Chapter 217: Hachiman Won't Hate Me, Right?
"Lose bestiality, lose everything...In the end, you'll protect nothing..."
Under the alternating psychological blows of Hikigaya and Horikita Suzune, Hirata Yousuke was left utterly speechless, reduced to a state of total silence.
"No, things shouldn't be like this!" Surprisingly, Ichinose Honami seemed to harbor some resistance to this logic.
However, just as she was about to elaborate, Kanzaki Ryuji, standing beside her, interrupted: "Ichinose, don't say any more."
'Is he trying to prevent Ichinose from exposing a weakness?'
Hikigaya gave him a meaningful look. Kanzaki Ryuji was a core figure of Class A; judging by personal ability, Hikigaya believed this man was no weaker than Ichinose. Moreover, in a Class A filled with "goody-two-shoes," Kanzaki was one of the few men willing to break moral boundaries.
"It seems that for the time being, Class D cannot reach a consensus.
Let's put the cooperation on hold for now. Sigh..." Kanzaki Ryuji couldn't help but let out a sigh—likely the frustration of dealing with "pig teammates."
"However, I must warn you: right now, Classes A and D both belong to the Red Group camp. Regarding whether our classes will cooperate, please make a decision as soon as possible. We need to deploy our participants in advance."
.
.
After class, Class D's classroom was abuzz with discussion. Despite Hirata Yousuke being torn to shreds during the verbal spar in the gym, most people still leaned toward his "safety net" plan.
"I agree with Hirata's plan. Anyway, we're already at zero points; we don't need those few extra points.
Yeah, ranking in the bottom ten and losing ten points? That's too terrifying!"
Led by Shinohara Satsuki, the "scum" of the class who were bottom-tier in both academics and sports began to band together to state their position.
"Can you people show a little backbone?"
Horikita Suzune grit her teeth and said crossly, "If you usually listened in class and studied properly, you wouldn't have to fear a deduction in your written exam scores!"
In her worldview, studying hard was a student's basic duty.
Fearing failure? Then just attend tutoring and memorize the material.
Why couldn't they do such a simple thing?
"Horikita-san, you're just talking big because it doesn't affect you. If we fail the midterms, we get expelled! Class D has already lost three people since the start of the term. If more leave, wouldn't that be an even bigger loss?" Shinohara Satsuki spoke with conviction.
Hikigaya really wanted to say that letting this group of "scum" get expelled might actually be a good thing for Class D.
"Don't be ridiculous! To accommodate you academic failures, we're supposed to completely give up on the sports festival exam? Class D will never see the light of day!" Horikita Suzune's face was full of indignation.
"Horikita, the way you talk is too unpleasant. No wonder you don't have friends." Seeing that she couldn't win through logic, Shinohara Satsuki pivoted to personal attacks.
"Hmph! Making friends with people like you would only lower my character." Horikita Suzune didn't budge an inch.
Seeing the shouting match about to escalate, Kushida Kikyo quickly stepped in to mediate. "Both of you, please calm down. Since we can't reach a consensus, why don't we hold a vote right here? That would be fair for everyone."
'Voting, democracy—it sounds fair. But to be blunt, if you let a group of failing students take a multiple-choice test, the odds of them picking the right answer are slim to none!'
The final voting results were released. The majority of Class D favored Hirata Yousuke's plan. Horikita's side only received ten votes.
The fact that there were even ten votes surprised Hikigaya quite a bit!
He had originally worried Horikita wouldn't get a single vote, which would be awkward, so he cast his vote for her. How did so many other votes suddenly appear? Out of curiosity, Hikigaya checked the voting list.
Sudo Ken, Miyake Akito, Yukimura Teruhiko... Thinking about it, seeing these three wasn't strange. The former two were top-tier athletes seeking high rankings for personal points and bonuses. Yukimura, while bottom-tier in sports, was in the top ten academically; even with a ten-point deduction, he wasn't at risk of failing.
But the names Sakura Airi, Hasabe Haruka, Karuizawa Kei, Matsushita Chiaki, and Sato Maya were more subtle.
"Airi, Haruka, why did you guys vote for Horikita too?" Hikigaya asked curiously. Although their grades had improved thanks to his tutoring, a ten-point deduction would still put them at a moderate risk of failing.
"B-because I don't want to hold the class back..." Sakura Airi looked directly at him with a determined gaze.
"My thoughts are the same as Airi's. But just to be safe, Hachiman, you'll have to give us more tutoring." A glint of light flashed in Hasabe Haruka's eyes.
"What about you guys?" Hikigaya looked at Karuizawa and the others.
"Whichever side Hachiman-kun votes for, we vote for," Karuizawa Kei said solemnly.
"Me too!" Sato Maya nodded in agreement.
"Hasabe-san is right. If we're afraid of failing the written exam, we'll just ask Hikigaya-kun to tutor us." Matsushita Chiaki looked at Hasabe meaningfully: Don't think I don't know what you're up to!
Hasabe Haruka shot her a dirty look: There are too many "stray cats" around; I have to keep them away for Airi's sake!
"Too bad it's useless. The final result follows Hirata's plan." Even as he said it, Hikigaya didn't really care.
"That sort of thing? Whatever!" Karuizawa Kei was equally indifferent. The other girls nodded in a tacit understanding. As long as they supported Hikigaya, they didn't give a damn about the sports festival!
...I was careless! Kushida Kikyo's expression was grim. She had advocated for the vote specifically to oppose Horikita Suzune.
She never imagined she would end up on the "wrong" side from Hikigaya's perspective! Kushida looked at Hikigaya cautiously, her heart filled with unease: Hachiman won't hate me, right?
Hikigaya was looking down at his phone and didn't notice.
'He... won't look at me... He's definitely angry!'
Kushida Kikyo felt instantly dejected.
Another day of classes ended. A group of uninvited guests forcibly burst into the Class D classroom.
"Yo~ Class D trash, you all look pretty energetic!"
The provocation was immediate. Ryuen Kakeru stood on the lectern with extreme arrogance. Faced with this "face-to-face" mockery from another class, the Class D crowd was furious.
And then... nothing happened.
Simply because standing next to Ryuen was a black powerhouse nearly two meters tall: Albert.
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