Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Kiro
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 75
Author Note:
Thank you for your continuous support. Sorry to keep you waiting.
It took some time to construct the plot from this point onward.
It was a cold day when that man appeared in front of me.
“…Takashiro Haruto. How do you perceive the man named Nagumo?”
Horikita Manabu. The previous student council president asked me in the school building in the evening.
It was a difficult question to answer. I was sure he wasn’t asking whether I liked or hated Nagumo. I doubt he would be convinced if I answered with “I don’t give a damn about him.” Honestly, it felt dull.
“U~hn…”
“You understand about his danger potential, right?”
I glanced at Arisu-chan. It seemed she focused on observing Horikita’s brother that she didn’t glance back. It seems I need to handle this on my own.
“Well, I could see his desire to expel students with no ability. And he would do it thoroughly, even.”
“Even then, do you have no intention to be hostile towards him?”
“You’re right. I don’t have any intention to confront him.”
I kept giving vague answers. It wasn’t like I was lying, though…
I couldn’t see what this man was trying to say all this time. That said, I wanted to avoid making him angry as he would likely show the physical attacks he was good at. I mainly tried to not irritate him poorly.
“So you’re saying you are going to overlook the ‘event’ that Nagumo is going to do next?”
His atmosphere changed a little. The content of his question became more concrete, so it seemed we had entered the main topic.
Well then, how should I answer this…?
“Even if you say overlook, I can’t say anything since I have no idea about the details of the event.”
“I see. However, it’s an event that man is in charge of. There will definitely be students who get expelled.”
This… he seemed to know about it. After learning about the project that would be held at the end of this month, he was trying to hear my opinion. On top of that, he came without any intention of disclosing information. He sure did something annoying.
“…I heard the event is voluntary instead of compulsory.”
“He prepared a massive reward for the victor as bait, so he obviously intends to make students ‘voluntarily choose’ to participate. Rather, that voluntary format is just the justification for him to be able to carry out the event. Using sweet bait to lure people is his common practice.”
He said one argument after another. To be honest, I found that annoying.
…Perhaps he wanted me to stop Nagumo? In that case, I would like to refuse.
I didn’t want to interfere in the conflict between seniors. It seemed I needed to declare my stance clearly.
“No matter what Horikita-san says, I have no intention of going too deep into this matter. In the first place, there’s no benefit in confronting the student council. It only serves to earn the ire of the student council, which is only a demerit without any benefit. I think you know that the best, though?”
I insisted on my thoughts and ended the conversation. It seemed he decided I wouldn’t change my mind so Horikita’s brother left without a word. As I was released from the pressure, I stroked my chest in relief.
If possible, I didn’t want to talk to him again. However, it seemed Kiyotaka had some sort of deal with him, so I could only pray it wouldn’t affect Kiyotaka badly. That was my only concern.
That night, Hiyori came to visit us.
“Have you gotten used to Class A?”
“Thanks to you, I have blended into the group.”
She was having a chat with Arisu-chan.
In the meantime, I prepared cups and poured hot water into the coffee bag.1 I usually like to drink green tea, but I felt like drinking this one for today. Hiyori seemed to like it as well, so it was just right.
“The taste might be a little subtle, but please have some.”
“Ah, I’m sorry to make you prepare the drink… Master?”
After sipping the coffee, she released such strong words with a gentle smile.
The impact was so great that I spat out my drink.
“S-stop that. One person who calls me like that is already enough.”
“Fufu, just kidding. I know you don’t wish for that kind of relationship with me.”
…What would you do if I wanted it?
She was still hard to grasp as usual. That was also part of her charm, but it really messed up my rhythm.
By the way, what is the ‘task of Class A’ that you mentioned last time?”
“Let’s see…”
When I asked her about what she mentioned before, she started to think.
A few seconds of silence. She looked a little hesitant but she spoke again.
“…There are a lot of people with naïve thoughts. The idea that nothing would go wrong as long as they listen to Honami-san was spreading throughout the class.”
Hiyori’s observation was spot on. Looking at it objectively, that certainly couldn’t be said as a good state.
However, from the perspective of members of Class A who have been together with her since April, it could be said it was natural to have such thoughts spread. Wonderful results happened continuously, so it couldn’t be helped.
“I think it’ll be easier to understand to say they lack a sense of danger. However, since I was the person who got rescued by that ‘naivety’… I find it hard to fix. However, I think the situation where they wouldn’t move unless Honami-san issues instructions holds a high risk.”
If not for their naivety, Hiyori would no longer be in this school… It seemed Hiyori thought that way. She understood the clear weakness, but that was also the reason she could still be here now. That was why she found it hard to say it, so it was worrying for her.
In the first place, paying 300 class points in order to rescue a single student was something that could only be done if they had the leisure to do so. For example, if the class point difference with Class B was less than 300 points, whether the same decision could be made… was hard to say.
Of course, it would still happen unconditionally if Honami made the instruction, but I didn’t think it would end as peacefully as this.
As I was convinced, I asked about another thing I was curious about.
“…What do you think about Chihiro-chan?”
A special student even among Class A. Chihiro-chan could be said to be deviated from normality even compared to Honami in a sense.
At least, Chihiro-chan didn’t have naïve thoughts. It seemed she got along well with Hiyori, though…?
“Chihiro-san is an indispensable person in class. If she ended up expelled from the school somehow, the current system would collapse.”
“I agree. That girl already has a comparable level of influence to Honami.”
“Yes. However, she is also the culprit who created that atmosphere to begin with. I mean the situation where the whole class became yes-man to Honami-san. That was exactly what she wanted to achieve after all.”
I guess it was fair and just.
Even so, to think Hiyori actually grasped the internal situation so much in just a week… I was impressed by her observation skills. Ryuuen has lost someone great.
Arisu-chan, who had been listening silently, smiled happily. It was cute.
“Fufu, as I thought, Hiyori-san is wonderful.”
“…I don’t think I’m that great to receive such a compliment from Arisu-san.”
“No no, that’s not true. However, let me correct one thing… The current situation of that class is definitely not something that was created by Chihiro-san. If we go back to its root, it began from our actions.”
This surprised me. Did she really intend to reveal all the backstories?
In response to Arisu-chan’s words, I prepared to listen.
“Let me talk about the past for a bit.”
After that preamble, she began to openly talk about what happened between us and Honami.
The story began not long after our enrollment, to the first-trimester midterm exams, the cruise ship exam, and the day her mind broke. She began to explain each event related to Ichinose Honami one by one…
After a few minutes, she finished talking. During that time, I felt an indescribable sense of nostalgia. Looking back at past episodes like this was good sometimes.
“Thank you very much. It seems there are many parts I failed to perceive.”
Although Hiyori was surprised by the sudden story, she seemed to understand the content properly.
While I couldn’t keep up with the sudden turn of events, I realized another thing.
It was the fact that Arisu-chan actually liked Hiyori very much.
If I made this as the premise, her recent change in behavior and thought made sense.
Exactly because Arisu-chan valued Hiyori, she was disappointed by Ryuuen who chose to throw Hiyori away.
It seemed my eyes were just knot holes. Arisu-chan didn’t like Hiyori that much? What an outrageous opinion.
…Didn’t Arisu-chan tell me in the past? That Hiyori could “become a joker”.
“For a long time, I wished for Hiyori-san to go all out. Once that happens, if I speak honestly… I think it’s possible for you to crush Honami-san’s class.”2
It seemed Hiyori really didn’t expect that as she couldn’t conceal her surprise.
Rather, I also find that surprising. I think that would be interesting too…
“That plan was ruined because a certain fool failed to assess your ability properly.”
“…I think you overestimate me.”
“I didn’t. If you were to become active as the leader of Class D, I was sure Honami’s class would no longer be Class A. Really, Ryuuen-kun is such a boring person. I regret that I failed to judge him properly.”
Arisu-chan said some extreme things. Although she didn’t show it in her tone, it seemed she was quite angry.
As I stroked her head to appease her, her puffed cheeks shriveled up. Even the way she was angry was cute.
“I understand Arisu-san’s thoughts. However…”
“Yes, I understand. Hiyori-san’s position has changed greatly now.”
Arisu-chan sighed regretfully.
She understood it meant nothing now it already came to this, and Hiyori also became silent.
The atmosphere became awkward for a while.
The next person to speak was Arisu-chan.
“Although I said much earlier, I think the current situation isn’t that bad. If Hiyori-san stayed in Class D, I don’t think you would get your chance to become active.”
There was no doubt about that. Hiyori’s caste in Class D was already the lowest back then, so it would be hard to change the situation unless her environment was changed. Asking her to blend with Class D was unrealistic.
“It’s all thanks to Haruto-kun. I think I received a debt I could never repay.”
“…I realized that my idea failed to consider the perspective of ‘how Hiyori-san would feel about it’ during the Mixed Training Camp. That’s why, this is fine as it is.”
As she said that, Arisu-chan closed her distance with Hiyori.
“Please do your best. Neither I nor Haruto-kun have any reason to stop Class A anymore. On the contrary, I’m interested in how far it could go… and what will happen in the future. Would it become a dystopia like the current second grade? Or would the cult spread to the whole school? I can’t imagine how it will become.”
Arisu-chan spoke with some excitement. I think she truly thought it was fun.
Although Hiyori got pressured, she nodded deeply.
…Maybe Honami’s statue might really be built in the future.
I was also interested in what the Honami cult would end up becoming. I was sorry for the chairman, but I had no intention of intervening and enjoyed it as a bystander.
Now it came to this, I doubt it could be stopped. Even though Honami could make them listen to some extent, it was impossible to control the group of fanatics with Chihiro-chan being the first on the list. Even though Honami’s order could stop some actions, it wouldn’t be enough to overturn the current situation of her being treated as a god. No matter what she did, it would only treat the symptom.
I was sure Hiyori would be active as well. However, she felt it was no longer possible to cure the “lesions” she had found with her unparalleled insight.
“…Don’t overdo it.”
“Eh?”
“For me, it’ll be plenty as long as Hiyori can lead a comfortable school life. I think you won’t get stained by Honami, and you might feel something off in that group… but I don’t want you to push yourself too hard.”
“Haruto-kun…”
Considering she got rescued, it was natural for her to want to contribute to the class. However, if she got crushed by that pressure, it meant rescuing her would be all for nothing.
…I guess I need to remind Honami about this. That was what I thought.
Author Note:
As for the unanimous vote exam, perhaps it would still follow the original, but…
For the time being, it would only be picked to some extent.
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