Hikigaya's Inner World of Spring

After kissing Hikigaya, Yukinoshita continued showering him with encouragement and care. To her delight, she discovered his Corruption Level had dropped further to 13/100.

Indeed, the woman Hikigaya truly loves is me!

Yukinoshita couldn't contain her smug satisfaction.

Fixing her hair in front of the mirror, she spoke with a composed tone:

"I've decided—if you complete the task I gave you before the week is up, we'll go on a date this weekend."

Standing beside his girlfriend, Hikigaya's face turned even redder. Nervously, he asked, "A d-date? What exactly does that mean?"

Yukinoshita turned to him with an exaggerated roll of her eyes.

"Dummy. What do you think it means for a boyfriend and girlfriend to go on a date?"

Hikigaya froze in place. "Eh?!"

[Ding! Hikigaya Hachiman's Corruption Level has changed.]

[-1 Corruption Point]

[Current Level: 12/100]

Perfect! As expected, the more I show Hikigaya my love, the guiltier he feels. That guilt draws his attention back to me, reducing his Corruption Level naturally!

"Ugh, I don't think this is possible…" Hikigaya muttered as he avoided eye contact with Yukinoshita. "Making friends with three girls is way too hard. And as for Senpai, she might not even…"

Hmph! Yukinoshita immediately caught on to what Hikigaya was about to say. He wanted to confess what had just happened. But there was no way she would let him do that!

With a calm, reassuring voice, Yukinoshita interjected:

"Senpai is a wonderful girl. I believe you two are already good friends. So now you only need to befriend two more girls."

"Uh…" Hikigaya hesitated, then sighed deeply. "That's not it. This weekend, I probably won't be able to go to her house anymore. I mean, Senpai and I as 'friends' or whatever… might be…"

"Hikigaya-kun!" Yukinoshita cut him off sharply. Her tone suddenly became stern. "Can't you have more confidence in yourself? Kasumigaoka-senpai genuinely appreciates you. She sincerely sees you as a friend! Don't disappoint her, alright?"

Hmph, refusing to visit her house?

How are the two of you supposed to sleep together later?

No sleeping together? I'll lose 10,000 points!

"Yukinoshita, you…" Hikigaya looked at his girlfriend, dumbfounded by her uncharacteristic firmness.

"Anyway, I've acknowledged Kasumigaoka-senpai as your friend!" Yukinoshita declared with an air of authority. "Do you have any objections, Hikigaya-kun?"

"…None…"

Seeing his girlfriend's sudden assertiveness reminded Hikigaya of a particularly grueling afternoon when he had been thoroughly tormented by her. Reluctantly, he nodded obediently.

"That's more like it." Yukinoshita's stern expression melted into a gentle smile as she added softly,

"After helping Senpai at her house, we'll go on our date. I'll reward you however you like since, well, it's been a week since we last… ahem."

"Eh? That's really not necessary…" Hikigaya's face darkened as he hastily waved off her suggestion. "I don't need any rewards. I'll just focus on completing the task."

"What?" Yukinoshita pouted, her expression faintly tinged with disappointment. "Hikigaya-kun, are you saying you don't want to go on a date with me?"

"!"

Hikigaya had never seen Yukinoshita look so disheartened before. To him, this vulnerable side of her was utterly unfair—it was too cute!

Recalling the physical training he had been doing lately, Hikigaya felt a surge of determination and quickly corrected himself.

"Of course not! Fine, I'll do it. If I finish the task, we'll go on a date this weekend."

Hearing his change of heart, Yukinoshita's face lit up instantly.

"See? I knew you wanted the reward after all, Hikigaya-kun!"

Blushing furiously, Hikigaya grumbled, "…I don't!"

"Hehe~" Watching Hikigaya's flustered reaction, Yukinoshita felt triumphant.

"Little bug~ I'll be waiting for you this weekend!"

"Hey! Don't underestimate me like that!"

Hikigaya's fighting spirit flared up, leading to yet another playful exchange between the two.

[Ding! Hikigaya Hachiman's Corruption Level has changed.]

[-2 Corruption Points]

[Current Level: 10/100]

Wonderful, it's gone down again!

With Hikigaya's Corruption Level dropping further, Yukinoshita finally felt a sense of relief.

However—

As she prepared to bid him goodbye, her sharp eyes caught sight of a blonde girl standing by the bookshelf nearby.

The girl—Sawamura Eriri—was reaching up on tiptoe, struggling to retrieve a book.

Yukinoshita's instincts kicked in, and she quickly nudged Hikigaya, who was just about to leave.

"That girl over there is Sawamura-san from your study group, right?"

Hikigaya glanced over. "Oh, yeah."

And with that, he showed no further interest, ready to walk away.

Yukinoshita: "??"

What's with that "oh"? And why are you leaving already?

Seeing Hikigaya's indifferent attitude, Yukinoshita grew frustrated and gave him a light shove.

"Dummy, go help her!"

"But she can probably reach it on her own…"

"Go help her!" Yukinoshita insisted, exasperated. "Use this as an opportunity to befriend her! Honestly, how can you be in the same study group and still have such a distant relationship?"

"Fine, fine, stop pushing me. I'm going…"

Sighing in defeat, Hikigaya reluctantly made his way toward the struggling Eriri.

"That's more like it." Yukinoshita smiled approvingly.

Still…

Even as she felt satisfied with her efforts, she couldn't help but grumble internally: Why do I always have to push him into action? Sigh, Hikigaya-kun being this passive is really troublesome…

If things went like this in bed, she thought bitterly, she'd probably have to take the lead there, too.

For now, she brushed aside those woes.

The priority was for Hikigaya to build a proper friendship with Sawamura.

Watching quietly from behind a nearby shelf, Yukinoshita resolved to intervene if necessary. After all, if Hikigaya only grew close to one girl—Kasumigaoka—it would be risky. She couldn't let Senpai gain too much influence over him.

The key was balance: spread out Hikigaya's guilt by having him interact with multiple girls. That way, as the girlfriend with the highest affection score, her position would remain secure.

Hikigaya-kun, let's see how you handle Sawamura-san, she thought, ready to act if needed.

***************************

patreon(.)com/GodDragcell