Lunch break.
Hiro glanced at Hikigaya Hachiman, who was near the hallway, preparing to leave. Yuigahama Yui glanced at Hiro and blinked.
Hiro smiled and followed Hikigaya Hachiman all the way to the back of the school building. There, he saw Hikigaya Hachiman—who had bought bread and a drink—sitting on the steps, enjoying the sea breeze.
"Hikigaya-san, right?" Hiro asked, stepping forward.
"Is there something you need?" Hikigaya Hachiman looked up at Hiro, his tone cold.
"Do you still remember the accident from a year ago?" Hiro sat down next to Hikigaya Hachiman.
"I remember." Hikigaya Hachiman frowned.
"Actually, the dog you saved was the pet of a girl in our class. When you were sent to the hospital, she wanted to thank you in person, but she couldn't meet you, so she gave the gift to your family instead," Hiro continued.
"Oh," Hikigaya Hachiman replied flatly, lowering his head to eat his bread.
"Because of this incident, she has never been able to let it go. Coupled with the fact that you haven't been coming to school and don't have any friends, she feels it's her fault. She feels it's all because she didn't properly look after her pet, which caused you to get injured and hospitalized, missing the best opportunity to make friends and becoming isolated..."
"Who is she?" Hikigaya Hachiman turned his head to look at Hiro.
"She's waiting for you on the rooftop. Hikigaya-san, she is a kind girl. I trust you know how you should answer her without me having to say anything more, right?" Hiro smiled as he looked at Hikigaya Hachiman.
"I know. I don't need you to remind me." Hikigaya Hachiman stood up and walked toward the rooftop.
Hiro watched his retreating figure; he could roughly guess how Hikigaya Hachiman would respond.
"I'm sorry. This time, I owe you a favor, and I will definitely repay it." Hiro walked toward the tennis court.
The lunch break was about to end.
Hiro arrived on the rooftop and sighed in relief, looking at the silver treasure chest lying on the ground.
[Do you want to open the silver treasure chest?]
The system prompt sounded.
"Open it!" Hiro looked expectant.
[Congratulations, Host! You have obtained the skill: Eye of Sand!]
"The skill Eye of Sand?" Hiro was stunned. If that's the case, is the Three-Tomoe Sharingan not a skill, but an item?
[Eye of Sand: Creates an Eye of Sand. Its duration is infinite, and it can be dismissed at any time. By silently chanting 'Eye of Sand,' you can gain the Eye of Sand's perspective.]
The system provided the skill description for the Eye of Sand.
"Create Eye of Sand." Hiro opened his palm.
An Eye of Sand appeared out of thin air and flew out of Hiro's hand. Hiro closed his eyes and found that the Eye of Sand could move freely. Controlling the Eye of Sand, Hiro made it stop on a cherry blossom tree to ensure it wouldn't be discovered.
"This Eye of Sand will be very useful for scouting dangerous places." Hiro opened his eyes and walked toward the classroom.
As soon as he entered the classroom, Hiro first glanced at Yuigahama Yui. However, when his gaze fell upon Yuigahama Yui, he discovered... a gold treasure chest!
"Could it be that the silver treasure chest was just a cover, and the gold treasure chest is the real treasure box?" Hiro retracted his gaze, not daring to look for too long. The location of the treasure box was right over her heart, and staring at it for too long might lead to misunderstandings.
Hiro sat in his seat, contemplating the difference between the two treasure boxes.
After Totsuka Saika's gold treasure chest disappeared, there were no more treasure boxes. After Yuigahama Yui's silver treasure chest disappeared, a gold treasure chest appeared instead.
The biggest difference between the two was that Yuigahama Yui was a girl, while Totsuka Saika was just a cute boy.
"Could it be... that the treasure boxes progress layer by layer?" The idea of a silver treasure chest being inside a bronze treasure chest, and a gold treasure chest being inside a silver treasure chest, surfaced in Hiro's mind.
He then shook his head, rejecting this idea. If he thought that way, he would have to verify whether the holders of the three bronze treasure chests would have their bronze treasure chests turn into silver treasure chests after they were dropped.
If they did, it meant Hiro's guess was correct. If they didn't, then Yuigahama Yui was a special case. Hiro looked at the holders of the three bronze treasure chests; they didn't seem like girls who were easy to approach.
Afternoon.
After school, Hiro didn't go home immediately. Instead, he walked toward the Tennis Club with Totsuka Saika.
"Totsuka-san, can I really watch the Tennis Club's training?" Hiro asked on the way.
"Of course! Hiro-kun helped me so much. Even if you don't join the Tennis Club, I still welcome you to visit and watch the training," Totsuka Saika said happily.
"I just gave a reminder; it wasn't that big of a deal. I am very interested in tennis, and I might actually join the Tennis Club later," Hiro said, waving his hand.
"Really? The Tennis Club welcomes Hiro-kun's joining anytime," Totsuka Saika said, surprised.
The two arrived at the Tennis Club, and the members didn't pay much attention to Hiro, the visitor. Hiro stood on the side, swapped his glasses for sunglasses, and activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan!
The observation ability of the Single-Tomoe and the copying ability of the Two-Tomoe were utilized simultaneously. Hiro watched Totsuka Saika's tennis trajectory and the Tennis Club's training; all movements became extremely slow in his eyes.
"I didn't expect the Sharingan to be this powerful." Hiro pushed up his glasses and watched intently.
"Guess who I am?" A female voice sounded from behind Hiro, covering his eyes.
"Yuigahama-san?" Hiro deactivated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and said with a wry smile.
"Hiro-kun, thank you for today. You helped me resolve a long-standing knot in my heart. I originally wanted to walk home with you, but I didn't expect you to come to the Tennis Club with Saika." Yuigahama Yui released her hands and stood beside Hiro.
"I was just delivering a message..."
"Hikigaya-san didn't say that, though. He said Hiro-kun spoke a lot on my behalf." Yuigahama Yui tossed her hair and clasped her hands behind her back.
"I just told the truth: that Yuigahama-san is gentle and kind, and that he shouldn't misunderstand." Hiro scratched his head.
"I knew it! Hiro-kun did speak up for me. Thank you." Yuigahama Yui moved closer to Hiro and smiled sweetly.
"Yuigahama-san, were you trying to trick me into admitting that just now?" Hiro asked, surprised.
"Take a guess," Yuigahama Yui smiled playfully.
"I can't guess. But Yuigahama-san, I'm glad you've resolved your issue."
"To celebrate and show my thanks, I've decided to treat Hiro-kun to a meal at that restaurant. It's very delicious," Yuigahama Yui said earnestly.
"The Kouhei Restaurant?" Hiro's mouth twitched.
"That's right." Yuigahama Yui nodded.
"Let's go then. I'm starting to look forward to it." Hiro waved at Totsuka Saika and walked out of the school.
Yuigahama Yui did the same. Totsuka Saika was practically every girl's best friend in the school.