Chapter 285: The Morning Doorbell
If you were to ask what the most beautiful days in the world are, for a student, the answer would naturally be "holidays."
After helping Isshiki Iroha return to the football club and passing over a month in peace, Hikigaya Hachiman successfully welcomed the second summer break of his high school career.
"Onii-chan, you've completely turned into a degenerate..."
Early in the morning, as Komachi walked down the stairs while yawning, she discovered that Hachiman had already occupied a corner of the sofa, lying on it with an air of profound laziness. Unable to bear his slack behavior any longer, Komachi couldn't help but speak up.
"Rare holidays are meant to be used for resting..."
Hachiman shifted his body slightly on the sofa and defended himself in a weak, listless tone.
Ever since the Ghost King of Chiba was eliminated, the evil spirits causing trouble in Chiba had begun to disappear in large numbers. Furthermore, he had subsequently signed a cooperation treaty with the Inari God. Thanks to the Inari foxes patrolling every corner of Chiba City at night, he was now completely unemployed.
"I finished all the summer homework assigned by the teachers on the third day after coming home. What else am I supposed to do with the remaining time if not rest?"
His reason for slacking was perfectly logical. Having occupied the moral high ground, Hachiman didn't feel the slightest bit of shame for having evolved into a complete "salted fish."
"Ugh, Komachi actually can't find a single reason to refute that..."
"So, that's why you should let me have a good rest this summer break..."
Seeing that he had successfully persuaded his sister, Hachiman let out a yawn and continued to lie there watching TV.
However, peaceful times are destined to be short-lived.
Just as Komachi was being influenced by the lazy atmosphere emanating from Hachiman and was about to fall into degeneracy herself, the sharp ring of the doorbell suddenly echoed from the entrance.
"Komachi..."
Hearing the doorbell, Hachiman looked up curiously. It was truly a strange thing for someone to visit his house at this hour.
He tried to push himself up from the sofa to open the door, but the sofa cushions seemed to possess a massive suction force, making it impossible for him to break free. In his
helplessness, Hachiman turned to look at Komachi, who was sitting next to him watching TV, hoping she would go check who the visitor was.
Evidently, Komachi had a better way of "opening" the door.
Thump!
A smooth, white little foot kicked Hachiman directly in the rear. With just one kick, Hachiman, who had been firmly stuck to the sofa, was sent flying onto the floor.
"You're way too lazy!"
Komachi looked at Hachiman with an expression of disappointment, as if he were a piece of "rotten wood that cannot be carved," simply because he wanted to slack off on walking a few measly steps. Ever since the well-behaved and sensible Sakura joined the family, this guy had become increasingly lazy!
"If this continues, Onii-chan, you will definitely turn into a degenerate with zero survival skills! To prevent such a terrible situation, hurry up and open the door..."
As Komachi lectured him, she took over his spot on the sofa, lying down exactly where he had been.
"...You're pretty much the same, aren't you?"
Watching Komachi occupy his former position and squint her eyes in comfort, several black lines appeared on Hachiman's forehead. She called him a degenerate, but in reality, since Sakura became part of the family, she had also been gradually becoming lazier, hadn't she?
If this trend continued, once Sakura grew up a bit more and took complete control of the household chores, would this pair of siblings become total "trash humans"?
"That's not possible, right?"
Hachiman muttered to himself as he crawled up from the floor and walked to the entrance. He peered through the peephole. What greeted his eyes was a small face topped with snow-white long hair—though that face was currently slightly distorted due to the long wait.
"Illya?"
Unconsciously uttering the girl's name, Hachiman stepped back and opened the door, wondering why she was at his house.
"So slow!"
The moment Hachiman's figure appeared in Illya's sight, she crossed her arms over her chest and complained in dissatisfaction.
"Ah, sorry, I was doing something..."
Scratching his cheek, Hachiman casually made up an excuse for the delay. He looked past Illya into the empty space behind her.
"No need to look! Mama isn't here today; I came by myself!"
Saying this, Illya squeezed past Hachiman and made herself at home, slipping into his house.
"Where's Sakura?"
Standing in the entrance hallway, Illya took out her "exclusive guest slippers" from the shoe rack. As she changed into them, she looked toward the living room with an expectant gaze. To her disappointment, however, Sakura had not appeared once since the doorbell rang.
"Sakura is still sleeping~"
Hachiman didn't get angry at Illya's haughty way of speaking. After all, the reason she turned out this way could be traced back to the fact that he, Komachi, Sakura, and Irisviel had spoiled her.
It was quite strange. Strictly speaking, Illya was older than Sakura, and logically, she should have taken on the responsibility of an older sister caring for her younger sister. Yet, the reality over the past month was that Illya treated the slightly shorter Sakura as her mainstay, showing none of the maturity expected of an elder.
"Eh? It's already past nine; why is Sakura still sleeping?"
Hearing that the usually early-rising Sakura was still in bed, Illya was genuinely shocked.
"Who do you think is responsible for that?"
Seeing Illya's surprised expression, a trace of helplessness appeared on Hachiman's face. If it weren't for someone's request to stay up late playing video games until past three in the morning, the three members of the Hikigaya household wouldn't be this sluggish so early in the day.
"Well... that..."
Noticing the look in Hachiman's eyes, Illya's brain—which was a bit slow due to the late night—finally realized that she was the culprit behind Sakura still being in bed.
She turned her head away, her eyes darting across the walls. Illya sped up her shoe-changing process and jumped into the hallway, rushing toward the living room to escape the topic.
However, just as she started to run, Hachiman grabbed her by the collar and lifted her into the air.
"This again! Let me go!"
The familiar sensation of her feet leaving the ground returned. Flushed with both embarrassment and anger, Illya began to flail her arms and legs, waving her tiny fists and threatening Hachiman to put her down.
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