COTE: Hikigaya's Classroom of the Supreme Being

In the afternoon, most members of the student council were urgently summoned to the meeting room, except for a few like Vice President Nagumo, who was accompanying the soccer team for an away match.

The topic of discussion was naturally the incident involving the hidden cameras in the first-year girls' locker room.

Horikita Manabu, the student council president, held up a small plastic card, displaying it for everyone to see.

"After confirmation from Tachibana, this memory card contains footage from the girls' locker room," he stated in his usual calm tone, though the underlying anger was palpable. This was, after all, the biggest scandal the school had faced in years—such a thing had never happened before.

When Hikigaya first reported the incident to Horikita at noon, he was startled by the president's furious expression. Now, Horikita seemed more composed, but the tension in the room was still thick.

"I've already reported this to the school administration. It won't take long to trace the origin of this card," Horikita continued. "Though the card's owner may not necessarily be the perpetrator, they're likely involved. Once we start following the trail, there'll be no escape."

Given the gravity of the incident, the school would undoubtedly take serious action.

However, Hikigaya still had a simpler view of the situation.

"The school administration wants to hear the student council's opinion on this matter," Horikita said. "While the culprit hasn't been identified yet, it's only a matter of time. The school hopes we can discuss how to handle the punishment. They'll consider our input when making a decision."

The first to speak was Kiriyama.

"Is there even a need to discuss this? Expulsion is the only option. Someone who commits such an act is beyond redemption."

"I agree with Kiriyama. A person like that doesn't deserve to stay in our school."

"They're an enemy of all women... utterly disgusting!"

The room was filled with anger, but no one seemed to grasp the school's underlying intent.

In a situation like this, the obvious course of action would be expulsion—no need to consult the student council. The fact that the school was asking for opinions suggested they wanted to hear something different.

It seemed the administration preferred to handle this quietly, without causing a public scandal.

Hikigaya couldn't help but think that leaders are the same everywhere.

"I've also considered expulsion," Horikita said, his tone tinged with frustration. "But it's likely that the culprit didn't act alone. Several signs suggest that this was a coordinated effort. The school feels that immediate expulsion might be too hasty."

He had received this information from Hikigaya, who had learned it from Ike, Yamauchi, and Ayanokoji. He also knew that the memory card was found by Kiryuin. However, the full details of what had happened remained unclear, and Kiryuin had been unreachable since then, leaving messages unread.

"What's your opinion, Hikigaya?" Horikita suddenly asked.

"Well... I think the students involved should be given a second chance," Hikigaya replied after a moment's hesitation. He had promised to put in a good word, and now was the time to do so. "Since this was a group effort, there's likely a ringleader. I suggest we use the PA system to hint that they should come forward and confess. In that case, only the main perpetrator would be expelled, while the accomplices would receive warnings. The classes they belong to should also have points deducted... That's my proposal."

"… No suspensions?" someone asked.

"I don't think it's necessary," Hikigaya said, rubbing his chin. "It would be better to let these students face the wrath of their peers rather than hiding in their dorms. That would be a more fitting punishment. Their entire class might turn against them."

Unintentionally, he had said something rather startling. The way the seniors were looking at him made it clear they found his suggestion surprising.

Horikita gave Hikigaya a thoughtful glance but didn't comment further.

"Understood. Let's proceed to a vote. Those in favor, raise your hand."

Everyone agreed without hesitation, and the motion was quickly passed unanimously.

Today was rough... I need to get out of here, Hikigaya thought.

As soon as the meeting ended, Hikigaya was about to leave when Horikita called him back.

"Hikigaya, stay behind for a moment."

"… Yes, sir."

The tone of Horikita's voice didn't bode well.

"I didn't expect you to make that kind of suggestion."

Horikita's opening line left Hikigaya unsure how to respond. Working under Horikita was always challenging.

"… President, do you think my proposal was inappropriate?"

"Not at all. It was an excellent suggestion, balancing different perspectives," Horikita said calmly. "But I originally thought you would recommend expelling all the involved students."

"Well... I did mention earlier that Ayanokoji seems innocent. Expelling him alongside the others wouldn't be fair."

"You seem to trust him?"

"At least in this case, I don't think he's lying."

Hikigaya didn't trust Ayanokoji, but he was certain that Ayanokoji wasn't involved in this incident.

However, something else was bothering him more.

Why would Ayanokoji ask Karuizawa, instead of Horikita, to stop this from happening? That decision could easily backfire and give someone leverage over him.

Did Ayanokoji trust Karuizawa more than Horikita?

Is this just about trust? Hikigaya wondered, feeling increasingly uneasy as he thought about it.

Horikita broke the silence, asking, "Do you think they'll come forward and confess?"

"… At least Ayanokoji will," Hikigaya replied.

Even as he said it, Hikigaya suspected that Ayanokoji would likely reach out to Ike or Yamauchi, and together they would pin the blame on someone else, thereby protecting themselves.

Whoever got thrown under the bus would be the unfortunate one.

But to Hikigaya, Ike and Yamauchi were both equally despicable—hardly worth differentiating.

Horikita didn't share his thoughts, merely nodding. "Alright, I'll wait for him, then."

It seemed Horikita had guessed what Ayanokoji intended to do and didn't oppose it.

As a student council president, Horikita Manabu wasn't naive. Sometimes, it was necessary to cut ties with those who could be sacrificed, especially when one hadn't done anything wrong personally.

"Oh, by the way, school starts in a few days. Are you ready to resume training?"

"What? I thought that was over!" Hikigaya exclaimed in shock.

"Only for the summer break."

Horikita's calm reply shattered all of Hikigaya's hopes.

"And when winter break comes, I'll train you every day. After all, by then, I won't be the student council president anymore."

"Seriously…?"

While most students spend their holidays having fun, Horikita Manabu, instead, uses this time to handle various responsibilities. In fact, he's even busier than usual. Given the importance of balancing work and rest, he granted Hikigaya two weeks off.

Unfortunately, those good days were coming to an end.

"Spend the next few days exercising and warming up. I won't go easy on you when the time comes."

"…Yes."

Leaving the meeting room, Hikigaya felt utterly drained, as if all the energy had been sucked out of him. Why was today so unlucky? One bad piece of news after another… Couldn't something good happen for a change?

As if answering his thoughts, his phone suddenly rang. He looked at it and was surprised to see that Shiina was calling.

That was rare. Neither of them was particularly fond of using their phones. The last time they had chatted was during the special exam, using the school's messaging app.

Normally, they met in the library, without making any prior arrangements—just whenever they happened to be free. However, they hadn't seen each other recently; after all, it was summer vacation.

Even Shiina, who likely enjoyed spending lazy days in her room reading, wouldn't be keen on coming to school and changing into her uniform just to endure the blazing sun.

…Who's the real workaholic here?

Reflecting on his own miserable fate, Hikigaya answered the call.

"Good afternoon, Hikigaya-kun. Sorry to disturb you out of the blue."

"It's no problem. What's up?"

"Eh? So… I can't call you unless there's something important?"

Shiina's voice suddenly softened, and Hikigaya was puzzled by what she meant. True, there was no law against calling for no reason, but he couldn't fathom why someone would go out of their way to do so.

"No, it's not that…"

"Um… actually, there is something small. Hikigaya-kun, have you been very busy lately?"

"Not really."

"Then why… haven't you shown up recently?"

She quickly added, "Of course, I'm just asking out of curiosity. I don't mean to tie you down or anything."

"No, I didn't think that."

Where exactly was he supposed to 'show up'? He wasn't some celebrity.

"Shiina, what place are you talking about?"

"Eh? The library, of course."

"…But it's summer vacation," Hikigaya replied, a bit taken aback. "You haven't been going there every day, have you?"

"N-No, not every day! Sometimes I also check in on the tea ceremony club!" Shiina's voice was flustered.

But the tea ceremony room was still on campus… Was there anyone else besides the student council members who would put on their school uniform during summer break just to visit the school every day?

Hikigaya was at a loss for words.

Good grief, how much did this girl love books?

"So, are you in the library now?"

"No, I'm outside."

"I see, then—"

"I'm outside the library, in the hallway," Shiina suddenly interrupted.

"…Ah, okay."

Well, it made sense—after all, you couldn't make calls inside the library.

Shiina was a rule-abiding student… No, something felt deliberate about this. Was she upset? Though her tone didn't give it away, Komachi once told him that girls' feelings were complicated.

Maybe Shiina picked up on the teasing tone in his voice, which prompted this minor retaliation.

Ah, I should reflect on that.

Since he was already on campus, he figured he might as well drop by the library.

"Wait for me a bit; I'll be there soon."

"Eh? Now?"

Hikigaya hung up before Shiina could voice her surprise. It was just a few minutes' walk, and he could explain when he got there.

When he arrived, the library appeared empty, save for a drowsy librarian. Where could she have gone?

After a brief search, he found Shiina in a corner, absorbed in a book. However, her posture was odd; she had the book covering her entire face and wasn't moving at all.

Wasn't she getting tired?

"Um, Shiina-san?"

"Good afternoon, Hikigaya-kun."

"Uh…" Now wasn't the time for pleasantries, was it? Shouldn't she at least put the book down?

…Sigh, forget it.

Hikigaya couldn't figure out what she was up to, but he didn't feel like pressing the issue. Instead, he grabbed a book of his own and sat down beside her. Since he was already in the library, he might as well settle in and read. No need to worry about anything else.

But after a short while, Shiina made another move. She lowered the book slightly, revealing half of her face, then cautiously glanced at him.

"Hikigaya-kun, I apologize for earlier."

"Huh? Why?"

"I reflected on what I said over the phone… Do you think I'm a bothersome woman?"

"…Not at all."

"Then why did you hesitate before answering?"

Hikigaya found himself at a loss for words. It wasn't that he thought she was bothersome before, but now that she asked… it did make things feel a bit heavy.

Of course, it was also kind of cute… but that was something he'd keep to himself.

"I'm sorry, Hikigaya-kun." Shiina looked down, crestfallen. "I don't know what came over me… I even made you come all the way here. Have I burdened you?"

Hikigaya quickly shook his head. "No, no, I just finished some student council work and came here on my way out. It was no trouble at all."

"Ah, is the student council work that busy? Do you have to come to school every day?"

"Not every day, but close enough."

"Eh—" Shiina's tone suddenly shifted, "Hikigaya-kun, you've been coming to school every day, but you didn't think to stop by the library?"

…Hmm?

Hikigaya had the strange feeling that something was off about Shiina's demeanor. It was as if her earlier disappointment had been completely feigned…

In any case, he needed to change the subject.

"It's just… as I mentioned on the phone, it's summer vacation."

Even the librarian was only here for the paycheck!

"You're not spending all your time in the library, right? You must go out with friends sometimes."

Hikigaya intended to steer the conversation, but Shiina quickly turned the question back on him.

"So, have you gone out with anyone during summer vacation?"

"…No."

He hadn't, at least not in the sense of arranging to hang out with someone. He wasn't quite at that level of social competency.

"Then let me rephrase that."

Before he knew it, Shiina had taken control of the conversation.

"Has anyone invited you to go out during summer vacation?"

"Uh…"

"Your silence means yes, doesn't it?" Shiina smiled sweetly. "That's wonderful. Unlike me, who's not good at socializing, Hikigaya-kun has plenty of good friends no matter where you go. No wonder you don't want to come to the library anymore."

"No, I said that's not the reason…"

The strange pressure emanating from Shiina made Hikigaya feel frozen in place… This girl was scary after all!

How could she be so subtly angry without showing any outward signs of it? That was a terrifying skill!

Would he ever be able to learn that? Would she teach him if he asked?

"Hikigaya-kun, please focus on our conversation and stop thinking about random things, okay?"

"…Yes."

It seemed like her mind-reading abilities were leveling up too.

Out of options, Hikigaya tried to steer the conversation once more. "Shiina, there are only a few days left of summer vacation. Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

"Eh? Are you inviting me out?" Shiina asked, feigning surprise.

"…If you don't mind."

"Hehe, how could I mind? After all, I'm the first female friend you've invited out during summer vacation."

It was good that Shiina seemed to be in a better mood, but why did she have to phrase it so oddly?

And for some reason, Hikigaya felt like he was stepping into a trap… All he wanted was to read some books in the library, yet somehow, the conversation had turned into this.

Why go out when lying in his dorm room was much more comfortable?

"That being said, there is one place I'm very interested in."

Shiina clapped her hands in delight.

"Hikigaya-kun, did you know? During summer vacation, there's a very popular fortune-teller visiting our school! It's a hot topic among the upperclassmen. I often hear my seniors discussing it in the tea ceremony club, so I'm really curious."

"Fortune-telling, huh…"

To Hikigaya, fortune-telling was just a bunch of vague, high-sounding nonsense. It relied on cold reading techniques and psychological tricks, playing on people's emotions. Those seeking fortune-telling usually had something on their minds, and it wasn't hard to exploit that.

It was more psychology than mysticism.

To be honest, he had no interest in it at all; it seemed like nothing more than a scam.

But he could understand why Shiina wanted to check it out—many girls seemed to enjoy that sort of thing.

…Sigh, fine, let's go.

"Got it. When?"

"They open at 10 AM every day, but the lines are always long. So I was thinking, how about we meet a little earlier—say, 9:30?"

"Sure, that works."

In that case, I'll have to wake up by 9 at the latest... But maybe that's a good thing. With school starting soon, I can use this as an opportunity to adjust my sleep schedule.

"Hehe, thank you, Hikigaya-kun, for agreeing to come with me."

"No, it's nothing."

Even though I'm not into fortune-telling, seeing that smile makes it worth it.

As Hikigaya thought this, he suddenly noticed that Shiina was staring at him intently.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"Nothing... I was just thinking, even if you don't believe in this stuff, it would be nice if it could help ease your worries."

"Huh?"

Hikigaya was taken aback by her words.

He was about to say something, but Shiina gently interrupted him.

"It's okay. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. Just let me know whenever you're ready—I'll always be here to listen."

"...Sorry."

Not only did she see right through me, but now she's worried about me too.

Hikigaya couldn't help but chuckle bitterly to himself... I'm hopeless.