My love game with them that will lead to certain death

"If 'absolute' means that everything in the world has an objective standard to measure, regardless of whether there is an absolutely 'objective' reference, then how should 'justice' be defined?"

"The weak do not envy the strong and exclude others because of their own lack of ability. Instead, they choose to enrich themselves and become strong through reasonable and correct means. This is the justice I want to achieve."

Interesting point of view. It turns out that this is the kind of justice that Yukinoshita refers to.

"Let's put aside the question of jealousy or not, how should the strong and the weak be divided? Who defines the strong and the weak?"

Perhaps in a certain social environment, some people are good at working overtime to get promoted and get a raise, and they are recognized as strong people. Some people only go home to play games after get off work, and in the eyes of others, they are probably weak people who don't want to make progress.

But if you change the environment, people who know how to enjoy life live happily every day and rank at the top in the game, while colleagues who are good at open-book games can only be marginal OBs when playing the same game no matter how hard they try. Then who is the strong and who is the weak at this time?

“And, when the justice of the majority conflicts with the justice of the minority, who is ‘right’?”

"...?"

"Let me put it another way. Sometimes when a certain rule is continuously in operation for a long period of time, and the number of participants is countless, this "rule" will gradually become the "justice" that everyone is accustomed to."

“But it’s not necessarily ‘right.’”

Yukinoshita quickly followed up with the conversation, and Ming Hai smiled and confirmed her statement.

"Yes, for example, some feudal superstitions that have been accepted for thousands of years, or the cannibalistic customs believed in by cannibal tribes, we all know that this is wrong, but for them it is "correct" and even "just."

By analogy, there are actually many such examples in life.

"Similarly, once you touch upon my fundamental interests or stand in opposition to me, or even challenge the consciousness and concepts I have formed so far, I can also say that what you firmly believe in is not right at all, Yukinoshita-san."

The curly-haired boy waved his hand indifferently. He was just putting forward a hypothesis.

“So, can the ‘absolute justice’ that some people disagree with be called ‘absolute’ and ‘just’? When people on both sides firmly believe that their own justice is justice, the voice of the majority side will naturally overwhelm the minority group.”

Does this kind of "correctness" determined by the supporters still have the original meaning of "correctness"?

"And...if something that is wrong in the eyes of others can provide great support and comfort to the person concerned, then for the person concerned, this is "right" - I think there is nothing wrong with this. For example, if a terminally ill patient wants to spend his last days as he pleases, but this idea is strongly refuted by his family on the grounds that it is not good for his health, then which side is "right"? "

This was the only example that Yukinoshita Yukino could not refute.

"... Could it be that you were in a daze just now, thinking about things like this the whole time?"

Yukinoshita Yukino pondered for a moment, and when she looked up again, the look in her eyes when she looked at the boy had changed.

Did Ming Hai deliberately throw out this example that was somewhat similar to the simulated scenario... to test how she would react?

"No, thinking about these things every day will consume a lot of brain cells. It's better to go home and play games."

This is the truth.

As the saying goes, avoiding some troubles for the sake of your own physical and mental health is not weakness, but wisdom.

“…Is that so?”

Not getting the answer she wanted, Yukinoshita Yukino lowered her head and looked away.

The curly-haired boy shook his head contentedly. He took out a piece of candy from his pocket and threw it into his mouth to replenish his energy.

He just happened to notice that Yukino was looking at him intently.

“…1000 yuan each.”

"?"

"Just kidding."

"Ugh?!"

Ming Hai took out another candy and threw it to Yukino who was sitting farther away. The latter was caught off guard and let out a panicked but cute whimper. Not only did she not catch the candy with her outstretched hand, she accidentally slammed it into the door of the activity room.

At the same time, the door was opened by a boy with dead eyes and a look of reluctance on his face.

"Hey, how are you two getting along? I brought someone your own age this time... hm?"

Shizuka Hiratsuka, who came here with the boy, noticed the candy on the ground and stopped talking abruptly.

When Yukinoshita Yukino saw Hikigaya Hachiman for the first time, an idea flashed through her mind for no reason, and she dismissed it the next second.

It was not the roar of love, nor was it the desire for curiosity.

But -

Is the pretty and cute person of the same sex that will make Ming Haijun fantasize about coming?

[Yukinoshita Yukino's first round of exploratory attack was suddenly interrupted by Hikigaya Hachiman's unexpected arrival. No one can tell who won.]

Chapter 3: Don’t be in this barber shop!

Hikigaya Hachiman's eyes were wandering.

The reason was that the seat near the corner of the room was already occupied by a black curly-haired boy who looked approachable, kind and cheerful, and he lost the safest seat for him.

The second was the scrutinizing gaze from Yukinoshita Yukino that had never left since entering the room.

After bringing the people over, Shizuka Hiratsuka walked away, obviously handing over the control of the rhythm of the situation to the two boys and girls in front of her.

"That teacher, you didn't knock before entering... My name is Yukinoshita Yukino, please take a seat. You can introduce yourself anytime."

A beautiful girl who is as cold and indifferent as her name, and has a reputation in school that one can only admire from afar and not touch.

"Hello, hello, Hikigaya-san, right? My name is Narumi Toru. You can call me Narumi or Toru, it doesn't matter. Please give me your guidance~"

The curly-haired boy who seemed to be smiling and sociable was not a big shot in comparison, but Hikigaya always felt that he had seen his harmless-looking face somewhere before.

Anyway, what is certain is that these two people are above me in social status.

"What the hell, these two are obviously a mixed doubles team of Yin and Yang corners..."

"...Hello, I'm Hikigaya Hachiman..."

Getting along with strangers is like sitting on pins and needles, but for someone like Hikigaya Hachiman who has always been ignored and neglected by others, taking the first step of introducing himself is even more difficult.

"Oh, Hachiman Great Bodhisattva!"

The boy who called himself Toru Narumi clasped his hands together seriously, then smiled and winked at him.

"What a great name! As soon as I hear it, I feel a sense of security and blessing."

Sure enough, people who met in simulation may also meet again in reality.

Hikigaya Hachiman actually left a good impression on Narumi in the simulation, a nice guy who said he hated things but acted honestly. If possible, it would be even better if they could have a better relationship in real life.

“I-I was not ignored, and my name was praised…!”

Hikigaya was stunned for a moment after being overturned in his social cognition by the curly-haired boy's abrupt compliment. But he quickly found a seat to sit down while hiding the unnatural blush on his face.

"........."

What he didn't notice at all was that Yukinoshita Yukino was watching the interaction between the two with a subtle look the whole time, and only looked away when Hikigaya found a chair and sat down.

She vaguely remembered that this kind of thing seemed to have happened before, and the familiar scene was repeated over and over again as if in an endless loop.

"So, Hikigaya-san, are you here to join the Servant Club, or to make a request?"

Yukinoshita cleared her throat, decided to deal with the current matter first, and acted like a president.

"Well, actually I don't really want either..."

Hikigaya spoke in a lower and lower voice, and then unconsciously turned his dead fish eyes to Ming Hai, who was beside him and exuded an approachable aura.

"N-Narumi is also from the Servant Club?"

Compared to Yukinoshita, who doesn't seem to be easy to get along with, Ming Hai, who is both friendly and of the same sex, certainly seems much gentler and friendlier.

"Ah? Me? Um... guess?"

However, the other party chuckled twice and gave an ambiguous answer.

"As long as you think I am, then I can be, and vice versa."

The boy was clearly smiling, but there was no trace of smile in the corners of his eyes.

Alarm bells immediately went off in Hikigaya's heart. Based on his many years of experience observing humans, this guy might actually be much worse than the cold but direct Yukinoshita.

"Don't listen to that guy's nonsense. He is now considered a semi-non-staff member."

Yukinoshita Yukino didn't give him any face at all and directly exposed Minghai's mysterious disguise.

"And just like you, Hikigaya-kun, you're the hot potato that Hiratsuka-sensei threw at me."

Ming Hai snapped his fingers contentedly, showing a satisfied expression, but he uttered words that slandered himself.

"Yes~ That's the truth. We are all rats in the gutter, shameful bugs curled up in the corners of youth and sunshine, the same kind who are self-righteous and self-satisfied by observing human behavior. That's why we were exiled here, Hichiko-san!"

"Although part of what you said is true, please don't drag me into this group. And what's with that nickname that's not difficult to pronounce at all?"

Hikigaya forced a smile. He never thought that he was the relatively normal person here.

This conversation was also very familiar - Yukinoshita Yukino remained silent, but was observing every move of the curly-haired boy who was talking to Hikigaya Hachiman with a sharp gaze.

"Also, what was the reason that Hiratsuka-sensei pulled you here for? You didn't write something true on a form that you shouldn't fill out, did you?"

"Well...it's not important!"

“So it was actually written!”

No, you were deceived.

"That's right, I'm curious about that too."

Yukinoshita, who was silently drinking tea and watching from the side, raised her chin slightly and smiled with interest.

"Hikigaya-kun, don't be fooled by the fact that this Narumi-san doesn't look very smart. He is actually very good at changing the subject and livening up the atmosphere."

"Oh, thank you for calling me a dorky handsome guy, Yukinoshita!"

"Did I mention the word handsome in my speech just now?"

"I am handsome, which is an objective fact. It does not prevent me from adding to it later."

"Then I will reject it without any subjective emotion."

"The topic has almost been changed!"

Hikigaya's dead fish eyes kept drifting, and he became more and more convinced that the boy in front of him had terrible social control skills.

Of course he didn't know that although Yukinoshita Yukino seemed calm on the surface, she was secretly frustrated in her heart.

“Isn’t there such an outrageous segment about the profile of a failed novelist this time? Even though the description is terrible, if it can appear…”

The possibility that the Toru Narumi in front of him is the down-and-out novelist "Toru Narumi" that he knows will increase a little.

"Oh my, my, why are you treated as a problem child? Does it matter?"

The curly-haired boy glanced at Hikigaya, whose eyes were dull, then smiled and gradually returned to the topic.

"Don't you think our current situation resembles the opening scene of a movie that's been called "the best teen movie ever"? "

“The best teen movie…Stand By Me?”

Yukinoshita Yukino thought for a moment and gave her own guess.

"I think he's talking about The Breakfast Club."

Hikigaya, who was not used to this kind of conversation atmosphere, even hesitated whether to raise his hand to answer the question when giving his answer.

"correct."

The curly-haired boy smiled and gave him a thumbs-up, a dimple appearing on his fair and handsome face.

"The principal gave the troubled teenagers detention because of their own problems. They were required to stay in the same room until they wrote a self-reflection on "Who am I?" This is similar to our current situation."

Seeing that both of them looked a little confused, Ming Hai stood up from his chair and began to explain the reason with great interest.

"In the final analysis, the so-called adults have always looked at us in a predetermined way. They use the simplest words and the most easily explained definitions. A rich girl with strange ideals and ambitions, an autistic student who is not very social, a mentally ill little lunatic, who will be the next one? Anyway, as long as we are problem children, there is no difference between us gathered here."

As Ming Hai discussed his ideas eloquently, the nonchalant feeling on his body had long disappeared, and this made Yukinoshita Yukino, who had originally squinted her eyes, hold her breath and concentrate.

Trigger keyword, "movie".

If even their hobbies are so similar... As expected...

"Will a madman care about the reason why he was locked up in a mental hospital? No! Will a madman care about the illness of other patients in the hospital? No! We are all mentally ill anyway. We are the mental patients of the 21st century!"

Because she roughly understood the purpose of Ming Hai's doing this - that is to use an exaggerated and ridiculous attitude to make the newcomer Hikigaya get rid of his sense of discomfort and integrate into this environment as soon as possible.

Although he didn't do exactly the same thing as in the simulation, Yukino still saw some similarities in the core part of the boy's logic.

As expected, he really is...