Having managed to convince Himeno to help collect signatures, Kanzaki, now with an ally by his side, no longer hesitated and began actively considering which classmates he could rally for support.
However, aiding Ichinose was only one part of the equation.
More importantly, this was an opportunity to make more students realize that blindly relying on and believing in Ichinose wasn't the right path.
Given Class A's current lead, such concerns might seem unnecessary.
But it's never a bad thing to be prepared for the worst.
After all, if you only go to the hospital when your illness is terminal, it might already be too late.
"Kanzaki-kun, let me be clear—I'm only helping this time because of the circumstances. This doesn't mean I'm your ally."
At first glance, Himeno's words seemed like the classic tsundere remark.
But in reality, that wasn't the case at all.
At the end of the day, the reason for acting behind Ichinose's back this time was, at least on the surface, to help her.
That way, even if they got caught, no one in the class would blame her.
It seemed that Hime-no had carefully weighed the risks and benefits before readily agreeing.
"If you ever plan to go against Ichinose's instructions during a special exam, unless you can gain the support of more than half the class, I won't take your side."
"No, you're overthinking it. I have no intention of going against Ichinose."
Kanzaki shook his head, affirming that he would continue to be Ichinose's right-hand man, supporting the class as her strategist.
However, Himeno didn't look reassured upon hearing this. Instead, she held her head as if she had a headache.
Then, her gaze shifted toward Hikigaya, seemingly urging him to say something.
Unfortunately, Hikigaya ignored her.
He judged that there was no point in saying anything further for now. Getting Kanzaki to take action this time was already a decent outcome.
But just to be sure, asking a little more wouldn't hurt.
Who knows? There might be a surprising revelation.
"Kanzaki there's something I've been wondering about."
"What is it?"
"Didn't you find Hashimoto's attitude a little strange just now?"
Hikigaya tried to phrase it as tactfully as possible while hoping Kanzaki would catch his meaning.
"He seemed certain that Ichinose had some kind of dark past. Otherwise, when faced with your questioning, he should have shown at least a little guilt, don't you think?"
"That was just an act," Kanzaki said without hesitation. "We've been through thick and thin with Ichinose in this class for almost a year now. That's precisely why I understand what kind of person she is. Besides, I've asked her directly, and she just smiled and told us not to worry about it."
"…So she neither admitted nor denied it?"
"Exactly. That's why I choose to believe in her."
"I see…"
Well, looks like there won't be any surprises after all.
—Since she's a good person now, that means she couldn't have been a bad person in the past.
From an objective standpoint, that logic doesn't hold up at all.
But in reality, most people think that way because it's simply more convenient.
Although Kanzaki felt somewhat puzzled by Ichinose's complete inaction this time, he still chose to trust her wholeheartedly.
That alone was enough to confirm that he was still a devoted follower of the Ichinose Faith.
Otherwise, with Kanzaki's intelligence, he should have realized that if it were nothing more than baseless rumors, Sakayanagi's plan wouldn't have had any effect.
It was precisely because there was some truth mixed in that Ichinose's spirit took a hit.
As third parties, Shiina and Horikita had more or less noticed this. Kanzaki, on the other hand, was too involved to see it.
If he could view Ichinose more objectively, he might have already found the right solution.
…Sigh. In the end, it's just the goddess filter at work.
Speaking of which, Hikigaya had no right to criticize others.
He had once held unrealistic fantasies about a certain girl as well… and in the end, all it did was burden her unnecessarily.
So, whether it was for Ichinose's sake or the students of Class A—
It would be best if her believers woke up sooner rather than later.
After finishing their conversation, the three of them said their goodbyes and parted ways.
However, Hikigaya lingered in the store under the pretense of going to the restroom.
The real reason was that when the food was served earlier, Matsunaga had secretly glanced at him. It felt like he had something to say.
Just what was this guy up to, acting all mysterious…?
"Matsunaga, did you want to talk to me about something?"
"Yeah, sorry, just a little thing."
Matsunaga smiled and nodded, then proceeded to say something utterly unforgivable.
"It's almost February, huh? Valentine's Day is coming up soon."
"Ah, yeah."
"Huh? You don't seem too interested, Hikigaya-kun."
Of course not.
For Hikigaya, Valentine's Day had always been tragic—especially this year, which was shaping up to be the worst of all.
"What's with the sudden topic?"
Having been to this store multiple times, and with Matsunaga being an easygoing social butterfly, Hikigaya had no difficulty conversing with him.
Most importantly, this guy was both a good person and an absurdly handsome one, so now was the perfect time to vent some frustration at him.
"Are you bragging? You've probably received an overwhelming number of chocolates every year, right? Admit it, you're showing off!"
"Ahaha, well…" Matsunaga scratched his face awkwardly. "Overwhelming is a bit much. I've just gotten some obligatory chocolates from close friends."
"Oh… Just out of curiosity, how many exactly?"
"Hmm… Less than a hundred, I think."
"Less than a hundred…"
Great. This guy should just go die.
Seeing Hikigaya's murderous gaze, Matsunaga quickly tried to console him.
"But, but! Hikigaya-kun must have received quite a few chocolates too, right?"
"Other than my mom and sister, the rest are from people who expect me to return the favor threefold."
By the way, even Komachi demanded a threefold return…
But since she was his adorable little sister, even a tenfold return would be super welcome!
That being said, this year… there would be no Komachi Chocolate.
…Komachi Chocolate… My Komachi Chocolate…
As Hikigaya was lamenting this fact, Matsunaga seemed to misunderstand something and awkwardly smiled.
"Uh… Sorry. I don't know why, but I feel kind of bad now."
What made it even more infuriating was that this guy apologized.
Who the hell wants an apology from some handsome dude?!
"…You know what, how about this? Come to the store on Valentine's Day, and I'll give you some chocolate."
"…You just said something unforgivable."
"Huh?! What did I say?!"
Obviously!
Chocolate given by a guy has no value whatsoever!
…No, wait, that's not entirely true.
At the end of the day, it's still delicious sweets, and as a die-hard sweets lover, Hikigaya couldn't just reject it outright.
"Valentine's Day isn't exclusive to couples," Matsunaga explained. "It's pretty common for friends to exchange chocolates as a way of expressing gratitude. I used to give chocolates to my entire class."
"Hmph, you used this 'reverse chocolate' trick to prevent the girls from fighting over giving you chocolates, didn't you?" Hikigaya immediately saw through his little scheme.
It was actually quite similar to how Hayama handled things.
That guy, in order to maintain his image as "everyone's Hayama Hayato," had announced in advance that he wouldn't accept any chocolates.
Thinking back now, when all the boys were eagerly anticipating Valentine's chocolates, he had the audacity to say something so pretentious... What a terrible guy!
Matsunaga's approach, though the exact opposite, served the same purpose—to ease the tension among the girls.
This was the kind of trouble that only a super handsome guy had to deal with.
"…Impressive."
He nodded in amazement—wait, what do you mean by "impressive"?!
The truly impressive one here is you!
"Anyway, if you're free on Valentine's Day, drop by our shop. We'll be hosting an event, and I'll have a surprise for you."
"Yeah, yeah… sigh." Hikigaya could only sigh.
What kind of surprise is a guy's chocolate? At the very least, make it from Totsuka… no, wait.
Totsuka is Totsuka!
"By the way, you seemed to be having a lively conversation with someone just now," Matsunaga suddenly brought up. "Were you talking about the exams? I heard the special exams at this school can be pretty tough… Ah, I'm just curious, feel free to ignore me if it's inconvenient."
Hikigaya shook his head. "No, we weren't talking about the exams. And we're not classmates, either."
"Huh? You're not?"
"We're just in the same year."
"I see…" Matsunaga looked slightly puzzled. "If I remember correctly, only Class A students get special graduation privileges here, right? I thought the atmosphere between different classes would be a lot more tense."
The staff members here had all signed confidentiality agreements, and since students naturally talked about their classes, it wasn't surprising that he knew a little about the system.
Even if someone anonymously leaked the truth about ANHS online, the school's network monitoring would catch the keywords instantly. If discovered, not only would the information be deleted, but the person responsible would also face a hefty fine.
No one would be stupid enough to risk that.
"It depends on the person. Not everyone cares that much about Class A."
Back during Christmas, Hikigaya vaguely remembered hearing that Matsunaga had started working right after middle school. No wonder he was curious about the school.
But Hikigaya wasn't interested in prying into others' privacy, so he decided not to ask more.
"Haha, that makes sense. It's always better for classmates to get along."
Matsunaga seemed like a pacifist… Why do all these cheerful, outgoing handsome guys seem like they were made from the same mold?
"Oh, right. Speaking of your class, I heard there's someone good at fighting. The forum said he took on four guys by himself. Sounds pretty amazing."
"Ah, you saw that too?"
The school forum wasn't restricted to students—anyone affiliated with the school could browse it.
Sometimes, even businesses would post promotional ads there.
"Yeah." Matsunaga nodded with a smile. "His name was… Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, right? That's a pretty rare surname."
"Rare? …Maybe."
Hikigaya had no interest in talking about that guy, but Matsunaga looked genuinely curious.
With great enthusiasm, he asked, "Since you're in the same class, you must know quite a bit about him, right?"
"…Just the usual."
"So what kind of person do you think he is?"
"What kind of person, huh…"
Hikigaya closed his eyes and thought for a moment before answering honestly, "I don't like talking about my classmates behind their backs, so I don't have any comments for now."
"Uh… Aha, I see."
Matsunaga let out an awkward laugh and finally dropped the topic.
"Anyway, don't forget to stop by on Valentine's Day. I promise you won't regret it."
"Got it—"
After saying goodbye to Matsunaga, Hikigaya headed back to the dorm.
However, just as he stepped out of the store, he spotted Himeko leaning against the wall, sucking on a lollipop.
…Waiting for a friend?
At times like this, it was best to just ignore the situation.
Or rather, approaching her wasn't even an option in the first place.
Hikigaya was convinced he had made the right decision—until she unexpectedly called out to him.
"Hey, didn't you say you were going to the restroom? What took you so long?" Himeno complained impatiently.
Huh… So she was waiting for me?
I didn't expect things to turn out like this… Did I lose something?
"Can you stop ignoring me already?" Himeno said with a hint of irritation. "Back at the café, I gave you a look—you saw it! But you acted like you didn't!"
"No, I just thought you had a stomachache."
"As if!"
Looks like I won't be able to get away with that excuse… Well, yeah, as if that would work in the first place.
Hikigaya had no choice but to respond patiently, "If you're talking about Kanzaki, then I think it'd be better if you tried persuading him yourself. Guys tend to be more motivated when a girl asks them for a favor."
"You have a terrible personality… I knew I shouldn't have fallen for your tricks."
Muttering her regrets under her breath, Himeno's expression was full of displeasure.
"Since you've already hyped up Kanzaki-kun so much, why not just go all the way and tell him what his responsibilities are?"
"Nope. After this, it's up to Kanzaki himself." Hikigaya added, "Besides, this isn't something others can tell him. He has to realize it on his own… You don't have to worry too much. No one is born a leader. As long as Kanzaki can gather people who support him, he'll naturally come to understand."
If they wanted to change the class's atmosphere, it wouldn't be possible with Kanzaki just playing the role of a deputy.
In other words, he needed to rally a group of students who, in critical moments, dared to question Ichinose—a force that wouldn't simply be swayed by the prevailing mood.
At that point, Kanzaki would naturally become another leader within the class.
"How can I not be worried? At the end of the day, that guy is still one of Ichinose's blind followers." Hime-no couldn't help but complain.
"That's fine. It's just that you guys haven't faced a real setback yet."
Once the class suffered a major blow, Kanzaki would likely start to rethink things.
For now, this was enough. Just planting the seed of doubt in his mind was all that mattered—any more effort would be pointless.
After all, some things can only be understood through personal experience.
"The way you talk, it's like you've already decided our class is doomed to lose." Hime-no seemed unconvinced.
Hikigaya responded indifferently, "That much is obvious. Compared to the leaders of the other classes, Ichinose is too naive. Just the fact that she helped Class D during the first semester proves it."
"…Wow, you went there. Aren't you from Class D?"
"That's beside the point."
Even if Sakayanagi weren't attacking them this time, Class A becoming easy prey was only a matter of time.
No—rather, they were already easy prey from the start.
This incident merely exposed their weakness for everyone to see, and the other three classes were likely already calculating how to take a bite out of them.
"Hmph, you call Ichinose naive, but aren't you just the same?" Himeno sneered. "Here's a word of advice: if you don't like Ichinose like you claim, you'd better stop spoiling her. Otherwise, you're going to have a problem one day."
"…Yeah."
This time, Hikigaya didn't argue.
Because he was beginning to realize it too.
He was only doing this because he pitied Ichinose—but if she ended up misunderstanding because of it, that would be way too troublesome.
Fortunately, thanks to Shiina's reminder, Hikigaya had already thought of a solution.
"Himeno, can I ask you for a favor?"
"What?"
"If… if I end up making Ichinose cry," Hikigaya hesitated before continuing, "if that happens, please make sure the girls in your class don't come after me."
"H-Huh!?"
Himeno's eyes widened in disbelief. "What the hell are you talking about? Are you even thinking straight?"
"You're the one who told me not to spoil her too much."
"Yeah, but how did you jump to this!?"
"…It's not just because of that."
With a deep sigh, Hikigaya continued, "This time, even though Ichinose is the victim, she isn't completely innocent. She needs to understand that."
"Ah… I see."
Hearing that, Himeno immediately closed her mouth, not pressing the matter any further.
Looks like she picked up on Hikigaya's implied meaning back in the café… Her insight might even be sharper than Kanzaki's.
Unfortunately, with her self-preserving personality, she'd never agree to take on the responsibility of being a class leader.
…Oh well, no need to force it.
"Anyway, let's consider it settled then."
"What do you mean 'settled'? I never agreed to anything." Himeno clicked her tongue. "And don't think the girls in our class are easy to deal with… Especially Shirakawa. She's the worst—I have no idea how to handle her. If something happens, she's going to be a nightmare."
"…After everything I've done for your class, can't you do me this one favor?"
"Tch, trying to guilt-trip me now?"
Himeno clicked her tongue again, looking at him with disdain.
Hikigaya hadn't wanted to resort to this—he always did things for his own reasons, never expecting anything in return.
But dealing with girls, especially a whole group of angry ones… It was reasonable to bend his principles just this once, right?
"Then… how about this?"
Hikigaya suddenly pointed toward the café behind them.
"You seem to have a sweet tooth. If you make sure they don't cause trouble, I'll treat you to anything you want from this place, anytime."
Back in the café, she'd ordered chocolate cake and milk tea, and now she had a lollipop in her mouth.
A definite sweet tooth.
And as a bonus, this might even help Matsunaga's shop a little… To be honest, Hikigaya was a bit worried about that guy getting fired.
As expected, at his offer, Hime-no's face instantly showed signs of struggle. She hesitated for a long moment before awkwardly asking,
"…Really?"
"Of course. So, do we have a deal?"
"…Okay."
Oh wow, I actually got her with just a few desserts.
Now, with that problem taken care of, Hikigaya could finally focus on finding an opportunity to meet with Ichinose.