Chapter 344: The Onlooker Sees Most Clearly
"Eh?"
Hearing Hikigaya Hachiman agree, Komachi was first sincerely happy for a moment. But soon, she began to eye him suspiciously, doubting if he was just telling a lie to make her feel better. After all, the reason Hachiman's personality was considered a "problem" was because he had never once truly made a change.
"It's not so bad to be a little flexible once in a while, right?"
Seeing Komachi's skeptical gaze, Hachiman shrugged. Although he himself felt it was a bit strange that he had reached an understanding so easily, an epiphany was an epiphany.
"I'm hungry..."
After leaning on Hachiman's shoulder and chatting for a while, Komachi's stomach suddenly let out a loud growl. Remembering that she hadn't eaten anything since noon, Komachi immediately gave Hachiman a pitiful, puppy-dog look.
"I thought so. You haven't eaten since midday."
Hearing this, Hachiman nodded in understanding and signaled for her to wait a moment. He walked out of the room, went to the kitchen, and put the meals he had prepared earlier into the microwave to heat up.
"Brother..."
While Hachiman was waiting for the food to finish heating, Sakura's little head poked out from the kitchen doorway.
"What is it, Sakura?"
Perhaps because Komachi had woken up, Hachiman had a constant smile on his face at the moment.
"Is Komachi-nee okay?"
Because they were afraid of disturbing Komachi's rest, the group had unanimously decided to let Hachiman stay by her bedside alone after the chaos of him bringing the unconscious girl home. The others had stayed in the living room to wait. Now that Hachiman was in the kitchen, it meant Komachi was awake.
"Sorry, I forgot to tell you all."
Hachiman tapped his forehead, annoyed that he had forgotten to notify everyone of the news.
"So, is Komachi-nee physically alright?"
Illya's head popped out from behind Sakura. Although the Hachiman in front of her felt a bit "different," clearly Komachi's physical health was her primary concern.
"That girl… her body is recovering quite well."
Recalling how lively Komachi had been the moment she woke up, the corners of Hachiman's mouth curled up. Though part of her playfulness was likely to keep him from worrying, the fact that she could act that way at all proved she was recovering rapidly.
After a brief chat with the two girls and finishing the food preparation, Hachiman hurriedly ran back upstairs with the tray. Of course, he wasn't the only one returning this time…
.
..
.
Late at night.
After everyone else had fallen fast asleep, Hachiman sat alone on the living room sofa, retracing the day's events.
"The Nine-Tailed Fox... I wonder where that thing ran off to."
Recalling the fox escaping into the spatial turbulence, Hachiman's brow furrowed into a knot. If that creature wasn't eliminated, it would remain a permanent threat! Furthermore, given his current situation, whether or not he could actually kill it was a complete unknown.
"The biggest issue is not knowing where it went."
At this thought, Hachiman let out a sigh. If he couldn't defeat it alone, he could call on the Inari God for help, since they were allies. But not knowing its whereabouts was a massive headache. If that thing was determined to stay hidden and cause destruction from the shadows, he would be completely helpless!
"Still dwelling on what happened to Komachi today?"
Irisviel's voice suddenly came from the stairs. Looking at the young woman in her pink pajamas, Hachiman's face flushed slightly before he composed himself and shook his head.
"I've moved past what happened during the day. What I'm worried about now is the one who attacked her."
"You're worried it will strike at Komachi or Sakura again while you're away, so you want to take the initiative and strike first, right?"
The education Irisviel received at the Einzbern house allowed her to quickly perceive Hachiman's worries and intentions.
"Exactly."
A trace of helplessness flashed across Hachiman's face. How many times had his mind been read now? Was he really that easy to read?
"It's because you make it too obvious how much you care about Komachi," Irisviel hummed with a hint of pride at his dejection.
"Fair enough."
Hachiman couldn't argue with her reasoning. When Komachi was unconscious, he had indeed acted a bit overly agitated.
"Can you tell me specifically what happened?"
After a moment of silence, Irisviel took the lead again. Although she had heard the general gist of the attack from Hachiman, it was only a vague summary; she wanted more details about the afternoon.
"Why are you interested in the details?" Hachiman asked curiously.
"Because we can reconstruct the event," Irisviel gave him an exasperated look. Although she was currently obsessed with the internet alongside Illya, she had once been the great hope of the Einzbern family. Moreover, during her time with her late husband, Kiritsugu Emiya, he had taught her a great deal about gathering battlefield information and logical deduction.
"Reconstruct?"
Hachiman found the idea quite interesting. Since he was looking for someone to talk to anyway, he gave her a detailed description of everything that had transpired during the day.
"Hmm... The Nine-Tailed Fox said it only needed two puppets, and sending that boy to attack Komachi was just a ruse to reclaim the Sessho-seki in his eye that belonged to it?"
"That's what it said."
Hachiman nodded, confirming the Fox's statement. Immediately after, Irisviel lightly tapped him on the head.
"Why did you hit me?" Hachiman looked at her in confusion, rubbing the spot. It didn't hurt, but getting hit for no reason was frustrating.
"Because Hikigaya-kun is a dummy for believing that thing's lies..." Irisviel shook her head helplessly at the oblivious Hachiman.
"If the Nine-Tailed Fox only needed two puppets, why didn't it just pick any random person for the fourth? Why did it have to choose Komachi? And if it wanted that boy dead, it must have had many ways to do it. Why did it have to use your hand to finish him off?"
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