After breaking free from that illusory dream tinged with an unsettling sense of reality, Yukinoshita Yukino went quite a while without dreaming of anything similar again.
Her usual routine of commuting between home and school, club activities that weren't exactly thrilling but were good enough to pass the time, and the constant stream of Service Club requests—big and small—all gradually gave her the feeling that everything was finally returning to its proper track.
Another utterly ordinary after-school day.
Yukinoshita Yukino sat upright at the table in the Service Club room, her posture impeccable. The refined etiquette she had learned from a young age as a well-bred lady meant she was always conscious of her appearance; it had long since become second nature, woven into her everyday life.
She lifted the freshly brewed black tea—still faintly hot—with deliberate grace, sipping it in small, catlike mouthfuls. Her elegant composure, paired with the sharp edge she displayed whenever she criticized others, often gave people the impression of an untouchable "high mountain flower," making it hard for her peers not to keep their distance.
And yet, despite that calm exterior, what occupied her mind at this very moment was anything but tranquil.
She blinked her beautiful eyes, and while maintaining an air of composure, her peripheral vision would repeatedly—casually—flick toward the curly-haired boy seated to her left, who was propping his cheek up with his hand in boredom. Then, just before he could notice, she would look away as if nothing had happened.
Miss Yukinoshita was very confident in her ability to observe covertly. After all, she was always able to shift her gaze swiftly and naturally right before Narumi lifted his head.
Unfortunately for her, from Narumi's perspective, Yukino's sneaking glances were painfully obvious.
After all, with Yuigahama Yui having left early due to other commitments, and Hikigaya Hachiman heading home exactly on time as usual, the clubroom now contained only the two of them. In a situation like that, if you could feel someone watching you, there was really only one possible answer.
It's you peeking, Yukinoshita Yukino…!
Even so, despite realizing what Yukino was up to, Narumi decided to play dumb for the time being.
He was torn between asking her why she kept staring at him and figuring out how to phrase it without sounding unbearably self-absorbed.
Besides, since Yamada had invited him to play music together, he needed to talk with Yukino about how his future availability for club activities might change.
After some deliberation, when Yukinoshita Yukino sneak-glanced at him for the twenty-sixth time and immediately looked away again, the curly-haired boy finally spoke up.
"President Yukinoshita, did you only just now realize how handsome I am today?"
The sudden question made Yukino's hand tremble, the teacup nearly spilling its contents.
"...I seem to have gained a new level of understanding regarding the depth of Narumi-kun's narcissistic tendencies. If this is genuinely affecting your daily life, I would recommend consulting a psychiatrist. As the president of the Service Club, I'll even reimburse the consultation fee using club funds."
Such an intense reaction—clearly she'd been hit right where it hurt.
"Immediately armoring yourself with sharp, biting remarks the moment your thoughts are exposed isn't exactly a sign of maturity, President Yukinoshita."
The boy smiled faintly and let out a lazy yawn. Truth be told, he didn't dislike these occasional verbal sparring matches with Yukinoshita Yukino—if anything, he rather enjoyed them.
After all, using nothing but his tongue, he could easily corner the refined young lady. Every time she showed that stubborn yet helpless expression of refusal to lose, it inevitably brought him a sense of satisfaction.
"Oh? To be judged as 'immature' by someone who loafs around all day doing nothing—I'm not sure whether I should feel indignant or accept it graciously."
Yukino quickly regained her composure and fired back with the same effortless poise.
"How am I loafing around all day? At most, I just habitually slack off a bit at school."
Narumi puffed out his cheeks in mild protest, though that was as far as it went.
"Besides, that's only because most things at school are boring. Spending time on them just feels like wasting my life."
"Oh? Does that include our club's requests as well?"
The black-haired girl lifted her pale chin slightly, a hint of scrutiny and seriousness entering her gaze as she looked at him.
"Let me ask you, Narumi-kun. Do you remember how our most recent request ended?"
"Our most recent request… you mean the chain harassment emails Hayama received?"
"Exactly. Setting aside the fact that you barely participated throughout, you never even asked how the incident was resolved in the end. It's hard not to question whether you still have enough motivation to solve requests at all."
"Well, to be honest, that's just because I thought Hayama's request was boring and could be resolved easily without much effort. This kind of clumsy scheming between teenagers isn't particularly malicious—at worst, it's petty jealousy—but no matter how I look at it, expending mental energy on it just doesn't seem worth the cost…"
And besides, I just got out of that simulation recently—how could I have any spare energy to care about trivial things like this…
Narumi Tōru—no, Narumi—cut himself off mid-thought. Not being bad at reading the room, he noticed that the light in Yukinoshita Yukino's eyes dimmed slightly for just an instant.
Oops. He'd nearly forgotten that he wasn't merely an assistant—he was a member of this club. No matter how you looked at it, solving requests was part of the Service Club's responsibilities. Using lofty excuses to justify slacking off was, admittedly, pretty lame.
"Though I hate to admit it, you do have a point."
Before he could backpedal, Yukinoshita Yukino acknowledged it herself—admitting frankly that the nature of the Service Club made it easy for others to look down on it to some extent. Narumi, who had been bracing himself for a cutting remark, hadn't expected such honesty.
She looked away, gently stirring the black tea with a bit of rock sugar added.
"Most of the requests we receive are, from the perspective of others—especially adults—nothing more than children's playacting."
The small, translucent white crystals slowly dissolved into the rich, fragrant liquid until they vanished without a trace.
"That's simply inevitable. Given our current age and standing, we're bound to be exposed only to this kind of social circle and these kinds of requests for now."
After saying that, Yukino stopped turning her head aside. As she turned back toward the boy, her ice-blue eyes met his directly.
"Perhaps… if our club had one more assistant—someone to help screen requests or offer advice—it might make things considerably better."
Her words ended there, but her gaze lingered on him.
"Narumi-kun… what do you think?"
She was sincerely asking for his opinion—or at least, that's how it should have been. Yet Narumi couldn't help sensing something beyond that, a subtle emotion woven into her request.
The feeling was familiar—just like the one Yukinoshita Yukino had once shown when she leaned against him by the seaside, with no one else she could rely on.
Is she… depending on me?