Manabu Horikita's Invitation

The next day, after school, Class D's final crisis—the incident involving Sudo—was successfully resolved through Horikita and Ayanokoji's cooperation.

With Manabe's fate as a warning, the people from Class C did not hesitate. The moment they heard Ayanokoji's threat, they were scared out of their wits and insisted on withdrawing their accusations against Sudo, no matter who tried to stop them.

With that, Ryuen's entire scheme to frame them had failed, and not a single person from Class D was expelled.

Hachiman, who had been waiting outside the Conference Room, noticed the commotion coming from within and straightened slightly, waiting for their triumphant return.

"Hikigaya? Were you waiting here for me?"

The moment Sudo stepped out, he saw Hachiman, and a warm feeling rose in his heart.

This was a friend. This was a brother! Worried that Sudo might be expelled, he had anxiously waited here for him.

In contrast, neither Ike nor Yamauchi was anywhere to be seen.

Hachiman awkwardly scratched his cheek. Seeing how moved Sudo looked, he truly felt too embarrassed to tell him the truth.

I was actually waiting for Horikita.

"I'm not getting expelled, so don't worry, brother!"

Sudo grabbed Hachiman by both shoulders and shouted passionately.

"Are you an idiot? Don't shout so loudly here."

Horikita scolded him bluntly. Rarely, Sudo did not get angry and merely rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

No matter what, Horikita was one of the greatest contributors to helping him stay. He could not exactly turn on her the moment they walked out after receiving her help.

"Come on, come on. I'll treat you all to dinner to thank you."

"No, I have something to do."

Horikita was still Horikita. Without a second thought, she rejected his offer.

Seeing that, Sudo could not force the issue.

Ayanokoji silently raised a hand from the corner, but Sudo ignored him without hesitation, as though he had not seen him at all.

Ayanokoji: (⊙...⊙)

"You're coming back, right, Hikigaya?"

"Though I hate to turn you down, do you have any extra points left?"

Silence swept over the group, and black lines appeared across Sudo's forehead.

As someone who spent everything he had, his pockets were cleaner than his face right now.

In his moment of excitement, he had forgotten something so important.

"It's fine. You can treat me next time instead."

Hachiman kindly comforted him and patted his shoulder.

At that moment, two people walked out of the Conference Room.

In an instant, the atmosphere grew heavy.

Manabu Horikita walked out as though he had not seen them, with Tachibana following behind him, a pleasant smile always on her face.

Manabu Horikita eventually stopped in front of Hachiman. The moment Tachibana saw him, her smile vanished.

"...Yo?"

Seeing that Manabu Horikita continued staring at him without saying a word, Hachiman took the initiative to speak.

"Do you have time later?"

The high-prescription lenses reflected a cold glint.

"I need to escort Horikita back to the Dormitory later—"

"See me at the Cafe shortly."

Without waiting for Hachiman to finish, Manabu Horikita issued a forceful invitation.

After saying that, he did not give Hachiman a chance to refuse and walked out of everyone's sight.

"Yeah, what a terrifying guy."

Even a troublemaker like Sudo was sweating from Manabu Horikita's imposing presence.

No wonder he was the person standing at the top of this school!

"So, Hikigaya, are you really going?"

Sudo asked curiously.

Was there even an answer to that question?

"No. I'm going to escort Horikita back to the Dormitory."

"Hey, hey, Horikita, don't leave!"

When he turned around, Horikita, who had just been standing at the entrance, had already left with Manabu Horikita.

Hachiman immediately chased after her, leaving Sudo behind alone.

Sudo scratched his head, and suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.

"Didn't Hikigaya say he was going to be Horikita's knight in shining armor? Didn't he say he wasn't interested in Horikita?

That bastard!"

Sudo raged helplessly, only to discover that even Ayanokoji had left.

Please provide the Chinese text you would like me to translate. I am ready to process it according to your instructions.

"Wait for me!"

Hachiman caught up to Horikita as she was heading down the stairs. She noticed him and stopped.

"Since my brother wants to talk to you, I think you should go."

"Does Horikita want me to go?"

"Whatever. How you choose is your freedom."

After saying that, Horikita continued down the stairs. Hachiman watched her receding back and smiled helplessly.

She was obviously curious about why Manabu Horikita wanted to see him, yet she had to pretend she was not interested.

What a stubborn tsundere.

"Welcome!"

The Cafe was as noisy as ever. As the most popular choice for students after school, it was already completely packed.

Hachiman scanned the room from the entrance and eventually spotted his target in a corner.

With relaxed steps, he walked over to where the man was sitting and plopped down without ceremony.

The other party showed no great reaction to his behavior.

"Go on, then. What did you want from me?"

Hachiman tugged at his tie and put on the air of a delinquent blond thug. He wanted to use this act to irritate this little-sister-obsessed student council president.

Manabu Horikita calmly took a sip of coffee, folding his arms with a serious expression.

"I truly did not expect you to be innocent. To be honest, at first I had been looking forward to Class C producing conclusive evidence that would confirm your reputation as human trash. Then I could have expelled you with proper justification."

After a moment of silence, the two stared each other down. Finally, Manabu Horikita slowly spoke.

Hachiman did not take the mocking words to heart. He had heard Horikita say such things so often that he had long become completely immune to them.

He waved a hand, wearing a frivolous expression.

"I told you from the beginning, didn't I? I hate flat chests. Your little sister is much better. She's exactly my type!"

As he spoke, Hachiman extended his right hand and pinched the air.

Manabu Horikita's expression finally changed slightly, his brow lifting faintly.

"Put away your clumsy act." Manabu Horikita saw through Hachiman's trick at once. "Tell me, what is your purpose in getting close to Suzune?"

Through his investigation, he had discovered that this person was unexpectedly close to Horikita in everyday life. He had even run into the two siblings during their meetings.

If it had merely been a coincidence, he would never believe such an excuse.

"Isn't it obvious? Of course it's—"

Before he could finish, a sharp gaze came from across the table. Hachiman coughed awkwardly, dropped his frivolous act, and sat properly.

"Manabu Horikita, you care about Horikita more than I expected. I thought the relationship between you two was not very good."

"That is not the case. No matter what, she is my younger sister. I was merely asking about a few things."

Manabu Horikita adjusted his glasses, refusing to admit that he cared about Horikita.

"Yeah, yeah." Hachiman echoed him speechlessly.

"There is not really any particular purpose, is there? I simply want to rise to Class A, and Horikita has the greatest potential in Class D. Getting close to her, offering her some help, and becoming part of her fighting force—isn't that perfectly normal?"

Hachiman looked at Manabu Horikita with a smile.