Offending Her

After Chabashira-sensei left, the classroom fell into chaos.

Quite a few students wailed and complained loudly. Even Yukimura, who usually seemed like a model student, couldn't control his emotions and shouted.

Konoe understood them perfectly. Most of them had probably entered this school to find a job or pursue further education, so it was only natural for them to complain. But for him, those weren't compelling enough reasons.

The chaos in class even sparked a minor clash between Hirata and Yukimura. Fortunately, Kushida stepped in to mediate, and both of them soon calmed down.

Konoe glanced toward Horikita, hoping to see how she was reacting.

To his surprise, Horikita was looking this way too, and Konoe suddenly found himself meeting the beautiful girl's gaze.

A few seconds later, Konoe inexplicably felt guilty and looked away. But soon, unable to let it go, he looked back—only to find that Horikita was no longer looking at him.

With Hirata, Kushida, and the others making an effort, the class gradually began discussing how to earn more Class Points and avoid losing them.

As the discussion went on, however, the students' complaints about Sudo grew louder. After arguing for a while, Sudo left the classroom.

"Sudo really doesn't understand the situation. He's the one with the most tardies and absences, too. If he weren't here, we'd definitely have more points, wouldn't we?"

As they condemned Sudo, though, these students forgot that they'd stood by and done nothing when he broke the rules. Just then, Hirata came over to Konoe's desk.

"Konoe, I'd like to have a thorough discussion after school about what we should do next to earn more Class Points. I hope you'll join us. You'll come, right?"

"..." Konoe felt that Hirata's tone didn't leave him much room to refuse.

"Don't worry. You won't have to say anything. You can just listen."

"Are Ayanokoji and Horikita going? If Ayanokoji goes, I'll go too. I'd feel awkward if there wasn't anyone there I was close to. Of course, you'll be leading the meeting, so you don't count." Konoe made up an excuse, trying to drag Ayanokoji into it.

After school, just as he'd planned, Hirata went to the podium to prepare for the strategy meeting.

But Horikita came over to Konoe's desk. "I need a moment of your time."

Horikita's attitude was a little harsh, but for some reason, Konoe felt like he'd been caught doing something wrong. Without saying anything, he followed her guiltily.

It wasn't until they'd left the School Building that Konoe finally came to his senses.

"Horikita, where are we going? What about the strategy meeting? Aren't you attending?"

"...I've realized one thing from this whole situation: when students who aren't very bright gather to discuss things and act together, they only get bogged down and create more confusion. But that doesn't mean I accept things as they are."

"What do you mean? You still haven't answered my question."

"You often stare at my face during class, don't you?" Horikita stopped and turned around, speaking in a stern tone.

He'd wanted to make an excuse and say he was looking at Ayanokoji, but whenever Konoe watched Ayanokoji, he also liked to see how Horikita reacted. After all, she really was quite beautiful.

"...So what? If I've made you uncomfortable, I can apologize. But that doesn't mean I've done anything wrong that gives you the right to reproach me."

A beautiful girl like Horikita would naturally attract plenty of attention, and she was probably somewhat used to it. That wasn't a very convincing reason to criticize Konoe, especially since his gaze was fundamentally different from those others':

Konoe didn't realize it yet, but his gaze was actually far more unpleasant.

"I'm not trying to pursue that matter. I just want to ask if you're satisfied with the way things are. You know you were assigned to Class D, so why do you act like you don't care? Are you, like Kogenji, backed by some corporate group?" Horikita stared at Konoe's face.

"I have no complaints about the School Administration's assessment. By the way, did you ask me this because I came first on the Mini-test? After all, aside from Kogenji, the second-place students seem to have plenty to say." Konoe brought up the Mini-test out of nowhere to see how Horikita would react.

Konoe recalled the Mini-test scores announced at the Class Meeting:

Konoe Hirakawa: 100 points

Horikita Suzune: 90 points

Yukimura Teruhiko: 90 points

Rokusuke Koenji: 90 points

Konoe didn't remember the rest very clearly. Hirata and Kushida had apparently been right behind them.

Ayanokoji had scored 50 points. Konoe didn't believe that score; he just understood that Ayanokoji had been confident from the start that the Mini-test wouldn't affect their points.

The bottom three were the Idiot Trio, with Sudo in last place.

"...Even so, that doesn't mean my abilities are worse than yours. The last three questions were simply outside the scope of what we'd studied."

As Konoe had expected, Horikita's expression darkened. Seeing that, he wanted to rub it in.

"Do you think 'I haven't studied that' is an acceptable excuse in society? Does society have to hold your hand and teach you everything? Oh, it does, actually—you'll learn once you fail. I'm sure you know how to answer those three questions now, right?" Konoe replied without mercy, his tone harsh and even a little hostile.

Meanwhile, Konoe's inner alarm kept going off, repeatedly warning him that there was something seriously wrong with his tone. He'd used a tone like this only a handful of times in his life, and his target wasn't even an enemy, just a classmate. His usual good nature tried to rein in his reckless impulses, but to no avail.

Konoe stared at Horikita's face, unwilling to miss even the smallest change in her expression. The stern look on her face gave way to a dazed, uncomfortable stare, and for some reason, that pleased him.

"More importantly, I can do it, and you can't. Horikita, someone who doesn't realize she's already lost naturally won't realize something else, either: I got a hundred because the test was capped at a hundred, while your limits are already right there in front of you." Konoe stared at Horikita almost obsessively, wanting to see how she'd react.

Horikita was a girl who put tremendous effort into her studies—or, more broadly, into maintaining her discipline. She had a strict study schedule, spent most of each day studying, and went out for a morning run every day.

She worked hard day after day, never letting up for a moment. That meant she had to have a firm goal in mind, and whenever she wanted to give up, Horikita would think of that goal.

Or, rather, a person.

Stung by Konoe's words, Horikita couldn't help thinking of him. At last, the girl who was usually cold and strong-willed at all times showed a vulnerable side and lowered her head.

Horikita suddenly felt that the person in front of her had something in common with the person she thought of. But she quickly dismissed the idea. If Konoe were like that person, he would have stood up and taken charge of the class as soon as he learned Hirata's information, and put a stop to every objection in the room.

Seeing Horikita's hurt expression, Konoe finally realized what he'd done, and guilt suddenly welled up inside him. After all, Horikita had called him out without even telling him why. To anyone watching, didn't it look like he was bullying a girl?

Horikita might have been cold in her manner, but she treated everyone equally that way. She hadn't singled Konoe out. If anything, this was just how she knew how to talk to people; it was simply her personality.

In fact, Konoe—who had little need for socializing himself—found himself respecting Horikita. He just understood better than she did that some things couldn't be done alone.

"...I'm sorry, Horikita. What I said was too harsh."

Konoe thought he needed to reflect—not on why he'd done this, but on why he'd acted so recklessly for the simple sake of gratifying himself.

Someone who couldn't rein in their emotions would struggle to control their own fate once they reached the seaside or stood at the edge of a cliff.

When Horikita didn't respond to his apology and kept her head down, looking dejected, Konoe unconsciously reached out to her.

"Don't touch me!" Horikita slapped his hand away with considerable force. "I'll reserve judgment on whether to accept your apology. Though I don't think you did anything wrong, either. What you said was right."

Just because he hadn't done anything wrong didn't mean she had to forgive him? But in Konoe's mind, he'd already decided that what he'd done was wrong.

Still, seeing Horikita return to her usual self made Konoe feel relieved.

"...Something just came up. I'll head back first. Sorry for taking up your time." It seemed Horikita was still bothered by Konoe's excessive remarks. Before he could react, she turned and left.

"Hey, I already said I was sorry... Sigh... Why did I act like that...?" Now he was the one who'd been left feeling hurt.