"I refuse!"

Without any hesitation, Hachiman Hikigaya jumped aside to avoid Zaimokuza Yoshiteru's dogeza, firmly rejecting his request.

"So cruel… I didn't even say what I was going to ask yet…" Seeing Hachiman's merciless refusal, tears welled up in Zaimokuza's eyes.

"If you hadn't prefaced your request with 'the only request in my life,' I might've listened. But now…" Rubbing his temples as a headache built, Hachiman turned to leave. But Zaimokuza suddenly clung to his leg.

"Don't go! I already promised someone…"

"That's why you should do it yourself since you agreed to it!" Hachiman tried pulling his leg free, but Zaimokuza clung desperately to his pants. To avoid his uniform getting torn, Hachiman reluctantly stopped struggling.

"First off—if it sounds like a hassle, I absolutely won't help."

"Uh… well…" Hachiman's words instantly wiped the hopeful grin off Zaimokuza's face. After some coughing and hesitation, Zaimokuza finally explained.

"Do you remember the boy we met during tennis practice in gym last week?"

"You mean Totsuka Saika?" Hachiman raised a brow. A boy prettier than most girls, and one who had even invited him to join the tennis club—that kind of person was impossible to forget.

Wait… hold on.

If he remembered correctly, Totsuka's grades were excellent. Helping Zaimokuza study would've been no problem at all.

Looking at Zaimokuza, Hachiman suddenly realized the truth.

"Don't tell me… you accepted tutoring from Totsuka, and in exchange, you're supposed to invite me to join the tennis club?"

Thinking about it, with Zaimokuza desperate to avoid remedial exams, such a deal was entirely plausible. After all, isn't that what best friends are for—selling each other out?

"Of course not!" Zaimokuza denied heatedly.

"My dear friend, what do you take me for? Do I look like the kind of guy who would betray a friend just to dodge make-up exams?!"

"…Zaimokuza…" Hachiman was actually a little moved. Maybe he had misunderstood him.

Just as guilt began to stir inside Hachiman, Zaimokuza suddenly dropped into another lightning-fast dogeza.

"So please teach him tennis instead!"

"…."

Hachiman was dumbfounded. Teaching Totsuka tennis sounded way more troublesome than simply joining the tennis club!

"I refuse!" He was about to say those words again when Zaimokuza looked up at him with teary, pleading eyes. Honestly, with his physique, that expression wasn't heartwarming at all—it was just painful to look at.

"Sigh… I'm really busy, you know." Busy slacking off every day, and occasionally moonlighting as an exorcist. Obviously, he had no time to teach tennis.

"But…" Since Zaimokuza was his best friend, Hachiman couldn't just watch him break his promise. He thought of a workaround.

"But?" Hearing the shift in tone, Zaimokuza's despair flipped instantly into hope again.

"You can have him submit a request to the Service Club. Knowing Yukinoshita, she'll definitely help."

"That's it!" Zaimokuza slapped his forehead. How could he forget about the Service Club?

"If that's all, I'm leaving…" Seeing that he understood, Hachiman quickly glanced around and left the stairwell.

"Hachi…" The moment he returned to class, Yui Yuigahama ran over, looking like it was the end of the world.

"Hachi?" Another weird nickname. Hachiman grumbled internally, but outwardly he just nodded in acknowledgment before taking his seat and waiting.

Sure enough, the next second, Yui tearfully confessed that she had accidentally fallen asleep during the exam.

"Uuugh, even though Yukinon trained me so hard and I could do all those problems, I ended up dozing off halfway…" Holding her head in misery, she remembered how she had sworn that morning to oink like a pig if she fell asleep. Now she twisted and squirmed in embarrassment.

And with her squirming, the two massive "mountains" on her chest swayed left and right.

Any normal guy would've been red-faced and flustered at the sight. But Hachiman's heart was utterly unmoved.

He expressionlessly replied, "Oh," before continuing,

"So how many problems did you manage to answer?"

"Uh… I finished the multiple choice and fill-in-the-blanks. For the long-answer questions, I only got through the first one and half of the second…" She stopped fidgeting, thinking hard before answering.

Hachiman quickly recalled the exam content and started calculating her likely score.

"Hachi?" Seeing him fall silent, Yui waved her hand in front of his face.

"If you got the first long-answer problem correct, then you won't have to take a make-up exam."

"Really?" Her face lit up with relief. Though she wasn't the brightest, she was confident about that first problem.

It seemed she'd avoided the dreaded remedials this time…

"Don't get too happy. That was only the first exam." Hachiman couldn't help but caution her. Joy often led to disaster.

"I know, jeez. You're such a nag, Hachi!" Her little fantasy shattered, Yui puffed her cheeks, made a face at him, then hurried back to her seat to review for the afternoon subjects.

"…Why 'Hachi'? Weren't you calling me 'Hikki' before?" Watching her bounce away, Hachiman shook his head. He was just about to pull out his book and prep for the next test when a shadow suddenly loomed over him.

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