"Sigh… What am I even doing?"
Even after thoroughly mocking a so-called genius—who, in reality, was riddled with flaws—Hikigaya didn't feel particularly satisfied. Instead, he was left feeling somewhat gloomy and melancholic.
Even though he had done similar things countless times before, he still wasn't quite used to it.
Whether he was the one mocking or being mocked, the experience was always unpleasant.
After all, Hikigaya was more of a lone observer. Rather than stepping into the fray himself, he preferred watching others argue from the sidelines.
"Maybe I should work on my self-restraint… Tch, this is all that Sakayanagi's fault."
When it came down to it, why did she insist on doing something like this?
There was no real benefit to it, was there?
Hikigaya never doubted her abilities. The capabilities of Class B's students had also been demonstrated during the previous training camp—on average, they were undoubtedly among the strongest in their grade.
In other words, Sakayanagi didn't lack confidence in her ability to defeat Ichinose in the exam.
She simply found this approach… more entertaining.
Putting aside whether her methods were excessive if she truly had her class's best interests at heart, she should have been focusing on dealing with that contract first.
After all, Class B was still losing a massive amount of personal points every month.
If Sakayanagi had been targeting Hikigaya this time, he might have been able to stomach it—at least that would have been proper business.
He had subtly brought it up to Sakayanagi during the winter break.
Despite his reluctance, Hikigaya had even hinted that he was willing to be her opponent.
Unfortunately, that girl didn't listen at all.
Just because Ayanokoji provoked her a little, she decided to prove her strength by crushing Ichinose… Is she insane?
At the end of the day, she's no different from Nagumo. She doesn't care about her class at all, thinking that just because she's capable, she can toy with others as she pleases—using their past mistakes against them… Hm? Past mistakes?
Come to think of it, Hikigaya himself had been mentally cornered by Sakayanagi in a similar way before. He had almost broken down because of it.
…Damn it.
Every time he thought about that incident, a surge of anger flared up inside him.
There was no way he could forgive that damned white-haired girl!
Before he knew it, Hikigaya had arrived at the entrance of the library.
This time, he planned to find some books on dealing with mental exhaustion, but he wasn't sure where to look. Besides, the library at this school was absurdly large.
Maybe he could ask Shiina… Wait, she's not even a librarian. Why was she the first person that came to mind?
As Hikigaya was lost in thought, someone beside him suddenly greeted him.
"Hello, Hikigaya-kun. I was wondering why you were so late today."
"…Hello."
Though they hadn't arranged to meet at the library, Shiina seemed to have assumed he would come… Well, she wasn't wrong.
Since she was here, he might as well ask her about the books.
Just as Hikigaya was about to speak, Shiina beat him to it.
"Sorry, Hikigaya-kun, if you don't have anything urgent, could I take up a bit of your time?"
"What's up?"
"A new mystery novel I've been interested in just came out." Shiina looked expectant. "But the library hasn't stocked it yet. I asked the teacher, and they said there's no plan to bring it in for now. So, I was thinking of checking the bookstore. Would you mind coming with me?"
"Sure."
Hikigaya agreed without hesitation. It wasn't any different from getting a book from the library, and bookstores might have a larger selection anyway.
"Thank you so much."
Shiina clasped her hands together and smiled happily. Then, she picked up her bag, and the two of them left the library, heading toward the Keyaki Mall.
On the way, their conversation naturally drifted to the recent training camp.
"The last exam was really tough."
"Yeah, especially since we had to live with students from other classes."
"I didn't mind that part so much." Shiina sighed. "At first, it was a little awkward, but we all got along in the end. And yet… I still let everyone down."
"Let them down?" Hikigaya asked, puzzled.
He knew that Shiina's group had ended up in last place, but that was mostly due to the third-year groups, not her.
Shiina nodded, looking a bit discouraged. "Yeah… Especially during the long-distance run. Everyone was already being considerate, only making me run the minimum distance… And I was the group leader. I feel like I really let them down."
Ah, so that's what she meant.
Shiina was great academically, but her athletic ability was practically nonexistent. Even a few minutes of running would leave her gasping for breath.
It seemed she felt like she had dragged the group down.
"No, you've got it backward. Just stepping up as the group leader in that situation was commendable. No one would blame you for that."
Hikigaya didn't want to see Shiina looking so down—it just didn't suit her.
"Besides, the exam itself was secondary. I think the school designed that kind of training camp to encourage cross-class interactions."
"You're right. Making friends beyond your own class was really nice." Shiina's mood improved quickly, and she smiled. "Horikita-san and Ichinose-san are both good people. I was actually a little worried that Horikita-san might clash with others, but after getting to know her, I realized she's quite reasonable."
Horikita was indeed like that. She never acted irrationally like some other girls.
Even back on the uninhabited island, while other girls started complaining as soon as things got tough—some even secretly using points to buy things—Horikita had been determined to tough it out, even when she was sick.
She had her flaws, of course—nobody was perfect—but in some respects, she was far ahead of her peers.
"But, there is one thing that bothers me."
Shiina suddenly puffed out her cheeks a little and stared at Hikigaya with a somewhat displeased expression.
"During the exam, you didn't say a single word to me… I even wanted to introduce you to a book I brought."
"…There just weren't many opportunities."
"Oh? Is that so?" Shiina's tone suddenly turned oddly chilly. "But I remember seeing you having dinner with Horikita-san and the others almost every night."
Was it just his imagination, or had the temperature dropped?
"…Don't tell me, just because I'm in a different class, I wasn't even allowed to talk to you?"
"Uh, no, that's not it."
Cold sweat ran down Hikigaya's back under Shiina's sudden pressure.
It wasn't like he went out of his way to talk to girls—he was just gathering information on the girls' groups.
"Hehe, I was just teasing you."
Shiina smiled mischievously, as if she had successfully pulled off a prank.
"I know, Hikigaya-kun was discussing exam strategies with Horikita-san and the others. I wouldn't have been much help in that…"
Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly stopped.
Following her gaze, Hikigaya spotted Ichinose in the distance. She was with a few classmates, seemingly heading toward the mall as well.
However, unlike Ichinose, whose expression was as bright as ever, the other students looked stiff, occasionally glancing around cautiously.
They were probably trying to protect Ichinose, who was currently in the center of the storm.
"As expected of Ichinose-san," Shiina murmured in admiration. "Even in a situation like this, she's walking around so confidently, acting like nothing's wrong. If it were me, I don't think I could do that."
On the surface, it did seem that way.
When faced with rumors, acting openly and confidently was the best way to make them fade away.
But that only worked under certain conditions—either the person was completely innocent, or they had a thick enough skin to ignore everything.
Unfortunately, Ichinose was neither.
She was just a good person who had made a mistake. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before she broke down.
Sakayanagi was likely waiting for that moment—to not only crush Ichinose but also take down Class A in the process.
"Were you thinking of going over to say hi?"
Seeing Shiina watching them, Hikigaya asked casually.
"I was, but… it doesn't seem like the right time. I don't want to cause trouble for Ichinose-san and the others." Shiina smiled helplessly.
Huh… She actually wanted to go?
Hikigaya was a little shocked. If it were just Ichinose, he could understand, but going up to a whole group like that…
Sometimes, he seriously suspected that Shiina was secretly a social menace.
Now that he thought about it, when they first met, she had been the one to approach him… Yeah, she was definitely a social menace.
"Hikigaya-kun."
Shiina suddenly called his name, her expression turning serious.
"This might be sudden, but before we head to the bookstore, can we sit somewhere and talk? There's something I don't want to discuss out in the open."
"Sure."
Hikigaya had a rough idea of what it was about, but he decided to let Shiina speak first.
"Do you have any place in mind?"
"Hmm… Somewhere quiet with few people… Ah, that place looks nice."
Shiina pointed to a café tucked in a corner. Probably due to its inconvenient location, there were barely any students there—it looked practically deserted.
That worked out well.
"Excuse us."
"Welcome. Please sit wherever you like."
As they stepped inside, a handsome waiter greeted them.
Wait… This guy looks kind of familiar?
Shrugging off the thought, Hikigaya followed Shiina to a seat in the back, and after ordering coffee and cake, they got down to business.
"Have you heard anything about Ichinose-san's situation recently?"
"…Everything."
After a brief moment of thought, Hikigaya decided there was no point hiding it from Shiina.
"It looks like I was right, huh?" Shiina nodded happily. "During the last two days of the forest camp, some strange rumors suddenly spread among the boys' group. That must have been your doing, right, Hikigaya-kun?"
"Uh... that wasn't me."
Just a moment ago, Hikigaya had thought there was no need to hide it. But now, he backed down immediately.
Mainly because... those rumors were not exactly elegant.
"Hikigaya-kun, there's no need to deny it. I know you did it for Ichinose-san—to divert everyone's attention, right? Um… it's just..."
As she spoke, Shiina's face turned slightly red.
"Next time, maybe be a little more mindful of the content… right?"
"Ah… yeah."
"Anyway, as long as you understand." Shiina let the matter slide and returned to the main topic. "Even though it seems like it didn't have much effect since Ichinose-san's rumors are still spreading, at the very least, it proves that someone is definitely behind all this."
She had pinpointed the key issue in an instant.
Exactly. If it were just idle gossip, it would be like a floating weed with no roots—it would naturally disappear in a few days.
Just like that little story about Ayanokoji and the wild boar—there was a lot of buzz at first, but before long, it lost momentum, and by now, no one even mentioned it.
For Ichinose's rumors to persist this long, there could be no explanation other than deliberate manipulation.
"So, Hikigaya-kun, I wanted to ask… do you know who's spreading them?"
"…Personally, I think it's Sakayanagi."
Though he had no concrete evidence yet, Hikigaya had no hesitation in naming her.
He then explained his reasoning. "You can actually figure it out through elimination. Our Class D is unlikely to be behind it, and Class A wouldn't do something like this. That leaves only two classes—"
"Class C wouldn't do it either." Shiina cut in before he could finish. "I don't have many friends in my class, but if Ryuuen-kun had given the order, I would've noticed at least some signs. But there's been nothing at all."
"Ah… so that just leaves Class B."
As for the upperclassmen, their involvement could almost be ruled out. The third-years were busy preparing for graduation—they wouldn't have the time to stir up trouble, especially with a first-year who had nothing to do with them.
And if it were a second-year spreading Ichinose's rumors, the only possible culprit would be Nagumo. But that guy wasn't stupid enough to pull something like this.
That's why, from the start, Hikigaya hadn't been worried about wrongly accusing Sakayanagi.
After all, she was the only one who fit the profile.
"Sakayanagi-san, huh…"
Shiina didn't seem particularly surprised by the answer. After a moment of thought, she spoke slowly. "To be honest, I don't like seeing Ichinose-san suffer. Even though I don't have many friends, she treats me just like she treats everyone else. So—"
She spoke her next words with firm determination.
"I never liked harming others, but lately, I've started to think that… if it's to protect a friend, sometimes you have to fight."
"…You want to protect Ichinose?"
"Mm!" Shiina nodded vigorously. "Even though we're in rival classes, I still want to help her. So… Hikigaya-kun, would you be willing to listen to my selfish request?"
Selfish, huh… sigh.
Hikigaya didn't dislike this kind of so-called selfishness. If anything, he envied it.
Because she was her friend, she wanted to help—easy to say, but incredibly difficult to do.
At least for Hikigaya, it was a huge challenge. What if people thought he was meddling? What if Ichinose didn't need his help at all? What if he just ended up making things worse?
Either one of those things would be enough to shatter his fragile heart.
But regardless, at least now he had a reason to take action.
After all, this was Shiina's request… He had no choice.
Come to think of it, he never expected to be doing service work even in high school.
He wondered about those two… Never mind, he should focus on the task at hand.
After all, he couldn't afford to tarnish the club's reputation.