Chapter 77 - 77 – The Troubled Siblings

"Do whatever you want. Either way, I'm absolutely not going to tell you anything." Seeing that Haruno had no intention of giving up, Yukino could only sigh deeply and shut her mouth, letting her sister make wild guesses on her own. After all, she was still in high school, while Haruno had already graduated from university and was starting to take over the family business. If Haruno really wanted to investigate, Yukino wouldn't be able to stop her. "Don't worry, I won't put you in a difficult spot~" Though she hadn't gotten any useful information from Yukino, Haruno wasn't at all worried about being unable to identify the person from last night. Yukino's social circle was extremely small, and from her sister's reactions just now, it was clear that the mysterious person was someone Yukino knew. That meant the person from last night was very likely among those who had interacted with Yukino... "But I can't just approach recklessly..." Now that she had narrowed the mystery person down to a student, Haruno wasn't in a rush to find them. Instead, she was troubled over how to approach them. After all, the person she wanted to get close to was one of only five such individuals in all of Japan. Would they be willing to meet her? Would they get upset if they discovered she approached them intentionally? These were concerns that only her past suitors had worried about. Now, they were all flooding Haruno's mind. "Let's make one thing clear — you absolutely cannot interfere with the normal lives of me or the people around me!" Yukino could easily guess what Haruno was thinking. Knowing how easily her sister could narrow down the search to those around her, Yukino immediately set a condition to protect Hachiman. She fully trusted Hachiman's ability to stay hidden. After all, she had spent considerable time with him and hadn't suspected a thing — not until he saved her did she realize his hidden identity. As long as she could limit Haruno's methods and give Hachiman a warning before Monday, the chance of him being exposed was practically zero. "Of course!" Haruno readily agreed to her sister's condition, though a mischievous smile crept onto her face. Her sister was still too naïve. With all the people she'd met and evaluated over the years, all Haruno had to do was visit Sobu High once and take a single glance at Yukino's surroundings. She'd immediately spot who was different — no large-scale investigation needed. "By the way, why was there someone else's award certificate in your bag?" After wrapping up the topic of the mysterious person, Haruno moved on to another issue that had caught her attention. "You went through my bag?" Yukino's expression turned ice-cold upon hearing Haruno's question. "I didn't. The certificate just fell out of your bag on its own." Though her sister was now angry, Haruno wasn't worried in the slightest. She had, in fact, picked up the certificate from the living room floor, not snooped through Yukino's belongings. "I see... Sorry." As expected, once she heard Haruno's explanation, Yukino's expression softened immediately, even showing a hint of guilt for having misunderstood her sister. "So, who is Hikigaya Hachiman?" Though Haruno already had all the details on Hachiman, she feigned ignorance, asking again while observing her sister's reactions with interest. "He's a member of my club." When she mentioned Hachiman, Yukino's tone remained as steady and detached as ever, without the slightest hint of emotion. "The club you started — the Service Club, right?" At the mention of the club, Haruno gave a slightly amused smile. As expected of her adorable little sister — she had created such a naive-sounding club with such an idealistic concept... "That's right. He accidentally left his award in the clubroom. I was going to return it to him the next day, but you showed up instead." "I see..." Haruno had already confirmed with Shizuka Hiratsuka that Hachiman had been forcefully recruited into the club. Hiratsuka also said that there was nothing strange about him recently — he was just an ordinary high school student. Haruno trusted her friend, and since Yukino's explanation had no holes, she chose to believe her for the time being. . . . Meanwhile, at the Hikigaya household: the second family meeting. Hikigaya Hachiman sat nervously in the corner of the sofa, while Komachi had taken the central seat with a troubled expression on her face. Just moments ago, she had successfully coaxed the truth out of Hachiman — that he and Yotsuya Miko ate lunch together every day. "A complete miscalculation..." Glancing at her brother out of the corner of her eye, Komachi sighed internally. She had gone through all this effort to raise her brother into a proper slacker, yet he still managed to attract girls? And not just any girl — one bold enough to personally make him lunch and deliver it to him! Ugh. What's worse is that as his sister, she had no way to stop it. After all, this concerned Hachiman's happiness... "Um, there's really nothing going on between me and Yotsuya-san..." Seeing Komachi's face look this grim for the first time, Hachiman raised his hand meekly and tried to explain. "Of course I know that." Komachi shot him an exasperated glare. Of course she knew nothing had happened between him and that girl, Yotsuya Miko. She knew better than anyone just how hopeless her brother was when it came to romance. In fact, she actually admired Yotsuya Miko's courage and persistence in pursuing her brother. If it weren't Hachiman she had set her sights on, even Komachi would be complaining about how oblivious the guy was. "So, what do you plan to do about that girl, Yotsuya Miko?" After thinking it over and finding no real solution, Komachi decided to toss the issue back to the person involved — her brother. "To be honest, I have no idea..." When asked how he planned to handle Yotsuya Miko, Hachiman looked completely lost. At the time, when he noticed her feelings, he had deviated from his usual indirect approach and clearly rejected her, hoping to completely sever any false expectations she might have. Given the situation — how they were the only two who could see spirits, and how he had recently saved her life — it was completely natural for Yotsuya to develop some affection and dependence on him. But once her head cooled down, she should have realized that it was all just an illusion. Unfortunately, things hadn't gone the way Hachiman expected — Yotsuya still seemed to like him...