No More Targeting Women, Understand?

Previously, Shinichi informed his team about the plan to be executed during the tea party.

Yes, even though it was just a simple tea party where everyone could drink tea and chat, Shinichi had a plan ready to be implemented.

He was responsible for communicating with the males, and the quintuplets were responsible for the females, pulling everyone into two different groups.

To create a sense of camaraderie among the talents in each school and gain the right to speak, Shuchi'in Academy's team, with the most attention, organized interpersonal relationships that could be utilized by everyone, creating a cooperative team advancing with the current era.

The above is the official rhetoric used when reporting to the school. Although Shinichi argued this, whether it could be smoothly implemented remained a question.

After all, among this group of friends, his reputation was not too good, especially with single men. The enmity that men had towards him was a major obstacle in implementing this plan.

From this perspective, it might be easier for Shinichi to contact women. He could start with Seisho Music Academy students, attracting the attention of girls. Using his words and actions to dispel rumors about the 'Harem Demon King,' breaking down barriers between him and the girls, so relationships could progress further.

When a bad impression is turned into a good one, the goodwill it generates will be deeper than what can be accumulated slowly.

A love expert once said: "Changing perspective is the first step to officially conquer a woman."

Although easier said than done, Shinichi assessed his success rate as not insignificant, as long as he was willing to show his face and talk to more girls, it was worth trying.

The problem is, not only did he not want to, but his teammates might not want to either.

So in the end, men will be men, and women will be women.

Regarding how Ichika and the others will have a good relationship with the girls from different schools, Shinichi doesn't need to worry about that; he just needs to try his best to have a good relationship with the boys.

"Today, I want everyone to remember my name..."

Holding a plate of food in his hand, with an evil smile on his lips, he whispered these very accurate words.

Shinichi couldn't wait to walk towards the teenagers who didn't know what they were facing...

△

Leaving the bustling hall, echoes filled the empty corridor.

Like a fish jumping into the water, Hachiman felt his whole body relax.

"Haaa..."

A lonely person wouldn't get used to being in a confined space with many people, and never would.

"...No, it would make people scared to death."

He sighed to himself.

Hachiman preferred living people over corpses.

Thinking about these unimportant things, he walked to the men's restroom, turned on the water, washed his hands, looked at himself in the mirror, and suddenly froze.

"...Ah, I should have brought food."

Although it was somewhat disgusting to bring drinks and food into the restroom for consumption, for Hachiman, surrounded by the quiet environment, if he returned to the uncomfortable party, it was better to smell like disinfectant.

"It's too late..."

Hachiman turned around and left the restroom, preparing to return to the communication space where the game of his good friend was now being played enthusiastically, and men and women gradually started to get to know each other.

The atmosphere was so high that he couldn't stand it, but he couldn't help but admire it.

Because there was no leader from the four Shuchi'in Academy members, there were probably many small groups now. Those less skilled in communication acted as followers to their friends, while those good at communication left their friends to talk to each other.

If it were like this in school and at exchange meetings, Hachiman thought he would get used to it, but he didn't like it at all, even feeling disgusted.

It was difficult for people to understand each other, especially those who were meeting for the first time and basically never spoke to each other. Even if they were in a tea party, the sense of alienation and distance wouldn't disappear just like that.

But they took the initiative to change.

Shuchi'in Academy allowed small groups to directly develop into two large groups.

On the women's side, one of the triplets, Ichika, with an unconscious older sister aura, made people feel close to her.

Yotsuba was full of energy, cheerful and friendly. Many girls who had competed with her in sports approached her and quickly turned enemies into friends, chatting happily.

Itsuki ate very quickly. She focused entirely on the desserts in front of her, but unconsciously, she also got to know other culinary-loving girls. They ate together, but the waitress responsible for refilling the food seemed very unhappy.

The above was Hachiman's observation result as he sat alone in a corner eating lemon chiffon cake.

They each gathered all the women on the field around them, and through the relationships between sisters, they slowly merged three small circles into one big circle.

"Eight out of ten of these things were established under that person's leadership."

Hachiman still remembered when Yukino said these words, her tone mixed with helplessness and acknowledgment.

He wasn't sure if it was directed at Shinichi or the ragdoll cat in the group profile picture selling cute photos.

But Yukino was right; all of this should be that person's plan.

Compared to the beautiful girls from the Nakano family, Hachiman paid more attention to Shinichi, chatting and laughing among the men.

That person was more sociable than he thought. Among the people Hachiman knew, only Yukinoshita Haruno could be compared to Shinichi, and they were fundamentally different.

The number of men present was much fewer than women, but all the men had a lone wolf in their blood. An example was himself, so it was impossible for them to gather in groups and chat like women.

Therefore, Shinichi chose the tactic of defeating everything.

After memorizing information about all the participants, he could easily find topics that interested the other party, and after a few words, he could make the other party change from being cautious to smiling. After exchanging contact information, he went to find the next victim.

Not that Shinichi had never hit a wall, but his sincere and friendly attitude made it difficult to refuse. Some people were not interested in chatting and went to eat their food after talking to him; some, on the contrary, followed him everywhere and talked to the present men, and their friendship with him gradually improved.

Hachiman trembled as he watched from the sidelines because he had just met this person again.

This was too different.

Compared to such a monster, there was a big difference in all aspects.

If there were an communication index equivalent to a fighting index, Hachiman would be a five, Hayama Hayato would be a hundred, and Shinichi would be a thousand.

He naively thought that maybe this person was the same as him.

He naively thought that he could make friends other than Totsuka.

In the end, reality slapped him hard in the face. Faced with a communication monster ten times stronger than Hayama, he might not be able to get close in the future.

And...

"Hey, forget about me."

As the only participant not spoken to, Hachiman laughed to himself and walked out of the restroom slowly.

He didn't care about such things because he disliked noisy atmospheres; it's better to be calm.

Shinichi didn't make any mistakes; he was just wrong in having expectations without permission.

But, of course—

Just a bit, Hachiman felt disappointed.

"Oh, right on time."

A voice suddenly pulled him out of the world where he was alone.

He raised his head in surprise and looked towards Shinichi, who closed the hall door with his foot and walked towards him with a plate full of snacks and two drinks in his hands.

The man just stared at him, showing a casual smile.

"Better stay quiet, right?"

"Hikigaya-kun."

△

"Why did you come out?"

Seeing Hachiman's confused look, Shinichi casually handed him a drink.

"Just giving a bit of sunshine to someone who doesn't have mushrooms growing in their corner."

"Hah?" Hachiman's mouth twitched slightly, and as he was about to show a slightly displeased expression, his eyes widened in surprise, his face turned pale, and he took a step back with crossed arms.

"Can you... Also consider me as your prey?"

"..."

Shinichi glanced at the drink in his hand and seriously considered whether to pour the given cup directly.

"Even so, what's the point of covering your chest?"

Finally, he complained helplessly, "Are you afraid I'll hit your chest with my small hands?"

"At least I can run away facing you without worrying about safety behind."

Hachiman did a disabled version of the moonwalk, and Shinichi looked disgusted.

Shinichi reached out and shook it towards him.

"I'm not interested. Get rid of your drink, or you could imitate the thorny lizard of Australia and absorb water through your skin."

"...Tsk, in terms of biology, I admit you're stronger."

Hachiman stepped forward, hesitated, and then took his drink.

They walked to a corner, leaned against the wooden railing, and chatted side by side.

"How about your 'High School Talent Domination Plan'? Is it over?"

"I didn't do anything considered unpleasant."

"Don't worry about trivial things like that. It went smoothly for both men and women. Congratulations, you did something you've never done in previous sessions."

"It's just that they didn't... By the way, you really noticed. Right, observers see more clearly?"

"No, please call me the Lone Observer."

As he said that, Hachiman felt a bit proud.