Chapter 27: My Knight, Hikigaya
Matsushita Chiaki: "A nobody from our class is drawing the attention of two class leaders. What's going on…?"
Yamauchi: "This guy's actually Class A's leader!"
At the same time, Horikita Suzune looked at Hikigaya with disbelief. To her, Class A was her dream, her goal, an unreachable place for now. But… the girl before them was undoubtedly Class A's leader and she was interested in Hikigaya. Was he really that impressive?
Could it be… her brother would be interested in him too?
As Horikita thought this, she heard Hikigaya retort with some resistance: "Hey, there's no 'Little Hikki' in this class."
Sakayanagi just smiled teasingly, staring at Hikigaya like he was already hers.
"What's the big deal, Little Hikki? It's pretty cute, isn't it?"
"What am I to you, a pet? Though it does sound kind of nice."
Admittedly, the nickname "Little Hikki" had a certain charm. Even classmates who had no connection with Hikigaya felt a sudden urge to try it out after hearing it.
"Anyway, I'm here to keep our appointment. Shall we have lunch together?"
For the first time, Hikigaya saw the silver-haired fairy's delicate, pitiful expression. Though it was surely a trap, he had to admit it was very tempting.
It reminded him of Isshiki's fake cute act, but this silver-haired fairy's charm was a hundred times more lethal.
Ryūen, seeing the fairy openly vying for his target, flared up instantly.
"Hey, Sakayanagi, are you looking to die?"
"Dragon boy, it's fair competition. And in the end… the choice is Little Hikki's."
Hikigaya, listening to their argument, was momentarily speechless.
'Can't I just stay in Class D? If I'd known I'd be this popular, I should've been assigned to Class A or C to avoid all this trouble.'
Chabashira, as if reading Hikigaya's thoughts, said directly: "With your E+ social contribution and mediocre scores in everything else, dreaming of getting into Class A or C is pure delusion."
"That's harsh. Though I know my limits pretty well…"
Hikigaya couldn't understand why two high-and-mighty class leaders were fighting over him. He didn't have any remarkable abilities. If he went to their classes, he'd just drag them down.
Even so, they were offering him such huge olive branches. It was like all the popularity he'd ever have in his life was concentrated in this school.
"Well then, let's have that chat."
Following the Service Club's principle of fulfilling requests, Hikigaya agreed to Sakayanagi's invitation.
Ryūen didn't say much, only leaving a parting shot: "Hope your negotiation fails." Then he turned and left.
Hikigaya stood up and, under everyone's watchful eyes, walked to Sakayanagi's side.
Sakayanagi gave a faint smile, her fairy-like charm captivating the hearts of Class D's boys.
Sakayanagi: "Finally, my knight has arrived."
Hikigaya scratched his head awkwardly, retorting: "I don't have a knight's sense of devotion."
Sakayanagi returned a smile and, under everyone's gazes, slowly extended her hand.
Seeing the delicate hand in front of him, Hikigaya froze for a moment, puzzled.
Tilting her head like a fairy, Sakayanagi asked in an innocent tone: "What's wrong? Am I not pretty enough?"
"Well, if you put it that way…"
Feeling the hostile glares from Class D's boys, Hikigaya just wanted to escape as quickly as possible.
He took a deep breath, grabbed the girl's slender hand, and hurriedly left under everyone's watchful eyes.
Only the girl's playful expression remained fixed on Hikigaya's face.
Back in Class D…
Sudo: "What are those guys playing at?!"
Ike: "A beauty by his side and a big shot protecting him—who gets that kind of treatment right after starting school? What's up with him? Have any of you even talked to him?"
Faced with Ike's question, the others could only shake their heads helplessly.
It was embarrassing to admit, but even though they were in the same class, it wasn't like they hadn't exchanged a single word with him.
Hirata Yosuke let out a helpless sigh. Just moments ago, he had been on the verge of breaking down, with past events threatening to repeat themselves. Yet, it was Hikigaya, standing at the center of the storm, who had saved him.
He must have seen through it all… but why did he do it?
Hirata wasn't even his friend, and he hadn't done well with the task Hikigaya had entrusted to him.
If he had handled things better back then, controlled the class's rule-breaking behavior more effectively, maybe none of this would have happened. In the end… Hirata only felt he hadn't done enough.
There was no doubt that Hikigaya had saved him.
At that time, despite being the target of everyone's verbal attacks, he was the calmest person in the class. Even in that situation, he was still paying attention to every classmate's emotions. Someone like that… no matter what, couldn't be allowed to leave Class D.
[Miura: "Why care about those guys' feelings when they're insulting you like that?"]
[Hikigaya: "I don't know. Maybe it's because I inherited the Service Club's fine tradition… After all, everyone in this school seems to have some kind of flaw. I know I don't have the ability to help everyone, but… when it's happening around me, I can't help but step in."]
[Miura: "You know, I'm starting to think you're actually pretty kind…"]
[Yuigahama: "Yeah, yeah! Hikki's super kind! You noticed too, Yumiko!"]
[Miura: "It's hard not to notice at this point. This guy's the kind of idiot who'd sacrifice himself for others…"÷
[Ebina just smiled. Speaking of which, she had been saved by him too… She had long understood his kindness.]
[But kind? Hikigaya didn't think so.]
[He had saved many people but hurt many too, like Tsurumi Rumi…]
[And… there were people he still had to save, people he had to take responsibility for… Yukinoshita Yukino. Their relationship would need to be settled one day.]
( End of this chapter)