Chương 72: Karuizawa: Can’t You Just Come and Talk to Me First?
"Hikigaya, you penguin bastard…"
Yamauchi wore a visibly displeased expression in response to Hikigaya's cold and indifferent attitude, almost as if he had something to complain about.
This caught Hikigaya by surprise. After all, he and Yamauchi barely interacted. He had simply turned down Yamauchi's request; there was no reason for such hostility.
Perhaps Yamauchi's personality was just deeply flawed—someone who enjoyed bullying the weak to the point where he felt justified in picking on someone like Hikigaya, who had little presence in the class.
Or maybe Yamauchi held a grudge from the incident two weeks ago, and now, with old and new resentments piled up, he was taking his frustration out on him.
Regardless of what the reason was, Hikigaya wasn't about to waste tens of thousands of points to buy some pointless gaming console just to avoid Yamauchi's harassment.
"Sorry, I'm going to read now. Don't bother me."
In the end, Hikigaya borrowed Horikita Suzune's usual tactic for dealing with others. He casually pulled a book from his desk—one he had borrowed from the library—and began reading leisurely.
"Even worse than a penguin…"
Yamauchi Haruki gritted his teeth, clearly on the verge of losing his temper.
In truth, he very much wanted to teach a lesson to Hikigaya, who had almost no presence in the class. No one would likely object if he did.
However, just at that moment…
"What do you think you're doing?"
A crisp voice suddenly cut in from the side.
A blonde girl with a single ponytail walked over as if drawn by the commotion. She came closer to see what was happening.
"Karuizawa?"
Yamauchi's expression shifted the instant he saw her.
Unlike the loner Hikigaya Hachiman, who stayed on the fringes of the class, Yamauchi—one of the so-called "Three Idiots" of Class D—was still bound by the unspoken rules of the class hierarchy.
In any group of people, social hierarchies naturally form, and even in the seemingly equal environment of a school, status differences still exist.
Officially, everyone was a student, but beneath the surface, different students held different statuses, forming various ranks.
In Class D, a social hierarchy had naturally taken shape within a month of the school year starting.
Karuizawa Kei, by being Hirata Yousuke's girlfriend, had risen to the top of the class hierarchy.
She was essentially a Brahmin among Brahmins. [T/N: An interesting reference, never expected to see this in a Chinese fanfic.]
By comparison, Yamauchi, who was often ridiculed alongside Ike and others as one of the "Three Idiots," was near the bottom of the social ladder. His only source of pride was looking down on loners like Hikigaya, who didn't even engage with the group.
Because of this, when Yamauchi found himself face-to-face with Karuizawa, the queen of Class D, he instinctively shrank back.
"I-I wasn't doing anything!"
Now confronted by Karuizawa, Yamauchi didn't dare make a peep. He quickly turned and left.
As Yamauchi walked away, Hikigaya breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't help but glance at Karuizawa, who had inadvertently saved him from trouble.
It was, after all, the first time she had ever intervened on his behalf in class. Although she hadn't directly spoken to him, she had still helped him.
Oddly enough, Hikigaya wasn't quite sure how to face her now.
"Um…"
He hesitated but finally decided to thank her.
However, to his surprise, Karuizawa suddenly turned to him first. Her gaze was casual as if nothing had happened, and she spoke in a low voice, "About what happened before… thanks."
"Huh?"
Hikigaya was caught off guard by her unexpected gratitude. For a moment, he didn't know how to respond.
Before he could say anything, another girl walked up to Karuizawa, looking somewhat sheepish.
"Uh, Karuizawa-san, could I bother you for a moment?"
"Matsushita? What's up?"
"Well, I kind of spent too many points recently, and now I'm short. If it's okay, could you lend me 2,000 points? No, even 1,000 would be fine."
The girl, Matsushita Chiaki, made her request with a pleading expression.
Hikigaya vaguely remembered that Matsushita was part of Karuizawa's group. She was always hanging around with Karuizawa and a few other girls.
"Oh, it's no big deal. I'll lend you 2,000 points," Karuizawa responded generously, acting like the points didn't matter at all.
"Really? Thanks so much!"
After a brief exchange, Karuizawa had once again solidified her position in the class by strengthening her ties with her group.
As Hikigaya had predicted, although Karuizawa wasn't particularly clever, she had an intuitive understanding of social dynamics. She was quick to capitalize on her advantages to win people over.
Last time, Hikigaya had only given her a small piece of advice, and she had immediately grasped the core of it, which said a lot about her social instincts.
"What are you staring at?"
Suddenly, Karuizawa noticed Hikigaya's gaze and reacted like a cat whose fur had been ruffled. Her voice turned sharp and defensive.
"Nothing…"
To his surprise, Karuizawa's cheeks reddened slightly, and she looked away, muttering, "If you're going to look, at least be upfront about it. You could even come talk to me, you know."
"Huh?"
Once again, Hikigaya was completely thrown off by her unexpected attitude.
It felt as though the Karuizawa he had just spoken to was entirely different from the one he had known before.
As Hikigaya pondered how to respond to this strange interaction, another voice suddenly interrupted.
"Hikigaya-kun, sensei is asking for you in the office."
Kushida Kikyou approached with her usual cheerful smile. She was one of the few students in the class who knew Hikigaya's name, so there was no doubt it was him she was addressing.
"So, what were you two talking about just now? You seemed to be having fun."
Kushida looked back and forth between Hikigaya and Karuizawa, her face full of curiosity about their unexpected pairing.
It was only natural for the other students in Class D to be curious if they saw Hikigaya and Karuizawa talking together.
Faced with Kushida's question, Karuizawa hesitated, unsure of how to explain her relationship with Hikigaya.
Just as she was about to answer, Hikigaya quickly jumped in. "It was nothing. I just borrowed an eraser from Karuizawa-san. She's actually pretty nice."
"I see," Kushida replied, not suspecting anything. "I never would've thought Kei-chan was so considerate!"
"S-sure…"
Karuizawa instinctively went along with the explanation, but the next moment, regret washed over her.
As she watched Hikigaya, who remained as inconspicuous as ever, quietly leave the classroom, she was overcome by a strange feeling.
It was as if she had just missed out on something very important.
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