"Yahallo~"
Yuigahama happily slid the door open, only to find the atmosphere in the classroom a bit strange. The most eye-catching thing was the blush on Yukinoshita's face.
What was going on?
Yuigahama's gaze shifted back and forth between Mori Shinra and Yukinoshita. Could it be... if that was the case, had she come at a bad time?
"Yahallo~ Yuigahama-san." After admiring the limited-edition flustered version of Yukinoshita, Mori Shinra greeted Yuigahama as if nothing had happened.
After some deep breaths to adjust, Yukinoshita Yukino also regained her composure. Although she didn't know why Shinra had said something so shocking, it was clearly not appropriate to discuss it with others in the room.
"Good afternoon, Yuigahama-san." As she spoke, the blush on her face had mostly faded, leaving only the slightly pink tips of her ears.
Although Yuigahama's heart was now filled with curiosity, knowing Yukinoshita's personality, she was well aware that she probably wouldn't get an answer even if she asked.
However, she had no intention of giving up. If she couldn't ask directly, there was nothing wrong with a little probing, right?
Besides, there was still plenty of time in the future. As long as they were all in the Service Club, there would surely be a day when they let something slip. Yuigahama was full of anticipation for this.
"Um... thank you for speaking up for me today too, Mori Shinra-san," Yuigahama said, expressing her thanks to him as well, treating everyone equally.
If he hadn't stood up for her, she wouldn't have known how to be honest with Yumiko about the matter.
After all, the effect of having an outsider say something versus saying it yourself can be completely different.
Why else would there be the saying, "A monk from afar chants the sutras better"?
"You're welcome. Since you said 'too,' does that mean you've already thanked that Hikigaya fellow?" Shinra asked, his expression a little teasing.
Seeing his look, how could Yuigahama not know what he was thinking? She immediately blushed and said, "It's not what you think!"
At the side, Yukinoshita blinked, puzzled. After a moment's hesitation, she asked, "What is it that he thinks?"
"Yukinoshita-san, you should know that a hero saving the damsel in distress is a huge bonus in a relationship between a man and a woman. Hikigaya was quite brave at noon today."
"I see... I didn't expect him to have such a side. It does fit my impression of him in terms of overestimating his own abilities," Yukinoshita said calmly, pinching her chin.
"Hikki isn't that bad!" Yuigahama couldn't help but retort.
Then, she saw Yukinoshita reveal a mysterious smile, just like Mori Shinra's.
Oh no! I fell for it!
How could Yuigahama not see it now? Yukino-chan was deliberately saying that in front of her.
"Your Majesty, the treacherous minister has exposed himself," Shinra chimed in playfully from the side.
Yuigahama's face turned even redder. The overload in her brain caused her to start speaking without thinking.
"If that's the case, isn't Yukino-chan pretty much the same?"
"Me?"
Yukinoshita didn't expect to be dragged into this.
"That's right! When I came in, I saw that Yukino-chan's face was unbelievably red!" Yuigahama declared that her eyes were her ruler. If you were going to tease her, you had to be prepared for a counterattack!
"That's because someone said some strange things!" Yukinoshita calmly passed the blame to Mori Shinra. Besides, it wasn't really passing the blame; he was the one who had suddenly said those nonsensical things.
"What things?" Yuigahama had originally intended to counterattack, but after hearing what Yukinoshita said, her gossip-loving heart could no longer be contained.
However, there was no way Yukinoshita could ever bring herself to say something like, "Yukino, you are my god!". She immediately passed the problem to the person who created it.
"Ask him yourself!"
Seeing Yuigahama look towards him, Shinra opened his mouth without a second thought. "Yuki—"
Eh, you're actually going to say it?!
The moment Shinra said the first syllable, Yukinoshita panicked. But she couldn't stop him openly. In her haste, a footprint appeared on Shinra's shoe.
"Yukinoshita-san was overly sensitive and misinterpreted my meaning. It was just a misunderstanding," Shinra said, declaring that it was all a misunderstanding.
"Is that so?" Yuigahama was suspicious. If it was just a misunderstanding, why was Yukinoshita's reaction so strong?
And with Yukino-chan's personality, if she herself had no such thoughts, there would be no so-called misunderstanding in the first place.
To put it bluntly, if Yukinoshita Yukino was truly not interested in Mori Shinra, no matter how much he probed, she would only get a crisp and direct answer, let alone blush.
As an outsider, Yuigahama Yui could see this as clear as day.
After all, she was very confident in her ability to read people's expressions.
"More importantly, did you see Hikigaya on your way here, Yuigahama-san? You've arrived, why isn't he here yet?" Yukinoshita didn't want to dwell on the previous question, so she directly changed the subject to the yet-to-arrive Hikigaya.
"He should be here soon, right?" Yuigahama replied uncertainly.
After saying what she did to Hikigaya, she had jogged all the way to the clubroom. Calculating the time, he should be arriving soon.
Speak of the devil and his wife arrives.
As soon as her voice fell, the classroom door was knocked on. Hikigaya walked in and saw the three of them staring at him. His body immediately stiffened, and he raised his hand tremblingly. "G-good afternoon?"
"Good afternoon."
"Hello."
"You're late."
After the greetings, Hikigaya pulled out a chair and sat in his spot, his body slightly tilted towards the empty side of the table.
Due to his past experiences, Hikigaya was very unused to sitting face-to-face with girls, especially a bright and beautiful girl like Yuigahama. The two of them were from completely different worlds.
Speaking of which, Hikigaya had to admire guys like Hayama Hayato and Mori Shinra. The former could handle himself with ease in a group of girls, while the latter could go toe-to-toe with someone like Yukinoshita. It was simply beyond his imagination.
Especially today in the classroom, whether it was Shinra helping him out of a tight spot or later being able to speak calmly under the fire of the Queen of Flame, that alone was enough to win Hikigaya's admiration.
What impressed him even more was the other guy's ability to read people. Although he hated to admit it, it seemed that Miura person really wasn't as bad as he thought. On the contrary, he was the one who had thought too poorly of her.
If it weren't for Mori Shinra, he felt that he might have really made a mistake.
He himself didn't matter, but if it had affected Yuigahama, and his good intentions had led to a bad outcome, then his sin would have been great.
Now he owed him another favor.
How should he repay it? Hikigaya thought about it carefully. He suddenly remembered that Hiratsuka-sensei had once mentioned in passing that Mori Shinra's National Language grades were very poor. Perhaps he could start from there.
No sooner said than done. Hikigaya cleared his throat. "Um, speaking of which, the regular exams are coming up soon, aren't they?"