After enduring two and a half minutes of sheer torment, Houtarou finally escaped from the torturous magic circle and claimed his well-earned dessert.
Hakuto then glanced at Hachiman and raised an eyebrow at him.
Hachiman knew exactly what Hakuto meant. He wasn't particularly bothered by it. He had been through far more embarrassing situations before.
Mimicking Houtarou, he sat down at the center of the magic circle, thinking that as long as he endured two minutes, it would all be over.
However, just as he was about to begin, Rikka handed him a note.
Looking at the densely packed text on the note, Hachiman was puzzled.
"What's this?"
"Dead Fish-Eyed Warrior! The reason why Energy-Saver-kun failed to summon just now might be because he didn't recite the ritual chant properly!"
The moment Hakuto heard the nickname "Dead Fish-Eyed Warrior," he nearly lost it.
Even the usually indifferent Houtarou almost broke character.
"What are you two laughing at, Energy-Saver-kun and Brave Warrior?"
Hachiman didn't particularly mind his nickname. He didn't care if people laughed. But Hakuto and Oreki? No way.
"It's nothing, nothing. Dead Fish-Eyed Warrior, just focus on the chant."
At this moment, Hachiman felt that this event held by Toyosaki Academy was absolute garbage.
A massive pile of garbage!
They should've just given him a couple of extra days off instead!
But complaining was one thing—he still looked down at the note in his hand.
At first glance, he was shocked. This wasn't some ritual chant—it was practically a long-winded, cringe-inducing passage straight out of a textbook!
Still, just reading it out loud shouldn't be a problem.
"From the otherworld—"
"Wait, wait, wait! Too dull! You need to put more emotion into it!"
Hachiman realized that joining this club was a huge mistake! No, it was all Hakuto's fault.
With no choice, since the club president had spoken, Hachiman could only comply.
"Ah! O Queen of the Elves from the otherworld~!"
As soon as he spoke the first line, Hakuto nearly lost it. He was about to die laughing on the spot!
He desperately pinched his own thigh to hold back the laughter.
Hold on! Just endure for two and a half minutes, and it'll be over!
"I hereby~! Pay tribute to you! The indomitable soul~"
Watching Hachiman put on such an emotional performance, Hakuto was on the verge of suffocating from suppressed laughter.
Who the hell came up with such a ridiculous chant?!
Houtarou, watching Hachiman in the middle of the magic circle, commented,
"Is this some kind of public humiliation ritual?"
"Probably…"
"This seems like school bullying. Shouldn't you step in, underclassman?"
"Am I supposed to stop myself?"
Finally, after two and a half minutes of utter humiliation, Hachiman left the magic circle and got his dessert.
Except… that dessert was now in Utaha's hands.
Hachiman glanced at the 500 yen bill that had somehow appeared in his hand. He didn't care much—he wasn't particularly fond of sweets anyway.
Hakuto patted Hachiman on the shoulder and said,
"I don't admire many people in this lifetime, but Dead Fish-Eyed Warrior, you've earned my respect!"
Hachiman brushed off Hakuto's hand.
"I knew you wouldn't have anything good to say… And next time, be a little gentler, will you?"
"Huh? Was I too rough?" Hakuto looked down at his hand for a moment after hearing Hachiman's complaint.
"Could it be that you're just too weak?" The force he used just now was barely enough to swat a mosquito.
Hachiman waved his hand dismissively, clearly uninterested in continuing the topic.
"By the way, where's Energy-Saver-kun?"
"He went to borrow a novel from Kasumigaoka-senpai. For him, aside from sleeping, reading—basically anything that lets him sit still—is his favorite thing to do."
Hachiman looked at Hakuto beside him, hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
"Hakuto, there's something I want to tell you."
"I don't have money!"
"It's not about that…"
"Oh, then go ahead!"
Hachiman sighed but continued.
"When you first left as an exchange student, Sawamura came looking for you a lot…"
" Her? Looking for me? What for?"
"I don't know. She just stood at the doorway, looked at your seat from a distance, and left…"
Hachiman had no idea what Eriri was thinking.
For two years, she had never actively sought out Hakuto, but in just these past few days, she had done it more times than in the previous two years combined.
It made no sense.
To Hachiman, relationships between guys and girls were nothing but trouble.
That's why youth was just another form of suffering.
A massive pile of garbage!
Hachiman wasn't sure if he should even bring this up to Hakuto. Though Eriri hadn't come looking for him in the past few days, he still felt that Hakuto had the right to know.
"Alright, got it."
Hakuto had no idea why Eriri was looking for him. The most likely reason he could think of was that she wanted to return all the things he had given her in the past.
"Tch… She could've just thrown them away."
Though Hakuto was known for being petty—he would even take back a lunchbox—gifts were a different story.
Once given, they were given.
There was no need to fuss over them.
And he assumed that Sayuri was also involved in this.
Hakuto found it hard to believe that Sayuri would personally ask him for a favor over something so trivial.
"Are you going to talk to Sawamura?"
"No need. I'm busy."
Hakuto waved his hand, deciding to give Sayuri a call later. If it really was about something this minor, then there was no reason to go out of his way.
Even though he had to show Sayuri some respect, there were always ways to work things out.
"Keep an eye on things here. I have something to take care of."
Hakuto patted Hachiman's shoulder with a look of trust.
"Got it… And seriously, can you go easier on me?"
"I'm telling you, you're just too weak! Eat more fish eyes—it'll help!"
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