Keyaki Mall.
Karaoke box.
Kiriyama Ikuto and Asahina sat opposite Hikigaya.
"So, did Hikigaya-kun look for me to sing?"
Asahina held her juice and tilted her small head, somewhat confused.
He originally thought she would be like Kiryuuin Fuuka—losing interest immediately after disappointment.
Unexpectedly.
After a short phone call, Asahina still came over directly, making the speech Hikigaya had originally prepared useless.
Even if disappointed.
Asahina Nazuna clearly didn't object to becoming ordinary friends.
There was likely Ichinose's reason in the middle; Ichinose probably said many good things about Hikigaya to her.
Which kept Asahina's impression of him always good.
"Hmm."
Hikigaya did not hide it.
"I want to deal with Nagumo Miyabi, I wonder if you two could help."
"Hmm?"
The two were momentarily stunned.
Hikigaya had already surrendered to Nagumo Miyabi.
And the reason was very sufficient; buying turnover basically guaranteed entering the top four.
Now turning back to deal with Nagumo Miyabi?
Then what about the second-year Class B Cultural Festival? What about the personal points spent?
Dealing with Nagumo Miyabi now.
Isn't that crazy?
"Do you have any plan?"
Kiriyama Ikuto asked with a frown, looking at Hikigaya with a complex gaze.
He originally thought Hikigaya had already surrendered, but unexpectedly he was still thinking of resisting Nagumo Miyabi.
Regardless.
This was something worth supporting.
Kiriyama Ikuto had always hated Nagumo Miyabi's arbitrary and exclusionary style of doing things toward the weak.
However.
Resisting Nagumo Miyabi now was undoubtedly more harm than good for Hikigaya.
"Hmm?"
Asahina was slightly stunned, then became a bit excited:
"So you haven't given up yet? Are you going to deal with Miyabi? Tell me the plan, I'm willing to help!"
"I won't tell you the plan."
Hikigaya explained in a deep voice: "When the time comes, you just need to provide support. Of course, it would be even better if you could leak some dirt on Nagumo; if not, forget it."
Always insist.
Don't trouble others with things that are too troublesome.
At the moment Nagumo Miyabi didn't raise doubts about buying turnover, his failure was already predestined.
Asking Asahina and the others to help was just icing on the cake.
To increase the success rate, that's all.
"Hmm?"
Kiriyama Ikuto frowned:
"Are you unable to trust me?"
"A bit."
Hikigaya nodded, speaking frankly.
Although there was the relationship with Horikita Manabu, his understanding of Kiriyama Ikuto was far too little; he indeed couldn't manage one hundred percent trust.
Kiriyama Ikuto pondered for a moment and didn't find it surprising.
"If I were to tell Nagumo Miyabi right now that you want to deal with him, what would you do?"
"It won't have a big impact."
"I see."
Kiriyama Ikuto nodded, then shook his head:
"If you can't tell me the full plan, I can't make a guarantee. At most, I can only act according to the situation. If there's a chance to deal with Nagumo, I'll take action and win over some people. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"???"
Instead, it was Hikigaya who was stunned.
He originally thought it would take more effort, but he didn't expect Kiriyama Ikuto to agree so easily.
Seeing this.
Kiriyama Ikuto couldn't help but show a trace of a smile, then said with some complexity.
"Don't be so surprised. Although Nagumo won't forgive those who betray him, he is very tolerant toward those with strength."
"Even if it's just to maintain rule over third-year Class B, I still have value to be utilized."
"At least, in terms of Nagumo practicing his own philosophy, he is indeed trustworthy."
"That's true."
Asahina on the side also nodded.
Clearly.
Nagumo Miyabi's rule certainly wasn't something achieved overnight.
Kiriyama Ikuto or other leaders of the third-years must have already resisted before, they just finally failed.
However.
Nagumo Miyabi didn't carry out a "great purge" against them either.
As long as you have strength, you can have your own thoughts—whether it's resistance or submission.
As long as the strength is sufficient, it's fine.
At least in terms of Nagumo Miyabi practicing "personal merit above all," he was indeed trustworthy.
Precisely because of this.
This was Nagumo Miyabi's leadership charm, which is why he could get so many people's approval.
Regardless of whether his character or methods were worth praising.
For Nagumo Miyabi to reach this step, he certainly had his own merits.
All of this.
Still stemmed from trust in Nagumo Miyabi.
Although Nagumo Miyabi was arbitrary and dictatorial, disregarded the thoughts of those around him, and used very despicable methods.
Aside from the accident encountered during the Uninhabited Island Exam.
Nagumo Miyabi had never broken his word.
"Hmm?"
Upon hearing this, Hikigaya's brow furrowed:
"That... Senior Kiriyama, if you are holding such optimistic thoughts, I advise you not to take action. I don't necessarily need your help."
"What about me then?"
Asahina pointed at herself: "I also want to see Miyabi lose once; seeing him act so arrogant like this is quite a headache."
"You and he are childhood friends, right? Then you'll have to judge for yourself, but I advise you both not to be too optimistic about Nagumo. It's best to think that he might take his anger out on you and have you expelled."
Hikigaya explained in a deep voice; he wasn't maliciously slandering Nagumo Miyabi.
Although Nagumo Miyabi performed very perfectly, Hikigaya wouldn't be so easily deceived.
After all.
Nagumo Miyabi had never failed.
This made things too smooth for Nagumo Miyabi all the way, his vigilance was far too low, and it made it even harder for him to recognize his true self.
Perhaps.
Nagumo Miyabi was also doubting whether he was truly strong.
That's why he was obsessed with making enemies out of the strong.
His everything.
Is built on himself graduating from Class A one hundred percent, being able to perfectly suppress the rebellious behavior of Kiriyama Ikuto and the others.
Of course.
All of this was achieved by Nagumo Miyabi through his own personal strength.
But precisely because of this, Nagumo could be so composed.
Treating the entanglements and rebelliousness of Kiriyama Ikuto and the others purely as entertainment.
However.
When it really comes to failure, how will Nagumo Miyabi behave?
No one knows.
He might use it to step further, or he might reveal his true nature.
A person cannot be judged only by their usual behavior.
The main thing is to see how he faces failure, and the choices he makes at critical moments.
Just like Ayanokouji and Horikita Suzune.
No matter how well they perform normally, how high-sounding their words are, they can hesitate for zero seconds to strike at their own people at every critical moment.
This is the nature of the two, which is the most terrifying thing.
Oh.
Horikita Suzune might just be purely stupid.
But Ayanokouji is bound to be cold-blooded, heartless, and extremely self-interested—even the people around him would feel afraid.
"Hmm..."
Kiriyama was deep in thought, somewhat conflicted.
To say there wasn't a bit of worry was clearly impossible, but he indeed couldn't stand Nagumo Miyabi's style.
Ultimately.
"You said supporting you, can it be anonymous?"
Kiriyama arrived at a compromise solution.
"Can do."
Hikigaya nodded indifferently.
It's already good for a person to reach this level; there's no need to be too harsh on someone one isn't familiar with.
"That'll work."
"That's the way it is."
Hikigaya nodded and continued: "If it succeeds, I can provide you with a chance to ascend to Class A, but whether you can graduate from Class A depends on your own strength."
"Hmm? Are you serious?"
Kiriyama Ikuto was suddenly a bit dumbfounded, and Asahina Nazuna on the other side was also somewhat surprised.
"Naturally it's real, but in the end it still depends on the seniors themselves."
Hikigaya nodded and turned to look at Asahina.
Make it clear beforehand to avoid being resented afterward, but the premise of all this was that Asahina's character was decent.
Not only had she selflessly helped Ichinose before, but she also had the intention of dealing with Nagumo Miyabi.
"This way, Senior Asahina also feels it's no problem?"
"This..."
Asahina scratched her hair, clearly somewhat hesitant, thought for a moment, and shook her head:
"Although I don't really care about graduating from Class A, if it's like this, I feel a bit sorry for everyone in the class. I'll pass."
"But, Hikigaya, you can rest assured, I won't tell Miyabi about this. Whether everyone can finally graduate from Class A will depend on everyone themselves, and I also believe everyone has such strength."
"I'll be cheering for you in my heart! You must beat Miyabi black and blue."
"That works too."
Hikigaya's mouth twitched as he nodded.
In the end, only Senior Kiriyama agreed.
The assistance of the two was not necessary; it just made the possibility of success higher.
However.
Having a childhood friend like Asahina is truly a disaster.
In other words.
For him to have mixed to the point where even a childhood friend like Asahina wants to stand on the opposing side, Nagumo Miyabi surely has his own problems.