50 - Hikigaya's Criticism
Aiura Kokoro let out a pained whimper:
"Eh? W–wait a second…"
What are you all talking about?! Stop saying those things!
"Sure enough, Aiura-san really is the most suited to be a stray cat."
"Yeah, when you put it like that, it makes sense. She's so bad at gambling. Even after all the help we gave her, she still managed to lose."
"She's not very bright, huh… We worked so hard to help her, and in the end she still lost."
"I've disliked her for a long time. Always bossing everyone around. She's just a merchant's daughter—how dare she lecture me, the son of a banker."
"Exactly! And what's with that ridiculous hairstyle? Total nouveau riche vibes."
Aiura Kokoro's vision gradually blurred. Swaying slightly, she stumbled toward one of her usual close friends, reaching out to tug gently at her sleeve.
She pleaded, "Please, stop… all of this…"
But instead of sympathy, she received a harsh glare. The "close" friend frowned and shoved Aiura to the ground.
"Don't touch me! You filthy, abandoned stray!"
Trying to show loyalty to the new clique, the girl stomped over to Mizuya, grabbed the ceremonial sash from her hands—the one symbolizing the class rep title—and tossed it at Aiura like trash:
"Here! Take it! You stray cat! It suits you perfectly!"
The sash landed over half of Aiura's face. From beneath it, the one visible eye filled with tears, her fox-like gaze brimming with heartbreak.
"H–how could this happen…"
"Hahahahahaha—!"
Hikigaya's laughter echoed through the classroom of 1-A class. He walked over to Jabami Yumeko, packing up his bag while letting out an unrestrained, manic laugh.
That laugh was the final straw for Aiura Kokoro. She could no longer hold it in—her teeth bit down on her lower lip, forcing herself not to make a sound, but the tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks, silent and devastating.
"Sorry. I didn't mean any harm."
The moment he had everyone's attention, Hikigaya instantly stopped laughing.
His voice turned cold as ice:
"I just think... it's pretty stupid for fools to mock other fools."
"Huh?"
"Did… did he just call us fools?"
"That damn bastard! Aiura Kokoro's the one who lost, not us! Don't get cocky!"
Hikigaya Hachiman picked up his backpack and stepped protectively in front of Yumeko Jabami, glaring sharply at the entire class.
"Isn't that exactly what happened? Every one of you was involved in helping Aiura cheat in that gamble. Which means, all of you combined lost to just me."
"And now you're piling all the blame onto a single girl. Do you really think you have the right to mock her?"
"Stupid and cruel. That's all you are."
His voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the classroom with perfect clarity. Even Aiura Kokoro, still crying on the floor, heard every word.
She slowly looked up, her eyes meeting Hikigaya Hachiman's with a flicker of emotion she couldn't name.
"Don't you feel ashamed? You're worse at studying than me. You lost to me in gambling. Other than squandering your family's money and basking in your inherited privileges, what exactly do you have that surpasses me?"
"You ignore your own incompetence, and instead humiliate others? Your shamelessness astounds me."
"I'm not singling anyone out. I'm saying this to every person in this room—you're all idiots."
"If you don't agree, feel free to challenge me to a gamble right now. I'll bet any amount of money. But think carefully about the price of losing to me."
Silence fell over the room.
Hikigaya stood there for ten seconds. No one stepped forward. He sighed, disappointed.
Turning to Yumeko, he said:
"Let's go, Jabami. If we stay here too long, we'll catch the idiot disease."
He walked ahead. The girls blocking the doorway instinctively stepped aside, making way for him. Their bodies obeyed, even if their mouths didn't:
"What the hell? What's he being so arrogant about?"
"He dares to go against us? He's gonna pay for that later!"
"I know a guy in 2nd Year—Senior Kidou. I'll tell him about this later and have him teach this arrogant punk a lesson!"
For the time being, no one paid any attention to Aiura Kokoro, who still sat on the floor.
Tears streaked her face as she stared blankly at the back of Hikigaya Hachiman, watching him walk away.
.
.
.
"Hikigaya-kun, were you helping Aiura-san just now?"
After the two of them walked out of the classroom, Jabami Yumeko suddenly asked.
"No."
"I see."
Yumeko let out a small sigh as she held her bag. Her lips pouted slightly as she spoke in a half-serious, half-teasing tone:
"I thought Hikigaya-kun might have softened up a little... That you couldn't bear to see Aiura-san being bullied and isolated by the whole class, so you spoke up~"
"But no matter your reasons, saying something that offends your classmates like that... From now on, won't you be isolated in Class 1-Sakura no matter what you do?"
"Are you okay with that? Hikigaya-kun, you probably want to make friends, right? But now, you might never be able to."
Yumeko's words were like soft, invisible thorns trying to pierce into Hikigaya's heart, trying to peel back the layers hiding beneath his cold exterior.
The compulsive gambler couldn't hold back her greed any longer—she wanted to devour the sweetness named Hikigaya Hachiman right in front of her.
Hikigaya placed both hands behind his head and closed his eyes in quiet thought for a moment before speaking:
"No, I'm not worried."
"It was only today that I realized a mistake I've been making."
"What mistake?"
"That the people of Japan are beyond saving," Hikigaya said grimly, uttering something shocking.
Yumeko was stunned—she hadn't expected Hikigaya to say something like that.
"Eh?! Why would you say that?"
"Look at the people in our classroom. Look at our classmates. What kind of backgrounds do they come from?"
"Sons of bankers. Daughters of conglomerate executives. Children of politicians... Practically every major industry in Japan is represented here. And in today's society, hereditary succession is still a hidden norm. Isn't it terrifying to think that Japan's future will be inherited by this group of fools?"
"Utterly hopeless, selfish, opportunistic... They have no redeeming qualities beyond being born lucky."
"The class system is already solidified. People like me, or someone like Saotome Mary, can't climb up through hard work alone," Hikigaya's eyes gleamed with cold light.
"In this school, maybe they'll act like friends on the surface because of my gambling skills. But once we're outside this place, they'll just treat me as a joke to laugh at during their high-society parties."
As he spoke, Hikigaya glanced at Yumeko and sighed:
"Not everyone can treat others sincerely like you do, Jabami."
"You're making me blush." Yumeko suppressed the greedy hunger in her heart, her eyes glowing red as her admiration for Hikigaya deepened.
"That's why, rather than wasting my efforts trying to befriend them... I'd rather enslave them through sheer power."
"I'll drag them into gambles one by one, pull them into the abyss. And then, I'll have Aiura Kokoro, the class rep, squeeze out whatever remaining value they have."
"Why Aiura-san?" Yumeko asked.
"She hasn't rotted like the upper class yet. But as someone from the middle class, she has the connections, and the ambition to not fall into the lower ranks. People like her are the most useful to manipulate."