Chapter 441: Even a Lie
Chapter 441: Even a Lie
He didn’t dwell on the strange mix of “Demon King” and “Hero.” Because the moment he heard “Contractor,” Himekoji froze completely.
“Crack!”
A sharp cracking sound echoed deep in his mind. It was so clear, like the sound of a cage holding memories being pried open.
Fragmented images and voices spilled out at first, scattered and broken. Then, suddenly, it was like a dam bursting. Memories flooded back in a surging torrent.
A petite figure appeared—
“See?”
On that moonlit night, small feet clad in black over-the-knee socks pressed lightly on the railing. She held her skirt down, blinked, and asked him softly,
“Want to look?”
Then the scene changed. They were in the classroom—
“Because, Akito, you were chosen to be my tutor!”
Her adorable, delicate face wore a look of dead serious certainty.
After that, the setting became their home—
“Akito is special to me!”
“One of a kind!”
“The only Contractor in the whole world!”
“Akito, since we’re both Contractors, we should make our email addresses follow the Contractor format.”
“For example, mine is EvileyeRikka0612@XX.xxx, so yours should be EvileyeAkito0612@XX.xxx.”
Suddenly, Himekoji’s own voice joined the memories—
“Why does my number have to be the same as yours?”
“Because June twelfth is my birthday.”
“No, I mean why do I have to put your birthday on mine?”
“Because Akito is my Contractor.”
…
The images swirled and shifted back to the classroom—
“Hey, Rikka! You’re a student! Your main job is studying!”
The Himekoji in the memory seemed stressed by her antics. He spoke sternly and seriously, as if he had no other choice.
“Huh? I don’t get what you’re saying at all, Akito. Our main job is definitely to fight the Demon King living inside you.”
She just tilted her head at him, confused.
“So, beating the Demon King is what matters. Studying or not doesn’t really matter.”
It felt less like his own memory, more like watching someone else’s story.
Himekoji heard his own frustrated voice cry out—
“Nonsense! It matters! Really big! Like huge! If you don’t study, I’ll die!”
“Akito, you’ve changed.”
Facing Himekoji’s annoyed complaint, the girl blinked. She suddenly lowered her eyelids, looking really sad—
“You really… don’t remember anything.”
She sat on the bench, huddled up and shivering.
The memory stopped there.
Himekoji’s breath caught.
Huh…
She was right…
He really didn’t remember…
The girl he’d forgotten was called Rikka. Takanashi Rikka.
She was his Contractor!
How could he forget?
How could he forget that?
He shouldn’t have forgotten!
He clenched his fist, full of guilt and regret.
At least he remembered now. Hopefully, it wasn’t too late.
…
Rikka wasn’t made up! She was real!
Himekoji looked at Hikigaya, correcting what the girl had earlier said—
“Her measurements aren’t 80-58-80. They’re 78-58-80. Birthday is June twelfth. Hates tomatoes. Has school refusal issues. Her math score on the midterm was zero. She acted kinda dumb, but weirdly enough, she was surprisingly good at Japanese, Social Studies, and English. Got 100, 99, and 78 on those.”
“Huh?”
Himekoji suddenly speaking up made Hikigaya frown in doubt.
Yukinoshita and Yuigahama gave him questioning looks too.
Only Hanjo Ayame reacted differently. Her face, which had been pale and lifeless, finally got a bit of color. Her hands clinging desperately to Himekoji’s clenched him even tighter. It was like she was grabbing her last piece of hope, refusing to let go no matter what.
“Takanashi Rikka is not made up! She really exists!”
Himekoji didn’t let Hanjo Ayame down.
He stated it with absolute certainty.
He gently patted her hand, trying to tell her she didn’t need to be so scared. Because even if everyone else thought Rikka was just her delusion, at least now, he was on her side.
“Sorry… even I forgot…”
He apologized softly.
“Thank you… for helping me remember.”
He was incredibly thankful that today, he was there when Hanjo Ayame showed up.
“Himekoji, do you even realize what you’re saying?”
Hikigaya’s brow was deeply furrowed,
“I know you really want to help Hanjo-san. We all feel the same way. But you have to understand, the way to help her can’t be with lies!”
“I know! I absolutely know! I know exactly what I’m saying! And I know exactly how both powerful and useless lies can be! But this isn’t a lie! This time, at least, it’s absolutely true!”
Himekoji really wanted everyone to believe him, but this was the thing he was worst at.
“You really… If you truly want to help Hanjo-san, you should help her free herself from this delusion!”
“Hikki, we don’t know that yet! The delusion stuff is just hearsay, right?”
Seeing Himekoji and Hikigaya looked like they might start arguing, Yuigahama quickly stepped between them.
Inside, he sighed.
Instead of the cruel truth, everyone indeed preferred to comfort each other with kind lies.
However, the time always comes when lies must be revealed.
When that moment arrives, the hurt becomes even harder to undo.
Since both Himekoji and Yuigahama leaned toward comforting Hanjo with lies—choosing to be the kind ones—then she would be the bad one instead.
Even if it meant being disliked.
Hikigaya pressed her lips into a stern line, stepped past Yuigahama blocking her way, and stood before Hanjo.
Her icy words cut like a sharp knife drawing blood—
“Takanashi Rikka doesn’t exist! There’s no such person in Class 1-B! No one in this entire school knows her or has heard of her! And even if Himekoji said things like ‘Takanashi-san got 0 in math but 100 in Japanese’—making it sound real—you won’t find Takanashi anywhere on the first-year midterm rankings!”
Though cruel, Hikigaya spoke the truth.
On the midterm rankings… no, even on the whole school roster, there was no one named Takanashi Rikka.
Yukinoshita stared silently at the computer screen before her.
School intranet, student records, search for “Takanashi Rikka”—
Results found: zero.
…
It must be a mistake, it must be!
Himekoji knew Hikigaya wasn’t lying.
But neither he nor Hanjo Ayame were lying either!
Both sides spoke facts, yet the facts contradicted each other.
This strangeness…
Himekoji instantly thought of that weird “legalizing sibling marriage” setting changed earlier.
The two had to be connected!
…
“Aren’t you the Service Club? Don’t you just take any request?! Then help me find Rikka!”
Hikigaya’s words had clearly upset Hanjo; the girl shouted, her voice trembling with emotion.
“But—”
As Hikigaya started to protest, Yukinoshita spoke up first—
“We accept this request. We will help you find Rikka.”
“Why not? Why won’t my request—Huh? W-wait?! You’re taking my request?”
Stunned by the sudden change, Hanjo Ayame could hardly believe it.
“Yes. We accept your request and will do our best to fulfill it.”
Sitting straight in her chair, Yukinoshita’s serious expression showed no deceit.
“Huh? Ah… oh… Th-thank you.”
The twists left Hanjo Ayame both excited yet scared as she left the Service Club, her heart conflicted.
After Hanjo left, Hikigaya shot Yukinoshita several bewildered looks. She seemed about to speak but stayed silent in the end.
Instead, it was Himekoji who voiced their shared confusion—
“Why?”
“Why what?”
Yukinoshita tilted her head slightly, her voice soft.
“Why accept the request when you think both my words and Hanjo Ayame’s are lies?”
“I don’t think it’s a lie. And…”
Here, she paused, all emotion vanishing from her face. She met Himekoji’s eyes, her next words thin as snow settling on fragile ice—
“Even if it is… I want to try trusting it once.”
How helpless it feels when no one trusts you.
She had seen it firsthand yesterday.
…
Himekoji the Pervert often lied—perhaps because his role demanded it.
But not everything he said was a lie.
Yukinoshita knew this.
So she’d try trusting.
So she’d choose to trust.
So she’d want to trust.
…
…