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I went to the neighboring town to visit Hiiragi, a classmate of Ani’s. I made sure to buy a gift for her as well. It’s Ani’s habit to always bring a gift whenever he visits Hiiragi’s home. The reason for this, to put it simply, is to win her over with food.

“It’s been so long since I last came here.”

This was a house Ani frequented a lot during high school. It mainly saw use as a place to have secret talks. This was because in his house, there are times when Isami would randomly barge in, so it wasn’t a secure place.

“My name is Kotone; I’m a friend of Shiho. I came here to visit her, but is she currently at home?”

I pushed the intercom and recited the typical greeting. By the way, Shiho is Hiiragi’s given name. Calling her Hiiragi has become a habit among the classmates, so her given name barely saw use.

“Oh my, thank you for taking the time to visit our idiot.”

There was no reply through the intercom, but in exchange, the door opened and Hiiragi’s mother came out. Still, as always, even her mother calls her an idiot. I know that she’s saying it in jest, but this mother is pretty eccentric too, so I can’t let my guard down.

“Shiho~, you have a guest~”
“I know~”

Hiiragi came down the stairs with her head facing up. Come to think of it, she did injure her neck. Since it was Hiiragi, I expected it to have barely any effect on her, but it seems like it’s pretty serious. She’s not faking it, is she now?

“Been while~ Now, let’s go to my room~”
“Pardon the intrusion.”
“Do you need anything?”
“Don’t worry about it, mom. She doesn’t have any tolerance, you see.”

During Ani’s high school days, only Hiiragi had the tolerance. As for the others, Hiiragi managed to stop them before it was too late, so there weren’t any victims. Please don’t serve stuff that’s over its expiry date.

“So you’ve managed to clear the first trap.”
“Make that the first and last. There won’t be any problem if we just use your stash. Also, here, the usual present. ”
“Ohh, cream puffs. I’ll have to at least serve coffee, then.”

After going down to the ground floor, Hiiragi returned with a tray carrying two cups of coffee. She was facing up the whole time, so I’m surprised she can go down and up the stairs with her injury. While carrying a tray of drinks at that.

“Here, your drink. Have some of the cream puffs too.”
“That looks… pretty painful.”
“Man, I really didn’t expect neck injuries to be this awful.”

So she didn’t injure her neck as a student, huh. I assumed that Hiiragi had been through all varieties of injuries, but I guess I’m wrong. I do know that she’s weak to persisting pain, though. Actually, she rarely experiences pain that continues for several days.

“Still, I should probably act normally soon. After all, an esteemed member of the twelve families is present.”
“You know I don’t care about that.”
“Well, it’s not like this is my first time meeting Kotone. And I already know the members of the twelve families are weirdos.”
“I’m not a weirdo.”

Shimotsuki and Hadzuki certainly are weirdos, and I also agree that Fumidzuki does fit the bill. However, I just want to say that I’m absolutely different. The actual weirdo is the person in front of me, and a crazy one at that.

“Well, I think people who completely vibe with Souji automatically count as weirdos, to be honest. ”
“Want your head shook?”
“Seriously, please don’t.”

I felt like I was insulted twofold, so I locked on what has become Hiiragi’s current weak point. Yup, it’s so easy to manipulate people who have a clear weakness. I’m absolutely being a villain.

“Even a lunatic feels a lot less threatening when injured.”
“Who are you calling a lunatic?”
“You, it’s you. As usual, you’ve been causing a lot of outlandish trouble, haven’t you?”
“Not in particular.”
“You’re lying. No one would believe you having an uneventful life.”

I’m pretty sure the classmates will agree with my sentiment. Due to Hiiragi living through outlandish experiences day by day, her sensibilities are different from a regular person’s. Unlikely happenings for normal people are considered normal for her standards.

“Well, I guess I did get flung like a manga character recently. I just tripped on my feet running at full speed and didn’t stop. Something like that has already happened before, I think.”
“That was personally a hilarious memory for me, so I still remember it. ”

The circumstances were different. Hiiragi was running full speed on the school corridors, and she wanted to make a sharp turn, but she couldn’t stop and ended up tumbling like a wheel. It left the onlookers speechless and us, her classmates, laughing.

“If it was a regular injury, I can just tolerate it. But as usual, it’s pretty rough when you get damage to the nerves.”
“To begin with, have some self-awareness that getting nerve damage is rare in and of itself.”

I have no idea why she’s talking about it like it’s a normal occurrence. People actually suspect that what seems to be a serious injury for others might just feel like minor scratches to her. And the worst part is that she doesn’t deny it.

“Still, you know how, in anime or manga, the characters don’t seem to feel pain when there’s blood entering their eyes? That’s a lie.”
“What are you on all of a sudden?”
“While it does turn your vision red, it actually feels like a pile of gravel was being rolled on your nerves. The pain nearly even made me scream.”
“This isn’t really a discussion to have in front of food.”

It’s killing my appetite. Rather, did you experience bleeding from your head recently or something? And if I believe what Hiiragi was talking about, then that means she was able to endure that pain. As I thought, there’s something wrong with her.

“How about this, then?”
“I’m relieved to see that you’re as bizarre as always. Nothing has changed at all, huh.”
“Says the person who changed the most. So, this is important, but do you want me to see you as Kotone? Or as Souji?”
“You have the most conflicted position.”

Among the classmates, Hiiragi is the only one who can’t simply choose one or the other. She knew Ane a bit when she was young, and she’s a classmate of Ani. As she knows both of them, I also thought it’d be difficult to deal with her. Up until I met her, that is.

“Middle of the road, please.”
“Roger that~”

Since she’s a lunatic, I thought it’d be fine to ask an unreasonable demand of her, and it seems like I was right. I guess the title of rogues den’s leading weirdo is just not for show.

“Still, I never would have expected that small girl to grow this much. I’m feeling a bit emotional now.”
“Says the idiot who encountered us while being lost at that time; what are you even talking about?”
“Call it a fortunate error.”

On that day when Ani and Ane met, they actually came across Hiiragi as well. It was an honest coincidence, and as a result of Ani’s negotiation, Hiiragi didn’t tell anyone a word, and it was all but forgotten. If not for there being physical evidence of it.

“I really do feel bad for barging in on your date.”
“Says you after extorting someone for a meal on sight.”

As she forgot her house keys and was locked out, Hiiragi was loitering around the streets. At that time, she found Ani and Ane together, and since she didn’t have any money at hand, she threatened Ani to tell the others about this to get a free meal. Even Ane’s look of disdain was ineffective against her.

“I didn’t expect to get that sort of gaze from such a small child. The free food was delicious.”
“We practically swore to completely forget about that matter.”

That’s why Ani and Ane forgot that they even bumped into Hiiragi. Ane had the worst impression of Hiiragi at first, but it managed to get better by the end. However, the two of them both consider her to be a lunatic.

“Personally, I think that last move was pretty genius. Like, why forget even that part?”
“We returned the favor. That’s our shared answer.”
“And as for Kotone?”
“Seeing a lunatic screeching while performing a drop-kick with a large smile, I didn’t want to believe what I saw to be reality.”

It might sound incomprehensible to others, but I’m explaining it as it is. Still, it’s also thanks to Hiiragi that Ani and Ane were able to say proper farewells. And since she did them a favor, they got even with the free dinner I mentioned.

“Umm, where did I keep it again? I’m pretty sure I know what you came here for.”
“A picture of us two. Probably the only image capturing both of us.”

A picture that has both Ani and Ane together. Picking it up here is my objective. It’s physical proof that Ani wanted to keep hidden and a memento that Ane forgot to ask for. Now, wouldn’t me receiving this be the best form of revenge?