After finishing the agreement with Ryuen, Hirata and I left the café, leaving Horikita behind, sitting there in frustration after suffering a genuine defeat at Ryuen's hands.
It didn't matter how Ryuen had discovered the VIP. It was still a victory in his favor.
I walked alongside Hirata, though I hadn't expected him to follow me, especially since he'd been assigned the task of convincing the other students in the Dragon Group.
Shouldn't he be getting started already?
"Horikita-san seems angry..." Hirata said as he walked beside me.
"Well, she's the type who can't accept losing."
I didn't know how she'd become like this, but perhaps constantly chasing after her older brother had made her view even the smallest defeat as though it were the end of her path.
"Yeah, I think so. Honestly, if you hadn't been there, things wouldn't have ended this smoothly. Even Ryuen-kun knows that," Hirata said, turning toward me with a friendly smile.
"Not exactly... I just had to say everything Ryuen couldn't."
Perhaps it wasn't too far from what Ryuen had called me—a mediator between two sides.
Or maybe a translator.
"Really? It seemed to me that even Ryuen-kun acknowledges you."
I gave Hirata a serious sidelong glance.
What was this idiot talking about?
"It's not acknowledgment. It's just the accumulation of our previous conversations and encounters."
Perhaps all those one-sided provocations had led things to where they were now.
"Also, shouldn't you start talking to the students in your group?" I asked, trying to shift his attention to another topic.
"Ah, I'll take care of that with Kushida-san during tomorrow's session..." Hirata said, scratching his cheek.
He was planning to rely on Kushida's friendly approach.
He really knew how to play that card.
"Wouldn't it be better to convince each side separately? Facing everyone at once isn't an easy decision."
Their pride and arrogance might increase if they were all gathered in the same room at once, and their demands could escalate from a simple attempt at persuasion into actual negotiations.
"That might be true, but I think things will go well if we're together. We'll do our best, so there's no need to worry..."
I turned toward Hirata with a frown.
What was this idiot talking about?
No one was worried about them.
It was better to stay quiet and ignore him for now.
We continued walking for a while before Hirata spoke again.
"Hikigaya-kun, how do you usually spend your time?"
He turned toward me, waiting for an answer.
"Huh...?"
What was this strange question?
Was this one of those stupid internet personality tests?
"I just wander around."
I shrugged.
If we excluded the sessions, all I did was walk around aimlessly, moving between restaurants and cafés.
It was truly an ideal lifestyle.
"If you're not doing anything, why don't you come with me? We can spend some time having fun with the class..." Hirata said as he took out his phone to check it.
Was he making fun of my lifestyle just now?
Or was I mistaken?
And what kind of fun would I have with the others?
It would just be torture.
Torture.
"Ah, no, I have..."
"Didn't you say you just wander around?"
I tried to reject his offer quickly, but he didn't even give me a chance and interrupted me again.
Damn it.
He'd made me admit it myself before even asking.
He really was socially dangerous.
"So, are you coming?" Hirata asked again, as if he were saying there was no point in answering.
I was going.
"Ah... Fine. Just for a little while."
...
I used to be a professional at rejecting other people.
But for some reason, my performance had declined lately, and I'd started accepting these miserable social activities as if I were some idiot wandering around with a cheerful smile.
Damn this level.
At this rate, I'd soon be taking pictures while making a peace sign and posting them on social media.
"Hikigaya-kun, come on..." Hirata said as he walked ahead of me beside the pool, heading toward the students from our class.
It was a lively summer atmosphere, filled with youthful energy. They were playing around under the sunlight, far removed from the pressure of exams or the strict atmosphere of school, as though they were in paradise.
I followed Hirata until I stopped to take in the scene before me.
The view from here was different from the rest of the ship. A large portion of the sky was visible, along with the sea, creating an elegant view befitting a luxury cruise.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Hirata said as he gazed at the surface of the sea with calm eyes.
"It's Hikigaya-kun! You came too!"
Suddenly, a cheerful voice rang out behind us, accompanied by soft footsteps approaching.
It was Kushida, smiling brightly in a way that perfectly matched the atmosphere around us.
"Yeah, I brought him with me..." Hirata said, scratching the back of his head.
"That's great! The more people there are, the more fun we'll have," Kushida said with a smile before walking toward her friends on the other side.
I couldn't suppress a smile when I heard her words before covering my mouth with my hand.
Did she really mean what she said?
How many people had she been forced to say the same thing to?
What a depressing life.
There were many familiar faces around, and the moment they recognized Hirata, they began approaching him, as though the center of the group had shifted the instant he arrived.
"Hello..." Matsushita raised her hand slightly in greeting.
I merely nodded lightly before retreating into the background.
But the moment I reached them, my peace was officially destroyed.
I wouldn't be enjoying it anymore.
"Hey, Hikigaya..." Sudou shouted as he approached, wearing nothing but his swim trunks.
"How are you?" Sudou asked, scratching the back of his head.
"Fine," I said, putting my hands in my pockets while looking at the surface of the pool.
"I don't usually see you here. It's surprising."
"Yeah, because I'm lost."
I honestly didn't know what I was doing here.
Perhaps I should find an opportunity to leave.
"What are you talking about, man? Hahaha!" Sudou began laughing loudly, causing several people around us to turn their heads.
He was drawing attention to us.
This was embarrassing.
I pretended to look around, acting as though I didn't care about everyone's gazes.
Oh, what was that?
Yamauchi and Ike were playing in the water like idiots.
"Hey, Sudou!"
Suddenly, a girl behind us shouted loudly at Sudou as if she were angry.
We turned around together to see Karuizawa approaching angrily, glaring at Sudou.
"You're such an idiot. Stop shouting like that or get away from here," Karuizawa said, apparently annoyed that Sudou had ruined the mood of her group.
"Huh? What are you talking about? I'm just talking to Hikigaya. I didn't come over to your group," Sudou said as if he didn't care that he was bothering everyone else.
"Huh..."
Karuizawa hesitated for a moment, regaining her composure so she wouldn't lose to him.
"You..."
"Let's calm down, everyone. Nothing happened," Hirata intervened, stepping between them in an attempt to stop the argument before it began.
"Kei, come try this juice..." Matsushita suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her back toward their table.
"Ah, but..."
The girl tried to object, but it was useless. She was completely dragged away.
"Tch..."
Sudou turned sharply, seemingly struggling to suppress his anger.
He'd improved recently.
He really was different from the red-haired delinquent I'd first met.
I continued staring at the pool, watching the water change its movement whenever someone moved through it.
This was called the butterfly effect, wasn't it?
Well, I should stop staring at it.
Didn't they say that if you stared into the abyss, it would stare back at you or something like that?
"Why don't we play volleyball like last time...?" Sudou said loudly again, as if he didn't care.
"That's a great idea..." Hirata smiled after Sudou's suggestion, apparently thinking it was a wonderful idea.
Were they trying to recreate the volleyball match I'd been dragged into before?
No.
Absolutely not.
"Do you want to play?" Hirata asked.
"My back hurts, and we're not wearing the right clothes," I said, pointing at my clothes and Hirata's.
They were just our everyday clothes. They weren't suitable for quick movements or sports.
"Hahaha, Hikigaya-kun is right..." Hirata said after being reminded of what he was wearing.
Well, most of them were wearing their normal clothes anyway.
Only those who actually intended to use the pool had changed.
My eyes gradually returned to the pool, as though they were getting lost among the crowd and couldn't find anywhere else to look.
I felt like I was going to fall into it.
Better stay away.
"Do you like swimming?" Hirata asked, seemingly trying to prevent the situation from becoming too quiet.
"No. I can't swim. The moment I touch the water, I'll drown," I said indifferently, looking to the side.
"You're lying. You were good in swimming lessons," Sudou said, pointing at me.
Damn it.
They caught me again.
I'd let my guard down too much today.
"Hikigaya-kun is really modest," Hirata said, drawing a stupid smile across his face.
"No. I'm actually arrogant."
I was always insulting people in my head and making sarcastic comments about what they did.
I was the perfect example of an arrogant person.
Hirata continued wearing a strained smile while Sudou laughed loudly.
"That's him..."
Suddenly, two people approached us, and one of them began pointing at me without the slightest bit of manners.
The three of us looked at them as they approached until the bald boy stopped directly in front of me.
"Hikigaya Hachiman, right?" Katsuragi said, looking directly at me.
"Ah... yes..." I said, looking at him nervously.
I felt as though he'd started examining me with his eyes after my answer, evaluating me from every angle.
Was he okay?
"I'm Katsuragi from Class A. I've heard a lot about you from Totsuka."
Totsuka?
Was Totsuka here? Was Totsuka actually here?
The image of an angel in my mind was quickly replaced by the image of a delinquent with green hair, completely ruining my mood.
Couldn't he simply change his name to "Green Hair" or something?
"Really?" I said indifferently, putting my hands into my pockets.
"Yes... I've become genuinely curious about you, so I wanted to meet you," Katsuragi said in a formal tone, completely different from the way his friend spoke.
So there were students of this caliber in Sakayanagi's class.
All I could do was give him a strained smile. I had no idea what that idiot had told him about me, but whatever.
"However, you seem completely different from what I've heard about you..." Katsuragi said, as though he'd found a discrepancy between what he'd imagined and reality.
Well, I more or less understood what he meant.
"What happens in that room stays in that room. It has nothing to do with reality..."
Everything we did in there was for the sake of the exam. I couldn't keep acting like that all the time.
I'd go insane.
"That's obvious..." Katsuragi said, nodding as though he understood what I meant.
"Katsuragi-san..."
Suddenly, a distant voice called out to him, asking him to come over.
Katsuragi turned toward the voice to see who it was before looking back at us.
"I have to go now. It was a pleasure meeting you, Hikigaya," Katsuragi said before nodding and leaving.
"Goodbye..."
I raised my shoulders slightly before returning my gaze forward, ignoring the rock that remained behind Katsuragi.
"Scumbag..." the green-haired idiot suddenly muttered loudly, as though he wasn't afraid of me hearing him.
"Huh? What did you say...?" Sudou immediately reacted aggressively.
I merely glanced at him from the corner of my eye.
Seriously, why didn't he just follow his friend?
"Who do you think you are, talking like that in front of Katsuragi-san?" the green-haired idiot said, apparently angry about my behavior.
Even Katsuragi hadn't complained.
What was wrong with this idiot?
"I wonder why Katsuragi left this pebble here. Should we call him so he can take it with him?" I said, giving him a sarcastic smile.
He'd already crossed the line because of his name alone, and on top of that, his behavior deserved this.
The green-haired idiot began to boil with anger, gritting his teeth at my mockery.
"Scumbag. Arrogant..."
Without hesitation, he reached out and shoved me with all his strength.
I lost my balance with my hands still in my pockets, and there was nowhere for me to fall except into the water.
Tch...
I'd let my guard down again.
For a moment, I saw the world in slow motion. Everything tilted before my eyes, and I was powerless to do anything.
What an embarrassing way to go.
Maybe I'd add this to the list of things I'd curse myself over tonight.
I wouldn't even be able to scream into my pillow properly.
My thoughts stopped as I was submerged in the water. Every inch of me became soaked.
I quickly adjusted my position underwater before bringing my head back above the surface to take a breath.
My unruly hair was completely soaked and began blocking my vision, so I quickly pushed it backward.
Everyone around us was staring again, as though we'd become the center of attention.
"Hey, you bastard! What the hell are you doing...?" Sudou said as he moved toward the boy who was standing in front of us with an arrogant smile.
"Sudou-kun, please..." Hirata quickly stood up to stop him before he could move any further.
"Let's tell the teachers about this," Karuizawa said as she approached to check what had happened.
What was this?
Was everyone coming over here now?
We weren't putting on a show.
"Tch."
"Tell them. I didn't do anything. I only touched him..." he said, raising his hands and pretending to be innocent.
"Huh...?" Sudou shouted in his face, clearly unwilling to accept such a pathetic excuse.
I approached the edge of the pool and slowly climbed out, feeling my clothes become several times heavier because of the water.
"It's fine, it's fine... It was just an accident," I said, pushing myself out of the pool until I was standing again.
I checked my clothes.
They were completely soaked.
So...
"You heard your friend. It was just an accident," the green-haired idiot said with a laugh before turning to leave as though the matter were over.
I quickly reached out and grabbed his arm, squeezing it firmly.
"Where are you going? This isn't over yet..." I said, staring directly at him.
"What?"
He looked at me in confusion, trying to free his arm, but to no avail.
"Hold your breath."
"Huh...?"
Question marks seemed to appear above his head, but before he had a chance to understand what I meant, I threw myself back into the pool and dragged him down with me.
The water splashed loudly as we both fell in.
I surfaced quickly to get some air, while the boy desperately gasped for breath after not having had the chance to breathe properly.
"I'm going to tell the teacher about this. Just you wait..." he said as he moved through the water toward the edge to climb out.
"Ah, sorry. I slipped and grabbed onto you, but we both fell in. My mistake..." I said as I approached the edge.
Hirata reached out his hand with a smile to help me out.
"Tch..."
The green-haired idiot angrily checked his soaked clothes before getting out of the pool under everyone's gaze.
I slowly unbuttoned my shirt and took it off, then removed the shirt underneath, which had become heavy from the water.
I wrung the water out of it before putting it back on and fastening the buttons properly.
Much better.
"What are you going to do now, Hikigaya-kun?" Hirata asked as he approached me and checked to see if I was okay.
"I'm going to change my clothes," I said, lifting my soaked shirt slightly.
"That's good."
"Hikigaya, you've got a great physique. Do you work out?" Sudou asked from beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"No. I just eat well..." I said, moving his hand away as I stepped back.
"Really...?" Sudou said, scratching his cheek as he thought about what I'd said.
Without bothering to say goodbye to anyone, I walked away from them, ignoring the gazes of everyone around the pool as I headed toward the exit.
As I expected.
I should have refused.
Why did I always end up regretting my choices...?
Tch.
That bastard.