NOVEL WEB Chapter 156
Chapter 156: Sakayanagi’s Invitation
The Student Life Guidance Office—even in an ordinary school, it was a place that few students ever visited. Let alone in this school.
After all, the students here were all extraordinary individuals. Who would need guidance?
As a result, this office had essentially become a perfect hiding spot for a certain violent female teacher to engage in some “dubious activities.” For example…
“Hey, Hiratsuka-sensei! Why are you smoking indoors again?!”
The moment Hikigaya stepped inside, he immediately caught the scent of smoke. He strode straight to the window and opened it to let the air circulate.
“Oi! The air conditioning is on, you know!”
The moment the hot air from outside rushed in, the woman—who was sitting comfortably with one leg crossed over the other—immediately voiced her discontent.
“Oh? So you do know the AC is on?”
Hikigaya gave her an exasperated look. Not only was Hiratsuka-sensei smoking indoors, but she was doing it with the air conditioning on. The way she went about it so naturally… there was no doubt she was a repeat offender!
“What’s with that look?”
Hiratsuka Shizuka crushed her cigarette with an annoyed expression. “I bet you’re thinking, ‘This beautiful woman is actually an AC thief,’ aren’t you?”
“Could you replace ‘beautiful’ with ‘middle-aged’ instead—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Hikigaya instantly felt an icy killing intent. He wisely shut his mouth before things could escalate.
Hiratsuka-sensei snorted a few times, then waved her hand impatiently.
“Tomorrow’s the start of vacation. Can’t I indulge a little? Not only am I smoking, but tonight I’m going drinking too—drinking till I drop! Heh heh! What about you? Got any business here?”
“Me? What, am I not allowed to come by without a reason?”
Hikigaya shot back. “I just thought I’d check in on a certain neglected teacher. Otherwise, someone will start whining at me later—stuff like ‘you’re heartless,’ ‘you don’t respect your elders,’ and so on.”
“You are a heartless brat! Have you no respect for your teacher?!”
Hiratsuka-sensei’s eyebrows shot up instantly.
“Do you have any idea how much stress you little punks have given me these past few months?! I swear, I’ve gotten more wrinkles because of you lot! Who’s paying for my makeup and skincare, huh?!”
“Hiratsuka-sensei, isn’t it possible that it’s just… you know… natural aging?”
“You little shit! Are you calling me old?!”
Hikigaya averted his gaze, pretending he hadn’t said anything at all—after all, it was her who had brought it up first.
Just as Hiratsuka-sensei rolled up her sleeves, ready to dish out some “discipline”, a knock suddenly came from the door.
Before either of them could respond, a small, silver-haired figure had already opened the door and stepped inside.
“Good day to you both. I hope I’m not interrupting?”
Leaning lightly on her cane, the silver-haired girl was none other than Sakayanagi Arisu—someone Hikigaya hadn’t seen in quite some time.
“Oh, it’s you, Sakayanagi.”
Hiratsuka Shizuka casually waved at Sakayanagi as if they were quite familiar with each other. Meanwhile, Hikigaya kept glancing back and forth between the two, seemingly puzzled by their unexpectedly close relationship.
“Hikigaya-kun, the Student Life Guidance Office isn’t exclusive to you, you know~”
Sakayanagi flashed a meaningful smile at Hikigaya. His expression darkened instantly upon hearing that, but before he could say anything, Hiratsuka-sensei flicked his forehead.
Hikigaya sucked in a sharp breath from the pain and immediately clutched his forehead.
Then, he noticed Hiratsuka-sensei’s disapproving gaze and quickly realized his mistake. Without hesitation, he stood up and gave his seat to the silver-haired girl across from him.
“Thank you.”
Sakayanagi chuckled softly, tidied her skirt, and slowly took a seat.
“Hikigaya, you two should already know each other, right?”
Hiratsuka-sensei suddenly asked.
“More or less.”
Hikigaya scratched his head.
“What do you mean more or less?”
Hiratsuka-sensei didn’t seem pleased with his vague response.
“Hehe, perhaps Hikigaya-kun is surrounded by so many girls that he has trouble remembering them all.”
Sakayanagi teased with a sly smirk.
Hikigaya: “……”
What do you mean I’m surrounded by girls?!
This little troublemaker Sakayanagi was clearly trying to ruin his reputation in front of Hiratsuka-sensei!
I mean, I…
“Eh? Is that so?” Hiratsuka-sensei seemed genuinely surprised. “I always thought this guy had zero luck with women and was doomed to a lonely old age.”
Hikigaya’s eyes widened in shock!
Seeing his reaction, Sakayanagi looked a little surprised at first but then couldn’t help laughing out loud.
“Since this semester is coming to an end, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank Hiratsuka-sensei for her guidance and support.”
As she spoke, Sakayanagi slowly stood up with the help of her cane and gave Hiratsuka-sensei a small bow.
Hikigaya watched this unfold with utter confusion.
When did Sakayanagi and Hiratsuka-sensei have this kind of relationship?!
As if sensing his puzzled gaze, Sakayanagi turned toward Hikigaya and explained, “Hikigaya-kun, you should be aware that I have mobility issues. During this time, I have received a lot of support from Hiratsuka-sensei in my daily life.”
Hikigaya glanced at Hiratsuka-sensei, as if seeking confirmation.
“When did you become so suspicious of everything?”
Hiratsuka-sensei sighed, clearly unimpressed by his reaction.
“Hiratsuka-sensei and Hikigaya-kun seem quite familiar with each other,” Sakayanagi noted with a smile. “Could it be that you two knew each other even before coming here?”
“You two kids…”
Hiratsuka-sensei looked at them with an exasperated expression. “Yes, this school encourages competition among students, but that doesn’t mean everything has to be about competition. You’re both smart; you should understand what I mean.”
“Sensei, I’m just a mere student from Class D,” Hikigaya replied flatly. “You know better than anyone what a mess Class D is. Even you nearly lost your temper dealing with us. How could I possibly compete with someone like Sakayanagi from Class A?”
Sakayanagi, however, remained unfazed.
“Class D may look terrible right now, but who knows what the future holds?” she said with a composed smile. “Perhaps there are still hidden talents in your class—just like you—who have yet to be discovered.”
Her words sounded polite, but Hikigaya couldn’t shake the feeling that she was hinting at something specific. For some reason, an image of a certain expressionless individual suddenly popped into his mind.
Just as he was about to respond, Hiratsuka-sensei clapped her hands.
“Alright, enough of that! Today’s the last day of school, and tomorrow is the start of vacation! Give me a break, will you? It’s officially after work hours now, and I refuse to work any longer! I’ve got drinking plans!”
Without hesitation, Hiratsuka-sensei practically shoved them out of the room.
“Honestly, I must’ve assigned you two way too little homework!”
With that, she slammed the office door shut and marched off, leaving Hikigaya and Sakayanagi standing alone in the hallway.
After a brief silence, Sakayanagi turned to Hikigaya.
“Hikigaya-kun, would you like to have dinner together?”
Her invitation was genuine and sincere.
Hikigaya thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.