"There's no need to argue anymore. When the time comes, just cast a criticism vote against me."
With those words, the classroom fell silent.
Matsushita, seated nearby, glanced over in surprise, but Hikigaya pretended not to notice.
Honestly, this whole business of deciding whom to vote against was trivial.
School's already out, right?
The class meeting ended ages ago, so stop wasting everyone's time!
More importantly, thanks to a sudden pang of guilt, Hikigaya had given half of his yakisoba bread to Ishizaki at lunch, leaving himself barely full. By the second period in the afternoon, he was starving.
He had finally endured until dismissal, only to get caught up in this nonsense.
If this dragged on any longer, he was seriously going to starve to death!
"Hikigaya-kun, wait a moment," Horikita called out, her brows furrowed. "I already told you this morning—even if you have twenty million private points, there's no reason for you to pay. This is a problem for the entire class to face together. Besides, at this point, it's no longer just about the money. Yamauchi Haruki doesn't even deserve to be saved."
"Yeah, yeah, you're absolutely right."
Hikigaya nodded absentmindedly, utterly disinterested.
"But you see, Horikita, even if you've thoroughly proven that Yamauchi is both perverted and useless—a traitor, even—your efforts are ultimately futile. You won't achieve your goal."
"…I don't quite follow."
"It's simple." Hikigaya spoke casually. "You all seem to have forgotten one crucial detail: this entire move by Yamauchi was orchestrated under Sakayanagi's orders."
"Of course we haven't forgotten! In fact, that's exactly why I—"
"Actually, you did overlook something important."
"That's impossible… What exactly did I overlook?"
Before she could finish, Hikigaya cut her off.
Horikita instinctively wanted to refute him, but upon meeting his gaze, she hesitated for a moment and then rephrased her words.
Even though it still felt unlikely, she wanted to hear exactly what he meant by "overlooked."
"You said it yourself this morning, didn't you?" Hikigaya reminded her. "The reason Yamauchi so readily agreed to cooperate was because Sakayanagi offered him certain additional incentives—things like a romantic relationship or… perhaps B-Class's praise votes."
"…Ah!"
Horikita's eyes widened in shock.
Hirata, on the other hand, looked completely dumbfounded, and the rest of the class reacted similarly.
"Looks like you all understand now."
Hikigaya had no intention of giving them more time to think and continued explaining.
"As the mastermind behind this scheme, Yamauchi was already taking on significant risks. In other words, if not for Sakayanagi's promise of praise votes, there's no way a coward like him would have agreed so quickly."
It was a reasonable deduction, and in reality, Yamauchi had received such a promise.
As for whether Sakayanagi would actually follow through… Well, most of Class D didn't think she would deceive Yamauchi—there was no need for her to go that far.
"If things continue this way, the one getting expelled won't be Yamauchi. It'll be Ayanokoji, Sudou, Kouenji… or Ayanokoji again. If we're not careful, every single one of you could end up in last place."
Ayanokoji: "???"
Wait… why was his name mentioned twice?
"So just go with Hirata's plan," Hikigaya continued. "Casting criticism votes against me is the safest choice. Hirata isn't just trying to protect Yamauchi—he's trying to protect all of you. Don't forget that."
The classroom instantly fell into silence.
Horikita placed both hands on the podium, lowering her head deeply, biting her lip in frustration.
No matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn't think of a single argument to refute him.
She wanted Yamauchi to be expelled, and she definitely didn't want Hikigaya to waste twenty million points on someone like him… Everything had been planned out. She had considered all the variables last night.
She thought it was foolproof.
And yet, she had overlooked the most crucial factor.
If not for Hikigaya's reminder, the final outcome might have truly resulted in losing a talented student while allowing someone like Yamauchi to stay.
"Haha… Hahaha! That's right, that's exactly how it is!"
At that moment, Yamauchi suddenly burst into foolish laughter.
"Man, I wasn't planning on telling you all this so soon, but since Hikigaya guessed it, I'll just say it outright!"
Dramatically raising his arm, he declared loudly, "I've already made a deal with Sakayanagi-chan! I'm getting the praise votes from Class B! That means, even if most of our class votes to expel me, I won't be the one leaving! I have Class B protecting me!"
As he spoke, he pointed directly at Hikigaya.
"So even if Hikigaya spends twenty million points, I don't owe him a single bit of gratitude. On the contrary, you guys should be the ones thanking him!"
"Spare me. Getting that kind of gratitude would just make me sick." Hikigaya, propping his chin on his hand, spoke in a bored tone. "Also, Yamauchi, do you really think it's a good idea to be so full of yourself? Sure, you might have survived this time, but have you thought about what comes next?"
"Huh? What do you mean, 'what comes next'?"
"I mean your life at school from now on."
Hikigaya looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Don't forget, Horikita just exposed all your dirty laundry. Do you really think you can go on as if nothing happened? Forget just Class D—your entire grade, maybe even the entire school, will look at you differently from now on."
"…Eh?"
Yamauchi stood there blankly as if his brain refused to process it, but cold sweat was already forming on his back.
"Don't naively think that just because the school has strict anti-bullying policies, nothing will happen to you," Hikigaya sneered. "There are plenty of ways to make someone suffer without getting caught. And let me remind you, the current student council president is quite lenient when it comes to handling fights… Heh, if I were you, I'd take this chance to drop out. It'd probably be an easier way out."
With each word Hikigaya spoke, Yamauchi's body trembled.
It seemed he was beginning to realize the miserable future awaiting him.
After all, a peeping tom was universally despised.
Still, he refused to back down. "Y-You're just trying to scare me! Besides, Ayanokoji was involved too!"
"Yeah, he was." Hikigaya nodded. "The difference is, he can fight. He took down four guys on his own, including Albert from Class C. Can you do the same?"
"I… I… I'm not scared of them!"
Yamauchi stammered, struggling to save face.
At the very least, he couldn't afford to back down in front of the whole class.
"Good for you, then."
Hikigaya wasn't about to argue with someone like him. Time would prove everything.
What concerned him more was the others.
"Hirata, you should prepare yourself too."
"…Hikigaya-kun."
"Strictly speaking, Yamauchi didn't need your protection this time… But, well, I don't dislike how you willingly played the villain for the sake of a classmate. So stop looking so gloomy and cheer up a little."
That was Hikigaya's honest opinion.
At first, he had expected Hirata to choose self-sacrifice in the end.
Of course, that method wouldn't have worked—D-Class barely had anyone who would vote to expel him, especially not his fangirls.
Hirata must have realized that as well. That was probably why he ended up choosing a method that, for him, was even crueler.
Fortunately, he was a handsome guy, not a beautiful girl. Otherwise, Hikigaya would have started worrying about whether he'd follow in Ichinose's footsteps.
But then again…
Did Hirata come up with this plan on his own?
…Whatever. Not like it mattered.
"Hikigaya-kun… I am sorry." Hirata still looked guilty.
"No, no, there's no need to apologize to me." Hikigaya waved his hand dismissively. "Like I said, just enjoy yourself while you can. Yamauchi's life is going to be hell from now on, so you better take responsibility and protect him."
"Hey! Stop spreading nonsense! T-That won't happen!"
Despite Yamauchi's desperate shouting, the cold gazes around him doused him like a bucket of ice water.
If even his classmates were like this, he could only imagine how other classes would treat him.
Not to mention… Social isolation was also a form of bullying.
And it was practically unsolvable—neither teachers nor the school could do anything about it. That was just how education worked everywhere in the world.
Especially for high schoolers at this delicate age, no one took things like "moral principles" seriously.
It wouldn't be surprising if someone suggested that from now on, everyone should ignore Yamauchi, never talk to him, and treat him like air.
For a loner like Hikigaya, that was nothing.
But for Yamauchi… Hopefully, he had the mental fortitude to endure it.
"H-Hey, guys, you won't do that to me, right? Say something!"
Yamauchi desperately sought reassurance, but naturally, no one answered.
That was precisely why, even with praise votes from another class, he had gone out of his way to deny betraying his own.
Because he feared being ostracized.
It wasn't inevitable before. But now that Hikigaya had pointed it out, he had planted the idea in Class D's minds.
From this point on, Yamauchi's fate was sealed.
He probably hated Hikigaya to death right now… Oh well, let him.
"Everyone, please believe me! Don't listen to Hikigaya's nonsense! We're comrades, aren't we?!"
While Yamauchi continued to spout meaningless pleas, the classroom remained silent.
Then, Kouenji was the first to stand up and gracefully walk out.
As if following a signal, the other students started packing their bags.
No matter how Yamauchi tried to engage them, their responses remained indifferent.
Even Sudo used club activities as an excuse to hurry out with a guilty look.
Oh wow, that worked faster than expected.
Human malice was terrifying.
As Hikigaya pondered what to eat later, he lamented his limited options—he could only use meal vouchers at café…
Pasta, then.
Honestly, he wanted ramen.
But asking for that at a café would be pushing it.
"Hikigaya-kun… Can we talk for a bit?"
At that moment, Hirata approached, looking deeply troubled.
Naturally, this drew quite a bit of attention.
Seriously, when was this going to end?
Before Hikigaya could respond, Matsushita interjected, "Hirata-kun, things have already turned out this way. Stop bothering Hachiman-kun, okay? Clinging too much will only make people dislike you."
…Huh?
Matsushita?
Hikigaya was taken aback—not just because she called him by his first name in front of everyone, but also because she had openly spoken against Hirata in class.
She'd better watch out for those fangirls.
Like Shinohara, who was glaring daggers at them right now.
"No, I just wanted to come and apologize." Hirata looked deeply remorseful. "I'm really sorry, Hikigaya-kun. It's my fault for acting impulsively. I assumed you would never agree to help Yamauchi… So at the very least, please let me make it up to you. I'll convince everyone to vote in favor of you so you can get a protection point. In exchange, would you be willing to contribute your personal points…? Would that be acceptable?"
"Hirata, you're mistaken."
"…Huh?"
"Putting aside the matter of helping Yamauchi, I have no interest in protection points. There's no way I'd ever make a deal with you."
"Eh? But—"
"There's no need to think about compensating me." Hikigaya's tone was slow yet firm. "Besides, protection points are supposed to be a weapon for the class. Even if I got one, I wouldn't use it for the class's sake. So from the very beginning, I had absolutely no intention of wanting it."
Honestly, bringing up a deal would only make things more complicated.
After all, his account had already been frozen—he couldn't withdraw any money even if he wanted to.
Of course, even if it hadn't been frozen, Hikigaya still wouldn't have agreed.
This was a matter of principle.
"Then… do you have enough points right now?" Hirata asked again. "I have around 600,000. I can give you all of it, and I'll figure out how to cover the rest. I'll go find Nan—"
"There's no need."
Hikigaya cut him off immediately, shaking his head. "I told you already—money isn't something you need to worry about. You should focus on Yamauchi's situation instead… You understand what I mean, don't you? I'm not joking even in the slightest."
"…Yeah."
Hirata's face darkened.
It seemed he understood the gravity of the situation even without Hikigaya needing to spell it out.
Back in middle school, Hirata had witnessed bullying firsthand. Even though he was just a bystander, the experience had left an irreparable scar on his heart.
More than anyone, he knew how terrifying it could be.
"Anyway, I'll be counting on you from now on."
With those parting words, Hikigaya picked up his bag, ready to leave.
However, just as he was about to go, someone called out to him.
"Hikigaya, come with me for a bit… Don't make that face. It's just a short conversation—it won't take long."
"…Oh."
If it were anyone else, Hikigaya would have flatly refused without hesitation.
He was starving.
But the problem was… this time, the person calling him was the homeroom teacher.
[T/N: The highs and lows in this fic is something else.]