Chapter 005 Theft and Sneak Photography
Hikigaya Hachiman and Horikita Suzune left the classroom one after the other, but the two did not exchange any words.
Hikigaya wouldn't be so narcissistic as to think the other person was following him out.
Even now, as the two walked in the same direction.
Hikigaya still didn't harbor any unnecessary thoughts.
Outside the teaching building.
The two continued to walk in the same direction...
Hikigaya didn't care, but Horikita Suzune couldn't help herself anymore.
"Why are you following me?"
"First ask if I am, then ask why."
Hikigaya Hachiman pointed to the campus supermarket ahead and explained concisely: "I plan to buy some daily necessities."
"..."
Horikita Suzune was taken aback, and said nothing more.
Clearly, she was doing the same thing.
The rest of the way was silent.
Horikita Suzune entered the women's products area, and the two went their separate ways.
Hikigaya Hachiman did not rush to shop. Instead, he wandered around, observing the variety of goods.
As a campus supermarket, its scale could even rival commercial supermarkets outside.
It covered all kinds of expenses for living, eating, and waste, and even digital cameras, laptop computers, and handheld game consoles were available.
Such high consumption far exceeded the level of allowance of an average high school student.
But Advanced Nurturing's S System allowed payment via points.
It was practically encouraging students to actively spend their personal points...
Hikigaya Hachiman squinted his eyes, faintly catching the scent of a conspiracy.
Also, what was most noteworthy was that the supermarket also had a free section.
Was it a minimal living guarantee provided for students who ran out of points?
For a god-like person who could use up 100,000 points in a month, it was hard to imagine the school would be so lenient.
Recalling Chabashira Sae's explanation of the S System, she said, "The school will issue a certain amount of points to the terminal every month," but she never said this "certain amount of points" was a fixed 100,000!
"This is a school where meritocracy is supreme," so the question is, how is ability judged?
The answer is competition.
He just didn't know if it was individual competition, class competition, or both!
Alas, so troublesome...
Hikigaya Hachiman sighed helplessly.
But he had nothing to complain about.
Simply because he never believed in good things falling from the sky in the first place.
In short, he decided to be conservative with his point usage first.
Hikigaya Hachiman decisively freeloaded from the free section.
Towels, toothbrushes, shampoo...
Compared to the name-brand products that required points, the free section was uniformly stocked with unheard-of, generic brands.
Hikigaya never cared about brands anyway, and there was no need to worry about product quality.
Anything allowed for purchase in this school was at least safe enough.
After completing the purchase—oh, no, the freeloading—of basic necessities.
Hikigaya headed to the beverage section; he needed to buy coffee.
Glancing at the assorted instant coffee packets in the free section, Hikigaya was disdainful.
They were all vulgar things without a soul...
"Found it!"
He spotted the long-sought Max Coffee in a prominent location on the shelf.
Hikigaya waved his hand grandly and bought two packs.
The student terminal was swiped, costing 12,000!
Although it hurt a little, Max Coffee was absolutely worth having!!
Hikigaya, feeling satisfied, was about to leave.
His peripheral vision suddenly caught two suspicious figures...
One had long purple hair tied into a side ponytail, and slender legs paired with short socks, further highlighting the large expanse of white thigh in between.
With sharp eyes, she cautiously looked around, one hand carefully reaching into the cooler labeled as the alcohol section. The other was an exceptionally petite silver-haired girl. Her white lace top exuded a mix of purity and seductiveness. The paleness of her skin was beyond the normal range for a healthy person, and the short cane she used to support herself suggested physical weakness.
Minors are prohibited from buying alcoholic beverages...
That girl, could she be planning to steal?
Hikigaya Hachiman observed secretly.
He saw the silver-haired girl quietly pick up her phone, using the cover of the shelf. The camera light turned on.
Filming evidence of a crime...
She truly was a mean-spirited person.
As a righteous, law-abiding citizen, stopping a crime would be reasonable.
But judging by the playful smile sketched on the silver-haired girl's face, her motives looked impure.
If the genders were swapped, it would be easy to think of some strange plot...
"You don't want anyone to find out you were stealing, do you?
I have leverage over you, so obediently submit to me.
Hehehe~"
Excluding the low probability of a yuri development, the silver-haired girl was highly likely to use this as blackmail to control the purple-haired girl, perhaps even manipulating her for the entire three years of high school!
If you do something wrong, you must accept the punishment.
Hikigaya Hachiman originally had no intention of intervening.
However, when his eyes fell on the brightly colored hair clip on the purple-haired girl's head, deep-seated memories surged out uncontrollably!
It was during the winter vacation of his second year of middle school...
To prepare a birthday gift for his sister, Hikigaya Hachiman falsified his age and worked part-time at an accessories store.
The store owner brought in a batch of celebrity merchandise.
Hikigaya couldn't understand how a tiny hair clip, associated with a celebrity, could sell for 12,000 yen!
At the time, a pair of sisters came to the store, and the younger sister immediately fell in love with this expensive hair clip.
The older sister looked troubled, clearly short on money.
But the younger sister was relentless, crying and fussing until she got it.
Hikigaya Hachiman felt a connection; if Komachi desired something like that, he would buy it for her at any cost!
Of course, Komachi wouldn't be so selfish.
Conclusion: Komachi is indeed the world's cutest sister!
Under the sister's relentless demands, the older sister finally decided to take a risk and stole the hair clip from the store.
Hikigaya was shocked!
This person's love for her sister was actually greater than his own!!
Out of sympathy for a fellow sister-complex sufferer, Hikigaya Hachiman did not apprehend the older sister on the spot.
Considering there were many people in the store at the time, if the theft were exposed, with many mouths talking, the sister's life would likely be ruined!
Hikigaya pretended not to see, planning to negotiate with the other party privately to retrieve the stolen hair clip.
But the matter was exposed, and the store manager was furious, threatening to send the thief to the police station!
Hikigaya successfully convinced the manager to minimize the situation by offering to forfeit his "one month of part-time wages."
However, what he never expected was that the next day, a sick mother dragged her daughter to the store, and in front of everyone, forcibly pushed her daughter's head down to kneel and apologize!
Facing the pointing fingers of passersby, the daughter's eyes were hollow, and her self-esteem was shattered.
It is understandable for parents to discipline their children when they make mistakes.
But this method was clearly excessive.
After all, council members in Japan who embezzled billions only had to say "hontō ni gomen nasai" (a sincere apology) and bow to the media to settle the matter.
For a minor stealing, legally, it should only result in criticism and re-education.
Even Hikigaya Hachiman, whose status in his family was one notch lower than Kamakura (the family cat), was only confined to a closed-door "beating with a rattan cane" when his father caught him stealing pocket money (which was actually New Year's money being guarded). There was absolutely no need to make it public knowledge.
The recollection ended here.
"Whew~"
Hikigaya Hachiman took a deep breath. He decided to do something.
"Um...
Excuse me!"
Hikigaya Hachiman's sudden loud voice drew the attention of many nearby passersby.
This startled the purple-haired girl, who was about to slip the beer into her pocket. Her hand shook, and she quickly put it back.
"???"
The silver-haired girl lowered the phone she was using to film, a hint of annoyance surfacing in her brows.
The friend (toy) that was almost in her grasp had slipped away!
Who?
Who dared to ruin her plans!
The silver-haired girl turned her head and saw a boy with dead fish eyes, who had approached her at some point.
"Student, may I ask what you need?"