As soon as Hikigaya left the student council room, he received a message.
"Surveillance cameras?"
Reading the message, Hikigaya immediately understood why Horikita had refused the "settlement" in the end. So that was her plan?
"So Ayanokouji was the one who reminded her?"
Thinking back to the meeting, Hikigaya recalled the sudden change in Horikita's attitude. She had seemed ready to compromise, but after Ayanokouji said something, she refused the settlement. He was probably guiding her toward using the surveillance cameras as leverage.
Judging by the message he just received, Horikita and the others had started working on a baiting strategy after the meeting—using the cameras to lure C-Class into a trap and force them to withdraw their accusations against D-Class.
"It's a good idea, but… a little too optimistic."
If Hikigaya had to evaluate Horikita's plan, he'd say it was a decent move. If it worked, everything would be fine. But if it failed, the consequences would be worse than this whole fight.
And from what Hikigaya knew about Ryuen, word of what happened in the meeting would reach him soon. He wouldn't let his guard down.
"This is too reckless."
Hikigaya shook his head. Horikita's plan was risky—it exposed her weak spot to C-Class. It could be called a clever trick, but also a dangerous gamble.
It also highlighted the difference between her and her brother. Manabu's strategies followed a direct and solid path. Even if you noticed what he was doing, it was nearly impossible to stop him. More importantly, he never put himself in danger.
Horikita's approach, on the other hand, made the gap between them obvious.
But Hikigaya could understand. The difference between them came from years of experience, their environments, and their positions. They saw completely different "landscapes."
Hikigaya stood by the hallway window, thinking for a moment. Then he pulled out his phone, went to his contact list, and found the group labeled [Class B]. He sent a message to one of them.
A reply came in seconds.
Hikigaya responded with, "I need to talk to you," and received a location in return.
Not long after, he met with Kanzaki and Ichinose from Class B in the school cafeteria.
"Good evening, Hikigaya-kun. Have you eaten yet? Join us!"
Ichinose greeted him warmly, while Kanzaki sighed helplessly beside her.
"I'm a little hungry too."
Hikigaya nodded in agreement, leading to the strange sight of a bottom-ranked student from Class D sitting at the same table as two leaders from Class B.
"I've actually been meaning to thank you, Hikigaya-kun. Thanks to your help back then, our class was able to focus on studying without any worries."
Ichinose put her hands together in gratitude.
She was talking about the midterm exams. Back then, Class B students were frequently harassing students from other classes, with Class C being their main target. Hikigaya had been the one handling and cleaning up these incidents. Over time, he had naturally become familiar with some students from Class B.
Of course, at the time, Hikigaya mostly felt like they were just using him as a "bodyguard."
The person he had contacted earlier was Kanzaki, the boy sitting next to Ichinose. He had also been Hikigaya's rival in the student council interviews.
Back then, Hikigaya had the impression that Kanzaki didn't really like him. But now, not only had they added each other as friends, they were even sitting down to eat together. Life was unpredictable, after all.
As for Ichinose, Hikigaya hadn't interacted with her much. Aside from that student council interview, their paths hadn't crossed often. Ichinose was simply too capable—both in terms of leadership and social skills. Even when Class C students caused trouble, she handled it with ease, leaving no need for Hikigaya to step in.
And she was also known as one of the most popular students among both boys and girls in their year. Why "one of"? Because there was another person—Yukinoshita Haruno.
Haruno and Ichinose were the two most outstanding and talked-about students among the freshmen. They were also the "faces" of Class A and Class B, respectively. While Ichinose had the title of "Class B's leader," Haruno had the added status of being in the student council.
Anyone who interacted with Ichinose could immediately sense her genuine sincerity. She was someone you simply couldn't dislike.
During Sudou's case, she had unhesitatingly stepped in to help Class D, earning the appreciation of many students.
Naturally, the conversation soon shifted to the recent disciplinary hearing. Hikigaya took the opportunity to speak.
"Ichinose, your class has already helped Class D a lot in this case. The hearing is over now, so I just wanted to say thank you for everything you've done so far."
"Hmm~ Are you saying you want us to stop getting involved?"
Ichinose quickly caught on to what he meant.
Hikigaya nodded. "I know this might sound rude, but to be honest, you guys have already done more than enough. And precisely because of that, you shouldn't keep going."
"Huh? Why not? Helping others isn't wrong, is it? If someone is struggling and I have the ability to help, of course, I should help them! Just because we're in different classes and technically competitors doesn't mean we should ignore people in need. That would be wrong!"
Ichinose spoke her mind.
Kanzaki, sitting beside her, seemed like he wanted to say something but ended up just sighing.
Hikigaya had expected this. During the student council interviews, he had already gotten a good read on Ichinose Honami's personality. Because of her pure sincerity, she could say things like "If someone needs help, I will lend a hand" without a second thought.
If it were anyone else, Hikigaya would have scoffed. But this girl actually lived by those words.
"And that's exactly why I hope you stop here. You have the trust of your classmates, and you carry their expectations on your shoulders. Putting yourself at risk isn't just irresponsible to yourself—it's also irresponsible to them."
Hikigaya warned her with a serious expression.
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