Chapter 291: Sorry for Saying Strange Things
"Thank you..."
Hearing Miko Yotsuya's outpouring of true feelings, a sincere smile appeared on Hikigaya Hachiman's face. He knew that everything Miko just said was the truth.
But precisely because of that, he didn't know how to choose. After all, if a girl has sincerely entrusted her heart to him, the response should be something of equal weight.
And yet...
The faces of Yukinoshita Yukino and Yuigahama Yui flashed through his mind, and a trace of struggle appeared on Hachiman's face. What should he do? So much time had passed since his conversation with Key, yet he still hadn't made a decision.
"I'm actually nothing like Senpai, am I?"
After all, if it were Key, he would never hesitate for this long; he would have made a decision early on and turned his thoughts into action. By comparison, Hachiman felt he was simply pathetic.
"So, did Hikigaya-kun suddenly say these things because he intends for me to give up hope?"
Hachiman's thanks did not make Miko happy.
On the contrary, an uneasy feeling grew in her heart. This scene, this dialogue... it was exactly like the situations in the novels she read in her spare time, where the protagonist faces the "losing heroine" supporting character.
But it was strange. She wasn't blonde, she wasn't a tsundere, and she wasn't a childhood friend Hachiman had known since they were kids. Their acquaintance was a "super-development" born from a crisis with evil spirits. If reality were a novel, her role should clearly be the main heroine—so why were things turning out like this?
"That's not it. It's just that I'm feeling a little lost..."
Hachiman shook his head gently, denying Miko's suspicion. Although on a typical day he and Miko didn't seem to have much interaction besides dealing with evil spirits, their unshakeable rooftop lunch meetings every noon had long since become a part of his life.
Without realizing it, Miko's gentle and refined image had been engraved into his heart. Giving up on Miko Yotsuya would be no different from carving his heart out while still alive.
"Lost?"
Hearing that Hachiman wasn't doing what she feared, Miko breathed a small sigh of relief. She repeated his words in her mind, and after a moment's thought, she understood what Hachiman was agonizing over.
"Is it because of Yukinoshita-san and Yuigahama-san?"
Although framed as a question, Miko's tone was certain that these two were the source of Hachiman's irritation. No, perhaps... she should be added to that list? The three of them together were the reason Hachiman felt lost.
"So you knew about them..."
Hachiman wasn't surprised that Miko knew of Yukinoshita Yukino and Yuigahama Yui. Yukinoshita Yukino was a star figure at Sobu High; even someone as marginalized as he used to be knew her, so there was no reason Miko wouldn't. As for Yuigahama Yui, as a follower of the girl dubbed the "Queen" of Sobu High, Miura Yumiko, Miko had likely heard of her as well.
"After all, Hikigaya-kun goes to the Service Club every afternoon."
As Miko spoke, her eyes held a trace of complexity as she looked at Hachiman. With her at noon, and with two other girls in the afternoon. She should have known what that implied a long time ago.
"Since you say you're lost, it means you haven't made a decision yet. Have you thought of a solution, Hikigaya-kun?"
The matters Miko had deliberately tried to forget were now being actively brought to the surface. Hachiman's gaze subconsciously drifted to the side, only to realize that under Miko's lead, they had unknowingly walked onto a secluded road.
"A solution?"
The method Key had given him quickly surfaced in his mind, but Hachiman shook his head. It was impossible—a harem or something like that... From the moment he heard the method and still hesitated, that path was already closed!
"Are you planning to pick one out of the three? If that's the case, I'd like to nominate myself!"
Seeing the conflicted look on Hachiman's face, Miko "self-recommended" in a half-joking manner. After all, if Hachiman chose her, he would only have to endure the pain of breaking off feelings with others once. But if he chose between the other two...
"The pain of two breakups—can you really endure that?" Miko asked seriously, looking at Hachiman's profile.
"......"
Hachiman kept his head down and did not respond. Indeed, as Miko said, if it were for the sake of avoidance, choosing Miko would undoubtedly be the method with the least "loss."
But! Can feelings really be measured like that? If things have reached the point where one needs to weigh gains and losses, can those feelings still be called feelings?
And most importantly...
'Do I really like them?'
Gazing at the hidden expectation in Miko's eyes, Hachiman asked himself. In all his years of living, the only affection he was certain of was the familial love he received from Komachi. When facing female friends, he couldn't distinguish the blurred line between friendship and love at all. Perhaps all three girls had feelings for him, but what was his actual attitude toward the three of them?
Was it love? Or was it simply a response made so as not to betray their emotions?
"You can't make a choice?"
Seeing that Hachiman didn't answer, Miko's eyes revealed disappointment mixed with a small flicker of joy.
The disappointment was, naturally, because Hachiman hadn't given her a clear answer.
The joy was because this situation proved that there was a place for her in Hachiman's heart; she wasn't suffering from unrequited love!
'At least it's much better than before when there was no hope at all, isn't it?'
Miko kept comforting herself.
Compared to the past when Hachiman would have rejected her outright, her current situation was much improved. But what should she do next? Was she supposed to stage a real-life "palace drama" in front of Hachiman against the other two to kick them out of his heart?
"Sorry, I said some strange things earlier. Right now, I can't give you a definite response..."
Talking to Miko in the first place had been a mistake; Hachiman was certain of that now. He hadn't even made up his own mind, yet he had recklessly said those things to her.
He really was quite pathetic.
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