Chapter 116: Hikigaya Komachi!
The periodic exams were approaching.
Unsurprisingly, the students finally remembered their identities as exams drew near and began making an effort.
Family restaurants, cafés, and libraries around Sobu High became places where students crammed at the last minute.
After excluding the unnecessary Ebina Hina and Yuigahama Yui, Luke Nova was now alone with Miura Yumiko in a café.
Unfortunately, the place was already packed with students.
Several days had passed since the chain-letter request and the workplace experience.
Removing Hayato from his usual group had indeed stopped the chain letters.
However, Luke did not know whether those three had become genuine friends or merely remained familiar strangers who gathered together.
Holding his iced latte, Luke looked at Yumiko, who had a physics textbook open beneath one hand.
She was not wearing makeup today either. With her head lowered, her blonde hair fell freely beside her fair face, looking especially beautiful beneath the sunlight entering from the southwest-facing window.
Curious about what happened afterward, Luke asked, "Yumiko, what happened to those three after the chain-letter incident?"
"Hm? What did you say?"
Yumiko wore pink earphones, listened to music, and spun a pen between her fingers. Whether she was truly studying remained questionable.
She removed one earbud and looked at him in confusion.
"I asked… what happened after the chain-letter request."
Luke kept speaking as he leaned closer until his mouth reached her ear.
Feeling his breath inside her ear, Yumiko hurriedly pushed him away, rubbed it, and pouted unhappily.
"I can hear you~ Why are you talking right into my ear? It tickles!"
"You didn't hear me just now."
Luke carefully lifted a piece of chestnut cake, holding a napkin beneath it to catch the crumbs.
"There are two ways to make someone hear you clearly. One is increasing the volume, and the other is decreasing the distance."
"Also… did you feel the Doppler effect just now?"
"The Doppler effect? What's that?"
Yumiko tilted her head in confusion.
All right.
She definitely had not been studying properly.
"It doesn't matter. Just tell me what happened after the chain letters."
Luke solemnly patted his girlfriend's shoulder.
No wonder she had become friends with Yui. Even glancing at the physics textbook beneath her hand should have stopped her from asking that question.
Yumiko was an idiot too.
"I feel like your eyes are insulting me…"
Yumiko glanced sideways at him, then quietly explained what happened.
"Things turned out fine. Those three can chat normally now even when Hayato isn't there."
"I think they became actual friends after the workplace experience."
"That's the best possible outcome."
This time, Luke did not activate the Doppler effect. He simply leaned close to Yumiko's ear again.
"So, now that the request is complete, do I get a reward?"
"Eh?! Didn't I already give you one last time?"
Yumiko jumped and shifted closer to the window.
Luke naturally refused to waste the opportunity and advanced toward her.
"Aren't we dating? Kissing is perfectly normal, so that didn't count as a reward."
"Ah! How can you go back on your word?"
Many students surrounded them, so even though they were seated in a corner, Yumiko kept her protest extremely quiet.
"You can't do that!"
"That's true…"
Luke thought for a moment.
"Hayama-san only asked us to stop the chain letters, right? We didn't need to identify the culprit."
Yumiko nodded.
"Exactly. So the reward you paid was only for resolving the chain-letter request."
"Tobe, Ooka, and Yamato are members of your group, aren't they? Helping them become friends should earn a separate reward."
Luke's mind worked astonishingly fast in situations like this.
"Even if you say that…"
Yumiko's gaze wandered as she retreated again, only to discover she had reached the window.
Her embarrassed and timid expression made her resemble a homeless kitten trapped beneath pouring rain.
"But there are too many people around. It would look bad~"
"That's true."
Luke returned to his original seat and shifted his gaze toward the aisle.
Seeing him suddenly stop approaching, Yumiko became confused and slightly worried.
She cautiously moved closer, pinched his sleeve, and tugged it lightly.
"Are you angry?"
"No. Someone we know is coming."
Luke glanced at Yumiko and found that she had moved her face closer.
Her lips lightly pecked his cheek.
Strands of golden hair brushed across his face, making his cheek itch. The faint, pleasant fragrance around her also tickled his nose.
'Is one of the feelings of falling in love simply becoming itchy?'
Luke suppressed that thought and looked toward the aisle.
"Is that enough?"
Yumiko stared at the table as though she could see through it to the floor.
"Yes, yes."
Luke added, "I truly wasn't angry. Totsuka-san is here."
He had noticed Totsuka Saika walking past when he nearly pressed Yumiko against the window.
"Hi~"
Just as Luke said, Saika waved and approached.
Because he loved tennis and belonged to the tennis club, he traveled to and from school in athletic clothes.
Two smaller figures followed behind him.
"Ah~ Miura-san!"
Upon seeing Miura Yumiko looking out the window, the previously energetic Saika instantly wilted.
"Mm."
Yumiko answered indifferently, then turned her head away again.
"Did you come here to study too, Totsuka?"
Luke asked.
"Yes. Yuigahama-san invited me to join a study session, but she hasn't arrived yet."
Saika looked around the packed café.
"There are so many people. They're all students from nearby schools."
"It can't be helped with exams approaching. You can share our table."
Luke then curiously looked at the two smaller figures behind him.
"Are those two your younger siblings?"
"Hello, Onii-san and Onee-san~!"
Hikigaya Komachi placed both hands behind her back and bowed lightly.
"I'm Hikigaya Komachi, the younger sister of the hopeless Hikigaya Hachiman. Thank you for looking after my brother. It's nice to meet you~"
"Hiss—"
Luke leaned backward and folded his arms while examining the adorable girl.
If she had merely been cute, he would not have reacted like this.
However, aside from hair color, this cheerful girl with a radiant smile and visible canine tooth looked nothing like Hikigaya.
"Are you truly Hikigaya's younger sister?"
Luke asked suspiciously.
"I really am!"
Hikigaya Komachi narrowed her eyes and nodded with a bright smile.
"Hiss—"
Biology was truly a terrifying subject.
"Luke-san and Miura-san look alike."
Saika suddenly said.
Yumiko had also folded her arms and was examining Komachi with the same curious gaze.
Luke opened his mouth.
'A married couple starts to resemble each other.'
He silently mouthed the words toward Yumiko.
Yumiko kicked his shin.
Unable to resist cute things, she immediately became much friendlier.
"It's nice to meet you, Komachi-chan~ You can ignore the guy sitting beside me."
…
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