Yamamura was not good at this sort of thing.
Looking at it that way,
the only person suited to approach Ibuki seemed to be Hachiman.
So Hachiman Hikigaya walked over to Ibuki.
The exam was over, and Ibuki had already left the classroom, though she seemed somewhat listless.
"The exam is over, but there's still the tiebreaker. You might be sent in again. If you're feeling down now, it'll affect the next match," Hachiman said.
"..."
Ibuki shook her head.
"I just can't accept it."
Yet Ibuki took the initiative to speak. "I thought that since I'd watched so many movies, I had experience and an advantage. But during the exam, even when I came across movies I knew, I couldn't answer the questions right away."
"I just can't accept it."
"Is that so?"
Seeing Ibuki voluntarily open up, Hachiman chose to keep listening.
Ibuki continued, "It's frustrating."
"I wanted to watch every movie shown at school, treating it like collecting stamps. But now that I think about it, it seems I've just been wolfing them down without really absorbing anything."
"I've been wondering whether there's any meaning in doing this."
In other words, she had initially been happy to discover that her hobby could come in handy.
But after the actual competition, her confidence had been completely shattered.
So she began wondering what meaning this hobby had anymore.
"It's not a bad thing that you're thinking this way," Hachiman said. "Even though you've often forced yourself to watch movies."
"You're even starting to question your life now, but my suggestion is that you put those thoughts aside for the moment. When you return to school and watch a movie again, then make your decision," Hachiman said.
In other words, anything she said now would be negatively affected by the