Chapter 6: Hachiman's "Everything Shop"
Hikigaya Hachiman woke up early in the morning.
Today was the University of Tokyo's opening ceremony, unsurprisingly held at the Budokan.
This time, Hachiman didn't unethically have the neighborhood committee assign him a "Tokyo University professor" identity. Putting aside whether he would skip classes every now and then, Komachi had grown up and needed more personal space. As long as she showed up at Hinata Manor on time each day, Hachiman would not interfere with her school activities.
Moreover, because of Kaima Maeda's loose tongue, though it wasn't openly displayed, Hachiman could tell that Komachi had thoughts of her own. At least in her interactions with him as her brother, she had grown slightly shy and restrained, not as bold as before.
From any angle, Hachiman decided he still needed to understand Keitaro's "runaway plotline." But since it involved father-son matters, he wouldn't rush.
Keitaro might normally be reckless, but Hachiman didn't think he would act randomly in major affairs.
So Hachiman decided to investigate slowly. Before that, he first needed to ensure Komachi got to school safely.
After dressing and washing up, Hachiman went down to the courtyard between the North and South Wings to practice martial arts.
He started with Pencak Silat for a while, then enjoyed karate, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu… Yep, he had learned a martial art called "Nine Shadows, One Strike," so he just ran through a full set.
The karate group had once experimented with a "Nine Hits, One Kill" technique; Hachiman called his set "Ten Deaths, No Life."
After finishing the set, he broke a light sweat—felt great.
Hachiman thought: in such a good place, he could invite a few more people to live here.
Haruno had already called last night. It had been a long time since he had seen Liliana, Ena too, and that fox-dog. Without her, it felt slightly uncomfortable.
After a quick shower, he estimated it was about time and went to the dining room, seeing the girls already having breakfast.
"Good morning, brother." Aragaki Ayase walked out of the kitchen with a tray holding a cream-covered bread and sausages. "Breakfast. Is bread and milk okay?"
"That's fine." Hachiman smiled as he took the tray. "Anyone who marries you in the future will be very lucky."
Komachi, hearing this, hummed unhappily and muttered something along the lines of: she cooked every day but never got such sweet talk from Hachiman—should give him a bad rating.
Hachiman thought: can anything his little sister made compare to what her friends prepared? Freshness is definitely different.
"It's not as amazing as you say, brother. Ruri-chan got up early to prepare the cream, you know," Ayase said, slightly embarrassed by Hachiman's praise.
As for Kuroneko, she returned a look saying, "Be grateful for the cream I painstakingly prepared."
Hachiman couldn't help but marvel at how convenient Horus's eyes were; he could read the girls' expressions in an instant.
He slowly enjoyed the breakfast prepared by his sister's friends.
After a while, everyone finished eating. Hachiman stopped the girls from cleaning up, reminding them to attend the opening ceremony at the Budokan.
He had told them yesterday: from now on, they would take the helicopter together to and from school. This was Hachiman's bottom line to Komachi—he wouldn't follow.
Soon, the noise of the helicopter taking off could be heard outside. The sound quickly faded. According to the committee, the helicopter was custom-built, high-performance, long-range, and sturdy—combat-capable if needed.
Hachiman didn't know anything about helicopters; he only knew about men's portable firearms.
Even though everyone had left, Hachiman first cleaned the dishes, washed and put them away, then went out to the main gate of the North Wing.
Kitakou Kanako and the black-suited men were waiting at the gate.
"Let's go," he said, walking down another path extending from the front square.
In the anime, Urashima Haruka had run a tea house at the slope connecting the hill to the neighborhood, the only building providing direct access between Hinata Manor and the streets. There were two paths connecting the manor's main building: one Hachiman was walking along, the other leading to the dining hall.
Now, the tea house had long been closed. Its location and size perfectly fit Hachiman's plan for his small "Everything Shop."
He had already chosen his first employee—Moe. At first, he wouldn't need many people. Later, when Hiyono and the others arrived, he would expand.
"How's Moe over there?" he asked Kitakou Kanako.
"Master Negami is almost done. He said he wouldn't report unless it's a masterpiece, so it's taking a bit longer."
"No problem, slow work yields fine results. By the way, you all ate well, right? I didn't see you in the dining room."
"Thank you for your concern. We prepared in advance. The food cart is in the parking lot of the New Wing."
Hachiman nodded, remaining silent so they wouldn't think he was rushing them.
He decided that if Negami Hikko really gave him a surprise, he would treat him to as much cake as he wanted.
Then he stopped and looked down—the tea house was right in front of him.
Unlike Hinata Manor's exterior, this tea house was purely Japanese style. Three small connected buildings: the front connected to the street, the back connected to Hinata Manor, and the middle slightly smaller.
"Not bad, not bad…" Hachiman was extremely satisfied. Kitakou Kanako immediately understood his expression and clapped her hands, signaling the black-suited men to start working.
They already understood Hachiman's habits; this time, the work went smoothly.
Unneeded items were removed and neatly stacked. Missing items were selected from the prepared furnishings. Then came the "magical renovation"—eco-friendly, fast, and effective.
After over half an hour of work, everything was ready.
Hachiman pushed open the front door facing the street.
The first thing he saw was neatly arranged display cabinets. All three tea house buildings were single-story. The outermost building, a single large space, was used as the product display area.
Moving toward the middle building, there were sofas and tea tables for customers, along with a cashier desk.
Hachiman continued inward. The middle building was private, with multiple rooms. The first was a reception room, decorated with brown, blue, and gray tones. Simple yet comfortable, it had large leather sofas paired with wooden coffee tables, creating a cozy relaxation area.
"Great work," Hachiman praised Kitakou Kanako behind him.
He was very satisfied—everything met his requirements and even exceeded them.
Next, he just needed to stock "products."