[184] Why Do the Weak Oppress the Weak

Chapter 184: Why Do the Weak Oppress the Weak

Under Yukino's imposing aura, Yui obediently spilled everything.

"Is that so? Thank you, Yuigahama-san, but I'll handle this myself. You don't need to go out of your way to join the Service Club," Yukino said.

As expected, Yukino rejected Yui's application to join the club.

"Wouldn't having more help be a good thing?" Shunsuke interjected. "Yukinoshita, you need to learn how to rely on others."

"Exactly, exactly!" Iroha raised her hand eagerly. "Yukinoshita-senpai, let me help out too! It sounds fun! And besides, aren't there only two people in the Service Club right now? That's not enough to officially form a club. Without enough members, the student council won't approve any activity funding."

"Even if you two join, it still wouldn't be enough to form an official club. And I don't need any funding," Yukino replied.

At Sobu High, forming a club required five members. With only three, they'd at most be considered a sub-group.

"Well, we could just find one more person. And isn't having funding better than having none?" Iroha pressed.

"Do you know why the Service Club was created?" Yukino suddenly asked.

Iroha obviously didn't know.

"People who have plenty show compassion and give to those in need. That's what volunteering is. Like developed nations providing foreign aid, people offering food to the homeless, or girls going out of their way to speak with unpopular boys. Reaching out a helping hand to those in difficulty—that's what this club is about."

Yukino launched into an impromptu speech.

"In elementary school, my indoor shoes were hidden almost thirty times. Twenty of those times, it was girls in my class who did it. Because I was too cute, I was envied and ostracized by nearly everyone. I had to bring my shoes and recorder home every day. It was exhausting."

—Huh? Didn't the number of times she mentioned getting her shoes hidden go down a lot?

"What about the remaining ten times?" Yui suddenly asked.

"Three times, boys hid them. Two times, the teacher bought them. And five times, a dog hid them."

"I-I see. Yukinoshita-senpai, you must have had a tough time."

"But I think it couldn't be helped. Nobody is perfect. People are weak, petty, easily envious, and prone to exclusion. The strange thing is, the more outstanding a person is, the harder their life tends to be. Isn't that odd? That's why I want to change it. Change everyone. Change this world. That's why the Service Club exists."

"Wow, that's incredible!" Yui clapped without fully understanding, clearly impressed.

Meanwhile, Iroha gave a look that practically screamed, "Are you serious right now?"

"So, Yuigahama-san, could you briefly summarize the purpose of the Service Club?"

"Um… making sure pretty girls' indoor shoes don't get stolen by others?"

Shunsuke facepalmed. "Yui, I really want to know how you even got into Sobu High."

"I'm not an idiot!"

"…You said it, not me."

Yukino observed their exchange quietly, then murmured softly, "Yui?"

"But you two don't need to worry about that. Just hurry up and fill out the club application"

Yukino frowned and turned to Shunsuke. "Fujii-kun, are you saying you don't agree with my ideals?"

"Not at all. I think your concept is great—though it might come across as a bit condescending. However…" Shunsuke paused and looked at Yukino. "Yukinoshita, don't you think you might also be someone who could use a helping hand?"

Yukino arched an eyebrow. "That's absurd!"

"Care to say that again?"

"I could repeat it ten more times if you want. I am a strong person, someone who helps others and teaches them to fish. That is simply the truth."

"But wasn't someone teased pretty badly as a child?"

"That was the weak envying and ostracizing the strong. It's exactly because of that I founded the Service Club—to help the weak become strong. That way, no one would feel the need to exclude or envy those who are better than them."

"Is that so? Then, Yukinoshita, do you think I'm strong or weak?"

"Fujii-kun, you're certainly strong."

"Then why wasn't I ostracized back in elementary school? We went to the same school, didn't we?"

"…"

Yukino fell silent all of a sudden.

"Wait, you and Yukinoshita were classmates when you were kids?!" Yui exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise.

"Then, what does 'Yukinoshita' mean as a nickname?"

Yukino calmly dodged the previous question, trying to shift the conversation to a new topic.

But Shunsuke immediately pulled it back:

"Yui, don't change the subject. And Yukinoshita, back to the question from earlier—if we're both considered strong individuals, then why is it that I wasn't excluded or envied, while you had no friends and were targeted by almost everyone?"

"That would mean either your theory is flawed—that the weak don't envy the strong—or that one of us isn't actually strong. After all, if you're truly socially strong, you wouldn't end up being ostracized, right? Isn't social ability part of what defines strength?"

Yukino fell silent again. She remained composed and tried to argue back:

"First of all, let's define what it means to be a 'friend.'"

"But Yukinoshita-senpai, the moment you say that... it just proves you don't have any friends,"

Iroha said, looking at Yukino with a conflicted expression, while Yui gave her a look that practically screamed, 'Poor Yukino…'

"Iroha, you stay out of this too."

Shunsuke pressed down on Iroha Isshiki's head and continued speaking:

"A true strong person—like me—doesn't get excluded. But you, Yukinoshita, are a social weakling, living that miserable school life of yours, and it's only because someone like me, a strong person, reached out to help that you even got by. So that makes you a weakling too. Because you don't have any friends, you've deliberately downplayed the importance of social skills, pretending your lack of them doesn't matter."

"But the reason I was excluded was because they were jealous—"

"Alright, stop trying to hypnotize yourself. Right here you have a case of a strong person who wasn't ostracized. Yukinoshita, you may excel in other areas, but when it comes to social ability, you're undeniably weak. So stop making things hard for Yui and just let them join the club. Let her teach you how to make friends. Even weaklings can help each other grow. No need for the weak to make life harder for other weaklings, right?"

"...So what you're really saying, Fujii-kun, after all that—

is that you just want Yuigahama-san to join the club?"

Yukino's gaze was icy cold, devoid of the slightest ripple.