"Uh..." Perhaps others would have given Hachiman Hikigaya's explanation some serious thought, but Sogo Doma's train of thought worked differently. He had noticed something no one else had: "How should I put this? You sure know a lot about it, almost like you experienced it yourself..."
"..." Well, duh. He had experienced it himself.
Hachiman Hikigaya wanted to retort, but when the words reached his lips, they became: "That's because I have a friend..."
"There it is!" Unfortunately, he had barely begun when Sogo Doma said, "The classic 'I have a friend' line. It was clearly your own personal experience, yet you're using a friend as an excuse..."
"No..." Hachiman Hikigaya's eye twitched. "I really do have a friend!"
"Heh..." Sogo Doma merely sneered at that explanation. "As if. You're the solitary Hiki—uh, Great Bodhisattva Hachiman!"
S-solitary!?
So being unable to make friends could be described that way? It was obviously just a slight change in wording, yet it somehow made it sound appealing. For a moment, Hachiman Hikigaya did not even want to refute that assessment of himself—solitary!
"..." Thankfully, Komachi Hikigaya was not fooled by that linguistic trap—sugar-coated bait. Seeing that her brother actually seemed tempted, she could not help saying, "But you just said that Zaimokuza was my brother's friend..."
So how had he suddenly become solitary? Come to think of it, her brother was far too easy to lead into traps!
Before Sogo Doma could say anything in response, Hachiman Hikigaya's eye began twitching again, because...
"Huh?" As though he knew what Hachiman was thinking, Sogo Doma finally caught up. "Little Komachi, you don't seriously think Zaimokuza is your brother's friend, do you?"
The moment those words came out, Komachi Hikigaya froze. "Eh?"
Not just her—the others present were all bewildered. Had Hikigaya fallen so far