Chapter 45: Hiratsuka Shizuka Cleans Up the Mess

"Is it about what we talked about before?" Hearing Hiratsuka Shizuka's words, Hikigaya Hachiman's mind began spinning rapidly, trying to come up with a reason she might accept. "I'm not interested in whatever's going on between you and Kawasaki Saki." Taking another puff from her cigarette, Hiratsuka looked up at Hachiman, whose darting eyes clearly showed he was scrambling to come up with a way to bluff her. She sighed and decided to get straight to the point. "Last night, there was a sudden gas explosion in a residential area in Chiba..." "According to the police investigation, it was a suicide by the homeowner. But before he died, he transferred all the money in his bank account to a stranger's account. Don't you find that odd, Hikigaya?" "Ah, that..." Scratching his head, Hachiman looked awkward. Truthfully, when he realized he had received a massive sum of money last night, he had considered the possibility that the police might track him down through the financial trail. He had even prepared several contingency plans. But what surprised him was that the police never showed up. He had chalked it up to their incompetence—but now, hearing Hiratsuka's words, it was likely that she had stepped in for him... Hiratsuka was surprised that after she laid out the situation, Hachiman only looked a bit embarrassed and not the least bit panicked. But then, recalling the recent changes in him, she understood. She didn't know exactly what Hachiman had been through recently, but the fact that he had grown more confident was definitely a good thing. "Anyway, I've already asked a friend in the Metropolitan Police Department to suppress the incident. The transaction record has been deleted. So you don't need to worry about being invited to 'have tea' by the police..." "Sensei, how did you even find out about this so fast?" A wave of warmth surged in Hachiman's heart, followed by curiosity as to how Hiratsuka had gotten wind of this so quickly and managed to deal with it right away. "That's none of your business!" Hiratsuka's face suddenly flushed as she responded sharply. Then she slapped the desk and gave Hachiman a warning glare. "Behave yourself and stop making me clean up after your messes!" "Yes, I understand!" Hachiman immediately lowered his head, looking like a kid being scolded, fully compliant. "Now, let's talk about Kawasaki Saki." Seeing that Hachiman had a good attitude about admitting his mistake, Hiratsuka nodded in satisfaction. She then crossed her arms and gave him a sharp, inquisitive look. "Eh? Didn't you just say you weren't interested?" Hachiman snapped his head up in disbelief, staring at her. Given how well Hiratsuka knew him, she couldn't possibly think there was something inappropriate going on between him and Kawasaki. "I said I wasn't interested. I never said I wouldn't intervene." Hiratsuka looked pleased, even amused by his reaction. Last night, she had been peacefully asleep when a friend from the police called her, telling her Hachiman had gotten himself wrapped up in a case—and that his account had suddenly received over 60 million yen. To prevent the police from dragging him into the station in the middle of the night, she'd made several phone calls and used up a few favors just to keep things quiet. Then, early this morning, when she came to confront him about it, she found him on the stairs... with another girl. There was no way she was letting this go without at least giving him some grief over it. Seeing the way Hiratsuka was looking at him, Hachiman gave a wry smile. It was clear he was in for a rough time today... . . . Meanwhile, back in the classroom, Kawasaki Saki couldn't calm down. Although she believed Hachiman wouldn't lie to her, she couldn't help but worry about Hiratsuka. After all, Hiratsuka Shizuka was the famously terrifying yet caring "Iron Fist" of the school. Especially with rumors going around that her latest matchmaking date had failed again... Another person feeling uneasy was Yuigahama Yui, sitting in the back of the classroom. Because Sabre had run off that morning, she had barely made it to class on time. As a result, she saw Hachiman being taken away by Hiratsuka. In Yui's experience, being summoned by a teacher was never a good thing. So she naturally assumed that Hachiman was being lectured or scolded. "Yuigahama-san, could you read the next section, please?" Just as Yui was anxiously wondering what might be happening to Hachiman, the Japanese teacher suddenly called on her. "Eh?!" Hearing her name, Yui reflexively stood up—but as soon as she realized she was being asked to read the textbook, she froze. She hadn't been paying attention at all because she was so worried about Hachiman! "Start from the second paragraph on page 46." As Yui panicked, Miura Yumiko's disappointed voice came from nearby, clearly unimpressed. Watching Yui scramble to flip open her book and begin reading from the second paragraph on page 46—only to bite her tongue out of sheer nervousness and look pitiful—Miura Yumiko covered her face. What on earth had she been thinking when she decided to take this idiot under her wing? Still, now that she had, she wasn't planning to just toss her away. If she couldn't handle things through Yui, then she'd just have to approach it from the other end... With that thought, Yumiko glanced toward Hachiman's seat. The seat that usually reeked of slothful rot was currently empty. Yumiko felt a tinge of irritation. She hated when things weren't under her control. Especially when she recalled how, just yesterday at the bubble tea shop, Hayama had brushed off the hint of affection she'd tried to subtly express. Her mood was not good. Finally, when the bell rang for the end of class, Hachiman appeared at the classroom door. Seeing him safe and sound, both Yui and Kawasaki simultaneously sighed in relief. Even Miura Yumiko's eyes flashed with a glint of intrigue as she watched him return to his seat. Just as she was about to get up and call him out for a talk, Ebina Hina suddenly popped up in front of her, blocking her view. "Boss, I have something I wanna talk to you about!" Ebina, who sat near the front, had seemingly teleported to Yumiko's side and was now showing her something on her phone—a map, suggesting plans for where to hang out with Hayama and the group that afternoon. Seeing that the topic involved Hayama, Yumiko's attention immediately shifted from the dead-fish boy Hachiman to the phone screen in front of her. Having successfully diverted Yumiko's attention, Ebina discreetly winked at Yui. Yui responded with a grateful smile.