Chapter 113: Iroha Isshiki's Thank-You Gift
"Then why don't you write your novel more seriously!?"
Hikigaya Hachiman covered his face with his hand.
"It's just that once inspiration hits, I get so excited that I can't stop writing…"
Zaimokuza wasn't bothered at all by Hikigaya's criticism.
For him, writing novels was primarily a way to record the strange worlds in his head. Publishing them, gaining popularity, winning awards, and marrying a voice actress came only afterward.
"Well, anyway, after getting your feedback, I'll go back and revise it properly."
Adjusting the thick glasses on the bridge of his nose, Zaimokuza replied with unusual seriousness.
"Oh, is that so? Then I'll look forward to your novel winning an award."
A very half-hearted response.
Zaimokuza, however, wasn't bothered. In fact, it was precisely because they were close friends that Hikigaya gave him such a flippant reply.
On the contrary, if Hikigaya had said something polite and encouraging, Zaimokuza would've been truly heartbroken.
With that conversation, the request was fully wrapped up.
After saying goodbye to Zaimokuza and returning the key to the Service Club room to the office, Hikigaya headed down the corridor toward the bike parking area.
"Ugh… I really want to go over there, but I'm scared…"
Suddenly, a murmuring female voice reached his ears — and it was one he recognized very well.
Looking around, Hikigaya exited the corridor and walked over to the flower bed at the edge of the field. Looking down, he saw—
Isshiki Iroha was squatting beneath the flower bed, gazing longingly at the boys playing soccer on the field, her face filled with conflict.
Noticing a shadow fall over her, Isshiki looked up.
"Ah, senpai, good afternoon~"
"Afternoon."
Expressionless, Hikigaya nodded, then looked toward the soccer club members, who were wrapping up their practice.
"As the manager of the soccer club, shouldn't you be going over to bring them water today?"
"I can't go over there…"
Isshiki immediately looked troubled by Hikigaya's question.
She didn't know why, but ever since waking up that morning, she'd been having a stress reaction to the soccer field.
Just hearing the word "field" or stepping into its area made her feel nauseous and queasy...
"Senpai, do you think this is a side effect of last night's exorcism?"
Isshiki didn't suspect Hikigaya at all — she laid the blame squarely on the evil spirit from her dream.
After all, once she was knocked out in the dream, she had no memory of what happened afterward…
"Probably…"
Hikigaya looked up guiltily.
Yeah, there was no way he was ever going to tell her that he had her relive a looping soccer field nightmare inside her dream.
Nope. Never!
"Oh, by the way, senpai, did you get my thank-you gift?"
Still gazing at the field, Isshiki didn't notice the shift in Hikigaya's expression.
After venting her concerns, she immediately brought up another topic.
"Thank-you gift?"
"Yeah. You saved me once on the train before, and then again last night. So to show my gratitude, I made you a gift."
"Oh, that's right! You came to school earlier than me today, didn't you?"
Isshiki clapped her hands as if realizing something.
When she went to put the gift in Hikigaya's shoe locker this morning, he had already entered the school building.
No wonder he looked so confused now...
"So what weird thing did you put in my locker?"
At that moment, Hikigaya's heart skipped a beat when he heard she had placed something in his shoe locker.
"That's such a rude way of putting it, senpai…"
Seeing the wary look on his face, veins popped on Isshiki's forehead.
She had put genuine effort into preparing a gift, and this was how he responded?
"Well, anyway, don't worry. It's definitely not something like a bomb…"
"Now that you've said that, I'm even more worried..."
Hikigaya replied with merciless sarcasm.
"Hmph…"
Isshiki puffed up her cheeks in frustration.
Just then, the soccer club members on the field called out her name.
"Coming!"
She called back from a distance.
Standing up, she brushed the dust off her uniform.
"In any case, since it's a thank-you gift from your cute underclassman, please accept it, senpai."
"And absolutely do not throw it away!"
Knowing that Hikigaya might just toss the gift out, box and all, she quickly added the warning.
With that, Isshiki ran toward the soccer club's rest area.
"A thank-you gift I have to accept, huh?"
Watching her retreating figure, Hikigaya shrugged.
Well, maybe he could look forward to it a little.
It's not like he ever intended to throw it away anyway…
At the shoe lockers, he glanced around to make sure no one was around, quickly opened his locker, and shoved a pink gift box into his bag.
"Why does this feel like I'm stealing something…"
Once done, he let out a sigh and ridiculed himself for acting so suspiciously.
Come to think of it, even if someone saw a gift in his locker, it wouldn't be a big deal, right?
What exactly was he so worried about?
.
.
.
He returned straight home.
But unlike usual, Komachi wasn't lying on the sofa.
"She went to a classmate's house?"
Reading the note Komachi left on the table, Hikigaya mumbled.
"And she wants me to pick her up at 9 PM?"
Looking at the address written at the end of the note, he let out a sigh.
With Komachi out, it looked like he would have to handle dinner himself.
Pocketing the note, Hikigaya carried his bag upstairs.
Since he was home alone today, he wasn't in a hurry to eat and instead decided to take a look at Isshiki's thank-you gift.
"Well then, let's see what this is…"
After carefully unwrapping it and confirming that it was just a normal gift box, he took a deep breath and quickly opened it.
"Cookies again?!"
Inside was a neatly arranged bag of cookies. Raising his brow, Hikigaya recalled what happened the night before after he returned from Isshiki's house.
Since he had walked home at night, he was a bit hungry by the time he got back.
So while reading Zaimokuza's novel, he ate the cookies Yukinoshita had given him that afternoon.
As for what they tasted like?
Hikigaya had no idea.
All he knew was that after eating them, it was already the next morning.