Chapter 284: The Agreement Expires After the Confession
"Who knows?"
Yukinoshita Yukino stood beside Yuigahama Yui, letting the latter cling to her arm. Upon hearing Yuigahama's murmur of doubt, she cast a meaningful glance at Hikigaya Hachiman.
In response, Hikigaya Hachiman simply shrugged. Regarding why Tobe Kakeru didn't go to the infirmary immediately after getting injured—that was an answer he wanted to know himself.
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In a nearly deserted corridor of the activity building after school, Isshiki Iroha was staring at Hikigaya Hachiman with a look of utter bewilderment.
"Um, sorry... could you repeat what you just said?"
She blinked several times. Because she strongly suspected she was hallucinating, Isshiki requested that Hachiman say it one more time.
"Because I won the match against Hayama Hayato, you can return to the football club."
Looking at Isshiki, whose mouth was slightly agape in surprise, Hachiman confirmed she wasn't trying to pull a prank but was genuinely too shocked to hear him clearly. He repeated his statement.
"Senpai went and played a match against Hayama-senpai for my sake?!"
Even though she had heard it once, hearing Hachiman confirm it again felt like a dream to Isshiki.
"It was more of a 'by the way' thing?" Hachiman scratched his cheek awkwardly. After all, since he had only remembered his promise to her because he happened to see Hayama Hayato, he felt too embarrassed to say that to her face.
"Eh, just a 'by the way' thing... And here I thought..." Hearing that her matter was just an afterthought, Isshiki immediately pouted in dissatisfaction.
However, the moment she thought about Hachiman successfully getting her back into the football club, her annoyance vanished. She put her hands behind her back and paced lightly over to him, staring at him with a beaming smile.
"Alright, stay still. I'm going to remove the suggestion that stops you from going to the field."
Looking at Isshiki fluttering around him, Hachiman reached out and placed a finger on the center of her forehead. He then began to use the magecraft he had learned in the other world to dispel the mental suggestion ingrained in her heart.
A few seconds later, Hachiman withdrew his hand. Isshiki tilted her head back.
"That's it? It's over?"
There was none of the "shattering of shackles" feeling she had imagined. Having sensed nothing at all, Isshiki looked at Hachiman with doubt.
"What else did you expect? It was just removing a suggestion..." Hachiman rolled his eyes at her.
Magecraft, by its very nature, was meant to be activated without the enemy noticing. Furthermore, Isshiki was just an ordinary person; if even she could clearly perceive the entire process of a suggestion being dispelled, things would be quite serious indeed.
"Oh, oh, that makes sense..."
Isshiki tapped her head, performing a bit of malicious "moe-style" acting before nodding in agreement with Hachiman's words. Then, she raised a new question.
"Why did Senpai help me get back into the football club, though?"
Previously on the train, the condition Hachiman had agreed to was to help her pursue Hayama Hayato. Yet now, Hachiman had removed the suggestion and paved the way for her return to the club...
"Could it be that Senpai feels helping me get Hayama-senpai is too unrealistic, so you're using this as a way to compensate me?"
"How is that possible?"
Hachiman instinctively wanted to give Isshiki a "hand-knife" strike to the head, but fortunately, he reacted in time. His palm stopped just a few centimeters above her crown.
Seeing Isshiki instinctively drop into a defensive "head-shield" squat, Hachiman awkwardly retracted his hand. After a few coughs, he explained the reason he helped her return to the club.
"If you return to the football club, your opportunities to meet and interact with Hayama Hayato will increase significantly."
"I see!"
Hearing his explanation, Isshiki nodded in realization. However, if one looked closely, they would see her brow furrow slightly at the mention of Hayama's name. She didn't seem to care about Hayama Hayato nearly as much as Hachiman thought...
"So, what's Senpai's follow-up plan?"
Leaning against the corridor window, Isshiki glanced at the sports field below the teaching building. She turned back to Hachiman and asked about the next phase of his plan to help her pursue Hayama.
"After this, I will tell you the hobbies and interests I've gathered about Hayama, and then create opportunities for the two of you to be alone..."
Hachiman began to explain his plan in detail. However, he was only halfway through when Isshiki interrupted him.
"Alright, since Senpai has already planned it out, I'll leave it to you~"
"Don't be too optimistic. I can only play a supporting role. I can't guarantee whether your confession will be successful in the end."
"Regarding that, I'm actually very confident!" Isshiki said with a chest-full of pride, patting her modest "little hills."
While she couldn't predict other things, she could certainly guarantee what the final result would be!
"Confidence is good, but if you're too confident and Hayama rejects you in the end, don't come crying to me." Looking at her self-assurance, Hachiman was astonished that she dared to make such a bold claim. To prevent her from coming to him to wail about a failed confession in the future, Hachiman decided to give her a "preventative shot" in advance.
"I won't cry!" Isshiki puffed out her cheeks in annoyance at the completely mistaken Hachiman. However, he had provided her with a new line of thought...
"If... I mean, if..."
She paused for a moment. With a hint of trepidation and shyness in her heart, she looked up at Hachiman standing before her and asked, "What if the confession fails? Will Senpai comfort me?"
"No!"
Hachiman didn't hesitate for a second. His merciless words were like steel needles, instantly piercing Isshiki's maidenly heart.
"How heartless!"
"That's only natural, isn't it?"
Because he was certain the sadness on Isshiki's face was fake, Hachiman didn't pay it much mind and continued on his own.
"Our agreement is strictly limited to the time before the confession. Once you confess, regardless of whether Hayama Hayato accepts or not, the agreement is null and void..."
In other words, once Isshiki confessed to Hayama, no matter what happened next, it would have nothing to do with Hikigaya Hachiman. He had absolutely no reason—and no obligation—to comfort a lovelorn Isshiki Iroha.
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