Chapter 55: The Banquet

"A banquet?" Hearing Haruno's words, Yukinoshita Yukino instinctively furrowed her brow. "Isn't having your sister enough? Anyway, if I go, it'll only bring shame to the Yukinoshita name..." "If it were a normal banquet, I could have helped you postpone it—even if it meant being scolded by Mother. But this time, it's impossible..." Looking at her sister's unwilling face, Haruno felt bitter inside. Yukino was her most precious sister, and of course, she didn't want to see her dressed in a gown, floating among the banquet crowd, looked over like a piece of merchandise by those disgusting men. But... "This time, the main event is you, Yukino..." With a helpless expression, Haruno looked at her sister who resembled her in appearance but carried a hint of sorrow. Because Yukino had moved out to live on her own as an act of rebellion, their mother had somehow bypassed Haruno and was choosing a husband for the younger Yukino instead. Moreover, this whole operation was done secretly, without Haruno's knowledge. It was only today when she was summoned back to the Yukinoshita residence that she heard from their mother the news of a banquet being held tonight to select Yukino's future husband. It was laughable—after all the power Haruno had been building up in secret for so many years, the moment Mother made a move, she became deaf to it all... "The main event is me?" Yukino's first reaction to Haruno's words was disbelief. After all, she had accompanied Haruno to countless banquets before, and Haruno was always the star of those events—never her! It was because she had always lived in her sister's shadow that she became estranged from her. "This banquet is for choosing your husband, so naturally, you are the main event." Yukino didn't believe it, but Haruno wasn't surprised. Yukino was just as intelligent as she was, and if she had accepted it so easily, Haruno would have started to doubt if this really was her sister. Therefore, Haruno directly explained the purpose of tonight's banquet—both to mentally prepare Yukino and to see how she would handle it. After all, from their mother's tone, Haruno sensed she was serious. Mother was probably intending to decide tonight who would accompany Yukino for the rest of her life. Although Haruno had her own ways to disrupt the banquet, it ultimately depended on Yukino's own thoughts. "But why so soon?" Seeing Haruno's serious expression that didn't seem like a lie, Yukino, normally cold-faced, showed signs of anxiety and panic. She already understood since elementary school that her marriage would be controlled by Mother, and she would likely be married off to someone who could bring benefits to the Yukinoshita family. But such matters should only be considered after she graduated from university. Why was Mother so impatient to hold such a rushed banquet without any notice when she was only a second-year high school student? "I don't know either. Sorry, Yukino..." Haruno shook her head apologetically. The banquet was arranged solely by their mother—so secretively that even their father didn't know. Haruno was curious about why Mother was doing this too. "I see..." Seeing that Haruno didn't seem to be lying, Yukino stopped asking further and, with a heavy heart, went into her room. After a while, she returned holding a change of clothes and entered the still-steaming bathroom. Soon, after some rustling sounds, water could be heard again from the bathroom. "Have you given up?" Seeing her sister's silent actions, Haruno felt a bit disappointed. Knowing that her fate as the eldest daughter was unchangeable, she had been accumulating strength to try to change Yukino's fate. But Mother's sudden banquet plans completely disrupted her schemes. And now, Yukino's resigned attitude was disheartening. Pressing her lips together, Haruno lay down on the sofa reluctantly. She was certain that if she had just one more year, everything could change. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Haruno spotted a certificate lying on the floor. Looking at the open school bag on the sofa, she immediately understood—it had accidentally fallen out during the sisters' earlier tussle. "Let me see which place you took." Although she guessed that no matter what the award was, her sister must have taken first place, Haruno curiously picked up the certificate from the floor. "Second place?" Looking at the ranking on the certificate, Haruno's expression turned surprised. Her sister actually got a result other than first place?! "Ah, I read it wrong. It's not Yukino's certificate..." But soon Haruno realized the name on the certificate wasn't her sister's, but someone she'd never heard of before. "Hikigaya Hachiman?" Reading the name aloud, Haruno raised her brows. It wasn't that she had never heard the name before—there was a faint familiarity, but where had she heard it? "Forget it, let's see who this guy is." Pulling out her phone from between the sofa cushions, Haruno typed in some info. A few minutes later, the entire publicly available biography of Hikigaya Hachiman, from birth to present, was sent to her phone. "Pretty ordinary. I thought the guy Yukino secretly put in her bag would be something special..." After quickly browsing Hachiman's life details, Haruno sighed in disappointment. She had expected the guy her sister cared about to be extraordinary, but he was just a slightly more mediocre loser than an average person. She had even thought he was Yukino's helper. "Well, since Yukino cares about him this much, I'll let you know this news too..." Tonight, her sister was going to be selected like merchandise by those rotten men. Feeling unhappy, Haruno hesitated briefly before having her hackers add her and Hikigaya Hachiman on LINE. Then she sent him the information about Yukino's matchmaking banquet tonight, and tossed her phone aside. To her, this was just making a guy who secretly liked her sister feel heartbroken. . . . Scene shifts to the Hikigaya household. Since Kawazaki Saki didn't receive any exorcism requests online today, Hikigaya Hachiman was unusually prepared to rest a bit. After dinner with Komachi, and cleaning the dishes, Hachiman lay down on the sofa in a relaxed pose, holding his cat, watching TV. Komachi was nearby chatting with friends while wiggling her little feet. "Buzz!" His phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. Guessing it might be a message from Kawazaki Saki, Hachiman reluctantly pulled it out. But the profile picture was from someone he had never seen before. "Huh, when did I add this person?" Curious, Hachiman opened the message. After reading the content, he fell silent. Yukino Yukinoshita was going to attend a matchmaking banquet tonight. Why was this stranger telling him this? And they even included the detailed address of the banquet...