Chapter 153 Sakayanagi, I Suddenly Realize You're Quite Cute
The fact that only a minority of people obtained a massive amount of personal points could easily trigger internal conflict within a class.
This was exactly the conspiracy Ryuen Kakeru had calculated!
However, in Hikigaya's view, this scheme couldn't be called particularly brilliant.
The members of Class A [Note: referring to the new Class A, formerly B] were almost all "goody-two-shoes"; everyone voluntarily and automatically handed over their personal points to be managed uniformly by Ichinose Honami.
Therefore, the problem of "not worrying about scarcity but worrying about inequality" did not exist there.
As for the Katsuragi faction of Class C [Note: formerly A], after experiencing two failures in the special exams, they had basically lost the legitimacy to continue "governing."
The Sakayanagi faction was next in line for power. With Sakayanagi Arisu's ability, it was believed she would soon turn Class C back into a monocracy.
The only one that would be successfully incited was Class D.
Internal arguments in Class D were incessant regarding the distribution of the massive points. Although Hirata Yosuke mediated throughout, attempting to bridge the divide between the two sides, the results were negligible.
As a bystander, Hikigaya even began to feel a bit sorry for Hirata, that "Mr. Nice Guy."
"Hirata, you've done your best. There's no need to go this far for the class."
"No, it's not enough! if I just work a little harder, everyone will surely be able to understand me!
Hikigaya, can you help me?"
"...."
"Hikigaya, I've always felt that you are also a gentle, warm-hearted, and good person."
"Farewell!"
Hikigaya truly could not understand Hirata's approach. What exactly was the point of doing such a thankless task?
.
.
.
Three days remained until the trip fully concluded. These three days were entirely free time. There would be no more special exams to mess with people's mental states.
Hikigaya enjoyed a rare moment of peace.
He lived a secluded life daily; aside from eating and walking, he spent most of his time in his rest cabin.
This energy-saving lifestyle allowed him to somewhat regain his former "solitary" daily routine. It couldn't be helped; recently, he had spent too much time with various girls, giving him the faint illusion that he was becoming a "normie."
That wouldn't do; in his perception, normies were supposed to explode!
To avoid exploding, Hikigaya chose to distance himself from girls. He didn't even open his phone's messaging apps to avoid online interaction.
This was, to some extent, a form of escapism.
It is worth mentioning that perhaps because his real life had been rather monotonous these past few days, even his dreams gradually became normal.
Hikigaya dreamed that he became a bachelor in the future.
Leave aside a wife; he didn't even have a single female friend he could talk to. Although being a corporate slave was a bit of a regret, being able to come home every day to play games, binge-watch shows, and read novels by himself... Wasn't this the plain life he once dreamed of?
One day. Two days. Three days.
Hikigaya hadn't dreamed of a wife for three consecutive days! It was truly something to celebrate...
Wait. Why am I crying? Am I reminiscing about those vivid dreams? Foolish Hikigaya, what is the meaning of being immersed in illusory dreams?
On the fourth day, the ship docked. The journey was declared over.
Hikigaya intentionally avoided everyone. He waited until the students from all four classes had disembarked before he walked off the ship alone.
Then, he saw an unexpected person.
"Welcome back, Hikigaya-kun." Dressed in a white skirt and wearing a woven sun hat, such a simple outfit still could not hide the girl's elf-like beauty.
"...." Hikigaya was restrained on the surface, but his heart throbbed uncontrollably.
"Oh my~ It's been a few days, and it seems Hikigaya-kun's state of mind has changed quite a bit~~"
Sakayanagi Arisu smiled, sizing him up with curious eyes.
"....I suddenly realize you're quite cute."
Hikigaya suddenly felt his throat grow dry. How embarrassing! How many days had it been since he stopped dreaming?
Now even a loli looked pretty and refined to him!
"A confession as soon as we meet?" Sakayanagi Arisu tilted her head slightly, thoughtfully saying, "Could it be that during this journey, Hikigaya-kun accumulated a lot of... desires?"
"Fortunately, you're still a loli brat." Hikigaya took a deep breath, finally managing to adjust his inner fluctuations.
"How rude. I am an elegant lady, after all." Sakayanagi Arisu's narrowed eyes were quite sharp.
"Right. Then, Sakayanagi-san of Class C, I wonder what business brings you to see me?" Hikigaya didn't coddle her; he opened with a "king bomb".
Falling from Class A to Class C was an unacceptable disgrace for all the original Class A students. Yet, the Sakayanagi Arisu in front of him didn't seem to care in the least.
"Your phone suddenly went out of contact. I thought you were intentionally avoiding me. But hearing Kamuro complain that you didn't reply to her messages either... Out of curiosity, I came to see you."
'You really don't care about your own class's situation at all, do you!'
You've dropped to Class C, yet instead of thinking about how to climb back up, you have the leisure to find him for small talk.
As if sensing Hikigaya's strange gaze, Sakayanagi Arisu smiled indifferently and explained non-committally: "For me, there isn't much difference between Class A and Class C. As long as I am there, it is the strongest class."
'What an arrogant woman', Hikigaya really wanted to retort.
"Now~ rather than those insignificant matters, I am more interested in Hikigaya-kun's experiences on this journey."
'What do you mean, insignificant?'
By the way, can a Class C like this really climb back up? It feels worrying.
"My trip wasn't anything interesting," Hikigaya answered perfunctorily.
"Girls gifting underwear, essential oil spas, blowing in the sea breeze on the deck, hiding the VIP's identity, dates with three gyarus..."
"Stop!" Hikigaya hurriedly interrupted her listing, his face full of speechlessness.
"How do you know all this?"
"I have dogs in all four classes. Plus some secret intelligence gathering channels..." Sakayanagi Arisu's explanation was quite terrifying!
"Scary! Are you a stalker?" Hikigaya couldn't help but feel a cold sweat.
"No need to worry. This was just a measure I took to pass the time when I was bored. After all, due to physical reasons, I couldn't spend this beautiful journey with Hikigaya-kun. As a bystander, it's not too much to relieve some boredom, is it?"
Sakayanagi Arisu had the usual angelic smile on her face, but the words she spoke were hair-raising.
"The hobby of human observation is fine and all, but I don't feel I have the value to be observed so deeply," Hikigaya said with hidden meaning.
"Hikigaya-kun is overly modest; you are extremely interesting. Speaking of which, besides you, who else has the value of being observed?" Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze suddenly became sharp.
"Of course it's Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. That is the masterpiece of a certain mysterious Japanese institution!!" Hikigaya spouted pure nonsense with total seriousness.
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