Chapter 115: Human Observer—Kawasaki Saki!
As usual, the classroom buzzed with lively conversation during the break.
Hayama Hayato sat near the window, surrounded by the three boys they needed to observe: Tobe, Ooka, and Yamato.
Their conversation seemed no different from normal. One person introduced a topic, and the others immediately followed along to keep the mood lively.
Luke had never paid much attention to Hayato and the other boys, so suddenly observing them did not reveal anything unusual.
Thus, he decisively activated his human observer.
"Hey, Hikigaya."
He patted the shoulder of the boy sitting in front of him.
"Hmm? What is it?"
Hikigaya Hachiman turned around and looked at him in confusion.
"I want to ask you something."
Luke pointed toward the group gathered around Hayato.
"Do you think those people have been acting differently lately?"
"Why are you suddenly asking me? I'm not close to them."
Hachiman looked puzzled.
Right.
This guy probably had not received the chain letter either, so he did not know what had happened in class.
"Then help me observe them."
Luke briefly explained the chain-letter situation to Hachiman.
"Oh. Fine."
The first human observer accepted the mission.
Then came the second human observer.
Kawasaki Saki.
Mm.
Kawasaki was asleep.
For some reason, Saki had recently begun arriving late more often, and her lateness was growing worse.
Even after reaching the classroom, she would immediately drop her head onto the desk and sleep.
When she was not sleeping, she leaned against the wall beneath the window, propped her head up, and dozed off.
Luke had no idea what she had been staying up late to do.
"…How long are you planning to stand there?"
Luke had been watching the sleeping Saki and was about to leave until lunchtime when her voice emerged from between her folded arms.
"You weren't asleep?"
He sat on the empty desk in front of her.
"How could anyone sleep peacefully with someone standing beside them the entire time?"
Kawasaki Saki rubbed her tired eyelids and answered weakly.
"Fair enough."
Thanks to her previous success in human observation, Luke still decided to disturb her.
"Do you know about the chain letters circulating in class?"
Saki had taken out her phone, apparently no longer planning to sleep. Hearing his question, she paused and glanced at him.
"I know."
Good.
"Then, Human Observer Number Two, who do you think is the culprit?"
"A culprit? You should ask the police or a private detective instead of someone like me…"
Saki paused, her beauty mark beneath her eye twitching.
"Wait. What is 'Human Observer Number Two' supposed to mean?"
Should he promote her to Number One?
"Don't worry about that. Do you have any ideas?"
Luke pointed toward the boys surrounding Hayato.
"We suspect the culprit is one of those three."
Saki glanced at the boys and considered it.
"…It's possible all three of them are involved."
"Idiots who gather together probably have similar levels of intelligence, so every one of them is capable of doing something this ridiculous."
She paused before continuing.
"Their motive is probably the upcoming workplace experience groups. Idiots always seem eager to do things that make themselves look pathetic."
Her expression filled with disgust as she spoke.
Their school lives truly were strangely similar.
"…Do you have a solution?"
"Remove the idiot in the middle from the situation."
Saki pointed at Hayato.
"Isn't this entire problem happening because of that idiot?"
Hayama Hayato was extremely popular among girls, yet in her eyes, he was simply an idiot.
Still, her suggestion made some sense.
At the same time, Hayato finished discussing a topic and rose from his seat.
He surveyed the classroom, then stopped when his gaze reached Luke.
Wearing his trademark smile, he walked toward them.
"Ew."
Saki made a disgusted sound and shifted closer to the window with Luke.
Hayato nodded toward Saki, then approached Luke and quietly asked, "Have you discovered anything?"
Luke looked toward Hayato's group, now missing its central figure.
The boys who had been chatting enthusiastically moments ago instantly fell silent, as though they had run out of things to say.
They stood in place and played with their phones, showing no intention of continuing the conversation.
Saki, who had been watching the same scene, gave Luke a look that said, 'See?'
She then turned toward the window, no longer interested in speaking with them.
"I found something. I'll explain it during lunch or after school."
Luke answered Hayato.
"Okay."
Hayato smiled and walked away.
"You don't seem to like Hayama very much."
"People who act cheerful on the surface are impossible to understand. You never know what they're truly thinking."
Saki spoke without restraint.
"Besides, high school boys are all childish and boring."
Naturally, that did not include Luke.
"You're the same," Saki added.
"…Anyway, thanks."
After thinking briefly, Luke said, "Come to me if you ever need help."
"I won't."
Seeing that he was leaving, Saki put away her phone and returned to sleep.
This girl truly dealt with people like an unsheathed blade.
...
During the lunch break, everyone gathered in the Service Club room.
Hayama Hayato and Miura Yumiko were there alongside the club members.
"How did it go?"
Yukino asked first.
"Hahaha! That's a great question!"
Yui laughed awkwardly, then lowered her bun-covered head.
"Sorry. I asked some of the girls, but I didn't discover anything."
Although Luke had told her she did not need to participate, she had still insisted on helping with the request.
Yui secretly raised her head and observed Yukino's expression.
"I see. That's fine."
Yukino did not seem bothered and shifted her gaze toward Luke.
"I couldn't narrow it down to one of the three, but my human observer suggested a solution."
Luke spoke from his usual seat.
"Hmm? What solution?"
"You simply shouldn't form a group with any of those three."
Luke stated it directly.
"Hm?"
Yukino looked confused.
"Strictly speaking, Hayama's group isn't made up of friends. It's merely a conversation group."
As he spoke, Luke glanced at Yumiko.
He had probably said something similar to her before.
"Have you ever observed what happens after you leave?"
Luke asked Hayato.
Hayato thought for a moment and shook his head.
"No."
"The atmosphere becomes awkward when you aren't there. Everyone loses their purpose and pulls out their phones to entertain themselves."
Luke gave him the answer directly.
"Ah~ That's true~ I understand that kind of situation!"
Yui seemed to remember something.
"Once the person keeping the conversation alive leaves, everything becomes awkward. When no one can think of anything to say, everyone starts playing with their phones…"
"I-is that what happens?"
Yukino tugged lightly at Yui's sleeve and asked curiously.
Yui nodded repeatedly.
"Mm-hmm."
Luke continued, "That group only exists because they all belong to Hayama's social circle."
"To the others, a friend of a friend isn't necessarily their own friend."
"Once you leave, their relationship becomes nothing more than familiar strangers."
"Trying to identify the culprit individually would be difficult, and we don't have enough time."
Luke glanced at Yukino, who had advocated eliminating the culprit, then turned toward Hayama Hayato.
"So the best solution is for you to withdraw from the workplace experience group entirely."
…
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