COTE : There is Something Wrong With Hikigaya

"I'm Hashigaki, the captain of the archery club..." 

On the stage in the middle of the gym, a girl in an archery uniform introduced her club to the crowd. 

Following her, the captains of the school's top sports clubs stepped forward—Miyuki, the baseball team's captain and catcher; Oikawa, the volleyball team's ace; Tachibana from the swimming club, and so on. 

Besides these popular sports clubs, there were also plenty of niche and cultural clubs, such as flower arranging, tea ceremony, calligraphy, and karuta. 

Among them was a particularly unique competitive card game—mahjong! 

After being sent back in time, Hikigaya noticed that not only had his relationships with people changed, but the world itself had also undergone some shifts. Competitive mahjong had become a worldwide sensation, and a booming era of all-girl rock bands was in full swing. These things didn't exist in his original timeline. 

Just then, the atmosphere in the gym changed. 

Both Hikigaya and Haruno instinctively looked toward the stage, where only one person remained—a bespectacled male student. 

The air around him was completely different from the previous club representatives. Hikigaya also noticed that the senior students who had been introducing their clubs earlier were suddenly much more serious. It was clear that this sudden pressure was coming from the student on stage. 

Not everyone could pick up on such subtle shifts in the atmosphere. Most of the freshmen were oblivious, and some even started whispering and laughing. 

That includes you two—yeah, you, the idiot duo who have no sense of the mood! 

Sure enough, Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudou were all here at the club fair. 

Surprisingly, the expressionless guy and the ice-cold girl were also together. Since when were they this close? 

Gradually, more people started to notice the tension in the air. The once noisy gym fell silent, as if someone had flipped a switch. 

This student had complete control over the room. 

Then, the bespectacled senior finally introduced himself. 

"Horikita Manabu, the student council president?" 

Hikigaya muttered to himself. No wonder he had such a strong presence. 

"...The student council and club activities are, in principle, not allowed to overlap. Those interested in joining should take note." 

"The school has granted the student council the authority and responsibility to change the rules..." 

"We will fairly evaluate the value of every student. Those who hold naive ideas are not welcome in the student council." 

"We only accept students who understand this." 

With that, the imposing third-year student stepped down from the stage. 

It took a few seconds before the gym returned to its usual noisy state. 

"Interesting." 

Hikigaya murmured. 

The student council president's speech had been short, but it carried a lot of meaning. 

If you didn't understand the truth behind this school, you probably wouldn't grasp what he was really saying. 

Not only that, but Chabashira-sensei's speech on the first day and the rules written in the student handbook seemed to be hiding something as well. 

It was obvious that, unlike the silent upperclassmen, most of the first-years had no clue. 

Except for one person. 

"Yukinoshita-san, are you thinking about joining the student council?" 

Seeing the faint smile on Haruno's face, Hikigaya had a strange feeling—almost like she already knew the truth about this school.

But Haruno didn't answer Hikigaya's question. Instead, she spoke as if talking to herself. 

"Hikigaya-kun, did you know? This place is like the Holy Grail that can grant any wish! Don't you have something you wish for? A dream you want to come true?" 

A wish…? 

Hikigaya paused for a moment, a bitter feeling welling up inside him. But his face remained emotionless. 

"A wish… I guess I'd like to be a stay-at-home husband." 

For a brief second, Haruno's smile looked like it had glitched. 

"My dream is to become a stay-at-home husband. Of course, if that doesn't work out, I'll just have to work hard like everyone else and end up as an average corporate slave." Hikigaya just went with it, saying it shamelessly. 

"Uh… how should I put this? That's… a pretty unique dream." 

"It's fine. If you want to laugh, just go ahead." Hikigaya's face was blank. 

The moment he finished speaking, Haruno, who had been holding back her laughter, finally burst out laughing, even tearing up a little. 

Come on, is it really that funny?! At least try to hold back a little! 

"Seriously, I've never met someone as funny as you. Saying 'I want to be a stay-at-home husband' is total social suicide!" Haruno clutched her chest, catching her breath between laughs. 

"Hah? A dream is something you long for, something you hope for, right? If you're too embarrassed to even say it out loud, then not even a god could make it come true." 

In reality, Hikigaya didn't hate working, nor did he actually want to be some kind of freeloading loser living off a woman. He simply hated dealing with people, disliked the constant need to tiptoe around relationships with colleagues, clients, and bosses. 

Dreams are dreams because reality exists. So, Hikigaya's dream of being a stay-at-home husband didn't actually contradict the fact that, in reality, he'd likely end up as a regular office worker crammed into trains every day, working long hours with barely any breaks. 

More than anyone, he understood the gap between dreams and reality. 

"Tsk tsk, saying 'I want to be a stay-at-home husband' in front of a girl is definitely a turn-off. Maybe that's the real reason Hikigaya-kun isn't popular with girls?" 

"If love and marriage require lying to keep things going, then I'd rather stay single forever. As long as Komachi is around, that's all that matters." 

Having been socially humiliated multiple times in love-related situations—like mistaking kindness for romantic interest and getting rejected after confessing, or walking home at the same time as a girl (just by chance) and being mistaken for a stalker—Hikigaya had long since stopped entertaining silly thoughts about whether any girl liked him. 

"Hope you don't mind me asking, but… Komachi is?" 

"Obviously… my little sister." 

Haruno's eyes widened as she covered her mouth in shock. 

"Did I just learn something I wasn't supposed to? No, wait! Should I be calling the cops right now?!" 

Hikigaya's face darkened. He quickly forced himself to stay calm. 

"K-Komachi and I have a perfectly normal sibling relationship! Liking little sisters is justice! There's nothing wrong with it, and you… you can't just make false accusations like that!" 

Then, he silently added in his mind: Of course, my dad, who's crazy about his daughter, must never find out about this, or I'll be dead for sure! 

"Well… technically, liking your little sister isn't a crime. But hold on, why are you saying 'liking little sisters is justice' with such confidence?! This is the part where you should be denying everything three times and then apologizing on your knees!" 

Faced with Haruno's accusations, Hikigaya showed no guilt or shame whatsoever. In fact, it was like he had "My Little Sister Is Just That Cute" written all over his face. 

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