My Youth Romantic Comedy Was More Platonic Than Expected Part 2

by Morii Hikikko

(AU). Continuation of My Youth Romantic Comedy Was More Platonic Than Expected. This will narrate what will happen to Hikigaya Hachiman's relationships after that eventful summer vacation. The struggles of the third-year Sobu High student named Hikigaya Hachiman will only get much harder from this point onwards. Is the true form of his genuine a platonic relationship all along?

5. Chapter 5

In A Completely Different Way Than He Expected, Hikigaya Hachiman Worked Hard For The Sake Of The School Festival

"This is Yukinoshita," even through the comms, the cold voice of the Ice Queen made it seem like winter was fast approaching despite it still being summer. "All students in the north side are in order."

It was more appropriate to say that her chilling aura coerced all those on her vicinity to behave but there was no need for me to say that out loud. Her area or rather her territory was like the peak of a snowy mountain in the midst of a heavy blizzard.

"U-U-Understood, Yukinoshita-senpai," the poor junior on the receiving end shivered as she gave her affirmation.

"This is Hayama," the Blond Prince of Sobu's voice rang out. A multitude of flowers seem to bloom one-by-one around him as he spoke. It was as if he was the main love interest of some shoujo manga. In contrast to the snowy landscape cast by his childhood friend, the area around him seems to be bustling with life to the point that you could even figuratively hear the birds chirping. "No issues here on the east side."

Even from where I was standing, I could clearly see the reason why no issues were popping up. Most of the girls were too busy admiring Hayama to make any racket while the boys could only click their tongues in frustration. If I were over on that side, I'd be clicking my tongue as well.

"Ah… Got it… Hayama-senpai," it was obvious from her tone that she was a few steps away from making a confession then and there. I wouldn't even be surprised if she even suddenly fainted .

"This is Yui! I mean, Yuigahama!" the excitement oozing from her voice made one think of a sandy beach, the very essence of summer. "Ehehehe! Well, it's a bit noisy on my side but aside from that, it's pretty much okay."

Just as she offhandedly mentioned, a lot of ambient noise can be picked up from Yui's end compared to the former two. It was most likely because of her bubbly personality that her warnings weren't taken that seriously by the other students.

"If you say so. Please be careful, Yui-senpai," the same kouhai who was spooked by Yukino and smitten by Hayama earlier was now feeling a bit worried about the third senpai. Seriously, why are you making our kouhai worry about you, Yui?

With that, there was only one person left to make their respective report.

"This is Hikigaya."

And that person was none other than yours truly.

I was finally given the opportunity to do so after everyone else was done. Seriously, it was so troublesome to find the right timing to interject since none of us talked about who will get priority and who will come next beforehand.

Since it was too troublesome, I decided to just speak out at the very end.

Well, they do say to save the best for last after all.

It definitely wasn't because everyone jumped the gun before I could.

My act of kindness however wasn't reciprocated.

"Who?" came the confused voice of the first-year who was put in-charge of the comms.

I could hear a couple of chuckling sounds coming from the others who were connected on this line.

Without a doubt, it could only have come from the three prior speakers who belong to the same clique I am a part of.

Gee, what wonderful personalities these friends of mine have. You could at least clarify on my behalf, you know?

Well, it doesn't matter. Since it wasn't the first time something like this happened to me, I could easily shrug it off.

"No issues on the west side," I gave my report in a brief and concise manner.

As to how a no-name like me was able to control the crowd in a similar manner as an heir/heiress from a prestigious family or a girl that could befriend literally anybody, let's just say that my reputation precedes me...

…For better or worse. No, for this case in particular, it is definitely for the worse, no questions asked.

"Hey! That's..!"

"Eyes of a dead fish?!"

"It can't be!"

"If I recall correctly…"

"Hikigaya-senpai..?"

"Not good..!"

By some strange coincidence, I was put in-charge to a section of the gymnasium where most of the lower years are situated.

Seriously, what terrible luck, for them and me both that is.

Having a skill like Selective Hearing Hikki was also not doing me any favors.

"It's the delinquent-like senpai!"

That description always just pops out every time for some reason when I don't even get into any physical fights at school at all. It's most definitely because of the eyes. Well, nothing I can do about this one except maybe get an eye surgery in the far future or something.

"Isn't he the senpai that bullies girls?"

It pains me a bit that I can't outright deny that. If saying the truth is cruel and bullying is also cruel then I guess it follows that saying the truth is an act of bullying. Wait a second. The act of saying the truth shows a person's honesty and isn't honesty the best policy? Does that mean that policies are also a form of bullying? You know what? Let's save that mental exercise later.

"He looks like a weirdo, though."

Yep, I can't outright deny that one too. I'll give you the win this time nameless kouhai of mine but please don't mind me remembering how you look and all that.

"Wouldn't he look pretty dashing if he put on some formal clothing?"

.

.

.

That comment was probably directed towards Hayama on the opposite side and not me so I chose to ignore it as well as the bad premonition I had after hearing it.

"Isn't he the rumored lady-killer?"

Since there is no way that means what it's supposed to usually mean, I can only assume to take it literally which in itself sounds quite absurd. Regardless of how terrible the rumors surrounding me are, murder is a little too much, even in jest.

After they finished exchanging those completely outrageous descriptions of me, these kouhai of mine all sort of settled down on their own.

I didn't even need to say anything. I just stood on one area and cast a sweeping glance across all of them.

Following the theme set by the previous three, this part of the auditorium could be likened to that of a desolate forest in the midst of autumn.

Yep, it was either to be completely forgotten or just be known by this atrocious reputation I accidentally set up for myself last year.

In this case, it at least made one aspect of my job a little easier.

That was my life as a Sobu student in a nutshell.

Not like I particularly mind.

I'm used to it already.

Though it seems the kouhai on the comms was still a bit confused about my identity, she thought to prioritize her current task and set her doubts aside for now.

"Ah, roger that," she then connected the line to talk to someone else. "President, everything is clear. You may come to the stage."

"Okay!" the Student Council President, Isshiki Iroha responded in great cheer.

The lights immediately focused on her as she made her appearance on the stage.

The student body took the hint and all kinds of idle chatter quieted down once they saw Iroha.

Despite the modest smile on my foxy kouhai's face, I knew that she was making a smug expression deep inside.

After all, getting the opportunity to be in the spotlight like this was one of the main reasons why she took on the mantle of the Student Council President.

"Sorry for the wait, everyone!" was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

I almost fell down when I heard her say that.

That wasn't the kind of opening statement that a Student Council President would say, it was more like that of an idol but when I looked around and saw that the students didn't mind it at all and were even laughing between themselves, I couldn't help but feel impressed.

"As your Student Council President, please allow me to present this year's theme," one of the lights on Iroha shifted its focus towards the wall behind her. "Breaking Through Conventions! The Future Is There For Those Who Choose To Change!"

The crowd responded with another round of applause to Isshiki's words.

Certainly while her opening statement did not sound that appropriate for an event such as this, going against the standard did fall in line with the Festival's current theme.

What else can I really say but as expected of Isshiki Iroha?

"Alright everyone, for the entire duration of the Cultural Festival, I want you to say CHANGEevery time I say FUTURE, okay? Ready?" Iroha took a deep breath before continuing. "FUTURE!" she pointed the mic towards the students to her right as if prompting them to give her answer.

"CHANGE!"

Not everyone was able to match their timing on the first try but judging from the smile plastered on Iroha's face, she didn't mind it too much.

As if she could ever keep her position as the Head of the Student Council if she was the type to give up easily after one attempt.

On a side note, the reason why I was able to accurately tell that the response was off-timing was because I was on the same area of the gymnasium that Iroha pointed to.

Seriously, what was I supposed to do? Lead them.

Heh, nice joke.

"FUTURE!" this second attempt of hers was now directed to the people on her left-hand side, in other words, on the area where Hayama was stationed.

"CHANGE!"

The intensity of the crowd on the second time around noticeably increased after the first exchange as it looks like Hayama himself took charge and shouted along with the crowd.

Iroha then faced the center with a bright smile on her face which only served to amplify the anticipation of the other students.

"FUTURE!"

"CHANGE!"

As this involved around a majority of the student body, the hype of the crowd during the second try could not even compare.

It was not even close.

It reached a point where I was even forced to cover both of my ears but even then it wasn't nearly enough.

"Thank you very much for all of your enthusiastic responses! Please maintain the same level of excitement throughout today and tomorrow as well!" fervent cheers erupted once again after that. At this point, the atmosphere around the student gymnasium has now really become similar to that of an idol's live event. "And now to formally open the program, please help me welcome this year's Chairman, Sagami Sugita-san!" Isshiki Iroha bowed and passed over the microphone as well as the spotlight to said person.

Though with relatively less hype, the audience still showered the chairman with loud cheers as he himself took to the stage, whether that was because of Iroha's lively introduction or their anticipation for the younger Sagami remains to be known. By the way, I'm betting on the former.

Can you really blame them though?

A cute girl or a plain boy wearing glasses, which do you think is able to excite a crowd more?

I rest my case.

"Uhm… Good morning to all my fellow students of Sobu High…"

It didn't require a genius to notice how nervous Sagami Sugita is feeling.

Opening with the word uhm is never the place you want to be when speaking in front of others.

Looking at him like this, it really makes the resemblance from that older sister of his very much obvious.

That same person also struggled in how to speak to a crowd last year.

The current sight was enough to bring me flashbacks whether I wanted to or not.

By some strange coincidence, the two of us made eye contact during his opening speech which was filled with him stuttering and mispronouncing some words.

Had I been a girl he secretly had a crush on, one smile from me should be more than enough to give him encouragement or if I was his close friend of sorts then maybe a thumbs-up would also help but because I am the exact opposite, at least from his perspective, doing such a thing will obviously not achieve that effect.

As things stand, it was apparently my destiny to be enemies with the Sagami siblings.

Thus, I decided to cross my arms and radiate as much of the smug air I could possibly unleash.

"Heh."

I smirked at him in the most aggravating manner imaginable.

Even from where I was standing, I could still clearly see how irritated he was with my expression but the frustration he felt was enough to dispel his embarrassment.

Positive encouragement was not the only way to motivate someone.

Depending on the timing and what kind of person the other party is insults and/or teasing can be equally effective, sometimes they might even work better.

"As I was saying…" he said after a cough.

From thereon, he was able to speak in a much clearer manner to the point that his current profile was a far cry to the stuttering mess he was earlier.

Seems like this brat could really do it if he tries.

Now if he just decides to behave from this point onwards then it can be said that this case is well and truly closed.

"…Without further ado, I welcome everyone to the opening of Sobu's Cultural Festival this year," Sagami Sugita's gaze briefly landed onto my direction once again. This time around, it was deliberate and not by chance. "Please look forward to everything that the Committee has prepared for everyone."

That bold look could only mean one thing…

This guy still hasn't given up on whatever his goals with the festival are…

But as a member of the Committee however, I could keep a close eye on him to make sure that nothing goes awry with the event as a whole.

Bring it on.

"I, no…" I mumbled to myself as my left hand was inadvertently drawn to the earpiece attached to one of my ears. "...We will stop him."

…

Or so I thought.

"Come again?"

The committee members were supposed to gather at the Student Council Office after the opening program for another meeting but before I could even take my seat, Iroha suddenly approached me and passed me a message that I didn't expect to be receiving.

"I'm pretty sure you've heard me the first time already, Hachi-senpai," Iroha sighed after massaging her forehead. "You have a special exemption from committee work because your class asked you to help them out."

"Are you sure they didn't mean the wrong guy?" I asked once again, looking even more confused than I already was.

"Hachi-senpai, I'm pretty sure there isn't another Hikigaya Hachiman enrolled in Sobu right now," Iroha frowned. "Besides, it was Ebina-senpai who called for you specifically."

"Ah, you should've said that first," I nodded. "Now it makes sense."

"It does?"

"Yeah, a little bit," I waved my hand around to dispel her concern. "But I still don't quite understand why that entails a special exemption though."

Iroha averted her eyes away from me after my statement.

"Anyways, you don't have to worry about anything too much as Yui-senpai and Miura-senpai will be covering for you so get going to your class already!"

"No, that's actually making me a feel a bit more worried…"

Iroha didn't listen to my rational input at all and just proceeded to push me towards the exit.

Once I was out, she immediately closed the door behind me, barring me from entry.

With no other choice, I could only head back to Class 3-F's classroom for today.

Speaking of which, there was something that I forgot to ask Iroha while we were still talking earlier.

Now while it couldn't really be helped given how all my mental resources were funneled towards committee work, it would've made some things a lot easier if I was at least briefed about this particular something.

"What was our class planning on doing again?"

…

The answer to my question became apparent once I returned to my classroom.

What was a space originally intended for educating young minds is now distorted into something completely different.

The plain walls surrounding the room were plastered with wallpaper which made it look like it was made from gray bricks.

Gone were the thin fabrics that we used as the curtains of the room. Instead, there are two layers of cloth used for each window. The first or inner layer is a white one which is see-through and was embroidered with the pattern of the fleur de lis. This is kept untied and is used to obscure the image of the outside world to the people inside. The second layer however, was of a thicker and silkier variant that was embroidered with a pattern that looked like some sort of family coat-of-arms from Europe. It is entirely in red except for its edges which were colored gold. This red curtain was spread out and tied around the edges thus; making an arc in the middle and revealing the inner white curtain as well as the silhouette of the windows.

The desks and chairs provided for each student were replaced with several circular tables of varying sizes such that it could accommodate for as few as one person or as many as four.

Tablecloths of a similar design theme to the curtains specifically, a vivid red with golden edges, were on each table. The chairs themselves were also blanketed with a similarly styled cloth.

The only thing that the room was lacking that an actual fancy restaurant would have is a row of chandeliers but given the limited resources of a high school student, having done this much is already pretty impressive.

Calling the entire setup as fancy would be an understatement and I don't have the mental capacity to think about how they managed to get all this stuff so I'll just sum it all up into one statement:

As expected of Ebina Hina.

"Ah, Hikitani-kun, thanks for coming!" Ebina immediately approached me once she spotted my figure that was looking around our classroom. "I assume that Iroha-chan has already informed you of our situation."

"Sort of," I answered while my gaze wandered around and mentally compared the current classroom to the usual one. "So the class was planning to do a fancy café, huh?"

"Not quite," Ebina wagged her finger around knowingly. "This is more than just a café, this is actually…" the bad premonition that I ignored earlier came back with a vengeance. "A butler café."

One singular word from what Ebina just said gave me goosebumps.

"Don't tell me..!"

As my eyes bulged in surprise, Ebina's smile widened.

"It's exactly what you're thinking of!"

That surprise of mine died down after a few seconds and became a sigh.

"Hah, why did we even bother making a café about that otome game when Hayama's class could easily do something similar and leave us in the dust?" I could only shake my head in disappointment at Ebina's lack of foresight.

"Hayama-kun's class is planning on making a play so we'll be alright on that end," Ebina raised one of her thumbs as she spoke. "Wait, you didn't know, Hikitani-kun?"

"Didn't know what?" unsure of what she meant I could only raise one of my brows in intrigue.

"There is no blond butler character in Welcome Home, My Princess. That's why it would be impossible for Hayama-kun's class to do something identical to ours."

"There isn't?"

Ebina shook her head before giving her thoughts.

"This is just my opinion but I think it's because the protagonist in the otome game already has blond hair so the game developers thought it would be redundant to add a conquest target with the same hair color."

"I see."

While I do understand that this business arrangement would work given the passionate fanbase of this series, that still didn't give me enough reason to go along with her plans.

"So? What do you think?" Ebina leaned in and asked. "With this setup, we might be able to snag the most popular attraction award during the festival."

"Okay? Then what?"

Ebina should be one of the people who already know that I wasn't the type of person to chase for something like popularity so I could only wonder where she was going with this.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ebina pumped her fist in excitement. It was a kind of gesture that had a whole other meaning if this girl was the one doing it in particular. When she does this kind of thing… "You can beat Hayama-kun!"

…It was usually related to her fujoshi tendencies.

In the end, Ebina Hina was a girl true to her desires despite how she normally conducts herself when two men aren't involved in the equation.

Her leap in logic made me sigh.

I personally don't care too much about beating that Hayama Hayato.

For emphasis, I will repeat.

I personally don't care too much about beating that Hayama Hayato…

However…

The moment I began picturing the bitter expression of that Perfect Prince, some part of me just can't help but feel a bit more motivated…

"I refuse."

…But by no means was that enough.

Even though I am an honorary member of the Yukinoshita family, I was still not infected with their unreasonable competitiveness so this level of incitement was not enough to make me force my hand.

In the first place, there was still something suspicious about this entire thing and until I could get my answers, there's no way I was going to cooperate so easily.

Loner Skill No. 12: Mimic Hikki.

Target to copy was…

Yukinoshita Yukino.

"Ebina."

The bespectacled fujoshi physically shivered after hearing my voice.

Even I did not expect for it to reach this level of coldness that it made such an impact.

While she was still startled, I grabbed one of her shoulders and led her to a corner of our classroom, away from the prying ears of our other classmates.

Time to press the attack.

Loner Skill No. 50: Maou Hikki.

"Why don't you tell me the real reason why you decided to set up something so elaborate?"

Ebina Hina told me herself last year.

That she was a rotten person.

There was no way someone like that would go through this much effort just because she loved a series or rather, a game so much.

No, it's not even the game. This girl just likes shipping the boys on the game with each other and that fact just makes my doubts grow even stronger.

"You found me out, huh?" Ebina raised both of her hands up in surrender though it didn't look like she was as disappointed as that gesture would suggest. "As expected of you, Hikigaya-kun. I can't really hide anything from you, can I?"

"Flattery won't get you anywhere. You'll have a higher chance of making me cooperate if you stop hiding anything," I smirked. "But by all means, please keep the praises coming."

"Well, you see…" Ebina brushed a strand of her hair and looked away from me as she told me her reasons.

Before doujinshi writers became creators, they were fans first and foremost. As such, during the Summer Comiket, Ebina was not only busy helping out with their circle's sales; she was also going around buying any doujinshi she took a liking on. In other words…

…She was broke and this was the perfect way for her to earn back some money while having fun in the process.

"I see. I guess that kind of motivation does fall in line with your personality."

Ebina's eyes narrowed while I was nodding to myself.

"And just exactly what kind of person do you take me for, Hikigaya-kun?"

I didn't see any need to answer that question so I chose to sidestep away from it.

Loner Skill No. 72: Dupe Hikki.

Whether we like it or not, humans tend to focus more on things that leave a deeper impression on us than others. It's like a search filter of sorts but our brain has it set on automatic and it's usually much harder to manually switch it off unless you become used to it.

This is a skill that takes advantage of that natural tendency.

In other words, it is a deliberate and controlled application of misdirection.

"More importantly, Ebina," I reapplied the pressure from Mimic Hikki once again. "Supposing I did agree in helping you out," she looked like she already understood my intentions before I finished voicing them out. "What's in it for me?"

"I had a feeling you'll ask that so I came prepared!"

The wide smile that Ebina had earlier was once again plastered on her face.

"If we do well enough, I am more than willing to give you a cut of our earnings."

I myself adopted the same smile that Ebina was sporting.

"Okay, now you're beginning to speak my language," I could already feel my irises turning into the symbol of the Japanese yen. "But you should know that my rate isn't exactly cheap."

At my goading, Ebina whispered to me a rough estimate of how much I could expect from helping her out to the best of my ability.

"Will that amount be enough to pique your interest?"

I brought a hand to my chin as I seriously considered her terms.

"I'm assuming there'll be an increase if we actually end up getting the award, right?"

She didn't even need a second to think of her response. "Of course."

"Alright, you have yourself a deal, Ebina," I extended my hand out to ask a handshake from my female counterpart in order for us to truly seal this transaction.

"It's really nice to be doing business with you, Hikigaya-kun," Ebina accepted my invitation and shook my hand with hers. Just like mine, her irises have also transformed into the symbol of the Japanese currency. "I'll be relying on you."

Having heard my real name come out of Ebina's mouth, I knew that this girl meant serious business.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to fulfill my end of the bargain."

After having made that exchange with her, I grabbed the costume that I was supposed to change into and moved towards the changing room.

---

SS 1: Boldly, Ebina Hina Tries To Test The Loner's (Butler's) Proficiency

Sobu High's Cultural Festival was now on full-blast.

Well, not quite.

While the atmosphere is indeed boisterous, this was not caused by the influx of visitors but rather by the students themselves who were setting up their class' gimmicks.

The stalls outside were all busy preparing their first batch of food. One whiff was enough for anyone to smell the amalgamating aromas of savory foods such as takoyaki, okonomiyaki and yakitori, sweets such as crepes and pastries as well as drinks such as cold teas and various flavored fruit juices.

Meanwhile, to those classes who opted to set up on their respective classrooms, they were occupied with their own form of last minute arrangements.

The actors for those who are setting up a play were all making doubly sure that they've memorized their lines.

Those who planned on a performance such as singing or dancing were checking their equipment if it worked in tandem with their acts.

Likewise, those with a café and the like were conducting a little pep talk with all their staff members who are involved with the cooking and customer service.

As they were planning on a butler café that was based on a particular game, Class 3-F themselves weren't exempt from such affairs, much to the dismay of one Hikigaya Hachiman.

"So we're really doing this, huh?"

Hikigaya complained after donning his butler attire.

Though he is often misunderstood because of his dead-fish eyes this time around, the cynic was deliberately trying to intimidate others this time.

As such, when his fellow classmates looked at him, they couldn't help but feel like it was a bit of a waste. After all, while the formal attire really suited him well, his fed up expression was not giving him the best of first impressions.

Unfortunately for him, one particular member of the crowd had already developed some resistance to those eyes of his.

"Of course, Hikitani-kun. It would be a good reference for Tobe-kun and the others as well."

Seated on one of the tables was Ebina Hina.

If they were planning on putting on a show then what they were about to do was equivalent to a dress rehearsal.

Simply put, the class was trying to see if the waiters could actually perform their job with their costume on and with the setup that they went with.

As for why they are starting with Hikigaya in particular then it's because Ebina wanted the others to see if he really could do his job as well as the other boys who've been practicing ever since the class decided to set up a butler café.

Ebina's intentions were of course easily seen through by Hikigaya.

The loner sighed as he alternated his gaze between the girls who were the masterminds of this whole charade and the boys who were being run as slaves.

"You guys seem to have some sort of weird expectation of me. Well whatever, let's get this over with. I just have to play the role of that character again right?"

After saying those words, Hikigaya put on his glasses and a pair of black gloves. He then closed his eyes and took a singular deep breath.

In that instant, the air around him changed.

Loner Skill No. 109: Fake Hikki.

Loner Skill No. 110: Butler Hikki.

After opening his eyes and exhaling, Hikigaya felt two halves of a mask combine together before finally overlapping with his own face after which he placed his right hand on the left side of his chest and bowed while making sure to keep his upper body parallel with the ground.

"What can I do for you, My Princess?"

While Hikigaya felt like a part of him died after he said that, everyone's impression of him instantly changed after he said that one line.

He already had everything in the physical department down. His usually disheveled hair was now combed properly. The impact of his dead-fish eyes significantly decreased because he put on his glasses. The light make-up applied on his face was able to obscure some of his rougher features. The butler outfit hugged his figure in such a way that it emphasized how lean he was underneath his clothes. As if that wasn't enough, the ease at which he executed such a graceful motion earlier combined with the line that came out of his mouth and the way he adjusted his voice to sound huskier, you couldn't blame anyone for thinking that he was suddenly possessed by a spirit or something.

Even though Ebina Hina prepared herself after already witnessing Hikigaya's transformation back during the Summer Comiket, since this was her first time of getting directly exposed to this Hikigaya, her limited experience with males was definitely showing.

While it was nowhere near to Hayama Hayato's virtually universal appeal, it was just in human nature to seek thrill and excitement that was different from what you're usually exposed to.

That's why you could not necessarily blame a girl when they find themselves enticed by the allure of bad boys.

"Princess?" came Hikigaya's inquiry once again while making a faint smirk that was a little reminiscent to his typical expressions.

Ebina forced out a cough to dispel her embarrassment though if her blushing cheeks were any indication then she wasn't quite successful in doing so.

"For the time being, I would like some coffee please."

"As you wish, My Princess."

Though Hikigaya doubted if he could keep saying such a shameless thing to his friend for so many times, when he noticed that Ebina herself was also feeling a little awkward, he felt a bit calmer.

Following his current customer's order, he went to the counter and obtained said cup of coffee but that was not the only thing he brought with him back to the customer's table. The tray on his hand also had a stainless steel milk pourer and a small glass container which housed the sugar cubes along with its respective tong.

"How sweet would you like your coffee to be, My Princess?"

Hachiman was very slowly approaching his limit but the same can also be said of Ebina who could not even look at the cynic on the eye anymore. It would've been fine if he was saying this to a stranger he's only met for the first time but doing it towards an acquaintance and with all of these eyes on him was a completely different ordeal altogether.

"Just slightly sweet please."

"Understood," Hikigaya added one sugar cube to the coffee. He then brought said cup closer to him on one hand and the milk pourer on the other. When he added the milk to the coffee, he made sure to ever so slightly swirl the pourer while doing so, tracing a spiral-like pattern on the surface of the coffee and drawing another round of impressed gazes from the rest of his classmates. "Sorry for the wait. Please enjoy, My Princess," following the mannerisms of the character he was currently roleplaying, Hikigaya leaned close to Ebina's face while serving her modified drink.

"Th-Th-thanks," the surprise attack he mounted was more than effective if the stuttering Ebina was any indication.

Looking at his friend's reaction stimulated Hikigaya's sadistic side he swore he only got because of the influence of a certain sensual Onee-san. While saying that to himself he went on another offensive after the cup left Ebina's lips.

After the Summer Comiket, he was brought to a little after party by the fujoshi group he helped out despite his refusal.

On that gathering, the girls passionately talked to him about Raven, the character from Welcome Home, My Princess! that he cosplayed as on the earlier event.

Although most of what they said went in one ear and out of the other, a select few details were inadvertently stuck on his head.

This included how Raven was the type that was cold to most people but was really caring to the protagonist of the otome game.

Despite them being fujoshi at heart, it seems they still swoon from the innate attractiveness of a handsome guy.

Because of how similar the current chain of events is to a scene that was shared to him during that after party, he couldn't stop himself from remembering a few lines.

"Is it to your liking, My Princess?"

Ebina, along with the other girls of Class 3-F were visibly surprised by the line that Hachiman initiated.

Though a part of her did not want to cooperate in order to throw a wrench to Hikigaya's plans, the silent pressure from the crowd forced her to play along.

"Yeah… It's pretty good…"

Rather than falling for the trap it was more appropriate to say that there were obstacles around Ebina that forced her to only move towards the trap.

"That's a pity," another smirk was plastered on Hikigaya's face that bore more resemblance to his usual self rather than the character named Raven. "I would've liked to serve you another cup if that wasn't the case."

"Guh..!"

That reaction from Ebina was more than enough for Hikigaya to understand how well he was doing with his act.

After letting things settle in for a few seconds, Hikigaya decided to remove his gloves and glasses to mark the end for this trial session.

"Well then," his tone reverted back to his usual more lackadaisical one. "Was my act within your standards or not?"

That inquiry of his was not only directed towards Ebina but also to the rest of Class 3-F as well.

Having cast away his mask at this juncture, the mysterious appeal he had earlier also seemed to have vanished into thin air, much to the disappointment of Ebina and the other girls.

"It was completely fine to continue roleplaying as Raven-sama, you know? Actually scratch that, just be Raven-sama every day, Hikitani-kun!" nods of agreement came from the surrounding girls in response to Ebina's unreasonable request.

On Hikigaya's side however, he wasn't sure if he should recognize that statement as an insult or a compliment. Given his pessimistic tendencies, he was leaning towards the former.

"Regrettably if I stay like that for too long, I start wincing from the secondhand embarrassment so I'd rather save my shame for the actual operation hours," Hikigaya explained while flinching a little from the recent memory. "Am I to take that statement as a yes?"

"Yep," Ebina gave the loner a thumbs-up. "As expected, you pass with flying colors, Hikitani-kun."

Following Ebina's declaration, the rest of Class 3-F approached Hikigaya to give their respective comments.

"Hikitani bro!" Tobe ran towards Hikigaya and suddenly grabbed both of his shoulders. The cynic involuntarily put his guard up but the words he heard on the following second made him relax. "We really need your help. I don't think we can do this without you!"

All the other boys who were also selected to be waiters and assigned to their own respective character nodded repeatedly after Tobe's plea.

With that as the catalyst, the rest of Hikigaya's classmates eventually joined in.

"Hey hey, where did you learn all those butler mannerisms?"

"Don't tell me..!"

"Are you actually the real deal?"

"It must've been from a part-time job or something right?"

"Well, I did hear something about you having one before…"

The loner who was not used to garnering all this attention to himself had to use both of his hands in order to even try and maintain some personal space.

"I'd really rather not talk about it in all honesty."

His indirect way of refusing their probing did not seem to be effective as it only ended up with him getting bombarded with even more questions.

As for Ebina Hina, she took the liberty of observing from the sidelines at how this friend of hers was acting much stiffer towards their other classmates and couldn't stop herself from comparing it to how brazen he was when he was with the rest of the clique.

In a way, he was very similar to a mutual friend of theirs who had blond hair and blue eyes though she was sure that both of them would reject that opinion of hers with every cell of their being.

At this moment, swirling within the heads of all the members of Class 3-F aside from Hikigaya Hachiman himself and Miura Yumiko who was out performing her committee duties, was one particular question.

Which one was the real Hikigaya Hachiman?

---

SS 2: Thus And So, Isshiki Iroha Was Rewarded For Her Assistance, With Strings Attached However

It is only natural that the start of a business was rather slow.

That rang especially true in a school festival whose main purpose wasn't really to make some profit but just for everyone involved to have fun though a certain Ebina Hina and Hikigaya Hachiman would have something to say about that but that's beside the point.

As for the butler café of Class 3-F, though the number of their customers so far couldn't really be described as numerous, that didn't mean that their earnings were in the low end of things, in fact, it was in the slightly above average zone.

In the first place, a café as a business works vastly different from a fast food restaurant that relied solely on customer turnover.

It was all about giving the clients who drop by an experience that makes them come back to the place again and again before eventually ending up as a regular, although that is technically impossible given that this can only be hosted for the duration of the festival.

Anyways, back to the topic.

A café is not just about their food but also the various services they offered as well as how said service itself is being carried out.

That definition holds much more truth for a butler café when one of their main selling points is the appeal of the waiters or rather, the butlers themselves.

Since the theme of 3-F's butler café was a particular otome game, their main clientele were students who had some attachment with the source material.

In other words, they were the female otaku of Sobu High.

That kind of detail however wasn't that necessary for Hikigaya Hachiman who was working on the ground.

What was most important was the fact that they were people that he didn't personally know and had no idea who he was as well so he was able to do his job as a butler without much shame.

Unfortunately, this kind of situation didn't last for very long.

"Welcome Home, My P-Princess!"

For the first time since they opened up shop, Hikigaya Hachiman fumbled his greeting.

The reason for that is because of none other than the customer with flaxen hair and honey-colored eyes that he had to entertain at the moment.

Isshiki Iroha.

Currently, she is Sobu High's Student Council President.

For Hikigaya in particular, she also happens to be one of the few (only) second year students that he was close to.

In other words, an acquaintance.

Just like how it was with Ebina Hina earlier, the embarrassment he felt when doing something like this towards a girl he knew was more than twice as much.

It went both ways however as Isshiki herself was trying her best to reign in her blushing cheeks.

"You are Hachi-senpai, right?" Isshiki asked while casting an inquisitive glance at the black-haired butler in front of her, even going as far as leaning close to his face while doing so.

Unable to keep his façade any longer in front of someone he interacted with regularly, Hikigaya ended up sighing once before moving close to Isshiki and whispering a few words to her.

"Yes, it's still me. Don't mind all the mannerisms and the fancy speech too much; it's all just part of the job. Got it?"

"No no no, you're asking for the impossible here!" Isshiki shook her head and waved both of her hands around as she complained. "There's no way I can just dismiss all of that so easily when your current getup is so much different from your usual self!"

"Yeah, I bet," even he himself couldn't believe whatever it was he was doing so blaming his kouhai's confusion would be too unreasonable for him. "Anyways," because there was nothing he could do with his current situation anymore, he decided to just switch his gears back to butler mode and focus on working for now. "Since the VIP service seems to have been reserved for you for some reason," Isshiki preemptively averted her gaze away from an implicating glance from Hikigaya's side. "Please follow me as I guide you to your table."

"Okay," Isshiki nodded timidly before following the lead of her senpai, no, butler to her table.

When they arrived, Hikigaya pulled the chair back on the table and allowed his kouhai, no, princess to sit down and make herself comfortable.

Shortly after that, the raven-haired butler began serving Isshiki a cup of tea without saying another word.

"Please have a cup of tea while waiting for your order, My Princess."

Aside from being addressed in such an embarrassing manner, there was one other thing that left Isshiki a little puzzled.

"Eh? I didn't order yet though!"

"Be at ease," Hikigaya kept a smile as he explained. "This is simply part of the VIP Service that we're offering," he then preemptively added another point before the girl in front of him had the opportunity to raise another question. "Of course because of prior arrangements, the bill for this will be waived."

"Well, if you say so."

Isshiki decided not to ask any more questions and just sip on her tea but because of her nervousness, she wasn't really able to taste it at all.

After a short while, Hikigaya received a signal from one of his classmates in-charge of sending out the customer's orders that the preparations of what Isshiki has been waiting for has already been completed.

"It seems your order is finally ready; please excuse me for a bit, My Princess."

"Sure."

After getting Isshiki's consent, Hikigaya bowed and walked towards the counter to obtain her order.

"Thank you for waiting, My Princess," Hikigaya remarked as he placed a tall glass which contained an assortment of fruits composed of strawberries and blueberries as its base followed by a layer of granola then some vanilla ice cream. Up next was another array of fruits, this time with bananas and kiwis. After that, was an additional serving of granola which was then buried under a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The rim of the glass was decorated with kiwis, apples, oranges, strawberries and bananas sliced in a manner similar to flower petals with a wafer stick protruding from one of the edges. A scoop of strawberry ice cream was on the middle accompanied with blueberries and nuts. Over said scoop was a swirl of whipped cream drizzled with both chocolate and strawberry syrup. Finally, on top of all of that was a luscious red cherry. "This is one of our café's specialties, the Deluxe VIP Parfait! Please enjoy."

Isshiki's eyes were sparkling upon looking at the towering dessert. Given her sweet tooth, there was no way she was going to be able to resist the treat in front of her.

"Is this really on the house?"

"Yes, it is. You have my word, My Princess."

By this point, Isshiki's attention was monopolized solely by the parfait so Hikigaya's coaxing lines did not affect her as much anymore.

"Then without further ado," Isshiki grabbed the spoon close to her and locked on to her target. "Itadakimasu!"

"Please wait a second, My Princess!" Hikigaya's abrupt warning stopped Isshiki's spoon on its tracks.

"Eh? What is it? Do I have to pay for this after all?!" Isshiki remarked in panic.

"No, that's not it. It's just that there is something I need to clarify about this VIP Service of ours first," he cast a glance on Ebina who immediately nodded before Hikigaya could even raise his inquiry, making one of the loner's brows twitch involuntarily. The bespectacled fujoshi seems to have predicted beforehand that Hikigaya will have some concerns about this particular detail. At this point in time, he still had no idea that a secret exchange was conducted between these two girls behind-the-scenes concurrently; one of said girls was also completely blind at the fact that Hikigaya also had his own agreement with the other. In the end, he could only sigh. "With that being said," Hikigaya swiftly snatched the spoon away from Isshiki's hands and scooped up a small portion of the strawberry ice cream in the middle along with one of the blueberries before finally raising said spoon close to Isshiki's mouth. "My Princess, please say Aahn~"

Isshiki blinked twice in confusion before her entire brain short-circuited to the point that steam was figuratively coming out of her head.

"Eh? Eh? Eh?! What?!"

In contrast to the panicking foxy kouhai, the cynical senpai remained calm.

"I advise you to make haste My Princess or all this ice cream might just melt."

Hearing the butler's advice stimulated Isshiki's desire to consume the dessert in front of her while it was still at its best condition to the point that it overpowered her earlier shame.

"A-A-Aahn…"

Hikigaya inched the spoon closer and closer to Isshiki's mouth but at the exact instant where it reached her lips…

"Ouch!"

He pulled back, making Isshiki chomp at nothing but air.

"Too bad. It seems like My Princess was a second too slow," a sadistic smile surfaced on Hikigaya's face as he made that remark.

"Wah! Hachi-sen-!"

Before she could complete her protest, the spoon that was barely a few inches away from her lips was directed straight to her mouth that was just about to complain.

"Was it to your liking, My Princess?"

When the sweetness of the ice cream and the fruit blended inside her mouth, her lips ended up smiling even though her senpai's prank just a second ago pissed her off so much.

"Mm! It tastes good!" Isshiki answered while still savoring the aftertaste of the dessert on her tongue.

Now that she lowered her guard, Hikigaya leaned a bit close to Isshiki's ear and raised a subject that should not be heard by others. "Is it safe to assume that we're also even with that other case?" the nature of his smile slightly changed after he said that line though that minute change wouldn't be easily noticed by those who didn't know him well enough.

That other case being referred to her was a little favor he asked from her during the time a certain Festival Committee Chairman was unaware that he stamped a proposal that gave some approval powers to his Vice Chairman.

A pout manifested on Isshiki Iroha's face as she recalled that event.

"Is that part of the reason why I'm getting all this special treatment?"

"Who knows?" Hikigaya shrugged nonchalantly.

This time, it was the kouhai's turn to sigh. "This is cheating, Hachi-senpai. I don't really think I can say no in this kind of situation."

"Well, I'm glad that I have your understanding," he bowed while maintaining the same cryptic smile.

"Hmm, I think I prefer being spoiled by the usual Hachi-senpai more," Isshiki whispered to herself while poking her parfait with her spoon.

"Hmm? Did you say something, Iroha?"

Though Hikigaya's sharp ears managed to pick up the sound of his kouhai grumbling, his hearing wasn't acute enough to catch what it was she exactly said.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," Isshiki repeatedly shook her head in denial.

"Is that so?" he raised one of his brows in suspicion but ultimately decided not to pry. "Well if you need me for anything else please call for me, I'll come to you right away," he then bowed. "Please enjoy your meal."

Isshiki couldn't peel her eyes away from the back of her senpai who was walking back to the counter. She finally snapped from her trance when his figure was surrounded by his other classmates.

This kind of Hachi-senpai is bad news.

For that twisted senpai of hers to make her heart flutter like that, it was probably one of the more embarrassing moments in Isshiki's life.

What was scarier was the fact that she felt like she thought about something along those lines before but she can't quite recall when.

To try and distract herself from whatever these turbulent emotions of hers are, she decided to grab her spoon, dig in to her parfait and think about all the other details later.

"Hmm, it tasted a bit sweeter earlier," Isshiki murmured to herself but upon comprehending what those words might imply, her blush became even more prominent that it even reached her ears.

Wait, what am I saying?!

…

VIP Service.

It was what Ebina designated the act of emulating a scene from the original otome game.

Not only were these acts extremely embarrassing to do, they were also hard to execute and if said clients were able to see them coming, they might even leave both butler and customer in an awkward spot.

Of course that was not an issue for someone not in the know like Isshiki Iroha.

When the black-haired butler which was the source of her distress took his leave, Isshiki was finally free to enjoy her dessert to her leisure…

That was until another senpai of hers who belonged to this same class decided to approach her.

"Hallo hallo, Isshiki-san," Ebina Hina greeted before taking a seat in front of her kouhai.

"Ah, hello Ebina-senpai," Isshiki bowed slightly from her sitting position. "Can I help you with something?"

"By all means, please keep eating. I just wanted to ask your thoughts about something," Ebina raised her index finger for emphasis. "Is that okay?"

"Sure. I don't mind."

"Thank you very much for your cooperation, Isshiki-san," a faint tinge of mischief was added on Ebina's smile. "So, how do you like our VIP Service?"

"Well…" Isshiki averted her eyes away from her bespectacled senpai and spoke in a soft voice. "I think it's nice enough that I might come again tomorrow."

Ebina couldn't hold back her smile after hearing that statement.

"Should I tell Hikigaya-kun about your answer?"

"Please don't!" Isshiki exclaimed in a much louder voice unconsciously but after noticing that she was disturbing the other customers she bowed to them and apologized for the racket before sitting back down.

"Sorry. I guess I should not have teased you so much," Ebina's scheming expression became apologetic before finally turning more serious. "I know you know this already but just to make sure, our deal only covers for one transaction so you'll have to pay for the next one."

"Yeah, I know," Isshiki puffed both of her cheeks while grumbling. "Ebina-senpai, you meanie."

"Ahahaha, I have no words to argue with that one," Ebina took Isshiki's complaint head-on with a composed smile. "Well then, I'm not going to disturb you any further. Please enjoy your meal and I'll be looking forward to your visit tomorrow," Ebina finally took her leave after dropping those words.

While these two girls were conversing, one Hikigaya Hachiman could be found cringing to himself at a corner of the kitchen away from the eyes of the customers every time he recalled all the shameless acts he did to his kouhai earlier.

"Hah… The things we do for money…"

Hikigaya sighed in a manner very similar to a salaryman who was already sick and tired of his day-to-day job. Had he been on a cigarette then a puff of smoke would have come out of his mouth in tandem with his sigh.

Unfortunately for him, this was far from the last time for this kind of thing to happen.

As a side note, the orders for the Deluxe VIP Parfait have increased significantly after Class 3-F advertised it as the Student Council President's favorite but whether the favorite in question was the dessert itself or the butler serving it was still a question up in the air. Regardless, it eventually ended up being one of the most ordered food item by the end of the festival.

---

SS 3: In More Ways Than One, Kawasaki Saki's Weakness Was Her Siblings

"Hmm~ Hmm~ Hmm~"

In the festive grounds of the dystopian prison otherwise known as school, where the youth are gathered and figuratively brainwashed with a fragment of the rules and norms of adult society, an angel can be seen skipping about as she held on to a crepe that was bought from one of the many stands on the grounds while her light blue hair tied into low pigtails bounced about in accordance with her movements.

It was none other than Kawasaki Keika.

Holding the hand of said angel was a guardian knight in the form of a young woman with a bluish-silver ponytail and a sporty figure concealed underneath her uniform.

Though she is usually more known to be a little serious and is even misunderstood to be aggressive, right now all that hostility was gone while beside the young girl.

"Are you having fun, Kei-chan?" Kawasaki Saki, the older sister of Kawasaki Keika asked with a fond smile on her face.

"Yes! I'm having so much fun!" Keika nibbled on her crepe after answering. "Ah!" because she bit on the middle of the treat without biting around the edges first, a portion of the cream filling splashed onto the edges of her lips.

"Be careful, Kei-chan," seeing the sight made the big sister chuckle before taking out a handkerchief and wiping the little mess on her younger sibling's face. "There you go."

"Thank you, Saa-chan."

"You're very welcome," Kawasaki patted the head of her imouto tenderly. "So Kei-chan, where do you want to go next?"

"I wanna go see Haa-chan!" the elementary-schooler exclaimed as she threw both of her hands excitedly into the air.

While Kawasaki already expected as much, to hear her little sister say it from her own mouth still left her at a state of slight shock.

For the sake of her other sibling however, she couldn't bring herself to just give in so easily.

"Don't you think we should go see your big brother Taishi first?"

Keika's enthusiasm from earlier died down as if it was all fake.

"Tai-chan can wait," she said matter-of-factly.

"Kei-chan, if Taishi heard that, he's going to cry you know?" the first daughter of the Kawasaki family tried to raise a valid argument but the angel in front of her did not seem willing to listen at all.

"Tai-chan can wait," Keika stated once again with an insistence that Kawasaki could not go against anymore. "Let's go see Haa-chan!"

With the happiness of her two younger siblings on the line, Kawasaki Saki was forced to make a very difficult decision.

Sorry, Taishi…

Naturally, the younger sibling had her way.

…

Without a doubt, lunchtime is the absolute peak hours of any business handling food whether they be a longtime franchise or a fleeting thing like a festival attraction.

The same rule applied to the butler café of Class 3-F.

All the boys who role-played as a butler character were deployed on the ground and the special service where the clients had the liberty to choose which butler would serve them was temporarily adjusted such that the choices could only be from the butlers who were not handling any customers at the moment.

For the adaptable Hikigaya Hachiman however he was more than willing to bend the rules.

"Haa-chan!"

Amidst the cacophony of sounds which include the customers giving their orders, the butlers trying to make small talk with the guests, the kitchen staff receiving/giving out the ordered food and the clang of the plates as they are moved from one place to another, the sharp cry of a young girl rang out and disturbed the noise equilibrium.

"Wah?!" the sudden additional weight on his left leg took Hikigaya by surprise, enough that it blew away the entire façade he set up. It was a good thing that he wasn't holding on to any trays or the like at this timing. "Kei-chan?! Wait, that means…"

"Kei-chan!" a bluish-silver ponytail then came rushing in after the little angel. Who else could it be but the older sister, Kawasaki Saki? It was only after she secured the safety of her younger sibling did she finally notice the awkward situation they were in. "Umm… Hachiman?"

Despite how she tries to conduct herself in public, Hikigaya knew that Kawasaki was not exactly the type to deal well with unexpected developments so it was up to him to come up with measures to deal with this scene.

By a stroke of good fortune, help came to him in the form of a guy with long brown hair with a slight orange tinge, Tobe Kakeru.

"Tobe, can you please guide these two to a vacant table? I'll come to them shortly afterwards."

"Leave it to me, Hikitani bro," Tobe answered enthusiastically while raising a thumbs-up, winking and even showing a portion of his pearly-whites. It was the first time that the cynic was not irritated after seeing that particular pose.

Hikigaya was truly thankful that someone like Tobe, who didn't ask any unnecessary questions, is one of his friends.

"Thanks. I'll make it up to you later," Hikigaya tapped Tobe's shoulder as a gesture of gratitude before turning his focus back to the customer he was supposed to have been attending to earlier. "I apologize about that, My Princess. It seems like the guests I was expecting came a little too early than we initially planned so I'll have to take my leave," since he was on his Fake Hikki mask, Hikigaya was able to lie as naturally as he breathed.

"It's fine. I understand. They're very important guests of yours after all."

It was obvious from the girl's mannerisms that she was a little discouraged with this sudden turn of events.

If he didn't do anything then the reputation of the class' café might take a hit, effectively cutting down a portion of their potential profit.

There was no way he was going to let such a thing happen.

In time like these…

"I'm truly very sorry," Hikigaya bowed before pulling out a small piece of paper from his coat's pocket. "In exchange, please accept this coupon that will give you a 50% off of your meal."

…He had no other choice but to give them some special service.

Loner Skill No. 1: Hikki Zone.

After quickly digging through his memories, there was one particular scene shared to him by that fujoshi group that could potentially get him out of this sticky situation.

He was now banking completely on the popularity of this Raven character to carry him through.

As insurance he'll need the help of one other person…

Loner Skill No. 12: Mimic Hikki.

Target to copy was…

Tobe Kakeru.

Specifically, Tobe Kakeru's boldness.

With his preparations complete, Hikigaya brought an index finger to his lips and winked while leaning a bit close to the girl's face.

"It will be our little secret."

The rest of what happened can be summarized by one line that Hikigaya thought of after his little stint at a host club.

Being charismatic is not balanced.

By the end of it all, the female student left Class 3-F's café with a big smile on her face.

The potential crisis on Ebina Hina's and Hikigaya Hachiman's pockets was successfully averted but whether the threat was actually a thing or was it only the loner's paranoia was a different story altogether.

…

"Sorry for the wait, My Princess."

Hikigaya bowed in front of the Kawasaki sisters after saying so.

The older of the two had a confused look on her face while the other one's eyes were sparkling with interest.

"You are Hachiman, right? What's with the gaudy speech?"

Though it wasn't the first time that Kawasaki saw Hikigaya in his formal clothes, to suddenly be addressed as a princess by him was something that she was completely unprepared for.

So as to not risk breaking his character in public, Hikigaya chose to answer Kawasaki by whispering close to her ear, much to the sheer embarrassment of the misunderstood delinquent.

"It's just part of the job. I don't think I need to explain it any further, right?"

Hikigaya's words applied a strange pressure on Kawasaki that prevented her from saying anything back; a part of the reason may also be because he was whispering very close to her ears but who can really say?

Thankfully, she still had enough composure in her to comprehend Hikigaya's words.

"Ah, I get it…"

"Did Haa-chan just call me a princess?!"

The older sister's meek response was easily overpowered by the little girl's avid curiosity.

Needless to say, the explanation that Hikigaya had in mind to say to Keika was way different compared to her sister's.

"I don't see any other girl cuter than you here so you must be one," the smile on Hikigaya's face changed from that of a butler into a doting older brother.

Given that his Onii-chan tendencies were getting stimulated, it was only natural that Hikigaya will end up spoiling Kawasaki Keika, rather it was inevitable.

"Do you mean it, Haa-chan?"

"Of course," Hikigaya patted her head but upon remembering shortly after that he was technically on the clock and his mask was slipping away, he restrained himself and pulled his hand back. "Since it's very slowly approaching noon, how about having lunch here instead?"

Hikigaya alternated his glance between the two sisters as he asked.

"Are you okay with that, Kei-chan?"

"Sure!" Keika nodded with glee.

"It's decided then!" the raven-haired butler leaned a bit closer to the two sisters before continuing. "Now what will My Princesses be having?"

"Any recommendations?"

Hikigaya didn't even take a second to think before answering.

"In that case, I highly recommend our omurice."

"The way you answered instantaneously makes me think that something is up," the ponytailed girl sharpened her eyes in distrust.

Loner Skill No. 72: Dupe Hikki.

As someone who is much more exposed to the ways of the world compared to the average high school student, Kawasaki Saki was also not as easy to fool… Under normal circumstances, that is.

"Kei-chan, do you like omurice?" the scheming cynic decided to influence his friend's decision by convincing her sibling instead, one of her few weaknesses.

"Yeah! I like it!" the innocent little girl answered without thinking too much about it.

"You heard her," Hikigaya smiled smugly before he closed in on Kawasaki and whispered a few words to her ear once again. "Regrettably, because this is only a café run by students, the number of food items we can prepare is rather limited. I'm sure you can understand this too, right?"

"You're going to be a despicable salesman in the future," Kawasaki sighed after grumbling. "Alright, we'll take two plates of omurice then."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Hikigaya flashed a smile and then bowed. "I have received your order and I'll be bringing it over after a short while."

Before Hikigaya could take the opportunity to leave however…

"Is Haa-chan going to eat with us too?"

The third-year high school student pair was stunned for a few seconds from the words that came out of the young Keika.

The first to recover between the two was Kawasaki.

"That will be a little difficult to do, Kei-chan. H-H-Haa-chan is still working after all," she reasoned with her younger sister in a soft voice while her cheeks visibly reddened when the words Haa-chan came out of her own mouth.

"Does Haa-chan dislike eating together with Kei-chan?" the little girl grabbed one of his cuffs and asked with upturned eyes.

"Guh..!"

Hikigaya alternated his gaze between the two Kawasaki sisters before it ended up landing on a certain bespectacled fujoshi who was watching the developments from a short distance away.

I'll allow it.

Was what her nodding gesture and expression said after they made eye contact.

"Very well, let's eat together," he sighed in resignation. "I'll bring out another order of omurice for my own consumption. Naturally, it will be by my own expense."

…

"Thank you for waiting."

Hikigaya arranged the three plates on their table without making nary a sound.

What was on said plates was an omelet folded in such a manner that it had an oval-like shape. The middle of the egg was drizzled with ketchup and accompanied by a few pieces of lettuce, as well as some cucumber and tomato slices in order to increase the color variety.

Both the tangy aroma of the ketchup and the smell of the freshly cooked egg was more than enough to stimulate anyone's appetite but the sight of something else that was red on the dish made a rare frown come out of Keika's face.

"Eh? There're tomatoes in them?"

Hikigaya couldn't stop himself from chuckling after hearing that complaint.

"So you don't like tomatoes, Kei-chan? I don't like them too," the young Kawasaki's eyes glimmered after hearing that she had found a comrade-in-arms with the black-haired butler in front of her but before she could get a word in, Hikigaya preemptively gave her a piece of advice like an old man would to a passing youth. "But you shouldn't be picky with your food. Like many other things in life, it's good for you exactly because it is an unpleasant experience- Ouch!"

Just when he was about to explain further, his head was suddenly chopped by Kawasaki Saki who was listening in from the sidelines until that instant.

"And just what are you trying to teach a child?"

Reality would have been the easiest answer to say but there was a big chance that he would get another chop on the head if he said that so he opted on saying something else instead.

"Not violence, at least."

That move appeared to be the correct choice as Kawasaki wasn't able to say or do anything else until a little later.

"This isn't violence. This is discipline."

"Touché, Saki. Touché," as expected of a girl who worked with adults at an early point in life, she was also quick to come up with an excuse for her actions just like one. Since they were in front of a kid, Hikigaya thought to forfeit this point to her for now and instead divert his attention to the little angel he was sitting together with. "I'll tell you what, Kei-chan. If you manage to finish everything on your plate, I'll treat you to some dessert."

"Really? It's a promise then!" the little girl immediately began increasing the pace at which she consumed her food.

"You're spoiling her," Kawasaki narrowed her eyes as she spoke.

"Where's the harm in it?" Hikigaya leaned back to his chair and nonchalantly shrugged. "If it helps her eat her vegetables more from now on then I see this as an absolute win."

Kawasaki couldn't really say anything else especially when she saw how fast her sister was devouring her portion, tomatoes included.

The three eventually settled to just dealing with their respective orders.

As Keika was eating at a pace she was not used to, some unforeseen accidents could not be avoided.

"Hm?"

Because of putting too much content on her spoon, some ketchup left a small patch on the edge of her lips.

Needless to say, this did not go unnoticed in the eyes of her older sister.

"Kei-chan, you have some ketchup on your lips," she grabbed a napkin within her each before extending her arm towards Keika's cheek. "Here, let me get it for you."

Keika unconsciously positioned her face such that it was easier for her sister to wipe her lips.

"Ehehehe, thank you, Saa-chan!"

The misunderstood delinquent's heart melted after seeing Keika's appreciative smile.

Hikigaya looked at the display of sisterhood with a fond smile on his face.

This staring act of his however was not missed by the older Kawasaki.

"What?" she asked in a grouchy tone to try and conceal her embarrassment.

When Kawasaki turned to Hikigaya, he saw something on her face that he couldn't simply ignore.

Smiling, he grabbed the napkin within his arm's reach and proceeded to wipe the older Kawasaki's lips.

"You have something on your lips too," a layer of mischief was laced into Hikigaya Hachiman's smile. "Saa-chan."

The usually stoic Kawasaki Saki instantly went bright red after that.

"Waa..! Wawawawa!" her embarrassment reached such heights that she was unable to speak coherently for a few seconds. "I can do something like that all by myself!" she grabbed the napkin on a rush and used it to wipe her face on her own.

It was a rare clumsy mistake from her end but it was most likely because she was allocating much of her focus towards tending to the needs of her little sister.

"Ah, sorry. I got a little carried away," Hikigaya pulled his hand back as he apologized.

"No, it's fine. I'm sorry for overreacting," Kawasaki murmured her own apology in response.

As the two were stuck in this awkward stalemate of theirs, they unconsciously left the little girl that they were supposed to be keeping an eye on all to her own devises.

"Ah…"

The black-haired pessimist and the silver-haired misunderstood delinquent turned towards the source of the sound at the same time only to end up seeing one Kawasaki Keika whose cheeks were both covered with lots of ketchup patches, with most of her fingers ending up as collateral damage because of what she did to herself.

Seeing the ridiculous sight in front of them made the two laugh together, effectively dispelling the stiff atmosphere from earlier.

"You shouldn't play with your food, Kei-chan," Kawasaki chided her in a gentle voice while wiping her sister's face.

"You even got some on your fingers too. Here, let me help," a bittersweet smile was plastered on Hikigaya as he held on to Keika's hand before cleaning her fingers.

"Ehehehe. Sorry, Saa-chan and Haa-chan," despite saying sorry, it didn't seem like she was in any way remorseful with what she just did but the two high school students she was sitting together with did not seem to mind it too much. "Also, thank you!"

…

Despite being under the scrutiny of several eyes from both the customers and his own classmates alike, Hikigaya could never bring himself to say that today's lunch was not fun.

Regrettably, all things in this world whether good or bad must always come to an end.

"Bye bye, Haa-chan!"

Hikigaya met the cheerful little girl at her eye level and patted her head lightly before answering. "See you later, Kei-chan. You take care now," he then stood back up to his full height and greeted her sister next. "That goes for you as well, Sa-" he stopped himself from saying what he originally intended to say when she suddenly glared at him. "-Saki."

Kawasaki dropped her glare after hearing what Hikigaya said at the end though some part of her expression hinted that she was feeling a bit frustrated, Hikigaya decided that the smart move was to keep quiet about it.

"Thank you for indulging in Kei-chan despite being so busy," Kawasaki bowed after dropping such a formal statement.

"It's no big deal. Besides, I had a good time as well."

The two awkward loners of last year exchanged a laugh with each other for a short while.

"Then, we'll be going."

"Yeah."

It was only after the Kawasaki sisters left did Hikigaya Hachiman recall that he forgot to do one thing he was supposed to be doing all this time…

And that was none other than to stay in character.

Well, I guess its fine as long as Kei-chan enjoyed herself.

At the very least, he could take solace in the fact that he was still not that far gone yet since Kawasaki Keika could still easily dismantle his mask.

With that, Hikigaya returned to the classroom with a much better mood than earlier but all the good vibes he carried around fizzled when he noticed that all of his classmates were staring at him as if they were just itching to ask him about something.

"What?"

The only one brave, stupid and close enough to talk to Hikigaya in this kind of scenario was none other than Tobe Kakeru.

"Hikitani bro," it was the second time he saw Tobe be genuinely nervous aside from last year's confession incident back at Kyoto. "I'm asking in order to make sure but was that little girl just now your kid with Kawasaki-san?"

Hikigaya looked at Tobe and then all of his classmates as if they grew extra heads.

"Are you all seriously asking this question?" when all of them nodded without exception, he couldn't help but massage his temple to try and abate the migraine he was getting. "Hypothetically if I did have a kid, do you guys really think that she'll end up being that angelic?"

It didn't even take a second for Tobe to respond.

"Oh! I guess that's right!"

Everyone else went along with that line of thought after thinking about it for a few seconds.

Even if he was the one who said it himself, Hikigaya can't help but feel vexed at how easily he convinced his classmates with that argument.

It was probably enough to clear the air of any potential rumors but just to be safe, it was better for him to add a little insurance, so to speak.

Hikigaya removed his glasses and directed his gaze towards his classmates.

Loner Skill No. 61: Hikki Glare.

"Whatever it is that you guys are thinking of, I can assure you that it's all just a misunderstanding," his lips cured upwards into a smile but paired with his eyes, it only made him look that much more frightening. "Got it?"

Even the ever-so-carefree Tobe panicked after seeing Hikigaya's current expression.

"Yeah, we get it already Hikitani bro! It was just a joke! A joke, yeah? So can you please relax?"

The rest of his classmates also let out their own excuses as they followed Tobe's lead.

Hikigaya finally stopped applying his pressure after he saw their reactions.

"So long as you understand."

While all this was going on, Ebina Hina discreetly added a new service where you can have the butler join you on your meal after seeing how many envious glances were cast on the Kawasaki's table when Hikigaya sat with them.

…

Somewhere in the school grounds of Sobu, a certain first-year boy with hair of a slightly different shade than his two sisters kept looking around as he carried out his festival inspection duties.

"Taishi-kun, are you looking for something?" Hikigaya Komachi asked the boy she was paired with in a tone filled with both worry and curiosity.

"No, not really," Taishi's answer came almost instantly.

Since what he was looking for was someone rather than something, he technically wasn't lying. It was a trick he picked up from that Aniki of his.

"Well, if you say so."

It was only after she was out of earshot did Taishi let go of the sigh that he had been holding back.

"Kei-chan and Nee-san sure are late," he whispered to himself after briefly glancing at his watch. "Did something happen I wonder?"

Meanwhile, the sister pair he was worried about was roaming about on the main school building of Sobu after they visited Hikigaya's class with Keika in the lead.

"I want to meet the Nee-chan with black hair similar to Haa-chan next!"

Rather than be confused why her sister was suddenly interested with a particular black-haired heiress, she was more surprised at the fact that Keika seemed to have forgotten about a sibling of theirs.

"Eh? But Kei-chan what about Taishi?" the eldest daughter of the Kawasaki family decided to pitch her brother once again.

"Tai-chan can wait," Keika dismissed the matter in a manner similar to swatting a fly.

Given how insistent Keika has been since earlier, the only thing that Kawasaki Saki could do at this point was offer their other sibling another apology.

I'm sorry Taishi…

---

SS 4: Despite Her Embarrassment, Miura Yumiko Manages To Arrange A Future Rendezvous With The Cynic (Idiot)

Unlike Hayama Hayato who wears the undisputed crown of being the most popular guy in school, the throne of the most popular girl in school is split between the ravenette Yukinoshita Yukino and the blonde Miura Yumiko.

While the latter would have taken offense on such a point last year, she didn't mind it too much nowadays.

After all, the girl she shares the throne with also happens to be one of her dearest friends.

Speaking of the girl named Yukinoshita Yukino, she was a very difficult girl to find on the campus grounds.

Perhaps this mysterious elusiveness of hers contributes a little to her apparent popularity but that's beside the point.

To those in the know, there was one place in Sobu where you were guaranteed to find her…

…At least that was what Miura Yumiko thought until she slid the Service Club's doors open.

While she did end up encountering someone with jet-black hair, it didn't belong to the famous Ice Queen but was actually from a mutual friend of theirs instead.

Hikigaya Hachiman.

Aside from being friends with him, Miura and Hikigaya currently belong to the same class as well.

Right now, his entire upper body was slumped on the table, fast asleep.

Since it's not often that she gets to see him in this kind of vulnerable situation, Miura Yumiko was tempted to do something she had always wanted to try.

As if her entire body had a will of its own, she moved a few steps forward until she was directly in front of the sleeping loner and her right hand then slowly began to approach his black hair. Inch by inch her hand went closer until…

"Hmm?"

"!"

Hikigaya suddenly lifted his head up and opened his eyes only to be instantly met with the emerald irises of the Fire Queen. He blinked twice before he could finally register the figure of his familiar blonde friend.

"Oh, it's you, Miura," the cynic's voice sounded even more languid than usual. He shook some of his sleepiness off with a yawn before continuing his greeting. "Good job with the committee work. Did you encounter any problems?"

The old Miura would've definitely felt a little irritated if she was talked to in such a sloppy manner last year but for her current self, she didn't mind it so much anymore. Furthermore, since she was seeing yet another side of Hikigaya for the first time she was more curious rather than annoyed though she would never say that out loud.

"A little bit but nothing I couldn't handle. Good work to you too, Hikio. From the looks of it, it seems like the class' café is giving you more stress than the committee work instead."

"I'm fine," Hikigaya waved off Miura's concern with a hand. "The fatigue I'm experiencing is mostly in the mental department anyways. By the way," Hikigaya pointed at a certain body part of Miura that was in an unnatural position. "What's up with the hand?"

"Well…" Miura's eyes darted around the room as she hurriedly tried to come up with an excuse only to end up going with the first thing that popped up on her head. "I was planning on waking you up and asking you if you have an idea where Yui and Yukino are."

"I see," with his sleepiness dulling his usual perception Hikigaya was not able to see through Miura's impromptu excuse. "To answer your question, no, I haven't seen either Yukino or Yui since the opening ceremony. Sorry for not being of much help."

"No, it's alright. I was only going to ask them to accompany me during my break or something."

"Ah, sorry about that," Hikigaya adopted an apologetic tone as he scratched the back of his head. "Now you ended up being stuck with boring ol' me."

That self-deprecating statement from him made one of Miura's eyebrows twitch.

"You're the only one who thinks like that, Hikio."

"Huh?"

"Ugh!" Miura slammed the table and leaned close to Hikigaya's face to forcefully prove her point. "I'll make this clear now while I still can but I don't dislike spending my time with you, okay?!"

"Right right, I understand," he nodded repeatedly while using both of his hands to try and recover some personal space. If there was one thing he knew about the blonde in front of her then it was the fact that one shouldn't mess with her when she was pissed. Placating her anger at the moment should be his top priority. As he began to brainstorm for any good ideas, his gaze inadvertently landed on his glove-clad hands thus, making a light bulb appear on top of his head. "Ah, you feeling thirsty?"

Though she was a little confused why he would suddenly ask such a question, Miura still chose to respond.

"Yeah, maybe a little bit."

"Gimme a second," Hikigaya stood up and walked towards the nearby counter then began to make several preparations while Miura grabbed a seat for herself and kept her eye on him as he carried them out. After a short while, Hikigaya came back to the table with a tray containing two empty cups as well as the teapot that the former Service Club President regularly uses, a sugar cube container and a small plate of cookies from Class 3-F's café which he grabbed for himself earlier before he left for his break. "Sorry for the wait, My Princess," while he was at it, Hikigaya also decided to put on his butler persona that he has been using during his shift in their class' café along with his glasses. "How sweet would you like your drink to be?"

Even though this wasn't the first time she saw Hikigaya in this getup, that didn't mean she was completely used to it. That being said rather than attraction, the more dominant emotion in Miura's heart at the moment was something much darker that she couldn't quite put a word on it. Whatever it was though, it irked her to the point that a part of her reverted back to the more volatile Miura from last year.

"Is that the kind of thing you say to all of the customers, Hikio?" without her conscious input, Miura's eyes sharpened as she crossed both of her arms to her chest.

"Unfortunately so," Hikigaya sighed as he removed his glasses and placed it on the corner of the table. "I knew it wouldn't have any effect on you though," he smiled bitterly at the end of his statement.

"O-O-Of course it wouldn't!" the blonde agreed in a panic. "Besides, shouldn't you be resting more?"

"It's fine. Talking with you while sharing a cup of tea counts as a break too," Hikigaya laid out the plate of cookies in the middle of the table and brought the two empty cups closer to his side. "So, how sweet?" this time around, he went back to his usual tone.

"The tea is fine as it is," the discomfort she felt earlier settled down a little bit after she heard the cynic's response.

"Coming right up."

Having worked on the café for several hours from now, Hikigaya unconsciously poured the tea in the same showy fashion as he did when he was in front of the customers, which was to raise the teapot ever so slightly as you fill the cup. This act of his didn't go unnoticed by Miura's eyes and it relit the flames of irritation that was supposed to have died down earlier.

"Do you pour tea in that fashion for all the customers too?" the current Miura's visage became even more reminiscent to last year's more aggressive Fire Queen.

"Not just me, all the other butlers who can do it also does it in the same manner," Hikigaya answered while he poured a portion to his own cup. "Here you go," since it seemed like his friend didn't like the butler service, he went ahead and gave her drink in a more casual manner. "As for me I'll have… Wait, what are you doing?"

Unsure where to direct her vexation, Miura ended up grabbing the sugar container just before Hikigaya even had the chance to touch it.

"Are you going to make it as sweet as that disgusting coffee that you always drink?"

"I need the additional sugar if I ever want to stay sane while interacting with so many people," rather than directly say yes or no, Hikigaya opted to state the reason why he would choose the former option instead.

"Too much is not good for you," Miura chastised Hikigaya like a mother would to her son. "Make do with just these," she pushed the plate of cookies closer to her pessimistic friend as she spoke.

"Are you serious?"

"What? Got any complaints?"

"No, ma'am. None whatsoever."

With his complete defeat, Hikigaya could only munch on the cookies while alternating sips from his own cup.

Miura couldn't help but giggle every time she saw Hikigaya grimace from having to consume a much bitter drink than he's used to. Perhaps because it was not Yukinoshita who brewed the tea, it was much harder for him to stomach it than usual.

Well, at least one of us is enjoying themselves.

The suffering loner thought to himself despite being face-to-face with the source of all his anguish.

He couldn't think too badly about his blonde friend as she was only concerned about his health.

Besides, if she wasn't going to restrict him, his imouto or the other Yukinoshita ladies will probably do it anyways so it's not like this was the first time something like this happened.

"By the way," Miura began to play with her curls as she opened up another topic. "About the promise we had during that Summer Ball…"

Before he dug his own grave and said 'what promise?' out loud, Hikigaya made sure to browse through his own memories properly first.

While he did have a vague recollection of it, he couldn't quite recall any specifics beyond that.

It's either that or he forgot, both scenarios are a likely possibility and the idea of playing with fire both literally and figuratively did not sound like a good idea to him.

As such, in order to play things safer, he decided to fish out more information from Miura's side instead.

"If I recall correctly, I was supposed to treat you, right?"

"Oh, you remembered," Miura's mouth turned into a little 'o' from surprise.

"More or less," Hikigaya scratched his cheek awkwardly and averted his eyes away from his counterpart. "Sorry, things have been way too busy lately."

"It's fine. Unlike us, you have a big part-time job and all that," Miura dismissed the matter calmly, much to Hikigaya's surprise, though he noticed that the rate at which she played with her curls did increase albeit slightly.

Listening to such a considerate statement from Miura really made Hikigaya understand just how much Sobu's Fire Queen has mellowed down this year.

As the pessimist that he was however, he knew that this patience of hers wasn't going to last forever so he had to think about something good, and fast.

"This coming weekend."

Because of his panicked state however, Hikigaya ended up saying something without thinking.

"Huh?" the hand that was twirling her curls stopped after she heard the sudden statement that Hikigaya dropped.

Unable to take his words back anymore, the cynic proceeded to hurriedly come up with excuses.

"Unless something comes up, I think I should be free this coming weekend after the Cultural Festival," Hikigaya coughed in order to dispel some of his embarrassment. "Do you mind tagging along with me on that day?"

"Sure," Miura averted her eyes away from Hikigaya's before nodding. "I think I should also be free on that weekend as well."

"So… It's decided?" Hikigaya couldn't help but feel a little suspicious after he was able to navigate through such a difficult situation with ease.

"Mm, I'm looking forward to it," Miura's hand went back to her hair once again but this time around instead of playing with her curls she used it to try and conceal the faint smile on her lips and the vague blush on her cheeks.

Hikigaya couldn't quite tell if what Miura said was just lip service or not, nevertheless because he wasn't outright refused, he could at least deduce that Miura wasn't too against the idea of spending an entire day alone with him.

The atmosphere between the two has definitely gone awkward but because of their respective tasks for today, they each had a convenient excuse to take their leave.

"It's about time I get back out there," Hikigaya commented before getting up from his seat.

"Ah, now that you mention it, I have to go too," Miura stood up as well after hearing Hikigaya's statement but after seeing him nimbly clean up their table, she thought of an idea that the young man in front of her would have some difficulty approving. "I'll drop by as a customer later," amidst blushing cheeks, Miura still managed to make a mischievous smile. "I'll be expecting the best service from you, okay?"

"Huh? Please don't," Hikigaya instantly retorted. "Besides, didn't you dislike the whole My Princess thing?"

"It's fine," once again, Miura's brain scrambled for an excuse to try and deceive the boy in front of her. "I've warmed up to it!"

Doubtful if that really was the case, the cynic decided to try something out.

"Then," Hikigaya brought his right hand to the left side of his chest and made a perfect bow. "I'll be eagerly awaiting your visit, My Princess!"

If Miura Yumiko wasn't already blushing earlier, she sure as heck was blushing now.

"Save that for later! Hikio, you idiot!"

She shouted before bolting out of the Service Club and heading back to the Student Council Office, leaving a perplexed Hikigaya Hachiman inside the clubroom.

As usual, I don't understand women.

---

SS 5: Even After All This Time, One Should Not So Easily Put Faith In Yuigahama Yui's Culinary Skills

"Hikigaya, there's a girl asking for you," one of Class 3-F's boys who is currently acting as a butler tapped the cynic's shoulder and called for his attention. "Must be nice."

He sighed at the implicating statement his classmate said.

"You're more than welcome to serve her on my behalf, you know?" Hikigaya remarked as he fixed his glasses. "Besides, it's not like I'm doing this because I want to interact with a lot of girls."

"As much as I'd like to take you up on your offer, given the identity of the girl, that kind of thing is impossible," the same male classmate shrugged.

"Who is it anyways?"

"You'll know when you see her. She's over at the table closest to the windows."

Seeing that he couldn't get anything more out of the guy in front of him, Hikigaya chose to just nod.

"Understood."

Hikigaya Hachiman didn't even need to get that close in order to figure out the identity of this girl who was apparently looking for him.

The pink bun that was bobbing up and down as she swayed from her seat while she was waiting was more than enough as a hint. There were other things bobbing up and down along with said bun but Hikigaya channeled his entire willpower to not even think about looking towards that direction.

As he approached, the other party also managed to notice his presence.

"Ah, Hachi! Yahallo!"

Yuigahama Yui excitedly greeted while waving her hand rapidly in the air.

Even though all she ever got from him was his lackadaisical one-word greeting, she never fails to call out to him in such a jolly manner.

Because of his current post today however, his usual regards was replaced with their café's template response.

"Welcome Home, My Princess," the uncharacteristically flamboyant motions of Hikigaya Hachiman left Yuigahama stunned long enough that it allowed him to close in on her and ask something he'd rather not be heard by others. "So, how should I interact with you?"

She finally managed to snap out after hearing the voice of Hikigaya so close to her ear though that was another issue in and of itself, making her cheeks go slightly red.

"Hmm, I think I want Hachi to consider me like any other customer," the thousand watt smile on her face at this moment concealed a portion of her blush. "It's not often I get the chance to be treated like a princess after all."

"As you wish, My Princess," after having received that request from his good friend, Hachiman bowed once again. "Then, what will you be having?" despite Fake Hikki being active, Hikigaya couldn't stop himself from making a nostalgic smile after hearing the answer from Yuigahama's mouth. "Understood. Please wait a bit as we prepare your order," Hikigaya bowed once more to Yuigahama before heading over to the counter. "Is it okay for this order to be a little more special than usual, it's for a friend of mine who dropped by, you see?"

"It's for Yui-san, right? Leave it to me!" the girl receiving the order responded with glee.

Hikigaya wasn't surprised at how well-known Yuigahama was after all; she was one of the members of the most famous clique in Sobu for the longest time.

After a reasonable wait, Hikigaya returned to Yuigahama's table with her food.

"I apologize for the wait."

What was served to Yuigahama was a block of lightly toasted bread topped with ice cream, nuts, candy sprinkles and drizzled with honey. Not only did the presentation look good, the sweet scent of the honey combined with the aroma of the toasted bread was more than enough to make anyone's mouth water. It was honey toast but because of Hikigaya's request, Yuigahama's order had an extra scoop of ice cream, a fruit layer in a flower-like arrangement similar to the parfait and a wafer stick on one corner. Right now, it was more appropriate to call it…

"One Special Honey Toast just for you, My Princess."

Yuigahama's eyes instantly sparkled at the sweet treat served in front of her.

"Wow, it looks so delicious!"

Seeing the happy expression of his friend made all the extra effort of asking for a favor from his classmate worth it.

"Then, without further ado," Hikigaya made a cut at the middle of the honey toast in order to make it easier for Yuigahama to start eating. "Please do give it a try, My Princess."

"Yes!" Yuigahama wasted no time and grabbed a piece of the honey toast in front of her, coated it with as much of the ice cream and toppings as she realistically could before bringing it to her mouth. "Mmmh! So good!" Yuigahama commented while bringing a hand to her cheek as she savored the sweetness on her mouth.

The expression of bliss Yuigahama had all throughout the time she was eating the first piece also brought a smile to Hikigaya's face.

"I'm glad it was to your liking, My Princess."

Perhaps it was something about Yuigahama's bubbly personality but among all of his female acquaintances so far, he was most comfortable at acting in this ostentatious manner with her…

"Ah by the way, can I feed you?"

…That was until she went ahead and said something outrageous like that so innocently.

"Excuse me?" Hikigaya asked reflexively while bearing the faintest of hopes that he just misheard her earlier.

"Can I feed you?" Yuigahama restated with the exact same tone she had when she asked the first time.

Unfortunately, given how he literally has a Loner Skill based around his auditory senses, the possibility of that happening was quite low.

"I'm not really sure if that's allowed," Hikigaya reasoned but upon seeing the visage of Ebina giving a thumbs-up from their counter, his excuse was rendered ineffective. How that bespectacled friend of his always appears while knowing exactly what he was thinking of was beyond him. "Nevermind, apparently it's okay."

"Then," Yuigahama grabbed a piece of her honey toast and brought it close to Hikigaya's mouth. "Aahn~"

"Aah…"

Because of the prank that he did on Isshiki earlier, Hikigaya couldn't stop himself from acting a little hesitant with this feeding act.

Luckily for him, Yuigahama Yui was neither a mischievous fox nor a jaded loner.

The piece of honey toast which had its calorie content supercharged because of all the toppings safely landed on the cynic's mouth.

Yep, it tastes exactly like bread.

Because he was on the clock and to prevent any misunderstandings from his classmates, there was no way he could say such a thing out loud.

"Mm, as expected of the people in-charge of our kitchen."

His words of praise however didn't seem to register on Yuigahama's head as she was trying her hardest at suppressing her blush… And failing. The stares coming from the peanut gallery were also not doing her any favors.

"Ah this was more embarrassing than I thought."

Then don't do it in the first place.

Hikigaya kept the retort to himself and instead chose to distract her a little bit.

At this point, all the other customers were pretty much accustomed to the fact that the one playing as Raven is always giving a little special service to his clients so there were fewer eyes on him than when he interacted with other girls earlier.

Loner Skill No. 72: Dupe Hikki.

"Do you mind if I ask you about something?"

"Sure, Hikki."

Apart from still keeping his glasses on, Hikigaya's atmosphere entirely reverted back to his usual cynical self.

"Did you notice any strange movements from Sagami?"

Yuigahama blinked twice from surprise.

"Oh, it was about that, huh?" a withdrawn sigh escaped from her mouth as she rested her shoulders and her entire upper body on the surface of the table along with it. "No problems on that end. She is very much willing to help anyone out once she was done with her own work."

"Wait, she?" in the next second, Hikigaya figured out that they were currently having a misunderstanding. "I think we're both talking about a different person here."

"Huh?" it took a short while longer before Yuigahama finally understood what the cynic was really trying to ask her. "Ah! You were talking about-! Kyaa!"

Sagamin's otouto!

Were the words that she was about to say before Hikigaya's glove-clad hand clasped her shoulder suddenly.

"We're supposed to be talking discreetly so it would be very helpful if you don't raise your voice."

Chills were sent to Yuigahama's spine as each word that Hikigaya uttered went through her ear.

"I get it. I get it. It just sort of slipped off my mind. Ehehehe!" Yuigahama scratched the back of her head as she gave her excuse.

Since he was already a little used to her clumsiness from last year, Hikigaya didn't mind it too much anymore.

"So? Did you notice him do anything strange?"

It was a question he could've easily asked Miura earlier as well but because she was not a Service Club member like Yuigahama here, he didn't want to put any more unnecessary burdens on her end especially when she was already struggling a little bit at doing committee work she wasn't used to doing.

"Well…" Yuigahama brought a hand to her chin as she went over her memories. "I don't think he did anything strange so far. In fact, he's been really cooperative."

Despite the positive answer coming from his friend, Hikigaya still ended up sighing. "That sounds really suspicious to me though."

"Eh? Really?" Yuigahama tilted her head in confusion. "Isn't him being helpful good?"

"It is but since it's not consistent with his goal of trying to sabotage the festival then I can only say that he's acting a little weird."

"Hmm… But…" Yuigahama munched on another piece of honey toast before continuing. "What if he already gave up on his plans?"

The casual statement that Yuigahama dropped made Hikigaya speechless for a few seconds before he eventually ended up chuckling.

"Haha. It would be nice if that really was the case," Hikigaya made a relaxed smile at the end of his statement.

"Sorry. I ended up saying my thoughts out loud without any basis."

The sudden apology made the cynic chuckle once again.

"Haha. Isn't it fine?" genuine amusement can be sensed behind Hikigaya's smile as he continued to speak. "The Service Club is a good team exactly because all three of us have different views and opinions on things. In this manner, we can cover for each other's blind spots," he then made an indifferent shrug. "Besides, it's not as if I'm absolutely sure that he will really do something or not. Just like you, I am also acting on something unreliable like my own gut feeling. For all we know, I could be completely off the mark as well. In any case, I think it is always safer to act in the assumption that he will do something."

"I guess that's right."

There was a faint blush on Yuigahama's cheeks as she nodded.

"For the time being, can I ask you to keep observing him?"

"Sure!" Yuigahama pumped her fists as she answered. "You can count on me. It's the least I could do as a Service Club member."

Hearing that distorted the nature of Hikigaya's smile into one of wryness.

"Sorry. If only I hadn't been wrapped up with my class' affairs then I wouldn't need to ask this of you."

"No, it's fine," the airheaded pinkette shook her head and waved her arms around in response to the cynic's apology. "I don't mind being relied on by you occasionally, Hachi. Besides," she munched on another piece of honey toast before continuing. "You're doing a very fine job at helping out with your class anyways."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he answered with barely any trace of enthusiasm on his voice.

"Cheer up, Hachi!" Yuigahama picked up another piece of her sweet treat and brought the fork, not to her mouth this time but towards the raven-haired butler instead. "Here, wanna have another bite?"

Hikigaya looked at her as if she grew a second head. "What are you doing? I thought doing this was too embarrassing for you."

"Well… You looked frustrated and all that so I thought maybe eating something sweet will improve your mood."

"You paid for this though."

Despite how true those words of his are, Yuigahama still chose to ignore them.

"I don't mind. Food tastes better if you share it with friends after all!"

It was a train of thought that didn't make sense from a logical standpoint but for some reason Hikigaya couldn't find a rebuttal to that statement or rather, he couldn't bring himself to try.

"Well then, don't mind if I do."

Since Yuigahama's hand was still extended towards him, all Hikigaya really needed to do was lean a little forward to bring the piece of sugar-supercharged bread to his mouth.

Yep, it still tastes exactly like bread.

"It tastes super good, right?"

Hikigaya didn't see any need to alter his previous answer from the same question.

"Mm, as expected of the people in-charge of our kitchen."

Yuigahama didn't seem to find anything wrong with his response and proceeded to open up a new topic.

"You think I can whip up something like this too?"

A brief glance at his counterpart's shimmering ruby orbs was enough for Hikigaya to understand that nothing he says at this point could possibly dissuade her anymore.

The cynic's stomach rumbled at the thought of potentially eating another one of her kitchen abominations in the near future.

While Yuigahama Yui's culinary skill has definitely improved in the baking department and honey toast is something made through baking, that was only the first half of the actual cooking process of the dish.

It was the second half of the cooking process that brought some concerns to Hikigaya Hachiman.

With the liberty of the cook to put whatever toppings they want on the honey toast, who knows what kind of weird choices the happy-go-lucky Yuigahama Yui will make when she is given such power?

"Just remember to taste it first before you let me or Taishi have a bite."

Yuigahama puffed her cheeks and pouted. "Hachi, what are you trying to say?"

"Who knows?"

The airheaded pinkette's pout became more conspicuous but Hikigaya decided on keeping his silence.

As if to dispel her dissatisfactions, Yuigahama ended up increasing the pace at which she consumed the sweet treat in front of her only to find out a little later that she was slowly but surely getting fuller.

"Hachi, you help me eat it too. I don't think I can finish this all by myself."

Since it was partly his fault why her order ended up being much more loaded than usual, Hikigaya felt that the least he could was give her a helping hand.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice, we can't let the food go to waste after all," he shrugged before performing the bow that he's been so accustomed to doing for all the customers. "I'll go grab a fork for myself. I'll be back in a second, Yui."

"Okay, Hachi!"

Saying the name of his friend instead of calling her My Princess was definitely a slip of the tongue on Hikigaya's part but judging from how happy Yuigahama responded to him, it didn't look like she minded it at all so he found no need to correct himself.

Now then, since Miura and Yui have both dropped by…

He couldn't help but get a bad premonition for the near future and he wasn't going to make the same mistake of ignoring his gut feeling twice on the same day.

It might not be in the nature of that girl to visit something like this but for his own sake, it was better to get ready just in case.

"Ebina, can our classmates behind the kitchen make something like this?"

In such a sudden manner, Class 3-F's preparations for the expected arrival of the final boss were carried out.

While doing so, Ebina Hina discreetly added feed the butler and/or vice versa to the list of services in their menu, much to Hikigaya and the rest of the boys' chagrin.

---

SS 6: As Always, Yukinoshita Yukino's Standards Are Impossible To Reach, Or Are They?

The first day of Sobu's Cultural Festival finally came to a close.

As it was a special event, the students were allowed to stay at school a little longer than the usual club hours.

Even during the preparation stage, it was an event filled with countless surprises so far.

But perhaps the biggest surprise among them all was how popular a certain class' café has been. To say that Class 3-F's café was a success would be an understatement however, the events behind-the-scenes weren't as pretty as the numbers on the surface may suggest.

It was currently around 6:30 PM.

Because of the unexpected surge of customers, the people behind the food preparations were under a lot of pressure to meet the orders as such, it cannot be avoided to have a few mistakes.

In other words, there were rejects that were not quite appropriate to be served to the customers.

These included but are not limited to melted parfaits, misshapen fruits, burned toast and omurice with incorrect letterings to name a few.

In order to make sure none of it goes to waste, the class decided to hold a premature celebration but it was actually just them trying to consume all the mishaps that the cooking crew inadvertently made.

Amongst said bunch of rejects however, the most numerous one happened to be…

"So exactly why did we end up with so much crooked pancakes?" Miura asked as she munched on one of said pancakes.

"About that…" Ebina shot a parting glance at the cynic beside her.

"Hey, don't look at me like it was completely my fault," Hikigaya, now back to his school uniform instead of the butler getup, complained.

"But you had a hand in it right?" the Fire Queen narrowed her eyes in suspicion, prompting the loner to look away.

"That however I cannot deny," he scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"Either way," Ebina got in between the two and smiled. "It should be a perfect story to share over a cup of fresh hot coffee, right?"

The cynic couldn't outright disagree with the fujoshi's idea though not without coming up with a mental retort for himself.

It's reheated though. This coffee was literally lukewarm a few seconds ago.

…

Saying or thinking about ominous statements that could raise a flag and it happening in the next moment is something that should only happen on fiction.

Yes, should.

As a Monster of Logic, believing in something like that is supposed to be beyond Hikigaya Hachiman.

However…

For the sake of his peace of mind, he takes on precautions that assume such an event will be coming for him in the near future anyways.

That paranoia, or rather, prudence of his paid off.

"Welcome Home, My Princess!"

Through an agreement arranged in secret by his classmate Ebina Hina and kouhai Isshiki Iroha, Hikigaya is able to help out on his class despite being a member of the committee as three of his friends who also happened to be part of said committee will be covering for him.

Two of those girls have visited the class' café already and despite how odd it was for the third one to drop by a class attraction like this, Hikigaya Hachiman still ended up seeing said girl whose features were impossible for him to forget in this lifetime.

Silky black hair, lapis lazuli-like irises and a build that was very similar to a fairy.

There was only one girl in Sobu who would fit such a description.

"I'm surprised you can say something so embarrassing with a straight face," Yukinoshita Yukino commented with her usual cold demeanor though Hikigaya noticed the very faintest shade of red on both of her cheeks.

"There is nothing to be ashamed about when it comes to giving the best service to our customers," he fired back with composure provided to him by both Fake Hikki and Butler Hikki. A comeback that the ravenette didn't expect he'll be able to mount so quickly.

"I see. In that case, lead me to your best table then."

"Right this way, My Princess," taking that as a win in his book, Hikigaya replied with a vague smile on his face. After Hikigaya guided the second Yukinoshita heiress to her table, he made sure to pull the chair for her to sit. "Now what would you be having, My Princess?"

Yukinoshita's blue eyes ran through the menu a few times before she ended up closing it and turning it face-down on the table.

"I'd like to have whatever it is that you can recommend. Surely a capable butler such as yourself should be able to understand his mistress' preferences," the younger Yukinoshita's resemblance to her older sister and mother became apparent as she laid out that provoking statement. "By all means, please surprise me. I don't think that I should have to remind you but my standards are pretty high." Yukinoshita made such a demand knowing full well that Hikigaya and his class will be unable to meet them…

"I understand," Hikigaya bowed and kept an impassive expression. "Your order will be coming right up, My Princess."

…Under normal circumstances, that is.

When the black-haired butler returned to the Ice Queen's table while carrying a tray with a cloche covering its contents, all the customers and even his fellow butlers couldn't take their eyes off of his figure.

"Thanks for the wait. These were prepared especially for you, My Princess."

He waited for a few seconds before revealing the contents underneath the cover.

"This is?!" Yukinoshita brilliant blue eyes sparkled upon seeing the food served in front of him.

It was nothing more than a serving of pancakes and a cup of coffee, perhaps one of the most standard of food pairings to serve in a café.

Surely, such a thing was a guaranteed failure in the eyes of a rich heiress.

Nevertheless, Hikigaya looked extremely confident as he asked.

"Is it to your liking, My Princess?"

"Yes, very much so. Every café in Japan, no, the whole world should follow this example."

The Ice Queen's answer came immediately.

Even Hikigaya did not expect for his scheme to be this effective but at the same time, he also wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

After all, not saying or asking anything unnecessary was part of the skillset of a butler.

"I thank you for your generosity."

It was virtually impossible to cater to the tastes of someone who's had far more luxurious food than any other student in Sobu except perhaps for Hayama as such…

Hikigaya thought to win over Yukinoshita through her aesthetic inclinations.

Two pancakes were served on Yukinoshita's platter.

The first one was shaped into a cat's head with banana and strawberry slices as well as chocolate syrup and butter used to draw the facial features of the cat which included the eyes, ears, nose, lips and of course, it's whiskers.

The second pancake was situated to the left of the cathead pancake and it was shaped into a cat's paw with berries and chocolate syrup used to emphasize the detail of said paw.

To the right of the plate, a cup of coffee with a cat paw design traced from milk was served to complement the pancake. Finally, on the lower edge of the plate was the word Nyaa~ written using pancake syrup.

Even after some time has passed, Yukinoshita Yukino still kept looking at her order without even touching her cutlery.

Because of how much everything resembled a cat, Hikigaya knew Yukinoshita would have some difficulty in trying to eat it but even so, he still decided to tease her about it.

"Now, feel free to partake in your meal, My Princess."

The sharp Ice Queen knew exactly what it was that the cynic was planning to do so she decided to change the topic a little bit.

"I've been thinking about it for a while now but can you do something about the way you address me?" the temperature of the air around Yukinoshita went down by several degrees to the point that it wouldn't be surprising to see water getting frozen. It was a frequent defensive mechanism she used in order to hide her embarrassment.

The Hikigaya Hachiman of last year may easily end up trembling under this kind of pressure but with the way he is now, he had enough composure in him to even make a joke.

"In that case, would something like My Lady or Mistress be more to your liking?" a hint of sarcasm was added on to the professional smile that he maintained.

"Rejected," Yukinoshita answered curtly. "It can't be helped; My Princess will have to do."

"As you wish," Hikigaya bowed while still wearing the same amused smile from earlier.

After that short exchange, Yukinoshita went back to staring at the cat-shaped pancake once again, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for her to do.

This time around, Hikigaya himself decided to make some small talk in order to distract her.

"Is My Princess having a bad day perhaps?"

It was one of the few lines in the original work that Hikigaya remembered and since it reflected a portion of his thoughts at the current situation, he decided to make use of it.

"Hmm… Let me see…" Yukinoshita brought a hand to her chin as she tried to think over her response, though her eyes were still clearly locked onto the pancakes on her plate. As the Ice Queen's lips curled upwards, Hikigaya felt a tingle on his spine, making him instantly regret raising such a question. "A certain committee member was asked by his class to help them out last minute so it fell onto that guy's acquaintances to pick up his slack. Do you think that counts as a bad day perhaps, Hachibutler-kun?"

She was once again picking a fight but in the art of provocation, she was still a few steps behind that dastardly sister of hers who Hikigaya is working for.

"I wholeheartedly sympathize…" the lips of the contrarian then twisted into a smirk. "…To whoever that certain committee member is."

"What?" the Ice Queen was so surprised that she tore her gaze off of the cat-shaped pancake and instantly glared at the butler serving her.

"According to your statement, that particular committee member was asked by his classmates to help out and it doesn't seem like he wanted to be in the committee too in the first place. It sounds to me that he's stuck between a rock and a hard place. The poor soul, I pity him, really," if he could do it, Hikigaya would be shedding some fake tears at this juncture.

"Hmm? Is that how you see it?" she flicked her black hair as she raised one of her brows in intrigue. "It seems that task he was supposed to help out with also involved interacting with a lot of girls. In the end, it would seem that his earthly desires became the turning point."

"Now now, it is also quite possible that he was dragged into it without having full knowledge of the situation and by the time he did, it was already at a point where refusing was going to cause trouble for others," the statue of a bodhisattva seemed to manifest behind Hikigaya as he gave his own thoughts on the matter. "At times like these, we should be open-minded and hear their side of the story first before jumping to any conclusions."

From thereon, the two engaged in a rapid back-and-forth of witty remarks. Funnily enough, as there was indeed an event in the game where Raven had an exchange like this with the main character, the other customers simply thought that what was happening in front of their eyes was nothing more than a pre-arranged skit.

"As exhausting as it is to keep talking with you in this manner, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't find it enjoyable."

"You've finally said something that I can wholeheartedly agree with, Hachibutler-kun."

Somewhere along their conversation, uh? Argument? Debate? Talk of sorts, Yukinoshita Yukino finally found it in herself to eat her pancakes.

Currently, she was helping herself to the coffee that has long since become lukewarm from when it was served but she didn't have any complaints about it whatsoever.

Without a doubt, the cat paw latté art was working its magic. The way in which she brought the cup to her lips was the very picture of elegance.

Since it looked like the peanut gallery was already ignoring their verbal battle, Hikigaya decided that this was the perfect time for him to bring up an important concern of his ever since this heiress went through the doors of Class 3-F's café.

"Given that we are still dealing with a club request and your committee work, I doubt a busy person such as yourself would spend your precious time in just harassing me so do you mind telling me about your true goals?"

"While harassing you is definitely part of it, I wanted to confirm with my own eyes whether you were doing a splendid enough job in your class that it deserved a special exemption," the smile on her face was very reminiscent to a demon superwoman he knew all too well. No matter how many times Hikigaya has seen that expression before, he's not quite sure if he'll ever get used to it. "If I found your performance unsatisfactory then I was pulling you straight back to committee work."

"So you won't even deny it," Hikigaya nodded calmly without even getting fazed by her threat or her lack of remorse. "Then, how would you evaluate my performance?

"Decent enough," the Ice Queen answered coldly but her expression softened up in the next second. "However, the cat-shaped pancakes make you pass with flying colors."

"I expected as much."

"Did you say something?" Yukinoshita narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"No, of course not," Hikigaya instantly answered amidst the bone-chilling pressure.

A brief silence occurred between the two until the Ice Queen herself decided to break it.

"Hachi-kun?"

"Yes, how can I help you?" despite the suddenness, Hikigaya still responded to her.

A crimson flush then invaded the pale complexion of the younger Yukinoshita. "Can I have another order of those pancakes wrapped up please?"

He didn't waste any time and just proceeded to bow.

After all, not saying or asking anything unnecessary was part of the skillset of a butler.

"I'll ask the staff to prepare it now so it will be ready when you're about to leave."

"Mm. Thank you very much."

Even with the help of his Loner Skills, Hikigaya Hachiman was having some difficulty with concealing his panic as preparing another special order like that was not as easy as it looks.

After this incident, custom-cut pancakes were eventually added to the menu and it became one of the café's bestsellers.

Following that trend, their other food items were also given an option to be altered according to the customer's preferences and they could even have the butler do it for them…

But that was a story for another time.

---

SS 7: Naturally, Hikigaya Komachi Accepts Her Big Brother Along With All His Quirks

"I'm home," Hikigaya Hachiman called out from their front door but instead of getting greeted back all he could hear was the incessant echoes of loud music from their living room.

Upon going further inside the house, he found his imouto, Hikigaya Komachi hard at work on their coffee table while listening to a genre of music you wouldn't usually expect from a girl of her age.

Though there was virtually no homework given that it was still Cultural Festival season, the fact that she held the position of Festival Committee Vice Chairman meant that there was still some work for her to finish at home.

"It's awfully rare to hear you listen to rock music," he decided to comment in a voice loud enough to be heard over the rapid strumming of the electric guitar, the relentless beating of the drums and the passionate roaring of the vocals.

Komachi chose to lower the volume of the speakers before responding. "Komachi is in a phase right now."

That singular line was more than enough to serve as an explanation for Hikigaya.

Though it is indeed weird for his imouto who only follows the trendy pop songs to suddenly be interested in rock, he himself was also guilty of switching between music genres on a whim.

On one day, he'll find himself vibing to a couple of English songs he could barely understand and on the next, he's suddenly listening to the theme songs of iconic 90's anime.

It was perhaps one of the very few traits from any other high school student that the pessimistic contrarian named Hikigaya Hachiman could still relate with.

"I see," since the thing with her strange music choice has more or less been dealt with, Hikigaya diverted his attention to the work his sister was busying herself with. "Let me help."

"It's fine," Komachi stubbornly shook her head. "You're tired too aren't you, Onii-chan?"

It wasn't often that this spoiled little sister of his did not consider taking the easy way out and letting her older brother just do the work for her. It was even rarer for her to refuse when he himself volunteered to help.

There were two most likely possibilities.

Firstly, his sister has changed.

With everything that has happened in their life so far, you could say that such an event was inevitable.

The actual trigger for such a change could literally be anything.

Becoming the Service Club President or her older brother turning into an honorary Yukinoshita are the two most likely ones but it could also be something else beyond Hikigaya Hachiman's knowledge.

Second, she was hiding something from him.

As much as it pained his heart to doubt his own flesh-and-blood sister…

His gut instinct was leaning towards the latter.

Knowing Komachi however, the worst that she could be scheming was a harmless prank so he didn't bother worrying about it too much.

Understanding when to let the younger ones have it their way is part of what makes a good older sibling after all.

Nevertheless, when it came to sheer stubbornness, he wasn't going to lose out against his own younger sister.

But at the very least, he thought he should do the bare minimum as he was the one who suggested for Komachi to take the role of Vice Chairman in the first place.

"Have you had dinner?"

Komachi's hands that were focused on the work in front of her stopped moving after she heard the last word of her older brother's most recent inquiry.

"Now that you mention it…"

Hikigaya instantly stood up before his younger sister could respond. "Then let me help you out on that regard."

"It's going to be curry and an assortment of side dishes, isn't it?" she sighed.

The older Hikigaya wagged his index finger while making a smug pose.

"You're underestimating your Onii-chan, my dear imouto," he then stopped the same finger he was wagging and raised it slightly for more emphasis. "There is one more Japanese dish that I can consistently make aside from curry."

"Komachi is really afraid to know the answer but what is it?" her distrust was obvious from her sharp tone and wary gaze.

"Of course it's none other than…" Hikigaya quickly went to the kitchen and grabbed a certain item from their pantry. "Instant Ramen."

"Komachi knew something was fishy when Onii-chan started acting so confident," the little sister who is usually the one in-charge of the cooking in the family was shaking her head and rubbing her temple in disappointment.

"Isn't it fine? It will just be the two of us anyways," he reasoned while waving around the packet of instant noodles. "Besides, ramen is the kind of food you eat when you're in crunch time and the like."

"Hah, do what you want, Onii-chan," since arguing at this point was not going to change anything, Komachi opted to just give her brother a warning instead. "Don't put anything too crazy, okay? Otherwise, you're going to be eating Komachi's share."

"Would it kill you to have a little more faith in me, Komachi?" the Hikigaya siblings both laughed together after that. "Anyways, you just keep working there, leave this to me."

"Okay, Onii-chan."

Despite saying that however, when around twenty minutes passed and her brother didn't show any signs of leaving the kitchen over a task that could easily be done in five, she got worried and personally headed out to the kitchen to check what was holding up her brother only to catch him turning the stove off and letting the residual heat do the finishing touches on the contents of the pot.

"Oh, perfect timing, Komachi!" he removed his apron as he remarked. "Can you help me set the table?"

"Sure."

Having done such a thing together for multiple times in the past, the coordination of the two Hikigaya siblings has reached a point where they already know what the other was thinking without saying anything out loud so the task was completed flawlessly.

Before long, the pot that Hikigaya Hachiman used for cooking was finally brought to the center of the dining table.

Hikigaya Komachi inadvertently gulped when her older brother had his hand on the top covering of the pot. Whether that was because of anticipation, worry or just her hunger acting up was something she still could not tell at this moment.

"Wah?!"

The aroma of sodium-infused broth invaded the nostrils of both siblings as the older Hikigaya lifted the lid.

Aside from the noodles and whatever those things included in the flavor packet are, the pot also contained some bok choy slices, corn pieces, mushrooms, peas, green onions and diced spam while a raw egg was added to the broth as can be seen by its different consistency. It was no wonder why it took Hikigaya Hachiman several more minutes to prepare than expected what with the additional ingredients.

"It looks good," the fragrance and presentation was more than enough to make Hikigaya Komachi, add to the fact that it was a little over her usual dinnertime then she was without a doubt, famished.

"Itadakimasu!"

Naturally, Hikigaya scooped up a serving for his sister first before himself.

"We can only pray that it tastes as good as it looks."

Hikigaya's cryptic words made Komachi protest in a slightly louder voice than earlier.

"Don't jinx it, Onii-chan! Please don't forget that Komachi has to eat this stuff too!"

When Komachi got her bowl back, she first examined the contents carefully in case there was something amiss but that caution of hers was eventually overpowered by her hunger, prompting her to pick up her chopsticks and bring some noodles to her mouth.

"Well?"

Komachi swallowed the portion on her mouth before answering.

"Onii-chan, why is this delicious?" she threw that question in response before slurping on another batch of noodles.

"It's all because of one little secret ingredient of mine."

"A secret ingredient?" the eyes of Komachi brimming with curiosity was very similar to how she looked back when she was younger, making Hikigaya feel a little nostalgic.

"Of course it's none other than…" before he could consciously think about what he would say next, Hikigaya's mouth moved first as if it had a mind of its own. "Love, for my one and only Princess."

The cynic only realized his blunder after the last word he uttered. He covered his mouth in a vain attempt to stop making things more complicated than they already are but upon seeing the look mixed of equal parts confusion, surprise and worry from his younger sister, he knew he was way too late.

"Onii-chan, what happened to you?" Komachi set her bowl down as she asked.

"It's a habit that carried over from working on the café that my class set up for the festival," Hikigaya glossed over his embarrassment with a few waves of his hand though the faint crimson of his cheeks was suggesting something entirely different. "I think I'll get over it soon so please bear with me for a short while, Komachi."

"Wait, so you're saying that kind of thing to all the customers who come to eat at your class' café?!"

Sure enough, despite being the klutz that she usually is, Komachi was still a Hikigaya through-and-through. The sharpness to see through the most minute of details was just something that runs in the family.

In order to preserve his dignity as the older brother, Hikigaya Hachiman had to use everything at his disposal to feign a visage of confidence.

Loner Skill No. 109: Fake Hikki.

"What? You jealous?"

That gambit of his did not work entirely on his favor, if the deadpan stare he was getting was any indication.

"Komachi has mixed feelings about this in all honesty," she began massaging her temple as she spoke. "Komachi has more or less danced around the issue of being the little sister of Sobu's most hated student but if you end up becoming a playboy then things will become a little more complicated."

All of Hikigaya Hachiman's prior embarrassment turned into panic.

"Wait a minute, what's this about me turning into a playboy?!"

"It's just some rumors that began to circulate among the girls around the campus since this afternoon," Komachi brought a hand to her chin as she recalled what she heard about through the grapevine. "Apparently, a class from the third years opened up a café where you are spoiled and treated like a princess by the waiters who are butlers. Amongst these butlers, there is a black-haired Casanova who even managed to seduce the top beauties of the school!"

Hikigaya felt like he was getting a headache after hearing every word that his little sister shared.

Since each butler from the source material was designed to have a unique hair color, that black-haired butler could only have been this Hikigaya Hachiman right here.

"Those all sound like exaggerations. Calling the service as seducing is also a little too much," that being said, he would be lying if he said he wasn't curious about one particular thing. "By the way, who are these top beauties of the campus that they mentioned?"

Komachi looked at her older brother like he was the biggest idiot in the planet.

If he was indeed the rumored butler then that means he was the one who served those girls. However, if he had to be honest, while all the girls that he interacted with earlier today were indeed good-looking, he wouldn't go so far as call them the cutest in the campus especially considering the existence of certain female acquaintances of his.

He was only able to realize his own folly upon hearing what his sister was about to say next.

"You're quite familiar with all of them actually," Komachi sighed. "It's none other than Yukino-san, Yui-san, Iroha-senpai, Saki-san, Miura-senpai and Ebina-senpai."

Hikigaya blinked twice upon hearing those names but after letting it sink in a few seconds later, he began nodding to himself.

"Oh, right. Now that I think about it, I guess those girls really are the cutest in Sobu, all things considered. Not quite Komachi level but still pretty up there."

Komachi chose to ignore her brother's indirect compliment in favor of highlighting a certain fact. "And for some reason all those girls are fawning over one guy when aside from Yui-san and her gentle nature, they are all pretty much unapproachable."

This time it was the older Hikigaya's turn to sigh. "It's only natural that I can talk with them since they are all my friends. Why can't those rumors even take that into consideration?"

"Onii-chan, at this rate you might actually end up becoming a playboy," Komachi went ahead and said something outrageous while maintaining a neutral expression.

"How can that be possible when I don't even have a girlfriend?" he retorted instantly.

Hikigaya Komachi ignored her brother's quip in favor of bringing up a different but still related topic.

"Hmm, should Komachi drop by Onii-chan's class tomorrow? That way they'll know who Onii-chan's True Princess is! Ah that gave me a lot of Komachi points!"

Since Komachi herself raised the subject about the Princess treatment, Hikigaya decided to play along with her.

"Don't worry, Komachi. Until your Onii-chan finds himself a Queen…" the doting older brother's expression then became a little strained, as if he just swallowed a dose of bitter medicine. "…Or Komachi finds herself a King," he patted the head of his imouto who was stubborn to a fault just like him. "Komachi will always be Onii-chan's Princess."

Judging from the disgusted expression of Komachi, those lines of his did not achieve his desired effect.

"Onii-chan that was gross."

That singular statement easily dismantled all of Hikigaya Hachiman's confidence.

"I know, right?" he only managed to force those words out in a soft voice.

"But it was also a little cool!" Komachi raised one of her thumbs up in approval. "Thanks, Onii-chan!" she smiled before getting another serving of the ramen for herself.

Since Komachi has already said everything she wanted to say and Hikigaya was far too embarrassed to say anything else, the sibling pair ended up silently finishing the rest of their dinner.

"Thanks for the meal," the two said in unison after they both finished eating.

Once that was through, Komachi immediately went to the living room and began gathering her stuff. She also switched off the source of the rock songs that have been accompanying them during this entire time as if it was background music.

"Hmm? You're going back to your room?"

"Yeah. Komachi has already achieved her goal so she'll be finishing the rest of her work back at her room now."

"Hey! And just what do you mean when you say goal?"

"Ah, Onii-chan wasn't supposed to know that yet so please ignore what Komachi said just now," she pressed both of her hands together and bowed her head slightly as she made that request.

There's no way I can do something like that!

Was what the grimace of Hikigaya's face seemed to say.

Despite the obvious distress on her brother's face, Komachi simply smiled and waved.

"Good night, Onii-chan!"

In the end, the pessimistic contrarian could only sigh in defeat.

"Good night, Komachi."

After he heard the sound of his sister closing the door to her room, Hikigaya Hachiman's footsteps guided him back to the kitchen.

It can't be helped, I guess I'll go ahead and do the dishes.

---

SSS: Though Her Looks May Suggest Otherwise, Isshiki Iroha Was Adept At Keeping Secrets

By coincidence, Hikigaya Hachiman was not the only student from Sobu who headed out to the newly opened café rather, such an event was an abnormality in and of itself. It was much more normal for the other students to check out said establishments themselves, especially the girls.

As such, on the same café where Hikigaya was helping a certain Orimoto Kaori with her homework albeit reluctantly, a trio of younger girls from Sobu was occupying a different table.

Although their original purpose was just to hang out together during their last day of summer, upon seeing the visage of a particular senior of theirs, one of the members of said trio changed her plans.

"Pres," a girl with orange hair arranged in an elaborate braid called the attention of her flaxen-haired classmate. "Do you know who that girl with Hikigaya-senpai is?"

Her name was Akiyama Aki and though it would appear that she was making conversation with the people she was seated with, the gray eyes underneath her red-framed spectacles were focused on a certain senior with lifeless eyes albeit only through passing glances and the like.

"If I recall correctly," Isshiki Iroha, a close friend of said senior, rubbed her chin in thought. "That should be his classmate from middle school, Orimoto Kaori."

"Oh? Is she just a former classmate?" Akiyama threw another question while writing something on her notepad. Whatever it was, it was definitely more than what was just shared to her.

"She's also a…" Isshiki had to take a second to deliberate with herself whether she should share such a piece of information to this girl who also happens to be the President of Sobu's Newspaper Club.

Unfortunately, she was a little too late with her move and Akiyama caught on to her unnatural pause.

"Also a?" she leaned in closer to Isshiki to apply more pressure. "Can you please provide more specific details, Isshiki-san?"

"That's…"

"Please cut that out, Akiyama-san," the third girl who happens to be in the same class as the former two, interrupted. She was Fujiwara Fuuka. In their class, she perfectly resembled the words honor student down to her very. Her wavy bluish-green hair which she kept untied followed her swift movement of getting in between her two classmates. "While it does seem like there is some history between those two, I don't think Hikigaya-senpai is the type to share something so personal with a kouhai he just knew last year," Fujiwara's chestnut brown eyes locked onto Isshiki's honey colored irises before deliberately blinking once in the next second. "Isn't that right, Isshiki-san?"

"Yes, regrettably so," Isshiki played along with the lifeboat that was tossed towards her by Fujiwara. For good measure, she even put on a bittersweet smile.

"You definitely knew something else though," Akiyama pouted as she raised that complaint but she ended up shrugging in the next second. "Oh well, I guess we'll just leave it at that for now."

When the dust settled after that little exchange of theirs, Isshiki Iroha came into one awkward realization.

"So wait, what are we going to do next?"

"I plan to continue observing Hikigaya-senpai," Akiyama answered while keeping her eyes on her target.

Though it was an answer that they expected, it still made the other two sigh.

"For the time being, how about we make a few additional orders?"

That suggestion from Fujiwara was agreed upon by the two other girls and before long they had to call for a waiter to come to their table.

…

"They really are just studying, huh?" Akiyama grumbled while writing something else on her notepad, before taking a small sip from her teacup.

"I'm asking just for reference but what were you hoping for them to do?" Fujiwara smiled wryly while stirring her cold tea with her straw.

"I don't know but something more scandalous, I guess," Akiyama answered without a shred of hesitation.

"You know, I think you have a warped understanding of Hikigaya-senpai's character," Fujiwara's remark was ignored by her bespectacled counterpart however.

"Well, it's not like this is the first time that Hachi-senpai has ever taught a cute girl," Isshiki offhandedly mentioned while cutting a small piece of cake and bringing it to her mouth.

"Now that you mention it, isn't he one of the tutors of their clique? He even managed to get Top 2 in one their exams this year."

That comment from the honor student gave the gossip lover an idea.

"Say Pres, do you think I would be able to get a lot of information from Hikigaya-senpai if I asked him to tutor me?"

"I don't think Hachi-senpai will easily accept a request like that from someone he barely knew," Isshiki then waved her hand around as if to dismiss her previous statement. "Actually scratch that, anyone would be suspicious if they were asked something like that out of the blue."

Towards Isshiki's point, Akiyama just shrugged, fully expecting a response along those lines.

"Well, I figured that won't work. Besides, if he only tutors cute girls then I don't think I would even fall under his criteria."

"I think Akiyama-san is pretty cute though," Fujiwara turned her gaze towards Isshiki after giving her opinion. "Don't you think so too, Isshiki-san?"

"Yes, Akiyama-san is definitely cute," the flaxen fox nodded in agreement but in the next second, her expression became a little more awkward. "But it's exactly because Akiyama-san is cute that Hachi-senpai might get even more suspicious of her. Also, it's not as if Hachi-senpai is just exclusively teaching cute girls as he's also helping Tobe-senpai out."

"Is that how it is?"

Genuine confusion was reflected on Fujiwara's brown eyes but before the kouhai whom Hikigaya is closest with could offer an explanation of sorts, Akiyama's comment came first.

"Thank you very much for the compliment you two but I'd much prefer hearing more information about Hikigaya-senpai rather than that."

Both Isshiki and Fujiwara could only giggle after hearing the single-mindedness of their mutual classmate.

Since it didn't seem like Akiyama Aki had any plans of stopping her monitoring of their senpai just yet, the other two girls reluctantly decided to keep accompanying her as leaving her by her lonesome was not a risk they were willing to take.

…

Around the time that it got dark, the duo composed of Hikigaya Hachiman and Orimoto Kaori finally left the café.

As the kouhai trio was not in a table close to the exit, Hikigaya was none the wiser about their presence all this time.

"They're finally leaving, huh?" a sigh of relief escaped from Isshiki's lips after seeing the pair get out of the establishment's door.

With their target having made their exit, it also meant that this escapade of theirs was over for today…

Or so she thought.

"And just where do you think you're going, Akiyama-san?" Fujiwara threw an inquiry to the only girl on their table who was hurriedly gathering her things and was just seconds away from standing up.

"I intend to follow them," she answered matter-of-factly, without even trying to hide her bad intentions.

"I don't think that's a good idea. It worked in the café because there are other people but I'm sure we'll get busted if we start tailing Hachi-senpai directly," having regained her calm, the kouhai that Hikigaya was closest with between the three of them offered her thoughts on the matter.

"You heard her," Fujiwara's chestnut brown eyes locked on to Akiyama's clear gray orbs. "If I were you, I wouldn't want to push my luck against someone with connections to two of the most prominent families here in Chiba."

Since it didn't seem like an ordinary warning was enough to stop Akiyama, Fujiwara resorted on an indirect threat instead.

After weighing the pros and cons for a few seconds, Akiyama Aki eventually ended up sighing in dismay.

"Fine. Let's end it all here for now. I have enough material in hand to make an article already anyways," the eyes of Sobu's newly appointed Newspaper Club President then turned to her classmate who also happened to be the school's Student Council President. "I'll be counting on you on a later date, Pres."

With everything that went down today, Isshiki was way too tired to think too deeply about anything anymore.

"Ah, sure."

*clap*

After hearing her response, Fujiwara took back the initiative of the conversation by clapping her hands. "Now that that's settled, I'll be going with Akiyama-san to her home first to make sure she doesn't arbitrarily follow Hikigaya-senpai the moment we take our eyes off of her."

"You really don't have faith in me, huh?"

"Well, you don't have the cleanest of track records after all." Fujiwara pouted upon hearing Akiyama's remark, she then turned her gaze towards Isshiki's direction next while wearing a bright smile. "While I would be the first to admit that what we just did wasn't the least bit admirable, I did have fun hanging out with you today, Isshiki-san."

Isshiki ended up inadvertently laughing in response. "It's okay, I had fun too."

This time, it was the trio's turn to make their way out of the café.

Naturally, having taken a few more minutes before to talk before they got outside, the three had no idea where the pair composed of Hikigaya Hachiman and Orimoto Kaori went next but since it was already decided that they would stop following him for the day, that did not become an issue anymore.

It was only within the first week after classes resumed did Isshiki finally understand what Akiyama said to her during that day when she saw the draft of the next issue of the school newspaper on top of the desk of Sobu's Student Council President with the headline being: Hikigaya Hachiman, Sobu's Most Hated Man Is Its Biggest Lady-killer!

Needless to say, Isshiki Iroha used all of her power to make sure such an issue will not be published…

But not before keeping a copy of the draft for herself for…

Future reference, of course.

It will most definitely not be used as blackmail material or anything along those lines.

Yep, definitely not.

---

Author's Note:

It has been a long time and I am absolutely sorry for this horrendous delay.

Let's just say that I've been a little burned out until very recently so it was getting increasingly difficult to write.

Not only that, since I'm working on two stories at the moment, I am constantly checking whether I am utilizing the correct Hikigaya or not and it has been the cause behind a lot of my revisions.

If you've read the latest from Last Master then you should be aware that the structure of today's update is heavily inspired from it. In fact, I used it as a trial run before I applied it on this fic.

Now it may look like I've mounted several fishing rods and laid multiple baits for you all and I'd be lying if I said that that wasn't the case but please understand that I needed to bring out something juicy after my long absence.

Hopefully, I didn't stray too far from the premise of this fic though. Don't worry, these sort of developments are still all according to plan.

And yes, the host club chapter from Platonic 1 and the more recent butler cosplay chapter from Platonic 2 was all for this moment.

As I promised in my most recent chapter of Last Master, I'll first finish this arc before I go back and update it so you can rest assured that I won't be leaving you hanging for too long, at least not as much as I just did.

Alright, now for our usual guessing game.

This time, since the next update will have multiple SS once again, I want you to guess which character will I use in the title of the SSS.

Today's hint: It's one of the characters I've featured in one of the SS of this current update. Take your pick.

If you're interested in participating, feel free to include your answer in your review.

Now with that out of the way, time to get on to the reviews from the previous chapter.

NNathann: I was aiming for the irony and I'm glad that you liked it. Unfortunately, you were off the mark with the BL play but it was a good guess nonetheless.

Godzilla is the goat: Dude, don't read while your driving. Anyways, thank you for your support in this story and the other one.

Gid Lucione Deviluke: By all means feel free to cheer for both.

Shir0R4ven: I neither affirm nor deny :)

Coochies: Thank the heavens that you're finally wrong. Bwahahahaha! Just kidding. But in all honesty, I was starting to think that I was getting a bit too predictable. Shiromeguri is a good guess actually when you consider how it's been a while since she made an appearance but unfortunately it was not meant to be. Thank you for the well wishes. Now let's hope I could at least finish Platonic 2 before the second anniversary hits.

Funkmaster1979: Thank you very much. I had to leave something chunky before I updated my other fic after all.

KrSNa382: I'm glad that you think so though I honestly think I don't deserve such high praise by all means, I appreciate this compliment a lot.

Thank you all for these reviews. Your input is very much appreciated.

To everyone else who takes the time to read this fic, a huge thank you to all of you as well.

That's it for this chapter.

I hope to see you all again in the next one.

Reviews, follows and faves are all very much appreciated.

May everyone's good wishes and realities intersect.

Morii Hikikko