Chapter 216: Hikigaya Condemns the Heart Again
"Ah... sorry, I spaced out just now. I didn't hear what you guys were talking about." Hikigaya had no desire to get involved in their exchange.
"Oh my~ Was Hikigaya-kun thinking about that girl just now?" Ichinose Honami's words instantly pulled the gazes of Horikita and the others back onto Hikigaya.
'Hey! That's crossing the line, Ichinose-san!'
"Seriously, Hachiman, what are you thinking about at such a critical moment for the class?" Kushida Kikyo stared at him with a beaming smile.
"Cough~" "Not at all." "I... I was also thinking about class matters."
Seeing that he couldn't escape, Hikigaya had no choice but to answer directly: "The reason is simple: because reality isn't a fairy tale."
It was a succinct sentence, and most of the people present wore expressions of confusion. Hirata Yousuke, however, looked as if he'd been struck by lightning; his face turned pale instantly! He muttered the words repeatedly: "Reality isn't a fairy tale..."
"Huh..." Shinohara Satsuki looked at Hirata with concern, then turned her spear toward Hikigaya: "What nonsense are you babbling about? Fairy tales or whatever—it's meaningless!"
'If you can't understand even that, it just proves your IQ is too low.'
Fortunately, Hikigaya didn't like being a riddler.
He explained bluntly: "Believing that wanting to protect everyone will definitely result in protecting everyone—isn't that a fairy tale for preschoolers?
Have you ever considered that even if Hirata's goals are all achieved this time and the whole class is protected...What happens after that?
The three years of high school are long, and there are so many exams ahead.
Are you all going to rely on Hirata for everything?"
Hikigaya ruthlessly exposed the cruelest side of reality.
"Someone like President Horikita might be able to do it. But if I may be blunt, Hirata's strength is far from being able to achieve that."
Facing Hikigaya's slightly derogatory evaluation, Hirata Yousuke was speechless; clearly, he was well aware of his own limitations.
"B-but, regardless, we should at least get through the current exam first, right?" Shinohara Satsuki stammered.
"If you want to graduate smoothly from this school, points are indispensable.
You can't eat the mountain vegetable set for all three years, can you?
If you could truly endure that, I'd call you a powerhouse! But can you really hold out?
In the end, won't you just turn around and sell out the class the moment another class throws you a few scraps?"
Hikigaya's final words could be called a "condemnation of the heart." This wasn't alarmist talk—back in the first semester, someone in Class D had already been bribed to act as a spy. Everyone was speechless.
"Shut up, Hikigaya!!" Hirata Yousuke was truly pushed past his breaking point this time. He raised his fist, looking like he wanted to strike Hikigaya. Seeing this, several people nearby rushed forward to stop him.
"Calm down, Hirata!"
"This is the gymnasium! The teachers are watching!"
However, at this moment, Hirata Yousuke seemed blinded by rage. Even with several boys working together, they couldn't hold him back!
"Shit!"
"Is this Hirata guy really this strong?"
"Ow, ow, ow...!"
Sudo Ken was physically powerful, but he clearly hadn't studied martial arts. He tried to suppress Hirata through raw strength, only to have his joints locked by the other party, leaving him completely immobilized.
Seeing that even Sudo couldn't restrain Hirata, the others began to back off, afraid to provoke a rampaging Hirata Yousuke!
Facing the aggressive Hirata, Hikigaya wasn't intimidated at all. In a one-on-one fight, he conservatively estimated he had a 60% chance of winning. But fighting was just too stupid. Hikigaya didn't intend to solve this through force.
"Nice moves, Hirata!" To ease the tension, Hikigaya made a joke: "You weren't some boxing king in middle school who took down an entire school by yourself, were you?"
Hirata Yousuke froze. The anger in his eyes vanished rapidly, replaced by panic—as if a dark past he never wanted to face had been exposed.
"I... I didn't...
I only took down a single grade."
Hirata blurted out, attempting to clarify Hikigaya's "false" accusation.
"...You didn't take down the entire school.
You only beat an entire grade into submission." Hikigaya offered an apology for his lack of precision.
"..." The entire hall fell into a dead silence. Even Hikigaya's mouth hung open in shock.
'No, buddy? I was just joking. How did you end up self-destructing? And this dark history is a bit too explosive!!
You really were a damn boxing king?'
"Hahaha." Who was laughing? To be precise, the laughter sounded incredibly fake!
"Eh? Why isn't everyone laughing?
Hirata-kun was just joking, right?" Ayanokouji Kiyotaka cracked a smile.
That smile... how should I put it? Calling him a "pseudo-human" wasn't an exaggeration at all!
"S-so it was just a joke."
"Yeah, that's it, definitely!"
"Gave me a scare..." Shinohara Satsuki and the others let out a sigh of relief. It was truly hard to imagine that the sunny, handsome guy in their memories might actually be a ruthless person who ruled a grade through violence!
"Ahahaha~
Everyone, don't be so nervous. Hikigaya-kun and Hirata-kun were just trying to liven up the atmosphere." Ichinose Honami soothed everyone's emotions with a giggle.
However, in Hikigaya's view, anyone with a brain wouldn't believe this loophole-ridden excuse! Yet, the majority of Class D chose to believe it.
One could only say that this class truly had many "special" individuals!
"Fish-eye boy, your words were still too subtle. And your phrasing wasn't 'beautiful' enough." Koenji Rokusuke acted as if the trouble wasn't big enough, suddenly using American pronunciation: "Lose humanity, lose a lot; lose beast, lose everything."
Hikigaya pretended not to understand, thinking: 'Would you die if you didn't act cool for five minutes?'
Wang Mei-Yu, who ranked first in English in Class D, couldn't help but translate on the spot: "Lose humanity, lose much; lose bestiality, lose everything.
This quote is from the science fiction writer Liu Cixin's The Three Body Problem."
Horikita Suzune's eyes lit up. It proved that being well-read was indeed useful.
"Although Koenji's words are harsh, I have to admit his insight has some merit."
Horikita Suzune spoke with a serious expression: "Simply thinking about protecting the class blindly won't work. Once you lose the ambition to move forward, you will eventually end up protecting nothing!"
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