Hikigaya doesn't want to be a force of strength

"This……"

Shiina's words touched Ryuuen to some extent.

Although the latter still felt the pain of paying 20000 points per person in Class C per month for nothing, he had to admit that Hikigaya had made the deal worthwhile.

"Tsk, it's settled then."

"Well, I will send you the name of the preferential treatment via text message later."

Hikigaya nodded and couldn't help but look at Shiina beside him.

He didn't expect Shiina to speak for him. Although it was thanks to the other party's help that he was able to convince Ryuen to accept the conditions, this also made him feel inexplicably guilty towards Shiina.

Obviously I had done something so wrong to her before...

Complex thoughts flashed through Hikigaya's mind, but he still did not forget the original purpose of this complex operation.

"Ryuen, I have something to ask of you." Before Ryuen Sho left, Hikigaya called him, "There seems to be a girl named Manabe Shiho in your class, right?"

"Manabe? It's that guy...what happened to her?"

"Manabe seems to have targeted Karuizawa from our class recently. If possible, I hope you can stop her actions. This is also part of our cooperative relationship."

Hikigaya brought up the matter in the calmest possible tone, trying not to leave any trace.

He didn't want Long Yuan to notice his obsession with this matter, otherwise this guy would definitely take this opportunity to retaliate severely.

Fortunately, Ryuen apparently didn't realize that Hikigaya cared about Manabe and Karuizawa.

After so many big things happened in one night, he almost instinctively felt that this was just a 'trivial' request made by Hikigaya. It was even more unimaginable that this was actually Hikigaya's ultimate goal.

"Okay, I'll go warn that guy."

Ryuen is a man of his word. Since he has agreed to this matter, he will never go back on his word, nor will he forget about the request. This is also one of his greatest strengths.

Hikigaya then breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that the purpose of his trip had been achieved and he could finally rest assured.

Chapter 389 Thank you, Hikigaya...

After confirming the cooperation between the three classes, Ryuuen quickly left with Shiina and Albert, obviously going to draw up a transaction contract.

After witnessing everything that happened, Ichinose couldn't help but look at Hikigaya with a complicated expression, and said helplessly: "I didn't expect Ryuen to agree to such harsh conditions. He could have completely given up the information from Class D and only relied on the favored students from Class C and Class B to find out the real rules behind the exam. At that time, he only needed to verify whether Kushida met the rules of the favored students, and he would know whether you were telling the truth or not, right?"

In response to Ichinose's confusion, Hikigaya shrugged silently and said calmly: "Ryuen of course guessed that I might be lying to him, but he still chose to be fooled. The reason is not because he was deceived by my words, but because he was willing to be deceived. When a person wants to pretend to be asleep, even if he is not sleepy, there is no way to wake him up."

"What do you mean? Ryuuen was deceived by you on purpose?"

"Yes, after all, Ryuen knows very well that this cruise ship exam is just a trivial one among many exams in the next three years. Instead of pursuing victory in this exam at all costs, and even showing a cold and untrustworthy appearance, he might as well give me face here. Not only can he continue to maintain his relationship with me, but he can also earn a wave of favor from Class B from you."

Hikigaya used simple words to explain Ryuen's idea to Ichinose, "If Class C wants to make further progress in the future, it will inevitably cooperate with other classes. As a cruel but shrewd leader, Ryuen naturally knows that connections are more important than wealth. The value of you and me is enough for him to give up some of his current interests in exchange for our trust in him in the future."

"This...does he really think that I can trust him just by doing this little thing?"

Ichinose seemed to find it hard to accept, or rather, hard to imagine.

In her opinion, Long Yuan's actions were like throwing the existing gains into an invisible abyss. It might indeed bring rewards, but there was also a greater possibility that there would be absolutely nothing gained.

If it were Ichinose herself, she would never do something that might not bring any rewards.

"Most people might not think so, but he's Ryuen Sho." Hikigaya could guess what Ichinose was thinking, "That guy is an out-and-out gambler, and gamblers will always only look at the greater benefits they can reap in the future compared to the little benefits now. That's why that guy would rather give up reporting the preferential treatment of your class B, and try to get your support."

"If that's true, then Ryuen Sho is really a scary man..."

Ichinose spoke from the bottom of his heart.

The more she got to know Ryuuen, the more she realized how terrifying he was.

If Class B wants to reach the top of this school, Class C and Ryuen Sho are the opponents that they have to overcome. However, in terms of compatibility, Class C is the most difficult for Class B to deal with.

Can I really beat someone like Ryuuen?

Ichinose even instinctively had such doubts in her heart, but as the leader of Class B, she could not show such lack of confidence.

If even she, as a leader, is afraid, how can she lead the class members to continue fighting and pursue victory?

"Anyway, this time, it's all thanks to you, Hikigaya-san." Ichinose sorted out his thoughts and looked at Hikigaya seriously, "I will express my gratitude to you on behalf of Class B later."

"No, you don't have to."

Hikigaya doesn't want to accept Ichinose and Class B's thanks.

The reason is very simple, because for him, this time he was actually using Ichinose and Class B to achieve his own goals.

Although Class B benefited from the deal in the end, Hikigaya's motives were not so pure and he did not deserve the other party's gratitude.

However, Ichinose obviously couldn't understand Hikigaya's idea. She said very seriously: "This time, Class B was able to avoid losses and finish this exam safely. Your help, Hikigaya-san, was indispensable. And there was also the time on the uninhabited island... So no matter what, Class B wants to give back to you."

"This……"

"If you run into any trouble later, be sure to come to me. I'll do anything for you in my own name!"

Ichinose said this and turned away with a smile on his face.

The girl only left behind a free and brilliant back, which made Hikigaya feel a little helpless.

However, he also knew that this was Ichinose's style, so he had already expected such a result.

Personally, Hikigaya doesn't really want to use this incident to ask Ichinose to return the favor, and it would be best if he doesn't even have such an idea.

In this case, the best approach is to adopt a war of isolation.

No matter how gentle a person is, as long as you take the initiative to distance yourself from them, they will generally become alienated from you without realizing it.

As a lone ranger, Hikigaya had used this trick to turn things into what he wanted many times before. The only time he suffered a loss was when he met Shiina Hiyori...

However, it was precisely because of the negative effects brought about by Shiina that Hikigaya now realized that this move had drawbacks. If it was not used properly, it could cause extremely bad consequences.

It is not yet known whether this trick will be effective against Ichinose, but we should still be prepared for something similar to what happened to Shiina.

At that time, as long as I kneel down and apologize immediately, everything should be fine, right?

As the saying goes, every failure makes you wiser, Hikigaya is now full of confidence in himself.

"Then let's go back too."

Hikigaya ended his long thought and silently looked at Kushida Kikyo beside him.

Kushida had been silent since the beginning. After hearing what Hikigaya said, she silently pushed her hair up and looked at him in confusion: "Is this the end?"

"Yes." Hikigaya nodded. "I will transfer the 15000 points per month that Ryuuen will transfer to you indirectly. After that, you only need to show the contract and points to Hirata and the others, and no one will complain about you betraying the class."

Considering that the actions of Koenji and Ayanokouji might give extra points to Class D, in a sense, apart from Class C, Class D is the biggest winner of this exam.

Not only did I gain a large number of personal points, but I also gained class points. This is the best result.

"Is it really that simple... In this way, no one will think I'm a traitor..."

Kushida seemed to be still in a state of half-sleep and half-wakefulness, and his confused look made it seem as if he couldn't see reality clearly.

Seeing her look of disbelief that the matter could be resolved so easily, Hikigaya patted her head gently and said, "It shouldn't be so easy to end. After all, you acted as a traitor without consulting anyone and sold out the interests of the class without the consent of others. So from now on, work hard for Class D again, use your abilities where they should be used, and gain recognition from others. Then, you can get real redemption, and no one will treat you as a traitor anymore."

"If you work hard from now on... you will be able to obtain salvation..."

Kushida was stunned when he heard what Hikigaya said.

Just when Hikigaya thought he had said enough for the other party to come out of the haze of betrayal of the class, Kushida suddenly shuffled over and threw himself into his arms.

"Kushida?!"

Hikigaya was surprised that the girl would suddenly do such a bold thing, and immediately looked around.

After he was sure that it was so late and there was almost no one on the deck, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and instinctively looked at the girl in his arms.

At this moment, Kushida seemed to have finally woken up from a nightmare. His whole spirit, which had been in turmoil of ups and downs, gradually became relaxed.

"Thank you, Hikigaya..."

Kushida buried his head in Hikigaya's arms, his whole body trembling constantly at this moment, and even crystal tears kept falling from the corners of his eyes.

Faced with Kushida who seemed to be releasing all the suppressed emotions during this period, Hikigaya was too embarrassed to push him away. He could only let him lie in his arms and silently put his hand on his shoulder.

After Kushida relaxed extremely, he suddenly apologized:

"sorry."

"Why apologize?"

"I betrayed the class and almost caused everyone to fail miserably just for my own desires."

"Yeah, but you made up for it."

"But I still want to apologize, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Kushida cried and kept apologizing.

From her current emotional outburst, which was like a dam bursting, it was enough to see how much pressure the girl had accumulated during this period of time.

If Hikigaya doesn't help the other party solve the problem this time, causing Kushida to continue living with the sin of betraying the class, I'm afraid that the other party will experience a real collapse, or even a collapse in personality.

Because of this, even though Hikigaya has always been embarrassed to have physical contact with beautiful girls, he did not push Kushida away at this moment, but quietly let her snuggle in his arms and let her vent her emotions.

After all, there are very few born evil people in this world, and most people are just ordinary people.

The reason why ordinary people do bad things is often to satisfy their own interests. At the same time, they have the morals that ordinary people should have, and will be disturbed by the evil deeds they have done.

The same is true for Kikyo Kushida. After all, she is just an ordinary person, so she cannot easily forgive the wrong things she has done.

Therefore, all Hikigaya needs to do is to listen to her words of regret and apology. This is the greatest redemption for Kushida Kikyo.

Chapter 390 Horikita: I don’t think our class will lose!

Kushida vented out almost all the emotions that had been suppressed in his heart, and cried in Hikigaya's arms for a long time before gradually relaxing.

Seeing the girl revealing herself completely, Hikigaya showed considerable hesitation and instinctively had a bad idea.

If Kushida recovers later, he won't want to kill me to silence me, right?

I feel like there's a very high possibility of this happening...

Due to his lone ranger character, Hikigaya always likes to think about things in a worse direction.

Fortunately, after recovering, Kushida did not lose his temper with him immediately. He just lowered his head and said nothing at all.

"..." Hikigaya looked at the silent Kushida Kikyo and didn't know how to start for a moment. In the end, he could only say hesitantly, "It's so late, let's go back to the dormitory first?"

"……Um."

Kushida nodded quietly, then followed her steps.

At this moment, Kushida's pace was much slower than usual, as if he wanted to make this moment stay longer, making Hikigaya feel embarrassed to walk faster.

On the way back to the dormitory, neither of them brought up any topic and fell into silence for a long time.

When they arrived at the elevator, since the boys' and girls' dormitories were on different floors, the two people needed to go to different floor numbers.

Just as Hikigaya pressed the button to his floor, he heard Kushida's words.

"Hikigaya, I still haven't given up on my goal of defeating Horikita Suzune. I can't give up the idea of ​​stepping that woman under my feet."

"Ah."

Hikigaya had known about Kushida's obsession for a long time, so he showed no surprise and nodded calmly to show his understanding.

"This time, I actually made up my mind... At that time, I thought that as long as I could defeat Horikita and make that guy drop out of school, I would be able to do anything." Kushida Kikyo said in a complicated tone, "But in the end, I found out that I was wrong. I didn't seem to have the courage to make up my mind, and I didn't even understand what true determination was."

"People always misunderstand their own abilities, and always think that they can achieve something as long as they give it their all." Hikigaya shook his head silently, "But in fact, giving it all is something that most people cannot do."

"you're right……"

While the two were talking, they officially walked into the elevator.

In the silent and narrow atmosphere, only the sound of the elevator rising continued to be heard.

Finally, the elevator door slowly opened and Hikigaya arrived at the floor he wanted to reach.

Just as he was about to leave the elevator, Kushida's voice sounded again.

"Hikigaya, will you continue to help me defeat Horikita Suzune?"

"If you take the right approach, I will help you."