Ding!
[Club Member Count: 3. "Romance List" unlocked.]
After explaining the Service Club's purpose to the voluptuous yet timid new member, Hayase Saki, and reminding her to show up tomorrow, Hikigaya Hachiman waved her off and headed back toward the empty clubroom to grab his bag.The late afternoon sun filtered through the hallway windows, painting the floor gold as he opened his system menu to check out this new "Romance List" function.
Two names appeared.
Yukinoshita Yukino — Stranger, Service ClubHayase Saki — Friend, Girls' Swim Team
Besides their names, the list also displayed each girl's current location. When Hachiman tapped on their coordinates, a system prompt popped up immediately.
[Related event not triggered. Unable to enter new scene.]
That was it. No extra stats, no hidden bonuses — at least not yet.
"So it can track where they are in real time…" Hachiman mused, squinting. "Maybe even teleport me near them — but only after certain events trigger. In other words, emergencies. Or… plot flags."
He closed the window with a quiet sigh.In a world where yokai, spirits, and supernatural anomalies lurked in the shadows, it wasn't a bad feature. No one could be together every moment of the day — not even couples. Having a built-in fast-travel system for emergencies? Yeah, that was reassuring.
Still, one detail bothered him.Stranger for Yukinoshita Yukino made perfect sense — they'd only met today, and only because he wasn't lucky enough to get hit by her family's car like in the "original timeline." But Friend for Hayase Saki?
He frowned.They'd barely spoken. It was mostly Yukino handling the conversation earlier. Hachiman had only chimed in near the end when Saki decided to join the Service Club. And yet, apparently, that was enough for her to consider him a friend.
"Seriously… she's way too pure for this world," he muttered.
Given what she'd been through — the harassment, the blackmail attempt — it was only natural she'd latch onto the people who helped her. Still, seeing it written there made him strangely uneasy. His expression darkened for a second as fragments of the "original" version of her story surfaced — the tragic one, where she fell into corruption and despair.
Back when he and Yukino had arrived at the pool, right before filming Miwara's little crime, his system had pinged him about unlocking Saki's character card.He hadn't thought much of it at first… until her name triggered a faint memory.A soft-spoken swimmer with a painfully pure expression — and a body that seemed straight out of a fan artist's wildest dreams.He remembered seeing a design like hers once, in a different kind of story.
Still, that wasn't her fault.In this world, she wasn't some doomed heroine bound for degradation. She was just a kind, insecure girl who'd narrowly avoided disaster. And Hachiman wasn't about to let her spiral down the same path again.
Sure, she and her childhood friend weren't actually dating — maybe they just had feelings that never matured. And honestly, in the real world, people drifted apart all the time. Relationships ended; even marriages broke. It wasn't a crime.
But for the type of scum who used drugs, coercion, or manipulation?Those who treated people as playthings or trophies?Hachiman's lip curled. "Yeah… those deserve a one-way trip straight to hell."
Still, as much as his new Assassin Template whispered temptations of silent kills and perfect strikes, he forced himself to calm down. Japan's police might be incompetent at solving subtle crimes, but even they'd notice if too many people connected to him suddenly died.Better to stay cautious — for now.
His eyes softened.For the moment, it was better to focus on Saki. Help her regain some self-worth. Maybe teach her a little backbone. After all, if she already saw him as a friend, then he couldn't just abandon her to fate.
"Guess I'll add moral counselor to my résumé," he muttered.
He reached the school gate just as the crowd of students began thinning.Because of Sōbu High's strict regulations, several members of the disciplinary committee were still stationed there, monitoring student behavior and returning minor confiscated items.
Hachiman hadn't been waiting long when two familiar silhouettes appeared in the distance — two short-haired girls with matching sky-blue hair, walking side by side, handbags swaying with each step.
They were twins — unmistakably so.Both cute, slender, and radiating the kind of charisma that made other students turn and stare. The only real difference was expression: the elder sister wore a bright, lively grin, while the younger one's face was perfectly blank. One wore knee socks, the other tights — a symmetry broken only by personality.
"You two sure took your sweet time," Hachiman called out with a faint smile, hands in pockets. "If you were any later, I'd have gone home to hang out with Komachi instead."
In this altered world, Hachiman wasn't quite the loner he'd once been.He still didn't have many friends, but these two — Kaede and Shizuku — were exceptions. His neighbors. His childhood friends. The only reason he'd ever been dragged into social life at all.
Kaede, the older twin, was bright and talkative — the kind of girl who could make friends with anyone in five minutes. Shizuku, the younger, hid her emotions behind an expressionless mask but was deeply thoughtful beneath the surface.
Kaede, being naturally energetic and popular, had quickly risen to prominence after entering Sōbu High. Under the mentorship of the former student council president, Shirogane Meguri, she'd become the new student council president herself.
In fact, Hachiman's Service Club only existed because of Kaede's connections. He'd bribed her and Meguri with promises of free meals and mountains of snacks until they let him bend the "minimum member rule" just enough to register the club before recruiting new members.
Kaede lightly smacked his shoulder with her bag. "You're one to talk! If you'd just joined the student council to help me, I wouldn't be this busy! Even with Meguri-senpai's help, I can barely keep up."
Then she twirled around and waved to the disciplinary committee nearby."Good work, everyone! Just a little longer before you can head home!"
"Ah, Kaede-chan! Is Makoto not here today?""She's on patrol inside. Should be out soon!""Okay, tell her I'm heading off first~"
While Kaede chatted away, Hachiman stood quietly beside the stoic Shizuku, both of them wordlessly observing the sunset.
When Kaede returned, Hachiman raised an eyebrow."It's barely the start of the semester. You have Shizuku helping you, right? What could possibly keep the student council this busy?"
Even before regaining his memories, his goal had been simple: avoid extra work.A true homebody at heart, Hachiman preferred to belong to the "Go-Home Club."Why waste time on politics when he could go home early and spend time with his adorable sister?
But that was before he learned just how dangerous this world really was — before supernatural threats turned "staying lazy" into a liability.
Kaede puffed her cheeks. "Normally it wouldn't be that bad, but there've been a bunch of new transfer students lately. And not your typical kind — they have… special backgrounds. Sorting them into the right classes has been a nightmare."
Hachiman blinked. "Special backgrounds? What are we talking here — yakuza heirs? Royal princesses? Future leaders of some revolutionary movement?"
Kaede hesitated, glanced around, then leaned close until her soft breath brushed his ear."Tomorrow's transfer student," she whispered, "isn't human. She's an elf princess."
"…An elf princess?" Hachiman repeated flatly, staring at her. "You're kidding, right? Why the hell would an elf princess transfer to a Japanese high school?"
Kaede just grinned. "Guess you'll find out tomorrow, Mr. President of the Weird Club~"
And for the first time that day, Hachiman felt something he hadn't in a while—a faint, familiar sense of dread.