"I'll agree to this for now," Horikita Manabu said in a low voice, his tone grave.
"But Hikigaya, I don't think it will have much effect. Yes, Nagumo is ruthless toward those who oppose him, and it's not the first time he's engaged in actions similar to Ryuen's violations. However, those are mere technicalities. To use that to bring him down is impossible. After all, most of the upperclassmen have experienced his methods firsthand."
"No, that was never my intention," Hikigaya responded, shaking his head. No matter what, he wasn't naive enough to think that would work.
He was merely seeking an additional safeguard.
Sometimes, the smallest, seemingly insignificant piece of dirt could be the final straw that breaks the camel's back.
In any case, from purchasing the eavesdropping devices to installing them, everything was left to Horikita Manabu. If they were discovered, all the risks would fall on the former student council president. By then, Horikita might have already graduated.
"Besides," Horikita added, "though Nagumo and I have different approaches, he's at least a man who follows through on his words. That guy has never gone back on anything he's promised. You can rest easy on that."
"…I see."
Hikigaya neither agreed nor disagreed with Horikita's words.
Ah, the former student council president is naive, isn't he? It was clear from this conversation how soft-hearted Horikita Manabu truly was.
In the grand scheme, this was a clash of ideologies—a battle with no room for compromise. Despite knowing that Nagumo was eliminating dissenters and understanding that their views were incompatible, Horikita Manabu couldn't bring himself to take decisive action.
Luckily, this was just a school. If it weren't, Horikita Manabu would have been devoured long ago. Even though he was praised as the strongest student council president in history, at the end of the day, he was just an excellent student.
Just like how Katsuragi couldn't imagine Sakayanagi resorting to backstabbing tactics, it wasn't due to a lack of ability. Rather, people like them, who grew up surrounded by goodwill, simply couldn't conceive of what true malice looked like.
President Horikita's assessment of Nagumo was based on nearly two years of working together in the student council. However, Hikigaya had only seen Nagumo a few times, yet he could almost instinctively discern the truth.
Nagumo was just like Sakayanagi—someone who wouldn't hesitate to use any means necessary to win, not bound by superficialities.
The reason he hadn't broken his word so far was simply that he hadn't found it necessary.
But once it became necessary, Nagumo wouldn't hesitate, would he?
"Speaking of which, you've taken the initiative this time," Horikita Manabu suddenly pointed out. "Can I assume something happened that changed your thinking? Something related to your recent outing, perhaps?"
Hikigaya had only requested a free activity period, without revealing the true reason behind it.
However, his actions were indeed unusual. It was no surprise that Horikita would notice.
After all, until now, Hikigaya had maintained a passive stance regarding Nagumo's reforms.
To be honest, if it were just him, he wouldn't bother dealing with Nagumo at all.
Whatever that guy did, it didn't matter. At most, Hikigaya would work behind the scenes out of respect for President Horikita, maybe dragging Ayanokoji into the spotlight and letting them fight it out like dogs.
But now that the situation had changed, he couldn't afford to be so indifferent.
Even if Komachi was accepted into ANHS, by then Nagumo would have already graduated. But that didn't mean everything would be fine.
Nagumo's reforms would undoubtedly have a significant impact on the school, and this influence wouldn't disappear just because he left. Depending on the circumstances, it might even continue to spread.
The competition among students would become even fiercer. To secure a spot in Class A, even classmates might start seeing each other as rivals.
This school was already bad enough. Hikigaya didn't want Komachi to stay in an even worse environment.
Of course, it wasn't something he could stop right now.
Nagumo had already taken control of the entire second year, and his reform proposals had attracted a large number of followers. You could say he was at the peak of his power.
So for the time being, Hikigaya wouldn't oppose Nagumo—in fact, he'd even help him implement his reforms smoothly.
When the time was right, that would be the perfect moment to strike.
"It's nothing special. If you need a reason, it's the same as yours," Hikigaya replied nonchalantly.
"The same as mine?"
President Horikita furrowed his brow, unaware that he'd been privately labeled as a "tsundere sister-loving sadist with glasses."
"In any case, let me know when everything's done," Hikigaya shifted the conversation. "And remember, if your goal is just to take down Nagumo-senpai, that might be relatively easy. But if you want to destroy his ideology, conventional methods won't work."
"…I'll keep that in mind."
It seemed President Horikita understood the difference and the difficulty between the two.
If it had been before, Hikigaya wouldn't have said so much, nor would he have meddled in this matter.
But now the situation was different.
Once the time was ripe, he would decisively and thoroughly dismantle the results of Nagumo's reforms.
---
Leaving the student council office, Hikigaya immediately wanted to return to his dorm room and catch up on some sleep. After all, the past few days had been mentally exhausting, especially with Komachi applying for ANHS...
Please, please don't get accepted!
Unfortunately, Hikigaya never placed his hopes on others.
Rather than holding on to some half-baked optimism only to regret it later, he believed in giving his all from the start.
Besides, Nagumo wasn't the only troublesome person in this school. The current first years were particularly problematic. Depending on the circumstances, he might have to deal with them too.
Hmm… He couldn't help but feel that his thoughts were becoming increasingly dangerous.
Hikigaya was somewhat aware of this, but he had no intention of correcting it.
Although this might interfere with the task given by Miss Haruno, Komachi's future school life was far more important.
When it came to priorities, Hikigaya had always been clear.
If he ever had a girlfriend in the future and was asked who he would save first if both his girlfriend and his sister fell into the water… the answer was obvious.
No help for it.
Siblings from Chiba are just like that!
Just as Hikigaya entered the dorm lobby, intending to take the elevator upstairs, he suddenly remembered something.
He still hadn't delivered the gifts from Katsuragi and Ichinose.
Ichinose wasn't an issue—he had her contact information, so he could easily arrange a convenient time for her to pick it up.
But Katsuragi… he couldn't exactly ask Sakayanagi, could he?
"Ugh, what a pain."
There was no way Hikigaya would ask Sakayanagi. He wanted to avoid letting more people know about this.
If someone used this against him, it would be a real headache.
…Whatever. I'll sleep on it first.
When faced with uncertainty, it's said that the best course of action is to take a long nap. There's even scientific evidence to back this up—when the human brain is fatigued, it struggles to make sound decisions.
So, let's be clear: this wasn't an attempt to avoid dealing with troublesome matters.
Ding—!
The elevator quickly arrived at the ground floor.
To his surprise, an unexpected person was standing inside, and they seemed equally shocked.
"Hey, Kamuro."
Hikigaya greeted her in his usual casual manner and made a move to step into the elevator. But before he could, Kamuro yanked him back out.
"Hey, why are you trying to leave without saying anything?"
"I did greet you, didn't I?" Hikigaya replied, feeling a bit wronged.
Honestly, if anyone had been silent, it was Kamuro. Girls are unreasonable sometimes.
"Enough with the excuses," Kamuro cut him off, clearly impatient. "Anyway, you're free now, right? Come with me somewhere."
"Huh? Where are we going?"
"We're... we're just going to grab dinner. Stop asking so many questions."
For some reason, Kamuro seemed a bit embarrassed.
It wasn't like this was the first time they'd had a meal together. Was there any need to get shy now? After all, they'd done things far more embarrassing... No, better not think about that. Might as well just go.
"By the way, why are you still wearing your school uniform?"
Kamuro suddenly gave Hikigaya a puzzled look.
"Isn't it uncomfortable in this heat? Are you feeling sick or something?"
"It's not like I want to wear this," Hikigaya sighed. "But I can't get onto campus without it... This school and its endless stupid rules."
"Oh, the student council thing."
Kamuro had a look of realization and then, with a sympathetic expression, patted Hikigaya on the shoulder.
"Even though this is your own doing, it must be tough."
"...What do you mean by 'my own doing'? I was forced into this!" Hikigaya protested.
"Sure, sure." Kamuro waved him off. "You always say you don't want to work, but when something comes up, you're the first to jump in—what a big fool."
"Uh..." Hikigaya was at a loss for words, but why did it feel like he was being insulted at the end?
With a heavy sigh, Hikigaya decided to change the subject. "Never mind that. Have you decided which restaurant we're going to?"
If she hadn't picked a place yet, this could turn into a real problem.
After all, deciding what to eat for dinner is one of humanity's three greatest challenges.
"A-actually... I was thinking... we could try ramen. It's a rare chance, after all..."
Kamuro fidgeted as she spoke, an uncharacteristic display of bashfulness.
Ramen, huh... Wait, what?
Ramen?!
For a lonely high school boy, that's about as familiar as it gets.
Whenever he didn't know what to eat for dinner, the first thing that popped into his mind was always ramen.
But that's just for guys. Girls usually don't go for that kind of food.
Especially young women—they rarely go to ramen shops or fast food places alone. It's practically a societal norm.
"So, does that mean you are a g—"
"What? Care to repeat that? I'll kill you."
"I'm sorry..."
Hikigaya couldn't quite understand it. Kamuro was the one who suddenly snapped, yet why was he the one apologizing in the end?
This kind of phenomenon was truly baffling.
But, he decided to put that aside for now.
As a devoted ramen aficionado, he rarely got the chance to recommend a place to someone!
"Alright, if we're talking ramen, leave it to me." Hikigaya thumped his chest confidently. "No exaggeration, I've tried nearly every ramen shop around the school. I can pick the best one without fail."
"Oh..."
Kamuro seemed taken aback by his enthusiasm but quickly composed herself.
"I saw online that there's a place called Tenkaippin that seems to have good reviews. Let's go there."
"...Ah."
Hikigaya froze on the spot.
Of all places, it had to be that one?