Chapter 56: Destroying the Banquet Is Completely Meaningless

"Who are you?" After replying to the sender, Hikigaya Hachiman put away his phone, casually turned off the TV, and prepared to go back to his room to practice the moves he had just learned that afternoon. After all practice makes perfect. Until his speed reached Yuuki's level, the only way to improve the success rate of his skill execution was through continuous practice. "Eh, Onii-chan, you're going upstairs already?" Komachi, chatting happily with her friends, suddenly noticed the TV sound cut off. She looked up curiously at her brother. Just at dinner, Hachiman was confidently saying he planned to lie on the sofa all night. Why was he heading upstairs so soon after starting to watch TV? "There's nothing interesting on TV. I want to rest in my room." He gave a simple explanation for going upstairs. Under Komachi's gaze, Hikigaya quickly went upstairs, took out his Demon-slaying sword, and began training. However, just as he started, Hachiman noticed a big problem bothering him. The "Mother's Rosario" is a combo move designed to suppress the opponent. This means he needs to keep moving forward during the skill to push back and control the enemy. But... Looking around his somewhat cramped room, Hikigaya reluctantly put his Demon-slaying sword back into the system. Luckily, the skill can be interrupted during use, otherwise he might accidentally destroy his room... "Better find a place with more space to train." Feeling a bit defeated, Hikigaya glanced around his room again, then turned and went downstairs. On the sofa, Komachi watched her brother go upstairs then prepare to go out again, and sighed helplessly. Though she was curious about where he was going late at night, she refrained from asking to avoid annoying him. She was confident that if Hachiman truly had a problem, he would tell her! Once outside, Hikigaya didn't go far to train. After all, the late night is when evil spirits are most active. Although Komachi had a protective bracelet, better to be cautious. Using memory, Hikigaya headed to the sandy park in their neighborhood. During the day, the park was full of playing kids and strolling elders. But at night, since some nearby street lamps were broken, it was pitch black and almost never visited. That's how it should have been — but... Seeing two figures tightly embracing in the small woods, Hikigaya chose to turn around silently and leave. The sandy park was already occupied, so he had no choice but to pick another spot: an abandoned construction site. The site had been deserted for a long time, now overgrown with weeds more than half a meter high. But this was no problem for Hikigaya. He summoned his Demon-slaying sword — originally for spirit exorcism — to serve as a weed cutter. After over ten minutes of hard work, he cleared a space just big enough to train his moves. Just as Hikigaya was about to start training, his phone vibrated again. "..." After a moment of silence, Hikigaya finally put away the sword, picked up his phone, and checked the message. "You must care about her a lot, right? Tonight, her life will be decided." It was the same mysterious stranger who added him without explanation. "Tonight?" Seeing the message, Hikigaya's mind flashed to Yukinoshita Yukino's cold, distant face. The person who will accompany her for life will be decided tonight? Unexpectedly, thinking about this irritated him somewhat. Not because he knew Yukino was about to belong to some unknown man, but simply because he felt angry seeing someone's life about to be decided by others. Everyone should have the right to choose their own life, regardless of good or bad results. But even if he was angry about it, what could he do? Although he had come into 60 million yen yesterday and instantly became wealthy in ordinary eyes, that still wouldn't impress the prestigious Yukinoshita family of Chiba. "What do you want me to do?" Still, despite everything, Hikigaya intended to help Yukino a little — if she really needed it... . . . "Buzz!" Haruno eagerly opened her phone to check how Hikigaya had replied to her message. She imagined he would be desperate to disrupt the banquet, willing to go through hell and high water. After all, she had encountered too many people like that. But upon opening the message, her smile immediately vanished. Hikigaya's reply was calm, even cold. Through those words, Haruno felt a pair of indifferent eyes quietly watching her. This guy was unusual... Silently, she raised her evaluation of Hikigaya by one notch. Then she smiled happily. Of course, the higher Hikigaya's ability, the better. After all, the better this "tool" was, the higher the chance she could successfully disrupt tonight's banquet. "Sis, what are you doing?" Yukino, already dressed in her formal gown, came out of her room. Seeing Haruno smiling happily at her phone, Yukino looked curious. This was the first time she'd seen her sister so cheerful while looking at her phone. "Nothing much. Let's go." Taking advantage of Yukino's bath time to change quickly, Haruno put away her phone and looked Yukino over. Dressed in a cold-toned gown and wearing a face cold enough to freeze someone, Yukino made Haruno shake her head. Playing these little tricks alone wouldn't stop their mother's decision... The two sisters took the elevator down. The driver was already waiting outside the apartment. After both got in, the luxury car slowly headed toward the Yukinoshita family estate. "Nervous?" Watching Yukino, who had stared out the window the entire ride, Haruno smirked. "Not at all!" Yukino shook her head firmly. Though she disliked attending banquets — especially tonight's — the Yukinoshita family's good upbringing gave her confidence she wouldn't lose her composure in public. "Then do you want tonight's banquet to be disrupted?" "Eh?" Yukino's eyes widened as she turned to look at her sister in surprise. If she heard right, her sister just said something very rebellious and bold. "Do you?" Haruno kept the same expression, her eyes locked on Yukino. Though she didn't know how things were going with Hikigaya, after learning about tonight's banquet, she had mobilized her subordinates to plan its disruption. If Yukino clearly wished for the banquet to be ruined, she would not hesitate to carry it out. "But what use is it to disrupt the banquet tonight?" Yukino calmly replied to Haruno's question. Upon hearing this, Haruno suddenly laughed. "That's right. Even if the banquet is ruined tonight, it can just be held again tomorrow..." Realizing Yukino understood that without changing their mother's mind, she could never escape a fate controlled by others, Haruno fell silent. She leaned back in her seat and waited quietly for the car to reach the destination. After more than ten minutes, the car stopped in front of a very luxurious mansion. "You're late!" As the sisters got out, a stern voice rang down from the steps. A refined lady in an elegant gown descended the stairs and approached them. "Mother..." The sisters both bowed their heads respectfully. "Hmm." Looking at Yukino, who was carefully dressed, Mrs. Yukinoshita nodded slightly with a hint of satisfaction in her eyes. Although Yukino had rebelled and moved out for a while, she hadn't forgotten the basics. No doubt the esteemed gentleman would be very pleased to see her.