Chapter 030: The One-Month Period Has Arrived; The Class Results are Announced!
Ever since Hikigaya-kun and Ichinose released the videos of the Class C fights (obtained from Kanzaki-kun and others) to the surveillance cameras, they took no further action.
After all, with nearly half a month left in the special exam period, they could only honestly focus on the exam.
The longer one stayed in Class B, the more one would feel a sense of inexplicable harmony within the class.
Granted, this generation of Class B didn't have a massive advantage over previous ones, but their cohesion was largely thanks to Ichinose Honami. Her immense popularity and charisma acted like an invisible bond, tightly holding the entire class together.
Now, with the change in class leadership, the students understood the school better and shared a common goal of reaching Class A, beginning to work hard toward it.
To some extent, the fact that this class had already entered a competitive mindset was a good thing.
After all, the Class B in the original story suffered repeated setbacks precisely because they were overly naive.
In contrast, Class A was a hive of constant activity. Within just three days, different Class A students took turns visiting the Student Council to report Class C's fighting incidents.
This time, even without a voice recorder, Ryuen knew that Class A was targeting him.
However, Ryuen was completely unfazed by these reports.
Because his fights were very brief and he hadn't received any additional punishment in the days following the reports, he naturally relaxed.
Simultaneously, under his high-intensity management, Class C rarely triggered any conduct-related point deductions.
Thus, the classes that were "in the know" spent these days of the conduct assessment with extreme caution.
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However.
"I can't help but feel that Kushida-san has been a bit emotionally unstable lately."
Living in the same dormitory building meant frequent encounters in the elevator.
Ichinose keenly noticed that Kushida-san, who usually got along well with her, had recently been keeping a deliberate distance.
Specifically, whenever she noticed Hikigaya-kun beside her, Kushida-san would quickly avoid them like a startled rabbit.
This led Ichinose to suspect that perhaps she and Chihiro-chan weren't the only ones who could hear Hikigaya's inner voice; Kushida-san might be one of them too.
Of course.
Since she had heard from Hikigaya-kun just how incredible Kushida-san's secrets were, Ichinose could somewhat understand her desire to flee after being seen through so completely.
"I wouldn't know," Hikigaya said.
In his eyes, Kushida-san possessed the traits of a "problem child." Since he considered himself a relatively "normal" person, he naturally couldn't fully comprehend her mindset.
"..." Ichinose was momentarily speechless.
Well.
Having been immersed in Hikigaya-kun's inner thoughts for so long, Ichinose was already immune to his rhetoric about "not being familiar with everyone."
Not familiar? He clearly knew everyone's secrets like the back of his hand.
Moreover, some of his internal musings...
Like today:
'It is always difficult for gentle and correct people to survive, because this world is neither gentle nor correct.
Hard work won't betray you, though dreams might. Hard work doesn't guarantee your dreams will come true, but the fact that you once worked hard is enough to comfort yourself.'
Ichinose felt these weren't words an ordinary high schooler would just say offhand. If one recorded them and savored them, one would realize the heavy weight behind the lines.
She didn't know if Hikigaya-kun had planned for the future, but Ichinose secretly thought he really could become a great writer.
"Time sure flies, though. One month is almost over." Ichinose proactively broke the brief silence, her tone filled with emotion.
Over these 20 days, acting as Hikigaya's assistant, she had grown accustomed to moving with him.
It was normal for her to say this.
Today was April 30th, the day the conduct assessment concluded.
The tension held for twenty days could finally relax slightly.
Tomorrow, May 1st, a new month would begin—the moment the school would reveal the full truth.
Only then would the freshmen truly set foot on the battlefield of the first class competition.
"Has it been fast?" Hikigaya, on the other hand, felt as if the days were like years. At first, he might have felt a sense of novelty from being reincarnated.
But suddenly becoming the responsible class representative for Class B...
And with the conduct assessment in place, even he had to study honestly. For someone who liked to draw bears or write down wishes to become a bear in the next life during boring classes, it was actually quite torturous.
Furthermore, his plan to use his proximity to the many beautiful girls at the school to cultivate his emotional intelligence and "conquest" skills—so that he, who was bad with women, could gain experience and find a beautiful, wealthy, or capable woman to support him and his sister—had to be temporarily suspended.
Therefore, the end of the first month was a form of liberation for him.
However, as school ended on the afternoon of the 30th, when Hikigaya and Ichinose walked out of the classroom together and headed down the stairs to the Class D floor, their steps instinctively stopped.
At the junction of shadow and light at the stairwell corner stood a girl with flowing black hair and fox-like eyes. The evening sun shone through the high windows, casting pillars of light on her cool profile while fine dust danced silently in the beams. She held her school bag casually in her left hand, her back straight, ignoring the curious or inquisitive gazes of those around her, radiating an aura of dignified and inviolable solitude.
The girl was clearly waiting for someone, her gaze calm as water. But when she caught sight of Hikigaya and Ichinose walking down together, a spark appeared in those calm eyes; she was clearly waiting for them.
By this time, Ichinose was familiar with the elites of her school year.
She immediately recognized this was Class D's Horikita Suzune—the girl who frequently appeared in Hikigaya-kun's inner thoughts, compared to a classmate of his named Yukinoshita Yukino.
Ichinose knew she hadn't introduced herself to Horikita before. Realizing Horikita wasn't reacting to her presence, she chose to stay quiet.
However...
'Horikita Suzune is the same as ever, completely unable to read the room, acting on her own, all alone, and ignoring the gazes of the students around her. Thankfully she's waiting at the bottom of the stairs instead of the top... otherwise, I'd really mistake her for Yukinoshita waiting for me.'
Seeing the quiet Horikita Suzune, Hikigaya-kun's mental activity was very lively.
"?"
Seeing them approach, Horikita Suzune took a step forward, her heel clicking sharply on the floor.
She raised her refined head, looking directly at Hikigaya, her cool voice breaking the silence.
"I don't believe one must be with someone. Clustering together to flatter each other is not a pleasant behavior.
Even if I eat alone, I don't feel lonely," Horikita Suzune stated directly.
Clearly, she had just heard Hikigaya-kun's inner voice again. Although she didn't know why he compared her to another girl named Yukinoshita, Horikita didn't think there was anything wrong with being alone.
"Then do you know the reason you were assigned to Class D?" Hikigaya-kun asked.
"Being aloof and having no friends means you are significantly lacking in interpersonal skills. That is also a part of the assessment. If you continue to maintain this, you will remain a student of Class D."
"..." Horikita's breath hitched almost imperceptibly.
It could be said that this sentence dealt her heavy damage.
She had already realized how hopeless, academically poor, and unathletic her classmates were—even selfish, short-sighted, and lacking class consciousness—but she felt she shouldn't have been assigned among them.
And now...
Her weakness... was actually this?
But.
"There is nothing wrong with being aloof," Hikigaya followed up immediately, his tone unexpectedly peaceful.
"There is nothing wrong with insisting on solitude, wanting to be alone, or enjoying one's own time.
However, you will eventually encounter a situation you cannot handle on your own. At that time, if you are still alone," he paused, his voice lowering, "your strength might prove insufficient.
The school gave you such an evaluation perhaps in the hope that you would realize this and find someone to walk with. Only then can your lacking social skills truly be completed."
"..." Horikita Suzune pursed her lips.
Because Hikigaya was speaking the words in her heart. She almost felt that he understood her perfectly... well, in the inner thoughts she could hear, he indeed understood her very well.
"You—" Horikita Suzune almost blurted out, 'You're not actually saying this to me, but to that Yukinoshita in your head, aren't you? '
In reality, Hikigaya-kun was indeed thinking of Yukinoshita Yukino while looking at Horikita Suzune.
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