Sensing Shizuka Hiratsuka's gaze sweeping over him, Hachiman Hikigaya subtly took half a step back, leaving the stage to the aloof-looking Saki Kawasaki.
Hachiman, whose brain was racking but still couldn't figure out what he had done wrong lately, decided to let Saki Kawasaki take the heat first while he took a moment to think.
As long as he admitted his mistake fast enough later, Hiratsuka-sensei's fist wouldn't be able to land on his head.
The little calculator in Hachiman's heart was clicking away.
Noticing Hachiman's small movement of retreating, Shizuka Hiratsuka didn't intentionally drag him out.
Turning her gaze to Saki Kawasaki, whose face was written all over with sleepiness, Shizuka had a sense of déjà vu that a new problem child had appeared.
"Kawasaki, lately I've heard from other subject teachers that you look listless during every class."
"You weren't like this before."
Aside from Katsuragi Ren, the other students were the same group from the first year, so Shizuka had a good understanding of each student's personality.
Regarding Saki Kawasaki, who looked like a delinquent girl but was actually a soft-hearted girl, Shizuka paid quite a bit of attention to her.
Her grades were slightly above average in the class, and she used to be very serious during lessons. Shizuka didn't know what major event had happened recently to make her start catching up on sleep in the classroom.
Hearing Shizuka speak about her habit of sleeping in class recently, Saki Kawasaki hung her head in resignation and didn't offer a word of refutation.
Shizuka was always diligent and responsible towards the students in her class. Knowing that Shizuka was saying this for her own good, Saki, knowing she was in the wrong, didn't choose to talk back.
This scene left Hachiman, standing in the back, dumbfounded.
From Hachiman's perspective based on Saki's appearance and behavior, she was an out-and-out delinquent girl.
When this type of delinquent was told so bluntly by a teacher that they hadn't been listening seriously in class, even if they didn't get worked up and argue with the teacher, they certainly wouldn't just lower their head directly.
Hachiman, who had misjudged her, now had an even clearer understanding of the power of Hiratsuka-sensei's fist.
"Is there something you can tell me?"
"..."
"Alright, Kawasaki, you can go. Remember to rest earlier in the future. Your grades should be even better than they are now."
Seeing that Saki Kawasaki had no intention of speaking, Shizuka didn't make things difficult for her or demand that she reveal her troubles.
Every family has its own cross to bear; there was no need to dig into someone's painful spots.
Shizuka gave Hachiman, who was standing behind Saki, a meaningful look. She had a better way.
The expected scolding didn't arrive. Saki Kawasaki looked up at Shizuka with confusion, not expecting this strict teacher to let her leave so easily.
"Thank you."
Nodding to Shizuka and receiving another affirmation, Saki Kawasaki left the office.
The first person to take the heat had left the office just like that, and Hachiman's heart began to feel restless.
Hiratsuka-sensei wouldn't release all the anger she was supposed to vent on Saki Kawasaki on him instead, would she?
Hachiman, still unable to think of what he had done wrong, felt uneasy, sensing that his end was probably near.
"Hikigaya..."
Shizuka looked at Hachiman and was just about to speak.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, Katsuragi-kun skipping class wasn't my idea, I swear!"
"Also, I've been staying in the Service Club to help people. Today, I even helped Saika-kun from our class find a way to save his Tennis Club!"
"I've also been listening seriously in class."
Whether it was relevant or not, Hachiman poured out all the good deeds he had done recently in one go, solely to avoid a beating from Shizuka.
"Hachiman, you really have changed a lot."
Looking at Hachiman like this, Shizuka sighed with emotion.
Originally, Shizuka had planned to throw Hikigaya into the Service Club so that he and Yukino Yukinoshita could help each other and grow together.
The arrival of Katsuragi Ren had disrupted everything. Compared to Yukino Yukinoshita, who currently showed no significant change, Hachiman's growth was particularly obvious.
From the current look of things, the fact that Hachiman could "sell out" Katsuragi Ren without hesitation was not something the old Hachiman could have done.
In the past, Hachiman didn't even have any friends he could "sell out."
"...Yeah."
Not expecting Shizuka to say that, Hachiman was silent for a moment before also feeling sentimental.
The experiences of these past few days really felt like a dream.
Since only he and Shizuka were in the office now, Hachiman chose to be "bold" for once.
He pulled over a teacher's office chair from the next desk and sat opposite Shizuka.
"Heh, you brat."
Not scolding Hachiman, Shizuka also didn't hide anything as she shook a cigarette out of the pack and lit it for herself with the lighter.
At this point, Shizuka no longer knew if arranging for Hachiman to be in the Service Club was the right move or not.
Without Katsuragi Ren, it would have been the best arrangement.
Now that Katsuragi Ren was here, the change in Hachiman while staying in the Service Club didn't seem as great as the change when he was with Katsuragi Ren.
"Have you thought about leaving the Service Club?"
Exhaling a faint smoke ring into the air, Shizuka tapped the ash into the ashtray on the desk and spoke.
When Shizuka dragged Hachiman to the Service Club, her original intention was to make him change.
Now that Hachiman had begun to change, Shizuka wouldn't force him to continue staying in the Service Club.
Shizuka could have kept Hachiman locked in the cage of the Service Club under the banner of being for his own good because she was certain that Yukino Yukinoshita would be of help to him.
Now that Hachiman was getting more help outside the cage than inside, Shizuka would naturally open the cage door.
The cart could not be put before the horse.
"I have."
Hachiman scratched his cheek and didn't lie.
Being mysteriously stuffed into the Service Club by Shizuka and facing the sharp-tongued "Ice Queen" every day—it would be a lie to say he had no resentment.
Now, though... things were much better.
"Then do you want to leave the Service Club? I won't stop you this time," Shizuka said calmly.
"No need. The Service Club is actually quite nice, and staying there is alright."
"It's much better than going home and sitting around bored."
To Shizuka's surprise, Hachiman chose to stay in the Service Club.
The reason was simple.
In the past, the reason Hachiman didn't want to join any clubs and chose the "Going Home Club" was because he had an instinctive loathing for his lonely self in this school.
The loathing he felt when watching other students in the school huddle in groups, and the loathing of himself for having no friends.
Only when he became part of the Going Home Club and returned home...
With Komachi Hikigaya there, Hachiman would feel that he actually had someone's company.
Due to Katsuragi Ren's intervention, Hachiman's loathing for the school had vanished. Now it was his turn to properly enjoy school life.
He was no longer as resistant to joining a club as before.
Until he found a club he was truly interested in, Hachiman decided to stay in the Service Club first.
The Service Club was the first place that had taken him in.