The old Ford car glided across the sky, flying toward Chiba under the cover of the night.
"Is it really okay like this?" Asakura asked, glancing through the rearview mirror at Komachi, who was already fast asleep on the back seat.
"Yeah, this is fine."
Hachiman, sitting in the passenger seat, nodded.
"Erasing only Komachi's memory while keeping yours... this means the probability of you encountering supernatural events has increased. Although there will be gentle existences like the Itomori Musubi this time, I must warn you that the vast majority of supernatural creatures are not that easy to get along with. Even if it isn't their intention, simply brushing shoulders with them could have a massive impact on you. Yeah, and generally speaking, those impacts are far from positive."
Asakura said seriously: "It's just like a natural disaster—never foolishly assume you can peacefully coexist with a natural disaster."
"But even if the memory is deleted and all of this experience is forgotten, choosing to cover one's eyes with a leaf doesn't mean the natural disaster ceases to exist."
Hachiman replied calmly: "Prevention... no, even if it's just to know how to dodge in time when I see a natural disaster next time, I don't want to forget this experience."
"Then what about Komachi?"
"I will protect her." The youth answered without a shred of hesitation: "As long as the risk is borne by me, that's enough."
"If anyone else said that, I'd just assume he was afraid of getting his brains roasted." Asakura propped his elbow against the car door, controlling the steering wheel with one hand.
As for the gears and whatnot, when flying in the sky, any gear is fine as long as it isn't reverse.
In fact, theoretically speaking, even if he didn't hold the steering wheel, it would be fine as long as the general direction was correct.
"If someone else wanted to do that to Komachi, I would definitely risk my life to stop them too." Hachiman said.
He glanced at Asakura, then scratched his head, asking somewhat sheepishly: "By the way, it's normal that I trust Asakura, since we just went through all that, but why do you—and sorry in advance if I'm mistaken—trust me so much? We never spoke back when we were in class, right?"
"Because your name is Hikigaya," Asakura said, "probably."
"..."
If you don't want to talk about it, you could just say nothing; there's no need to give me such a perfunctory answer in the middle of everything.
Hachiman thought to himself. It was just that, in the end, he didn't dare to directly say it out loud.
"So, do I need to join that... uh, what club was it again?"
After calming down a bit, he asked Asakura once more.
"In your dreams."
Asakura refused mercilessly: "Only beautiful girls... ah, wait, I mean only people who possess supernatural powers can join the Magic Club."
"...Could it be that you are an enthusiast of the 'I'm the Boss' genre (similar to old-school cliché web novels) on web novel sites, Asakura?"
"Of course not."
"Yeah, I thought so..." Hachiman breathed a sigh of relief. If this guy was also the type who shouts about a harem every day, he would have to make sure Komachi maintained a sufficient distance from him.
"I'm not that weak." Asakura added: "Even if web novels over in Japan set the protagonist to be incredibly powerful, they basically still end up suffering setbacks for all sorts of reasons. It's completely a separate matter from the settings; if they are meant to be a noob, they are still a noob."
"..."
No, I wasn't discussing the settings with you.
Or rather, if he likes this type of novel so much, how about introducing Zaimokuza to him?
Hachiman couldn't help but complain like this in his heart.
"In any case," he took a deep breath, interrupting Asakura's grumbling about his dissatisfaction with Japanese web novels, "does this mean I am currently equivalent to being released into the wild, left completely to fend for myself?"
"There's no need to be so pessimistic; existences similar to you do exist."
Asakura didn't feel dissatisfied about his grumbling being interrupted, but simply brought up the main topic with him.
"To think there are actually people in the same boat besides me..."
While Hachiman was somewhat surprised, he couldn't help but ask: "Could it be the kind of girl who looks a bit unfortunate, which is why she couldn't join your hare... Magic Club?"
"Am I the kind of person who would do that in your eyes?" Asakura raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know, because I don't really know you that well, Asakura."
"When a boy says something like 'I want to know you better' to me, I'm afraid I won't be able to resist punching him."
"I was just kidding, don't look at me with dangerous eyes while rubbing your hands together! Or rather, is it really okay to leave the steering wheel alone like that?!"
"It's fine, it has autopilot." Asakura replied.
"Where were we just now?"
"I want to know you better."
"Heart, temples, kidneys..."
"Don't stare at my vital organs while muttering, it feels terrifying because it doesn't sound like a joke at all!"
"Don't worry, if I really were to make a move, I would directly turn you into a snake."
"That is completely not at a level of 'don't worry', rather it feels even more horrific?!"
"After all, you were the one who joked with me first."
"..."
"If you dare to say 'I'm not joking, ehe', I will really turn a part of your body into a snake."
"Can I ask specifically which part it is?"
"Probably the part that would cause Hachiman-kun to be renamed Hachiman-chan starting from today."
"I will reflect on my rudeness from the bottom of my heart, so please spare me."
"Let's get back to the main topic."
Asakura only then nodded with satisfaction: "Do you know Nukumizu Kazuhiko?"
"I do." Hachiman nodded honestly.
"I knew you definitely wouldn't know... Huh? You actually know him? Even though you look like you have absolutely no interest in your other classmates?"
Asakura looked at him with some surprise.
"Because during a few physical education classes, I hid in a dark corner to slack off... I mean, to use my body to experience the exact moment of the passage of time—"
"You really don't have any friends, do you?"
"I just don't want to waste time maintaining a so-called superficially glamorous 'friendship', that's all!"
"Right, right, let's get back to Nukumizu." Asakura said with a face full of 'I believe you', waving his hand in a highly perfunctory manner.
Hikigaya smacked his lips, but considering the sake of little Hachiman, he still didn't dare to continue complaining, merely going on to say: "In short, at that time, I saw Nukumizu-kun drinking tap water."
"Isn't it completely normal to drink water during PE class?"
"Yeah, the problem is that guy seemed to be quite... concerned about the tap water? He even critiqued the taste of the tap water in the tone of a food critic. To be honest, he looked lonely to the point of making people feel he was a bit pitiful."
"No, you don't have the right to say that kind of thing, do you?"