Early the next morning.
Hikigaya got up thirty minutes early for the first time in a while to go to school.
To tell the truth.
If it was tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands, it might still be possible.
But six million.
It felt a bit unrealistic.
However, there wasn't anything to really care about.
Just like Yamauchi Haruki and the others' judgment, letting things develop naturally would also mean Hikigaya being expelled.
Nothing to really care about.
These were probably the last few days he would spend at this school.
It was better to go to school early.
Fortunately.
Thanks to this school.
Whether it was the humanities or the sciences, he hadn't fallen behind; finding a high school in Chiba through his shitty old man wouldn't be difficult later.
However.
The only thing Hikigaya was curious about was whether this was the choice Ichinose and the others had defaulted to—defaulting to letting him be expelled.
Although judging by Class B's performance during this year.
The possibility of this was very low.
But Hikigaya was truly concerned—if this was the choice they had all defaulted to, but they just couldn't speak of it out of concern.
Hikigaya would naturally cooperate.
It's just.
He really was a bit concerned.
After all.
The difficulty of Ichinose wanting to borrow six million was truly not small; other than twenty million, there should be no other way.
Hikigaya could understand their thought process of needing a dropout.
In that case.
It should allow this throbbing heart to return to peace.
Just then.
Red.
Ichinose's figure appeared in his field of vision. Even though he had left half an hour early, he still managed to bump into her.
Perhaps this was just Ichinose's usual time for heading out.
"Hikki."
Ichinose walked toward Hikigaya with a gloomy expression.
"Oh, morning."
Hikigaya didn't stop walking. Ichinose followed by his side, her face filled with hesitation as if she wanted to say something.
"Um... can I walk with you?"
"There's only one road to school, so it's not really a matter of 'can' or 'cannot.' Or are you just being indirect and telling me to get lost?"
Hikigaya spoke indifferently. Even though he didn't mean anything by it, his tone somehow sounded a bit cold.
The thing she was hesitating to say probably wasn't that, though.
Hikigaya roughly knew what she wanted to talk about.
"How could I? Hikki, you just love to joke around."
Ichinose felt relieved and kept pace beside him, but the haze on her face didn't dissipate for a long time. After a while, her eyes grew moist for some reason.
"I'm sorry..."
"..."
Hikigaya's footsteps paused for a split second before he started walking again.
As expected.
Borrowing six million points was just too difficult.
This exam required a student to be expelled. It was something Ichinose couldn't help; she didn't need to apologize.
Hikigaya was willing to cooperate.
The throbbing in his heart grew calm again, yet for some reason, he felt a sliver of disappointment.
Forget it.
It was nothing to worry about.
This was the choice any normal person would make. The fact that Ichinose could feel guilty about it already showed how kind she was.
"I'm sorry..."
Ichinose apologized again while walking beside Hikigaya, her small white hands firmly clutching the strap of her shoulder bag.
The exam rules were set in stone.
Even if it were left to Hikigaya, there would likely be no way out.
Agreeing to date Nagumo Miyabi to raise the six million points.
This was already the only method she could think of.
But.
Spring was nearly here, so why did it still feel so cold? Why did her heart hurt so much?
Ichinose exhaled a white mist, her voice trembling and choked with tears:
"I don't want to lose anyone in the class. Is that wrong?"
"There's nothing wrong with that."
Hikigaya looked at the ground, walking toward the school listlessly.
Expelling an inconsequential existence to protect everyone in the class—this was a choice every qualified leader would make.
Ichinose was indeed a qualified leader.
"I suppose so..."
Honami Ichinose's tears flowed down like a broken dam. She wiped the corners of her eyes with her burgundy sleeves, letting out continuous sobs.
Don't cry.
You just made the right choice.
"Really..."
Ichinose covered her tear-streaked face with both hands, unable to even form complete words anymore.
"Really... I'm sorry..."
Don't apologize.
You only made the choice that any qualified leader would make.
"Don't apologize. I'm not complaining."
Hikigaya's heart had returned to a state of calm, and he spoke with utter indifference.
He had just given Komachi her birthday present.
And now he was being expelled and sent home.
He'd surely be mocked mercilessly by Komachi and his crappy old man. Well, he was used to being mocked anyway, so it didn't really matter.
Being able to see Komachi again would be fine.
"But..."
Ichinose could bear it no longer. She clutched her chest and crouched on the ground, tears gushing out like a flood.
The fact that she was like this.
Undoubtedly proved that Ichinose was truly a very kind and gentle leader.
After all, the exam was what it was.
There was nothing that could be done.
She hadn't done anything wrong, and she didn't need to be this sad.
"You don't have to be like this."
Looking at the crouching Ichinose, Hikigaya stopped and scratched the back of his head. His eyes wandered awkwardly toward a nearby vending machine.
"Um... I don't really mind that much. It can't be helped, after all. This is fine."
"Eh?"
Ichinose looked up.
Her reddened, beautiful eyes stared at the boy in front of her.
So that was it.
It had all been her own wishful thinking.
Thinking of this.
Ichinose let out a self-deprecating, slightly bitter smile.
Fair enough.
It was her own one-sided feelings from the start.
She had one-sidedly fallen in love with him.
One-sidedly loved him.
And then one-sidedly hoped to get his understanding.
And one-sidedly felt disappointed.
Hikigaya had no reason to care about her in the first place.
"In that case."
Ichinose stood up, trembling slightly.
Even if her feelings wouldn't be reciprocated, the emotion itself wasn't fake. She still liked him.
Ichinose looked at Hikigaya with a faint, bitter smile on her lips.
"I also want to say sorry to myself."
"You really don't have to..."
Hikigaya stared at the ground, a hint of bitterness at the corners of his mouth.
In the end.
It was still like this.
He still had to make others feel miserable on his behalf. It really wasn't necessary.
"Even though it's a bit shameless."
Ichinose lowered her head and pursed her lips: "Hikki, in the future, could you please not dislike me?"
"How could I?"
Hikigaya couldn't help but clench his fists.
No one had the right to dislike her.
Dislike this Ichinose, who was constantly worrying and agonizing for the sake of the class.
"Thank you..."
Ichinose's pretty face was still a bit bitter. She looked toward the direction of the school with a hint of sadness.
"Alright, let's go."
"You go ahead. I want to buy a drink."
Hikigaya looked at the vending machine by the street. For some reason, he really didn't want to go back to the classroom right now.
Luckily, he had left the house half an hour early today.
There was still time to take a breather.
"Okay."
Ichinose nodded, pursing her lips.
Clearly, Hikigaya still cared a bit. That was enough; it gave her the courage to keep walking.
Even if she had to do things she didn't like.
She would be able to keep going.
Watching Ichinose's departing figure, Hikigaya turned toward the vending machine.
He stared at the wide array of products inside the machine.
Hikigaya put his phone up to the scanner, his finger slowly hovering over the MAX Coffee.
That can wrapped in colors like a yellow-and-black caution tape.
It only occupied one slot.
It was like an outlier in the beverage world.
Even if he had only entered this school through someone's charity, except for people who were extremely addicted to sweets, it really wasn't very popular. It couldn't compare at all to the popular drinks surrounding it.
Being able to occupy even one slot inside was already extremely lucky.
Occasionally, trying a new flavor seemed like it wouldn't be so bad.
Hikigaya looked at the blue can next to it and pressed the button.
Listening to the "clink-clonk" sound from the vending machine.
Hikigaya bent down to pick up the can of black coffee. He walked to a nearby bench, sat down slowly, opened the tab, and took a small sip.
"So bitter..."
Hikigaya looked up at the azure sky.
As expected.
Kyoto's vending machines didn't need Chiba's MAX Coffee.