Hikigaya Hachiman had become very popular since the release of The Clockwork Museum Incident. Not just elsewhere, but his fame had reached a new level within Sobu High School itself. Many senior female students even came to the door of Class F just to catch a glimpse of his face, or even better, ask for his autograph.
Fortunately, most people didn't know he was a member of the Service Club; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to find refuge in this only remaining sanctuary.
"Hikigaya, are you okay?" Yuigahama Yui asked with some concern. "I saw you coming out of class, and you were surrounded by a lot of people." By now, she had a rough idea of what level of writer Hachiman was and had gained a basic understanding of his novels through "Twenty Minutes to Read" type videos on YouTube.
"Thank you for your concern, Yuigahama-san," Hachiman replied. This was actually just self-consolation; he hadn't become a writer to be gawked at all day. "This situation won't last long. After all, I'm just a writer, not a singer or actor. I don't appear in public often."
"I told you not to do that NHK interview," Yukinoshita Yukino chided. "Don't you know how high the ratings are for NHK's general channel in the evening?" Her mother, Mrs. Yukinoshita, however, had been very happy after seeing Hachiman on the program, as if it were her own child on TV.
"Don't worry, there won't be any more for a long time," Hachiman muttered, laying his head on the table. "Whether it's an interview or any other activity that requires me to show my face, I've asked Sakamachi to reject them all." He was genuinely tired recently, not just from the activities but also from the constant attention from his classmates.
In truth, there weren't many genuine fans of his at school, aside from maybe those in the mystery novel club. It was just that everyone was curious about having a celebrity in their midst, someone worthy of appearing on NHK's evening show. Therefore, Hachiman needed to reduce his public appearances to lessen the impact of his face in everyone's mind.
"By the way, Yuigahama-san, how were your academic ability test results?" Yukino asked, remembering something important. The Service Club had spent all of June studying under her leadership, and she was very concerned about the performance of the temporary members.
"Speaking of which, Yukino, my class ranking went up by two places!" Yuigahama said happily, hugging Yukino. Although Yukino looked a little resistant, she reluctantly accepted it. "Your tutoring is really effective!"
Hachiman believed that friendships between girls could develop very quickly. These two had only known each other for two months, yet they could already be so intimate. Meanwhile, he and Yukino had known each other for so long, and she had only hugged him for the first time last month.
Speaking of test scores, Yukinoshita Yukino still sat firmly at the top of the grade, her score reaching a terrifying 830 points. Hikigaya Hachiman scored 801. He hadn't given up his position as first in the class, but his overall grade ranking had dropped two places to sixth. Hayama had dropped one place to fourth in the grade. Considering the energy he had put into revitalizing the football club, this was still very impressive.
As for the other temporary members who had studied in the club, Yukino compared their test scores with their entrance exam results and found the effect was significant; most had seen their grade rankings and deviation scores increase.
"So," Yukino said, looking a little disappointed, "after tutoring for so long, the only one who regressed in the end was you, Hikigaya-kun?"
Hachiman wanted to retort—it was obviously the hug from her the night before the exam that had unsettled him—but with Yuigahama present, he had no choice but to hold his tongue.
Hachiman took out his laptop today but didn't rush to type. Instead, he created a new document to sort out his upcoming work schedule. It was already July, and summer vacation was approaching. With no other school activities, it meant his life as a writer was about to get truly busy.
NHK Contract: He had to formally sign the TV drama script contract with NHK. To do this, he needed to write the first few episodes of the Kohata Ninzaburo script so the station could get a preliminary impression.
Kodansha Contract: He needed to meet with Sawamura Eriri to sign the manga serialization contract with Kodansha and start preparing the plot for The Jukakukan Incident.
Shoumu: The creation of his next orthodox mystery novel, Shoumu, would officially begin. He had only created the outline so far. If nothing unexpected happened, the book would be released in June or July of next year.
These were the important tasks. Other matters, like continuing The Newcomer and creating the movie tie-in book for Confessions, were less difficult and weren't listed separately.
Speaking of the Confessions movie, Director Nakajima had recently revealed that filming would be completed in late July or early August, with the rest of the time dedicated to post-production. Toho had tentatively set the release date for sometime after November.
After sorting out his thoughts, Hachiman officially began writing the script for the TV series Kohata Ninzaburo.
This task wasn't actually too difficult. The classic work from his previous life was not only a series of standalone episodes but also followed a highly consistent structure. There were few main characters, the scenes were usually concentrated in one location, and the plot was driven entirely by the dialogue between the protagonist detective and the criminals. A script like this was much easier than the one he had written for Disintegration of the Causes, so Hachiman quickly fell into a rhythm, relying on his excellent memory.
Seeing Hachiman typing away, Yukino and Yui lowered their voices. Although the club was called the Service Club, most of the time, it existed mainly to create a quiet creative environment for him.
"By the way, Yukino," Yuigahama asked, "what's your relationship with Hikigaya-san now?" She always felt there was a natural, unspoken understanding between them. They never had overtly intimate interactions, yet they seemed more enviable than couples who spent all day together. Yuigahama couldn't quite understand it, summing it up as a comfortable "sense of life" between them.
"Me and him?" Yukino replied, looking at Hachiman with soft, warm eyes. "We're just ordinary friends."
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