Why does the Ruined King still fall in love?

Because Yukinoshita handles it so often, Yuigahama himself never learns how to use it.

I walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Maybe I should—"

"Yubi—"

"Um?"

Yuigahama turned to the direction of my voice.

We met short-sightedly.

I can smell her breath—the minty smell of morning toothpaste.

Her eyes were wide open, and I saw my shadow in her eyes, and my shadow was staring at her.

Like an endless loop, we are trapped by proximity and lack of distance.

"Ahhh!"

Yubihama instinctively pushed me away.

"what!"

“Small business! Too close!”

Her cheeks were flushed.She was breathing very heavily and had one hand on her chest.

"B-sorry," I said.

It is my responsibility.

"No...it's my fault," Yuigahama said, her voice calming down. "I'm overreacting, hehe..."

"No, it's really my fault," I said.

Yuigahama also smiled.

"No need to apologize, Xiaoqi," she said happily.

She waved her hands in front of her, as if to remove the foulness from the air.

"Come on! We can make tea together," she suggested.

Seriously, though it might sound like gender stereotyping to say so.

But I sincerely feel that if Yuigahama Yui wants to be a qualified girl, she should at least know how to make tea.

Or rather, she should learn how to use some of the most basic electrical appliances.

After the tea was brewed, Yuigahama went to pour the tea into the cup.

"Are you sure you pour it well?" I was a little curious and doubted her [pouring tea] skill level.

"It's good!"

She carefully poured a cup of tea into a cup.

Well, at least she's in a good mood.

She put down her teacup and sat down on the other side of the table opposite me.

I sat down and read Yuigahama's book.

This is "Night on the Milky Way Railway" by Kenji Miyazawa.

"Did you rent this from the library?" I asked.

"Oh?" Yuigahama put down his tea.

"I've read it before...it's Yukino's favorite book. I know some people on the library committee, so I asked them to check what Yukino was reading...and then." Yukihama Laughing nervously, "I just thought, if I read what she reads, I'd get to know her a little better, you know?

"I see. Can I see it?"

"Ah, of course!"

Opening the book, flipping through the pages, familiar scenes flashed through my mind.

I had that black-and-white image in my head, with a burning cigarette on top of it.

This is an old book.

But I'm surprised I still remember Giovanni and Campanella.

A character from "Night on the Milky Way Railway".

"I don't know if that letter was really addressed to Ha San-kun...Maybe Koyuki didn't want to disturb the classroom order? Yumiko was really angry because Ha San-kun didn't want to talk about it either."

"That sounds like their problem," I said.

Yuigahama puffed up her cheeks, and her tone was somewhat dissatisfied.

"That's our problem too!"

I looked at her carefully.

I put down the book and crossed my arms.

"If Yukinoshita needs our help, then you'd better ask."

"There is no need to ask between friends!"

These words moved me deeply.

Friends don't need to ask?

What are friends, some kind of special group led by a spiritual extrovert?

Is it Yukinoshita, somehow, the queen of our Level 5 at Sobu High, and we all magically know what her explicit order is?

"If you follow this standard, then Yukinoshita is not my friend."

Yuigahama narrowed his eyes while looking at me, then softened as if he understood something.

"However, I still want to do something for Xiaoxue."

Hell, I hate gentle girls the most!Whenever I face such a gentle woman, I can't help but soften my heart.

What's more, this time I can't pretend to ignore the tenderness from a woman.

Because this time the tenderness comes from Yuhihama Yui.

"It's easy for you as a friend, you just go and see her as usual."

"Cooking dinner with her, watching a movie together, it's like a date, it's just between girls. Isn't it called a girls' meeting in society? I heard that they are very popular with middle-aged white-collar women, such as you are elegant aging or something."

My review wasn't getting as much hype as the paper cup in front of me.

"Ah," I said, thinking about something that was too close to my face. "That reminds me. Isshiki—"

"Huh?" Yuigahama tilted her head, wondering why I suddenly mentioned Isiroha's name.

"It must have been a surprise for her yesterday," I said, referring to the unexpected love letter.

"Ah! Yes!"

"Well, I think Yukinoshita did spoil her big day."

Then, she committed seppuku—failing to put her name on the letter.

"Aha... But at least Ayaha-chan was brave enough to try it in the first place, right?"

In typical Yuigahama mode, always looking on the bright side.

But that view won't last long in the stormy world of corporate slavery.

"Well, I talked to her about it."

"Really? I'm surprised you didn't counsel her during therapy."

"Xiaoqi! Ayaha-chan doesn't need a psychiatrist!"

"Really? Well, she forgot to sign her letter... If she doesn't need a counselor, she probably needs a tutor."

I rest my chin on the palm of my hand, which I think is a pretty Yukinoshita thing.

At this time, I tried to imitate Yukinoshita.

"Isshiki, please learn this and practice writing your name on homework 100 billion times."

"It can be seen that you imitate Xiaoqi very well, and your words and tone are exactly the same as Xiaoxue."

Yubihama sighed.

"But anyway, I ran into Ayaha-chan this morning and told her the whole thing was screwed up."

"Oh? What did she say?"

"She said she would trust us."

"Ah."

What a naive girl.

Keeping your cards in your heart is a common rule in life.

For Isshiki, placing trust so easily in the hands of strangers only reveals a weakness that can be exploited and manipulated.

If she trusts us that much, I even bet we can convince her.

Hayama is actually a ninja and has a girl living in his closet, and together they go on wacky adventures to defeat the cave demons.

Then Isshiki can sincerely believe in his current life and leave Hayama.

"Yeah! So it's going to be alright... well, at least a little bit, you know, little business?"

The room became quiet again.

The wind outside is soft but biting.As time passed, the tea cooled down slowly.

Yuigahama turned her head to the window.

"We don't know what Hashan-kun is to Yukino...and what Yukino is to Hashan-kun...but..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's... like, just a guess, but..."

"but?"

"Yuki Nai never said it wasn't Hayama-kun...just the initials of the name are HH..."

"I remember you saying that the president made a mistake." I said.

Yubihama smiled nervously.

"I... told a lie..."

My heart sank.

"You lied."

"Well, Xiaoxue... She's like that, she doesn't tell me anything, don't you know it too? It's just that she wants the person the letter should be sent to... Receive it."

"That means, it's for Hayama," I said.

There may be a little bitterness in my voice.

Although I know that I have no special relationship with Yukinoshita, I still feel a little conflicted-it's quite strange, I seem to understand why the fans of Idol Girls hate to push I want to be in love.

I, Hikigaya Hachiman, am angry!

Well, just kidding, what does it matter if a person like me is angry or not?

The world does not revolve around me, and the earth will not change just because one person expresses his views.

Yuigahama sat down, staring at the floor, kicking her legs absently.

"Maybe it's for Ha Shan-kun." Yubihama said softly.

"What do you mean?" I said without looking angry.

A smile played on her lips.

"We know they were childhood friends... We also know that they were together a lot because of the family. Maybe, just maybe, they had something back then... the two of them still I want to go back to that time..."

What Yuigahama meant didn't quite match my idea.