Hikigaya and the Witches' Romantic Comedy Chapter 36 36: Hikigaya Hachiman’s Confessions Always Fail

The next morning, as Hikigaya walked through the school gates, he felt nurous gazes falling upon him. Whispering voices echoed in the corners, and occasionally, he could hear low, muffled snickers.

Unlike before, the occasional snippets of gossip focused on "Hikigaya" rather than "Sakuraba." It seed the post on the forum had already spread far and wide.

Hikigaya entered his classroom expressionlessly, walked to his seat, and hung his schoolbag on the side hook.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Sakuraba next to him. She had already arrived; her head was bowed, and her fingers gripped the edge of a page so tightly it was wrinkled, yet she hadn't turned it once.

Saeki, in the front row, turned around and shot him a look filled with worry.

Hikigaya shook his head slightly to indicate that he was fine.

However, just as he sat down, he heard the sound of a chair scraping behind him. Tobe's grinning face leaned in, and he draped an arm over Hikigaya's shoulder.

"Yo, Hikigaya!"

He had already resigned himself to the fact that this guy would likely never get his na right.

"I heard you're planning sothing big at noon today?" Tobe lowered his voice, but the excitent on his face was impossible to hide. "The forum is going crazy. You're going to confess to Nikaido from Class J?"

Hikigaya said nothing.

"Holy crap, you've got guts!" Tobe clicked his tongue twice. "That's Nikaido Hiro, the school's famous ice queen. Top of the grade and beautiful to boot. Do you have any idea how many people have confessed to her since the start of the term?"

"No."

"A ton, anyway!" Tobe spoke with high spirits. "But man, your topic-level has been high lately. First you're surrounded by two beauties, and now you're going after the 'flower on a high peak.' Tsk, tsk, you really can't judge a book by its cover."

He spoke a bit too loudly, causing several people nearby to look over.

Hikigaya could hear soone laughing in the back row.

"But seriously," Tobe lowered his voice even further, leaning in closer. "If you do this, what happens to Sakuraba-san and Saeki-san? Weren't those two pretty close to you? Now the whole school is whispering about 'third parties' and 'cheating' and all that, and here you are, going straight for soone else."

He paused, then added:

"Well, maybe it's for the best. At least Sakuraba-san might get a break. Lately, the way she looks... it makes people feel uncomfortable just watching her."

Hikigaya didn't respond.

Tobe patted his shoulder and headed back to his seat, still grinning.

The bell rang, and the teacher entered the classroom, finally causing the stares and whispers to subside temporarily.

But Hikigaya could feel it—all morning, the air was thick with a strange sense of anticipation.

It was as if everyone were waiting for a grand performance to begin.

.

.

.

The lunch bell finally rang.

Hikigaya slowly packed his textbooks and stuffed his bento box back into his bag.

The people in the classroom didn't rush off to eat as they usually did. Instead, the various social circles huddled together, their eyes darting toward him every few seconds.

"Hikigaya-kun."

He turned and saw Saeki standing by his desk. Sakuraba was gone.

"Where's Sakuraba?" he asked.

"She went to the courtyard first," Saeki said softly. "She said she wanted to find a spot over there."

She hesitated, lightly biting her thumbnail—a habit Hikigaya knew she had when she was nervous.

"Hikigaya-kun..."

"Yeah?"

"Are you... really going?"

Hikigaya looked at her. Saeki's blue eyes were filled with nothing but concern.

"It's already co to this," he said.

Saeki pursed her lips and sighed softly.

"I know I can't stop you, but at least... be careful. Don't push yourself too hard. You always say it doesn't matter, but you're actually more easily hurt than anyone..."

Having said that, she gave a small nod and turned to walk toward the door.

Hikigaya waited for Saeki to get so distance before he started walking.

In the hallways, many people were already heading toward the courtyard. He blended into the crowd, hearing various snippets of conversation along the way.

"That's him, right?"

"Is he really going to confess?"

"I heard it's in the courtyard..."

"Those two girls ca too. I just saw Saeki-san and Sakuraba-san by the flowerbeds."

"That's brutal. One is his ex? And the other is his crush?"

"Who knows? Either way, it's pretty pitiful..."

Hikigaya ignored the voices and walked straight into the courtyard.

A large crowd had already gathered.

Hikigaya scanned the area. There were probably dozens of students—so standing by the flowerbeds, so leaning against the hallway pillars, and others leaning out of the windows upstairs.

By the flowerbeds, he spotted Sakuraba and Saeki. Sakuraba's head was down, and Saeki was gently holding her hand. They stood there quietly.

In the center of the crowd, under the cherry blossom tree, Nikaido Hiro was already waiting.

She wore her school uniform, her long black hair fluttering slightly in the breeze. Her blood-red eyes looked forward calmly, her face devoid of expression.

Hikigaya took a deep breath and walked forward.

The crowd automatically parted to make a path for him.

He could feel everyone's eyes locked onto him. He heard the sound of phone shutters, suppressed laughter, and buzzing conversation.

"Here he cos."

"He's actually going to do it?"

"Points for courage..."

"Those two girls are actually standing right there watching. How tragic."

"Look at Sakuraba's face. She looks like she's about to cry."

Hikigaya stopped in front of Nikaido.

There was about a two-ter gap between them.

The air suddenly went silent.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the show to begin.

Hikigaya looked into Nikaido's blood-red eyes.

According to the script, he was supposed to say his confession and then be rejected by her.

Simple.

He opened his mouth.

"Nikaido-san."

His voice was steadier than he had expected.

Nikaido looked at her, saying nothing.

"I..." Hikigaya paused. "I like you."

A stir went through the crowd.

So people whistled, others mocked and jeered openly, and many held up their phones to record.

Hikigaya ignored them and continued.

"From the first ti I saw you, I fell in love with you. Your eyes, your hair, everything about you... I like it all."

He had co up with these lines last night—as cheesy and exaggerated as possible to ensure they were morable.

"So..." He took a deep breath. "Please go out with ."

After speaking, he bowed his head and extended his right hand, assuming the posture of one awaiting a sentence.

According to the script, Nikaido should now coldly say, "I refuse" or "Please don't bother ," and then turn and walk away.

The farce would be over.

The crowd went quiet.

Everyone waited for Nikaido's answer.

Nikaido looked at Hikigaya. She looked at him for a long ti.

So long that Hikigaya began to feel sothing was wrong.

So long that the crowd began to whisper.

"Why isn't she saying anything?"

"Could it be...?"

"No way, right?"

Then, Nikaido spoke.

Her voice was soft, but in the silent courtyard, everyone heard it clearly.

"Okay."

Hikigaya froze.

He looked up at Nikaido.

Her expression remained calm; there were no ripples in her blood-red eyes.

"I said, 'okay,'" she repeated. "I agree to go out with you."

Ti seed to stand still.

Hikigaya's mind went completely blank.

This part was not in the script.

She was supposed to refuse.

She was supposed to say coldly, "I refuse" or "You're being delusional," and then walk away.

She wasn't supposed to...

"Eh?"

Surprised voices erupted from the crowd.

"She said yes?"

"Nikaido Hiro said yes?"

"Is this a joke?"

The discussions surged like a tide.

Hikigaya instinctively looked toward the flowerbeds.

Sakuraba stood there, her pink eyes wide and her face deathly pale. Saeki was supporting her arm, her mouth slightly agape; she clearly hadn't expected this outco either.

He turned back to Nikaido.

"Wh... why?"

Nikaido tilted her head.

"Don't you like ?"

"I..."

"Since you like , and I think you're not bad, let's try dating." She spoke naturally, as if comnting on the weather. "Is there a problem?"

The problem was massive.

But he couldn't find the words.

"Then it's settled," Nikaido said. "Starting today, we are boyfriend and girlfriend."

Having said that, she turned and walked toward the school building.

After a few steps, she stopped and looked back at Hikigaya.

"By the way, let's walk ho together after school."

Then she left.

Hikigaya stood rooted to the spot.

Surrounded by shocked gazes and the rising roar of gossip.

He rembered what Hiro had said yesterday afternoon.

"After tomorrow, you might regret this."

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