Chapter 492: Now, This Place Is Called Hikigaya Conference Room
"I don't think that's going to work!"
Unexpectedly, Hachiman directly rejected the idea, which put Tamanawa in an awkward position. After all, being contradicted by Hachiman in front of so many people was a bit of a blow to his pride.
"May I ask why this student is against my suggestion?"
"Because there isn't enough time. There's only a few days left until Christmas, and we've already wasted too much time on discussions. Expanding the scale now would leave us with no time to properly prepare."
"That's a fair point."
Hearing Hachiman say that they'd wasted too much time earlier made Tamanawa feel a bit embarrassed since it was true. However, he still wasn't ready to give up on his idea.
"We could look for partners, like college students. They could also put on some performances, which would make our event more lively."
"That won't work either!"
Unfortunately, Hachiman rejected this suggestion as well. He smiled faintly, his right index finger tapping rhythmically on the table.
"The theme of this event is focused on the elderly, so the content should be more heartwarming. My suggestion is to have children perform instead. After all, elderly people usually love seeing children."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kaori Orimoto, who was sitting across from him, chimed in with agreement, "Yes, yes, that's a great idea. The elderly do love children."
Well, as expected of you, 'Like' Queen.
However, things were even more awkward for Tamanawa. After all, Kaori Orimoto was a member of their school, but she had repeatedly sided with Hachiman, which put him, the student council president, in a difficult spot.
Even though Tamanawa fell silent, the others weren't ready to back down so easily.
A boy with long, artsy hair, who clearly thought of himself as quite handsome, spoke up.
"Even if we go with your plan, shouldn't we at least discuss the division of work?"
In his mind, he was hoping to avoid doing too much work himself.
But would Hachiman give him that opportunity?
"Oh? Are you suggesting that I haven't fairly distributed the tasks?"
Although Hachiman still wore a faint smile, the rhythmic tapping of his index finger had stopped. At the same time, an invisible aura seemed to emanate from him, pressing down on the students from Kaihin High.
After all, he was the modern-day Sword Saint; the deliberate release of his aura was something these high school students, who had barely seen the world, couldn't possibly withstand.
Let alone those who were all talk and no action.
The boys, led by Tamanawa, felt as though a ferocious tiger had materialized behind Hachiman, a king of beasts ready to devour them. The oppressive feeling made their blood run cold, leaving them too scared to move.
"I simply distributed the tasks equally. After all, this event is a collaboration between our two schools, so we should all work together. We can't have one side slacking off, right?"
"Isn't that right, President Tamanawa?"
Tamanawa, naturally intimidated by Hachiman's aura, couldn't muster any words of opposition.
At this point, Kaori Orimoto, as if nothing had happened, gave a thumbs-up and flashed a bright smile.
"Yeah, that's right, we need to work together."
Seeing her like this, even Hachiman's imposing aura seemed to waver for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and spoke again.
"It seems there are no objections, then. We'll proceed with this plan."
By now, Hachiman had clearly taken control of the situation. As his words settled, the room fell silent.
From this moment on, this conference room would be known as the Hikigaya Conference Room.
...
Thanks to Hachiman's intervention, the preparations for the Christmas event were finally back on track.
The boys from Kaihin High diligently carried out their assigned tasks, still shaken by Hachiman's earlier intimidation.
The members of Sobu High's student council naturally had no objections. Hachiman was well-known at their school, so they wouldn't go against his decisions. Even Vice President Makito, who usually clashed with Iroha Isshiki, didn't dare to oppose him.
Watching everyone working efficiently, Yui smiled and said, "This is great, Hikki. The event's finally progressing smoothly."
"Yes, now that we have a clear plan, things are definitely moving faster," Yukino nodded in agreement.
This was indeed the case. Before they arrived, Tamanawa and his group had done nothing but pay lip service and make empty promises, while Iroha Isshiki on their side wasn't taking any action either. The event had been at a standstill for quite some time.
But with Hachiman taking charge, everything had quickly fallen into place.
"This is great! After the event, we can even have a Christmas party at your place, Hikki," Yui said with a smile.
Hearing this, Yukino's face also showed a faint smile, suggesting she was looking forward to the gathering as well.
However, Hachiman's eyes flickered slightly, as he hadn't yet finished preparing the gifts for the girls.
Just then, the door to the conference room opened.
Vice President Makito walked in, leading a group of elementary school students. They were local children who would be performing in the Christmas event as part of the program.
Among these students was a familiar face for Hachiman and the others.
A small girl, who bore at least a 70% resemblance to Yukino, stood among them—it was Rumi Tsurumi, whom they had met during that forest summer camp.
"Ah, it's Rumi-chan," Yui called out with a smile upon seeing her.
Hearing her name, Rumi turned towards the sound and saw Yui and Yukino, along with Hachiman standing a little further away from them.
At this moment, Yui had already rushed over to her and spoke with a smile.
"Long time no see, Rumi-chan."
Rumi, who bore a striking resemblance to Yukino, responded to the overly enthusiastic Yui with only a slight nod.
"Yes, long time no see."
At this point, Iroha Isshiki also approached them. "Yui-senpai, you know her?"
"Yeah, we do," Yui nodded.
"We were asked by Hiratsuka-sensei to help out at a forest summer camp before, and Rumi-chan's school was participating in that camp."
"Oh, I see," Iroha smiled and then greeted Rumi.
"Hello, I'm Iroha Isshiki. Thanks for helping out with the Christmas event."
Unfortunately, Iroha's cute charm had no effect on someone even younger than herself. Rumi simply nodded coldly.
"Yes."
This left Iroha feeling a bit awkward, while Hachiman watched the scene unfold with amusement.
"Serves you right for always trying to act cute. Now you've met your match," he thought.
Just then, a young and excited voice rang out near Hachiman's ear.
"Ah, it's Hachi!"
Hachiman raised an eyebrow at this familiar nickname. Only one person called him that, and it was...
Looking down, Hachiman saw Kawasaki Keika, her twin pigtails bouncing as she hurried to his side.
"It really is you, Hachi! I'm so happy!"
Confirming it was indeed him, Keika immediately wrapped her small arms around his waist in a tight hug.
Rumi Tsurumi, usually so reserved, couldn't hide the surprise that flickered across her face.
Hachiman, on the other hand, softened his expression and gently patted Keika's head.
"Hey there, Keika."
"Mm-hmm, hi, Hachi," Keika nodded, her pigtails swaying with the movement.
Watching this endearing scene unfold, Iroha Isshiki sidled up to Hachiman and whispered in his ear, "Senpai, do you like younger girls?"
Hachiman smirked, a bit amused. While still patting Keika's head, he replied, "Well, I can't say I don't like younger girls, but not *this* young. That'd be illegal."
But when Iroha heard him admit to liking younger girls, she froze, her cheeks turning pink as she stammered, "If Senpai likes younger girls, then maybe I… maybe I…"
Before she could finish, she quickly shook her head, as if trying to dismiss the thought.
"No way, even if Senpai wanted to date me, that would be way too fast…"
Listening to her flustered rambling, Hachiman could only muster a dry smile.
Who said anything about dating you? Let's not jump to conclusions here.
Just then, Rumi Tsurumi walked over and asked, "Hachiman, is there anything we can help with?"
Whoa, she's already calling me by my first name?
But Hachiman didn't have the heart to be irritated by a kid.
"Rumi, I called you all here because I was hoping you could perform a play for the elderly during the Christmas event."
That's right—if there's one kind of performance that would suit elderly audiences, it's a play, especially one performed by children.
Of course, this wouldn't be the only entertainment. Hachiman had also arranged for some soft music and had even asked Yukino to bake Christmas cakes for the elderly.
"A play? That's fine," Rumi agreed with a nod.
Seeing her willingness, Hachiman smiled slightly.
"Thanks, Rumi. I'll have the script sent to you later, and we can start rehearsals. For now, why don't you and the others take a seat and wait?"
"I understand."
Rumi nodded again, and though it might've been his imagination, Hachiman thought he saw a faint smile on her face.
At that moment, Keika, still clinging to Hachiman's waist, looked up and said in her clear, bright voice, "Hachi, Hachi, I want to help too!"
Hachiman chuckled and gave her head another affectionate pat. "Alright, Keika, thank you."
But as this scene played out, the small smile that had appeared on Rumi's face began to fade.
She couldn't help but feel like something important was being taken away from her.