"Wait a second..." Though she inwardly complained about Shizuka Hiratsuka's increasingly unreliable ways, Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but ask, "Ms. Hiratsuka, what exactly do you mean by saying she's becoming a samurai?"
Could that be why she'd called them here today?
"Phew..." As if she'd known someone would be curious, Shizuka Hiratsuka exhaled another ring of smoke as soon as Yukino finished speaking. "How should I explain this? When I say she's becoming a samurai, I don't mean she'll turn into the kind of Sengoku-era warrior you all imagine. It's a metaphor for a certain spirit—or rather, a certain trait..."
"A trait?"
"Yeah..." Looking at their puzzled expressions, Shizuka Hiratsuka nodded matter-of-factly. "You've heard stories like this, right? In ancient times, whenever noble samurai traveled about, the common people would bow their heads in submission..."
Hachiman Hikigaya: "..."
That was because samurai had swords, wasn't it!?
If he hadn't been unable to mess with this hot-blooded female teacher who seemed to be having a chuunibyou episode, he really would have said it out loud.
"Of course..." However, he merely grumbled inwardly. Shizuka Hiratsuka, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking, continued, "Some of you may think that happened because ordinary people couldn't resist the power of samurai, so they had no choice but to bow..."
Hachiman Hikigaya: "???"
Had this woman evolved Mind Reading or something?
"But was that really the case?" Fortunately, Shizuka Hiratsuka hadn't learned the Face-Reading Technique from Sogo Doma, so she had no idea what Hachiman was thinking. She simply continued, "You've all heard the term samurai clans, right? But do you know why that term exists?"
"Hmm?"
"Because samurai are drawn to one another. They're a group that finds it easiest to gather into factions..."
"Huh!?" At that, Masuzu Natsukawa suddenly felt sleepy.