No matter how you looked at it, training up the new batch was simply a better investment.
After listening carefully to Ren's answer, a thought popped into Hachiman Hikigaya's head:
Should I persuade Saika Totsuka to stop wasting time on the students in the same grade?
Honestly, it was hard to change those burnt-out second-years who'd been slacking for an entire year.
For Saika.
"Katsuragi…"
Hikigaya was about to keep pushing Ren, hoping the guy had some method that could both develop the rookies and still fix the deadweight.
But Ren cut him off with a sigh.
"Hikigaya, you're seriously weird."
"They've already given up on themselves, so why haven't you given up on them?"
"You're not a saint. You're not God."
"You're not responsible for their future. You don't owe them self-improvement. They've got nothing to do with you."
Going that far for people he didn't even know… Ren was honestly starting to wonder if Hikigaya had been infected by the old version of Yukino Yukinoshita. Like, did he really turn into some "education-for-everyone" believer? The kind of person who thinks it's always better to teach someone to fish instead of just handing them a fish?
But how long had Hikigaya even been around Yukino?
Was Yukino Yukinoshita a succubus or something?
…Shit.
Thinking that, Ren couldn't help but shiver.
And with a perfectly normal sexual orientation, Ren never once assumed Hikigaya was doing all this purely for Saika Totsuka.
Noticing Ren clearly had zero intention of continuing this discussion, Hikigaya didn't push further.
He knew it'd be rude to keep grinding the guy down.
"So damn cute."
Ren said it quietly, but in this relatively calm area, Hikigaya heard it crystal clear.
Following Ren's gaze, Hikigaya realized Ren was still staring at Mahiru Shiina from Class 2-A. Hikigaya's mouth twitched.
Is he seriously going to watch Mahiru Shiina for the entire period?
"Hey, Katsuragi… you know this counts as creep behavior, right?"
Ren had helped him a lot. Hikigaya couldn't stand the idea of Ren getting slapped with a criminal record someday, so he couldn't help warning him.
What kind of person stares at someone for an entire class period?
Sure, Mahiru Shiina was unbelievably cute—Sobu High's famous "Angel"—but Ren should know when to stop.
Class had barely started. Just earlier Ren had been strolling around with Nino Nakano, and now that the bell rang, he immediately locked onto another beautiful girl.
Hikigaya admitted Ren had looks and money, but "Angel" wasn't some shallow trophy.
If Mahiru Shiina really was that kind of girl, she would've been snatched up in her first year already. She wouldn't be known as one of Sobu High's untouchable top-tier girls, right alongside Yukino Yukinoshita.
"Hikigaya, I told you. Mahiru is mine. Why don't you believe me…"
Ren understood the hint, sounding a little helpless.
Lying wasn't really something Ren did.
But he also wasn't about to drag Hikigaya over to Class 2-A to "prove it" like some idiot.
"Yeah, yeah. She's yours. All pretty girls are yours."
Hikigaya agreed, completely uninvested.
"Sorry, Reine. I'm stopping here. I can't keep going."
Mahiru Shiina set down the tennis racket and apologized to the classmate who'd invited her to play 3v3.
The sun was brutal today. Mahiru decided to quit while she was ahead.
"It's fine, Mahiru-chan. We're basically done too. As long as everybody had fun."
The tanned, athletic girl Mahiru called Reine stopped mid-swing and answered casually.
The other four girls on the court felt the same. Most of their stamina was already gone.
The moment the match between the class's pretty girls ended, a bunch of guys pulled out drinks they'd prepared beforehand and rushed forward, handing them to the girls they liked.
And of course, the one everyone wanted to give a drink to was Mahiru Shiina.
The guys closest to her weren't about to waste any chance to get friendly with "Angel."
"Man… being a cute girl must be nice."
Not far away, Hikigaya—watching Class 2-A's match with Ren—looked at the scene with pure envy.
Someone handing him water after exercise was something Hikigaya couldn't even imagine.
As he spoke, he elbowed Ren, who still looked totally unfazed, like he was saying: So this is the Mahiru Shiina you claim is yours?
"Who wants drinks from you guys? Mahiru-chan—catch."
Reine, being the sporty type, understood hydration matters. She'd prepared sports drinks ahead of time.
When the match ended, she tossed them out one by one to the girls she'd been playing with.
"Thanks."
Mahiru didn't refuse. She greeted her friends, took the drink, and started walking toward the area where Class 2-F was.
And then—
Hikigaya noticed in absolute horror.
Mahiru Shiina was walking straight toward them.
Mahiru sat down right next to Ren like it was the most normal thing in the world, pressing her whole body against him.
"Ren gets the first sip!"
She twisted open the bottle and brought it to Ren's lips.
People always say that if two people like each other, they can sense each other's feelings. Mahiru used to think that was just overdramatic romance-talk.
But now it was different.
When Ren was watching her, Mahiru clearly felt his gaze.
She didn't quit the match just to run over to him. Instead, she played with even more enthusiasm.
She knew Ren wanted to see her enjoying herself—not throwing everything away for him.
"My sweet Mahiru is seriously impressive."
After taking a sip from the bottle she offered, Ren pulled Mahiru into his arms and started giving her a drink too.
"Ren—this is school!"
Mahiru puffed up her cheeks like an angry little blowfish. Not actually mad—just embarrassingly, painfully shy.
In broad daylight. With everyone watching.
Mahiru going out of her way to come over to Ren in front of her classmates was already bold enough, but now Ren was literally holding her—
…God.
And yet she didn't resist at all.
For Mahiru, if Ren liked it, then it was fine.
She didn't hate this kind of public affection. If anything, it made her heart race.
"What does it matter? You're my cute fiancée, after all~"
"Yeah, yeah… my fiancé."
Mahiru couldn't resist his slightly teasing tone at all. She could only agree in a small voice.
Little Mahiru. Fiancée. Fiancé.
Hikigaya, listening to all of this from the side, stared into the void like he'd lost all hope in life.
What did he just hear?
He really wished he'd heard nothing.
To put it in a popular internet meme: Hikigaya felt like he should be under the car, not inside it.
So Ren hadn't been lying. Mahiru Shiina really was his—and the two of them were even engaged.
Hikigaya only felt one thing:
His nose felt hot.
Like it was about to start bleeding.
----------------------------------
Currently on Patreon: 550 chapters available
Thanks to all of you, we've already reached 180 free members and 30 paid members!
I also want to apologize for the lack of updates this month, haha. My PC completely died, and uploading chapters from my phone was pretty complicated.