"I'm home."
"Welcome back, Hachiman-kun."
"You're late, Onii-chan. But, welcome home! I heard the story; sounds like you worked hard."
"Yeah, Komachi. Your big brother worked pretty hard in Kyoto. Feel free to praise me as much as you want."
"When you put it like that, it makes me not want to praise you at all..."
"Cruel..."
"So, why were you late?"
"Well, it's not like I'm that late, though."
Asuna lightly followed up on Komachi's teasing interrogation. Hachiman then explained to the two of them that Shino had made some friends.
"So, since the opportunity presented itself, we went for a little drive. That's about it."
"Shino-non made friends? I see. So things at school seem okay now?"
"Yeah. Just as planned, there didn't seem to be any more issues."
"Onii-chan, you really are amazing!"
"Yup, amazing!"
Hachiman felt a bit bashful at their praise, but replied steadily.
"I really wanted to do something about her situation, so I'm just glad it worked out."
"To think that slacker brother of mine... Komachi is truly happy."
"Well, I'm just acting for the safety of my comrades. If anything, the real problem is that said comrades keep increasing."
"Ahhh~, I definitely feel like there's a lot more of them..."
"And they're all girls. Just what is going on, Onii-chan?"
"O-Oh... I wonder why... I don't really get it either."
After dinner, Asuna and Komachi decided to sleep together for the first time in a while. Hachiman, perhaps feeling the accumulated fatigue, decided to turn in early as well.
Around the same time, at Ryoutarou's house, the enthusiastic voices of a man and a woman echoed through the air.
"Saito, you bastard!"
"Forgive me, Okita. I had no choice..."
"Chief, please stop!"
"Vice-Chief! I... I will follow you to the very end!"
Meanwhile, alone in her unlit room, Elsa was watching the DVD Hachiman had given her.
Incidentally, for a very brief period, M—also known as Asougi Goushi—had lived in the same room in a semi-cohabitation arrangement to help relieve her stress. However, that was no longer the case. Now, Elsa's room was plastered with candid photos of Shana.
Whether it was a reward or not, M continued to serve Elsa with the same loyalty as before.
"Haa, haa... The destructive power... of this souvenir is... nnnh... the best... Alright, one more time..."
Elsa had already watched the DVD over and over again, but far from getting bored, she pressed the play button once more with a flushed face.
"To be able to watch Shana in action... while surrounded by so many photos of Shana... Nnnh, offense and defense as one...! Ah... Sha... Shana-aaah!"
Trembling in ecstasy, Elsa called out Shana's name for the umpteenth time that day.
The next day, after loading a massive amount of souvenirs into Kit, Hachiman and Asuna headed straight to school.
In the parking lot, they unloaded the gifts meant for Kazuto and the others. Since it had been a while since they last attended, they were stopped and greeted multiple times on their way to the classroom.
"Yo, long time no see."
"I'm back!"
"Hachiman, Asuna!"
"You two finally came back, huh?"
"Welcome back, you two!"
Asuna gave Rika and Keiko the hair ornaments she had carefully chosen—matching ones to the pair she and Asuna wore.
"Wow, this feels totally 'Kyoto.' But isn't it a little too flashy?"
"I think it would look great matched with a yukata for fireworks festivals and such."
"Ah~, that actually might be nice."
While the three girls chatted excitedly, Hachiman handed two boxes of Yatsuhashi to Kazuto.
"Sorry, Kazuto. Could you ask Suguha to give the smaller one to Recon? The big one is for your family. And this is a souvenir for Suguha that Asuna chose."
"It matches the ones we're wearing right now," Asuna explained from the side.
Kazuto nodded. "Roger that. So, is this blatantly suspicious package the souvenir for me?"
"Yeah, this is it."
Saying that, Hachiman smoothly drew the imitation sword from its sheath.
"Th-This is... The classic school trip souvenir. The one everyone wants but is too embarrassed to buy in front of their friends. The item that only the chosen few with the courage to ignore social pressure can obtain... that..."
"Exactly. It's just an imitation sword, so it doesn't have a signature, but feel free to give it whatever name you like."
"I-Is that so? Alright then, I shall bestow upon you the name most precious to me! From this moment forth, your name is Dark Repulser Maru!"
The instant those words left his mouth, Rika burst out laughing. Face turning bright red, she rushed over to Kazuto and slapped him hard on the back.
"Ouch! What was that for, Rika?!"
"You idiot! I'm happy you said it's the name most precious to you, but don't just spout weird, incomprehensible lines in front of people like it's nothing!"
"I-It doesn't matter, does it?! It's my choice!"
As the couple continued their bickering, Asuna called out to the rest of the class.
"It's nothing big, but we bought souvenirs for everyone, so please come get them in order!"
The classmates were delighted and happily accepted the gifts from Asuna.
"Asuna, what did you buy?"
"Hm? Just simple keychains."
Those keychains, proof of having been in the same class as Hachiman and Asuna, would later be modified with a design by Hachiman himself and become family heirlooms for many of them.
After school, Rika and Keiko joined Hachiman and Asuna in Kit. The five of them headed to the meeting place to rendezvous with Yukino and the others. Upon hearing the story, Rika and Keiko had decided to join the gathering as well.
Kazuto, unable to leave his bike behind, went home alone, happily carrying Dark Repulser Maru on his back.
After dropping Asuna and the others off, Hachiman headed to Soleil.
He had already distributed the souvenirs yesterday. The purpose of this visit was to discuss the plan for storming Kura Agency with Haruno, Argo, and Asake—the younger brother of Kura Kagetoki (Kuradeel).
Asake certainly had an ambitious look about him, but he seemed to be a man who kept his word. Having likely been briefed beforehand, he immediately bowed his head to Hachiman.
"Hikigaya-san. I'm sure it was disgusting just having to deal with him, but I apologize for the trouble our idiot caused you in SAO. I am truly sorry!"
Hachiman couldn't help but burst out laughing at Asake's bluntness. Asake, catching the contagion, laughed as well.
"A-Hahahaha! You're quite direct, Kura-san. I take it you hate Kuradeel... ah, sorry, your older brother?"
"Calling that thing 'brother' is nothing but pain for me, so let's just call him Kuradeel from now on. Kuradeel's thought process is genuinely repulsive, isn't it?"
"Ah, so even his family thinks so."
"Yes. I cannot comprehend his bloated ego in the slightest. I think my parents feel the same way, but somewhere in their hearts, they're probably still hoping he'll turn out decent eventually..."
"But we can't exactly wait for that, nor does it seem likely to happen."
Asake replied with a face full of genuine regret.
"Yes. After hearing the stories, I had another investigation done. The reputation of our agency among the female talent belonging to us has deteriorated to a level where saying it has 'fallen to the ground' would be an understatement. I can no longer afford to stay silent."
"Is it that bad...?"
"Therefore, I have instructed all managers to completely ignore any communications from Kuradeel until I resolve this matter."
"Understood. Let's settle this tomorrow, without fail."
"Yes. Without fail."
"By the way, did you try showing him the Laughing Coffin mark?"
Hachiman suddenly remembered and asked Asake.
"Yes. I secretly placed it on his desk and watched his reaction. Since then, Kuradeel has been acting strangely, constantly wary of his surroundings."
"Wary... is it?"
(That means it doesn't look like he's directly communicating with them right now... Well, if I get the chance, I'll verify it myself.)
Hachiman deduced this from Asake's explanation.
The four of them began to meticulously plan the sequence of events for the next day. It was decided that Asuna would not accompany them. Hachiman simply could not tolerate allowing that pervert to even catch a glimpse of her.
Hachiman took out a prepared envelope and showed it to Asake.
"Tomorrow, I intend to hand this to him. What do you think, Asake-san?"
"This is... information on an overseas business school and an enrollment application?"
"I'm putting in a few other documents to threaten him, too. Well, I doubt it will go this way, but if he takes this and leaves quietly, I'm willing to leave it at that. It's his 'last chance' to become a decent human being, so to speak."
"...I suppose so. It might be okay to give that idiot at least that much of a chance."
"Whether he can make use of it depends on him."
"Understood. personally, I don't think he can, but let's go with that."
The four of them simulated the flow of the conversation multiple times and prepared several traps accordingly.
"Ideally, I'd prefer if these traps turned out to be unnecessary..."
"Well, if it comes to that, I feel bad for Father, but it can't be helped."
"Let's just pray he isn't foolish enough to go that far."
The next day, Hachiman visited the Kura Agency office with Haruno.
"Hachiman-kun, honestly, how do you think this will end?"
"Well... I can't really say until I see if that idiot has changed at all."
"Well, I suppose that's true."
"Let's go."
"Don't let your guard down."
"Right."
The two met up with Asake, who was waiting for them, and headed toward the president's office. On the way, they spotted Argo working on something in the hallway. Hachiman called out to confirm.
"How is it?"
"Setup complete here. Just waiting for it to sync with the monitor."
"Okay. Let's head to the president's office together."
"Roger that."
Arriving at the president's office, the four of them knocked on the door.
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