"...M-Minister..."
After spending a long moment alone to calm herself, Hayase Saki drew in a deep breath, gathered every ounce of courage she had, and stepped out of the changing room into the living room.
"Hm? Saki, I have a favor to ask you."
Sitting on the couch, Hikigaya Hachiman had been watching the second hand sweep around the clock face. When he heard her approaching footsteps, he stood and turned to face her.
"Could you come with me to pick up a few things? I'm a little hungry right now."
"O-Of course! I'd be happy to!"
Hachiman's sudden request made Saki stiffen, and she instinctively bowed her head, replying before her brain caught up.
But the next second, something about his words sank in—and she froze.
"Eh? Go out? To buy things? Now?"
She snapped her head up, blinking in confusion. The Minister—her Minister—had suddenly appeared in her house… and all he wanted was to go shopping?
All that flustered panic in the changing room, the racing heartbeat, the dramatic scenarios she'd imagined to prepare herself for whatever was coming—
—And all he wanted was to buy snacks?!
She had been so sure he'd shown up because he was angry after what happened with Shirosaki Yuna and the others... that maybe he'd come to her for comfort—to, well, "cool off" a bit.
But no. He just wanted to buy food.
"You did say yes, didn't you? Is there a problem?"
Hachiman's calm tone jolted her out of her spiraling thoughts.
"N-No! No problem at all! Minister, please wait a second, I'll just go change my clothes!"
Saki flushed bright red. There was no way she could tell him what kind of nonsense had been running through her head, so she bowed in embarrassment and dashed back upstairs, muttering apologies all the way.
Hachiman watched her go, shaking his head with an exasperated sigh.
What on earth goes on in that girl's head...
He'd been trying to figure out how to convince Hayase Saki to "help" him keep a certain secret. But apparently, she wasn't even suspicious of him at all.
At the moment, she was the only person on his Love List he could freely teleport to.
If he ever found himself in danger, Saki's home could serve as a safe point to escape to.
Though honestly, she seemed a little too trusting. A guy suddenly shows up in her house, and she doesn't even question it?
From another angle, that trust was almost touching—proof that she didn't believe he could ever do anything inappropriate.
When Saki finally came back down, dressed neatly, Hachiman led her out of the house. Together, they walked toward a nearby convenience store.
The familiar chime rang as they entered.
"Welcome~"
Ding~
"Character card detected — Kusunose Miki."
The system notification echoed in Hachiman's mind as soon as he stepped inside, but since there was no mission prompt, he ignored it.
He moved along the aisles, picking up a roll cake, boneless fried chicken, milk ice cream, and a can of coffee.
Saki followed behind him, quietly helping carry the items he chose.
When it seemed like enough, Hachiman brought everything to the counter.
"Would you like these in a bag?" the clerk asked.
"The ice cream and coffee—no need. The rest, please."
"Understood... That'll be 2,862 yen. Do you have a member card, sir?"
The cashier—Kusunose Miki, dressed in the green-and-white convenience store uniform—smiled professionally as she packed up the purchases.
"...Saki, you pay."
Hachiman didn't even reach for his wallet. Instead, he casually popped open his canned coffee and turned to her.
"Ah? Oh! Right!"
Startled, Saki hurried to pull out her small, cute wallet and paid for everything.
"Thank you. That's 2,900 yen. Here's your change—38 yen—and your receipt. Please check your items."
The clerk's polite voice carried a hint of disbelief as she glanced between them. A couple buys a mountain of snacks... and the girl's the one paying? She kept her customer-service smile firmly in place, though she was clearly suppressing the urge to roll her eyes.
Hachiman didn't care about the look. He took a long sip of his coffee instead, tilting his head slightly to let one of the security cameras get a clear shot of his face.
"Thank you for your purchase! Please come again!"
As they turned to leave, Hachiman gave Kusunose Miki a brief glance.
Another unfamiliar name—definitely one of those background NPCs from some forgotten anime or game. Convenience store staff were always getting caught up in "dark routes": shady managers, blackmail, harassment arcs... the usual tragic flags.
He discreetly opened his Love List and added her name.
Whether he knew them or not didn't matter. What mattered was protecting those who were vulnerable.If a "story event" was about to trigger, he wanted to be there—to intervene, and maybe pick off another Minotaur while he was at it.
"I'm sorry, Minister... I'm not very good at cooking."
As they walked back, Saki looked down at the plastic bag filled with snacks and lowered her voice shyly.
If she'd been good at cooking, she could've shown off her skills just now... maybe even cooked something for him.
"It's fine. Whether you can cook or not doesn't matter."
Hachiman took another sip of his coffee before adding quietly, "If you could cook, I'd have just made up some excuse to drag you out shopping anyway."
The convenience store was close to her home, so they soon arrived at her doorstep.
Hachiman handed her the bag. She instinctively took it, only for him to pull out his wallet and hand her the same amount of cash she'd paid earlier.
"Minister?"
Saki blinked in confusion. She'd assumed he'd forgotten his wallet entirely.
"Saki, you're a beautiful, pure-hearted girl. I like obedient people—but more than that, I hope you'll learn to think for yourself. Don't just go along with what others tell you. Protect yourself."
He pressed the bills gently into her free hand and reached out to pat her head. His voice softened as he looked at her delicate, earnest face, sighing quietly.
"I just remembered I've got something else to do. You can keep the food—eat it before it gets cold."
"Minister..."
Saki stood frozen, watching as Hachiman turned and walked away, raising a hand in casual farewell.
He really was kind to her—gentle, even.
Strict, stoic Hachiman was intimidating enough to make her nervous sometimes, but when he showed that quiet concern... it made her chest ache in a completely different way.
Still—why had he come to her house in the first place?Not to vent, not to eat together. He'd bought snacks, hadn't touched a single one, and then left.
No matter how long she thought about it, she couldn't make sense of it.
Finally, she brought the bag inside, went up to her room, and locked the door.
Her room was typical for a girl her age—soft colors, cute decorations... maybe except for the slightly questionable service-themed manga spread open on her bed.
Blushing, she quickly gathered the books and tucked them into a corner of her closet. Just then, a buzzing sound came from the bed.
Her phone was vibrating.
When she picked it up, she saw several unread messages.
"Hey, did you hear? Miwa and those two second-years were found dead in an alley near the school! Right in front of Keitai!"
Saki's eyes widened as she read the message from her childhood friend.
"They found a bloody baseball bat and a burlap sack with their fingerprints, but no suspects. The alley has too many exits—no security cameras, same as when Keitai got beaten up yesterday. The cops can't find who did it."
"Keitai's still at the station giving a statement. The teachers are heading there to pick him up."
Checking the class group chat, she saw everyone was talking about it too. Most thought Miwa had finally pissed off the wrong people and gotten what was coming to him.
And then—she remembered what Hachiman had told her.
"I'll handle Miwa. You don't have to worry."
Her breath caught.
Wait... don't tell me...
Her face flushed deep red as she buried herself in her blanket, clutching it tight against her chest.
The memory of his hand ruffling her hair replayed over and over in her mind.
Minister... you really did it... for me?