70: Kiwatari Jun’s Wretched Hell

70: Kiwatari Jun's Wretched Hell

"Hikigaya-kun is the best friend I've made at Hyakkaou Private Academy."

"You don't have to worry about me anymore. I'll take good care of myself. If anything happens, Hikigaya-kun will help me."

"…"

The "Hikigaya-kun" that Yumeko spoke of sat silently beside her, listening to her casually talk about family matters, not saying a word.

A faint, indescribable feeling welled up in his heart—he felt like he was gradually drifting further away from his original goal.

In the end, lust had taken the lead.

Hikigaya Hachiman sighed quietly to himself.

.

.

.

At Hikigaya Hachiman's strong insistence,

He successfully got his cast removed the next day, and for the first time since being hospitalized, he left for school alongside Jabami Yumeko.

On the way, Hikigaya looked down at his hands, still wrapped in bandages. He flexed his slightly stiff fingers and suddenly realized that his hand posture now resembled Might Guy from Naruto.

Upon arriving at the school gates, Hikigaya saw someone he never expected.

Kiwatari Jun.

His body was tightly chained to the stone pillar next to the school gate. His face was bruised and swollen, covered in patches of blue and purple. His mouth was wrapped in tape, and he could only let out muffled grunts.

His school uniform was in tatters, and the arrogant bully he once was had completely disappeared.

Around his neck no longer hung a dog tag, but instead, a small tape recorder that kept looping a recording.

"I am Kiwatari Jun. I am a stupid dog. I am guilty. I deserve to die."

Classmates passing by stopped to watch, taking photos and videos to post online. Those who had past grudges with Kiwatari stepped up one after another to mock and humiliate him, only leaving once they got bored.

'What a... unique welcome ceremony from Momobami,' Hikigaya thought.

How could he not understand? This was likely Momobami Kirari's "special" way of welcoming his return—deliberately pulling Kiwatari Jun out of prison to humiliate him publicly.

Unfortunately for Kirari, she'd misjudged Hikigaya. No matter how much someone like Kiwatari Jun was shamed, he wouldn't feel a hint of joy.

Now, if it had been Mibuomi Aoi tied to that pillar, maybe Hikigaya would've laughed heartily.

But that day... wasn't far off anymore.

Kiwatari Jun's dim eyes spotted Hikigaya Hachiman in the crowd, and his pupils dilated in rage.

His gaze overflowed with all kinds of emotions—anger, hatred, pleading… but none of it reached Hikigaya, whose silhouette grew smaller and smaller in Kiwatari's vision as he walked away.

However, Kiwatari could only turn his terrified gaze toward the police car in the distance, whose door had just swung open. Two prison guards stepped out from it.

He didn't want to go back to that hell.

If he had known that Momobami Kirari could send him to prison without a trial, could command police and guards at will, he swore he'd never have dared to raise that knife…

But sadly, there were no "what ifs" in this world.

Everything had been taken from him—even the right to call his family, even the right to request a lawyer.

The moment he crossed Momobami Kirari, he had bid farewell to civilized society.

Soon, he would be back in a five-person prison cell—where four men, all more physically imposing than him, were waiting.

Just the thought of that made Kiwatari Jun weep with pain and regret. In the end, under the shoving of the two guards, he was stuffed back into the police car.

And driven away.

Hikigaya walked down the road, and along the way, quite a few people pointed and whispered about him.

"Eh?! Isn't that the guy who got carried out with Kiwatari Jun the other day?"

"His name's Hikigaya Hachiman. I heard that during the gamble, Kiwatari Jun lost and flew into a rage, then tried to stab Hikigaya Hachiman."

"That's breaking the rules—he was thrown into jail by the president that very day."

"I can vouch for that. I was in charge of cleaning the auditorium that day, and I saw a puddle of blood on the floor in one of the rooms. Scared the hell out of me."

Amid all the gossip, Hikigaya picked up on something crucial.

These rumors being passed around by word of mouth didn't mention at all that he was injured because he shielded Momobami Kirari.

In other words, the information had been deliberately controlled—by Kirari herself.

Hikigaya Hachiman's eyes glinted. Momobami Kirari really doesn't want to miss any chance to sit back and enjoy the show, huh.

What consequences would this lead to?

First off, Mibuomi Aoi would only be angry that Kiwatari Jun was an incompetent fool who messed everything up—not fearful that his intended assassination target was Momobami Kirari.

That difference in perception changed everything.

It's like in ancient times—two actors performing for the emperor, and during the act, a conflict breaks out and they pull knives on each other. The emperor would scold the person who recruited the actors but wouldn't actually punish them severely.

But if the one the actor tried to stab was the emperor—that's a capital offense.

There would be no rules, no order. Everything the Full-Bloom King currently maintained would be overturned by Momobami Kirari. All of Mibuomi Aoi's efforts up until now would be in vain. The Full-Bloom Association? Reduced to child's play...

'Momobami was intentionally preserving Mibuomi Aoi's courage to rebel against authority.'

Hikigaya saw through it all. What a vile woman.

An exalted observer, she had already sentenced the struggling ants below to death, yet still insisted on watching them dance their final performance with all their might.

"Hikigaya-kun, did something happy just cross your mind?" came Jabami's sharp voice from beside him. She'd noticed that Hikigaya, usually stone-faced, seemed a bit too cheerful today.

"Just thinking that… it feels good to have a trump card~"

Hikigaya Hachiman smiled and shook his head. Before long, the two arrived in front of the 1-A classroom.

There, Saotome Mary stood with arms crossed. At some point, the cat tag had once again appeared hanging around her neck. Her expression was tense, and only when she saw Hikigaya did she raise her eyes and walk briskly over.

She said gruffly, "Hikigaya, come with me."

"Hm?"

Hikigaya was slightly surprised. Seeing her expression, he handed his bag to Jabami and followed Mary to a deserted corner.

Saotome Mary took a deep breath, her face twisted as she pulled a crumpled check from her pocket and threw it at Hikigaya.

"Your 310 million yen check. Take it." After she said that, it was like the energy drained from her. She looked a bit hollow and defeated.

Hikigaya silently accepted the check, thinking to himself that he hadn't misjudged her after all.

"Your 5 million yen reward—I'll transfer it to you after school today."

"Yeah." Mary gave a half-hearted wave and turned to leave, her back looking a little lonely.

Hikigaya thought for a moment and then spoke. "Was it your casino that ran into trouble? That cat tag…"

"Yeah, all thanks to you!" Mary's voice rose several pitches. Then she covered her face and shook her head. "Forget it. It's meaningless to talk about it now. I should've listened to your warning."

"Now I'm just a livestock again."

Her tone of self-pity made Hikigaya frown deeply.

But judging by her demeanor, he could more or less piece it together.

"Mibuomi came for you?"

"Yeah. He used that double-down strategy you talked about. Made me lose everything in the final round. Even with your five million reward, I ended up 2 million yen in debt. A full-on stray cat."

"Since my gambling tricks were exposed in public, now I'm the school's joke… a fraud…"

She paused, then muttered in resignation, "I give up. I'll just be a stray cat. When I get your five million, I'll send it home—then I'll sell myself to Juraku-senpai."

She walked farther and farther away.

"Saotome Mary… do you want to get revenge?"

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