Chapter 167: Does the Necklace Look Good?
After sending Hikigaya Hachiman and Yuigahama Yui out of the building and arranging for them to come over another day, Yukinoshita returned home with a dark expression.
Upon opening the door, she saw that the scattered clothes were still lying in their original spots.
Yukinoshita Yukino raised her delicate eyebrows, took a deep breath to calm herself, and, picking up the clothes from the floor, walked toward the living room.
She went straight into her own room.
As expected, the center of the bed was raised under the comforter.
After tossing all the clothes onto the bed, Yukinoshita Yukino went to the front of the bed and lifted the edge of the comforter.
"Ah, Yukino, you're back already…"
Haruno, noticing the movement, opened her sleepy eyes and looked at her sister with a smiling face.
"Big sister, I've told you many times already—don't leave your clothes lying around, okay?"
Looking at Haruno curled up in the comforter, completely naked, Yukinoshita lowered the blanket and crossed her arms in front of her chest, questioning her.
"It's fine, anyway, it's just the two of us in the apartment…"
Haruno poked her head out from the comforter, yawned, and lazily answered, unconcerned.
"Did you drink?"
Yukino hadn't noticed earlier because Haruno was hiding in the comforter, but now that she spoke, Yukino immediately smelled a strong scent of alcohol.
Seeing that Haruno, despite having slept, still looked dazed, Yukinoshita frowned.
She knew her sister's alcohol tolerance very well.
If even she got this drunk, what exactly had Haruno been doing earlier?
"Business entertaining."
Haruno explained with a tone that was both matter-of-fact and slightly helpless, quietly moving closer to Yukino.
"Even if it was business, you shouldn't have drunk this much."
Once she realized Haruno had been drinking, Yukino's anger vanished completely.
Instead, she felt concern for her sister.
Because of this, she didn't notice the little gesture Haruno was making at that moment.
"Last night's banquet was crucial for whether the family could establish itself in Chiba. Not only I, but Mother and Father also drank a lot."
Haruno casually dropped a piece of big news.
Then, taking advantage of Yukino's moment of thought, she pulled her onto the bed.
Wrapped in the blanket together, Yukinoshita's exclamation immediately escaped.
.
.
.
"Hachi, do you know Yukino's sister?"
On their way home, Yuigahama Yui hesitated for a while before finally asking Hikigaya Hachiman the question that had been on her mind.
"Yeah, I happened to meet her before when I went to the amusement park with Komachi…"
Hachiman nodded and briefly explained how he knew about Haruno's existence.
"Oh, I see…"
Hearing that Hachiman had met Yukino's sister by chance at the amusement park, Yui patted her chest in relief.
"Otherwise? What did you think?"
Seeing Yui looking relieved, Hachiman knew she was overthinking again.
"There's nothing!"
Pouting, Yui stubbornly replied.
"Alright then, if there's nothing, there's nothing."
Hachiman shrugged and quickly changed the topic.
"Here, this is for you."
He took a necklace from his backpack and handed it to Yui.
"This is…?"
Looking at the delicate necklace in Hachiman's hand, Yui was puzzled.
Suddenly giving her a necklace—could it be…
"It's just a gift between friends. Didn't you give me cookies before?"
Hachiman, a bit embarrassed for suddenly giving her a magical item out of concern for her safety, explained awkwardly.
But Yui didn't dwell on the reason for the gift.
Hearing that it was meant for her, she happily accepted the necklace and immediately put it around her neck.
"How is it? Does it look good?"
After putting on the necklace, Yui showed it to Hachiman, asking how it looked.
"It's pretty."
Even though his attention had been completely distracted by forces beyond his control, Hachiman nodded calmly.
"You have to keep it on at all times. Don't lose it."
Finally, he gave a reminder.
Unlike Yotsuya or Miko, Yui didn't know about the spirits, so he was afraid she would just put it away in a box.
If that happened, all the late-night work he had done the previous night would have been wasted.
"I'll definitely keep it on!"
Hearing this, Yui hugged the necklace and looked at him with mock indignation.
But soon, she just smiled foolishly.
"..."
Watching her silly smile, Hachiman shook his head helplessly.
After giving the necklace, Yui clearly became more lively.
They chatted along the way, and after dropping Yui home, Hachiman refused Mrs. Yuigahama's warm invitation to stay and rode his bike home.
On the way, perhaps it was just Hachiman's impression, but he felt the city was much safer.
Previously, he could encounter a few wandering spirits on his way home.
But now, the streets were empty, as if the spirits had never existed and everything that happened before was just his imagination.
However, recalling the light from the night before, Hachiman felt reassured.
Since there is an official exorcist in Chiba, it makes sense that the spirits wouldn't dare appear.
After all, if they accidentally ran into the exorcist, it would be a death sentence…
"I'm home…"
Parking his bike in the yard, Hachiman used his key to unlock the door and, before even entering, reported his return to Komachi.
"Ah, Onii-chan, welcome home."
Entering the living room, Komachi, as usual, was lying on the sofa in a slightly revealing casual outfit, playing on her phone.
Seeing Hachiman, she just raised her head to greet him before returning her attention to her phone.
"..."
Feeling a subtle sense of neglect as she focused on her phone, Hachiman first went upstairs to put his backpack away, changed into casual clothes, and then sat on the sofa.
Naturally, after Hachiman sat down, Komachi moved closer, resting against him, and continued playing on her phone in the most comfortable position.
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