Soon.
Hikigaya walked to the seat diagonally across from Sudo and sat down, placing his bag to one side.
"What are you doing sitting here?"
Sudo Ken immediately furrowed his brows and asked somewhat dissatisfiedly.
Now Class D all held the same thought.
If it weren't for Hikigaya acting out.
How could they have fallen to such a state where everyone scolded them.
However.
They held a sliver of hope in their hearts at the same time.
Just persevere.
After all, Hikigaya had spent money to reignite the public opinion.
One million Private Points every month was not a small figure.
No matter how united Class B was.
It was impossible to let Hikigaya act willfully all the time, and impossible to be willing to bear the loss from such malicious injury forever.
The facts were indeed so.
But.
Hikigaya was using the Private Points left by Horikita Manabu, so Class B naturally wouldn't say much; it's just that Class D had yet to understand the essence of the problem.
"This is a public space of the school, so it should be my freedom to sit wherever I want, right?"
"..."
Hearing this.
Sudo's face looked troubled. After a moment's hesitation, he started packing his textbooks, as if preparing to get up and leave.
"Hey."
Hikigaya was suddenly a bit speechless:
"Preparing to leave already? Leaving just because I sat here is a bit too rude, isn't it?"
"Is that so? Then I'm truly sorry."
Sudo closed the test booklet and said indifferently: "Suzune told me that you're a bit weird and told me not to have contact with you."
As expected.
With the lesson from last time.
Sudo maintained a high level of vigilance.
"Oh, oh..."
Hikigaya was even more speechless. After a moment of silence, he said:
"You really listen to what that Horikita says. You really do like her, don't you?"
"Of course. Unlike a despicable person like you, Suzune is the gentlest and most beautiful person I've ever seen."
Sudo gave a sneer.
"I see..."
Hikigaya didn't argue.
In the eyes of different people, the impression of everyone is different; at least Sudo's evaluation of Horikita Suzune was very high.
Whatever.
It had nothing to do with him.
"Suit yourself, I just wanted to find a quiet place to study."
Saying so.
Hikigaya opened his test booklet with an air of indifference.
Retreating in order to advance.
There was no choice.
Sudo clearly not only had a very poor impression of him, but his vigilance was also maxed out.
If he always maintained such a state.
There was no possibility of conversation at all.
He could only look for another opportunity.
"...~..."
Seeing this.
Seeing Hikigaya silently writing the test, Sudo suddenly hesitated and pulled out his phone to check the time.
He had only just sat down, and it was clearly still early.
Changing seats again would be quite troublesome.
Seeing that Hikigaya had no intention of continuing the conversation, Sudo reopened his test booklet, glanced at him once, and then continued with his own work.
Having had the reminder from Horikita Suzune.
If Hikigaya spoke again.
He would leave immediately.
This guy must be trying to scheme against him again.
...
Twenty minutes later.
Hikigaya inconspicuously glanced at Sudo's test.
This guy had already finished writing an entire page.
It's over.
It's simply difficult to have a dialogue like this; no, it still depends on the way of speaking.
Another twenty minutes passed.
Sudo's expression was focused as he worked on the final large problem, already immersed in the pleasure of studying, completely putting the matter of Hikigaya to the back of his mind.
Clearly.
It wasn't rote memorization; Sudo had already mastered the techniques of learning, or rather, had experienced the joy that learning brings.
Even without anyone supervising.
Sudo could already concentrate on his own hard work.
Impressive.
"You really are impressive..."
Hikigaya glanced at the test collection filled with writing and murmured softly.
"Hmm?"
"Nothing..."
Sensing Sudo's gaze, Hikigaya immediately feigned awkwardness:
"That... it's just that, I heard you were among the last few in school at the beginning, but unknowingly you seem to have reached a B- academic level. Thinking about how I've had almost no growth these past two years, I just felt you were quite impressive."
Naturally, it wasn't that there was no growth.
Hikigaya's academic ability and comprehensive evaluation had already reached a B rating.
Compared to two years ago.
His physical abilities had improved by a large margin.
However.
Compared to Sudo's growth rate, this bit of growth was not worth mentioning.
"Heh..."
Sudo curled his lip in disdain.
"This is only natural. I've been studying desperately every day; how could I lose to a guy like you who just idles his days away."
"That's true..."
Hikigaya gave a dry laugh and did not retort.
The facts were as such.
Sudo grew so quickly.
The effort he put in was likely beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
Whether going to school, leaving school, weekends, or winter and summer breaks.
All rest time.
Sudo was studying desperately, which allowed him to grow from being the very last in the grade to the upper-middle reaches of the grade.
"So..."
Hikigaya continued writing the test, saying in an unconcerned tone:
"Have you already given up on basketball?"
" "
There was no response.
Seeing from the corner of his eye that Sudo was gripping his pen tightly, Hikigaya again feigned awkwardness:
"No... I heard from a friend that you seemingly wanted to become a professional basketball player in the future. Seeing you study so hard, I wondered if you had given up on your original dream..."
"After all."
"If your eyesight isn't good, it should be impossible to become a professional player, though I don't really understand it myself... hahaha..."
As he spoke.
Hikigaya's voice became increasingly awkward, and he then fell silent to quietly write the problems.
Speaking to this point was enough.
He believed Sudo understood in his heart that a near-sighted person cannot become a professional player.
Sudo Ken's growth.
Was merely exchanging his upper limit for his lower limit.
Aside from that monster Koenji and the unfathomable Ayanokouji, Sudo was the most talented person Hikigaya had seen.
In just the first year.
He could become a regular member of the basketball club in this school full of monsters.
Sudo's talent did not need to be questioned.
However.
Whether guided by someone or of his own volition, it was hard to say.
Sudo gave up on himself.
Studying desperately to improve grades.
The possibility of living a high-quality life should be higher.
But he would forever lose the possibility of becoming an excellent professional player and realizing his dream.
Even if he couldn't succeed.
Being a coach to make a living would certainly be no problem.
To put it simply.
He gave up the possibility of becoming a great player and chose a more mediocre path.
Whether this was good or bad.
Hikigaya naturally couldn't judge, nor did he care.
In any case, he was just here to mess with Sudo's state of mind.
At least.
Ayanokouji and the others certainly hadn't told Sudo about these things.
Whether it was Ayanokouji or Horikita Suzune.
No one.
Would truly care about Sudo's future.
They merely viewed him as a tool, wanting him to become a better combat asset to contribute to the class!
So, what about Sudo?
He must be somewhat lost and hesitant.
Rising to Class A would be fine.
Perhaps there would be a hard but high-paying job, or perhaps he could engage in the basketball industry.
In the event they cannot rise to Class A.
Then.
Sudo would merely be a mediocre ordinary person, and his talent in basketball would be meaningless.
Watching basketball matches on TV in the future, would he feel regret that he once had such a possibility.
Glancing at the veins popping out on the back of Sudo's hand, Hikigaya said nothing more.
The seed of hesitation had already been planted.
Class D would only make Sudo mediocre and would not consider a more suitable path for him; he was just here to mess with Sudo's mindset.
Another twenty minutes passed.
Hikigaya packed his schoolbag and prepared to stand up and leave; Sudo was still writing the test, only his speed was noticeably slower than before.
Clearly.
He also felt lost regarding his choices.
No matter how well one's learning grows.
No matter how fast the growth speed.
Without one's own firm way of thinking, these paper strengths have no meaning.
They will only be of the same quality as Hasebe Haruka.
Feeling that everyone has their own reasons.
Being led by the nose by others!