As Subaru's voice fell, Yosuke Hirata's expression instantly stiffened, becoming somewhat unsightly.
"Why?"
"We are all classmates, why must you go to such lengths?"
Hirata's voice carried a trace of imperceptible trembling.
It was suppressed anger as well as the incomprehension within his heart.
"Natsuki-kun, you clearly don't have a reason to do this!"
"Yamauchi-kun indeed has many faults; he speaks and acts without thinking, and many classmates find him very annoying... but this absolutely cannot constitute a reason for 'expulsion'!"
Hirata was somewhat agitated as he said, "This is merely a verbal argument or friction between classmates. We can criticize him, help him correct his ways, or even... but expulsion? That is too excessive."
Accompanying his voice, Hirata took a step closer to where Subaru stood.
In Hirata's eyes, usually so gentle and accommodating, a fierce light flickered at this moment.
"Natsuki-kun, I know you are very capable."
"Including Ayanokoji-kun and Horikita-san, you all have great talent."
"You see further and think deeper than us, but precisely because of that, you need to be even more cautious when making decisions!"
Hirata attempted to use the class and the collective to persuade Subaru.
He was making a move similar to what Suzune Horikita had once attempted.
It had to be said that Hirata's ability to express himself and his persuasiveness were far superior to Suzune Horikita's.
"Hirata-kun."
"Rather than wasting time on whether I am going to expel Haruki Yamauchi..."
Subaru looked at the increasingly agitated Hirata, the smile on his face remaining unchanged.
"It would be better to spend a little more time giving Yamauchi-kun some proper remedial lessons."
"Everything in this academy is evaluated by ability. The price required to expel a weak student is definitely different from expelling a strong student."
Subaru spoke slowly, "For example, if I wanted to expel you, Hirata-kun, during this midterm exam, the small amount of personal points I have on me would certainly not be enough."
"However, if it is Yamauchi-kun, that isn't necessarily the case."
"The results of Yamauchi-kun's tutoring during this period have not been ideal..."
Hirata spoke somewhat distractedly.
Hirata was very clear on the meaning Subaru wanted to convey.
As long as Haruki Yamauchi's grades improved, then even if Subaru wanted to expel him, he wouldn't be able to afford the massive amount of personal points required. But the problem lay precisely there.
It couldn't be said that Haruki Yamauchi's tutoring during this period had zero success, but it could be said to be completely ineffective.
The midterm exam didn't just test one subject.
If it were only testing one subject, it wouldn't be impossible to pass or even get a higher score with frantic cramming.
The problem was that there were six subjects in the midterm exam. Yamauchi's attitude toward tutoring these past few days hadn't been serious, and there was more or less an element of self-abandonment involved.
If this continued, passing would indeed be somewhat difficult.
In fact, Subaru might not even need to lift a finger; Haruki Yamauchi might just eliminate himself.
"Since that is the case, what is the meaning of you coming to find me, Hirata-kun?"
Hearing Hirata's words, Subaru shook his head.
If the effect of Yamauchi's tutoring during this period had been excellent, almost guaranteeing he could pass every subject in the midterm exam, then coming over to persuade Subaru just in case would be understandable.
But right now, Yamauchi's own problems hadn't been solved, so there was absolutely no meaning in coming to persuade Subaru.
At the very least, solve the issue of whether Yamauchi himself can pass the exam first.
"No, there is meaning."
"There must be a way for everyone to pass the midterm exam."
"But before that, Natsuki-kun, you must abandon that ridiculous idea of yours."
Hirata's voice turned cold.
The gentle expression originally on his face disappeared completely, replaced by an expression that was gloomy to the extreme.
His entire aura instantly shifted from gentle sunshine to a low-pressure thundercloud.
'This school really produces talent in large numbers.'
'Is this another guy with attributes similar to Kikyo Kushida?'
Watching Hirata, whose expression had undergone an extreme change, Subaru looked on with interest. He made no other moves, even though Hirata looked like he was about to get physical with him.
First Hiyori Shiina and Kikyo Kushida, and now Chie Hoshinomiya and Yosuke Hirata.
Subaru was looking forward to life at this academy more and more.
"However, I don't think my idea of wanting to expel Haruki Yamauchi is ridiculous."
"And I don't intend to abandon this idea."
Subaru looked at Hirata, who was issuing an ultimatum, smiled slightly, and said, "So, what will Yosuke Hirata do now?"
"There isn't much of a choice."
"Natsuki-kun, I have actually always hated violence. Violence is a manifestation of incompetence."
Hirata loosened the buttons of his collar, his movements carrying a trace of violence, and slowly walked toward Subaru.
"But, sometimes, in order to protect something more important, I don't mind becoming incompetent once again."
"Since I cannot persuade you with words, I will use force to stop you."
As his voice fell, Hirata's movements became swift and fierce.
His actions were crisp and clean, definitely not the level of ordinary students fighting playfully; he possessed a considerable degree of combat skill.
Normally speaking, if it were an ordinary student, or even someone slightly more professional, facing Hirata's attack would be very stressful. They might even be suppressed by Hirata within a short time.
However, in front of Subaru, it was simply too immature.
Facing Hirata's movement, Subaru didn't even take a step back. He merely turned his body slightly sideways at an almost imperceptible angle, dodging Hirata's attack.
At the same time, he raised his hand seemingly casually, gripping exactly at the wrist Hirata had swung over.
There was no hard block, because there was absolutely no need for that. Subaru simply pressed and threw casually. Hirata, who had just thrown a punch and whose old force was spent while new force hadn't yet generated, was directly flung away by Subaru.
Bang.
Hirata fell to the ground somewhat wretchedly, a look of confusion appearing on his face.
From start to finish, Hirata hadn't even realized what happened before he was easily flung away by Subaru using the method of borrowing force to strike.
Before Hirata could make any further moves, he felt a foot gently step onto his lower back. That foot applied only a little force, yet Hirata felt completely unable to exert any strength.
At least, he couldn't stand up while that foot was stepping on his lower back.
"Hirata-kun, I don't think violence is a manifestation of the incompetent."
"However, there is no doubt that violence is an art that requires strength to support it."
Looking at Hirata, who was stiff and immobile beneath his foot, Subaru's voice remained gentle.
No other emotions could be heard in it at all.
"Obviously, Hirata-kun, your strength is far from sufficient to use this art to persuade me."
After speaking, Subaru retracted the sole of his foot from Hirata's lower back.
This position was a critical spot Subaru had figured out after countless attempts.
If stepped on in this position, one could use almost no strength. If a person with strong will forced themselves to use strength, it would only cause greater harm to themselves, potentially even leading to paralysis.
"..."
Hirata remained lying on the ground, saying nothing.
Even though Subaru had retracted his foot and was no longer restricting his movements, Hirata did not stand up from the ground.
Standing up would serve no purpose. Words couldn't persuade, and violence had no effect either. Hirata found it somewhat hard to accept—a future where member loss was destined, a class that could not achieve a perfect happy ending.
"However, Hirata-kun."
"There is one thing I am still somewhat curious about."
Subaru had nothing else to do next.
Hirata's performance also made Subaru feel amused, so he simply crouched down in front of Hirata, looking at the somewhat dazed boy, and laughed. "Since the effect of Yamauchi-kun's tutoring during this period hasn't been ideal..."
"Why not use violence on Yamauchi-kun?"
"As long as you use violence to forcibly make Yamauchi-kun study hard, there should still be a high probability of him passing, right?"
"At that time, the evaluation of Yamauchi-kun's strength will definitely improve..."
Subaru's meaning was obvious: rather than attempting to pressure him with violence here, it would be better to pressure Haruki Yamauchi.
Moreover, the result now proved that Hirata's violence had no effect on Subaru. Since he had already resorted to using violence, what difference did it make to use it on one more person?
Using Hirata's words, as long as it was to protect something important, it didn't matter if violence was used.
In that case, to prevent Haruki Yamauchi from being expelled due to failing the midterm exam, directly using violence on Yamauchi to make him study hard—wouldn't that be wonderful?
"What Natsuki-kun says is also correct."
"Anyway, I can't do anything about Natsuki-kun now."
Hearing Subaru's words, Hirata gave a bitter laugh.
Since the path with Subaru was a dead end, in order for everyone in Year 1, Class D to graduate smoothly, Hirata could only try what Subaru had said: go and pressure Haruki Yamauchi.
At least, it was better than doing nothing.
And since he was already pressuring Yamauchi, Hirata didn't mind pressuring a few more.
As long as there was anyone likely to be expelled due to failing the midterm exam, Hirata would pressure them.
"Wanting to achieve your goals, yet afraid of sacrifice."
"Hirata-kun, those who cannot abandon anything will naturally obtain nothing in the end."
Subaru looked at Hirata, who had already made a decision in his heart, smiled, and said, "If Hirata-kun had shown the side you just used against me right at the start of school, and managed the entire class aggressively..."
"At least, the class points wouldn't be zero, don't you think?"
According to Subaru's thinking, if Hirata had let go of some of the persistence in his heart right at the start of school and directly taken over Year 1, Class D using the side he just used against Subaru...
The class points of Year 1, Class D wouldn't be zero, and they might not even be Class D.
It wasn't just Subaru and Kiyotaka Ayanokōji who noticed something was wrong with the school; there was a high probability Hirata had noticed it early on too, only he hadn't looked into it deeply.
He chose to go with the flow and be a 'nice guy' in the class.
For a short time, it seemed the class atmosphere was indeed very harmonious, and everyone was willing to give Hirata some face.
But the final result was as it stood now.
"Perhaps."
"If I had controlled the class from the beginning, perhaps the previous matters with Yamauchi-kun wouldn't have happened..."
Hirata sighed deeply.
"Natsuki-kun, if Yamauchi-kun hadn't done those things to you before, would you still expel him?"
"If he didn't make me pay too much attention..."
"I likely wouldn't have the effort to care about someone I don't care about."
If Haruki Yamauchi hadn't always been getting in his face, Subaru wouldn't have cared about him at all.
"I see..."
"Is it because I was too indulgent with everyone... I understand..."
Hirata gave another bitter laugh.
Being told this by Subaru, Hirata suddenly realized that everything, in the final analysis, was related to him, the class representative, not having direct control over Year 1, Class D.
If he had possessed high control over Year 1, Class D from the start, these things wouldn't have happened at all.
"Who knows."
"Before the result comes out, no one knows what the result will be."
Subaru looked at Hirata before him and spoke with some profound meaning.
Many times, all most people can do is fantasize after the fact about what the final result would have been if they had made a different choice.
However, as a person possessing the ability to 'Return by Death', Subaru could truly experience this kind of fantasy.
It would be difficult for Haruki Yamauchi to avoid provoking him just because of Hirata's control.
Even if he endured it for a short time due to various reasons, the cynicism and jealousy in his heart would drive him to commit other acts.
After speaking, Subaru paid no more attention to Hirata and left directly.
If Hirata hadn't suddenly self-destructed and displayed his other side, Subaru wouldn't have spoken so much with him.
"Those who cannot abandon anything cannot obtain anything..."
Watching the back of the departing Subaru, Hirata slowly stood up, light flickering in his eyes.
"Natsuki-kun, you are right..."
"The time has come where choices must be made..."
"Discard the unimportant things, and then... everyone graduates... Even if I am hated by everyone, I am willing..."
___
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