Kanzaki's suggestion was essentially like asking corporate drones to hand over their hard-earned monthly salary to a colleague for safekeeping. Was he a demon? He was even more of a capitalist than actual capitalists.
"Cough..." Hikigaya coughed speechlessly before asking, "Whose idea was this?" The final beneficiary would only be Ichinose. He suspected this might be Ichinose's idea—perhaps he had misjudged her and she was actually a calculating schemer behind a mask.
"My idea," Kanzaki explained calmly. "After all, I know I don't have Ichinose's charisma. The only person Class B would feel comfortable entrusting their points to is probably Ichinose."
Since school had only started a few days ago and Kanzaki didn't look like a brainless simp, it was great that Ichinose wasn't a schemer. However, Kanzaki, who proposed this, was practically a demon. From today on, he'd call him "Demon Kanzaki."
"Ichinose, what about you?" Hikigaya looked at Ichinose beside him. The most important thing was the opinion of the person involved.
"I have the same thought," Ichinose nodded frankly. "Since expulsions are frequent in this school, the administration must have measures to prevent them. Private Points should be safer the more we have. I don't want anyone to leave this class. Hikigaya-kun, what do you think?"
Hikigaya's mouth twitched. The difference was that Kanzaki viewed the points as a weapon, while Ichinose viewed them as a means of defense. But still, it was too naive. Who would hand over their money to someone else?
"This concerns the whole class. Private Points are no small matter. It's better to consider the opinions of others," Hikigaya said righteously. Though he disliked these social platitudes, he had to admit they were useful for declining things. By using stiff phrasing, he could remain polite while implying his refusal.
"Indeed," Kanzaki nodded.
"As expected, it has to be voluntary," Ichinose said with a smile. "It's great to be able to discuss this with Hikigaya-kun."
"Is that so? I'm glad I could help," Hikigaya nodded. He felt they didn't care too much, as asking classmates to hand over their points was unrealistic to begin with. Both of them were far more excellent than him, so they naturally knew this. They could only adopt a voluntary principle. Perhaps this proposal was just an excuse to get closer to him.
Thinking of this...
PAGE 6
Hikigaya couldn't help but tighten his grip on his paper cup.
"I'm going to the restroom." With that, Hikigaya stood up and left, weaving through a few tables to enter the bathroom. Staring at his dead-fish eyes reflected in the mirror, Hikigaya's expression dimmed. He looked up at the ceiling in long silence. He couldn't keep pretending.
After a while, he left the restroom, went to the front counter, took out his receipt to pay the bill, and then returned to the table. However, before he reached them, he heard Ichinose's worried voice.
"As expected, it's still not working," Ichinose murmured, her snowy-white hand resting on her cheek as she looked out the window. "How can we help Hikigaya-kun integrate into the class?"
"Actually," Kanzaki sighed, "I think most of it is his own problem. We don't need to involve ourselves this much." Taking just now as an example: leaving without a word, whatever the reason, would lower Ichinose's evaluation in front of Karuizawa and the others. If Ichinose weren't so socially adept herself, they would have become a laughingstock. In Kanzaki's eyes, this was entirely Hikigaya's fault. He didn't know how to read the room. Although Kanzaki also disliked socializing, he understood the importance of the atmosphere.
"Kanzaki-kun," Ichinose said seriously, "Hikigaya-kun is just bad at communicating. It's likely caused by his past experiences. As classmates, shouldn't we take more care of him?"
"Well, true," Kanzaki agreed, nodding. "I noticed he doesn't seem to handle crowds well. Perhaps the two of us together is a bit much for him."
"Mm, I'll take it from here," Ichinose said with confidence.
On the other side, Hikigaya leaned against the wall, staring at the ceiling. Actually, he had known all along. From the beginning—the abnormally warm attitude of Class B, and Ichinose and Kanzaki finding excuses to talk to him. Ichinose must have spoken to everyone in the class. She was truly a kind, gentle girl.
Everyone in the class treated him with kindness, gathering around him after class to check on him. No one forgot his name, and no one mocked his often-awkward comments. This environment was far too warm. It was an experience he had never had growing up—the life of a "normie."
To the point that he didn't want to tell Ichinose and the others about the 20 million points needed to reach Class A. He feared personal interest would ruin this hard-won warmth, or let them see his despicable side. Instead, it made him feel even more despicable. Clearly aware of this, he still felt at ease immersing himself in the comfortable environment Ichinose created.
He deliberately pretended not to notice. This was undoubtedly exploiting Ichinose's kindness to lead the "normie" life he had always dreamed of! Perhaps because he had just graduated middle school, a part of him still harbored an unrealistic yearning.
'Disgusting.'
Hikigaya clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and walked back to the two as if nothing had happened.
"About done?"
"Yeah." Kanzaki picked up his tray and said naturally, "I have something to do. You two go back first."
"Is that so? Got it. See you tomorrow, Kanzaki-kun!" Ichinose nodded understandingly. Her perfect acting made it hard to spot any flaws; they had truly gone through a lot of trouble.
Beside her, Hikigaya pursed his lips, picked up his bag, and headed out. Ichinose quickly followed.
"Bill for table 13." Kanzaki walked to the counter with his tray. He remembered he was supposed to treat them. As for Ichinose—it was just a meal, no need to worry.
"Excuse me, sir, the bill for table 13 has already been paid."
"Hmm?" Kanzaki turned back in surprise, but the two were already out of sight.
On the other side.
"Hikigaya-kun," Ichinose said, walking side-by-side with him with a radiant smile, "Regarding clothes, what do you plan to do about clothes?"
"What clothes?"
"Don't you plan to buy clothes?"
"Aren't there school uniforms?"
"While that's true, you'll need a few sets of private clothes for weekends and breaks, right?"
"Indeed..." Hikigaya replied listlessly. There were many pedestrians returning to the dorms or heading to the Keyaki Mall. In the past, his mom always bought clothes with strange tastes. He wore whatever she bought and had no requirements. This was indeed something he hadn't considered now that he was living alone.
"Want to go to the Keyaki Mall together this weekend?"
"What about the others?"
"If you don't mind, we could all go together? What do you think, Hikigaya?"
"Is that so..."
"I also want to go to the supermarket. Hikigaya-kun only ate the mountain vegetable set at lunch; how do you handle other meals?"
"Whatever works..." He could feel Ichinose constantly looking for topics, but this feeling only made him feel worse. As they approached the dorm building, the surrounding people thinned out.
"Ichinose..." Hikigaya finally spoke.