Chapter 108: The Morning Everyone Can't Sleep
"It's over..."
The system's notification sound for a successful kill echoed in his ears.
Hachiman Hikigaya looked down at the small pile of ashes on the ground and showed a slight smile on his face.
Should he say it was worthy of himself? He actually thought of having Isshiki Iroha change the environment of her dream within the dream—and succeeded!
"Well, then it's time to go back..." Turning his head to look at Isshiki Iroha sleeping soundly on the playground, Hachiman spoke quietly. Then he severed the mental link between them and exited her dream.
In his bedroom, Hachiman Hikigaya slowly opened his eyes. Tonight, a rare crescent moon hung in the sky, and the pure white moonlight sifted through the window, casting mottled light across the room, illuminating the entire bedroom.
Looking at Isshiki Iroha, who had completely rolled out of her covers on the bed, Hachiman remained silent for a moment before walking over and covering her back with the blanket again.
The evil spirit had been expelled, so she should be able to sleep well tonight.
"Good night, sweet dreams..." After offering his blessing, Hachiman opened the window to leave. But just as he was about to go, his body slightly froze. Did he forget something?
Turning his head to look at the sleeping Isshiki Iroha, Hachiman frowned. Before he could recall carefully, a noise suddenly came from the neighboring house.
Hearing the sound, Hachiman immediately used a stealth skill to vanish from sight. Then he swiftly jumped down the stairs and sped along the street back to his own house.
At the exact moment Hachiman left, the peaceful expression on Isshiki Iroha's sleeping face suddenly twisted into one of pain. "Ugh, I'm never going to the playground again!"
.
.
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The next morning. After the alarm on his phone rang for half a minute, Hachiman finally struggled to lift his head off the desk.
"That was terrifying..." Looking at the manuscript he had used as a pillow on the desk, Hachiman rubbed his throbbing head and gave his best friend Zaimokuza's work his final judgment.
After tidying up the scattered papers and putting them in his bag, Hachiman changed from pajamas into his school uniform and pushed the door open to go downstairs.
"Good morning, Onii-chan..." Hachiman felt, perhaps mistakenly, that Komachi seemed a little low on energy this morning.
"Didn't sleep well last night?" Seeing Komachi suddenly yawn, Hachiman frowned. He didn't mind if he himself had stayed up late and slept poorly, but he didn't want Komachi to be exhausted.
"No, it's just a yawn." Hearing Hachiman's question, Komachi quickly perked up and showed a look of being well-rested.
"Is that so?" Hachiman was very skeptical about Komachi's words, but he didn't press further.
After reminding her to take care of herself, he went to the bathroom to freshen up.
When Hachiman came out of the bathroom again, Komachi had already left for school.
After finishing the breakfast left for him at the table, Hachiman grabbed his bag and left the house. Because he left early, there were very few pedestrians on the street.
Hachiman rode his bicycle against the breeze, heading toward Sobu High School. When he passed a familiar intersection, he slowed down and carefully crossed it.
"Not here today?" Looking back at the intersection he just passed, Hachiman felt a strange sensation rising in his heart. He shook his head to dispel the odd feeling and continued toward school.
At the entrance of Sobu High School, following regulations, Hachiman got off his bike and pushed it to enter the school.
At that moment, a black luxury car slowly stopped beside him. As the car door opened, Yukinoshita Yukino's cold and composed face appeared before Hachiman.
"Good morning, Hikigaya-san." Yukino hadn't expected to meet Hachiman the moment she was about to get out of the car. After a brief moment of surprise, she took the initiative to greet him.
"Good morning, Yukinoshita-san. You look quite tired." Hachiman responded politely but immediately noticed the undeniable fatigue on Yukino's face.
Thinking of the culprit who kept him awake last night, a flicker of understanding crossed Hachiman's face.
Then, feigning ignorance, he asked about Yukino's rest.
"Didn't you also have a bad night's sleep, Hikigaya-san?" Noticing the smug tone in Hachiman's voice, Yukino raised an eyebrow and noticed the dark circles under his eyes too.
"But it doesn't affect my efficiency in class!" Hachiman immediately rebutted.
Compared to Yukino as a female, he naturally had a physical advantage. Plus, thanks to his spiritual power, surviving morning classes and waiting for lunch to catch up on sleep was totally doable.
"Is that so? If Hikigaya-san doesn't sleep in class, then as an honor student, I naturally wouldn't either." "And besides..."
Yukino paused here. She crossed her arms and propped her chin on one hand, looking down on Hachiman with a superior expression.
"If I'm not mistaken, most of your morning classes are science courses, right?" "As someone who is first in the entire grade in both humanities and sciences, while I cannot understand the difficulty of studying high school sciences, I imagine just focusing on listening must be very hard for you, Hikigaya-san?"
Ugh, this woman... Seeing Yukino use his science grades against him, Hachiman felt annoyed.
But unfortunately, with his poor science grades, he couldn't refute her.
"Hey, Yukinon, why are you two standing at the school gate instead of going in?" Just as Hachiman was in trouble, Yui Yuigahama's voice suddenly appeared beside them.
Upon hearing Yui's voice, the two who had been exchanging hostile looks quickly turned around to look at her. The difference was that Yukino's eyes showed a hint of regret, while Hachiman was moved to tears with excitement.
"Hikki, your gaze is disgusting!"
Yui greeted them while quickly running toward the school gate. As she got closer, she noticed the unusual excitement in Hachiman's eyes and was so startled that goosebumps rose on her skin.
She quickly hid behind Yukino.
At this moment, Hachiman noticed a difference between Yui and himself and Yukino.
"Yuigahama-san, why aren't you tired at all?"