The week-long regular exams were all over. The specific results wouldn't be out until after the weekend, so the outcome of Mori Shinra and Yukinoshita Yukino's competition would have to wait until next Monday.
Although the results weren't out yet, both were quite confident in their own performance. They were even already considering what kind of promise they would make the other person fulfill.
Yukinoshita Yukino had already made up her mind. After she won, she wasn't going to make him delete the video he had recorded that day. That would be letting him off too easily.
Didn't he like maid outfits? Then she would make him wear one and film a video with her. Only by establishing a mutually assured deterrence could peace be maintained.
Mori Shinra, on his end, had also figured out how he would use his condition. After a week of hard work, by piecing things together, he had a general guess about what Yukinoshita had gone through in elementary school.
Once he got the last piece of the puzzle from Hayama Hayato, he would have a showdown with her. And this condition was set up to prevent her from running away.
Don't be fooled by the fact that the reason she established the Service Club was to 'change the weak aspects of people to change the world.' In reality, Yukinoshita herself possessed her own weaknesses. It was because he saw this clearly that he had decided to use this hard-won (read: cheat-gained) opportunity on this matter.
The appointed time with Hayama Hayato was Saturday morning. The location was set at a newly opened cafe near the city library. Shinra had seen online that a dessert in the shop was very good and decided to use this opportunity to try it. If it was delicious, he would bring a portion back for Yukinoshita and have her study it so she could make it for him later.
Plan is a go.
With this evil thought in mind, Mori Shinra walked into the shop, only to find that Hayama Hayato had already arrived. For some reason, he was surrounded by several girls. Didn't they agree to meet alone?
What was this, was he showing off his normie stats?
Just as Shinra was speculating on Hayama's motives with the greatest malice, the other party also spotted him.
Hayama gave the girls around him an apologetic yet polite smile, said a few words, and the girls dispersed. Then, he waved towards Shinra, both as a greeting and to call him over to sit.
You had to admit, this new shop was quite popular. It was still morning, but the seats were almost all taken.
"Good morning, Mori Shinra-san. I heard from Yumiko that you were looking for me?"
As soon as he sat down, Hayama displayed his astonishing social skills. His speech was appropriate and confident. Even towards a classmate like Shinra, whom he had barely spoken to since the start of school, he exuded a comfortable affinity.
This showed that his position as the core of the normie group was not just due to his sunny appearance.
"Good morning. I do indeed have some questions for you, Hayama-san," Shinra said, sitting down across from him. He picked up the menu. "Anyway, let's order a coffee first and chat while we drink. My treat, as a small apology for troubling you on a weekend."
"It's no trouble at all. We're classmates; it's only right that we help each other. Besides, I've wanted to get to know you for a while now, Mori Shinra-san," Hayama replied with a smile. He didn't refuse the treat, and very graciously ordered a moderately priced mocha.
Shinra ordered a latte and also three servings of the shop's signature dessert—one to go, two for now.
"I heard from others that you and Yukinoshita were elementary school classmates. Is that true?" Shinra didn't beat around the bush and asked right after ordering.
"Yes. My family and the Yukinoshita family are old friends, so we attended the same elementary school. Why do you ask?" Hayama was taken aback, but he quickly reacted and gave a clear answer.
"I just heard some things and was curious, so I wanted to verify them with you," Shinra said.
"Verify?" Hayama looked puzzled, but for some reason, he had a premonition of what was to come.
"Yes. About Yukinoshita Yukino. Was she bullied during her elementary school days?"
As Shinra spoke, he noticed that the smile that was always on Hayama's face gradually disappeared, replaced by a serious expression.
Hayama asked seriously, "Who told you that?"
Shinra replied, "Yukinoshita Haruno."
It was true that Haruno had mentioned it, but she hadn't talked about bullying. This was a little trick on Shinra's part.
But you had to admit, the name was quite effective. The moment he said it, he could clearly feel the expression on Hayama's face loosen, and an emotion called 'bitterness' began to emanate from him.
"I see..." Hayama's voice was a little low.
"Hello, here is your coffee and dessert."
Just then, their order arrived. The dessert to go was placed to the side by Shinra, and he pushed one of the other two servings in front of Hayama.
"Thank you," Hayama replied politely. He then took a deep breath and asked, "Since Haruno-san has already told you about it, there's no need to ask me again, is there?"
"She only mentioned it briefly, without going into detail. And it concerns one of my few friends. I want to know more. Would you mind telling me?" Shinra's reply was flawless.
Hayama knew that the 'few friends' he was referring to was Yukinoshita Yukino. It was for this reason that he had said at the beginning that he had wanted to get to know him for a long time.
"It's not that it's inconvenient. I just don't know where to start. And for some reasons, it's a bit difficult to talk about," Hayama replied with a bitter smile.
According to normal social etiquette, Shinra should have tactfully dropped the subject at this point. But unfortunately, this was the very reason he had come today.
Therefore, after hearing his words, Shinra took a sip of coffee and then said, "Please elaborate."
Hayama: ...
Seeing him get to the bottom of it, Hayama knew he probably couldn't escape today.
But he didn't plan to escape either. Since Shinra had gotten the information from Haruno-san, it meant that he had already gained her approval and could be trusted.
Thinking of this, Hayama organized his thoughts a bit and began to recall, from his own perspective, the events that had happened to the individual named Yukinoshita Yukino in elementary school.
The content wasn't much, nor was it complicated. It was pretty much what Shinra had expected. It was nothing more than her being ostracized and marginalized by her classmates for being too outstanding. Then, due to Hayama's self-righteous help, the situation had worsened, eventually escalating into a large-scale bullying incident.
The specifics were things like being isolated during P.E. class, not being included during lunch, being collectively ignored during school trips, and the classic of all classics, her indoor shoes.
How to put it? It might not seem like a big deal to an adult, but for an elementary school student, it was enough to cause serious psychological trauma.
In fact, for her to still be so outstanding after going through all that could be considered a miracle.
"That's basically it. Because of my immaturity back then, I caused her irreparable harm. That's also why it's difficult for me to talk about it," Hayama frankly admitted his mistake. After he finished, he let out a long sigh, unable to muster any smile on his face.
Even he himself was a little surprised that he would one day tell this to a stranger.
"It was indeed quite immature. You helped, but not completely. And even after making a mistake, you never thought of making amends. But I guess it's understandable. After all, for you, 'everyone' is everything," Shinra pointed out Hayama's biggest problem without mercy.
Hayama opened his mouth but couldn't refute it because he was speaking the truth. But there was one point he had to correct: he had thought of making up for it.
"You just couldn't do it," Shinra finished his sentence for him.
"...Yes."
After missing the best opportunity, everything was irreversible. Haruno would not give him a second chance.
"Alright. Thank you for satisfying my wicked curiosity today. I've asked all my questions. Well, it might sound a bit cheesy, but I think you're at least a man for admitting your mistakes."
"Is this the 'beat them with a stick and then give them a carrot' approach?"
"If you think so, then so be it."
Shinra had no intention of being friends with someone like Hayama, so he spoke frankly.
Hayama wasn't annoyed by this. If he got angry so easily, he wouldn't be called 'Nice Guy Hayama'.
"So can you answer a question for me?" he asked.
Shinra finished the coffee in his cup and forked the last piece of cake. "Go ahead."
"What are you planning to do next?"
"Nothing. I've satisfied my curiosity, so this matter ends here."
After hearing his account, Shinra no longer planned to ask Yukinoshita about this matter.
The reward for Haruno's Wish Request was certainly tempting, but he didn't think he was so depraved as to hurt a friend for the sake of Wish Points.
After all, for some people, recalling past memories is also a form of harm. Since she had already walked out of it on her own, there was no need for him to re-open the wound just because it hadn't healed perfectly, forcing her to heal all over again.
Besides, even without doing so, it wasn't certain that he couldn't complete Haruno's Wish Request.
In the end, although Haruno had hinted for him to ask Yukino, she had not specified that he must get the answer from her.
And with Haruno's personality, the act of asking Yukino itself could have been a trap she had set for him.
If you really care about someone, you should think from their perspective, instead of making them act according to your own assumptions.
Beware of making assumptions for others, and for yourself.
"Ends here?"
Hearing his words, a look of astonishment appeared on Hayama's face. You called me here, interrogated me, and in the end, you're telling me you're not going to do anything?
"Ends here!" Shinra gave a firm confirmation.
"This..." Hayama didn't know what to say.
Shinra, completely oblivious, shrugged. "I'm not a god, and I'm not the one who caused her harm. I'm not going to take the blame for someone else's mistakes for no reason."
"Besides..."
He gave Hayama a meaningful look. "I have a living negative example right in front of me, don't I?"
Hayama: ...
Hayama Hayato walked away with a look of existential crisis on his face. Shinra had no intention of seeing him off.
After their conversation, it was almost noon. Shinra thought of finding a place to kill some time until lunchtime, eat out, and then go home.
The Chiba City Library was nearby. He decided to go and "stock up" with his 'Photographic Memory' for the day.
However, after he swiped his card and entered the library, he found that in an empty corridor, his Emotion Perception had a reaction...