Aside from a few lingering glances, most people ignored what just happened.
After Ryuuen finished his monologue, he exited the café with a few of his underlings. Only Shiina Hiyori remained in place.
"What are you still doing here?" Hasebe Haruka asked, his brow slightly furrowed. Despite the question, his tone was unexpectedly kind. After hearing Hikigaya's analysis earlier, he no longer found Ryuuen so intimidating.
"Please wait a moment," Shiina Hiyori said with a soft smile. She picked up the crushed paper cups from their table, turned around, and returned a few moments later with two fresh cups of coffee.
"If you don't mind, please accept this."
"Huh? What's this about? Why are you giving this to me?"
"You don't need to be on guard. I saw what happened earlier, and there's no doubt it was Ryuuen's fault. As a member of Class C, I wanted to apologize on our behalf. It's presumptuous, but I've added sugar."
With a lazy smile, Hiyori handed the cup to Hasebe.
"Huh. I didn't expect someone like you to be in Class C," Hasebe said with a half-smile, taking the coffee and sipping cautiously. "It actually tastes pretty good. It's almost the same as the one I had before. What's going on?"
"There was sugar settled at the bottom of the cup. I estimated the sweetness based on how much didn't dissolve earlier."
"You can actually figure that out?"
"It can happen with practice. Don't underestimate me. I'm pretty observant, you know. Sorry to interrupt your studying. I'll take my leave."
She gave a slight bow and gracefully exited the café.
Hikigaya, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally looked away.
A shame. It would've been fun if things escalated into a fight.
"I heard Class C is trying to identify the strategist hiding in Class D," Menlai said as she slid into the seat beside Hikigaya, her tone laced with concern. "You seem to be working pretty hard."
"Huh? Really?" Hikigaya blinked, genuinely puzzled. Hasebe and the others looked equally confused.
"That's the first we've heard of it."
"Yeah, it's a trending topic in Class C, apparently."
Hikigaya was stunned. No one in Class D seemed to know about this, but Menlai somehow did. Her intelligence network was terrifyingly efficient.
Then again, she spent a lot of time with Ichinose. She was probably part of Ichinose's web of informants.
"Wait, could they be referring to Horikita as the strategist?"
"Yeah, she's the only one that comes to mind."
Perhaps because of Menlai's earlier defense of them, the atmosphere between the two groups had noticeably softened.
Just then...
"If you're just here to chat, could you do it somewhere else?" Yukimura said flatly, looking at the girls with open irritation.
This guy is bold, Hikigaya thought with a bit of admiration. Not many people would dare talk to girls like that.
"Yukimura, maybe you could've phrased that better," Hasebe said, trying to keep the peace.
"If you fail the exam and get expelled, don't complain. I'm going back to studying."
With that, Yukimura picked up his bag and stood to leave.
He hadn't even solved a few questions before the place turned into a chatting circle. It was already tough enough dealing with Hasebe and Sakura Airi. Sakura didn't talk much, so he could bear it. But now, with Menlai and others from Class B joining in, studying had become impossible.
"Well..." Hasebe clasped her hands together and gave an exaggerated bow. "Please, bestow your wisdom upon us and teach us how to study!"
"That's right. Let's just study first and save the chatting for after the exam."
Yukimura pushed up his glasses, shooting a look at Menlai that was more cold than polite.
"Your Class B is constantly monitored by Class A. It must be tough. You really don't need to concern yourselves with us."
The unspoken message: you're just getting in the way.
You're from a different class—so why are you even here?
Hikigaya clenched his fists. Just now, Menlai had stood up for them. Who knew what would've happened otherwise? And yet Yukimura treated her like a nuisance.
Class D was too self-absorbed. They crossed the line.
"If we don't study properly, we'll be in trouble for the exams, right?" Menlai asked, clearly embarrassed. "I'm sorry. We didn't realize. Let's go, Juke, Huko, Hiyori."
Sure, a café was meant for casual talk. But with Class A's surveillance, staying there would undoubtedly disturb anyone who was trying to study.
The world really wasn't kind—or fair.
If Ichinose hadn't been standing up for them, kind-hearted people like Menlai would've been trampled.
"There's no need to leave," Hikigaya muttered, clearly annoyed. "It's a café. People come here to talk, right?"
They hadn't even started studying. Why should they move again?
"Eh?" Menlai glanced toward Class A's table and sighed. "But they're still staring at us. We shouldn't bother Yukimura. Let's just switch locations."
Fine, maybe it would be better not to inconvenience others.
But seriously, what the hell?
Why should Hikigaya feel disliked after helping? Why did he have to care about Class D? Why did he have to worry about a bunch of strangers' opinions?
And why did everyone listen to Yukimura the second he opened his mouth?
What kind of bugged-out world was this?
What a garbage game.
"Do you care that much?" Hikigaya asked, turning to Menlai.
"Of course," she said firmly. "We're the ones bothering Yukimura and the others."
Even Juke and Huko looked a bit uncomfortable now.
Seriously.
This was pathetic.
All this fuss, and for what?
"Then how about this—we just make Class A leave instead," Hikigaya said casually.
They were the ones exerting pressure with their constant stares.
While Hikigaya himself didn't mind, others clearly did.
"But..." Juke said, hesitant. "They're not really breaking the rules. They're just... looking at us. You can't stop someone from looking."
Exactly.
It wasn't technically against any rules. Just immoral.
And immorality doesn't usually bow to polite requests.
"Wait..." Menlai's eyes sparkled with a bit of hope. "Does Hikigaya have a plan?"
"Well... kinda."
Hikigaya shifted awkwardly in his seat.
"Also, can you stop looking at me like that? It's seriously uncomfortable."
"Huh? I didn't mean anything weird by it!"
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