SWNOVELXO Chapter 105
Chapter 105: Stay Safe
“What’s going on?”
Just as the group was about to continue pounding on the door, it suddenly swung open on its own, revealing a pair of dead-fish eyes staring at them.
Standing outside Hikigaya’s room were Sudo, Yamauchi, and Ike—the trio of dumb apes, along with Hirata, the class leader. The four of them had all rushed over, just as Hikigaya had expected, after receiving a message from Kushida.
Ike and Yamauchi looked especially agitated, practically howling as they tried to barge in. However, Hirata quickly stepped forward and blocked their way.
“Hey, Hirata! What are you doing?!”
“We can’t let Kikyo stay alone in this bastard Hikigaya’s room! Who knows what kind of perverted things he might do?!”
Ike and Yamauchi were furious at Hirata’s interference. Surprisingly, Sudo, who usually opposed Hirata, remained silent this time.
“Regardless of the situation, barging into someone’s room without permission is inappropriate,” Hirata said firmly.
After stopping the two idiots, he turned to Hikigaya and apologized.
“Hikigaya-kun, here’s the situation: Kushida-san messaged us saying she had something important to discuss with you regarding the class. When Ike and Yamauchi found out, they immediately rushed over…”
The meaning behind his words was clear—Ike and Yamauchi had freaked out upon learning that Kushida was alone in Hikigaya’s room. Overcome with jealousy, they came here not out of concern, but to “teach Hikigaya a lesson.”
From Hirata’s attitude, it was obvious he wanted to prevent a conflict. After all, Hikigaya had already made waves in class by publicly butting heads with Sudo, earning a reputation as someone not to be messed with. The once unassuming, socially withdrawn dead-fish-eyed loner had turned out to be a troublemaker.
“You wanna come in? Go ahead.”
Hikigaya’s unexpected nonchalance caught everyone off guard. Instead of getting angry, he stepped aside, making room for them.
Ike and Yamauchi, true to their monkey instincts, were about to rush in like “heroes rescuing the damsel in distress”—when suddenly, everyone’s phones vibrated with an incoming message.
“Huh? It’s from Kikyo!”
Ike shouted excitedly. But in the next second, his face fell.
“Wait… what the hell?! Kikyo-chan already left?!”
Although Hikigaya couldn’t see their messages, the disappointment on their faces told him everything he needed to know.
Still unwilling to give up, Ike and Yamauchi craned their necks to peer inside, hoping for a glimpse of their “angel”—but found nothing. With no other option, they grumbled and cursed at Hikigaya before leaving.
Sudo, however, lingered for a moment. He glanced at Hikigaya with an unreadable expression, as if wanting to say something—but in the end, he said nothing and left with the others.
“I’m really sorry for all this trouble, Hikigaya-kun,” Hirata apologized again.
“Ike and Yamauchi were just worried about Kushida-san. Please don’t take it personally.”
Hikigaya felt speechless.
Why the hell was Hirata apologizing for other people’s stupidity?!
And this wasn’t even the first time!
Was Hirata some kind of classroom mom who had to clean up everyone’s mess?!
“I have to go now, but please be careful, Hikigaya-kun.”
Before leaving, Hirata patted Hikigaya on the shoulder and gave him an inexplicably strange look.
As Hikigaya closed the door, his eyes landed on a pair of shoes sitting by the entrance.
Combining that with Hirata’s weird behavior… Hikigaya suddenly understood.
Hirata must have noticed Kushida’s shoes the moment the door opened. That’s why he deliberately blocked Ike and Yamauchi’s view—keeping them from discovering the shoes and the truth.
More importantly, Hirata had actually covered for him!
Damn, this guy was way too good at playing wingman!
Or… did he do this for everyone, not just Hikigaya?
Either way, Hirata’s parting words really stung.
Damn it!
Was this what it meant to be a cool, confident normie?!
—
Back inside the room, just as Hikigaya was processing everything, the bathroom door opened.
Kushida walked out slowly, holding her phone.
“Oh? I thought you wouldn’t care at all,” she muttered.
Hikigaya casually sat back on his bed while Kushida, looking visibly upset, took a seat in the chair he had been using earlier.
To be honest, Hikigaya had been kind of looking forward to seeing the monkey trio’s reactions if they had actually walked in and seen Kushida inside.
But this girl was fast. The moment she realized her plan had failed, she immediately switched tactics.
Everything had been going according to her script—but at the last critical moment, it all collapsed.
Once Hikigaya completely exposed her, Kushida had even considered stripping off her clothes, running out of the room, and dragging him down with her in a no-win scenario.
But in the end, reason won out over emotion.
Despite the overwhelming shame and unwillingness, Kushida forcibly swallowed those feelings. She even had to clean up the mess herself in the end.
Just thinking about it drove her crazy!
She grabbed the coffee on the desk and chugged it down in one go.
The next second—
“Pfft! What the hell is this?! It’s way too freaking sweet!”
Kushida immediately spat out a mouthful of coffee, and unfortunately… Hikigaya became the victim.
A moment ago, she had been furious and frustrated, but seeing Hikigaya’s sorry state completely broke her—she burst into uncontrollable laughter.
—
After coming out of the bathroom, Hikigaya’s expression darkened as he glared at Kushida, who was still making herself at home.
Now that her scheme had failed, Kushida didn’t even bother pretending anymore. Instead, she completely dropped the act and let her true self out.
She shamelessly plopped onto Hikigaya’s bed, messing up the neatly arranged books on his desk.
“Tsk, tsk… I can’t believe you actually read this kind of disgusting novel.”
Still lying on his bed, Kushida picked up a light novel, flipping through its pages while mercilessly critiquing it.
And when she got to the more risqué illustrations, she scoffed and roasted him even harder.
“Ugh, typical! You boys are all the same! Just a bunch of pervs who love these brainless, basketball-boobed bimbos!”
She continued reading aloud:
— A girl changes clothes in the classroom and is accidentally seen by a guy? Out of fear of being misunderstood, they both hide in a locker? Then they trip, and—oops—he lands with his hand on her chest?!
Kushida grimaced in pure disgust.
“What kind of braindead plot is this?! Only a clueless virgin author could come up with something this stupid!”
Despite insulting both the book and its author, she kept flipping through the pages with great enthusiasm.
Hikigaya, watching this, felt completely speechless.
Instead of arguing, he simply ignored her, picked up a book, and started reading himself.
SMACK!
Kushida snapped the book shut, having finally finished it. She jumped off the bed, looking noticeably in a better mood.
Then she turned to Hikigaya and called out—
“Hey, let’s make a deal!”