Chapter 132: It's Really Great to Be Friends
"We're not lying. We really don't know you."
Seemingly guessing what was going through Niguredou's mind, Hikigaya Hachiman rested his cheek on one hand, the other on the table, looking completely innocent.
To be honest, it wasn't just Yuria. Hachiman didn't even fully recognize the students in his own class. How could he possibly know a student from Class B, which was several classes away from Class F?
"But you—how do you know us?"
Just as Hachiman said, Class B and Class F were separated by multiple classes, and they had never once shared a lesson.
On top of that, neither Hachiman nor Saki Kawasaki were celebrities like Hayama or Miura. It was truly odd that Yuria would even know of them.
"I came to know you through Yotsuya Miko..."
As Yuria brought up how she came to know Hachiman, a trace of embarrassment briefly flashed across her face.
After all, she had mistakenly thought Yotsuya Miko was some extremely powerful spiritual medium and had secretly followed her for quite some time.
During that period, she noticed Miko interacting with Hachiman, which led Yuria to learn more about him.
"And what about her?"
Yuria knowing him through Miko Yotsuya made sense to Hachiman.
But Kawasaki Saki had no contact whatsoever with Miko. So how did Yuria know her?
"Because of you."
After taking a sip of cola, perhaps emboldened by the realization that these two wouldn't actually harm her, Yuria's courage seemed to return.
"I mean, you're just a gloomy high schooler, but somehow you're entangled with several girls. That's suspicious no matter how you look at it, right?"
"So I did a little investigating on you, and... I accidentally found her..."
As she spoke, Yuria snuck a glance at the two beside her.
Seeing Hachiman's expression grow increasingly awkward and Kawasaki Saki's face darken, she gradually lowered her voice.
...Did I just mess up?
Yuria shrank her neck, sensing the ominous aura growing from Kawasaki's body. She tapped her toes on the floor, ready to bolt at any moment.
"Classmate Niguredou, weren't you saying earlier that you had a lot of questions for us? Why are you trying to leave so soon?"
A restraining talisman flew from Hachiman's fingertips, transforming into an invisible shackle that held Yuria tightly in place.
"N-no, I just remembered my master told me to go buy soy sauce... I'd better get that done first..."
Realizing she couldn't move, Yuria's face stiffened before she forced an ingratiating smile. All the gloominess of her usual demeanor had vanished.
"Do you think that's going to work?"
Hachiman smiled at her.
Across from him, Saki Kawasaki's pressure had reached a level that was making his scalp tingle.
At this rate, even if he were going down, he might as well take someone with him!
Yuria: (╥﹏╥)
Saki Kawasaki's pressure continued to rise.
If Hachiman had only been pretending to be nervous earlier to scare Yuria, now he was genuinely panicking.
He hadn't even done anything wrong—so why was Saki giving him such a terrifying expression?
He was a spirit exorcist with power rivaling that of a demon king, yet here he was, feeling a deadly sense of danger from a regular human like Kawasaki Saki!
"Huuu..."
Just as her pressure peaked, Saki suddenly exhaled.
Instantly, the aura she'd been building up collapsed like a balloon deflating.
"Scared the hell out of me..."
Both Hachiman and Yuria breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief when they saw her expression return to normal.
"I think my part here is done. I'm heading back."
Expressionless, Saki stood up and turned to leave.
"Huh? Leaving so suddenly?"
Hachiman blocked her path and asked why she was leaving so abruptly when she hadn't shown any signs of wanting to go before.
"Because there's nothing left for me to do here. So why should I stay?"
Arms crossed, Saki asked him in return what purpose there was in her staying.
She was only helping Hachiman by finding spiritual exorcism jobs, negotiating payment, and guiding him to the location. That was all.
Now that the latest job was over, anything she did beyond that shouldn't really have anything to do with him anymore—right?
"Uh, but... aren't we friends?"
Scratching his cheek, Hachiman looked a bit awkward.
Or maybe he was just being self-indulgent? Perhaps Saki had never thought of him as a friend to begin with and only saw him as a client?
"Friends?"
Saki paused at that word.
After spending this much time with Hachiman, she was well aware of how sharp-tongued and slick he could be.
And yet, here he was, awkwardly blurting something like that to answer her.
"You idiot."
Blunt as ever, Saki didn't spare a second to consider how hard it must've been for Hachiman to say something that cheesy.
She tilted her head, her silver ponytail swaying slightly behind her.
Critical hit.
Hachiman felt like an arrow had pierced his knee—but it was his heart that hurt.
Still, Saki followed up right after:
"Even if we're friends, people don't always stick around when there's nothing going on, right?"
"So you're admitting we're friends?"
Hachiman instantly latched onto the key part of her sentence.
"Well, whatever. If you want to think that, go ahead."
Turning her face away, Saki avoided giving a direct answer, her eyes drifting toward the window.
"You two are such a pain in the ass..."
Watching them go back and forth, Yuria—who had witnessed the whole interaction from her seat—finally couldn't help but throw in a comment.
"Hmm?"
Saki's head snapped around, eyes gleaming 'kindly' at the girl who'd just opened her mouth.
"I mean, it's really great that you two confirmed your friendship! Hahaha..."