Nikaido's eyebrows twitched.
"Why?"
"Because looking for Miura is useless. Miura isn't the source of the rumors; she just heard them and is acting out of a sense of justice for Saeki. If you go to her, she'll just see it as a provocation, and things will get even more complicated.
Besides, even if you explain everything clearly to her, the rumors won't disappear. Rumors are like spilled water; once they've spread, you can't take them back."
Nikaido remained silent for a few seconds.
"Then what is your plan?"
"Use a new rumor to cover the old one. Shift everyone's attention away from Sakuraba Ema and move it sowhere else."
"Move it where?"
"To ."
Nikaido stared at him for a long ti.
"How?"
Hikigaya took a deep breath.
"I will confess to you."
The air went still for three seconds.
Nikaido's expression didn't change, but her blood-red eyes narrowed slightly.
"Be more specific."
"Tomorrow at noon, in the courtyard, I'll confess to you in public. Then you reject —reject harshly, in front of everyone—so that everyone knows Hikigaya is a scumbag who wanted to two-ti... no, three-ti these girls.
That way, everyone will talk about , mock , and concentrate all their malice on . anwhile, Sakuraba will transform from a 'howrecker' into an 'innocent girl deceived by a scumbag.'"
Nikaido didn't speak. She just looked at him, her eyes containing sothing Hikigaya couldn't quite decipher.
After a long silence, she spoke.
"Why ...?"
"Because you are famous enough. Top of the grade, excellent grades, and very beautiful; it would be convincing. Most importantly, in the eyes of outsiders, you have no connection to Sakuraba or Saeki, so it won't affect them further, nor will it truly affect you."
After Nikaido heard this, Hikigaya wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt she seed a bit... disappointed?
"...Do you realize the consequences of doing this?"
"I do. I'll be mocked by the whole school, turned into a laughingstock, and probably be labeled as 'delusional,' 'overestimating myself,' and a 'total scumbag.'"
"Then why still..."
"Because it's the most effective thod right now.
The essence of rumors is the attention economy. Everyone is talking about Sakuraba now because she is the center of the topic, but if I beco the new center, everyone will talk about and forget about her."
The corner of Nikaido's mouth quirked.
"Attention economy? Where did you learn that term?"
"Saw it online. But the logic holds. Look at entertainnt news: a celebrity cheats, everyone curses them for a few days, then a new celebrity gets into trouble, and everyone moves on to curse the new one. Attention is limited. I need to beco that new 'news' story."
Nikaido was silent for a long ti, and then she murmured to herself: "Why go to such lengths for her?"
Hikigaya didn't hear her clearly.
"What?"
"I said, why go to such lengths for her?" Hiro looked up, sothing flickering in those blood-red eyes.
"Turning yourself into the school's laughingstock just so she won't be troubled by rumors?"
He hadn't thought about that question, or rather, he had intentionally avoided thinking about it.
But images flashed through his mind.
The way Sakuraba looked at him—a gaze like an abandoned stray dog, wet and full of cautious attempts to please.
The cookies she brought to the cafe, clumsily baked into heart shapes.
The way she asked him in the courtyard, "Can we still eat lunch together in the future?"
Her helplessness on the rooftop.
And Yuki's request.
"Because I think... it's more cost-effective this way."
"Cost-effective?"
"Right. Cost-effective. Using one person——to be mocked for a few days in exchange for her not being troubled long-term; that's a good deal."
He reorganized his wording.
"Look, what am I now? An ordinary gloomy guy with no friends and no presence. Being mocked is just an extension of daily life for ; it's no big deal. But Sakuraba is different. She's been working hard to make friends, working hard to smile at people, working hard to seem easy to get along with. If she gets labeled a 'howrecker,' that drop in status will destroy her."
Nikaido stared at him for a long ti.
"So you're doing this out of... pity?"
"It's not pity." Hikigaya shook his head. "It's... responsibility."
When he said the word, even he was startled.
"Even if it isn't my fault, since things have reached this point, I bear a certain amount of responsibility. If I hadn't let her follow back then, if I hadn't..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
If he hadn't let Sakuraba get close, but had instead pushed her away more resolutely...
But those were all "ifs," and they couldn't change the current situation.
Nikaido fell silent.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway. A few students walked up from downstairs, glanced curiously at the two of them standing in the stairwell, and then quickly moved on.
Once the footsteps faded, Nikaido spoke.
"You know that doing this might make your future life at school very miserable, right?"
"I know. But it's better than her being miserable."
"Why?"
"Because I feel that I can endure it."
This was true. Back in middle school, when he was mocked, it hurt, but he made it through.
He knew how to shrink into his shell, how to ignore the voices, and how to pretend he didn't care.
But Sakuraba didn't know.
She was too fragile, like glass—one touch and she would shatter.
Nikaido stared at him for a very long ti.
Finally, she spoke.
"I need ti to consider."
"How long?"
"After school, in the Service Club room. I'll give you my answer then."
Hikigaya nodded.
"Fine."
He turned to leave.
"Wait."
Hikigaya stopped and looked back.
"What is it?"
Nikaido looked at him, her blood-red eyes reflecting a complex emotion he had never seen before.
"What if... what if this plan fails?"
"Then I'll keep thinking until I find a way that works."
Nikaido looked away.
"You... are really stubborn."
"I guess so. I don't really have any other strengths anyway."
Nikaido didn't say another word; she turned and went back to the classroom.
Hikigaya stood there for a mont, watching her figure disappear behind the door.
As he turned to leave, he suddenly heard a voice behind him.
"Hikigaya-kun~"
Hikigaya turned and saw Tachibana Shirley poking her head out of the Class J classroom with a brilliant smile.
"Finished talking? The Great Detective just perford another deduction! You must have been discussing so secret plan, right!"
Hikigaya: "..."
'How is this girl back again?'
"Let guess~" Shirley's eyes were sparkling. "You're going on an adventure together! To find legendary treasure!"
"..."
"Or... you're forming a secret society! To fight against a dark organization!"
"..."
"Ah! I've got it! You're going to elope! Elope to the moon!"
Hikigaya sighed.
"None of the above."
"Eh~ none of them?" Shirley pouted. "Then what could it be? Shirley really wants to know~"
"Tachibana-san," Nikaido's voice ca from inside the classroom. "Please return to your seat. Class is about to start."
"Alright, alright~" Shirley gave Hikigaya a thumbs up. "But if anything interesting happens, you must tell ! The Great Detective loves interesting things best!"
With that, she giggled and went back into the classroom.
Hikigaya shook his head and turned to leave.
That Tachibana Shirley... was a truly strange person.
But now was not the ti to think about that.
The most important thing now was waiting for Nikaido's answer.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting on buyacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting
User Comments
0 comments from readers