197-198

197 Miss Haruno, you don't want others to discover your secret, do you

Earlier on, Miura and Komachi had already told her some things about the Yukinoshita family—it was a powerful real estate company based in Chiba.

Unfortunately, Yumeko wasn't able to find Yukinoshita Haruno's contact information on the company's official website.

But she didn't give up. Instead, she opened the chat window with Momobami Kirari. After all, doing such shameful things in the conference room in front of Hachiman wasn't without conditions—Kirari had promised her a favor.

A favor that didn't involve the Momobami family.

Such a favor could be trivial or significant. A favor from Kirari in the hands of an average person might be a chance to change their fate. But in Yumeko's hands... it was merely a tool for pleasure.

Yumeko and Kirari's souls were equal. The favors they exchanged were means to achieve pleasure.

[Yumeko: Momobami-nee, I need your help.]

Kirari, who had just finished enjoying a cleaning service from Ouri, froze. She hadn't expected her promise to be used so soon.

She was a bit curious—what kind of surprise would Yumeko, the gambling-crazed girl from the Jabami family, bring her?

[Kirari: Go ahead.]

[Yumeko: I need the private contact information of Yukinoshita Haruno, the eldest daughter of the Yukinoshita family in Chiba.]

Huh? That's it?

Kirari was slightly puzzled—what was the connection between Yumeko and Yukinoshita Haruno?

Back at the hospital, Kirari had promised not to look into Hachiman Hikigaya's middle school records. The delicious dipping sauce should be saved for when the main course is served. So currently, Kirari wasn't aware of Hachiman's middle school story.

All she knew was that Yukinoshita Haruno had a deep relationship with Hachiman.

[Kirari: I can give it to you directly. No favor needed.]

[Yumeko: Thank you, Kirari-nee!]

Kirari quickly sent over Yukinoshita Haruno's private contact. Her expression was as calm as still water, making it impossible to read her emotions. If Yumeko had just been a girl from an ordinary family, they might have become close friends or even besties.

But sadly, there was no "if."

One was the head of the Momobami family, the other the lowest-ranked. In the Momobami family, where internal strife and devouring each other was the norm, their relationship could never be too close.

"We are the same type."

"Let me see how will you continue, Hikigaya Hachiman."

Kirari furrowed her brow and pressed her hand to the area that had been aching. She could feel Hachiman's ambition vividly—that wild, pure desire to reach the top.

It hurt.

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Back at Yukino's apartment, Yukinoshita Haruno was not in a good mood.

Her expression was odd and she seemed distracted. During dinner, she occasionally glanced at her sister with veiled eyes. Yukino noticed all of this.

"Sis, are you feeling unwell?"

Hearing Yukino's voice, Haruno's hand holding her chopsticks trembled, almost dropping them on the table.

Seeing her sister react like that, Yukino grew suspicious. In all her life, she had never seen Haruno look at her with such a fearful gaze—it was just like the look of someone caught cheating in a drama.

But... cheating? Impossible.

Yukino calmly took a bite of food, but her sharp mind had already picked up on something.

Boldly hypothesize, carefully verify—Yukino gradually deduced the truth.

Could it be… their mother's order had arrived? The thought made even Yukino's face go pale.

As everyone knew, the daughters of the Yukinoshita family didn't have the right to choose their own marriage partners.

The younger daughter was to marry into another family, the older to be part of a political marriage...

That had been their fate. But then, unexpectedly, the sister who always stood by their mother's side suddenly switched sides one day and firmly stood with Yukino. This had given Yukino hope—maybe, just maybe, she could take control of her own life.

But...

Bearing the Yukinoshita name, enjoying the privileges it brought—could she really escape the price that came with those privileges?

Yukinoshita Yukino fell into confusion.

If things truly became hopeless in the end...

Yukino furrowed her brows, her pitiful look evoking a desire to hug and protect her.

But this scene wasn't seen by Haruno, who was guilty and preoccupied.

Just an hour earlier, while at work, Haruno had received a message.

[Miss Haruno, you don't want Miss Yukino to find out what happened between you and Hikigaya Hachiman, do you?]

Seeing this message, Haruno felt like the sky was falling.

How did an outsider know about this?

Who?!

Her first suspicion was Hachiman, but spreading this kind of news would do him no good. At the time, only she, Shizuka, and Yukino had been present. There was definitely no one else.

So the leak had to be on Hachiman's side.

Yukinoshita Haruno's hands trembled as she began negotiating with the stranger on the screen.

[Who are you?]

[Who I am isn't important. What matters is—what price is Miss Haruno willing to pay for my silence?]

[How much do you want?]

Haruno let out a sigh of relief—if it was just about money, that was easy to handle. A flash of cold light appeared in her eyes. If the other party dared to take her money, she could trace them through the network and make them pay in blood.

After all, the Yukinoshita family was in the real estate business.

Don't be fooled by how refined and elegant the two heiresses looked. Behind that glamorous facade was a darkness that Yukino didn't know about.

Anyone who dared to blackmail Yukinoshita Haruno would pay in blood!

[I don't want money. I want you.]

[Remember what I said~ If not, I'll tell Miss Yukino everything.]

Yukinoshita Haruno blankly turned off her phone screen. The request was beyond her comprehension. But with her secret in the other's hands, she had no choice but to comply, no matter how absurd the demand.

And she vaguely guessed who the other person was.

But there was still one thing she didn't understand:

'Why do this? Just to show off in front of Yukino?'

'What a twisted personality.'

As someone older, Haruno had always been extremely careful with Hachiman's private life. But if the other person's personality was so rotten... even as a secret older-girlfriend type, she felt obligated to intervene.

But how she'd intervene—she'd have to meet her in person first.

Until then...

Haruno once again snuck a subtle glance at her younger sister, silently whispering an apology in her heart:

'I'll have to wrong you for now, Yukino.'

198 Yumeko, this is unhygienic~

Late night at the hospital.

After washing up, Yumeko didn't return to her own bed as usual. In an unusual move, she squeezed into the bed of her crazy older sister.

Thanks to their gradually improving financial condition, the paper Yumeko used for folding paper cranes had been upgraded to 1,000 yen notes. The room was filled with paper cranes made from cash. Each day, Yumeko would give some of these dry cranes to patients in the hospital, praying for her sister's recovery.

Yumeko hugged Souko tightly around the waist and began telling her about the day's events.

"Sis, starting tomorrow, I'll switch the paper to Fukuzawa Yukichi(10,000 yen bill), okay?" "Sis~ hurry up and get better."

Yumeko slowly fell into a deep sleep. Under the night sky, Jabami Souko opened her eyes and silently pulled the blanket up to cover the sleeping Yumeko, though it was unclear whether she had regained her senses.

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Early the next morning.

Before the sunlight had fully arrived, a taxi stopped outside the apartment building where Hikigaya lived. A pair of long legs in black stockings stepped out of the car.

Yumeko had deliberately arrived two hours earlier than the scheduled time to Hikigaya's apartment.

She took out the key Hikigaya had given her and opened the lock. As the door opened, Miss Yor stood behind it with a knife in hand, ready for an intruder.

Seeing that it was Yumeko, she revealed a puzzled expression, and the ahoge on her head drooped unconsciously.

"Miss Yor, you're too serious~" "Tokyo is pretty safe; there's no need to be so cautious usually."

Knowing Yor was Hikigaya Hachiman's bodyguard, Yumeko didn't find her reaction odd.

After entering, Yumeko instinctively sniffed the air in the room. Nothing she had expected was there, which left her vaguely disappointed.

She had thought Hachiman might be secretly doing something pleasant with the mature-type Miss Yor.

'Hikigaya-kun is still too conservative~' 'This time, let me personally…'

Yumeko gave a lovestruck smile, which made Yor visibly uneasy.

Miss Yumeko seemed to have some mental issues.

"Miss Yor, are you coming with us to Chiba?"

"Um…" Yor shook her head. "I won't be going. My younger brother recently came to Japan, so I'm going to see him."

"I see~ Well then, I hope Miss Yor has a lovely weekend~"

With a smile, Yumeko brought her milky white index finger to her lips, gesturing for Yor to keep quiet.

She gently closed the front door, tiptoed toward Hikigaya Hachiman's bedroom, and — either intentionally or unintentionally — left the door slightly ajar, creating a gap wide enough to see the entire room.

It was like a forbidden book from Lovecraftian horror — one look and you'd fall into madness. Or like a certain infamous mythical beast — another look and you'd explode.

In any case, upon seeing that door crack, Miss Yor's mind filled with strange thoughts. As a bodyguard and maid, did she have a duty to close that gap to protect her employer's privacy? She pondered this while instinctively sneaking toward the crack, using her assassin training.

As soon as she approached, the sounds from inside made her heart — untouched for twenty-six years — tremble.

[Smooch~] [Squish~] [Slurp~] [Prrr~]

It was the unmistakable sound of suction... If this weren't a slice-of-life story, someone might think a Stand attack was happening.

Upon hearing those sounds, Yor's face turned bright red. Even though she hadn't seen what was happening, her imagination automatically filled in the details. It was a twisted Cthulhu-like vision that caused her mental sanity points to drop from just picturing it internally.

"So... so indecent…"

She slumped weakly against the wall as if struck by a magical attack. This time, no aphrodisiac from Miroslava had been used — and yet her body was completely powerless.

If she ran into Miroslava in this state, she'd probably get knocked out with one move again.

"What's happening to me?"

Yor was puzzled, but the voice of Yumeko coming from inside made her entire body tingle.

In the past, while on unlucky missions, she had occasionally overheard her targets making such vulgar sounds with shameless women. But back then, she could completely ignore it and end their lives amid their terrified screams.

But this time, even though it was only the initial stages, the sounds alone rendered her unable to recover.

Perhaps it was because the voice was eerily similar to her own — it felt as though she herself was engaged in such indecent acts. (Note: Saori Hayami voiced Yor and Jabami in their anime, so they have the same voice)

As a top assassin, she could force her eyes shut, but she couldn't block out her hearing. Those continuous sounds poured into her mind like a drug.

"Y-Yumeko?! What are you doing here?" "Stop, that's unsanitary!" "Hiss—"

And as for Mr. Hikigaya, her employer, he initially seemed to resist a bit upon hearing the sounds. But he soon gave in to Yumeko's lustful domination, crying tears while enduring Yumeko's bizarre "wake-up service."

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Dawn broke.

Yumeko, glowing with satisfaction, and a wobbly-legged Hikigaya Hachiman emerged from the bedroom.

The moment they stepped out, Hikigaya almost slipped, but managed to stay upright thanks to his strong abs. Thinking it was just his own clumsiness, he didn't pay it any mind.

When it came to matters like this, his brain would always stall.

But Yumeko, with a mind clearer than ever after her spiritual cleansing, immediately noticed the culprit behind the near fall — a patch of water hastily wiped away.

Yumeko's lips curled into a meaningful smile.

At this time, Miss Yor had already rushed to the kitchen counter and was gulping down water. As if to hide her flustered state, she unusually pulled out some vegetarian products from the fridge and began making breakfast for the overworked Hikigaya and Yumeko.

You had to appreciate the progress of technology. With the rise of pre-made eggs, even someone like Yor — who wasn't skilled in cooking — could now make a proper meal. Just pop

the pre-cooked egg into the microwave, and you'd get a tasty and aromatic fried egg served on the table.

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Miss Yor kept stealing glances at Hikigaya when he wasn't looking, while taking fierce bites of her egg.

Yumeko saw all of this, but said nothing and did nothing. In fact, she even considered crawling under the table to tease Hikigaya in front of Yor — but was stopped by a stern glare from him.

"Are you kidding me? If you start something this intense in the morning, how am I supposed to show my face today?"

Yumeko reluctantly pulled back her hand and remembered that she might have another "pleasant bonus activity" with Miss Yukinoshita Haruno that evening. So she decided to let Hachiman off the hook for now.

After finishing the torturous breakfast, Hikigaya hurriedly got ready and left with Yumeko to begin their journey back to Chiba.