Chapter 166: Karuizawa: I'm such an idiot, he's a total blockhead.
Nagumo's mood was indeed anxious. However, Hachiman's side was quite relaxed.
To be precise, he looked relaxed. He leaned against the back of his chair, having flipped through several pages of the documents in front of him. He had read every page, but he wasn't in a hurry to actually do anything.
Ichinose sat next to him, her pen held aloft, the tip hovering just above the paper without touching down. She glanced sideways at Hachiman, and seeing him staring fixedly at a specific line of data, she didn't speak to disturb him. She simply waited quietly.
Kushida sat behind a desk on the other side, a file spread out before her as well. She had started browsing earlier than Hachiman and Ichinose and was already on the second page. Her movements were efficient; her eyes swept across the paper rapidly, occasionally pausing for a second on a specific figure before moving on.
Kei sat at the empty desk in the corner. She had a set of materials in front of her too, but she was flipping through them very slowly. It wasn't that she didn't understand; she just couldn't concentrate. Her gaze drifted from the paper to Hachiman's side, then back, then back again. She did this several times without even realizing it.
The atmosphere in the office wasn't exactly tense, but it wasn't relaxed either. The four newcomers—Hachiman, Ichinose, Kushida, and Kei—sat in their respective spots, none of them speaking much.
Meanwhile, several senior members were handling their own affairs, occasionally whispering a few words to each other in low voices.
Kiriyama Ikuto stood up from his seat, holding a folder, and walked over to Hachiman's desk. His movements were light, but Hachiman still looked up.
"These are the documents the Student Council needs to process this semester," Kiriyama said, placing the folder on the desk. "The President said since you've just arrived, you should familiarize yourselves with the workflow first. No need to rush into processing them; just take a look."
Hachiman nodded. "Thanks."
Kiriyama didn't say more and turned back to his seat.
Hachiman opened the folder, which contained over a dozen pages neatly arranged. He scanned the first page—it was a detailed description of daily Student Council procedures, listing everything from document filing to activity approvals. He flipped to the second page, and his gaze paused for a moment.
Beside him, Ichinose leaned over to look. "Do you need help?"
"No," Hachiman shook his head. "I'll just look first."
Ichinose nodded and didn't press. She nudged her chair a bit to the side to give Hachiman more space, then lowered her head to continue with her own materials.
Sitting on the other side, Kushida had finished the second page. She looked up, scanned the room, and let her gaze fall on Hachiman. He was turning to the third page, his movements unhurried, yet he didn't spend much time on any single page.
She retracted her gaze and continued with her file.
Kei stopped when she reached the second page. It wasn't that the content was difficult; it was that her gaze had drifted back to Hachiman again. She watched him finish a page, flip to the next, and then she lowered her own head to look at the material in front of her.
She started reading a bit more seriously than before.
Akane Tachibana stepped out from behind the President's seat, holding a folder. She first walked to Kushida's desk, set the folder down, and said gently, "These are the accounting details that need processing. You can familiarize yourself with the format first."
Kushida looked up and flashed a perfectly timed smile. "Alright, thank you, Tachibana-senpai."
Tachibana nodded and then walked over to Kei's desk. Her gaze paused for a second on the material in front of Kei—it was still on the second page—but she didn't say anything. She simply placed another folder on the desk.
"This is the job description for General Affairs. You can take a look."
Kei quickly straightened her posture. "Alright, thank you."
Tachibana then went to Ichinose's side, dropped off the Secretary's job description, and finally rounded over to Hachiman. She didn't drop a folder; instead, she stood beside him, looking down at the material he was currently flipping through.
Hachiman looked up and met her gaze.
Tachibana's eyes lingered on the page he had just turned to, then she looked up at him. "You read quite fast."
"It's okay," Hachiman said.
However, Tachibana didn't leave immediately. She stood there, watching Hachiman finish the rest of that page and flip to the next. His movements were indeed fast, but not the dismissive kind of fast—he stayed on each page long enough to finish the content, but not a second longer.
"Have you done similar work before?" she couldn't help but ask.
Hachiman's hand paused slightly as he turned the page.
The movement was very slight—so slight that even Kushida, sitting nearby, didn't notice. But Tachibana did. She watched his finger stop for an instant at the edge of the paper before continuing the flip.
"Something like that," Hachiman said.
He didn't explain further.
Flashes of his time during the Sobu High Cultural Festival crossed his mind. As an executive committee member, because Sagami Minami refused to work and incited others to slack off, he—as a mere gopher—had ended up doing a mountain of work. From moving tables and chairs, putting up posters, checking inventory lists, to running errands with documents—he had done every odd job imaginable. At that time, Yukinoshita Yukino was also busy beyond belief, and he would occasionally help her handle work that wasn't technically his responsibility.
It wasn't to suck up to her; he just felt uncomfortable seeing her carry too much on her own.
Of course, he certainly wouldn't say that out loud.
Tachibana looked at him for two seconds, didn't press further, and turned to walk back to the President's side.
Horikita Manabu looked up from his documents, his gaze passing over Tachibana's shoulder to look at Hachiman. The emotion in those eyes was hard to decipher, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, as if confirming something.
"Hikigaya. You adapt quickly," Horikita Manabu said.
It sounded like a standard evaluation, but coming from Horikita Manabu's mouth, the weight was different. The office went silent for an instant; Nagumo's finger stopped on the edge of his desk, and even Kiriyama looked up.
Hachiman looked at Manabu, silent for a second. "Is the President praising me?"
"Stating facts," Manabu's tone remained calm.
Hachiman's lip twitched slightly.
He always felt there was a hint of mischief in Manabu's words. It wasn't intentional bullying, but rather that subtle sense of "I know you can do better, so I'm pushing you a bit." Of course, given Manabu's personality, he probably wouldn't admit it.
Hachiman retracted his gaze and continued flipping through the materials.
Sitting beside him, Ichinose gave a small, gentle smile. Then she lowered her head and continued with her file, speaking no more.
The office remained quiet for about ten minutes.
The sound of pages turning, the sound of pen nibs scratching across paper, and the occasional soft sound of a chair moving mixed together, neither loud nor quiet, just enough to fill the silence.
Hachiman flipped to the last page of his stack, put it down, and leaned back. He scanned the desk—the documents were already categorized, with those needing processing and those only needing review placed on separate sides. He reached out to pick up the "needs processing" stack and was about to open it when he saw a figure approaching from the corner of his eye.
It was Kei.
She was carrying a cup of tea, a thin wisp of steam swirling from the rim under the fluorescent lights. She walked to Hachiman's desk and placed the teacup gently in the empty space to his right. Her movements were very light; the cup made almost no sound when it touched the table.
"For you," she said, her voice lower than usual.
Hachiman's body stiffened for a moment.
The stiffness was brief—so brief that someone who hadn't been watching him wouldn't have noticed. His finger paused on the document for an instant, then relaxed as he turned to look at Kei.
"Thanks," he said.
When those two words came out of his mouth, the tone was much flatter than usual, as if suppressed by something.
Kei looked at him, her lips moving slightly. "Don't mention it."
Then she turned and walked back to her seat naturally, as if she had just done something very ordinary. When she sat down, her gaze stayed on the tabletop for a second before she picked up her unfinished materials again. This time, however, she didn't look like she was making slow progress; she seemed to be hitting her stride.
This change was easy to spot for anyone paying attention.
"..." Ichinose.
Ichinose's pen tip stopped on the paper. She didn't look up, but her gaze couldn't help but drift toward Hachiman from beneath her eyelashes. She saw Hachiman reaching out for the cup of tea, his movement slightly slower than usual, as if he weren't quite sure how to take it.
This state was clearly a bit abnormal.
But Ichinose didn't speak; she looked back and continued with the file in her hand. However, she didn't notice that when her pen touched down, it left a tiny ink blot on the paper.
Meanwhile, the brand-new Accountant Kushida sat on the other side, having already reached the third page of the accounting details. Her eyes remained fixed on the paper, but her peripheral vision was tracking Kei's every move. From the moment Kei stood up with the tea, to her walk to Hachiman's desk, to putting the cup down, to her walk back—she saw every single action.
She saw Hachiman's moment of stiffness, saw his delayed reaction when taking the tea, and saw his averted gaze when he whispered "thanks."
Then she lowered her head and continued with the details. The numbers jumped before her eyes, but her mind was spinning with something else.
The room was still quiet, but the atmosphere had shifted.
Hachiman, however, wasn't paying attention to any of that. He picked up the teacup and took a sip. The temperature was perfect—not too hot, not too cold.
Then he put the cup back and picked up the stack of documents again. By the time he opened the first page, his movements had returned to normal.
But Ichinose noticed that he had placed the teacup in the spot on his right that was closest to him.
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Work lasted for only two hours.
Horikita Manabu looked up from his documents, glanced at the clock on the wall, and closed the report in front of him.
"That's all for today. Everyone, take a break."
Having said that, he put the documents in his drawer and stood up. Akane Tachibana followed behind him, clutching a folder. The two walked out of the office one after the other.
Nagumo also stood up, tucked his pen into his pocket, and straightened his cuffs. His gaze lingered on Hachiman for a second—Hachiman was packing up the documents on his desk at an unhurried pace, with Ichinose helping him organize them.
Nagumo looked away and walked out.
Kiriyama also stood up, closed his notebook, and headed for the door. His steps faltered for a moment as he passed Hachiman's desk; he looked at him, nodded, and then continued walking.
People left the office one by one.
Ichinose stacked the final document, stood up, and grabbed her bag. She looked at Hachiman. "Leaving together?"
Hachiman placed the teacup at the corner of the desk and shook his head. "You go ahead; I still have something to do."
Ichinose gave him a deep look but didn't ask further. "Then, see you tomorrow."
"Yeah."
Ichinose turned and walked toward the door.
Soon after.
After Ichinose left, Kushida also stood up and put the folder into her bag. As she did so, her gaze drifted toward Hachiman. She saw him looking down at his phone, the light from the screen illuminating his face and making his profile look a bit pale.
She looked away, grabbed her bag, and headed for the door.
When she passed Hachiman's desk, she didn't stop or speak. She walked at a moderate pace, one fast enough for someone to notice her. But Hachiman didn't look up, didn't call her, and didn't even notice her passing by. His eyes were glued to the phone screen, his thumb swiping once before stopping.
"..."
Kushida stepped out of the office and stood still in the corridor.
The evening sun flooded in from the windows, dyeing the entire hallway in warm orange. But she didn't choose to leave entirely; instead, she moved a few steps to the side and crouched down behind a potted plant. This position was well-chosen—she could see the entrance of the Student Council office, but anyone at the door wouldn't easily see her.
She crouched there, placed her bag at her feet, and waited quietly.
About five minutes passed.
The door to the Student Council office opened again.
Karuizawa Kei walked out, holding an empty teacup. She went to the sink at the corner of the hallway, rinsed the cup clean, shook off the water, and dried it with a paper towel. Her movements were meticulous; she wasn't just casually washing it, but rather treating it like something important.
She put the cup away and turned to head back.
When she reached the office door, her pace slowed.
She realized Hikigaya Hachiman was still standing in the corridor.
Despite everyone having left, he hadn't gone. He was leaning against the wall, his phone already put away, hands in his pockets, his gaze fixed on the sunset at the end of the hallway as if thinking about something.
Kei stopped in front of him.
There was half a step of distance between them.
Hachiman looked up at her. His expression was the same as usual, but Kei noticed his gaze linger on her face for an instant before moving away, then coming back. The movement was fast, but Kei caught it.
"The Student Council today—could you keep up?" Hachiman asked.
"It was okay," Kei said. "Everyone is very talented, Kushida and Ichinose-san too. They get the hang of work very quickly." She paused, then added, "You're quite good at it too."
Hachiman was silent for a second. "Being able to enter a work state quickly isn't a bad thing."
Kei looked at him, her lips twitching slightly. She knew Hachiman didn't want to be a "corporate slave"—she'd known that since they were on the ship. Hearing him say this now made her want to laugh, yet it felt a bit inappropriate.
"Kushida-san... did you recommend her too?" she changed the subject.
"Yeah," Hachiman nodded. "She's very capable. With a little training, she can handle a lot of work."
Looking at his matter-of-fact expression, Kei suddenly felt the subtle sense of awkwardness she'd felt earlier was unnecessary. This person recommended Kushida for the Student Council because he truly wanted Kushida to do the work.
Kushida was truly pitiful.
"Have you done this kind of work before?" she asked.
Hachiman leaned against the wall, his gaze on the sunset. "In my previous school, during the Cultural Festival, I was an executive committee member. I was assigned to the general affairs group. Moving tables, putting up posters, running errands with documents—I did everything."
Kei blinked. "Then isn't that exactly what I'm doing now?"
"More or less," Hachiman said.
Kei looked down at her empty teacup. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly before being quickly suppressed. General Affairs. The lowest position in the Student Council—even a disciplinary committee member was higher. But Hikigaya had done it before too. So the work she was doing was the same as what he had done. It seemed... not so bad.
"So you're very experienced now," she said.
"Sort of." Hachiman straightened up from the wall, pulling his hands out of his pockets. "If everything is fine on your end, I'm heading back."
Kei was stunned.
She looked up at Hachiman. His expression was calm, as if he had specifically stayed behind just to say those words to her.
Kei: "..."
Kei opened her mouth, finding herself momentarily at a loss for words.
'Wait, didn't you stay here to wait for me so we could eat dinner together?'
The sentence circled her tongue but didn't come out.
Seeing her stunned look, Hachiman was also taken aback. "What's wrong?"
Kei took a deep breath. "Are you going to eat dinner by yourself?"
"Yeah." Hachiman nodded, then as if suddenly realizing something, his movements paused. "Do you... want to eat together?"
Kei stared at him for two seconds.
She suddenly understood.
This person hadn't sent a single message from last night until now. It wasn't because he regretted it, or because he was being dismissive, or because he didn't know how to start.
He truly just didn't think he needed to send a message.
"Of course we're eating together," she said, her voice a bit heavier than usual.
Hachiman looked at her, silent for a second. "Then from now on... we eat together every time? Morning, noon, night?"
Kei originally wanted to say yes, but stopped as the word reached her lips. She thought for a moment. "Just at night. For lunch, I have to be with my classmates."
She paused, her voice dropping a bit. "Besides, I haven't told them yet."
Hachiman nodded. "Okay."
The two walked side by side toward the other end of the corridor. They planned to wait for Kei to put the teacup away, then pack up and leave together.
However, behind the potted plant...
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