Soon.
Two boys came before Hikigaya.
Classmates from 2nd Year Class B.
Nakanishi and Beppu Ryouta.
Although they hadn't spoken much, through the past few days of contact, Hikigaya considered himself to have some understanding of them.
In Sakayanagi Arisu's words.
Nakanishi was the person with the worst strength in Class B.
If one had to choose a dropout to maximize benefits, Nakanishi would be the first student to be dropped.
Strictly speaking.
In Hikigaya's eyes.
Nakanishi's strength was on the same level as Ike Kanji, and his personality was relatively introverted; he was currently competing with Sakura Airi for the last place in OAA.
Where he was stronger than Ike Kanji was.
Nakanishi was very polite and had self-knowledge, knowing he was an existence dragging the class down, and always wanted to do more for the class.
Unfortunately, his strength was insufficient.
Therefore.
When he was approached by Hikigaya, Nakanishi agreed very readily, even being a bit excited.
As for Beppu Ryouta, he was just picked at random.
He was also at the back of the OAA and was not very prominent in the class.
In Hikigaya's eyes.
Compared to individual strength, what was more important for a leader was how to use people; using different people could produce different effects.
"Is it going to start?"
Standing in front of Hikigaya, Nakanishi asked in an excited tone.
He and Shirami Chihiro had always been the ones receiving help.
Internally, he always felt somewhat guilty.
No matter how hard he worked, it was difficult to get the desired results.
Knowledge that others only needed two hours to understand, he needed several days and still might not fully understand it.
Although Class B didn't say anything, he didn't want to keep causing trouble for others.
However.
His strength was right here.
He was useless for anything, appearing like a decoration in Class B.
Although Ichinose and others wouldn't blame him and would only comfort him.
Nakanishi really couldn't feel his own value, and he always had an indescribable sense of guilt.
Until Hikigaya came to him.
Nakanishi felt that this was a rare opportunity; no matter what Hikigaya asked him to do, he must do his best to complete it.
"Hmm, I'll have to trouble you."
Hikigaya nodded, then turned to look at Beppu Ryouta.
Although his ability might be insufficient, Nakanishi's action was not to be doubted.
"Hmm..."
Beppu Ryouta scratched his head and said with some difficulty:
"To tell the truth, I don't really want to do this kind of thing. Also, Hikigaya, can this really succeed?"
"Well, at least I am quite certain."
Hikigaya nodded.
Since this kind of thing was indeed a bit unethical, it was understandable that Beppu Ryouta felt a bit troubled.
"Okay."
Beppu Ryouta sighed and nodded; after all, there were no good options now.
The two of them had very average strength.
To avoid wasting that one point, the two did not participate in the subsequent events and were just cheering for their friends.
They were considered... three idle people.
It was indeed a bit hard to just watch from the side; they also really wanted to contribute a part of their strength to the class.
After all.
Although it was said to be unethical, it wasn't that bad.
It was okay if it was for the class.
"Sorry."
Although the two had already agreed, Hikigaya still offered an explanation to care for their emotions.
"Mainly because Kanzaki and I are too prominent; I'm afraid it would easily cause the other party to be alert, so I can only entrust it to you."
"That's not it at all."
Nakanishi shook his head with a smile and said: "To be able to have the opportunity to contribute to the class, I am also very happy."
"I see..."
Beppu Ryouta nodded.
He felt there was some truth to it; he had originally wondered why Hikigaya didn't find someone else.
"Then let's start. I can't follow from the side; everything else is entirely left to you."
Hikigaya nodded and spoke with some apology.
Whether it was a good reputation or a bad one.
He and Ichinose and others were all too prominent.
This would definitely cause the other party to be wary; the best way is to not appear in front of them.
I can only leave it to them.
"Yeah, Hikigaya, you can rest assured".
"That's right, it's such a simple matter, there's nothing to worry about".
The two looked at each other and nodded.
Indeed, they didn't feel any difficulty.
Soon.
Hikigaya arrived at Gym No. 2.
There were many sports items, and the competition times were different, with many events taking place simultaneously.
At this time.
Hikigaya came to the audience seats and immediately saw Ichinose and the others in the cheering section, surrounded by Shiranami Chihiro and other girls who were not good at sports.
"Hikki!"
Ichinose's eyes lit up and said, "Over here, over here".
"How is the situation now?"
"It's already the semifinals; as expected, the people participating in the team events are very strong".
As she spoke.
Tsube Hitomi moved over to make space, and Hikigaya nodded in thanks, sitting between her and Ichinose to watch the match.
At this moment.
The basketball semifinals were underway.
The participants were Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Miyake Akito, Ryuuen Kakeru, Albert, and Hirata Yousuke, a team formed by Class C and Class D.
The opponent was the five-member team from Class D led by the first-year Housen Kazuomi.
On the other side, the semifinals had already ended; Shibata, Kitou, and the others had achieved victory in their match against the third-years.
Hikigaya shifted his attention to the court.
Reasonably speaking.
The second-years should have been able to win easily.
After all, the second-year team configuration led by Ryuuen Kakeru was overwhelmingly powerful; these five were basically at the top level of the second year.
As for the opponent, Housen Kazuomi.
He had no intention of cooperating with other classes at all; the team consisted entirely of students from Class D.
Although they seemed to be elites selected through a screening process, they obviously couldn't compare to "plate kings" like Hirata Yousuke.
However.
The situation on the court was one of evenly matched strength.
With a slight observation.
Hikigaya noticed a hint of abnormality.
Miyake Akito seemed to be in poor condition; several times Ayanokouji wanted to feed him the ball, but in the end, he helplessly passed it to Hirata and the others.
This wasn't hard to guess.
It was likely that he was affected by him and hadn't quite moved on yet, which impacted his performance.
Meanwhile, Ryuuen and Housen were both playing dirty tricks on each other.
Several times.
Hikigaya saw.
Ryuuen blocking the referee's line of sight and secretly giving Housen Kazuomi a few blows with his elbow.
Housen's expression was distorted.
He had no intention of reporting to the teacher at all, and when Ryuuen got the ball, he simply paid him back in kind.
Rather than basketball.
The two looked more like they were in a fight; they were almost beating each other's brains out.
Although Hirata had the heart to mediate, neither Ryuuen nor Housen paid him any mind.
Scoring became secondary.
The two seemed more like they were engaged in a contest of willpower.
The only strange thing was.
Although Ryuuen and the others were trying to cover it up, from the referee's position, one should have been able to detect some abnormality.
However.
There was no sign of blowing the whistle at all.
They seemed to show a great deal of tolerance toward this level of physical contact.