For the past few days, Yukinoshita Yukino had been somewhat out of sorts in everything she did, giving off a distracted impression.
Perhaps unsure of how to be alone with him, she had not walked home with Mori Shinra again since that day after school. She would always leave first, with him following leisurely behind. If he caught up, he caught up; if he didn't, he didn't.
Sometimes, Yukinoshita would look back and see him, but then at the next intersection, she'd look back and he would have vanished. The vast majority of the time she did see him, he was looking down at his phone. Only when crossing the street would he lift his eyes from the screen, which made her a little worried.
If this continued, even if he didn't get into another car accident, wouldn't he fall and get injured sooner or later from not watching where he was going?
Yukinoshita Yukino felt that Mori Shinra had learned absolutely nothing from that car accident. She was a little angry but also helpless. It's not like she could go up, snatch his phone, and force him to just walk properly without being distracted, right?
In fact, Yukinoshita's worries were unnecessary. Although Mori Shinra appeared to be looking at his phone, he was actually training his Emotion Perception ability. He had discovered that he could sense the general location of people around him with this ability even without looking.
Using this trait, he could always avoid the passing crowds at just the right moment. As for obstacles... wasn't avoiding them with peripheral vision a basic skill for any phubber?
The reason Shinra dared to use his ability so freely without worrying about the mental drain was also simple. The two Wish Points he had obtained previously both ended up being Spirit points when he made his wishes.
As a result, his Spirit stat, which was already double that of a normal person, had now reached an even more commanding lead. He had reached a point where he could use the ability 24/7 within a certain range without worrying about consumption. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a human radar.
The following is Mori Shinra's current panel:
Host: Mori Shinra
Constitution: 5 (↑-)
Spirit: 12
Ability: Emotion Perception
Wish Points: 0
[Note: The standard value for Constitution and Spirit for a normal adult male is 5.]
...
In the special building, inside the Service Club activity room.
Unlike the previously empty classroom, Hiratsuka Shizuka had brought in a long conference table, about 4 meters long and 1.5 meters wide. The three members of the Service Club sat around this table from left to right. On the far left was the president, Yukinoshita Yukino, occupying the best spot with a view of the window. About 2 meters to her right, in the very middle of the table, was Mori Shinra's seat. As for Hikigaya, he sat at the far-right corner, the table basically only serving as an armrest for him.
Considering that Yukinoshita also mainly used the table as a place to put her tea set and books, the space she used was limited. This meant that Mori Shinra alone occupied more than half of the usable table space.
Shinra was already considering whether to bring the spare monitor and game console from his house. If possible, he'd also like to move a sofa in. A mini-fridge would be best, too; summer was approaching and he wanted something cold to drink.
"You might as well move your bed in too," Yukinoshita said irritably after hearing his plans.
"That won't be necessary. For the sake of space efficiency, we could buy a sofa bed," Shinra said, feeling he had the mind of a home designer.
"Then why don't we just change the club's name while we're at it? To the Pleasure Club?"
"Eh? Can we? Didn't you create this club?"
"Oh my, so now you remember that I'm the president?"
The everyday banter after several days apart made the atmosphere between Mori Shinra and Yukinoshita much more normal. In contrast, Hikigaya at the side seemed to grow even more isolated.
Shinra and Yukinoshita exchanged a glance, and Shinra was the first to clear his throat. "What do you think, Hikigaya?"
"Huh? Ah... I, um..." Hikigaya's brain started spinning rapidly. What was the situation now?
A departmental power struggle? Forcing him to pick a side?
If possible, Hikigaya didn't want to offend either of them. But if he absolutely had to offend one...
"Um, rather than changing the club name, how come no one has come with a request these past few days? If this keeps up, I feel like we're going to become a book club."
Hikigaya decided to offend both of them. Just as he braced himself to take the blame from both sides, plus a round of cold mockery, he heard a faint knocking sound from the door.
"Come in."
Yukinoshita placed a bookmark in her book, looked up, and answered the door.
"E-excuse me."
The voice was female, a little high-pitched, giving off a very nervous impression.
Then, a pink-haired girl opened the door just a crack and squeezed through the small gap. Her movements were swift. As she slipped in, she closed the door behind her with a backhand motion, as if she were a thief who didn't want to be seen, or as if some unknown beast was chasing her from behind.
In short, this was a girl with a very stealthy vibe.
After coming in, the girl with pink hair in a short bun style immediately locked her eyes on Hikigaya. After meeting his gaze, she looked at Mori Shinra beside him, a flash of panic in her eyes. Quickly, without lingering at all, she shifted her gaze to Yukinoshita, who was also female, but her eyes eventually fell back on Hikigaya.
"Is... is this the Service Club?" the girl asked in a small voice.
Hikigaya looked at Yukinoshita, but the president didn't seem to have any intention of answering. Which was fair, since the girl was asking him.
He then looked at Mori Shinra, only to see him with a detached look, as if this had nothing to do with him. Although he didn't speak, he gave Hikigaya the distinct feeling of a teacher's pet phrase: 'Why are you looking at me? Look at the blackboard.'
Only here, 'look at the blackboard' meant 'go and greet this new girl.'
"It is. Anyway, please have a seat for now." Hikigaya stood up, pulled a chair from the side, and gestured for the girl to sit down.
"Th-thank you... Hikki."
Evidently, from their conversation, this girl knew Hikigaya.
Yukinoshita showed a rather surprised expression. After carefully and closely observing the girl for a moment, the doubt in her mind was resolved, and she turned her gaze to Mori Shinra.
Coincidentally, Shinra was also looking at her at that moment. This telepathic meeting of their gazes made Yukinoshita's heart beat faster, and the tips of her ears turned a little pink. Fortunately, it was very faint and not noticeable if one didn't look closely.
Composing herself, Yukinoshita read the meaning Mori Shinra wanted to convey from his eyes.
He had recognized this girl too. The owner of that dog.
Now the whole car accident scene was assembled. Might as well take this chance and rename it the Car Accident Club.
"Ahem, this is Yuigahama Yui-san. Um, she's my and Mori Shinra's classmate. This is Yukinoshita Yukino, the president of the Service Club," Hikigaya said, acting as the middleman.
Honestly, this felt a bit strange to Hikigaya. It seemed he had never imagined a day where he would be the one making introductions.
"Hello. Is there something you need?" Yukinoshita nodded towards Yuigahama. After Shinra's earlier guidance, her attitude towards Yuigahama was not as hostile as it had been towards Hikigaya.
"Um... I heard from Hiratsuka-sensei that you can help students' wishes come true here."