Chapter 157: Gears Turning Anew
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a week had passed. During this week, Hachiman's school life was calm and uneventful. He was waiting, waiting for an opportunity to join the Service Club.
In the original story, it was through an essay that he found his way into the Service Club, which eventually led to his connection with Yukino.
Finally, today was the day he had been waiting for. It was during Japanese class when Shizuka, standing at the front of the classroom, announced, "Alright, that's it for this class. Let me tell you about your homework. Let me think... I've got it. Write an essay with the theme 'Reflecting on High School Life.'"
"Yes!" The students nodded in agreement.
"Very well, class dismissed."
With that, she grabbed her teaching materials and walked away, her high heels echoing in the classroom.
"It's finally here," Hachiman murmured to himself, watching Shizuka's retreating figure.
Back at home, he gently placed his school bag on the couch and retrieved paper and a pen, ready to embark on the task of writing his essay.
By this point, his writing skills had honed to Level 5, enabling him to compose smoothly and without hiccups. Yet, in his quest to smoothly gain entry into the Service Club, Hachiman made the decision to recreate the same "masterpiece" as found in the original story.
[Youth is a lie. It is nothing but evil.]
[Those of you who rejoice in youth are perpetually deceiving yourselves and those around you.]
[You perceive everything about the reality surrounding you in a positive light.]
[Even life-threatening mistakes will be remembered as single page proofs of your youth.]
[I'll give you an example. If such people were to dabble in criminal acts such as shoplifting or mass rioting, it would be called 'youthful indiscretion.' If they were to fail an exam, they would say school is not only a place for studying.]
[Their pursuit of 'youth' excuses even distortions of commonly held beliefs and social norms.]
[Under their discretion, lies, secrets, crimes and even failure are nothing but the spice of one's youth.]
[And in their corrupt ways, they discover something peculiar about failure.]
[They conclude that while their own failures are generally a part of relishing in youth, others' failures should be shot down as just failures and nothing more.]
[If failure is seen proof of one's youth, isn't it strange not to consider those who fail to make friends as experiencing the height of their youth? Not that they acknowledge that.]
[It amounts to nothing. This is simply opportunism. Therefore, it is a sham, full of damnable lies, deception, secrets and fraud.]
[They are evil.]
[That is to say, ironic as it is, those who do not glorify their youth are the truly righteous ones.]
[Those who rejoice in youth are hypocritical, evil liars. They should all just die in a fire.".]
.....
"It's you who should die, you damn normie," Shizuka scolded Hachiman in an unpleasant tone, holding his "masterpiece" in the office.
"How can I be considered a normie, Shizu..." Hachiman began, but before he could finish his sentence, Shizuka shot him a glare.
This guy, he wants to call me 'Shizu' again. There are other teachers present, and if they hear it, I'd lose all face.
Reading these thoughts in her eyes, Hachiman shrugged and didn't say anything further.
Seeing him like this, Shizuka felt a bit helpless and sighed, then opened up the topic with the essay in her hand.
"I mean, do you remember the topic I assigned for your essay during class?"
Hachiman replied, "Ah, I remember it was about 'Reflecting on High School Life.'"
"So why did you write such a foolish essay like this then?"
Hachiman replied with casual indifference, "I thought it was fine. Isn't that how high school students have been in recent years?"
"In my opinion, they're inherently foolish. Failure is just failure. Sometimes, failure can't be disguised with phrases like 'that's just youth' or 'failure is the mother of success.' Those are just excuses cowards use to escape." Hachiman's tone carried a touch of disdain.
And that's the truth. If it's only minor matters, it's fine. Failure can be laughed off and moved past. But for the kind of matters where one thing leads to another, if your failure leads to a complete defeat, do you really want to use 'that's youth' as an excuse?"
Shizuka let out a sigh upon hearing his words.
"I mean, right now, you're certainly very successful. But don't forget, you're still quite young. Don't always place yourself in the perspective of a middle-aged person."
The man standing before her had become the uncrowned king in the world of light novels.
Light novels, manga, anime, along with various fan-made merchandise, had amassed him a fortune in the billions of yen.
Forget about young people; even middle-aged folks would find it challenging to achieve what he has now.
"Well, compared to you, Shizu, I am indeed very young."
Before he finished speaking, Hachiman felt a gust of wind coming at him. However, he was well-prepared. He calmly opened his hand, caught the punch aimed at his stomach, and held Shizuka's hand.
Although Shizuka was nearly thirty years old, her skin was as soft as a seventeen-year-old girl's. When Hachiman grasped her hand, he felt the delicate touch from her palm. He couldn't help but scratch the back of her hand.
Sensing Hachiman's gesture, Shizuka widened her eyes in surprise. She hadn't expected him to flirt with her like this.
Recalling his previous way of addressing her, a faint blush appeared on Shizuka's face. If they disregarded their age difference, the present Hachiman was indeed a desirable partner for courtship: young, handsome, and wealthy.
Internally, she chastised herself for entertaining such thoughts about Hachiman, who was more than a decade her junior.
After this internal scolding, she regained her composure and gently withdrew her hand from Hachiman's grasp.
"Can't you just enjoy being young?" she asked with a hint of exasperation.
Hachiman, ever indifferent, replied, "I don't see anything wrong with the present. Why should I care about the opinions of ordinary people?"
As Shizuka observed Hachiman in this moment, a thought seemed to strike her.
"It appears I need to guide you in the right direction. Follow me."
The two of them proceeded to the club activity area. Shizuka opened the door to one of the activity rooms and beckoned Hachiman inside.
Hachiman also gazed into the room. White curtains billowed gently in the breeze, and sunlight bathed the relatively small space.
In the center of the room, a young girl was seated, deeply engrossed in her book. Her demeanor was poised, her features delicate, and her skin fair and almost translucent. Her perfectly sized rosy lips added to her charm, while two red bows adorned strands of her hair behind her ears.
A gentle breeze carried a few cherry blossom petals through the window, and they gracefully danced over her swaying black hair before finally coming to rest on the floor.
In that moment, the girl, who bore the name Yukino Yukinoshita, resembled a living painting, a work of art.
When the door creaked open, Yukino looked up from her book, and her ice-blue eyes met Hachiman's. Their gazes locked in the air, a connection between the young man and the girl formed.
In this instant, the wheels of fate, previously somewhat askew, began to turn slowly once more.