Chapter 18: A Full 12 Parts of Wrongness
"..."
Duan Shiji unfolded the wrinkled sheet of paper in his hands, staring at the scrawled, shaky handwriting. He fell silent.
"So? This is going to be a super amazing piece of work—a legendary gal game that everyone will be talking about!" Aki Lun also looked excited beside him.
"Well…" Duan Shiji spoke haltingly, clearly hesitant.
"If it's you, I know you'll understand my wish, right?" Aki's face showed a hopeful expression.
"Ahaha…" Duan Shiji let out an awkward laugh. "It's… not bad. The story's kind of classic…"
What else could I say? Should I just tell him it's totally clichéd and overused to death?
"Right? Right? It's a perfect idea, isn't it!" Aki immediately got pumped up.
"She's just sparing your feelings, that's all."
But the twin-tailed girl didn't hesitate to expose him.
"..." Duan Shiji glanced around, a bit of sweat forming on his forehead.
Maybe noticing his awkwardness—or maybe just trying to ease the mood—Aki quickly began introductions.
"This is Sawamura Spencer Eriri from Class 2-G. She's the ace of the art club."
"This is Kasumigaoka Utaha-senpai from Class 3-C."
"And this is Katou Megumi from Class 2-B…"
But just as he got to Katou Megumi, Aki suddenly stopped.
Duan Shiji also looked over carefully—yet there was absolutely no one in that direction.
"Huh?"
He let out a puzzled sound.
Then, all three of the others suddenly stood up in unison, scanning the area.
Still confused, Duan Shiji stood up as well.
"What's going on?" he whispered to Aki beside him.
"Ah, I'm looking for the heroine…" Aki replied softly.
"…Heroine?" Duan Shiji looked weirded out.
Wait a sec—am I actually living in an anime or a novel? And after meeting me, Aki decided I'm someone worth getting involved with, so now he's going to tell me the truth of this world…
Stop, just stop. What is this, The Matrix?
Eventually, the three of them found Katou Megumi by the drink machine.
Eriri: "She just disappeared on us…"
Kasumigaoka: "Didn't notice her at all…"
Aki: "Her stealth level is insane…"
…
"I really don't know much about this kind of thing… but Aki-kun, maybe… maybe you could try making the core theme a little clearer…"
Because he had to work that night, Duan Shiji left shortly after saying that.
After dinner, Duan Shiji went to work at "Angel's Staircase" as usual.
Honestly, the job was pretty easy, and quite tolerable for Duan Shiji.
But for Kawasaki, who didn't get off until 4 a.m., it was another story.
He'd thought about quitting and letting Kawasaki earn the money alone—but even with his morning paper route and weekend shifts, Duan Shiji only made about 6500 yen a month.
After paying 4500 yen in rent, that left him with just 2000.
Luckily, his younger sister Duan Shiyue was quite sensible. She often worked at the cake shop or convenience store on weekends, bringing in another 1000 yen to help out.
"Well then, get some rest, Kawasaki. I'm heading home," he said as he left for the night.
…
The next morning, after delivering the newspaper and eating breakfast, Duan Shiji went to school again. Classes passed as usual.
After school, Duan Shiji packed up and walked with Hikigaya to the Service Club.
As they walked toward the clubroom, Duan Shiji glanced up at the blank nameplates above the doors—then a sudden thought hit him like lightning.
Wait a second, all the signs are blank… So how am I supposed to find the Service Club?
Today Hikigaya is here, so I won't walk into the wrong room… But what if one day he's not around?
With that unsettling thought, he kept walking, eyes flicking from one blank nameplate to another.
"Good afternoon."
"Good afternoon."
"Mmm, good day."
After exchanging greetings, today's club activities began.
Happily pulling out The Book of Han, Duan Shiji began reading in comfort.
Just like before, no clients showed up. Business was clearly dead.
All three of them were fine with silence, so the room grew extremely quiet.
That's why the knocking sounded so loud.
Knock knock knock.
"Yahallo~~!"
Yuigahama greeted them in her usual odd fashion as she opened the door.
Yukinoshita sighed deeply upon seeing her. "…What is it?"
"Eh? What's with that? You all look like you don't want me here. Yukinoshita-san… do you hate me?" Yuigahama flinched at the flat remark.
Yukinoshita made a thoughtful face and spoke in her usual tone. "It's not that I hate you… it's just a little troublesome."
"But when girls say that, doesn't it basically mean they hate you?" Yuigahama looked shaken—she really didn't want to be disliked.
"So? What brings you here?" Yukinoshita rubbed her forehead.
"Well, you know how I've been getting into cooking lately?" Yuigahama actually looked pretty cheerful.
"…There's no way I could've known that. This is the first I'm hearing of it," Yukinoshita said, looking exasperated.
"It's kind of a thank-you. I made some cookies and brought them for everyone to try!"
Yukinoshita's face instantly went pale.
The first thing that came to mind when it came to Yuigahama's cooking—were those pitch-black, iron-like cookies.
Duan Shiji and Hikigaya exchanged uneasy glances, ready to bolt at a moment's notice.
"No thanks, I'm not really hungry right now. But thank you anyway."
Yukinoshita lost her appetite the moment she heard the word "cookie" and declined immediately.
Still, Yuigahama ignored the rejection, humming a tune as she pulled out a bag wrapped in cute cellophane.
It looked adorable on the outside—but those cookies were probably burnt to a crisp inside, Duan Shiji grumbled inwardly.
"Man~ cooking is so fun! Next time, I think I'll try making a bento. Oh, oh! Yukino, let's have lunch together then!"
"No, I prefer eating alone… Also, 'Yukino' sounds weird. Please don't call me that."
"Seriously? Isn't that lonely? Yukino, where do you eat lunch?"
"In the clubroom… wait. Are you even listening to me?"
Yukinoshita clearly couldn't handle this type of person, casting pleading glances at Duan Shiji and Hikigaya.
But how could Duan Shiji ruin such a sweet and wholesome scene?
He and Hikigaya exchanged a glance—and gave a slight nod.
Hikigaya immediately got the message and stood up to leave with him.
"Hey! Edgelord-kun, Duan-kun."
Just as they stepped out, a blue-wrapped package of cookies came flying toward them from behind.
"It's a little thank-you. You guys helped out too."
In Duan Shiji's hands were a bunch of random, assorted cookies.
In Hikigaya's hands, however… was a big heart-shaped cookie.
Nope. Nope nope nope. This is way more than a little off.
Duan Shiji narrowed his eyes, beginning to seriously suspect something was up.