Chapter 496: Komachi: My Status is Being Threatened
"In my heart, you are all priceless treasures, much more valuable than these pendants."
Hearing such a sentimental statement, the girls in the room blushed.
"Hikki, what are you saying?"
"Are you starting to babble nonsense? Looks like you've fully turned into Hikigaya bacteria."
"Hikigaya-kun, what are you talking about? I'm your teacher!"
"Hachiman-kun, we... we can't do that."
"..."
Seeing the girls' reactions, Hachiman shrugged.
But just then, an ill-timed voice spoke up.
"Senpai, you have so many important people in your heart."
Upon hearing this, all the girls turned their gaze towards Iroha Isshiki, who had just spoken.
Seeing everyone staring at her, the little devil felt overwhelmed by the pressure, taking a few steps back in fear. She covered her mouth with both hands and shook her head frantically.
In the end, it was Hachiman who stepped in to help her out, "Alright, alright, this idiot doesn't know what she's saying. You can just ignore her."
Hearing Hachiman call her an idiot, Iroha felt indignant, but given the situation, she didn't dare to speak up and had to reluctantly accept it.
Since Hachiman had spoken, the girls decided to let Iroha off the hook.
However, Saki Kawasaki hesitantly spoke up, "Are you sure it's okay, Hachiman? After all, these gifts are so expensive, and then there's Keika..."
"It's really no big deal, just some Christmas gifts," Hachiman shrugged.
"Saki, you know that this kind of money doesn't mean much to me. Just consider them small gifts for you and Keika."
"Wow, thank you, Hachi," Keika Kawasaki happily smiled from the side.
But hearing this, Saki Kawasaki couldn't help but feel a bit helpless.
Small gifts...
The value of these "small gifts" was almost equivalent to her family's annual income.
Saki Kawasaki couldn't argue with Hachiman. After all, he had easily lent her five million yen before, so in his eyes, these pendants were indeed just small gifts.
The combined value of her and Keika's pendants was probably another five million.
Now, wouldn't she owe Hachiman even more?
Could it be that in the future she really would have to...?
Not sure what she was thinking, Saki's face turned slightly red.
At that moment, Hachiman seemed to remember something and spoke again, "By the way, if possible, I hope you can wear these pendants all the time. After all, there's an old saying that jade nurtures the wearer, so it's better to keep them close."
He thought about it and decided to remind them, since these were specially made protective charms. If the girls didn't carry them around, it would have been a waste of effort.
The girls didn't pay much attention to Hachiman's words and nodded in agreement.
However, some of the girls who knew about Hachiman's identity as a hero, like Erina and Shizuka, seemed to have guessed something and looked down at the pendants in their hands.
They didn't say anything but carefully put away the pendants.
At this point, Yui pulled out a gift box from her bag and handed it to Hachiman. "Um... Hikki, this is my Christmas present for you."
"Ah, thanks, Yui." Hachiman accepted it with a smile but didn't rush to open it.
Seeing this, the other girls quickly realized it was their turn to give gifts since they had just received one from Hachiman.
They all took out the gifts they had prepared in advance.
Hachiman, of course, accepted them all.
But Saki Kawasaki seemed a bit awkward at the moment. She had been called here unexpectedly today, so she hadn't prepared a gift.
Hachiman, guessing her thoughts, smiled and said, "Saki, you don't need to worry about it. I was the one who suddenly called you here today."
Even though Hachiman said that, Saki still felt embarrassed. After receiving such an expensive "small gift" from him, it was indeed awkward not to have anything to give in return.
But at that moment, Keika Kawasaki spoke up.
"Don't worry about it, sis. I'll give the gift on your behalf."
"Huh?"
Saki was surprised to hear that.
Could it be that her little sister had prepared a gift?
Keika then quickly ran over to Hachiman's side.
Since there were quite a few people here today and not enough chairs, everyone was sitting on cushions on the floor.
Just as everyone was wondering what Keika Kawasaki was up to, the little girl leaned forward and planted a kiss directly on Hachiman's cheek.
"Huh... huh?!"
The girls in the room all widened their eyes in shock at the sight.
But Keika wasn't done yet. After kissing one side, she switched to the other side and kissed him again.
Emmmm...
What was going on?
Hachiman was just as bewildered, completely unable to make sense of the situation.
After the second kiss, Keika finally straightened up and beamed with a happy smile.
"That was the return gift from me and my sister for you, Hachiman. One kiss from each of us. If it's not enough, I can give you more!"
Hearing this, Hachiman felt a sense of impending doom.
Are kids this bold nowadays? How does she know how to flirt at such a young age?
Meanwhile, Saki Kawasaki's face turned beet red in an instant, as if she might burst from embarrassment.
What did Keika mean by "their return gift"? And how could she claim to represent her like that?
This meant that she had essentially kissed Hachiman just now as well.
She felt a bit excited...
Ahhh, what on earth am I thinking?
Imagining herself kissing Hachiman, Saki Kawasaki wanted to curl up in embarrassment.
While Saki was lost in her thoughts, Iroha Isshiki spoke up.
"Senpai, so you really like girls who are younger than you?"
Yui gasped in surprise, "What? Hikki, you actually..."
"That's already a crime," Yukino said coldly, pulling out her phone as if she was ready to call the police.
Seeing this, Hachiman quickly stopped her.
"Hey, hey, it's not like that at all."
"Tch, who knows?" Yukino replied, but she did put her phone away.
Worried about his reputation, Hachiman turned to Keika and said, "Keika, you shouldn't just kiss people like that. Kissing is something you should only do with family or someone you really like."
But Keika just smiled, "Then there's no problem! I like you, Hachi, and it's okay if you become family too."
Hearing this, Saki couldn't hold back any longer.
"Keika, what nonsense are you talking about?"
For Hachiman to become family would mean marrying her, right?
There were only three kids in their family: Taichi was a boy, which was impossible, and Keika was too young, so the only one who could marry Hachiman was her, given their similar ages.
Though she had daydreamed about such things, hearing someone say it out loud was incredibly embarrassing.
Hachiman, on the other hand, couldn't help but twitch his mouth, completely taken aback by Keika's words.
Kids these days are something else—how do they know how to flirt so well?
Feeling that the conversation was heading into dangerous territory, Hachiman decided to change the subject. "Alright, alright, let's eat some cake."
"Yay, cake!" Keika's attention was immediately diverted.
Naturally, Hachiman, as the head of the household, took on the task of cutting the cake.
With a few swift cuts, the cake was evenly divided.
"Here, Keika, this piece is for you."
To everyone's surprise, Hachiman gave the first piece of cake to Keika, which made Komachi widen her eyes in shock.
Could it be that her status as the cutest little sister was being threatened?
Komachi felt a sudden sense of crisis.
But fortunately, Hachiman didn't forget his dear little sister, giving her the second piece of cake.
Soon enough, Hachiman had distributed cake to every girl present.
Luckily, Erina had the foresight to make a large enough cake; otherwise, it wouldn't have been enough.
After everyone had their cake, the party hit its peak.
At the girls' request, Hachiman even performed a little show. Most of them had heard his piano performance before, and while there wasn't a piano now, singing a song was still an option.
With no other choice, Hachiman began to sing.
Even without accompaniment, his skilled vocals captivated everyone. They listened, completely entranced.
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