On the other side.
After Chabashira Sae had left.
Although the class transfer was already successful and Sakura Airi would be a member of Class B from now on,
Sakura Airi still signed her name on the IOU without hesitation.
Returning the written IOU to Hikigaya, her small face was a bit embarrassed.
"It feels a bit like a deed of sale..."
"Don't worry about it so much."
Hikigaya shook his head and said: "Just pay it back slowly in the future."
Twenty million.
It wasn't a lot, but it wasn't a little either.
As long as she worked normally in the future, it would be paid off sooner or later.
And.
There was no interest, and Hikigaya didn't plan to force her.
Anyway, the prices in Sakurajima hadn't changed for decades; it wouldn't make much difference if it took ten or several decades to pay back.
"But..."
Sakura Airi said without much confidence: "What if I can't pay it back... I feel like I might not be able to earn twenty million in a lifetime."
"Well..."
Hikigaya was somewhat speechless.
Although Sakura seemed to have changed a bit, that sense of inferiority still hadn't changed.
In Sakurajima.
As long as one is willing to work hard, twenty million Sakura yen is not a very difficult thing.
It's impossible not to pay it back!
That was impossible!
Hikigaya had already made up his mind.
Although the time could be longer, Sakura Airi had to pay back the money.
That way.
When he became rich, he could have more confidence in front of Sakayanagi Arisu.
"Take it slow."
"If it really doesn't work out, come work for me then."
Hikigaya laughed somewhat self-deprecatingly.
He originally thought he would definitely become a corporate slave in the future, but Sakayanagi obviously wouldn't let him off that easily.
Arranging a job wouldn't be a problem.
At least.
In his eyes.
Sakura Airi was much stronger than the current Horikita Suzune.
"I will work hard..."
Sakura Airi nodded vigorously.
"Alright, let's go back."
"Yes~"
Sakura Airi clutched her chest, following half a step behind Hikigaya, her azure eyes constantly fixed on him.
Sure enough.
No matter when.
Hikigaya would appear by her side at the critical moment.
Saving her, protecting her.
Hikigaya was her hero.
This time.
Sakura Airi would never hesitate again.
Until this moment.
Sakura Airi only then discovered that not only had she changed, but Hikigaya had also changed a lot.
Not only was his back straighter, but his hairstyle was completely different from before.
His personality also seemed much more cheerful.
He even patted her head just now.
However.
Hikigaya was still as gentle as before.
Still so handsome.
Just looking at Hikigaya's face made one want to get closer.
Keyaki Mall.
The difficult exam had just ended.
Whether at school or the mall, there weren't many people; at most, there were only figures of first-years and third-years.
At least.
No familiar second-years were seen at all; they probably all went straight back to their dorms.
"Who is that person?"
"Such a beautiful girl, why haven't I seen her before?"
Hearing the discussions around.
"You."
Sakura Airi's face flushed red, yet she still plucked up the courage to raise her head and look forward.
Although it was indeed a bit embarrassing.
Sakura Airi had already resolved to make a change.
Starting with showing her true self!
Just by tying twin tails and taking off her glasses, Sakura Airi attracted everyone's gaze solely based on her looks.
However.
Seeing Hikigaya walking beside her, the people around immediately felt a wave of disgust.
How is it this guy again?
Dammit.
All the good cabbage is being gored by a pig.
Simply envious and jealous to the point of exploding, they could only utter some sour words.
Unfortunately.
These tricks were already useless against Hikigaya.
They could only belittle Sakura Airi's evaluation, though they didn't even know Sakura's name.
"That..."
Hikigaya said somewhat helplessly: "Sakura, I'll go back first. Can you spare a little time tomorrow? I have something I want to ask you."
Even if he could already ignore these things, Sakura Airi was probably feeling troubled.
Although he was curious about what happened in Class D, now was clearly not the time to inquire.
"Eh? Okay."
Sakura Airi agreed without much thought:
"That... Hikki, can you accompany me to Kaka's dorm for a bit?"
"Kaka?"
"That's Hasebe-san."
"Oh..."
Hikigaya then reacted.
It seemed to be that person with long blue hair and a beauty mark at the corner of her eye who always seemed to look down on him.
"Is something the matter?"
"Mm, I dropped out, I think Kaka will definitely be very sad and dejected. Now that I've transferred to Class B, I want to explain to Kaka first."
Sakura Airi hesitated a bit, then asked: "Hikki... is it okay?"
After all.
Her situation was a bit special.
Right now, she was clearly a person of Class B, but her best friend was in Class D.
Even though she wanted to start working hard in Class B and certainly wouldn't betray Class B, it would probably be hard to gain Class B's trust.
Even so.
As a best friend, Sakura Airi was still very worried about Haruka's situation.
"Hmm?"
Hikigaya hesitated for a moment, then asked: "She voted for your expulsion, and you still care about her that much?"
To pass this exam.
A unanimous result had to be reached.
Clearly, Haruka had ultimately cast a vote in favor, agreeing to let Sakura Airi drop out.
This was undoubtedly a kind of betrayal.
But Hikigaya didn't think it was strange either.
After all.
As early as the uninhabited island exam.
Seeing Haruka, Sakura Airi, and Miyake form a group.
Hikigaya knew very well.
In order to form a team with people they were close to,
They had never considered the issue of expulsion at all, or perhaps they only thought about working hard.
This kind of naive and irresponsible thinking never took the other person's safety into account.
This kind of relationship was merely a false sham.
In helping Sakura Airi, Haruka was more for herself; it wasn't surprising she would vote in favor.
At least, that's how it seemed to Hikigaya.
"It's not like that..."
Sakura Airi shook her head frantically.
Truly not wanting Hikigaya to misunderstand her best friend, she quickly explained:
"I was the one who asked Kaka to vote in favor; only then did she vote in favor."
"Doesn't that just show your relationship isn't that great? Even so, you still care about her this much?"
Hikigaya said somewhat speechlessly.
Even putting Ichinose, Himeno, and the others aside.
Even if Kanzaki voluntarily asked them to vote in favor, the people of Class B wouldn't vote; that would be for Kanzaki's own good.
"Yes,"
Sakura Airi nodded a bit shyly and said:
"I haven't had many friends since I was little; for over a year, Kaka has been taking care of me, and being with Kaka makes me very happy."
"Even so, Kaka is my best friend!"
"Hikki, can't you accompany me to see her?"
"It's not that, let's go."
Hikigaya nodded.
Since an explanation was needed, he naturally needed to be present.
Knowing clearly that this relationship was false and not as great as imagined, she still regarded the other as her best friend.
This relationship, perhaps, could also be called real.