Chapter 4: Something seems wrong here
After the class meeting ended and he walked out of the classroom, Hikigaya looked around but didn't see any sign of Shizuka Hiratsuka.
It seemed she was very confident that he wouldn't dare lie to her.
Sadly, that was the truth…
The Service Club's room was in the special building, which housed various club activity rooms.
But the closer he got to the Service Club, the quieter and colder the atmosphere became.
If it weren't for the people in the clubroom, Hikigaya would have sincerely given this environment a thumbs-up. In his eyes, classmates were basically just rowdy kids, and when a bunch of kids gathered together and made noise, it annoyed him after a while.
Though he had such an arrogant thought, he didn't dare say it out loud.
From a certain perspective, Hikigaya himself wasn't exactly mentally normal. Having spent a period being desperate after the transmigration. Calling it a form of psychological cleanliness or neurosis wouldn't be wrong.
Although it wasn't that he had a bad habit of not wanting to interact with others, he was indeed a bit too self-centered, with an abnormally high demand for personal space.
However, compared to Hikigaya, the person in the room might have an even more serious issue in this regard.
But today was different—there were other voices inside.
After knocking and hearing a "Come in" from within, Hikigaya pushed the door open and walked in.
It didn't look much different from the first time he came, except now there was an extra table and a girl.
The girl who used this room was Yukinoshita Yukino. She was sitting on one side of the table, and across from her sat a girl whom Hikigaya could only see from behind—long blonde hair, a slender figure, and impressively curvy in the right places. Definitely high score material.
Even random girls popping up had this level of quality in this Light Novel like world it seems, Zaimozuka's illustrator must be very good at his job. Of course, since they were there to be seen and not touched, Hikigaya mentally regarded them as part of the background.
That kind of thinking made him feel more at ease. After all, even if he understood it in his heart, nobody liked admitting they were hopeless losers who couldn't get with high-quality girls.
"Shut-in boy?"
The background girl turned around, looking quite surprised.
Hikigaya was also surprised—it was a classmate.
Hmm, the girl who always acted all high and mighty. Also quite pretty, definitely part of the "popular" crowd.
But what was her name again? Miura… something? Couldn't recall…
"You two know each other? That's great. No need to waste time on introductions," said Yukinoshita with a nod, coldly observing everything. "Then let's continue with your issue."
"Um… why is the shut-in boy here?"
The background girl looked troubled and clearly didn't want to talk about her problem anymore.
"There's no need for labels like 'shut-in.' Don't say that again." Hikigaya interrupted bluntly. Since the girl clearly didn't have a good impression of him, there was no need for him to pretend to be a gentleman. That actually worked better for him—he wasn't good at that stuff anyway.
"Don't worry, though this man has no grace to speak of, he is a member of the Service Club. Doing disgraceful things like leaking the personal problems of those seeking help—he probably wouldn't do that," said Yukinoshita with a cold smile.
"Right… I'm not interested in other people's problems. If dealing with this can get the teacher off my back, I'd be happy to leave," said Hikigaya, looking quite displeased at the girl. She really had no idea how to be tactful.
He sat down on the other side of the table and continued, "Too bad I promised someone I'd stay at least an hour today, so if you don't like it, come back tomorrow."
"I… I see… sorry about earlier."
Huh? Did I just gain her trust somehow?
Hikigaya realized once again that he couldn't understand the logic of people here. Things always unfolded in weird ways.
Shouldn't this have been the moment where she made a snide remark like "Screw this, I'm outta here," gave everyone a scornful look, and stormed off proudly?
From her usual behavior, she seemed like the strong-willed type. What's with this "universally submissive queen" act?
"No need for extra words. So what exactly do you need help with?" Yukinoshita frowned. "If you don't tell us, we can't do anything."
Looks like she's already starting to feel annoyed.
"Um… this thing."
Miura took something wrapped in black cloth out of her bag. She quickly placed it on the table and then pulled her hand back.
Her eyes were filled with unease and disgust, and maybe even some fear.
"What is this?" For some reason, just seeing it made Hikigaya want to hold his nose.
"I don't know either. A friend sent it from abroad and said it was a gift."
Miura clearly didn't like the thing at all. As she spoke, she even scooted her chair further away from the table.
"Hmm, I can see that you dislike it," Yukinoshita nodded, then looked at Hikigaya.
"Why are you looking at me?" asked Hikigaya in confusion.
"Why are you so slow? Obviously, you should open it."
"Aren't you closer?"
"This thing gives me a bad feeling, and it looks filthy. Doesn't it suit you perfectly?"
I will endure this! She really isn't someone you can have a pleasant chat with. I can't believe I actually had a tiny bit of expectation for her earlier—how foolish of me!
Can't take it anymore—just survive this one hour and get out!
Muttering to himself, Hikigaya reluctantly unwrapped the black cloth.
What appeared was a ceramic jar.
It didn't look like something you'd find at a regular street stall or a figure shop. Rather than looking old, its material gave it a kind of ancient, rustic vibe. Hikigaya picked it up—it had some weight, and something seemed to be inside.
Most of the paint had worn off, and it looked dirty. It also had a faint, unpleasant smell. Clearly, it had been around a while. Seriously, who would gift something like this? What a weirdo.
The jar was about the size of a thermos, and where there should've been a lid, there was an animal head.
It looked bizarre—the ears were rectangular, and one was broken, the break still fresh. The face resembled a canine, but the nose and mouth were oddly twisted.
"Definitely filthy," Yukinoshita frowned again—she'd been doing that a lot today.
"What's the problem with this thing?" Hikigaya ignored her critical and disgusted gaze and asked Miura.
Time was being wasted—better wrap this up quickly.
"I… don't know. I feel like someone is stalking me."
…The hell? Shouldn't she be going to the police for that? And what does that have to do with this thing?
Hikigaya genuinely worried for this girl—whoever-she-was—wondering if there might be something wrong with her head.
His expression didn't hide anything, and the girl clearly picked up on his doubt, though she probably didn't realize he was questioning her intelligence.
"It's true!"
She got really worked up.
"I… I've already thrown it away several times, but… every morning it shows up next to my bed! Even if I ignore it, it'll show up in my school bag… I… I can't take it anymore!"
The sudden emotional shift startled Hikigaya so much he almost threw the jar away.
Only then did he process what she said.
What's going on? This doesn't feel right…
Supernatural events doesn't exist, right?
All these questions were stuck in his throat. The girl in front of him looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown.
"I understand. Leave it to us. You can go now."
The one who answered was Yukinoshita, but what she said made Hikigaya really uneasy.
He had a bad feeling about this.