The next day.
Tuesday noon.
Empty seat.
As soon as class was over, Hikigaya hurried to the cafeteria, found the seat he had agreed upon with Karuizawa, and sat down. He couldn't help but glance at the four seats behind him.
Although it felt a bit ridiculous.
According to what Karuizawa said, there are exclusive seats in the cafeteria.
These seats, often used by the "normies," are rarely occupied by others as long as there are still empty spots.
This seemed to be a tacitly understood rule among the popular kids.
The people at the bottom cannot integrate into the popular cliques and are constantly subjected to the pressure of the campus hierarchy.
And behind him.
Was the exclusive spot for the Year 1 Class D Karuizawa group.
If you looked closely, you would also notice.
There were many other noisy girls in the cafeteria, constantly radiating an atmosphere of "today is so fun" and "this is so funny."
They also seemed to have their own exclusive seats.
How terrifying.
Hikigaya actually didn't know about this.
Although his junior high had a cafeteria, most people would bring their food back to the classroom or the rooftop to enjoy lunch. The campus hierarchy in high school had already developed to such an extent.
Are you guys some kind of leaders from somewhere?
Just then.
Karuizawa walked into the cafeteria with a group of girls. She stood in the center of the group, casually radiating a cheerful atmosphere, without paying any mind to anyone else in the cafeteria.
It was as if she was constantly saying: "Sister is here, you all shut up and eat!" The other girls followed a step behind, surrounding her in the middle.
However.
That was indeed the case.
Wherever Karuizawa passed, the sounds of surrounding conversations would involuntarily lower quite a bit.
So that's how Karuizawa usually is...
She's practically like a Yakuza boss lady.
Too cool.
It looks like choosing her was really the right move.
Just then, Karuizawa and the others carried their trays toward this area. Hikigaya quickly lowered his head to eat.
Karuizawa sat down right behind him, and several girls began to chat.
Strictly speaking, since Karuizawa had such a tragic past, wanting to integrate into the class was by no means an easy task.
For her to stand at the top of the school hierarchy again, she must have her merits.
Hikigaya was truly curious.
How she would guide the conversation.
"Maya-chan."
Karuizawa laughed and teased as she ate: "Aren't you and Ayanokouji already dating? How far have things progressed? Tell me quickly."
"Eh?"
The girl named Maya blushed, and the others also cast gossiping gazes.
"We haven't even held hands..."
Maya said somewhat helplessly: "For some reason, I feel like Ayanokouji doesn't seem very interested in me."
"How is that possible? Satou is so cute!"
"Not even holding hands? What on earth is that Ayanokouji guy doing?"
"I thought at least you'd have kissed by now. Does that guy have some kind of problem... down there?"
The topics discussed by these girls were bold, making Hikigaya blush involuntarily. As expected of a gal clique, they were truly frivolous.
"No."
Satou Maya said with a lack of confidence: "I asked Ike and the others. I heard Ayanokouji is quite amazing in that regard. It's probably just that the timing hasn't come yet."
"What? Satou already asked around?"
"Ayanokouji is amazing in that regard? Exactly how amazing?"
"I don't know either..."
Satou Maya leaned back in her chair and said helplessly: "I heard that when the boys compared during the forest camp, Ayanokouji and Koenji were tied for second place."
"He can compare to Koenji? That impressive?"
"Then who was first?"
"I heard it was a guy from Class B called Hikigaya."
"Never heard of him..."
"Seems to be the person who dragged Class A down during the exam, right?"
"Cough..."
Hearing that the "most amazing" was actually Hikigaya, Karuizawa's face turned red, and she coughed violently.
And behind her.
Hikigaya was equally embarrassed to the point of explosion. Are these girls' daily topics always like this? And their information network is actually so formidable.
"Karuizawa, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine."
Karuizawa quickly waved her hand. For some reason, her heart was thumping even harder. She quickly changed the subject:
"By the way, Shinohara, how are things going with Ike? Don't you really like him?"
"Ha? Who would like a moron like that? He's stupid, clumsy, short, and ugly!"
Shinohara's face turned red as she quickly diverted the topic:
"By the way, how is the Ichinose matter going lately?"
So that's it.
There is this way to guide the conversation.
Hikigaya couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. If they had continued that explosive topic from just now, he wouldn't have been able to take it.
"I heard she took the day off again today~"
"Matsushita, how do you know? Tell us quickly."
"It's nothing."
The one named Matsushita seemed reluctant to talk much until Karuizawa spoke up:
"Chiaki, don't keep us in suspense."
"It's really nothing much."
The one named Matsushita Chiaki then said frankly: "A friend of mine in Class B told me. It seems Ichinose has been taking leave for several days in a row."
Hmm?
Hikigaya frowned.
It wasn't a problem for people in Class B to have other friends.
It was just that this Matsushita Chiaki seemed to clearly know that the center of this group was Kei Karuizawa. She was very good at following the rules.
She would only speak when Karuizawa asked her to, likely to avoid stealing Karuizawa's spotlight.
Regardless of her original intention, she was clearly a more astute type.
Why would someone like that hang out with these gals like Karuizawa? Hikigaya truly couldn't figure it out.
It wasn't that he looked down on Karuizawa, but birds of a feather flock together.
Whether it was Satou Maya, Shinohara, or Karuizawa, they all clearly spoke loudly and brashly, being the "gal" types who didn't care about how others felt.
Matsushita Chiaki was clearly not one of them.
Forget it.
Since it was another class's business, Hikigaya didn't care much.
"Really?"
Satou Maya grinned wickedly: "Do you guys think that note might be true?"
"It's possible!"
Shinohara and the others also joined in the teasing: "Ichinose must have been a criminal before."
"It's really hilarious."
As the conversation headed in that direction, someone covered their mouth and laughed:
"I didn't expect that Ichinose to actually be a criminal. Do you think that girl has been faking being a goody-two-shoes all along?"
"..."
That was the reality.
Even those who originally had no ill will toward Ichinose.
At this moment, they probably couldn't wait to see Ichinose fall from grace and seize her position in the school.
Though even if Ichinose falls, you people could never take her place.
Hikigaya sneered inwardly.
He could only say that as expected of Class D, they were truly foolish to the point of being cute.
But.
This was fine.
"Definitely, she's definitely faking it."
"What do you guys think she did before?"
"Could it be compensated dating? Or sugar baby stuff?"
"Hee hee hee~"
Several girls huddled together saying bad things about Ichinose. Hikigaya couldn't help but glance back.
That Matsushita Chiaki just went along with it with a smile on her face. As expected, she wasn't really of the same sort as them.
"I actually know about this."
Just then, Karuizawa covered her mouth and smiled.
"Eh?"
Someone asked with a face full of surprise: "Karuizawa, do you know something? Tell us quickly."
"Haven't you guys checked the forum yet?"
Karuizawa lowered her voice and said quietly: "Actually, Ichinose caused a violent incident before."
"Eh? How is that possible?"
Some girls looked at each other, inevitably finding it hard to believe:
"I mean, it's that Ichinose, right?"
No matter what.
They would rather believe Ichinose had experience with compensated dating than believe she would cause a violent incident; Ichinose's kindness was recognized to that extent.
"No, actually..."
Karuizawa hesitated slightly before taking a deep breath and saying:
"I heard Ichinose and that Hikigaya guy were middle school classmates. Oh? Isn't that the guy Satou just mentioned?"
"Eh, we can talk about that later. What happened next?" A girl gossiped.
"I heard."
Karuizawa lowered her voice: "At that time, Hikigaya often bullied others in class. Once, he even planned to coerce a girl, and it just so happened that Ichinose saw it."
"The two had an argument, but that Hikigaya guy couldn't win the argument against Ichinose. Finally, he got angry and gave Ichinose a beating."
"Eh?"
Matsushita Chiaki knit her brows and said: "That doesn't seem like it has anything to do with being a criminal, though?"
"But,"
Karuizawa acted mysterious as she smiled: "I heard that guy even lost the fight; he got beaten up by Ichinose instead. It was also because of this that both of them were out of school for a period. I heard they were even summoned by the police."
"Ichinose also caused a violent incident because of these things. I heard it was quite famous locally."
"What is this?"
Satou Maya said with a face full of ridicule: "Is that guy not a bit too pathetic? It's one thing to be caught threatening a girl, but then he loses his temper and tries to hit her, only to lose the fight?"
"Really, that's just way too pathetic. It's killing me."
"How can such a loser exist in the world?"
"And."
Karuizawa further added: "I heard both of them coincidentally got assigned to Class B. Seeing Ichinose, that Hikigaya guy doesn't dare to say a word. He can't even make a single friend in Class B."
"This rumor this time was probably spread secretly by him behind the scenes to get revenge on Ichinose."
"Uwah..."
"He only dares to do petty things in the shadows, and he's even targeting someone in his own class. This guy is just too awful, isn't he?"
Several girls made disgusted faces.
Listening to their conversation.
Behind them, Hikigaya showed a satisfied smile. As expected, leaving the matter to Karuizawa was the right choice.
He could already feel many curious gazes from around the room.
Given Karuizawa's influence in the school, this matter would likely spread through the entire school very quickly.
The incident would be resolved.
The situation had been characterized; no one could stop it.
Ichinose was indeed a "criminal."
But she was a criminal standing on the side of justice.
She was a criminal who caused a violent incident as a last resort to save a girl, using methods of legitimate self-defense.
Whether it was jealousy.
Or whether Sakayanagi had some other purpose.
Whether it was Ayanokouji in the shadows, or someone else with other motives.
Or whatever other messy reason—it didn't matter.
It was all to maintain her persona at school.
No one would dare blame an Ichinose like this. Ichinose would be liberated from her self-reproach, and Class B would no longer need to worry.
Even if Sakayanagi continued to spread the truth, it would only be seen by others as a smear campaign against Ichinose.
When that time came.
Everyone would stand on Ichinose's side and help her denounce Sakayanagi.
Ichinose was the criminal who caused the violent incident.
The incident had been defined.
The whole school had the result they wanted; any other means would be in vain!