After school, in the Service Club.
Yukinoshita Haruno's surprise attack yesterday had caught Yukinoshita Yukino completely off guard. It was only after saying goodbye to Mori Shinra that she belatedly realized the change in how he addressed her.
Upon realizing this, she had wanted to take out her phone and mention it to him on LINE, but then she remembered what he had said about being friends.
...If they were friends, then calling each other by their first names should be fine, right?
Thinking this, Yukinoshita Yukino couldn't help but glance to her side. Mori Shinra was playing on his phone as usual, as if yesterday's events had no effect on him at all. His behavior, in turn, made her feel as if she was the one overthinking things.
"Is there something on my face, Yukinoshita-san?"
"Nothing!"
"Then it seems I've gotten more handsome."
How narcissistic, Yukinoshita rolled her eyes internally. At the same time, upon noticing that he had switched back to her family name, she felt an unexplainable emptiness in her heart.
Just as she was about to say something, she heard a knock, knock, knock at the door.
"Yahallo~"
Yuigahama Yui greeted them in her normie way, pulling the door open. Following behind her was a wild Hikigaya.
"I've already filled out the club application form. This one is Hikki's!" Yuigahama solemnly placed the two forms in front of Yukinoshita.
"Alright, I'll take them..." After collecting the two forms, Yukinoshita seemed to remember something and looked at Mori Shinra. "By the way, Mori Shinra, have you given me your application form?"
Hearing this, Shinra was stunned. Application form?
After hastily filling out an application form, Mori Shinra respectfully placed it on Yukinoshita's desk, with a reverence akin to a corporate drone waiting for the company to approve an expense report.
It was strange, really. He had been in the club for nearly two weeks, and only now did he learn there was such a thing as an application form.
Setting aside the facts, Shinra felt that Yukinoshita Yukino had to bear at least 99% of the responsibility. The remaining 1% was on Hikigaya. As for himself, he was naturally blameless.
With the addition of new members, the seating arrangement in the Service Club needed to be rearranged. From the original three-person flat 'V' formation, it changed to two pairs sitting face-to-face.
The layout was as follows:
Yuigahama - Yukinoshita
---Table---
Hikigaya - Mori Shinra
Aside from Hikigaya himself not being used to sitting face-to-face with girls, the other three had no discomfort, so the seating arrangement was finalized.
"So, what are we going to do next?" Yuigahama, having just joined, was eager to get started, full of motivation.
However, the other three seemed much calmer. The president, Yukinoshita, placated her, "Until a request comes in, you can just do your own thing."
"Do my own thing?"
"Read a book, play on your phone. As long as you don't disturb others, you can even sleep if you want," Hikigaya answered.
"Hey, I have an idea!" Hearing the word 'sleep,' Shinra's eyes lit up.
Knowing that nothing good ever came out of his mouth, Yukinoshita said while opening her book, "Please retract your idea."
"I haven't even said anything yet!"
"In any case, adding a sofa bed is impossible. Not even if you pay for it yourself!"
Evidently, Mori Shinra was still fixated on his sofa bed. After all, playing on your phone while lying down is definitely more comfortable than sitting, and the school's stools were so hard...
"What if no one ever comes with a request?" Yuigahama voiced her concern.
Shinra comforted her, "Don't worry, Hiratsuka-sensei will help us pull in customers."
"Since when was she a quest NPC?" Hikigaya retorted.
"I've recorded that. Get me a drink, or Sensei will treat you to her fists tomorrow," Shinra said, waving his phone.
Hikigaya went to buy drinks. On his way, he was also tasked with getting drinks for Yuigahama and Yukinoshita.
They were all young, after all. No matter how good black tea was, one could get tired of it. It was good to change things up occasionally.
After Hikigaya returned, the club fell silent.
Shinra also began to check the request he had accepted from Yukinoshita Haruno yesterday.
[Yukinoshita Haruno's Test]
Request Content: The outwardly perfect demonic superman older sister, upon seeing her beloved younger sister has made a new friend, has set a test for this new friend—maintain a friendly relationship with Yukinoshita Yukino until the next time they meet.
Note: At your next meeting, Yukino's attitude towards you will greatly affect the content of Haruno's subsequent requests.
How to put it? The request wasn't difficult. After all, it was only a green-level request. If Shinra wanted to, he could complete it in minutes. It was just a matter of finding a way to meet Yukinoshita Haruno.
However, the note at the end made him temporarily dismiss the idea of completing it quickly. Without a doubt, after this request was completed, the subsequent one would be the purple Wish Request. Without absolute certainty, Shinra didn't want to miss this opportunity.
Of course, that's not to say he would intentionally try to rush his relationship with Yukinoshita because of this. For a girl like Yukino, a slow and steady progression was the best choice. Going too fast would only scare her, causing the relationship to regress instead of progress.
Besides, due to that car accident, his relationship with Yukinoshita had already progressed very quickly. If you were to compare relationship progression to cultivation realms, this would be like breaking through a realm by taking pills—a rapid advancement with an unstable foundation.
Therefore, Shinra felt that before Yukinoshita Yukino had completely let go of the past, it was best not to rush their relationship.
As for how to tell if she had let go, that was also simple. He just needed to observe that she no longer produced feelings of guilt when they were alone together.
Thinking of this, Shinra couldn't help but marvel at how useful Emotion Perception was. Especially when dealing with interpersonal relationships like this, it was practically invincible.
It was only because Mori Shinra's morals (and standards) were high enough. Otherwise, how could the beautiful girls his age possibly resist him?
When club activities ended, after packing up, Yuigahama and Hikigaya left the classroom one after another.
"Yukino."
"Hmm?" Yukinoshita raised an eyebrow. Why did the form of address change again?
"Are there any sweet snacks today?" Shinra asked, as if he hadn't noticed her expression at all, speaking his own mind.
"You promised yesterday, you know. You didn't forget, did you? Excluding today, there are three days left until the end of the week, and you still have three snacks to make. If there isn't one today, you won't have any rest for the next three days."
"Didn't I make cookies yesterday?" Yukinoshita asked, no longer fussing over the form of address.
"The cookies were made before the promise. And didn't you say you only gave them to me because you made too many? Our promise was for snacks made especially for me," Shinra said, emphasizing the word 'especially'.
"Alternatively, you could just tell me your wish."
"I'm not making snacks for you."
"Beep beep, verification failed!"