad person, she'd be miserable forever.
And in the original story, it seemed Hayasaka Yuuko had met one bad man after another.
Clack!
Just after Hayasaka Yuuko left, the door of another room opened.
A vicious-looking purple-haired demon, just like Hayasaka Yuuko, poked her head out from behind the door and silently stared at Hachiman standing alone in front of Gabriel's door for a full thirty seconds.
"Hachiman… who were you just talking to…", Vignette felt her cheeks heating up too much and couldn't handle Hachiman's gaze. She had to speak first.
She had heard voices outside and thought Gabriel had opened the door first.
She didn't expect Gabriel's door to still be closed, and that she herself had opened the door voluntarily and gotten caught by Hachiman.
Once the door was open, it wouldn't be easy to close again…
"I was talking to Miss Hayasaka, Gabriel's neighbor. We just exchanged contact info. If anything dangerous happens, she can contact me for help."
Seeing Vignette blushing but unable to play dead like Gabriel and avoid opening the door, Hachiman smiled and explained.
"Eh? Her workplace is dangerous?"
Hearing that the neighbor might be in some danger, Vignette was surprised. She even forgot her own embarrassment and asked instinctively.
"No real danger. It's just… Miss Hayasaka's personality makes her prone to trouble when working. And it's so late already, after work, if anything happens, it might be hard to get help."
Hachiman looked at the so-called demon who was actually an angel, Vignette, and explained as he walked up to her.
"Oh… Miss Hayasaka does look rather delicate…", Vignette recalled her previous impressions and nodded.
Miss Hayasaka had been living here before her. Though they hadn't interacted much, they had met a few times after she moved in.
Based on her shallow people-reading skills, she shared Hachiman's impression. Hayasaka didn't seem very good at socializing and had an overly gentle personality, which made her easy to bully.
If Hayasaka Yuuko had been in high school with her, she and Gabriel could've looked after her. But since Hayasaka was a college student, they didn't have much overlap. She barely had time to interact, and Hachiman even less. What with all the girls clinging to him, his overnight antics at home, and his daytime efforts at school, he was constantly busy.
And yet, Hachiman, despite being so busy, still observed Hayasaka Yuuko that sharply, and proactively exchanged contact with someone he barely knew, just to worry about her safety…
Such a kind-hearted and helpful Hachiman… how did he end up like this.
She wasn't sure whether Hachiman now counted as truly "fallen." Sure, he skipped class all the time and didn't study, but he also seemed to help people constantly.
From taking in the runaway Shion, to assisting the elf princess Iris, to helping out Hayase Saki who was almost coerced, the withdrawn girl Sakurase Shino, the love-struck bellhead Ichinose Ayano, even helping relieve the pressure in the girls' swimming club.
Though his aid often seemed absurd, thinking it over, Hachiman really didn't betray his position as the Service Club president. No matter the place or time, no matter how hard or exhausting, he always helped those in need, to the point of nearly losing all his own time.
'But… a student's duty is to study… Is it really okay to keep doing this…?'
And now, because Hachiman had helped so many girls in trouble, he was misunderstood by the disciplinary committee and even supported their "adult" activities. Was he maintaining school discipline… or destroying it…?
"Vignette? Vignette? The dinner I made for you and Gabriel is still warm. Can you get her to come out and eat together?"
Seeing Vignette lost in thought and even biting her lip and breathing heavier, Hachiman waved a hand in front of her face and shook her shoulder.
If Vignette were affected by his incubus-like charm, he'd suspect she was a succubus, daydreaming about him in his presence like that.
It seemed that last night's shock really hit her hard. She could barely face him now, and didn't even dare go to his house.
"Ah? Sorry, sorry, I spaced out!"
Vignette came to her senses and realized Hachiman's hand was on her shoulder. Her body stiffened instantly, but she quickly restrained herself and pulled him inside.
"Uh, maybe Gabriel fell asleep and that's why she didn't reply… Hachiman, come into my place first, it's late and we shouldn't disturb the neighbors…"
"Vignette, why are you so nervous? You act like we're sneaking around behind Gabriel's back."
Seeing Vignette explaining nervously with red ears and avoiding his gaze, Hachiman couldn't help but chuckle.
"S-Sneaking around?", Hearing Hachiman say that, Vignette's heart tightened.
Just like the many girls around Hachiman, she too had once been helped by him after moving in. Even now, she went to his house every day for meals, but she never intended for their relationship to be like those girls'.
Sure, Hachiman liked Gabriel, but she wasn't trying to seduce him. Just inviting him inside shouldn't be called sneaking around, should it?
"Actually… Iris told me about your peeping. You watched quite a bit last night, didn't you? And maybe even again during the day?"
Hachiman calmly looked at the flustered and bashful Vignette. Once they sat down, he smiled at her while she struggled to calm herself.
"Eh? Th-That… I-I'm sorry… It's my fault. It has nothing to do with Gabriel. No matter what punishment or compensation you ask, I'll agree…"
Just about to clarify her clean relationship with Hachiman, Vignette's face turned beet red. She stammered and lowered her head, speaking in a mosquito-like voice.
Although at first she and Gabriel had only observed Hachiman to protect him, hoping to study how to save him from falling…
But those nightly scenes, there was no excuse. They really had invaded Hachiman's privacy.
Having almost never done anything bad, Vignette didn't even know how to ask for forgiveness. She only felt that Gabriel and the others, who had only acted out of good intentions, didn't deserve to be condemned.
She hoped that if Hachiman had to be angry, he'd be angry at her alone and take it all out on her.
No matter what punishment or compensation… she would accept it.
Seeing Vignette, clearly a demon, lower her head and ask for forgiveness from a mere mortal like himself, Hachiman couldn't help but feel speechless.
How long had Vignette been here? How had she already been assimilated into this place, always apologizing and offering compensation at the drop of a hat?
'Well… that mindset of Vignette's probably isn't entirely my fault.'
"Who said I was blaming you? If I were mad, would I have brought you guys dinner?"
Hachiman put away his scattered thoughts and opened the two bento boxes he brought, revealing the still steaming food inside.
"…You really don't blame me for peeping?"
Hearing Hachiman's completely calm tone, Vignette looked up at him and the delicious-smelling meal on the table, a little hesitant.
Originally, trainee angels and demons undergoing trials in the human world were supposed to minimize the use of supernatural powers. Otherwise, they wouldn't achieve the intended effect of the trial. Whether for good or evil, the use of supernatural powers was generally not allowed and would lead to some punishment.
Their use of divine magic to observe Hachiman was a loophole, just gathering intelligence, neither good nor evil.
Still, whether supernatural powers were used wasn't the point, the real issue was unauthorized peeping.
Even if it wasn't about nighttime voyeurism, staring at Hachiman all the time without permission justified his anger.
"Iris and you girls, compared to your relationship with me, which is stronger? Do you really think Iris would keep your secret from me?"
Seeing Vignette acting like she had committed some terrible crime and trying to atone, Hachiman could only shake his head helplessly.
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