Bonus(2/2)
....
Chapter 62: Hachiman the "Hikigaya Master" and His Two 'Girlfriends'
....
Hidenori Tabata rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
What Seito said actually made sense. He was only Level 20 and his gear consisted of a single Blue-tier item. If Seito suddenly promoted him to an Executive, the rest of the guild wouldn't take him seriously.
"Well... how about making me a mid-level officer instead?" Hidenori tried again.
"What's your Talent?" Seito asked.
"Inspiration. It boosts ally morale, increasing all attributes by 10%. There's no limit on the number of people it can affect," Hidenori answered.
Seito considered this. That's actually a top-tier Talent. Common inspiration skills existed, but they usually had small bonuses and strict caps on party size. Hidenori's version was tailor-made for large-scale guild wars. Giving him an officer position was more than fair.
Turning to Kirukiru Amou, Seito said, "I'll leave him to you."
"No problem," Kirukiru replied with a cold, elegant smile.
Hidenori beamed. Even if he wasn't an Executive, being a regular officer was a great start. "In that case, let me treat everyone to lunch! Consider it a celebration for my promotion."
The group didn't have any objections, but Seito looked toward the Blank siblings.
"What do you think? Do you two want to come?"
As shut-ins with severe social anxiety, Seito—their childhood friend—knew he had to check in.
"If we're sitting next to you, it shouldn't be an issue," Sora replied after a moment.
"What about the movers?" Seito asked, remembering their transition to the new apartment.
"They already arrived while you were in the game," Sora explained. "They're helping Shiro and me move the equipment now. I'll just call them later and tell them to leave the non-essentials at the door."
Sora and Shiro didn't really care. All their most valuable items were currently on their persons. If their gaming rigs or furniture got stolen, they'd just spend an afternoon buying new ones.
"Alright then," Seito nodded. "Let's move out. It's almost noon anyway."
....
When the group arrived at the "restaurant" Hidenori had chosen, Seito's lip twitched violently. Every single person in the group stared at Hidenori with "dead-fish" eyes.
They thought they were going to a nice sit-down place. Instead, they were standing in front of a cheap fast-food joint.
"Don't look at me like that!" Hidenori shrugged. "I don't have much pocket money. Feeding this many people here is already pushing my budget!"
Seito sighed. Hidenori came from a normal family, so his logic was sound. "Fine, let's just find a seat."
Seito wasn't picky. He led Kanade Tachibana and the Blank siblings toward an empty table, with the Yukinoshita sisters, Kirukiru, and the other boys following close behind.
As Seito was scanning for a large enough spot, a surprised exclamation caught his attention.
"Huh? Is that you, Hikigaya? What are you doing here?"
Seito turned to see a girl looking in shock at Hachiman Hikigaya, who was currently nursing a burger. Hachiman's eyelids were twitching uncontrollably.
He had just come out for a quiet lunch with Hideyoshi Kinoshita and Saika Totsuka. He never expected to run into a ghost from his past. In this world, Hachiman had his own small circle of friends—mostly "gender-ambiguous" ones—but the girl standing before him was Kaori Orimoto, the girl who rejected him in middle school and served as the source of his greatest "black history."
Seeing Kaori's condescending attitude, Seito decided it was time to intervene.
Hachiman was a classmate, after all. Seito smoothed his clothes, ran a hand through his hair, and strolled over with a confident smirk.
Just as Hachiman was struggling to find the right words, a familiar voice rang out, making him and the two "Hideyoshis" beside him grimace.
"Well, if it isn't the Master Hikigaya! I see you're out on a lunch date with your girlfriends."
Seito shook his head, looking disappointed. "You're a real piece of work, Hachiman. Two-timing like this, and yet you've managed to make them get along so harmoniously. Truly, a master."
Hachiman: "..."
Hideyoshi Kinoshita: "..."
Saika Totsuka: "..."
Two girlfriends? He means...
The trio looked at each other. There was no doubt; Seito was referring to Hideyoshi and Saika as the "girlfriends."
"Eh?!" Kaori Orimoto's eyes lit up when she saw Seito. What a handsome guy! Those eyes are stunning!
But she quickly processed his words. What? Hikigaya has a girlfriend? Two of them? She looked back and forth between Hideyoshi and Saika.
"Um... handsome, are you sure? Aren't they both boys?" Kaori asked, confused. Both were clearly wearing boys' clothes.
Seito glanced at her with pity. "One look at you and I can tell you're a total loner. Don't you understand 'flavor'?"
Hachiman: "..."
The two "Hideyoshis": "..."
What flavor?! What are you talking about?!
Kaori: "..."
This guy is so good-looking, but why does he have to have such a sharp tongue? The word "loner" hit Kaori like a physical blow. She glared at Seito, her face turning red with frustration, and turned on her heel to storm out of the shop.
Seito raised an eyebrow. She dared to glare at me? This girl really can't handle a little bit of her own medicine.
He turned back to Hachiman with a smug grin. "No need to thank me. It's just what one classmate does for another."
Hachiman: "..."
I'm not thanking you! Not in a million years!!
Hachiman felt mentally exhausted. Dealing with a person like Seito was impossible. There was a massive linguistic barrier between a normal person and a "shining idiot" like him.
Seito sat down naturally next to Hideyoshi and waved for the rest of his group to join them. It was only then that Hachiman's group realized just how many people had arrived with Seito.
"Are you all here to eat too?" Hideyoshi asked, trying to steer the conversation back to sanity.
...
Thank you for reading.
...
Once again thank you for support, @UzumakiClanhead..