Chapter 138: Hiyori: I Have Found the Pattern!
Early the next morning, sunlight filtered through the windows and into the room, casting a patch of warm orange light onto the floor.
Hachiman opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. There were two days left until the end of the exam, but he had already been on this luxury cruise ship for nearly a week. Although his adaptability was decent, every time he opened his eyes to see this spacious and extravagant room, he felt a subtle sense of unreality.
He rolled out of bed, walked to the window, and pushed it open. The salty sea breeze brushed against his face. In the distance was the endless blue surface of the ocean, shimmering under the morning light. A few seagulls circled low, letting out occasional crisp cries.
"Still not quite used to it," Hachiman muttered softly to himself.
"Not used to what?" Kanzaki Ryuji's voice came from behind him.
Hachiman turned around to see his roommate already fully dressed, sitting at the desk flipping through something.
Kanzaki had received a high-quality education from a young age; despite coming from a wealthy family, he never slacked off, possessing the excellent routine and seriousness of a typical member of the elite. Even now, he was spending extra time studying.
"This life." Hachiman pointed out the window. "Waking up every morning and seeing the sea... it just feels fake."
Kanzaki closed his book, stood up, and walked to the window to stand beside him. After a few seconds of silence, Kanzaki suddenly spoke. "If you're loath to leave this ship life, once we graduate, I'll invite you to play on my family's ship."
"?"
Hachiman turned and glanced at him. Kanzaki's expression was dead serious; he wasn't joking.
"...Rich guys are truly heartlessly wealthy." Hachiman looked away, his tone carrying a hint of sighs. "Only you could say something like that."
Kanzaki gave a light laugh but quickly composed his expression.
"Hikigaya-kun." His tone became earnest. "Do you know who owns this ship?"
Hachiman was slightly startled. "Didn't the school rent it?"
"No." Kanzaki shook his head. "This is the Sakayanagi family's private vessel."
Hachiman went silent for a few seconds.
A private ship. A luxury liner this massive was actually someone's private property.
Although he knew Sakayanagi Arisu's father was the Chairman of Advanced Nurturing High School—and that holding such a position made it impossible not to have wealth alongside power—being this rich still exceeded his imagination.
Kanzaki looked at him and continued, "Sakayanagi Arisu is the only daughter of the Sakayanagi family. If you could marry her, all of this would be yours."
Hachiman's lip twitched.
Marriage? With Sakayanagi?
The image of the ultra-cute, frail little princess who always leaned on a cane and wore a beret flashed through his mind. He had to admit she was undeniably adorable. But marriage... and she was so rich. This level of luxury was something even the Yukinoshita family couldn't match.
"..."
Hachiman found himself actually wavering for a split second.
'No, no, no.'
He quickly poured cold water on his thoughts.
'Hikigaya Hachiman, get a grip. Your goal is to be a house husband, yes, but that means finding a capable wife to earn money and support the home, not joining a tycoon family as a live-in son-in-law. And with Sakayanagi's personality, if you actually married her, she'd definitely force you to go to work!'
Don't be fooled, Hachiman!
And most importantly—he wasn't sure how much longer he could stay in this world.
Hachiman knew clearly that he was a "traveler." Generally, according to the development of novels he'd read, when everything settled, the protagonist would likely return to his original world. Therefore, the time for parting would come sooner or later.
So, it was impossible for him to consider Sakayanagi-san. Unless these two worlds merged, they were people of two different worlds.
"You're overthinking it." Hachiman retracted his thoughts and said, "The 'date' Sakayanagi mentioned is probably just a negotiation for cooperation after deducing the pattern. She doesn't have other feelings for me. Besides, there is a massive chasm between us; we are people of two different worlds."
Kanzaki looked at him and nodded thoughtfully.
"I suppose. There is indeed a large gap in family backgrounds, but you're meeting here now, aren't you? In a way, you've already crossed worlds." Kanzaki walked back to his desk. "Many of us are expected to enter arranged marriages, or have partners hand-picked by our parents
to match social status. The only real chance for something else to happen is with the classmates we meet during high school.
So, being able to attend this school together and know each other is already crossing the chasm between two worlds." Kanzaki seemed to sigh.
While Hachiman felt the "two worlds" Kanzaki spoke of weren't the same as the "two worlds" he was thinking of, one point was correct.
The current Hachiman and Sakayanagi were indeed people who had crossed two worlds to meet at Advanced Nurturing High School.
"But seriously, if Sakayanagi really did have feelings for you, would you refuse?" Kanzaki asked, seemingly curious.
Hachiman didn't answer. He just looked out at the blue sea, letting the sea breeze mess up the hair on his forehead.
Because regarding that question, he didn't know the answer himself.
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Half an hour later, Hachiman found a window seat in the buffet restaurant with his tray. Sunlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, making the entire restaurant bright and warm. The air was thick with the mixed aroma of bread, bacon, and coffee.
He took a bite of a pineapple bun, gazing out the window, his mind still on the conversation with Kanzaki.
"Dazing off again?"
Ichinose's voice came from across the table. She sat down with her tray, which held yakisoba, a salad, and a glass of orange juice.
Hachiman pulled back his thoughts and looked at her. "No."
"As if." Ichinose picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of yakisoba, her gaze landing on his face. "So, is this why you're so out of it this morning? Disturbed by Sakayanagi-san's 'date' invitation?"
Hachiman's chewing paused.
"I'm not out of it." He swallowed the bread and said tonelessly, "Just thinking about things."
"About what?" Ichinose pressed.
Hachiman didn't answer, simply taking a sip of milk. Ichinose watched him, her smile deepening. She put down her chopsticks and folded her hands on the table, putting on an expression of serious analysis.
"But seriously, I think Sakayanagi-san probably has a good impression of you," Ichinose said.
Hachiman's movements stiffened slightly.
Ichinose continued, "Even though she talks in circles and likes to tease people, her eyes land on you very often. And..." She paused, her tone turning teasing, "The Sakayanagi family's wealth could certainly satisfy your wish to be a house husband, couldn't it?"
Hachiman's lip twitched.
'A house husband. It seems I'll never live that joke down.'
"But overall..." Ichinose's expression turned serious. "I don't think Sakayanagi-san would let you idle. Her health isn't great, so if you really... well, you know, the other half would definitely have to handle work matters. Your wish to be a house husband might not come true with her."
Hachiman went silent for a few seconds. He knew that. Kanzaki had already asked him the same thing.
'So, is everyone in Class B like this? Are they all this concerned about my marriage prospects today?'
Seeing Hachiman's lack of response, another thought surfaced in Ichinose's mind.
'Actually, Hiki-kun already has someone in his heart, right? That girl he occasionally mentions—Yukinoshita Yukino. I've never met her, but I can feel from fragments of his inner voice that she is very important to him.
She is probably the 'main' one.'
However, she wouldn't say those words out loud. This was Hachiman's private business; she had no place to say anything. She retracted her thoughts and continued eating her yakisoba.
Hachiman also quietly ate his pineapple bun. A subtle silence hung between them, though it wasn't awkward.
Just then, a clear voice entered Ichinose's mind.
'Ichinose probably knows I'm a traveler. Then she should also know that, perhaps at any moment, I might leave this place.'
Ichinose's fingers tightened on her chopsticks, but she continued eating, her face showing no sign of anything unusual.
But Hachiman's inner voice continued.
'The world I'm in now is very similar to the novels I've read; perhaps this is a parallel world constructed based on a novel's world. However, if I were the author, I'd hope it's not a bad story in the end. Even if my time here isn't long, I hope the people I've met—like Ichinose, Karuizawa, and the others—can walk a completely different path from the original story and have a future.'
Ichinose's breath hitched. She lowered her head, letting her hair hide her expression.
'When I'm no longer in Class B, Horikita-san will accumulate enough points to come over. That way, Ichinose, who lacks decisiveness, can have a decisive assistant, and together they can lead Class B...
And this exam will give Class B a taste of what it's like to be Class A.'
Hachiman's inner monologue ended there.
But Ichinose's thoughts were in total disarray.
'Leave. He said 'leave.' Not transferring classes, not graduation, but leaving this world entirely.'
She looked up at Hachiman. He was holding his glass of milk, looking at the sea, his expression as calm as if nothing had happened. The sunlight traced a soft outline of his profile.
But the voice she just heard was his true feeling. Those were arrangements he had made long ago.
'He's already... arranging things for after he leaves?'
Ichinose suddenly felt a tightness in her chest.
"Hikki-kun," she couldn't help but speak.
Hachiman turned to look at her.
Ichinose opened her mouth, but found she didn't know what to say.
She wanted to say—Don't go. She wanted to say—We still need you. She wanted to say—I can hear your thoughts, I know what you're thinking, can you stop talking like you're leaving a will?
There was so much she wanted to say. It was almost overflowing.
But in the end, she just gave a soft smile.
That smile held too much—hesitation, cowardice, a habitual tendency to back down, and a compromise with reality. It was just like when she stood at the food counter, debating between yakisoba and a pineapple bun for ages, unable to choose.
The current her was still unable to speak decisive words.
"The yakisoba is good, want a taste?"
She pushed half of her untouched yakisoba onto his tray. Hachiman looked at the portion, then at her. Although he felt Ichinose was being a bit strange today, he still said, "Thanks."
Ichinose didn't follow up.
She lowered her head and continued her breakfast. She could feel the sea breeze through the open windows, carrying the specific chill of early morning. She could feel the sun warming them through the glass. But the mountain of words she couldn't say continued to echo in her heart.
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On the other side, on the deck.
Ibuki Mio leaned against the railing, eating bread, but her gaze was fixed on the floor-to-ceiling windows of the restaurant—through the glass, she could see two figures sitting across from each other, eating breakfast.
"The atmosphere over there is quite nice," Ibuki said, looking away and speaking to Ryuen.
Ryuen Kakeru had his hands on the railing, looking irritable and sleep-deprived. He had spent the whole night with Class C trying to deduce the pattern, and his brain was currently a mess. Hearing Ibuki's words, he didn't even bother to lift his eyelids.
"Not interested," Ryuen said coldly.
Ibuki glanced at him and said no more. She knew Ryuen was in a bad mood—anyone who pulls an all-nighter with no results wouldn't be in high spirits.
Just then, her phone vibrated in her pocket. Ibuki pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and her expression changed instantly.
[Ibuki, I've deduced the pattern.]
She stared at the line for two seconds, then looked up at Ryuen.
"Ryuen, Shiina says she found the pattern."
Ryuen snapped his head toward her. The fatigue in his eyes vanished, replaced by a sharp light.
"What?"
He snatched Ibuki's phone and quickly scanned the message from Hiyori. A few short lines of text caused his brow to furrow.
"Why did she contact you first?" Ryuen looked up, staring at Ibuki with a hint of suspicion.
Ibuki was momentarily startled. Why did Hiyori contact her first? She knew the answer.
—Because they had that secret alliance they couldn't speak of. Because they could both hear Hikigaya Hachiman's inner voice. Because in Hiyori's heart, Ibuki was perhaps a bit more "special" than Ryuen—not as a subordinate, but as a partner sharing a secret.
But she couldn't say that.
"Maybe... I just happened to be outside," Ibuki made a quick excuse. "When she sent the message, you had just stepped out for air, so she probably thought it was more convenient to tell me first."
Ryuen stared at her for a few seconds before looking away.
"Don't be like that idiot Tokito and act on your own," Ryuen said coldly. He turned toward the cabin. "Let's go. Let's head back and check."
Ibuki followed behind him, quietly sighing in relief.
In the Class C lounge, the atmosphere was even heavier than the night before. Several core members sat around the table, their faces marked by exhaustion. Kaneda Satoru pushed his glasses up; his notebook was already filled with dense deduction processes. Ishizaki Daichi and Albert, who weren't good at brainwork, were fast asleep on the sofa.
Shiina Hiyori sat on a chair by the window. Her long silver hair was a bit messy, and there were light dark circles under her eyes. But in those eyes of hers, an excited light flickered.
Seeing Ryuen and Ibuki enter, she stood up.
"Ryuen-kun." Hiyori's tone held a hint of excitement and a trace of uncertainty. "I've deduced a pattern."
Ryuen strode over to her. "Speak."
Hiyori took a deep breath, picked up her notebook, and showed it to everyone.
"I used all the samples we could get—our two from Class C, Morishige from the Monkey Group, and Matsushita Chiaki from the Sheep Group. Four samples, comparing many possibilities." Her finger pointed to the notebook, which was covered in complex tables and arrows.
"The resulting pattern... is quite special."
Ryuen frowned. "Special?"
"Yes." Hiyori nodded. "It doesn't just use the syllabary order of names, but also the order of the Twelve Zodiac groups."
She pointed to a few lines on the table. "I tried many combinations and finally found that if you take the zodiac order of each group as a base, and then calculate according to a certain
offset—specifically, the zodiac order minus 3, then mapped to the students' syllabary order within the class..."
She paused and looked up at Ryuen. "The result matches all four samples perfectly."
The room was silent for a few seconds.
Kaneda Satoru pushed his glasses and leaned in to study the process. His frown grew deeper until he finally looked up, his tone complex. "Theoretically... it holds up. But the sample size is still too small."
Hearing this, Hiyori sighed softly.
"I know." Her voice carried a hint of helplessness. "If I had a fifth sample to verify it, I could be completely certain. But right now..."
She didn't finish, but the meaning was clear. A pattern deduced from four samples was "possibly correct," not "certainly correct." If they guessed wrong, Class C would not only fail to get points but would be penalized.
Ryuen stared at the deduction for a few seconds. Then he looked up, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.
"There are no more chances for verification." His tone was decisive, carrying the resolve of someone burning their bridges.
"We use this pattern. In this morning's group discussion, make the guess immediately."
Hiyori was startled. "But..."
"No 'buts'," Ryuen interrupted. "If you use someone, don't doubt them. Since you deduced it, I believe it."
He paused, his gaze turning sharp.
"Besides, do you think Class A will give us time to slowly verify? That Sakayanagi girl will definitely move this morning. Better to strike first than wait for them to blow up our VIPs. And Class B... it's impossible to let them get through this exam without losing anything! Shiina, list out all the VIPs of the other groups according to your pattern. I'm going to use them."
Hiyori looked at him, opened her mouth, and finally just nodded gently.
"Then it's decided. Everyone else, go rest for now. Be on time for the group discussions later. At that time, I will require some of you to make the guess at any moment!"
"Yes!"
The heavy, exhausted atmosphere in Class C was instantly lifted.
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