Although Hikigaya had intended to use Ryuuen to give someone a beating, deep down, he couldn't help but hope Ryuuen would make a different choice.
Forcing others into submission through violence… No matter the circumstances, it was never the right approach.
Indeed, Ryuuen, with his relentless willpower, had managed to subdue Ishizaki, Albert, and the others, turning them into his loyal subordinates. Perhaps this success had convinced him that his methods were flawless.
He believed he could make everyone obey by simply beating them into submission, but reality was more complicated than that.
One only had to look at Ishizaki and the others' eyes to see that they genuinely respected Ryuuen.
His true strength wasn't just violence or sheer willpower. It was something far more compelling.
If Ryuuen ever realized that, he might truly begin to evolve—not just by refining his tactics or becoming more discreet, but by changing his entire mindset.
To put it in perspective, it would be like leveling up from a street thug to a Yakuza lieutenant… Hmm, that didn't sound much better.
In any case, Ryuuen was still foolish.
Not only was he a brute, but he was also too reckless to even consider the consequences of failure. That part of him was oddly similar to a certain someone.
Fortunately, Ryuuen ultimately accepted Hikigaya's proposal. For the past few days, he had been challenging Kouenji, accompanied by Ishizaki and Albert. And this time, he was using his brain while fighting.
Though he was still getting beaten badly, he was indeed making progress.
At the very least, he had managed to delay Kouenji's date.
Since Ryuuen was willing to participate in this ridiculous game, Hikigaya naturally had to prepare a proper reward.
"President Nagumo, I've finished writing the second-term summary report."
"Ah, good work."
Inside the student council office, Nagumo took the thick stack of papers from Hikigaya's hands.
Without even glancing at them, he casually tossed them aside.
Hikigaya didn't mind. As a corporate drone in the making, fulfilling his superior's requests was all that mattered—no need for unnecessary emotions.
For that, he had Haruno-san to thank.
Thanks to her training, even after listening to the sickening conversation earlier, Hikigaya could maintain a neutral attitude toward Nagumo, hiding his disgust without the slightest hint of emotion.
After all, that was a fundamental skill for adults.
"By the way, Hikigaya."
Nagumo suddenly spoke.
"I heard you're pretty close with Honami. What do you two usually talk about? Mind sharing with me?"
…Why did this bastard have to bring that up now of all times?
Suppressing his irritation, Hikigaya replied with an unreadable expression, "Uh, even if you say we're close, I think she treats everyone the same way."
He then gave a self-deprecating chuckle.
"Because Ichinose is kind to everyone, a lot of guys probably get the wrong idea, thinking, 'Does she like me?' or 'Am I special to her?' …Heh, just like I used to."
"Whoa, why the sudden self-loathing?"
Nagumo chuckled wryly, and the topic immediately shifted.
"I'll give you some advice—confidence is the most important thing for a man, especially when pursuing women. Even if you have to bluff, you must make them believe you're impressive. Otherwise, they won't take you seriously. Humility only leads to being underestimated."
"…Is that so?" Hikigaya hesitated.
"Of course. This is coming from experience." Nagumo smirked. "That said, you need some actual accomplishments to back it up. After all, you can't bluff without capital."
"I see."
Hikigaya nodded as if enlightened.
Seeing his reaction, Nagumo became even more enthusiastic.
"Remember what I said. It'll serve you well. You even have a real-life example in your class, right? That Kouenji guy—he's got tons of seniors fawning over him just because he hypes himself up."
"Hmm, he certainly is popular."
Judging from Nagumo's tone, he seemed resentful of Kouenji.
He probably assumed Kouenji had simply bought those women with money… which wasn't entirely wrong.
"Just wait, Hikigaya. One day, I'm going to personally take him on."
Nagumo sounded dead serious as if he saw Kouenji as a personal nemesis.
Was he afraid of losing his title as the campus playboy?
"Why don't you just talk to him directly?" Hikigaya suggested, ever helpful.
"Haha, don't worry about that." Nagumo leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head, speaking leisurely. "When the right opportunity comes, I'll give him a little… welcome gift. And I can guarantee that day isn't far off."
"Then I'll look forward to it."
Hikigaya wasn't sure what Nagumo was planning, but he doubted it would be anything too extreme.
And knowing Kouenji, he probably wouldn't even care. He might even find it amusing.
As he pondered this, Hikigaya said something entirely different aloud.
"President Nagumo, I don't think you need to worry about Kouenji. He's just an eccentric who does whatever he wants. If you're looking for someone truly formidable, there's someone even stronger in our class."
"Oh… You mean Ayanokoji Kiyotaka?"
As expected, Nagumo immediately showed interest.
"Yeah, he scored full marks in eight subjects. He's the talk of our grade now."
Saying that, Hikigaya sighed in feigned frustration.
"People keep coming to our class to ask about him. Even Ichinose asked me."
And that wasn't even a lie.
Ichinose had inquired about Ayanokoji before. Ever since the Preferential Exam, she had suspected he was someone worth paying attention to.
Though, of course, her plan back then had been exposed almost immediately.
Considering how the other group members had performed, Ayanokoji's strategy was already impressive enough.
And now, with his absurdly high test scores, it was no surprise Ichinose was keeping an eye on him.
"Even Honami is interested in Ayanokoji, huh…? Speaking of which, he ran against Senior Horikita in the relay race at the sports festival, right? I was planning to introduce myself to him back then."
Nagumo's tone carried a hint of amusement, but his usual pettiness was evident.
He was obsessed with making sure everyone acknowledged his strength. Any powerful opponent was a target.
Which, for Hikigaya, was beneficial.
"Yeah, I bet you didn't expect Senior Horikita to accept his challenge, did you?"
"Haha, you got me there."
Nagumo grinned, seemingly impressed that Hikigaya had read his thoughts so easily.
"I've always wanted to face off against Senior Horikita, but he keeps avoiding me with all sorts of excuses… So why did he accept Ayanokoji's challenge so easily?"
That last question was more of a mutter to himself than an actual inquiry.
Nagumo didn't expect an answer.
However, Hikigaya decided to humor him.
"Probably because they've fought before. Ever since then, Senior Horikita has been keeping an eye on him."
"Wait a minute!" Nagumo interrupted, his voice slightly agitated. "Are you saying Senior Horikita fought Ayanokoji? Who won? And why did they fight?"
He seemed far more interested in the outcome than the reason.
Not exactly the kind of thing a student council president should be concerned about.
Hikigaya responded, "I just happened to pass by that night and caught a glimpse. They only exchanged a few blows, but in my opinion, Senior Horikita was on the losing end. He even admitted it himself."
"That's impossible."
Nagumo's first reaction was disbelief.
After all, he knew how strong Horikita Manabu was.
But he quickly realized this wasn't something that could be faked. All he had to do was ask the man himself.
And Horikita Manabu wasn't someone who cared about saving face. He wouldn't lie about this.
"Heh, that classmate of yours sure has a lot of mysteries surrounding him," Nagumo remarked with interest.
"But I've heard another rumor—it seems that Ayanokoji has people backing him from the shadows, and he's nothing more than a pawn being controlled... Haha, just what is going on with your class? You're merely Class D, yet there are so many strange individuals."
Hearing the last part, Hikigaya couldn't help but chuckle.
"That was just a trick for fools, a smokescreen set up by Ayanokoji."
Ignoring Nagumo's darkened expression, he added, "Come to think of it, back in May during that small test, he pulled off something similar. He probably enjoys seeing people's shocked expressions when they learn the truth."
"I see... Hmph, what a twisted sense of humor."
Hikigaya thought Nagumo was the last person qualified to say that. These two were basically cut from the same cloth.
Both of them manipulated others into launching underhanded attacks, only to swoop in at the perfect moment.
Their levels of depravity were practically identical.
The only difference was that Nagumo couldn't even be bothered to act anonymously—at least that made him more straightforward than Ayanokoji.
Regardless, everything had gone fairly smoothly this time.
Nagumo was undoubtedly going to set his sights on Ayanokoji now, but Hikigaya wasn't afraid of him verifying anything.
After all, everything he had said was the truth.
With his conversation with Nagumo over, so was the bulk of his work for the day.
Now, all that was left was to deliver one last document to the principal's office before heading home…
Wait a minute.
Why did it feel like he was even busier than before?
Hikigaya had assumed that after the change in student council leadership, Nagumo would prioritize second-year students, giving him an opportunity to slack off.
Yet, somehow, the workload hadn't decreased—it had increased.
He was definitely just being used as an errand boy.
Seriously, why was the principal's office located in the Special Instructional Building?
Shouldn't school leaders be closer to the students?
At least consider the students' feelings a little!
Just as Hikigaya arrived at the floor where the principal's office was located, a middle-aged man in his forties walked toward him in the hallway.
Dressed in a suit, the man gave off… an ominous vibe.
Hikigaya couldn't quite put his finger on why, but an instinctive feeling welled up inside him—
A strong urge to avoid being noticed at all costs.
That kind of gut feeling didn't come often. The last time he felt this way was when he first met Haruno-san…
Crap.
This was seriously bad.
Keeping his composure as much as possible, Hikigaya walked past the man without even glancing at him.
However, the steady footsteps behind him suddenly stopped.
Even without turning around, Hikigaya could tell that the man had turned to look at him.
Why?
His instincts told him that now wasn't the time to dwell on it. Keeping his head down, he quickened his pace.
But just then, a door suddenly opened up ahead.
Two unexpected figures emerged from what seemed to be a reception room—
Ayanokoji and Chairman Sakayanagi.
Could that man be…?
Ah, so that's how it is.
At that moment, something clicked in Hikigaya's mind.
It seemed his self-preservation instincts were still intact—not that he knew whether to feel relieved or not.
"Huh? Hikigaya-kun?"
Chairman Sakayanagi appeared surprised to see Hikigaya there, but upon noticing the document in his hands, he quickly figured it out.
"You're here to deliver something, right? Having to run errands even after school—what a hassle."
"It's nothing."
Just then, the sound of footsteps resumed behind him.
That man must have left.
Unable to resist, Hikigaya glanced back.
Chairman Sakayanagi, noticing his reaction, furrowed his brows slightly in concern.
"Something wrong?"
"No, I was just wondering..."
Turning back, Hikigaya looked at Ayanokoji, who had remained silent the entire time.
"Is that your father?"
"…Why do you ask?"
Perhaps taken aback by the sudden question, or maybe just genuinely surprised, Ayanokoji's voice carried an unusual trace of shock.
"You just… resemble him." Hikigaya decided to be honest.
"Is that so..."
It was hard to describe Ayanokoji's current expression.
On the surface, it was emotionless. Yet, somehow, it still carried an inexplicable feeling beneath it.
Even Ayanokoji himself might not know what that feeling was.
Hikigaya didn't feel like lingering any longer.
After giving a brief nod, he turned and left.
However, just as he stepped out of the principal's office, he noticed Ayanokoji waiting for him around the corner.
"Care for a chat?"
"Nothing to talk about."
Hikigaya was slightly surprised by Ayanokoji's invitation.
Logically, anything that needed to be discussed had already been covered last time.
For now, they should be acting like strangers—ignoring each other even when passing by.
At least, that was what Hikigaya intended to do.
"Then let me rephrase it."
Ayanokoji didn't seem willing to let it go. He caught up to Hikigaya and walked beside him.
"There's something I want to ask you. I also asked Horikita and Chabashira-sensei the same question."
"…What?"
Hikigaya's curiosity was piqued—though he immediately regretted feeling that way.
"Do you think modern Japan—this society—is truly equal?"
"Uh…"
Where the hell was this guy going with that?