COTE : There is Something Wrong With Hikigaya-Chapter 49 - : Meaningless Listening

While Horikita and Hikigaya were talking, Hirata, as the class leader, wasn't sitting idle either. After resolving the fight between Yukimura and Sudou and calming some of the students down, he stood at the podium and encouraged Class D not to give up. He talked about overcoming challenges together and improving class discipline, among other things.

Hikigaya had to admire Hirata's ability to pull himself together so quickly. No wonder he was a popular guy—wait, no, that wasn't the point. As the class leader, this was the kind of attitude he was supposed to have.

When everything is going well, people think, "I could do that too." But when things go downhill, that's when a leader's true abilities shine. At least for now, Hirata seemed to be handling things well. He wasn't the kind of person who only sought attention when things were good and disappeared when things got tough.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for everyone else.

When Hirata asked the class to start following the rules, stop skipping lessons, and show up on time, the usual troublemaker, Sudou, immediately spoke up in protest.

"Why should we listen to you?"

"Even if we pay attention in class, it's not gonna change anything!"

Ike and Yamauchi quickly chimed in, backing Sudou up.

"Yeah, seriously, paying attention in class isn't going to get us more points anyway."

"We can worry about this once we figure out how to earn more points."

"Hmph! Do whatever you want, just don't drag me into it!"

Sudou didn't even try to be polite. He scowled and walked straight out of the classroom.

Once he was gone, the rest of the class finally started talking, criticizing him behind his back. Hikigaya watched the scene unfold and couldn't help but sneer.

On the other side, Horikita, who had been thoroughly shut down by Hikigaya earlier, returned to her seat in silence. She stared at the poster on the board, lost in thought.

And so, the first day of May ended with Class D in a completely miserable state.

After school, Hirata unexpectedly gathered a large group of students for a discussion about how class points increased or decreased. He had been running around all day, from morning to afternoon, trying to find answers—among those he approached were Horikita and Hikigaya.

Even though Class D had never officially held an election, after everything that happened that morning, most students already saw Hirata as the "leader" of the class.

To be fair, Hirata was doing an excellent job. He worked hard for the class without ever losing his temper. No matter the situation, he always had a calm and friendly attitude. Even when Sudou or the monkey brothers mocked him or gave him sarcastic remarks, he always responded with a polite "Sorry, that's my fault," diffusing the situation.

A student like him was naturally well-liked and respected. When he asked for help, most people were more than willing to lend a hand—whether they were boys or girls. His influence in Class D was undeniable.

But both Horikita and Hikigaya turned him down.

Horikita's reasoning was simple: "If a bunch of idiots gather to talk, the only outcome is an even bigger mess."

Hikigaya didn't disagree. There's a saying that "three ordinary people together can outthink a genius," but... he glanced at the students Hirata had gathered—about twenty people in total. Given that the class was already falling apart, that was actually an impressive turnout.

But that was also the problem—too many people!

If not for the lack of time and the urgency of the situation, Hirata might have wanted to involve the entire class in the discussion.

My god, this was way too democratic. Even more democratic than actual politicians!

And... Hikigaya could already see the inevitable disaster coming.

Every individual voice might have meaning, but when too many voices come together, they cancel each other out. Especially now, with Class D on the verge of collapse, what they needed wasn't more discussion—it was a strong leader.

Hirata was just too much of a nice guy.

As Hikigaya was packing up to leave, a voice suddenly interrupted him.

"Hey, Sakura, I spent too many private points last month. Can you lend me some? I'll pay you back later, okay?"

The blonde gyaru of the class, Karuizawa, had stopped the timid girl, Sakura, who had been about to leave.

Sakura flinched as if she had been startled, then almost collapsed into her chair.

Not far away, a few girls—Shinohara, Sato, and others—laughed at the scene. They were all part of Karuizawa's clique.

"I..."

The laughter only made Sakura, already shy and nervous, even more flustered. She lowered her head so much that it almost touched her chest. Her voice was barely audible.

Borrowing money?

Ever since Chabashira-sensei left that morning, many students had already started asking for loans.

After all, most of them had already spent all of last month's 100,000 private points.

The worst offenders were the monkey brothers, who somehow managed to burn through nearly everything, leaving themselves with only three-digit balances. Now, they were desperately trying to sell their game consoles and figurines—or just straight-up begging for loans.

Naturally, Hikigaya became one of their targets.

But he completely ignored them.

After failing to get anything from him, Ike and Yamauchi turned around and started calling him stingy and selfish, saying he had no sense of teamwork or friendship.

Hikigaya sneered. Oh, so now they knew his name?

Anyway, many students were looking for ways to borrow points.

Among the girls, Karuizawa's clique was leading the charge.

It was obvious that ever since Karuizawa became Hirata's girlfriend, her status in the class had risen even further.

Unlike the monkey brothers, who kept getting rejected, Karuizawa had it easy.

Even Kushida was on her side—whenever Karuizawa asked, every girl just smiled and said, "Sure, no problem," and handed over their points without hesitation.

"Come on, we're classmates, aren't we?"

"It's just a little money. It's not like I won't pay you back."

"You don't have money either? Wow, you're so selfish. You're really going to make excuses over something this small?"

With that kind of pressure, who could say no?

Refuse, and you'd be labeled "not a team player," shunned by "everyone," judged in the name of justice, excluded, or even bullied through silent treatment.

And in the end, they'd just brush it off with, "Relax, it was just a joke."

...Why did he understand this so well?

Of course... because he was once a victim himself!

R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at free𝑤ebnovel.com Only.

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