"Hey, why did we need to go take the freeway if we're going to the Chiba Station?" Shishio asked speechlessly, wondering whether this woman had deceived him again.
"Let me ask you instead..." Hiratsuka tried to act like she was an anime character. "When did you come under the delusion that we were going to Chiba Station?" Her voice was so low like she was talking about something important, as if there was a bomb under their car.
"....."
Shishio thought that Hiratsuka was really the best woman, so at this moment, he decided to join her act. His expression showed disbelief, and he asked, "Don't tell me... you...?!"
"That's right!" Hiratsuka laughed and looked at Shishio as if she had deceived him. "Too bad! We're going to Chiba Mura instead of Chiba! Haha, sucker!" Inwardly, she felt happy that he had joined her boat.
"No..." Shishio closed his eyes, and his expression was full of regret. "How... How could you..." He opened his eyes and stared at Hiratsuka with disbelief and shock. "How could you deceive me like that?!" He closed his eyes again, forcing tears of a yawn to come out.
"!!!"
Hikigaya somehow showed a shocked expression.
Hiratsuka subconsciously tried to hold her cigarette, wanting to be seen as a cool anime character, but when she realized she didn't have it, she pulled Shishio's head closer and rubbed it gently. "I have never deceived you, to begin with. I have told you before, right?"
"...You ruin the act." Shishio was speechless since he had just followed her act.
"Your acting is too good, right?" Hiratsuka was even more speechless since she must admit this guy's act was so good that she wondered whether this was his real one.
"...."
On the other hand, Yukinoshita, Yui, Komachi, Hikigaya, and Totsuki stared at the two in silence and wondered when their relationship had become so close.
Their destination was Chibamura, a famous camping site, so instead of going to the Chiba prefecture, they went to the Gunma prefecture.
Knowing all of that, whether Shishio or Hikigaya, was speechless.
On the other hand, the girls, including Totsuka, were calmer and talked happily to each other.
While Totsuka talked to Komachi, Yui talked to Yukinoshita.
On the other hand, Hikigaya sat next to Komachi and just looked at the scenery of the freeway. Still, he was often talked to by Komachi and Totsuka from time to time, causing him to sigh since the topic of their conversation was quite insulting to him.
Shishio ignored Hikigaya too, but it wasn't because he wanted to. Instead, he couldn't talk with Hikigaya since he sat in the passenger seat next to Hiratsuka. Still, he couldn't help but glance at Yui from time to time.
He must admit Yui was similar to Hana. Yet unlike Hana, she didn't have a mature charm owned by her mother.
'If Yui-senpai is older, should she be like Hana?' Shishio was curious, but he had to wait a decade to see the answer.
Yet this wasn't the only reason he stared at Yui from time to time.
The reason why he looked at her from time to time was that he felt strangely calm when he saw her.
When they met for the first time, he thought his heart would jump out, and he would lose his calm. Yet when they met, he could act like nothing had happened, which made him wonder whether everything had ended just like this.
'Have I changed so much?'
If it was before, he might have drowned in the feeling of guilt and was unable to meet Yui's eyes or his girlfriends. However, he is okay now.
Still, this change didn't surprise him.
It was like how a new actor would get nervous on the stage. When the actor gained experience and popularity, he would be more confident and even haughtier.
Shishio felt he was like that now.
This fact also helped him to realize he might stop becoming a human and utterly become a scumbag.
Yet this also rang a signal to his mind, telling him to be careful since being too much definitely wasn't good.
Being a scumbag wasn't something forbidden, but he definitely couldn't let any more housewives be eaten. He didn't want to destroy a warm and happy family after all.
Yet was Yuigahama's household a happy family?
If Yuigahama's household was a happy family, it would have been impossible for him to enter the gap in Hana's heart.
If she had a happy family, it would have been impossible for her to enter the bathroom and try to wash his body.
If she had a happy family, it would also be impossible for her to seduce him.
It was because there was a gap in her family that it was possible for him to enter her place.
As for Hana's heart, Shishio didn't think he could get it so easily. After all, with her status as the wife of someone and the mother of his senior, it was impossible for her to accept the relationship she had made with him. However, he knew that his existence had already been imprinted on Hana, and it was impossible to erase.
However, knowing this fact also made him worried.
If there is a problem with Hana's family, Yui should be affected, too, right?
Yet Yui didn't seem troubled, and she talked happily with Yukinoshita, Komachi, and Totsuka.
As for Hikigaya, there was no need to mention him since he didn't join their conversation, or rather, it was impossible, considering the topic of their conversation wasn't something that a guy like him could enter carelessly.
On the other hand, Yui's matter was more important since he wondered whether she was acting now.
While Yui might be stupid, she was the one with the keenest among everyone at reading an emotion, or she might be just stupid.
'Or are her parents just too good at concealing their problems?'
Either way, Shishio didn't intend to say anything to Yui since ignorance was bliss. It was better for her to enjoy her youth like everyone else, and he didn't need to remind her what kind of problem her family had.
"What's wrong? You have been looking at us," Yukinoshita suddenly said while looking in his direction.
Shishio didn't answer her question and glanced in her direction for a moment. It might be because they had just met each other after a while, so she kept staring at him from time to time. 'Did she fall for me?' He was quite narcissistic, but he knew that he shouldn't say such a thing since he was afraid her sandals might be thrown at his face. "I was just thinking about what would happen after summer vacation."
"After summer vacation?" Yukinoshita frowned since she felt this guy was hiding something, but Yui interrupted her thought. "Oh, I know! It's a culture festival!"
"Culture festival, huh? It's a day when everyone will give all the hardest tasks to the loner or the otaku group, right?" Hikigaya joined.
"........" Everyone.
"...Leaving Hikigaya-senpai aside, what did the service club do last year?" Shishio was quite curious.
"We didn't do anything," Yukinoshita said calmly.
"......" Everyone stared at Yukinoshita for a moment before they looked at Hiratsuka since she was their teacher.
Hiratsuka was quite embarrassed, but she answered, "Well, the service club does nothing. After all, the purpose of this club is just to help someone. Even if we want to show something, what should we show?"
"What? How can that be? That's not fun!" Yui pouted and felt dissatisfied.
"Oh? Do you have a good idea, Yuigahama?" Hiratsuka asked.
Yui's eyes brightened, and she said, "How about we sell a cookie—"
"Rejected." 3x
Whether Shishio, Hikigaya, or Yukinoshita didn't want anyone to die during the culture festival. They also didn't want to see their friend enter the juvenile detention center or even jail. More importantly, as good citizens, it was impossible for them to let such a dangerous bioweapon appear in such a happy event as a cultural festival.
"If we sell cookies, it's better that we don't do anything," Hikigaya said.
"Agree." 2x
Shishio and Yukinoshita nodded at the same time.
"How cruel!" Yui's face flushed red since she knew what kind of rude thing they were thinking.
"By the way, Shishio. Have you thought of something?" Hiratsuka asked.
"What do you mean?" Shishio asked.
"I mean, you ask that question, so you should have an idea about what we're going to do, right?"
When those words fell, they were looking at him curiously.
"No, I was just thinking about the literature club."
"Oh? What is the literature club going to make?"
"Anthology." Shishio looked at everyone and said, "Don't forget to buy later, alright?"
"Okay."
Unexpectedly, even Hikigaya nodded.
"Well, you're a famous writer now. Even if you don't ask us, I am sure everyone will buy the anthology of the literature club," Hikigaya suddenly said.
"Eh?" 3x
Yui, Komachi, and Totsuka were dumbfounded and looked at Shishio incredulously.
Shishio looked at Hikigaya and asked curiously, "Did you buy my book?"
Hikigaya was a bit embarrassed, but he nodded. "Yeah." He looked at Shishio curiously and asked, "Did you lose someone when you wrote that book?"
Hearing this question, Yui and Hiratsuka also looked at Shishio curiously.
"Eh? Eh? What are you talking about? What do you mean?" Yui was confused.
Totsuka and Komachi were also quite confused.
Shishio was helpless, but he had to explain from the beginning to the end, which caused Yui and Totsuka to be dumbfounded. He didn't feel surprised that they didn't know since the three of them didn't read his book since they didn't have a hobby of reading a book.
On the other hand, Komachi had to study for her entrance exam, so it was impossible for her to waste her time reading a book.
Still, he also had to explain why Hikigaya asked him this question.
The story of the Kitchen he had written was about the brevity of life, the dangerous potential of love and happiness to be painfully fleeting, and how to cope with death.
The vividness of the emotion written in the story was so real that it was quite normal for Hikigaya to ask that question.
Hearing his explanation, everyone was also curious and looked at him, waiting for his answer.
"That's right." Shishio nodded.
"...Who?" Yukinoshita asked quietly.
The mood inside the car was quite heavy, and they were on the verge of crying, staring at him, who seemed to be caught in melancholy.
"My goldfish."
"......" Everyone.
"...Can I punch you?" Hikigaya asked.
"Sorry, that's impossible," Shishio said with a laugh. Even if Hikigaya wanted to punch him, it was impossible.
Still, suddenly, Yukinoshita said something unexpected, "How about we do something for the culture festival?"
"...What?"