Hikigaya took an application form from his bag and handed it to Ichinose and the others.
"This is a new club I'm establishing. I need to recruit two official members. If possible, could you sign this? Usually, you'd just need to be 'ghost members,' so it won't affect your personal lives."
Come to think of it, he had no reason to treat them to a meal. Asking for a signature to be a ghost member was a fair trade, right?
"Eh?" Ichinose said apologetically. "I'm sorry, Hikigaya-kun. Although I haven't been accepted by the Student Council yet, I still really want to join them."
"Is that so? Then it can't be helped." Hikigaya nodded indifferently and looked at Kanzaki. The "Wool-Pulling Club" (薅羊毛部) was trivial; if he could fleece the school, great—if not, forget it.
Looking at the application, Kanzaki gradually began to frown.
"This is a scam, isn't it?"
Ichinose picked up the application and looked at it, eventually saying with a helpless expression: "Hikigaya-kun, having thoughts of scamming like this isn't good."
The nature of it was bad. It was essentially a plan to crazily fleece the "Advanced Nurturing" school.
"No one is getting hurt, so it shouldn't matter, right?" Hikigaya was somewhat speechless and quickly added, "Even the Commander... Senior Horikita approved it, so you don't need to worry." He had expected to be rejected, but not for this reason. These two were a bit too upright.
"It's President Horikita..." Ichinose reminded him kindly.
So that was the Commander's name. Actually, he remembered it. He really did.
"By the way," Kanzaki said, looking up with curiosity, "What is your full name?"
"Hikigaya. Don't you already know?"
"No, I just heard Hoshinomiya-sensei call your name at the start of school and managed to remember it, but I don't know your full name."
Wait, really? He remembered just from that? Hero Kanzaki was unexpectedly excellent.
"Oh, Hikigaya's given name is Hachiman," Ichinose explained with a radiant smile.
Hikigaya was shocked. He looked at her in surprise, remembering that he hadn't revealed his full name anywhere. While Kanzaki remembered from the start of school, was Ichinose a psychic?
"Don't be so surprised," Ichinose said shyly. "Actually, I found out by asking Hoshinomiya-sensei."
"Also, Hikigaya, you haven't joined the class group yet. What's your LINE?"
LINE seemed to be a chat app. He had heard Komachi mention it; it had been popular for a while.
"Actually, I've never used that thing," Hikigaya said sheepishly. He just didn't have friends to use it with; he mostly used SMS to contact family.
"Hmm?" Ichinose and Kanzaki were stunned. What kind of caveman was this?
"Then let's register one now," Ichinose said with a smile. "We're all in the same class; it'll be more convenient for notifications in the future."
"Ah, okay." Hikigaya took out his student ID card and began to operate the phone. In this school, a class group was probably a necessity. In his view, while joining wasn't necessary, there was no reason to refuse either. If he didn't like it, he could just ignore it. He heard there was a "do not disturb" feature; he'd turn that on as soon as he got back.
However, modern apps were far too complicated. Like a girl's closet full of shoes—what was the point of all of them? Hikigaya broke into a cold sweat while operating the phone. Hopefully, he wasn't keeping them waiting too long. Was he the only one who felt this way?
Seeing his predicament, Ichinose stood up and came to his side.
Fortunately, Ichinose seemed to be someone who mastered social distancing; she was neither too close nor too far, making it comfortable and not awkward.
"The second one, just click 'download' next to it," Ichinose said softly. The school phones didn't come with pre-installed software; everything had to be downloaded based on needs, which left him unable to find anything. If he had bought a phone outside, it wouldn't be this troublesome.
After Hikigaya downloaded it, he fell into trouble again. The school's LINE and various apps seemed to be specific versions for "Advanced Nurturing," different from general software.
Kanzaki drank his coffee while observing the scene. Lacking communication skills, lacking common sense, bad personality, petty, and inconsiderate enough to order food without asking... He truly couldn't figure out why such a man was recognized by Horikita Manabu.
"Do you need my help?" Ichinose asked directly. This kind of directness was much better than mockery. Step-by-step guidance would only increase pressure and make one feel incompetent; this way was more comfortable.
"I'll leave it to you." Hikigaya handed the phone over without hesitation. Under his gaze, Ichinose's slender fingers flew across the screen, and she soon returned it.
"Now you've joined the class group. You can try saying hello to everyone. Also, I added myself as a friend and added my contact info. If you have any problems, feel free to contact me anytime."
Absolutely not. If he said hello and the lively class group suddenly went silent, what then? Hikigaya silently rejected the idea while looking at the growing number of unread red dots on the chat interface.
"Yeah, thanks." Hikigaya quickly looked up at Kanzaki to change the subject: "So, how about it?" Though it was a vague question, he believed "Hero Kanzaki" would understand.
"Ah?" Kanzaki nodded slightly. "If it's just being a ghost member, I don't have any objections." With that, Kanzaki took a pen from his bag and signed his name on the application.
What an excellent, good person~! Despite his cold face, he was much more likable than the "normie" Shibata.
Ichinose seemed to have something to say, but after a glance, she didn't speak. She simply turned her pasta set toward her and sat quietly beside him. Additionally, at Kanzaki's suggestion, the two exchanged contact information again. Suddenly having two friends was something unimaginable in middle school. Yet for some reason, Hikigaya felt like his phone was burning his hand.
The three of them chatted while eating their pasta sets. Hikigaya asked nonchalantly, "Wasn't there something else to discuss?"
"That's right!" Kanzaki, sitting opposite him, nodded. Switching to serious business, his expression became solemn. "Based on your deduction, the future will be a competition between classes. Only those in Class A will have the opportunity for free career choice."
"In that case, Private Points will inevitably be a powerful weapon. The more Private Points we have, the better."
"However, from my observation, while some people aren't being extravagant, their spending isn't rational."
"So, I want to save the class's Private Points and let Ichinose manage them collectively, allocating 30,000 points for living expenses each month. What do you think?"
Hikigaya was utterly stunned. How did they even dare to think of this?