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When it comes to physical endurance, there’s no doubt about it—women are naturally inferior to men.
At least, that’s what Hikigaya Hachiman believed.
And yet, here he was, sitting on a sofa in a clothing store, completely exhausted, while Juke continued shopping as if she had an infinite supply of energy.
It had already been two hours.
She was currently holding a white off-shoulder dress in front of the full-length mirror, tilting her head slightly as she examined herself from different angles.
Meanwhile, Hikigaya slouched into the couch, his arms crossed, sighing to himself.
This was unfair.
Completely unfair.
The worst part? She hadn’t even bought anything yet.
Who knew how much longer this would go on?
"If you like it, why not just buy it?" Hikigaya asked, his tone laced with fatigue.
He glanced at the price tag. "Five thousand yen is a bit pricey, but it’s not like you can’t afford it, right?"
Although he wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about fashion, he knew that summer clothes usually cost around five hundred yen. Girls’ clothing tended to be a bit more expensive, but even then, five thousand yen was still on the high side.
This must be from some light luxury brand.
Ordinarily, this would be unaffordable for high school students.
But in this school, where every student had just received a hundred thousand points, it wasn’t out of reach.
"You wouldn’t even spend all your points in a week," he added.
Juke shook her head.
"I can’t," she sighed. "If I buy this, I won’t have enough points to last me the rest of the month."
She hesitated for a moment before turning to him with a puzzled expression.
"Wait... Didn’t we all hand over seventy thousand points? Why do you still think this is affordable?"
Hikigaya froze.
Hold on.
Did they actually hand over their personal points to Ichinose for safekeeping?
He had assumed it was just some sort of trust exercise, but now it seemed these people really were that naïve.
What if Ichinose decided to keep the points for herself?
No, Hikigaya didn’t believe Ichinose would do something like that.
But still—leaving your personal earnings in someone else’s hands? It was ridiculous.
This was like entrusting your salary to a coworker and hoping for the best.
It was something he would never do.
"Ah... wasn’t it voluntary?" he asked awkwardly.
Juke’s eyes widened in disbelief. She took a step closer, scrutinizing him.
"Wait... You didn’t pay?"
"Yeah."
Hikigaya nodded without hesitation.
Ichinose must have picked up on his refusal, which was why she hadn’t insisted.
But wait—did this mean the entire class had already handed over their points except for him?
Would he be ostracized for this?
No, probably not.
Ichinose was far too kind to exclude someone over something like this... right?
If even someone as gentle as Ichinose rejected him, Hikigaya might as well just give up on socializing altogether.
"Wow," Juke muttered, staring at him in admiration. "You’re seriously bold."
Hikigaya shrugged. "What’s so bold about it? If you don’t want to pay, just don’t pay."
Juke let out an exhausted sigh. "That’s not how it works. The atmosphere at the time made it impossible to refuse."
She leaned back against the sofa, rubbing her temples.
"I don’t think Ichinose would steal our points or anything," she admitted. "But still, how could they just hand over their money so happily? Shouldn’t they at least hesitate?"
This is what happens when you try too hard to be the nice guy.
Serves them right.
Then again, judging by Juke’s reaction just now, it was clear she wasn’t as irrational as some of her classmates.
She wasn’t even willing to spend five thousand points on a single outfit.
Maybe, in her mind, Ichinose managing their points really was the smarter choice.
Hikigaya smirked. "Just so you know, I’m not lending you any points."
"I wasn’t going to ask," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "But tell me, Hikigaya, do you actually think you can save up twenty million points and upgrade to Class A?"
"As if," he scoffed. "You do realize these points can be exchanged for cash after graduation, right? Why waste them on some pipe dream?"
He leaned back and smirked.
"Instead of stressing over Class A, I’d rather save up and find a rich woman to be my sugar mommy. Then I can just be a househusband and live in peace."
Juke blinked at him.
Then, she shuddered.
"You’re seriously the worst..."
Hikigaya took a sip of his milk tea.
MAX Coffee didn’t exist yet, so he had to settle for this.
It wasn’t ideal, but it would do for now.
"You say that," he replied, "but I don’t see you walking away."
Juke sighed and stood up.
"Whatever. I already knew you were a terrible person."
She smoothed out the hem of her skirt and stretched.
"Alright, let’s go. I still need to try on more clothes."
"Eh? You’re not buying anything?"
Juke tilted her head, confused.
"I told you already. I came here to shop, not to buy. I already got casual clothes with Ichinose and the others two days ago."
...Then what was the point of all this?!
So shopping really just meant walking around and looking?
Hikigaya would never understand women.
Later, outside the store...
"Are you seriously doing this?" Juke asked, exasperated.
The school did provide free clothing.
Of course, the selection was... less than desirable.
Most of the clothes were outdated by several years, or worse, had designs so embarrassing that wearing them would be a crime against fashion.
They were free, sure.
But if students discarded them randomly, it could reflect negatively on class points. The store’s surveillance system made sure of that.
"As long as it’s comfortable, who cares?" Hikigaya shrugged as he walked into the store, quickly selecting a black, white, and gray solid three-piece set.
"That’ll be 175 points in total," the cashier informed him.
Juke groaned.
"That’s so plain," she muttered. "You’re definitely the type to stay in your dorm all day and never go out."
"Who cares?" Hikigaya shot back. "We have school uniforms, don’t we?"
Juke sighed, rubbing her temples again.
"Alright, alright. Just stand still for a second," she ordered.
She grabbed a blue long-sleeved shirt from the rack and held it up in front of him.
"At least try to look like a human being. Straighten your back!"
"...Fine."
Hikigaya stood up straight, watching Juke’s focused expression as she carefully selected clothes for him.
For some reason, he found himself keeping quiet.
Could it be?
Had he misjudged her?
Maybe Juke wasn’t as bad as he thought...
In the end, she chose a beige pair of trousers and a blue shirt for him.
He still didn’t really see the difference.
But at least she wasn’t forcing him to buy expensive clothes.
She had simply done her best with what was available.
That sort of reasonable distance...
Yeah.
Hikigaya kind of liked that.
(End of Chapter)
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