"Oh, so Hikigaya-kun wasn't the first client after all—he's actually a brand-new club member."
While the dead-fish-eyed boy slapped his own cheeks hard, trying desperately to wake himself up, Narumi Tōru smiled, poured himself some black tea, and sat down next to Yukino, completely ignoring her "→_→" stare.
"In that case, we still haven't had any requests come in yet."
"That's right. Then, as this club's assistant, Narumi-senpai, what insight do you have? Can you bring us our first request?"
"Whoa, that's asking the impossible. A college student doesn't exactly have many connections inside a high school, you know~"
In the real world, Yukinoshita Yukino did seem to have founded the Service Club as well—but Narumi hadn't known the details back then.
If it really came to it, they could always just drag in a certain teacher who wished to remain unnamed—Hiratsuka-sensei—and make the request something like 'please do your best to help me get a boyfriend.'
"If you were the same age as us, senpai, you probably wouldn't have so many problems like this."
Hikigaya Hachiman, gradually getting used to the conversational atmosphere, cautiously tried to take his first step into social interaction.
"Mm—yeah, that's true."
Narumi took a sip of his tea, studying the boy and girl sitting at the same table as him. If this weren't a simulation, they would all be the same age.
Peers attending the same school—would they ever get a chance to sit together and chat like this?
In any case, that wasn't something Narumi, who was still inside the simulation, needed to be thinking about.
The curly-haired young man reined in his wandering thoughts and shifted his gaze to the black-haired girl quietly sitting in place, a paperback open in her hands as she read intently.
The core of this vague game was her—Yukinoshita Yukino.
He couldn't help but feel curious. What kind of secrets related to this simulation was this overly upright girl still hiding?
She brushed the strands of hair hanging down back behind her ear with her fingers, revealing a side profile so delicately refined it looked almost sculpted—soft and cute.
"…?"
While Narumi was staring absentmindedly, the owner of that face seemed to notice his gaze and turned to look at him.
Narumi reacted instantly. There was no awkwardness of being caught—he simply smiled calmly and pointed at his wristwatch, never saying a word.
"..."
Yukinoshita Yukino immediately understood. Without a sound, she rummaged through her bag, took out a small white case, and swallowed the pills inside with her tea.
That scene was neatly caught by Hikigaya Hachiman, who had been carefully observing the two of them.
"Just vitamins, Hikigaya-kun. Want to try some?"
Yukino answered before he could even ask.
"N–No, I'm fine."
"Figures. Just looking at your eyes, I can tell you're not lacking in nutrients. Plenty of DHA, I'd say."
"Haha." (dry laugh)
So this is "silver-tongued" Yukinoshita.
Hikigaya tugged at the corner of his mouth. He already had a bad feeling that he wasn't going to get along well with this sharp-tongued girl.
Of course, since this was his first real conversation with Yukinoshita Yukino, he had no way of knowing—
—that she had just lied to him, without hesitation.
Before he knew it, club activities came to an end. Hikigaya quietly said goodbye to the other two, hoisted his schoolbag, and left first.
Narumi, bored, let out a yawn and looked toward Yukinoshita Yukino as she stood up and began packing her things.
"You're not going to ask why I deliberately hid my illness?"
Seeing that the curly-haired man didn't seem inclined to speak, Yukino raised the question herself.
"Given how strong-willed you are, Yukino, it's perfectly normal not to want others to know you're sick."
Narumi Tōru lazily pushed his chair back into place, his tone casual.
"But if there's ever a time when you really can't hold on, and it's inconvenient to ask others for help—come find me."
"…The way you say that, senpai, it sounds like you know me very well."
Yukino's hands paused briefly as she packed her bag, before resuming as usual.
"Well, I did date your sister, you know. Don't be fooled by how Haruno seems to constantly put pressure on you—actually, um… she really, really likes you as her little sister."
Even back when Narumi Tōru was still dating Yukinoshita Haruno, he had been deeply impressed by her extreme little-sister complex.
"In short, she talked about you all the time."
'All the time' might even be an understatement—seven or eight out of every ten sentences somehow circled back to her little sister.
For example, she'd be genuinely happy that her sister consistently ranked at the top of the grade, yet still smile and say things like, "If someone overtakes that hard-earned first place, wouldn't it be really depressing?"—remarks that subtly chipped away at confidence.
It was hard to say whether Yukinoshita Haruno's brand of teasing even counted as kindness—but it was definitely born from twisted affection.
And strangely enough, Narumi Tōru found that he could empathize with that twisted side of hers.
"…Why do I have to come up in your conversations?"
Yukinoshita Yukino pushed open the clubroom door with her back to Narumi. Her muffled voice carried a trace of irritation that clearly wasn't pleasant.
"Whatever. I don't care what kind of little sister I am in my sister's eyes anyway."
She very obviously cared a lot.
Narumi froze for a moment, then let out a snort of laughter. As he stepped out of the clubroom, he deliberately put on an air of mystery.
"Do you want to know? How Haruno describes you to me."
"I already told you—I don't care. Camera-man whose ears and brain are both broken."
"Mm~ She said you're a very earnest, hardworking, excellent little sister. Just that your personality can be a bit hard to deal with sometimes—like a house cat whose thoughts are impossible to read. Though personally, I think she's the least qualified person to say that~"
"…I really wish we could send your ears in for repairs, senpai."
Seeing Narumi start rambling on his own, Yukinoshita Yukino shook her head in visible exasperation. She was terrible at dealing with shameless people like him.
But still—
[If there's ever a time when you really can't hold on, and it's inconvenient to ask others for help—come find me.]
They weren't even that close. So why would he say something like that?
Yukinoshita Yukino lifted her head and looked at the curly-haired young man walking beside her, half a head taller than she was.
"…Making promises you can't keep damages your credibility."
After a long silence, that was all she said.
"Oh? But I always keep my promises."
Narumi Tōru smiled from start to finish, his gaze fixed on the far end of the school corridor.
"Could it be that the president of the Service Club—who grants other people's wishes—has some extraordinary wish of her own that she still hasn't fulfilled?"
"If I said yes… would you help me?"
For the first time, her cool voice sounded uncertain.
"…As the Service Club's assistant."
Not as composed as usual. Not as aloof and proud as others believed her to be.
Perhaps this person was the only one she could rely on in this 'future.'
"Yeah—if that's your request."
Narumi glanced at the girl walking beside him out of the corner of his eye and agreed without the slightest hesitation.
It had nothing to do with being Yukinoshita Haruno's ex-boyfriend, and nothing to do with being the Service Club's assistant. He simply thought it would be interesting.
And besides—if it could help this burdened girl relax, even just a little, that wouldn't be so bad either.