"Y-Yeah..." Hayato Hayama looked terrible. "Maybe some dust got in my eyes on the way over..." Everyone silently mocked the obviously fabricated excuse. Hachiman Hikigaya was especially glad he had believed Sogo Doma instead of doubting him. Otherwise...
"Oh, right, Yuigahama, Miura and the others are looking for you..." Hayato Hayama seemed to know his excuse would not hold up either, so before anyone else could speak, he abruptly changed the subject.
"Huh!?" While she was still stunned, Sogo Doma spoke up as well. "See that? That's what you call arrogance."
"..." As soon as he said that, Hayato Hayama felt his eye twitch. If he were arrogant, he would not have... However, no one else saw it that way. After all, aside from Yui Yuigahama, everyone present was rather perceptive. They might not have had many friends, but as Utaha Kasumigaoka had once said—she simply had not bothered putting effort into boring social relationships.
Though Sogo Doma had complained endlessly about that statement, privately, he thought she had a point. Both sides might have struggled to make friends, but one had been ostracized while the other had been bullied!
If one had to explain the difference, it was probably like comparing Yukino Yukinoshita, whose indoor shoes had been stolen countless times in elementary school, to some young lady who simply could not be bothered to deal with others.
In short, they all understood what Hayato Hayama meant. Combined with Sogo Doma's earlier explanation of arrogance, everyone felt there was nothing wrong with what he had said—Hayato Hayama really was far too arrogant!
There was no helping it. Setting aside the nasty comments about a new toy, according to Sogo Doma, he had merely been making friends with Hachiman Hikigaya and Yui Yuigahama, yet Hayato Hayama had rushed over to