Faced with Hikigaya Hachiman's honest words, the system—completely clueless about what was going on—still managed to stay perfectly calm.
Shirase quickly filled the damned system in mentally.
[Thanks to the host's reminder, the system now knows how to handle this situation.]
After that reply, it looked at Hikigaya and said flatly, "If you're unwilling, then forget it."
"Eh?"
The decisiveness caught Hikigaya off guard.
When Shirase had first invited him to join the soccer club, he could tell Shirase had been serious.
Just now, when he'd voiced his real thoughts, he'd felt awkward and conflicted. He had genuinely watched that match and been moved by the team's fighting spirit—but he was still hesitant about taking that first step.
Now, hearing "Shirase" accept his answer so easily, Hikigaya blinked, then suddenly understood. "Oh, did someone new join the soccer club recently? That's great—you probably don't have to worry about being short-handed anymore."
The system nodded. "Mm."
In truth, it had no idea what was going on.
But the damned system's rule for dealing with humans was simple: whatever someone said, just act mysterious and profound.
In short—let the other person imagine the rest.
Hikigaya wasn't dumb. He quickly filled in the blanks himself and felt relieved he didn't have to think of a polite way to turn Shirase down.
"Congratulations," he said sincerely. Despite Shirase's recent odd behavior, Hikigaya still thought he was a good guy.
"Thank you," the system replied smoothly.
Hikigaya thought for a moment, then pointed behind him with the arm holding his shopping bag. "I passed someone from your soccer club just now. Aren't you going to say hi?"
"Thanks for the reminder," the system said, still acting all deep and composed.
Hikigaya nodded and walked off.
As Shirase started heading in the opposite direction, Hikigaya silently cheered him on in his heart: Good luck with your matches, you sneaky riajuu.
"So, what now?" Shirase asked casually as the damned system went quiet again, clearly uninterested in whichever teammate Hikigaya had mentioned.
[Currently, the system has not detected any evil nearby, so it will first visit the host's acquaintances.]
"And then?"
[Then continue observing the situation, vigilant against potential evil.]
Perfect. Flawless nonsense.
Shirase didn't even bother replying.
As they passed a convenience store, a familiar female voice called out,
"Oh, out shopping?"
Then another, even brighter voice followed. "Shirase!"
The second one carried obvious delight.
The system stopped and turned.
Hiratsuka Shizuka and Isshiki Iroha stood there.
Why were those two together?
Didn't Kana-nee say Hiratsuka-sensei was looking for her? Shirase frowned in confusion.
The system asked for him, "Why are you two here?"
Hiratsuka-sensei smiled, unsuspecting. "I just had lunch with your Kana-nee. She left not long ago, and then I ran into Isshiki wandering around."
"I wasn't wandering!" Isshiki protested awkwardly. "I was just relaxing a bit—y'know, stress relief."
Hiratsuka chuckled and patted her head. "Hear that? As the soccer club's manager, she's been under pressure lately, what with all the tough opponents coming up."
"Hiratsuka-sensei, that's not what I meant…" Isshiki flailed, embarrassed.
Is this woman trying to guilt-trip me into treating her to food again? Shirase thought dryly.
The system stayed quiet.
Hiratsuka didn't press, casually changing the topic. "By the way, Isshiki and I walked by the park earlier and overheard someone saying a guy bullied a bunch of elementary schoolers at the soccer field—apparently made some kids cry."
Isshiki nodded seriously. "Yeah, some adults said it was a student-looking guy. Like, what kind of person does that?"
Shirase felt calm. Great—he was taking the blame again.
The shameless system, of course, stayed completely silent.
Hiratsuka smiled teasingly. "Funny thing, though—the parents' description sounded a lot like you. And you do love soccer…"
She chuckled. "But I know you wouldn't bully kids. That'd just be too cruel."
"It was me," the system said suddenly.
Hiratsuka's smile froze, then she laughed, half-disbelieving. "What are you saying now?"
Isshiki didn't buy it either.
"It really was me," the system repeated calmly.
Both women froze, staring at him in shock, disbelief written all over their faces.
When they looked back at Shirase, it was like they were trying to figure out if this was some weird joke.
A few seconds later, Hiratsuka asked again, uncertain, "It really was you?"
The system nodded.
Isshiki gasped. "Shirase, how could you do that?"
System: "Because I enjoy it."
Shirase immediately shot back, "Nonsense. I'm not shameless enough to bully little kids."
Both women fell silent again.
After five long seconds, Hiratsuka spoke with a complicated expression. "Those parents said the final score was 8–0?"
"Yeah," the system confirmed.
Isshiki's eyes widened. "No way—you lost eight goals to elementary schoolers?"
Clearly, she thought Shirase had gone easy on them.
The system wouldn't allow that misunderstanding. "No. I scored those eight goals."
Now it was Hiratsuka's turn to look stunned. "You're kidding—no shame at all? You actually scored eight goals against kids?"
The system countered smoothly, "I won with my own skill. What's wrong with that?"
Hiratsuka sighed, torn between laughter and disbelief. "If I'd known, I would've told Kojima to stick around. If she saw her beloved little brother bullying elementary kids, I wonder what she'd say."
"She'd probably say, 'Good job,'" the system said thoughtfully.
"You're even throwing English at me now?" Hiratsuka muttered helplessly.
Isshiki looked up cautiously, her tone suddenly soft. "Shirase… you've been under a lot of pressure lately, haven't you? Otherwise, someone like you wouldn't do something so—um—extreme."
Shirase blinked. She's actually rationalizing this for me?
The shameless system nodded without hesitation. "Exactly."
Isshiki's face lit up with relief. "I knew it! I knew you had your reasons!"
---
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
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