After their brief, unexpected encounter, Yukinoshita and Kawasaki continued their conversation as they walked down the library hallway. But the more they chatted, the more a distinct pattern emerged to Yukinoshita's sharp senses. Kawasaki Saki seemed to possess an inexplicable, deeply rooted concern and interest in her Hikigaya-kun.
Fueled by this growing suspicion, Yukinoshita decided to test the waters. She adopted a casual, almost airy tone as she posed her question. "By the way, Kawasaki-kun, if you don't mind me asking... how exactly do you view Hikigaya-kun?"
"Eh?!" Kawasaki, who had been about to take her leave, visibly stiffened. She quickly turned her head, a faint blush already dusting her cheeks. "W-why are you asking me something like that all of a sudden?" she stammered.
Yukinoshita let out a soft, practiced sigh of helplessness. "Oh, it was just a casual thought. It's just that Hikigaya-kun often does things that are... well, incomprehensible to ordinary people. It's quite a headache, really." She shook her head mournfully. "This, unfortunately, makes his social relationships rather strained. I was just worried that you might have been negatively affected by his eccentricities."
"Uh..." Kawasaki paused, collecting her thoughts before shaking her head. "Hikigaya-kun is... he's definitely a strange person, that's true. But even though he's strange, I believe he must have his own reasons for the things he does. He... he's actually a very kind person deep down. Hmm... I... I even admire that part of him a little..."
As she spoke, Yukinoshita's sharp eyes didn't miss a thing: the hesitation in Kawasaki's voice, the slight nervous tremor, the way her gaze darted away.
"I see. That's a relief to hear," Yukinoshita replied, a warm, knowing smile gracing her lips.
Seemingly realizing how her words might have sounded, Kawasaki's pretty face flushed a deeper shade of pink. She quickly waved her hands in a frantic, dismissive motion. "Y-Yukinoshita-san, please don't misunderstand! I... I don't have those kinds of feelings for Hikigaya-kun at all! I just simply think he's a good person! Really! On the contrary, you two are a perfect match! So please, please don't get the wrong idea!" To emphasize her point, she repeated her denial, her voice firm with a hint of flustered panic.
"Why would I ever misunderstand you, Kawasaki-kun?" Yukinoshita smiled and shook her head gently. She then looked at the other girl with a gaze of sincere appreciation. "It is Hikigaya-kun's great fortune to have a friend like you. I am genuinely happy for him."
"Eh? Fr-friend?" Kawasaki hesitated upon hearing the word, her voice growing quiet. "He and I... we aren't really friends. We're just classmates, at most. I'm sure that's how Hikigaya-kun sees it too..."
"No," Yukinoshita interjected, her expression turning uncharacteristically serious and decisive. "If I say that Hikigaya-kun considers you a friend, then he does. He truly does see you as a friend."
"Eh, well, I... oh, okay..." Kawasaki's expression became evasive, unable to hold Yukinoshita's intense gaze. "A-anyway, I should get back to studying now. I... I'll keep an eye on Hikigaya-kun for you, to make sure he doesn't get too... intimate with any other girls."
"Thank you, Kawasaki-kun."
"There's no need to thank me. We're... we're all friends, after all."
With that, Kawasaki offered a hurried bow and practically scurried away toward her study group.
A brilliant, utterly triumphant smile spread across Yukinoshita's face.
As I thought. I wasn't wrong. This girl, Kawasaki... she really is a good person.
A new, devious thought began to form. If the opportunity presents itself... I wouldn't mind letting Hikigaya-kun have a little 'friendly interaction' with her. After all, judging by her tone and demeanor, it's obvious she holds quite a favorable impression of my Hikigaya-kun, doesn't she?
"Alas, Hikigaya-kun, you're really quite the popular one, aren't you?" Yukinoshita sighed with a strange mix of pride and exasperation. Her attention then drifted back to the women's restroom door not far behind her. She found another relatively secluded spot behind a large potted plant and resumed her covert observation.
Why haven't Kasumigaoka-senpai and Hikigaya-kun come out yet? Just how long are those two planning to stay in the women's restroom?
Honestly, it was sheer luck that only Kawasaki had come by earlier. If any other women had decided to use the restroom, she would have been in a panic trying to discreetly ward them off.
Yukinoshita let out a sigh laden with helpless irony. She couldn't help but internally complain about the sheer absurdity of her situation. Here I am, the actual girlfriend, playing lookout while my boyfriend is holed up in a bathroom with another woman, and my primary job is to make sure they aren't disturbed. This has to be the strangest, most twisted scenario imaginable.
And just as Yukinoshita was settling into her miserable vigil, the System's voice chimed in her mind, delivering a series of devastating blows.
[Ding! Kasumigaoka Utaha is confessing her feelings to Hikigaya Hachiman, tenderly cupping his face with both hands. System Points +60.]
[Ding! Kasumigaoka Utaha forcibly kissed the constantly resisting Hikigaya Hachiman. System Points +200.]
[Ding! ...]
The moment the word "confessing" registered, Yukinoshita's mind went completely blank.
"??"
Wait!
What is that noise?! Confession?!
Her heart plummeted. The steadily increasing point counter brought her no joy whatsoever, only a cold, gripping dread.
Kasumigaoka-senpai! Just because you shared one forced kiss, are you now trying to claim Hikigaya-kun for yourself?! How could that be possible! You're the aloof, untouchable genius novelist! This isn't like you at all!
[Ding! There has been a change in Hikigaya Hachiman's Depravity Value.]
[Current Depravity Value: 15 / 100]
"...Huh? Ah?!"
Hearing that the Depravity Value had risen again, any semblance of calm Yukinoshita had left completely shattered.
Kasumigaoka-senpai is forcing herself on him. Hikigaya-kun is sinking deeper into depravity. In this terrible, coercive situation... Hikigaya-kun, you wouldn't... you couldn't possibly... agree to her confession, would you?!
NO WAY!!!
Yukinoshita was gripped by a frantic, all-consuming anxiety. Her legs trembled beneath her, and every instinct screamed at her to charge into the women's restroom and stop this worst-case scenario from unfolding. But a sliver of cold reason held her back. If I rush in now and expose everything, I'll become the ultimate clown—the jealous girlfriend who couldn't even trust her own boyfriend.
"No... don't be tempted by her, Hikigaya-kun... don't... please, I'm begging you, don't..." she whispered to herself, a desperate, silent prayer falling from her lips.
A few agonizing minutes later, the System's voice returned.
[After detection... Hikigaya Hachiman forcefully pushed away Kasumigaoka Utaha's body, rejecting the confession of potential target Kasumigaoka Utaha.]
Eh!
Yukinoshita, who had been a tangled mess of worry and despair, felt her entire world brighten in an instant. A wave of overwhelming relief washed over her, and a tearful smile broke through her strained expression.
Waa! I was so scared! I really thought Hikigaya-kun had agreed!
I knew it! I knew Hikigaya-kun has incredible willpower! How could he be so easily tempted by Kasumigaoka-senpai! Hikigaya-kun... he only loves me, right?
However... just as Yukinoshita was basking in this hard-won victory and relief, the System's voice rang out again, its tone chillingly clinical.
[Detection complete. Because Hikigaya Hachiman rejected the confession of potential target Kasumigaoka Utaha, it caused the potential target's emotional state to drop to an extreme low, triggering a mandatory mission: Husband Delivery.]
[Mandatory Mission: Husband Delivery]
[Objective: To stabilize the emotions of potential target Kasumigaoka Utaha and ensure the host's future point income stream is not permanently severed, the host must arrange for Hikigaya Hachiman to 'comfort' Kasumigaoka Utaha. This comfort must involve sharing a bed for the night. Failure will result in a deduction of 10,000 points.]
[Time Limit: This week.]
[Reward: 1000 points, Lottery Ticket x1.]
"? ? ?"
Yukinoshita, who had been moments away from pure elation, froze solid. As the details of the mandatory mission fully registered, her expression underwent a dramatic transformation, shifting from relief to sheer, unadulterated horror.
Hikigaya-kun rejected her confession... and now you want me, his official girlfriend, to deliver him to her? To have him 'comfort' her... in bed?! And they have to share a room before the week is out?!
SYSTEM! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! HAVE YOU GONE COMPLETELY MAD?!
Yukinoshita felt like she was about to cough up a mouthful of blood, the sheer absurdity and injustice of the demand striking her with physical force.