173. Beautiful girl photography or whatever, it's the best, right?
Rurichou Nadeshiko had won the chance to get a Steinway piano.
Hikigaya Hachiman had obtained a top-tier unpaid laborer.
A happy ending for all. Both of them won—so who was the loser?
Trailing behind Hikigaya, Kurume wore an unnatural expression. This wasn't the kind of ending a chaos-lover like her had wanted!
Downfall into hell? Lifelong regret? Wanton destruction? Not a single one happened!
As a true enjoyer of chaos, Kurume felt like ants were crawling all over her. She couldn't help but say:
"Hey, Hikigaya-kun~ Nadeshiko is already your private livestock, right? So why are you still treating her so gently?"
"You could've used the power in your hands to squeeze out all her value, play with her however you wanted~"
Hikigaya Hachiman, walking ahead, replied slowly,
"Which do you think produces more value—a job done with numb apathy, or one done with daily passion?"
"Putting that aside, she's still a rather pure person."
When it came to pure-hearted people, Hikigaya Hachiman had always shown the greatest tolerance. When she spoke about the piano, the light in Rurichou Nadeshiko's eyes couldn't be faked.
If the reason she craved money so badly was just to get the best piano and create more beautiful music, Hikigaya could understand that. That's exactly why he showed mercy.
Because—he was that kind of pure person too. In her, Hikigaya saw a reflection of himself.
In contrast, Hikigaya gave Kurume a cold glance. People like her, who were unbound and acted entirely on impulse, were the kind he least liked to deal with.
However, dislike or not—as a competent schemer and adult, Hikigaya no longer acted based on emotion. He only cared about what benefit others could bring.
Even a chaos-lover—if they were useful at a critical moment—could be his friend.
"Don't look at me like that~ Don't forget, it's thanks to me that you got a free worker like Nadeshiko!" Kurume saw through his glare and protested.
Hikigaya shrugged and withdrew his gaze.
"But I'm really curious," he asked, "why would someone like you be hanging around Mibuomi Aoi, as a member of the Full-Bloom Association?"
"For what reason? Obviously, for the fun of it!"
"Because that guy has big ambitions~ And sticking close to someone with ambition means I get to see lots of interesting things!"
"But now, I've changed my mind. Hikigaya Hachiman, your ambition looks bigger than his~ Sticking with you is bound to be more entertaining!"
"Suit yourself."
Kurume's on-the-spot betrayal didn't stir any emotion in Hikigaya.
But thinking it over—after just one visit, the Full-Bloom Association had lost two executives. Who was even left? Shimotsukiuri Ouri, and two male executives whose names he couldn't remember?
As for why he didn't mention Rokujou Eneru... Hikigaya trusted Yumeko's abilities.
"Hm... as proof of my loyalty to you, Hikigaya, I'll share a bit of intel: you'd better hurry to the Photography Club~ Because that Eneru girl? She loves nude photography."
Inside the Full-Bloom Association, Kurume, thanks to her personality, had good relationships with everyone.
That meant she often knew more than even Miharataki, the vice president.
"What do you mean?"
Kurume gave Hikigaya a strange look:
"Don't tell me you don't know what Voyeur Strip Rock-Paper-Scissors is?"
"?"
"Voyeur Strip Rock-Paper-Scissors is a gamble where you lose a piece of clothing every round you lose—until you're completely naked, and then get photographed fully nude!"
Hikigaya Hachiman suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He had assumed "Voyeur Rock-Paper-Scissors" was just a regular guessing game. But after hearing Kurume's explanation...
'I let my guard down!' Hikigaya cursed himself, immediately recalling the hesitant expressions the Yuno sisters gave him before he left.
Thinking of that...
Hikigaya Hachiman instantly picked up his pace.
"I don't know the exact number, but over the past two years, there have been at least triple-digit numbers of girls who've gambled with Eneru and ended up with nude photos taken~"
"As for where those photos ended up—I have no idea. Maybe she's been selling them online, who knows?"
"If you arrive too late, even if you defeat Eneru in the end, it won't change what's already been photographed."
"This is Mibuomi's plan—to separate you from Miharataki and the others."
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Photography Club
"Eeeek—!"
A sharp scream came from behind the partition screen—it was Ougatou Naoko.
Hearing that, her younger sister Ougatou Houko's face changed. She rushed behind the screen to cover her sister with clothing.
But it was too late. The camera inside the screen had already captured Ougatou Naoko's trained, voluptuous body for eternity.
Rokujou Eneru's face, mostly hidden by a mask, was flushed red. Watching the voyeur footage on her phone, she squeezed her thighs together in excitement to stop herself from leaking fluids.
Kurume had been right—her hobby was collecting nude photos of all the beauties in Hyakkaou Academy. To that end, she had designed all kinds of traps to lure unsuspecting lambs into her web, capturing their innocent forms forever in her camera.
But Kurume was wrong about one thing—Eneru didn't take those photos to sell them online to sleazy guys. That would be tasteless. She kept them for herself to enjoy.
With that thought, Eneru's twisted desires surged up from her heart. This was her hidden fetish. At some point, just seeing nude photos of pretty girls sent her into uncontrollable arousal.
Now, she couldn't wait to bring today's freshly taken, never-before-seen pictures home and hide under her blanket—
And then—
Never get back up!
So far, she'd already won two rounds.
She had successfully taken photos of Aiura Kokoro and Ougatou Naoko.
After Hikigaya left, the six girls were divided into groups:
• Aiura Kokoro + Saotome
• Ougatou Naoko + Ougatou Houko
• Jabami Yumeko + Miharataki Sakura
The first group joined Shimizu in the game—becoming the photographed.
The second group, along with Eneru, handled the game mechanics from behind the screen.
Unfortunately, Eneru couldn't obtain photos of everyone.
'Saotome, Houko, Miharataki—they all have such amazing bodies.'
'If I could get their photos too, I might pass out from dehydration tonight~'
Thinking that, Rokujou Eneru spoke:
"What a shame~ I'll be keeping these photos, okay? Now it's your turn, Jabami-san."