Chapter 23: Asking Grandpa Yamauchi to Die

  Patting the cushion next to him, Hikigaya signaled Horikita Suzune to sit beside him.

  After all, it was a single dorm room and not very spacious. For the sake of room to move around, one side of the small dining table was pced against the wall, and the remaining space by the bed wasn’t rge either, so the seating arrangement was two people per side.

  He would like to sit next to Shiina, but to let Horikita Suzune and her brother talk face-to-face, he had Shiina sit opposite to him.

  The food had already been served: stir-fried pork belly with green peppers, miso salmon, teppan tofu topped with bonito fkes, and miso soup. Every dish looked colorful, fragrant, and appetizing.

  “O...Onii-chan, please…”

  Horikita Suzune, like a shy little girl, wanted Horikita Manabu to be the first to taste the food she made. And of course, Horikita Manabu had no reason to refuse.

  Extending his chopsticks, Horikita Manabu gracefully picked up a piece of pork belly with a calm, unhurried motion. The pork belly looked golden and crispy, crunchy on the outside and tender inside.

  Putting it into his mouth, Horikita Manabu slowly chewed a few times and gave Horikita Suzune a “not bad” evaluation.

  “Just ‘not bad’?” Hikigaya quickly grabbed a piece and put it in his mouth—tender, fragrant, smooth, and the aroma of the fat spread throughout his mouth. “It’s clearly delicious. Don’t say the opposite of what you mean, President-dono.”

  “I have my own judgment.”

  Horikita Manabu stubbornly defended himself, then shot a sharp gnce at his sister. “I was still fairly satisfied that you could discern the truth about the passing line before the exam started today, but your response afterward was no good. If your cssmate hadn’t stepped in, were you pnning to argue with the opposition until the exam started?”

  “Hikigaya, what would you have done?” Horikita Manabu tossed the question to Hikigaya, who was waiting to enjoy the show. After all, it was Hikigaya who had tipped him off about his sister.

  ‘What would I do?’ Hikigaya thought about the argument that morning between Horikita Suzune and Yukimura Teruhiko, and several ways to resolve the dispute immediately came to mind. But those options were all based on the premise that he knew Yukimura well.

  A loner with a high opinion of himself, yet completely defenseless against requests from cute girls—if they’d just had Kushida Kikyo chat him up a bit beforehand, no argument would have happened at all.

  Even once the dispute had already happened, it could be handled by calling Yukimura out of the cssroom first. Sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boys care a lot about saving face—public scolding only forces them into a corner.

  Even without knowing Yukimura, they could have arranged for a smart, mild-mannered student to act as an internal supporter. When Horikita made her suggestion, this supporter could just speak up faster than Yukimura and help shape a “disagreeing means you’re a bad person” atmosphere.

  ‘But being a hindsight genius doesn’t mean much.’

  Hikigaya sipped his miso soup. “If problems arise and the leader can’t resolve them, then it’s your sister’s problem.”

  “Hah? I didn’t even want to lead these people who have no sense of the bigger picture.” Horikita Suzune immediately rebutted Hikigaya’s criticism.

  “But you want to rise to Css A, right? If you choose the method of switching csses with a few million points, I can lend them to you for free, considering the president’s care for me.”

  Hikigaya pulled out his phone and opened the terminal. His personal point bance showed more than 17 million.

  “You only need 3 million more. If you save up a bit over the next couple of years, you’ll have it before graduation.”

  8 million came from information fees, 6 million was a friendship ‘sponsorship’ from Nagumo, and the remaining 3 million came from funds B Css pooled this month to “buy” people.

  “17 million... that’s really impressive.”

  Horikita Suzune pressed her lips tightly together. There was no way she could accept that. What she wanted was not the benefits of being in Css A, but her brother’s recognition.

  “Onii-chan…” she murmured softly, wearing a pitiful, aggrieved expression that made others want to comfort her.

  She still felt like that little girl following behind her brother, always wanting his help when faced with setbacks. But when she met her brother’s sharp gaze, she also understood her current situation.

  Always relying on her brother wouldn’t work. That was precisely why he had distanced himself. All those years chasing his back hadn’t been in vain.

  Closing her eyes briefly, then opening them again, Horikita Suzune returned to her usual cold expression. “I won’t compin like that anymore, and I’ll reflect on my failures.”

  “I will definitely raise Css D to Css A.” She didn’t look at her brother anymore, but instead turned her head to face Hikigaya.

  “If you can do it, go ahead and try.”

  Hikigaya gave a provocative smile, his tone like a vilin’s. Inside, though, he was screaming—how cringe! How could he say something so cringey? He felt like he had the wrong script.

  “Struggle with all your might, then.”

  Raising the small bowl of miso soup, Horikita Manabu took a sip and finally couldn’t help but add, “I’ll look forward to your performance, Suzune.”

  “Yes, I’ll do my best… Onii-chan.”

  Wearing a relieved smile, Horikita Suzune bent forward respectfully to express her determination.

  “For now, just work on making a friend first, Suzune,” Hikigaya mimicked Horikita Manabu’s tone before switching back to his own, “That’s what big brother president here thinks too, right?”

  “You’re not allowed to call me Suzune.”

  She jabbed a hand chop into his waist.

  “And you’re not allowed to call my brother ‘Onii-chan’ either.”

  “Y-yes.” Since it didn’t hurt much, Hikigaya quickly straightened up. “For now, just go make friends with Shiina Hiyori, the good kid approved by your brother.”

  “A person who can’t communicate can’t be a leader.”

  “I already understand that without you saying it.” Horikita Suzune gave Hikigaya a gnce, then sat upright and looked at the quiet Shiina Hiyori, who was silently nibbling her food.

  “Hello, Shiina-san, I’m Horikita Suzune.”

  “...Cough-cough... Hello, Horikita-san.” Hastily swallowing her food, Shiina responded flusteredly.

  ……

  After finishing the meal, Horikita Manabu soon took his leave. Horikita Suzune and Shiina Hiyori worked together washing the dishes in the kitchen. Though neither of them talked much,

  Just being together and doing things like that would gradually increase their communication, and over time it would naturally become a habit.

  After eating and drinking his fill, Hikigaya didn’t forget that he was being targeted by Css C’s Ryuen Kakeru. As for the traitor in Css D who had sold him out, he’d have to rely on his top intelligence operative.

  Kushida-mon, I choose yoou!

  Pulling out his phone, Hikigaya sent Kushida a message, asking whether she’d heard any recent rumors among her friends about Dumb and Dumber from Css D—Yamauchi or Ike—hanging out with anyone from Css C.

  【There really is one. Among the girls, it’s a pretty widespread rumor. A cute girl from Css C named Yabu Nanami was seen walking side by side with Yamauchi.】

  【There’s definitely something fishy. How could trash like Yamauchi attract a cute girl from Css C?】

  【I really want to sew that idiot Yamauchi’s mouth shut with a needle. He never says anything useful.】

  ...Finding the traitor so quickly was actually a good thing. Now Hikigaya didn’t need to separately set traps for those two fools. Though Kushida seemed to have quite a bit of resentment toward Yamauchi.

  Looks like he had no choice but to follow the will of the people and send Grandpa Yamauchi to his doom.