Half an hour later.
Inside the dormitory.
Hikigaya handed the brewed coffee to Horikita Suzune; her original school uniform had been changed to a knee-length blue dress.
"So..."
Hikigaya sat opposite and took a sip of coffee.
"What did you want to say to me?"
"..."
Horikita Suzune held the mug, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.
Think carefully.
Perhaps Hikigaya saw through her true nature at a glance.
"In this exam, I only discovered at the very end that even if they all give up on rising to A, I still want to rise to A. Maybe it really is as you said, it's not for everyone but just for myself."
"..."
Hikigaya's mouth twitched and he didn't respond; he really wanted to say "you only found out now?"
But Horikita Suzune's face was pale.
Her emotions truly seemed not very good, and he felt it was better not to say anything too harsh.
After all.
Encountering a problem and cutting off others, yet having the nerve to repeatedly say it was for the sake of everyone?
Hypocrisy should also have its limits.
It's just that Horikita Suzune seemed to be truly stupid.
She seemed to have firmly believed from beginning to end that she was working hard for the sake of the class.
When she was no longer needed by the class.
Such a lie was no longer applicable!
So after perceiving her own true nature, the blow Horikita Suzune received was probably that large.
"What's the problem with that?"
"Perceiving this makes me a bit afraid; I originally thought I wasn't that kind of person."
Horikita Suzune pursed her lips in some unwillingness.
The self she imagined should have been more gentle and more outstanding, rather than so hypocritical; it's just feeling good about oneself.
Class D's common ailment.
People more or less have a bit of feeling good about themselves.
It's just that it's more serious in Class D; they only have themselves in their eyes.
"Well, it's not too late to know now."
Hikigaya didn't know how to comfort her either.
After all.
No matter how you think about it, it was Horikita Suzune's own business.
"But... was I really wrong."
Horikita Suzune was a bit hesitant, raising her head to look into Hikigaya's eyes with some guilt.
"Failing to recognize oneself is indeed not good, but is wanting to rise to A wrong?"
"It's not wrong."
Hikigaya looked into Horikita Suzune's eyes and said: "But you can't hurt others just because you want to rise to A, right?"
This was the biggest problem.
Wanting to rise to A is of course not wrong; everyone wants the opportunity for free career choice.
No matter what Ike Kanji did or said, it was excusable, since the guy was just trying to save himself and avoid being expelled.
But the others.
They were purely for rising to A, for profit.
Reasonably pursuing one's own interests is not a problem, but hurting others for profit and being loathed is also a matter of course.
"But... it was something that couldn't be helped..."
Horikita Suzune pursed her lips in some unwillingness.
Whether it was the last exam or this exam.
Wanting to rise to A without hurting others.
It was simply impossible; even until now, Horikita Suzune couldn't think of any perfect solution.
"Something that couldn't be helped..."
Hikigaya repeated the phrase.
Although he also wanted to graduate from Class A.
But he himself didn't place particularly high importance on A.
Therefore, he couldn't understand Horikita Suzune and the others' feeling of having to rise to A no matter what.
Simply saying it was wrong was naturally easy.
But it would also just be talking without having a stake in it.
"You should also know about our class's situation in the exam, right?"
"Hmm, well, I heard a bit from Kei and the others."
"When I was accused by Ike for the expulsion, my heart was a mess of confusion and I couldn't do anything."
Horikita Suzune said somewhat bitterly: "Ayanokouji could handle the situation as if nothing had happened, but is that really right?"
"..."
Hikigaya's mouth gave a twitch.
God knows there would be an existence like Ayanokouji.
"Horikita, do you admire strength like Ayanokouji's?"
"..."
Horikita Suzune hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Maybe, people should all want to become excellent, right?"
"Excellent..."
Hikigaya didn't know what to say.
Was Ayanokouji excellent?
Naturally, he counted as excellent.
Whether it was physical ability, academic ability, observation, judgment, or learning ability, all aspects were top-tier.
If this isn't counted as excellent, then what is?
Just.
One thing was clear.
That Horikita Suzune becoming like this was mostly due to Ayanokouji's influence; not only was his strength great, he could also maintain rationality at all times.
But he always felt like something was wrong.
"I'm not sure if he can be counted as excellent, however..."
Hikigaya said in a heavy voice: "The question is, Horikita, what kind of person do you yourself want to become? Is it just simple strength like Ayanokouji's, or something else?"
"I..."
Horikita Suzune was stunned for a moment.
She clearly knew that for the sake of rising to A, Ayanokouji's way of doing things was the most rational.
But the loathing from Ike Kanji and Sotomura and the others echoed in her ears, and even now when she thought of it, it still felt painful.
Her heart was not as ice-cold and emotionless as Ayanokouji's.
Able to remain completely unshaken.
Even for the most rational person, being directly insulted to one's face would still leave an impression.
Ayanokouji was just an exception among exceptions.
Until five minutes later.
Horikita Suzune hesitated slightly before speaking:
"I... want to become a powerful leader who is trusted by others."
"That's impossible."
Hikigaya let out a sigh of relief.
While it sounded a bit greedy, at least it wasn't too outrageous.
"Although I know what it means to be powerful, with your current methods, it is absolutely impossible for you to be trusted."
"I see..."
For some reason.
Having said it aloud, Horikita Suzune suddenly felt her heart clear up.
Wanting to rise to Class A, Ayanokouji's method was the most correct, most rational, and the most likely way to graduate from Class A.
But wanting to be trusted.
That was absolutely impossible.
Cutting off allies whenever a problem arose.
No matter how "correct" it was, it was impossible to be trusted.
At most, it would just be a group gathered together for the sake of profit.
She did not want to be that kind of person.
"Do I still have a chance to become that kind of person?"
"I don't know... you can work hard at it later."
Hikigaya did not give a direct response.
After all.
That was an impossible task.
Whether Horikita Suzune could become the person she imagined in the future was unknown.
But now.
Mistakes already made cannot be undone, especially a mistake like this.
Wanting the people of Class D to trust Horikita Suzune again.
Impossible...
At most, they would maintain a surface-level harmony, with no further contact after graduation.
"I suppose so..."
Horikita Suzune murmured to herself, then looked up at Hikigaya and nodded seriously.
"Thank you. It was really good to talk to you. I'll take my leave for today."
"Oh."
Having said that.
Horikita Suzune turned and left.
There was no point in longing for Ayanokouji's strength.
It might be nearly impossible now to gain the trust of Sotomura and the others.
However.
She would still work hard to do it.
To become a person worthy of trust, rather than a leader who is loathed.
On the other side.
Watching Horikita Suzune's departing figure, Hikigaya had no particular thoughts.
He was only willing to listen to Horikita Suzune because of his promise to Horikita Manabu.
In any case, what needed to be done had been done.
The rest depended not on what Horikita Suzune said, but on what she actually did.
After all.
What she had done until now had left Horikita Suzune with no credibility at all.
There was simply nothing trustworthy about her.
This was the price she had to pay.