66. Hikigaya Doesn't Want to Fall into the Abyss
After a long silence, Hikigaya Hachiman let out a deep sigh.
He smiled and said, "President Momobami, your conditions don't seem like a repayment of favors. They rather look like a very high-priced life plan."
"...Hmm. If Hikigaya-kun chooses to understand it that way, then it's not wrong. I will buy Hikigaya-kun's life."
"I guess, if I agree, the first step would be to sever ties with the Yukinoshita family, right?"
Hikigaya looked out the window and spoke to himself, "President Momobami knows that my relationship with Miss Yukinoshita is pretty good, but once I become part of the Momobami family, I must first prove the purity of my thoughts."
He tapped his head and continued, "After that, I guess it would be Jabami. As part of the Hyakkaou family, President Momobami wouldn't allow her people to get too close to the Jabami family. It's about protecting the purity of the bloodline, and even though I'm an outsider, the same rule applies."
Kirari Momobami silently watched him, saying nothing.
"Lastly, it would probably be a name change. The surname Hikigaya, this commoner name, would no longer be associated with me. From now on, I would be Momobami Hachiman."
"President Momobami, my life as Hikigaya Hachiman is very expensive." Hikigaya said, half-jokingly, as he met Kirari's gaze.
"I can buy it." Kirari Momobami's tone remained as calm and composed as ever.
Buying someone's life sounded absurd, but to her, it was just a matter of the price offered.
There was nothing that couldn't be bought. If money couldn't buy it, power could. If power couldn't do it, then beauty could.
"But I don't intend to sell. Sorry, President Momobami." Hikigaya Hachiman sighed in relief. "After all, the surname Hikigaya is quite precious to me."
"Moreover, I, Hikigaya Hachiman, don't have the resolve to be anyone's dog."
His father, his mother, and Komachi…
His wings that were cultivated and discovered thanks to Juraku Sachiko, Yukinoshita Haruno, who helped him get started, Yukinoshita Yukino, who tangled with him in their little games, his three-year mentor, Shizune Hiratsuka, and the recently met Yumeko Jabami...
Hikigaya wanted to treat these people with his own awareness.
Hikigaya Hachiman realized that he had become an impure ambitious person. He had always thought that if the price was right, he could sell his life. But now, under the overwhelming benefit proposed by Momobami, he had gained clarity on a few things.
Some things, some people, he couldn't sell.
With clarity of mind, Hikigaya felt that his thoughts were sharper than ever before.
"This is surprising."
Kirari's eyes shifted with a hint of curiosity.
From what little she understood of Hikigaya, she thought that what he desired most was simply power.
She could see the traits in Hikigaya—his relentless ambition, the desire to climb no matter the cost. She had seen this trait many times during the Hyakkaou family's power struggles.
But now, it seemed that Hikigaya Hachiman's ambition was more special than those others. At the very least, he wasn't as pure in his ambition.
Looking at Hikigaya's clear gaze, Kirari's hunger grew stronger.
'This is it—destroying him will be so much more interesting!'
"So, what is the second option you mentioned, President Momobami?"
"The second option... defeat me."
Kirari Momobami said slowly, "You must have heard from Yukinoshita by now, that our Hyakkaou family is more like a council made up of powerful clans rather than a complete and unified tribe."
"When I was eleven, my grandmother passed away, and I inherited the position of head of the Momobami family. And the head of the Momobami family is, without exception, the leader of the Hyakkaou clan."
"Hikigaya-kun, I'm offering you the power of the Hyakkaou family, to challenge my authority." Kirari's eyes shimmered with eerie blue flames. "According to the rules of Hyakkaou Academy, if you defeat me, everything belonging to the Momobami family will be yours."
"If you lose, you will become a vassal of the Momobami family."
"Fall into the abyss, Hikigaya-kun!"
After hearing this, Hikigaya fell silent again.
This was an utterly unbalanced deal—equating Hikigaya Hachiman with the Momobami family was clearly wrong.
It wasn't self-deprecation, but Hikigaya Hachiman knew that his value, compared to the Momobami family, was like the light of a firefly compared to the bright moon. The two were on completely different levels.
Suddenly, he realized that this was a gamble. For a negligible price, he could earn wealth that could never be obtained in multiple lifetimes. No one could resist greed, not even him, Hikigaya.
Almost instinctively, he was about to agree to gamble with Kirari Momobami.
But Hikigaya stopped himself.
Because of the creed he followed—
If he didn't have a guaranteed win, he wouldn't gamble.
And in front of Momobami Kirari, Hikigaya didn't have that guarantee. This woman, like Jabami, was beyond his comprehension.
The power to carry out the will of Hikigaya Hachiman as he wished—was that a price he was willing to pay?
He was free!
"Sorry, President Momobami. I don't gamble." Hikigaya smiled and shook his head. Then, he changed the subject, "However, if you simply want to experience the thrill of an unequal gamble or feel the excitement of risking everything... I can help you."
"Oh?"
Momobami Kirari instinctively tightened her legs.
Hikigaya Hachiman was right; she was exactly that kind of person. Having been a lofty god for too long, she had lost the thrill of gambling.
The temptation of losing everything, she couldn't resist. Even if there was only a slight possibility, she still wanted to try.
But compared to the pure gambling addict like Jabami, she didn't require both sides to make sacrifices. She only needed the other person to be someone she found worth her attention.
The current Hikigaya Hachiman had already caught Momobami's eye.
Wonderful~
"Let's start with the president's student council. I'll beat each of the officers one by one," Hikigaya Hachiman said cheerfully. "In the end, I'll stand in front of President Momobami for a fair gamble."
"I won't risk my life, but President, you'll bet everything."
"The gamble with the officers will be my bet for you. How about it?"
Upon hearing this, Momobami Kirari couldn't help but tremble as she placed her fingers into her mouth, gently biting her white fingers to suppress the desire building up inside her.
This is so wonderful!
This extreme, unequal bet was exactly the thrill she craved the most.
"The grudge between me and Mibuomi will be avenged by me personally."
"To deal with such a pest, I'll make him die slowly in despair. The rules of President Momobami will be his hope, and I'll let him die in despair."
Hikigaya Hachiman's tone was calm, as if he were talking about something unrelated to himself.
"I hope President Momobami will be my trump card, not a means."
"That's my request."
"…A trump card, not a means," Momobami Kirari murmured. Her cold face gradually flushed with a hint of red, and her gaze towards Hikigaya Hachiman grew increasingly dazed.
She said, "Is this your request?"
"Yeah."
Momobami Kirari trembled as she got up, walking unsteadily to the corner of the room, where various surgical tools were stored.
Her slender fingers lightly brushed across the gleaming tools, making a crisp clinking sound, which caused Hikigaya's eyebrows to twitch.
'What is she doing?'
In the end, Taoji Kirari picked a sharp small knife and a red wine glass she had somehow found, her face flushed as she walked back to Hikigaya Hachiman.
"I agree, Hikigaya-kun. Now, let's make our pact."