Unusual Actions

Originally, this shouldn't have been a difficult choice.

Even though Ayanokoji was the one who approached him first, in the end, Hikigaya would still find an excuse to prioritize helping Shiina.

After all, how could the so-called "masterpiece" ever compare to a soft and fragrant girl?

However, the topic Shiina brought up was utterly ridiculous.

A knowledgeable and intellectual man? If you want me to die of embarrassment, just say it outright!

No matter how fancy the adjectives sound, the core meaning boils down to just two words:

A handsome guy.

Everything else was meaningless fluff.

Hikigaya was certain that if he stood on that stage, he'd be met with a chorus of boos from the audience, turning this into the biggest black mark in his personal history.

Seriously… he wanted to beat up whoever came up with this topic!

Sigh, even though he was extremely reluctant, the only option left was to use the excuse that Ayanokoji had arrived first to politely decline Shiina's request.

But before Hikigaya could say anything, Shiina suddenly showed a hint of unease on her face and softly said, "I'm sorry, Hikigaya-kun. I think I've made things difficult for you… After all, we're not in the same group."

"No, no, it's not about that at all." Hikigaya quickly denied it.

He had already cheered for students from other classes in front of so many people this morning, so why would he care about something as trivial as group divisions?

"Then… is it because I arrived later? I didn't mean to cut in line, but I watched from the side for a while and saw that you hadn't made a move. I thought maybe you hadn't agreed to this student's request, so I…"

"No, that's not the case. I didn't agree with him."

Hearing the slight guilt in Shiina's voice, Hikigaya immediately softened and no longer cared about Ayanokoji at all.

"That guy is just trying to take advantage of me. You don't need to worry about him."

"That's great." Shiina's face lit up with joy. "Then come with me quickly."

Saying this, she grabbed Hikigaya's hand and started to pull him away.

…Huh?

Hikigaya suddenly felt that something was off. He had decided to refuse Shiina!

So how did he end up being dragged along again?!

He tried looking toward Ayanokoji, but the latter simply shook his head, muttered, "Oh well," and ran off, seemingly to ask the judge for a new topic.

This guy has no perseverance at all!

Left with no choice, Hikigaya emptied his mind as Shiina pulled him toward the finish line, internally praying for this ridiculous event to be over as soon as possible.

Unexpectedly, someone had already arrived ahead of them—and it was someone he knew.

"Kamuro…"

Since Hikigaya had returned a little late after the lunch break and was immediately stopped by Ayanokoji upon sitting down, he hadn't paid much attention to who was participating.

But to think that out of four participants in a group, three of them were acquaintances… what a coincidence.

Kamuro glanced at him but remained silent, her gaze seemingly fixed downward with a slightly severe expression.

…Hmm?

Following her gaze, Hikigaya suddenly realized that Shiina was still holding his hand, and he quickly pulled away in panic.

Crap. I hope this doesn't spark some ridiculous rumors…

He didn't care, but Shiina was a girl—getting caught in something like this would be a hassle for her. Especially considering Kamuro was the kind of person with a rotten way of looking at things.

Thinking about this, Hikigaya started feeling frustrated again.

Not to mention, he was about to be ridiculed on stage—there was no way anyone could find any intellectual depth in his dead-fish eyes.

If anything, it was precisely because he lacked intelligence that his eyes had decayed in the first place, right?

Just then, Kamuro accepted the microphone handed to her by Mashima-sensei and announced the topic.

"I drew: 'The Thing That Can Change One's Image the Most.'"

…Huh?

What kind of nonsense is this?

Hikigaya was at his wit's end. Why couldn't they come up with some proper topics?

Although logically speaking, there must have been some decent ones—like the plaster statue Ayanokoji had drawn… No, wait, never mind. That would have been a pain to carry over too.

"…What's your reasoning?"

Mashima-sensei eyed the item in Kamuro's hand, seeming hesitant to approve it right away.

After all, this was a highly subjective topic—technically, even a tiny hair clip could be argued as something that changes one's image.

Perhaps that was why this round required participants to explain their choices. If they were unlucky enough to draw a troublesome topic, their persuasive skills would be put to the test.

In Hikigaya's memory, Kamuro wasn't particularly eloquent, so how would she—

"Huh? What's going on?"

Before he could finish his thought, Kamuro suddenly turned around, pressed her hands on his shoulders, and pushed him in front of Mashima-sensei.

"Nothing. Just stay still."

Without explaining further, Kamuro lifted the item in her hand and placed it on Hikigaya's face.

It was a pair of glasses.

So that's what she picked. Did she borrow it from someone in class…? Wait, hold on—

Why do I have to wear this thing while standing here?!

Also… why am I feeling dizzy?

Even though he had dead-fish eyes, his vision was perfectly fine. Yet the lenses of Kamuro's glasses were as thick as the bottom of a wine bottle.

The moment he put them on, the world started spinning.

"How about now? This should be acceptable, right?" Kamuro smugly lifted her chin at Mashima-sensei.

After glancing at Hikigaya a few times, Mashima-sensei nodded. "Approved."

…Approved for what?

"Uh, are we done? I'm taking these off now."

Dizzy and disoriented, Hikigaya didn't have the energy to question Kamuro's antics and reached up to remove the glasses.

But before he could, a soft little hand gently held his.

"Hikigaya-kun, you can't."

It was Shiina.

"You have to use both hands to remove glasses properly, or they might get bent."

"Ah, right."

Now that she mentioned it, he remembered a clerk at an eyewear store enthusiastically explaining that before.

Though he normally wouldn't care, these weren't his glasses—they were borrowed from Kamuro.

Naturally, other people's belongings should be handled with care.

"Shiina, could you…"

Just as Hikigaya was about to ask for her help, Shiina's voice echoed from the microphone, drowning out his words.

"The topic I drew is 'A Knowledgeable and Intellectual Man.'"

"Uh…" Hey, at least give me a warning first!

Fortunately, perhaps out of pity for Hikigaya's situation, Mashima-sensei didn't ask for an explanation this time and simply declared him "approved." Surprisingly, there weren't any boos or jeers from the audience either.

Though he did catch a few murmurs of "traitor"… was that just his imagination?

"Hikigaya-kun, thank you for your help. Now it's my turn to help you."

Shiina beamed as she carefully removed her glasses and handed them over to Kamuro with both hands.

"Kamuro-san, I owe you as well. Thanks to you, I got to see another side of Hikigaya-kun."

"…Mm."

Unlike Shiina, who was all smiles, Kamuro remained indifferent. She gave a curt response before turning away without looking back.

Somehow, she didn't seem very happy… but why?

She did get first place, after all.

"Majima-sensei, I'm here to submit my answer."

To everyone's surprise, Ayanokoji had also arrived, with Chabashira-sensei following behind him.

He had changed his question once and still managed to get third place. Just how unlucky was Class A for someone to overtake them even in this situation?

Also, why was the homeroom teacher here?

Did the question somehow involve teachers as well?

Ayanokoji picked up the microphone, took a deep breath, and then announced, "The topic I drew was 'Something that is about to expire.'"

[T/N: Hahahaha]

"…Huh?!"

There was a brief silence before the entire room erupted in laughter.

Hikigaya, who had been listening from the side, barely managed to hold back, but the infectious laughter spreading through the crowd quickly broke his resolve. He had no choice but to duck behind Shiina to avoid being seen by his homeroom teacher.

Meanwhile, Chabashira-sensei's face had already darkened as she glared at Ayanokoji with a dangerous look.

"…And your reasoning?"

Majima-sensei twitched at the corner of his mouth, sensing an impending storm.

Yet Ayanokoji remained unfazed, answering with a straight face, "Because she looks like someone who will never get married. I heard she gets drunk with Hoshinomiya-sensei every night, has no real passion for her work, and despite being almost thirty, still holds onto unrealistic fantasies. She fits the definition perfectly."

His deadpan explanation sent the students into another fit of uncontrollable laughter.

"I-I see…"

Even Majima-sensei, usually composed, was on the verge of breaking.

To be fair, there wasn't anything wrong with what he said.

After all, no one ever said that an expiration date could only apply to food.

And yet, Mashima-sensei hesitated, unable to bring himself to approve the answer. The main reason? Chabashira-sensei was silently pressuring him with her gaze.

This put him in quite a dilemma.

Should he uphold his professional ethics, or should he prioritize self-preservation?

After a few seconds of hesitation, Mashima-sensei finally spoke.

"Sorry… it doesn't match the question requirements."

He actually gave in!

Even someone as upright as Mashima-sensei couldn't withstand the resentment of an aging, unmarried woman?!

Hikigaya couldn't help but sympathize. After all, he understood that pain all too well—his middle school days had left him with plenty of scars in that regard. Even now, he still felt phantom pain just thinking about it.

Hopefully, someone could hurry up and take care of Hiratsuka-sensei… No, never mind. Let's not force anything.

Hikigaya was no longer the person he used to be. Now, he simply wished for his former mentor's happiness. So what if she couldn't find a suitable husband? It wasn't the end of the world—

"…What?"

Standing off to the side, Ayanokoji looked genuinely surprised by Mashima-sensei's capitulation, staring blankly at the scene.

Right after that, Class A's students finally arrived, completing the task just in time.

In the end, Ayanokoji placed dead last.

The absurdity of it all sent the crowd into fits of laughter—undoubtedly the most lighthearted moment of the entire sports festival.

Yet, as the laughter faded, a question surfaced in Hikigaya's mind.

Why?

By all logic, Ayanokoji wasn't the type to draw attention to himself.

He always kept a low profile, avoiding the spotlight as much as possible.

Could it be that he simply wanted to mess with Chabashira-sensei this time?

Hikigaya couldn't tell from appearances alone, but he did suspect that Chabashira-sensei might have been threatening Ayanokoji. Otherwise, why would that human sea cucumber suddenly start putting in effort during the uninhabited island exam?

Still… it just didn't seem like something he would do.

Of course, it was also possible that Hikigaya was overthinking it. Maybe "masterpiece" just had a moment of impulse and decided to joke around with Chabashira-sensei.

And honestly? It was pretty damn funny.