For the moment, setting aside Shizuka Hiratsuka's musings and her desire to become stronger.
"So it was because of the slippers..." At first, the people from Sobu High School hadn't believed that anyone could survive being besieged by lions and tigers—especially while wearing slippers. But Sogo Doma's analysis had been far too detailed, and even Shizuka Hiratsuka hadn't refuted him. She had even worn an expression of sudden realization, causing some of them to hesitate.
At first, Yui Yuigahama, who habitually went along with others, instinctively echoed him. Then, being exceptionally good at reading the room, she asked, "So that weird, um, Mr. Fake Katsura wandered around in front of shoe stores in that urban legend because of that?"
"That's right..." Sogo Doma found himself viewing Yui Yuigahama in a new light. She really got it—she was perfect straight-man material. "Because he'd been seriously injured while wearing slippers, Katsura's first thought was probably to get a new pair of shoes, right?"
"Then why was he only wandering around outside the store?"
"Uh..." Yui Yuigahama had asked exactly the right person. Others might not know why Katsura had merely wandered outside the store, but based on Sogo Doma's understanding of him, he couldn't say he could determine exactly what Katsura had been thinking—only that he was probably eight or nine parts right. "Probably because he didn't have much money. He was broke."
Hearing such a painfully realistic reason, not only Yui Yuigahama and the others, but even Shizuka Hiratsuka felt her eye twitch. A badass who had escaped lions and tigers while wearing slippers had no money? Who was this looking down on? Yet they were so stunned by their inner complaints that, in the end, they could only say one word:
"Huh?"
"If he had money..." Sogo Doma explained reasonably,