"...I'm sorry. My outlook was naive."
As Hachiman leaves while holding Arisu in his arms, Horikita apologizes to her classmates who are present.
To himself, she thought her contract had no holes, but from Hachiman's point of view, her contract was full of holes.
I offered the contract with the purpose of deterring Hachiman, but since I understood that I could hardly deter him, the responsibility was on me.
"Now that you've signed a contract, there's no point in saying anything. So we have no choice but to ignore the contract and hope that Hikigaya will act for the sake of the class during the special exam."
Ayanokoji replies to Horikita's apology. Everyone present here, Horikita, Sudo, Yukimura, and Miyake, had no choice but to understand those words.
In reality, Hachiman's actions are disturbing from their perspective, but his contribution to the class is high.
Therefore, all that could be done was to accept that Hachiman would not talk about Ryuen's plan and hope that he would do well in the special exam.
I may be dissatisfied, but the members here have not achieved anything better than Hachiman, so I can't complain.
However, Ayanokoji, who wants to settle the matter with Ryuen, is grateful that Hachiman did not mention Ryuen's plan here.
There is already a plan to defeat Ryuen, but if Hachiman speaks, there is a possibility that an irregular situation will occur.
From Ayanokoji's point of view, he has no feelings towards Hachiman.
Chabashira's threats have already lost their effectiveness, and I don't care whether Hachiman betrays his class or expels his classmates, as long as he can live as a normal student whether he moves up to class A or stays in class D.
In fact, unlike Horikita, he even feels grateful that Kushida, who was a cancer to him, was expelled from school.
This is because, unlike Horikita, Ayanokoji was originally intent on expelling Kushida from school.
(If possible, I would like Sakayanagi to not be interested in me.)
The most troublesome person in Ayanokoji is Ryuen, who follows him around relentlessly, and the second most troublesome is Sakayanagi, who knows about his past and wants to compete.
As for Hachiman, it seems like he doesn't want anything to do with him, so I don't think it's that troublesome.
As for Ryuen, he has to deal with it himself, but Sakayanagi wanted Hachiman to gut him.
(However, Sakayanagi has some soft spots, so there's a possibility that things won't work out.)
It is a well-known fact that Hachiman is tough on his enemies, but relatively lenient on those he cares about.
Even if she doesn't make any flashy moves now, if Arisu asks him, she might try to put him on center stage.
It would be troublesome if that happened, so I would have to take various measures if I sensed Hachiman's movement.
All for 3 years... in order to have a peaceful school life until graduation.
"I'm home...well, there's no one here."
When I arrived at my dorm room, I put Arisu down on the bed and exhaled.
I was originally planning to go to the shopping mall after school, but I couldn't get enough of it, so I went straight home to the dormitory.
And since Hiyori and Masumi are part of a club, I am inevitably alone with Arisu.
"Thank you for carrying me. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing how Ryuen-kun moves."
Arisu would say something like that, but due to Ryuen's personality, he would probably do his best not to let a third party find out, so it would be impossible for her to see it.
However, I can't understand why he wants to find the mastermind, Ayanokoji.
It is certainly important to understand the strength of other classes. That's true, but once they find out, the number of people to be wary of will only increase, and people will think, "Ah, you were the mastermind. I'll be careful from now on.''
However, Ryuen is determined to find out who is behind the crime, even if it means using dangerous methods.
For me, the risk is high and the return is too small, so I don't feel the need to go that far and find out who is behind it.
Well, no matter what method Ryuen uses, I have no intention of getting involved.
"I see. By the way, it seems like you're going to hit Ichinose, but do you have any plans?"
Ichinose is brainwashing the class well, and her potential is also quite high.
However, her Archangel persona is not suitable for being a leader, so she is not as scary as Arisu or Ryuen.
To be honest, the chances of being promoted to A class are quite low.
However, it's okay to criticize the class, but if you want to criticize Ichinose personally, you should basically attack her weaknesses.
I'm curious as to how Arisu will know about Ichinose's weaknesses.
"Yeah. When I went out the other day, I asked her about her weaknesses."
“… using cold reading and hot reading?”
Cold reading is a speaking technique that uses careful observation to extract information from the other person, while hot reading is a speaking technique that uses the ability to carefully observe the other person to elicit information from the other person and make them trust you.
"Yes. I gently loosened her heart, which had been locked inside a hard shell."
Arisu laughs at that, but he's still skeptical. He certainly thinks Arisu can use cold reading and hot reading well, but that doesn't mean it would be difficult to find out her weaknesses from Ichinose, even if she's just a small fry.
However, if Arisu says so, she must have learned of her weakness.
“So, breaking it after loosening it up is quite sadistic.”
“Do you despise me?”
"No way. I ruined Kushida's life and I'm the same guy. I don't mean to disrespect you."
It's true that Arisu may be objectively abnormal, but I've come to believe that it doesn't matter what happens to other people, so I don't mean to look down on her.
She accepted my darkness, and I have no intention of denying Arisu, who taught me her love.
"Thank you...Ah, and even if we destroy Ichinose-san, how about we recover her after that and use her as a pawn?"
Arisu says some really stupid things.
Well, if things go well, there is a possibility that Ichinose will be included...
"I don't know. She puts her own class first, so she's not suitable for someone like me who prefers to play alone."
Ichinose is a person who doesn't betray her class.
It's true that he wants a piece, but making Ichinose a piece would be so difficult that it wouldn't be worth it.
Well, if Arisu completely destroys it, there is a possibility.
"I see. In that case, that's fine. It's originally just to kill time until I fight Ayanokoji-kun."
"...I've been wondering for a while, but seriously, who is this creep?"
To be honest, he's just super creepy.
I've seen him talk a few times, but he's always expressionless, with no emotion in his eyes.
To be honest, I think it would be acceptable to be called half machine and half human.
As I was thinking about this, Arisu seemed to be thinking about something. Arisu answered this question in a random manner every time, but this time she took a different approach.
"...Well, it's no good to keep secrets from your future husband, so I guess I'll tell them."
She says something that makes me happy. The title of Arisu's husband is the best title, along with Hiyori's husband and Masumi's husband.
"Before that, I would like to ask you a question, Hachiman-kun, do you think it is possible to artificially create a genius?''
"Artificially ? It's impossible, right? It will be created by mutation."
"I also think it's impossible. Geniuses are determined the moment they are born, and ordinary people are just ordinary people. No matter how blessed you are with your environment, unless you are an excellent learner, you cannot become a genius. My opinion is that you can't beat a genius. Well...when I look at Hachiman-kun, I sometimes think that some people might think differently.''
"Look at me? Why?"
"I'm sorry to say this, but I think Hachiman-kun was born an ordinary person."
"I guess so.'' Arisu's words didn't make me particularly angry.
My parents' potential is average, and before I enrolled in this school, I didn't have any particular achievements, I even got a red point, and my athletic nerves were average, so I guess I'm just an average person.
"I've seen many kinds of geniuses since I was a child, and I think that the current Hachiman-kun could be considered an average genius. From what I can infer, an ordinary person who grew up in a distorted environment might fail, or even surpass the level of a genius. I can't help it."
Well, it's true that I continued to live in a distorted environment, and as a result, I came to think that there was no need to prioritize merit and show kindness to people who didn't matter to me.
I studied to the death and entered this school so that my high school life would not be a distorted environment.
Also, even after entering the university, I learned all kinds of things because I didn't want to be on the side of being exploited, and as a result I was able to be on the side of exploiting others.
I think there are different levels of genius, but I think I can live with lower level geniuses.
"Very well."
Even so, I don't think I'll be able to enter the realm of true geniuses.
I seriously think so about this. It would be impossible for me to surpass Arisu or Koenji.
"Well, my story is fine. Going back to the topic, since you suddenly started talking about geniuses, does that mean that Ayanokoji is an artificially created genius?"
Based on the content of your question, that's probably the case.
"Yes. There is a project to artificially create geniuses, and Ayanokoji-kun is the masterpiece of that project."
"I see. However, considering the content of that project, it uses a fairly rigorous curriculum, right? Isn't Ayanokoji a genius if he can handle it?"
It is possible to examine a person's ability, but it is impossible to examine their innate talent.
"Well, that's true. However, Ayanokoji-kun's parents aren't geniuses, so they were the perfect subjects for the project."
If that's true, DNA would be a good fit for that project.
Anyway...
"I get the general idea. The point is, you want to defeat Ayanokoji and prove that a person's superiority or inferiority is determined by their innate talent, right?"
"yes"
Arisu nods without hesitation. Because of this, Arisu says that she is a genius, but since it is true, I don't think anything of it.
If a small talkative like Yukinoshita were to call herself excellent, I would probably laugh, but if a truly talented person were to call himself excellent, I would not be irritated.
"I see. Good luck then."
However, I have no intention of doing anything. If Arisu is thinking of a way to drag Ayanokoji away, it would be unethical to get in her way.
"Thank you very much. With Hachiman-kun's support, I have the strength of 100 people."
"Well then... Arisu."
"what?"
Arisu gives me a strange look, and I take a deep breath and open my mouth.
"It's true that I'm someone who doesn't have it. But I'll definitely work harder and develop my skills to be worthy of being your husband."
Arisu is the same, but Hiyori and Masumi are too good women for me.
That's why I want to become even stronger from now on so that people around me don't think I'm not worth their weight.
I don't mind being made fun of, but I can't accept that three people are being made fun of because of me.
"I see... I'm not dissatisfied with the current Hachiman-kun, but if Hachiman-kun makes that declaration, I'm looking forward to it... Hachiman-kun."
"What?"
"……I love you "
"...Me too. I love you, Arisu."
When they declare their love to each other, they move closer to each other as if the north and south poles of a magnet are touching each other...
Thuuu
Their lips overlap each other. Her lips overlapped hundreds and thousands of times, but she showed no signs of getting tired of them.
We put our arms around each other's backs and continued to press our lips together as long as time allowed.
________________
Despite all that has happened, the last day of the second semester has finally arrived.
We, the students of class D, have been listening to some notes from Chabashira-sensei.
"During winter break, some parts of the school will be closed to the public for renovations, so please be careful. Also, club activities are closed today, so please go home as soon as possible."
Chabashira-sensei explained what was needed, but she looked around the class without finishing HR.
At this point, Ike, feeling numb, raised his hand.
"What's wrong, teacher?"
"I think you have already figured it out, but there is not much difference in points from B class to D class. You are the first D class to compete so well against other classes."
Those words cause an uproar among the classmates.
There have been various events that have caused class points to change, such as the paper shuffle and Kushida's expulsion, but the current class points for first-year students are...
A class led by Arisu 909
B class led by Ryuen 600
C class led by Ichinose 550
D class I am in 452
...It feels like D class has narrowed the gap with other classes compared to when they first entered the school.
Moreover, the class points for 2nd and 3rd year...
2nd year class points
A class 1420
B class 851
C class 235
D class 75
3rd year class points
A class 1241
B class 915
C class 382
D class 65
So, the points of the 2nd and 3rd year D class are extremely low compared to the same grade, and even compared to us, the 1st year D class.
Moreover, if Kushida hadn't been expelled, we would have moved up to class C, and Ichinose's class, which was in class B when she first enrolled, would have dropped to class D.
For that reason, it is no mistake that the B-class to D-class are competing well.
However, it will be difficult to break down the A-class stronghold. There is a nearly 300 difference between Class A and Class B, and Arisu did not participate in the exam that Class A lost, so it was Katsuragi's fault.
"But don't let your guard down. If you cause a problem during winter break, your class points may be affected. Even during the long break, don't forget to study the main text as a student."
While I was thinking about this, Chabashira-sensei concluded and left the classroom.
At the same time, the classmates begin talking about their winter vacation plans.
I don't have anything to talk about with my classmates, so I leave the classroom.
Then, while walking down the hallway, Hiyori comes along.
"Hachiman-kun. Are you free after school?"
"I'm bored. Are you going somewhere to play?"
“Yes, would you like to go to the movies with me?”
……that's unusual. That's exactly what I thought.
I've often gone out with Hiyori, but they usually go to the library or bookstore, and I've almost never been invited to a movie.
It is Arisu who invites me to the movie.
"I don't mind, but is there a movie you want to see?"
"Yes. I became interested in the movie that Ibuki-san said was interesting."
"Okay. Then I'll invite Arisu and the others."
While we were talking, Arisu and Masumi came walking from the direction of Class A, so we headed towards Arisu and the others.
"Yo. We're going to the movies now. Do you guys want to go too?"
“Then take my word for it.”
"I'm going too."
The two of them agreed, so the four of us walked down the hallway, changed into our shoes, and left the school building to head to the shopping mall.
“Next week will be next year, so how was this year?”
Hiyori asks about this, but the answer is already decided.
"Every day from January to March of this year was crap, but from April until the sports festival, it was peaceful, and after the sports festival, every day has been happy."
It's no exaggeration to say that from January to March, every day was the worst: whenever I was at home, my stupid sister would abuse me, and when I went to school, I would get insults from all directions, and that Demon would beat me up.
However, since I entered this school, I have been a little irritated, but basically everything has been peaceful, and ever since the sports festival ended and I crossed the line with the other three, I have been happy every day.
So overall, it's a positive.
"Me too. I met Hachiman-kun when I first entered the school, and at first I thought he was an interesting toy, but as time went on, I started to see him as someone of the opposite sex, and now he's my fiancé..."
“When I first entered the school, it was terrible because Sakayanagi was keeping an eye on me, but now that I’ve made a connection with Hachiman, I’m happy overall.”
"You say nice things. What about Hiyori?"
“It goes without saying.”
Hiyori says that, smiling and taking my hand. That alone conveys Hiyori's thoughts and makes me feel happy.
I keep walking, still feeling happy, and arrive at the movie theater in the shopping mall.
There were hardly any students there, probably because they came right after HR on the way home, so we managed to get in line right away at the reception desk, and Hiyori ordered a suspenseful movie.
Then I bought a ticket and headed to the popcorn counter. There's only 10 minutes until the movie starts, but as long as you buy some popcorn, it won't be a problem.
“Is caramel flavor okay?”
The three of them nodded to my question, so I bought two caramel-flavored popcorns and went straight into the theater.
When I sat down in the designated seat, Masumi, who is very athletic, sat down first to my right, then Hiyori sat to my left, and Arisu, who is disabled, sat to Masumi's right.
"...At times like this, I get irritated by the inconvenience of my body."
Arisu murmured this as she sat down on Masumi's right side, and suddenly I felt warmth in my hand, so I looked to my left and right, and sure enough, Hiyori and Masumi were holding my hand.
As I felt a sense of happiness from the warmth of their hands, other students started coming in one after another and the seats were filled.
However, the only customers are students, so there aren't that many. After all, there are other theaters that play other movies.
"I've always thought there was a shopping mall on the school grounds, but isn't it amazing?"
“Yes, we receive a lot of money from the government, but some people might call it a waste of tax money.”
I agree with you about that. The shopping mall in this school is only used by students, so it is much smaller than the shopping malls outside.
However, it is still large enough to be used by less than 500 students.
This school probably spends billions of dollars every year, but as Arisu says, it can't be helped that it is considered a waste of taxpayers' money.
Well, as someone who uses shopping malls a lot, I'm saying this, too.
At this point, the room becomes dark and an introduction to an upcoming movie is played on the screen, so I concentrate on the screen.
Anyway, winter vacation starts today.
It looks like there will be a special exam from the beginning of the third semester, so I have to enjoy winter break with Hiyori and the others...
2 and a half hours later...
"Ah, that was interesting."
After watching the movie, I left the theater feeling satisfied. I just watched the movie, and it was interesting as there were many scenes that made me nervous.
Hiyori and the others seem to be satisfied as well.
"Yeah. It's been a while since I saw a movie, but it was interesting."
"It was a good choice. But it's unusual for Hiyori-san to invite you to a movie."
That was when Arisu said that. Hiyori suddenly bows her head with a mysterious expression on her face.
What happened all of a sudden?
"That's right. Regarding that matter, I have to apologize to Arisu-san, but Ryuen-kun also ordered me to do this."
Arisu and Masumi's eyes narrowed at Hiyori's words.
"……what do you mean?"
"Yes. I was originally planning to invite you to a movie, but I was thinking of going for Christmas. However, Ryuen-kun ordered me to get Arisu-san's attention today, so I decided to invite him today. I'm sorry for deceiving you.''
Hiyori says that and apologizes. In other words, Ryuen was probably planning to drag out the mastermind today.
At that time, even though I had no intention of getting involved, did they use Hiyori to prevent the irregular Arisu from intervening?
In any case, I got carried away by Ryuen's intentions. In fact, thanks to Hiyori, we killed nearly 3 hours.
"I'm not particularly angry, so please don't worry about it. Originally, I had no intention of interfering with Ryuen-kun's actions."
Arisu replies to Hiyori's apology. Judging from the atmosphere, I don't think she's lying.
"Well, you haven't done anything wrong, so don't worry about it."
"I see. Thank you."
"I don't care what Ryuen does. Or rather, it's getting crowded, so I guess it's time to go home?"
Masumi says so. I was certainly satisfied with the movie, but the shopping mall was packed with students and was quite noisy.
Masumi probably doesn't like making noise.
Having thoroughly enjoyed the movie, we didn't object to Masumi's proposal and started walking toward the dormitory.
"By the way, Hiyori, haven't you heard what Ryuen is doing?"
"Yes. Ryuen-kun just asked me to invite Arisu-san to a movie."
"Well, I can imagine Ryuen-kun's method."
Ryuen's methods are violence and blackmail. This is common knowledge that every first-year student who attends this school knows.
Karuizawa is summoned to a special building or behind the school building where there are no surveillance cameras and tortured...huh?
“Hey, look at that.”
"Why... oh my."
"That's an unusual combination."
"Indeed"
It was almost time to arrive at the first year dormitory. When I looked in the direction I was pointing, I saw Chabashira-sensei and Horikita-senpai coming out of the first-year dormitory entrance side by side.
Arisu seemed interested in this, while Hiyori and Masumi were a little surprised.
But that's only natural. It would be one thing if they had come out of a third-year dormitory or a teacher's dormitory, but they had come out of a first-year dormitory that had no relation to the two of them.
Additionally, Horikita-senpai has already retired from the student council, so he probably won't have any school work to do.
While this was going on, Chabashira-sensei left for the school, and Horikita-senpai went to the third-year dormitory.
(I don't know the reason, but there's a high possibility that Ryuen and that creep are involved.)
Ryuen is planning to set it up today, and I know that Chabashira-sensei and Horikita-senpai are bought by Ayanokoji.
It's impossible to dismiss it as just a coincidence.
(Well, regardless of the outcome, it's been over three hours since school ended, so the decision has been made.)
In that case, all you have to do is ask Ryuen a question when you have time.
With that in mind, we saw off Chabashira-sensei and Horikita-senpai until they were out of sight, and then returned to the dormitory we would be using.
However, on that day, Ryuen's phone call was not connected.
"...I'm sorry. My outlook was naive."
As Hachiman leaves while holding Arisu in his arms, Horikita apologizes to her classmates who are present.
To himself, she thought her contract had no holes, but from Hachiman's point of view, her contract was full of holes.
I offered the contract with the purpose of deterring Hachiman, but since I understood that I could hardly deter him, the responsibility was on me.
"Now that you've signed a contract, there's no point in saying anything. So we have no choice but to ignore the contract and hope that Hikigaya will act for the sake of the class during the special exam."
Ayanokoji replies to Horikita's apology. Everyone present here, Horikita, Sudo, Yukimura, and Miyake, had no choice but to understand those words.
In reality, Hachiman's actions are disturbing from their perspective, but his contribution to the class is high.
Therefore, all that could be done was to accept that Hachiman would not talk about Ryuen's plan and hope that he would do well in the special exam.
I may be dissatisfied, but the members here have not achieved anything better than Hachiman, so I can't complain.
However, Ayanokoji, who wants to settle the matter with Ryuen, is grateful that Hachiman did not mention Ryuen's plan here.
There is already a plan to defeat Ryuen, but if Hachiman speaks, there is a possibility that an irregular situation will occur.
From Ayanokoji's point of view, he has no feelings towards Hachiman.
Chabashira's threats have already lost their effectiveness, and I don't care whether Hachiman betrays his class or expels his classmates, as long as he can live as a normal student whether he moves up to class A or stays in class D.
In fact, unlike Horikita, he even feels grateful that Kushida, who was a cancer to him, was expelled from school.
This is because, unlike Horikita, Ayanokoji was originally intent on expelling Kushida from school.
(If possible, I would like Sakayanagi to not be interested in me.)
The most troublesome person in Ayanokoji is Ryuen, who follows him around relentlessly, and the second most troublesome is Sakayanagi, who knows about his past and wants to compete.
As for Hachiman, it seems like he doesn't want anything to do with him, so I don't think it's that troublesome.
As for Ryuen, he has to deal with it himself, but Sakayanagi wanted Hachiman to gut him.
(However, Sakayanagi has some soft spots, so there's a possibility that things won't work out.)
It is a well-known fact that Hachiman is tough on his enemies, but relatively lenient on those he cares about.
Even if she doesn't make any flashy moves now, if Arisu asks him, she might try to put him on center stage.
It would be troublesome if that happened, so I would have to take various measures if I sensed Hachiman's movement.
All for 3 years... in order to have a peaceful school life until graduation.
"I'm home...well, there's no one here."
When I arrived at my dorm room, I put Arisu down on the bed and exhaled.
I was originally planning to go to the shopping mall after school, but I couldn't get enough of it, so I went straight home to the dormitory.
And since Hiyori and Masumi are part of a club, I am inevitably alone with Arisu.
"Thank you for carrying me. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing how Ryuen-kun moves."
Arisu would say something like that, but due to Ryuen's personality, he would probably do his best not to let a third party find out, so it would be impossible for her to see it.
However, I can't understand why he wants to find the mastermind, Ayanokoji.
It is certainly important to understand the strength of other classes. That's true, but once they find out, the number of people to be wary of will only increase, and people will think, "Ah, you were the mastermind. I'll be careful from now on.''
However, Ryuen is determined to find out who is behind the crime, even if it means using dangerous methods.
For me, the risk is high and the return is too small, so I don't feel the need to go that far and find out who is behind it.
Well, no matter what method Ryuen uses, I have no intention of getting involved.
"I see. By the way, it seems like you're going to hit Ichinose, but do you have any plans?"
Ichinose is brainwashing the class well, and her potential is also quite high.
However, her Archangel persona is not suitable for being a leader, so she is not as scary as Arisu or Ryuen.
To be honest, the chances of being promoted to A class are quite low.
However, it's okay to criticize the class, but if you want to criticize Ichinose personally, you should basically attack her weaknesses.
I'm curious as to how Arisu will know about Ichinose's weaknesses.
"Yeah. When I went out the other day, I asked her about her weaknesses."
“… using cold reading and hot reading?”
Cold reading is a speaking technique that uses careful observation to extract information from the other person, while hot reading is a speaking technique that uses the ability to carefully observe the other person to elicit information from the other person and make them trust you.
"Yes. I gently loosened her heart, which had been locked inside a hard shell."
Arisu laughs at that, but he's still skeptical. He certainly thinks Arisu can use cold reading and hot reading well, but that doesn't mean it would be difficult to find out her weaknesses from Ichinose, even if she's just a small fry.
However, if Arisu says so, she must have learned of her weakness.
“So, breaking it after loosening it up is quite sadistic.”
“Do you despise me?”
"No way. I ruined Kushida's life and I'm the same guy. I don't mean to disrespect you."
It's true that Arisu may be objectively abnormal, but I've come to believe that it doesn't matter what happens to other people, so I don't mean to look down on her.
She accepted my darkness, and I have no intention of denying Arisu, who taught me her love.
"Thank you...Ah, and even if we destroy Ichinose-san, how about we recover her after that and use her as a pawn?"
Arisu says some really stupid things.
Well, if things go well, there is a possibility that Ichinose will be included...
"I don't know. She puts her own class first, so she's not suitable for someone like me who prefers to play alone."
Ichinose is a person who doesn't betray her class.
It's true that he wants a piece, but making Ichinose a piece would be so difficult that it wouldn't be worth it.
Well, if Arisu completely destroys it, there is a possibility.
"I see. In that case, that's fine. It's originally just to kill time until I fight Ayanokoji-kun."
"...I've been wondering for a while, but seriously, who is this creep?"
To be honest, he's just super creepy.
I've seen him talk a few times, but he's always expressionless, with no emotion in his eyes.
To be honest, I think it would be acceptable to be called half machine and half human.
As I was thinking about this, Arisu seemed to be thinking about something. Arisu answered this question in a random manner every time, but this time she took a different approach.
"...Well, it's no good to keep secrets from your future husband, so I guess I'll tell them."
She says something that makes me happy. The title of Arisu's husband is the best title, along with Hiyori's husband and Masumi's husband.
"Before that, I would like to ask you a question, Hachiman-kun, do you think it is possible to artificially create a genius?''
"Artificially ? It's impossible, right? It will be created by mutation."
"I also think it's impossible. Geniuses are determined the moment they are born, and ordinary people are just ordinary people. No matter how blessed you are with your environment, unless you are an excellent learner, you cannot become a genius. My opinion is that you can't beat a genius. Well...when I look at Hachiman-kun, I sometimes think that some people might think differently.''
"Look at me? Why?"
"I'm sorry to say this, but I think Hachiman-kun was born an ordinary person."
"I guess so.'' Arisu's words didn't make me particularly angry.
My parents' potential is average, and before I enrolled in this school, I didn't have any particular achievements, I even got a red point, and my athletic nerves were average, so I guess I'm just an average person.
"I've seen many kinds of geniuses since I was a child, and I think that the current Hachiman-kun could be considered an average genius. From what I can infer, an ordinary person who grew up in a distorted environment might fail, or even surpass the level of a genius. I can't help it."
Well, it's true that I continued to live in a distorted environment, and as a result, I came to think that there was no need to prioritize merit and show kindness to people who didn't matter to me.
I studied to the death and entered this school so that my high school life would not be a distorted environment.
Also, even after entering the university, I learned all kinds of things because I didn't want to be on the side of being exploited, and as a result I was able to be on the side of exploiting others.
I think there are different levels of genius, but I think I can live with lower level geniuses.
"Very well."
Even so, I don't think I'll be able to enter the realm of true geniuses.
I seriously think so about this. It would be impossible for me to surpass Arisu or Koenji.
"Well, my story is fine. Going back to the topic, since you suddenly started talking about geniuses, does that mean that Ayanokoji is an artificially created genius?"
Based on the content of your question, that's probably the case.
"Yes. There is a project to artificially create geniuses, and Ayanokoji-kun is the masterpiece of that project."
"I see. However, considering the content of that project, it uses a fairly rigorous curriculum, right? Isn't Ayanokoji a genius if he can handle it?"
It is possible to examine a person's ability, but it is impossible to examine their innate talent.
"Well, that's true. However, Ayanokoji-kun's parents aren't geniuses, so they were the perfect subjects for the project."
If that's true, DNA would be a good fit for that project.
Anyway...
"I get the general idea. The point is, you want to defeat Ayanokoji and prove that a person's superiority or inferiority is determined by their innate talent, right?"
"yes"
Arisu nods without hesitation. Because of this, Arisu says that she is a genius, but since it is true, I don't think anything of it.
If a small talkative like Yukinoshita were to call herself excellent, I would probably laugh, but if a truly talented person were to call himself excellent, I would not be irritated.
"I see. Good luck then."
However, I have no intention of doing anything. If Arisu is thinking of a way to drag Ayanokoji away, it would be unethical to get in her way.
"Thank you very much. With Hachiman-kun's support, I have the strength of 100 people."
"Well then... Arisu."
"what?"
Arisu gives me a strange look, and I take a deep breath and open my mouth.
"It's true that I'm someone who doesn't have it. But I'll definitely work harder and develop my skills to be worthy of being your husband."
Arisu is the same, but Hiyori and Masumi are too good women for me.
That's why I want to become even stronger from now on so that people around me don't think I'm not worth their weight.
I don't mind being made fun of, but I can't accept that three people are being made fun of because of me.
"I see... I'm not dissatisfied with the current Hachiman-kun, but if Hachiman-kun makes that declaration, I'm looking forward to it... Hachiman-kun."
"What?"
"……I love you "
"...Me too. I love you, Arisu."
When they declare their love to each other, they move closer to each other as if the north and south poles of a magnet are touching each other...
Thuuu
Their lips overlap each other. Her lips overlapped hundreds and thousands of times, but she showed no signs of getting tired of them.
We put our arms around each other's backs and continued to press our lips together as long as time allowed.
________________
Despite all that has happened, the last day of the second semester has finally arrived.
We, the students of class D, have been listening to some notes from Chabashira-sensei.
"During winter break, some parts of the school will be closed to the public for renovations, so please be careful. Also, club activities are closed today, so please go home as soon as possible."
Chabashira-sensei explained what was needed, but she looked around the class without finishing HR.
At this point, Ike, feeling numb, raised his hand.
"What's wrong, teacher?"
"I think you have already figured it out, but there is not much difference in points from B class to D class. You are the first D class to compete so well against other classes."
Those words cause an uproar among the classmates.
There have been various events that have caused class points to change, such as the paper shuffle and Kushida's expulsion, but the current class points for first-year students are...
A class led by Arisu 909
B class led by Ryuen 600
C class led by Ichinose 550
D class I am in 452
...It feels like D class has narrowed the gap with other classes compared to when they first entered the school.
Moreover, the class points for 2nd and 3rd year...
2nd year class points
A class 1420
B class 851
C class 235
D class 75
3rd year class points
A class 1241
B class 915
C class 382
D class 65
So, the points of the 2nd and 3rd year D class are extremely low compared to the same grade, and even compared to us, the 1st year D class.
Moreover, if Kushida hadn't been expelled, we would have moved up to class C, and Ichinose's class, which was in class B when she first enrolled, would have dropped to class D.
For that reason, it is no mistake that the B-class to D-class are competing well.
However, it will be difficult to break down the A-class stronghold. There is a nearly 300 difference between Class A and Class B, and Arisu did not participate in the exam that Class A lost, so it was Katsuragi's fault.
"But don't let your guard down. If you cause a problem during winter break, your class points may be affected. Even during the long break, don't forget to study the main text as a student."
While I was thinking about this, Chabashira-sensei concluded and left the classroom.
At the same time, the classmates begin talking about their winter vacation plans.
I don't have anything to talk about with my classmates, so I leave the classroom.
Then, while walking down the hallway, Hiyori comes along.
"Hachiman-kun. Are you free after school?"
"I'm bored. Are you going somewhere to play?"
“Yes, would you like to go to the movies with me?”
……that's unusual. That's exactly what I thought.
I've often gone out with Hiyori, but they usually go to the library or bookstore, and I've almost never been invited to a movie.
It is Arisu who invites me to the movie.
"I don't mind, but is there a movie you want to see?"
"Yes. I became interested in the movie that Ibuki-san said was interesting."
"Okay. Then I'll invite Arisu and the others."
While we were talking, Arisu and Masumi came walking from the direction of Class A, so we headed towards Arisu and the others.
"Yo. We're going to the movies now. Do you guys want to go too?"
“Then take my word for it.”
"I'm going too."
The two of them agreed, so the four of us walked down the hallway, changed into our shoes, and left the school building to head to the shopping mall.
“Next week will be next year, so how was this year?”
Hiyori asks about this, but the answer is already decided.
"Every day from January to March of this year was crap, but from April until the sports festival, it was peaceful, and after the sports festival, every day has been happy."
It's no exaggeration to say that from January to March, every day was the worst: whenever I was at home, my stupid sister would abuse me, and when I went to school, I would get insults from all directions, and that Demon would beat me up.
However, since I entered this school, I have been a little irritated, but basically everything has been peaceful, and ever since the sports festival ended and I crossed the line with the other three, I have been happy every day.
So overall, it's a positive.
"Me too. I met Hachiman-kun when I first entered the school, and at first I thought he was an interesting toy, but as time went on, I started to see him as someone of the opposite sex, and now he's my fiancé..."
“When I first entered the school, it was terrible because Sakayanagi was keeping an eye on me, but now that I’ve made a connection with Hachiman, I’m happy overall.”
"You say nice things. What about Hiyori?"
“It goes without saying.”
Hiyori says that, smiling and taking my hand. That alone conveys Hiyori's thoughts and makes me feel happy.
I keep walking, still feeling happy, and arrive at the movie theater in the shopping mall.
There were hardly any students there, probably because they came right after HR on the way home, so we managed to get in line right away at the reception desk, and Hiyori ordered a suspenseful movie.
Then I bought a ticket and headed to the popcorn counter. There's only 10 minutes until the movie starts, but as long as you buy some popcorn, it won't be a problem.
“Is caramel flavor okay?”
The three of them nodded to my question, so I bought two caramel-flavored popcorns and went straight into the theater.
When I sat down in the designated seat, Masumi, who is very athletic, sat down first to my right, then Hiyori sat to my left, and Arisu, who is disabled, sat to Masumi's right.
"...At times like this, I get irritated by the inconvenience of my body."
Arisu murmured this as she sat down on Masumi's right side, and suddenly I felt warmth in my hand, so I looked to my left and right, and sure enough, Hiyori and Masumi were holding my hand.
As I felt a sense of happiness from the warmth of their hands, other students started coming in one after another and the seats were filled.
However, the only customers are students, so there aren't that many. After all, there are other theaters that play other movies.
"I've always thought there was a shopping mall on the school grounds, but isn't it amazing?"
“Yes, we receive a lot of money from the government, but some people might call it a waste of tax money.”
I agree with you about that. The shopping mall in this school is only used by students, so it is much smaller than the shopping malls outside.
However, it is still large enough to be used by less than 500 students.
This school probably spends billions of dollars every year, but as Arisu says, it can't be helped that it is considered a waste of taxpayers' money.
Well, as someone who uses shopping malls a lot, I'm saying this, too.
At this point, the room becomes dark and an introduction to an upcoming movie is played on the screen, so I concentrate on the screen.
Anyway, winter vacation starts today.
It looks like there will be a special exam from the beginning of the third semester, so I have to enjoy winter break with Hiyori and the others...
2 and a half hours later...
"Ah, that was interesting."
After watching the movie, I left the theater feeling satisfied. I just watched the movie, and it was interesting as there were many scenes that made me nervous.
Hiyori and the others seem to be satisfied as well.
"Yeah. It's been a while since I saw a movie, but it was interesting."
"It was a good choice. But it's unusual for Hiyori-san to invite you to a movie."
That was when Arisu said that. Hiyori suddenly bows her head with a mysterious expression on her face.
What happened all of a sudden?
"That's right. Regarding that matter, I have to apologize to Arisu-san, but Ryuen-kun also ordered me to do this."
Arisu and Masumi's eyes narrowed at Hiyori's words.
"……what do you mean?"
"Yes. I was originally planning to invite you to a movie, but I was thinking of going for Christmas. However, Ryuen-kun ordered me to get Arisu-san's attention today, so I decided to invite him today. I'm sorry for deceiving you.''
Hiyori says that and apologizes. In other words, Ryuen was probably planning to drag out the mastermind today.
At that time, even though I had no intention of getting involved, did they use Hiyori to prevent the irregular Arisu from intervening?
In any case, I got carried away by Ryuen's intentions. In fact, thanks to Hiyori, we killed nearly 3 hours.
"I'm not particularly angry, so please don't worry about it. Originally, I had no intention of interfering with Ryuen-kun's actions."
Arisu replies to Hiyori's apology. Judging from the atmosphere, I don't think she's lying.
"Well, you haven't done anything wrong, so don't worry about it."
"I see. Thank you."
"I don't care what Ryuen does. Or rather, it's getting crowded, so I guess it's time to go home?"
Masumi says so. I was certainly satisfied with the movie, but the shopping mall was packed with students and was quite noisy.
Masumi probably doesn't like making noise.
Having thoroughly enjoyed the movie, we didn't object to Masumi's proposal and started walking toward the dormitory.
"By the way, Hiyori, haven't you heard what Ryuen is doing?"
"Yes. Ryuen-kun just asked me to invite Arisu-san to a movie."
"Well, I can imagine Ryuen-kun's method."
Ryuen's methods are violence and blackmail. This is common knowledge that every first-year student who attends this school knows.
Karuizawa is summoned to a special building or behind the school building where there are no surveillance cameras and tortured...huh?
“Hey, look at that.”
"Why... oh my."
"That's an unusual combination."
"Indeed"
It was almost time to arrive at the first year dormitory. When I looked in the direction I was pointing, I saw Chabashira-sensei and Horikita-senpai coming out of the first-year dormitory entrance side by side.
Arisu seemed interested in this, while Hiyori and Masumi were a little surprised.
But that's only natural. It would be one thing if they had come out of a third-year dormitory or a teacher's dormitory, but they had come out of a first-year dormitory that had no relation to the two of them.
Additionally, Horikita-senpai has already retired from the student council, so he probably won't have any school work to do.
While this was going on, Chabashira-sensei left for the school, and Horikita-senpai went to the third-year dormitory.
(I don't know the reason, but there's a high possibility that Ryuen and that creep are involved.)
Ryuen is planning to set it up today, and I know that Chabashira-sensei and Horikita-senpai are bought by Ayanokoji.
It's impossible to dismiss it as just a coincidence.
(Well, regardless of the outcome, it's been over three hours since school ended, so the decision has been made.)
In that case, all you have to do is ask Ryuen a question when you have time.
With that in mind, we saw off Chabashira-sensei and Horikita-senpai until they were out of sight, and then returned to the dormitory we would be using.
However, on that day, Ryuen's phone call was not connected.
