2. Jabami Yumeko and Prime Numbers
The next morning, Haruno arrived outside the Hikigaya residence.
Through the window of her luxury car, she could see the Hikigaya family tearfully bidding farewell to their son, Hikigaya Hachiman.
He had a large bag slung over one shoulder—clearly filled with love from his family (mainly from Komachi)—one hand pulling a suitcase, the other gripping a thick stack of manuscript pages.
Knock knock—
Wearing sunglasses and smiling, Haruno rolled down the car window slowly.
"Yo, the famous author has arrived."
"Here, as promised. Unpublished manuscript."
Hikigaya handed the manuscript through the window to Haruno, then brought his luggage to the back of the car, loaded it in, and sat down in the front passenger seat without being asked.
"Hm? The Devotion of Suspect X? The name sounds a bit cliché. Can it really rival your previous works, Hikigaya-sensei?"
"It doesn't just rival them—it surpasses them."
"Well then—off we go!"
...
...
"So, Yukinoshita Haruno really is an awful woman, isn't she..." Hikigaya Hachiman sighed in resignation as he pulled out his transit card and boarded the shuttle bus to Private Hyakkaou Academy.
He gained a new appreciation for the wealth of the school—no wonder it was considered a noble academy...
They even had a direct shuttle to Chiba.
All because he refused Haruno's seduction in her luxury car, he'd been dumped at a long-distance bus stop. A woman like her, so unaware of self-restraint, was truly the opposite of her sister. There was no saving her.
The journey was long, and Hachiman was busy.
Aiming to become a winner in life, Hikigaya Hachiman wouldn't let a single opportunity for self-improvement slip by.
His dead-fish eyes, rich in DHA, casually scanned the students around him—bickering, wearing Hyakkaou uniforms—his heart remained unmoved. He went against the norm and chose a seat at the front of the shuttle. After all, the back seats were usually the domain of hormonally-charged high schoolers bonding with their noisy antics. The front was less likely to be disturbed.
"You know, youth isn't something to be wasted like that."
Shaking his head, Hikigaya put on his headphones, pulled a sleek MacBook from his backpack, and started typing expressionlessly.
The slower the shuttle moved, the faster his fingers danced across the keyboard. He blocked out the noise around him, diving into his mental world, extracting every last fragment of memory related to mystery novels and polishing it with the flair of his own Hikigaya prose. Imaginative words poured onto the screen.
Who knows how long passed before the shuttle made another stop.
Turns out, "direct" only meant from the countryside of Chiba to Tokyo.
After that, it would continue stopping to pick up more Hyakkaou students.
During this process, with just a sidelong glance, Hikigaya noticed something unusual.
Although the students arrived in groups of three or five, their faces bore expressions as if their futures had been ripped away—dejection, regret, despair, fear… a spectrum of negative emotions.
And this was Sunday! From what Hachiman understood about high school students, shouldn't they be excitedly talking about which waifu they pulled from their gacha over the weekend, or happily gossiping about some hot upperclassman?
Also… those things hanging from their necks like dog tags—what were they?
Hikigaya narrowed his eyes. His instincts as a mystery novelist kicked in. Something was off.
But it was only a brief glimpse; he didn't have enough information to investigate further, so he let it go for now.
Just then, something else on the shuttle drew his attention.
The door slowly opened, and a long-haired girl with a "princess cut" hairstyle stood at the entrance, holding an elegant handbag. She tapped her transit card against the reader, and it beeped.
Her black-stocking-clad, shapely legs were a sight to behold.
Cough cough. What am I looking at?
Hikigaya blushed, forcing himself to look away, muttering under his breath:
"2...3...5...7..."
This was his usual method when facing an awkward situation or feeling restless. All negative emotions and unnecessary thoughts would be automatically filtered out, allowing him to enter what could be called a state of emptiness or clarity.
His habits as a mystery novelist kicked in once more, and he began observing the girl before him with sharp, clear eyes.
'No matter how you look at her, she's a top-tier beauty. With looks and a figure like that, she's definitely at the top of the high school food chain—probably the target of relentless pursuit by upperclassmen in the sports clubs.'
'She's bowing and apologizing, the small handbag is swinging... that sound is...'
"Did I forget to top up the card...? I'm truly sorry." The girl with the princess-cut hairstyle wore a gentle smile and was preparing to step off the shuttle and find another way to school.
Money!
A girl who had forgotten to top up her transit card due to a momentary oversight, but was carrying a handbag full of bills!
One of the main reasons Hikigaya Hachiman had come to Hyakkaou Academy was to make friends in high society. So, to befriend a rich girl, even with his natural social shortcomings, after much practice, he had become quite good at masking his true self.
Where there's a will, there's a way. His innate flaws meant little in the face of Hikigaya Hachiman's determination.
And right now, wasn't the person in front of him a wealthy young lady in distress? All he needed to do was extend a hand, and it would be the perfect moment to gain initial favorability.
Thinking further would now be impolite.
Hikigaya Hachiman cleared his throat and stood up decisively. "Ahem, if you don't mind, you can use my transit card."
With an open and honest expression, Hikigaya gave the girl no time to refuse. He walked over to her and generously swiped his card at the scanner.
"Beep, Student Card."
The girl seemed a little surprised too, but quickly responded with a slight bow, expressing her thanks to Hikigaya.
"Thank you so much, classmate. If it weren't for your help, I probably would've been late."
"I'm Jabami Yumeko. And you are?"
"Hikigaya Hachiman."
The two exchanged basic information. Looking at Yumeko's full figure wrapped in a somewhat revealing school uniform, Hachiman felt flustered again. His natural social deficiency was now interfering with the prepared lines he had in mind.
Helpless, he once again began reciting prime numbers.
"Eh? Hikigaya-kun, what are you saying?"
"Nothing." Hikigaya Hachiman quickly regained his composure and glanced around to find the shuttle now packed with people. Several were eyeing the seat he had just given up.
Before their gazes could reach him, he stepped aside and gestured toward the seat for Yumeko.
"You can have this seat."
Jabami Yumeko pressed her soft, long forefinger against her chin in a thoughtful pose. "Hikigaya-kun, are you trying to impress me? You're being so nice to me even though we've only just met."
"No, you're overthinking it." Hachiman pointed at the still-warm laptop. "I came from Chiba and was working the whole way. I just wanted to stand and stretch for a bit."
"Well then, I won't say no."
Yumeko didn't insist further and sat down, bringing her shapely, black-stocking-clad thighs together as she took the seat.
"I'll hold your luggage for you."
Tilting her head, Yumeko reached out and, without giving Hachiman a choice, took the luggage from his hands.
Looking at the laptop with the bitten apple logo, Yumeko said, "It's the new Apple model, huh. Looks like your family's doing well, Hikigaya-kun."
"Not really, I earned it myself."
Yumeko's eyes sparkled. "Really? I love earning my own money too. Looks like we're going to have lots to talk about, Hikigaya-kun."
'Her profile is so pretty.' Hachiman was once again captivated. 'Wait... she said she likes earning money on her own...'