Real teaching, hypocritical gray life

Page 209

"It makes no difference whether you are here or not. It doesn't matter."

Horikita rejected the meaning of Ayanokouji's existence without hesitation.

Although I knew this was a better excuse to get him to stay, I still felt a little gloating.

"The conversation that follows is not about the cooperation between our two classes... No, there may be some connection in terms of strategy, but it will mostly involve personal matters. If possible, I would like to avoid letting too many people know about it."

"I see. But I still hope I can have another person to discuss this with. Please rest assured that we will not publicize anything that is inconvenient to disclose, even if it is beneficial to our class."

"If the other party can be trusted by Ichinose, then I have no objection."

I pretended not to have heard this conversation, put on my cross-body bag and walked towards where Okabe was. But before I could imagine the wonderful free time that would follow, I felt a tug on my sleeve.

"Could you please accompany me for a while?"

"If it's a private matter, I think——"

"Kanzaki-san is not here, I might not be able to handle it alone."

Ichinose held my right arm and pressed her soft spot against me. My body immediately responded to the stress.

"I see............"

I had no choice but to let Ichinose pull me over.

"Only a few minutes, right? In that case... sorry, everyone, could you wait for me in the hallway?"

"Yeah, okay, let's go and have a casual chat."

The others readily agreed to Ichinose's request, and I, who was left behind, was not given any sympathetic looks.

Although we have cooperated with Class D many times, I still feel that the opposition between us is quite inconsistent.

There is a sharp contrast not only in class ranking, but also in personality.

"It may be a natural question, but Ichinose-san will help his friends when they are in trouble, right?"

"Hmm? Isn't it natural to help when someone is in trouble?"

"Yes. Class A is holding a study session as part of this. However, there are many situations where helping others can be helpful. From wanting to improve grades to abuse, money problems, or relationship problems with friends or teachers. People have problems in all aspects. In the face of all situations, will Ichinose-san lend a hand to a fellow student in need?"

“If I can, I hope I can help as much as I can.”

Ichinose's answer showed no sign of confusion.

"So, is your standard for judging whether someone is a companion clear?"

It wasn't until Horikita said this that I roughly understood what she wanted to ask.

"Hmm...I'm not sure what it means."

"Suppose, for example, that the other person is a student in Class A. Even if that person is someone you don't normally interact with, would you help him unconditionally?"

"Regardless of how they view me, my classmates in Class A are my companions. If they are in trouble, I will definitely help them."

Ichinose answered without hesitation.

“…Maybe I asked a stupid question.”

"I'd like to ask you to listen to another stupid question of mine. Suppose there is someone in Class A who physically hates you and you have a bad relationship with him. Can you like this person? Or will you hate him?"

"It's hard to say... This may be a bit complicated. If the other person physically hates me, I should be helpless. I will probably try to have as little contact with him as possible to avoid making him unhappy."

"So, if this person gets into trouble...what would you do?"

"I will help, for sure."

Ichinose still insisted on his answer.

"Even if I'm physically disgusted, that's my problem. The students in Class A are all my comrades."

"Class A is so important to you."

"Yeah. You are all good kids, and they are all indispensable to Class A. Although we were not assigned to Class A at the very beginning, we have now achieved this goal through hard work. Even if we haven't arrived yet, I still feel that I have been assigned to the best class. Don't you think so, Horikita?"

"Yeah... maybe the most important thing is to adapt. Class D is surprisingly not bad."

“……Wow.”

In response to Horikita's sigh, Ayanokouji made a surprised tone, and Horikita returned his gaze.

"Ayanokouji-kun, what do you mean? I can't stand the look in your eyes, okay?"

"Sorry, it's nothing... Although it's a bit rude to interrupt your conversation, can you please ask Ichinose a question?"

"You can ask anything."

"I now know that students in Class A will help their friends unconditionally. It's just like people who eat from the same pot have a good relationship. Horikita and I understand this to some extent. But, there are people in Class B, Class C, and even Class D who you can call your friends, right?"

"Ayanokouji-kun and Horikita-san are also my important friends."

"What if we, as friends, run into trouble? What if I cry and ask you to lend me 100 million points?"

"If there's a good cause, I'll help. It has nothing to do with money, I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Really...you are such a good person. You would help anyone, right?"

"Well...I think so in an ideal situation, but in reality it's not easy. I know my own limitations. If Ryuuen-kun gets into trouble, I won't help him like I do for everyone else. But...if it's not a big deal, I'll still help."

If it were anyone else, they wouldn't bother with it even if it was a "big deal", but Ichinose was able to do that.

There are some anomalies in the sense of action.

I guess the other party also realized this.

"If it's someone I consider a friend, I'll help them no matter how big or small the problem is. That's probably it."

"That's a precious thing to say, but is it really okay to say it so easily? If I get into trouble, I might cry and ask you for help, right?"

"I'm always welcome. Because all the people I consider as friends are classified as [companions] by me."

"So - if Raku-kun and I were in trouble together, what would Ichinose choose?"

After Ayanokouji's question, Horikita made a mischievous remark to Ichinose.

It's possible that this was a designed question, but at this point it depends on how Ichinose responds. If possible, I hope that similar incidents can follow one after another, rather than being detonated in an instant.

Thinking of this, I looked at Ayanokouji who was standing opposite me, and he had no intention of moving.

"Is Horikita-san in trouble with Raku and Raku-kun............?"

I originally thought that Ichinose would quickly answer with the option of "helping both sides", but at this moment she showed a rare hesitation, and her eyes remained on me with an uncertain look.

"Ah, well, maybe—"

"I'm sorry, but it might be hard to answer in front of the person involved. So what if it was Ayanokouji and Kanzaki-kun?"

"Wait, I was there too."

Horikita ignored Ayanokouji's reminder.

“Shouldn’t we say it’s the fault of the person involved? For example… [Help both sides]——such an option must be prohibited, right? Haha.”

I felt my sleeves being pulled tighter.

"Because if you admit that this option exists, you will help both sides."

"Meow, haha, this is a bit of a headache."

"I'm sorry... maybe this is a choice without an answer. From the information we got, we can judge that the two friends are suffering from the same problem and are seeking help. In this case, no matter how you choose, the choice you make is both a fact and a lie."

After worrying for a long time, Noze gave the most truthful answer.

This answer also slightly surprised Horikita.

"But I can probably understand why Horikita-san asks such questions. Is it because of what happened at the sports festival?"

"You guessed it."

"After all, it's hard for me to imagine why Horikita-san would ask these questions on her own initiative... Is the other person's problem difficult to solve?"

"It's just a little trouble. So I want to seek your advice."

"As for classmates, it's best to get along with each other. I believe that no matter what grudges there are, they can be resolved. If you need any help, I can help you."

"No, I want to make peace with them with my own abilities. I don't know for sure, but Ichinose is probably troubled by something in Class A as well."

"Yes, big and small things. Even if you want to help, it's best to wait until this special exam is over."

I reminded Ichinose that the problem with the partner combination has not been solved yet, and he immediately understood.

"Haha, we are all working hard."

"I used to not believe in purely good people. I thought people were generally creatures that seek rewards. But looking at you, I feel that maybe there really are truly good people."

Horikita expressed her admiration for Ichinose's answer and spoke frankly about her own thoughts, but with just such a simple sentence, Ichinose tightened his grip on my arm.

At the same time she [did not] accept Horikita's statement.

Or maybe [failed] would be more appropriate.

"That's really... you overestimate me, Horikita-san..."

So far, Ichinose had always been very straightforward and honest in her conversations with Horikita, and had been able to clearly express her concerns, but this time her eyes were quite unfocused and she lowered her head slightly.

"I'm not overestimating you. At least I think you're kinder than anyone I've ever met."

“…I’m not such an outstanding person.”

At this moment, Ichinose could no longer lift his head, and couldn't even look the other person in the face.

Is it just this extent?

What if the attack was more brutal?

By that time, it might become a [loophole].

There was a haze ahead of Ichinose's sight, but it was not something she needed to think about now that she was alone.

At least it can't go on now.

"Really, I—"

"Excuse me for interrupting you. Is this all Horikita-san wants to talk about? It seems like everyone in Class A can't wait any longer."

As I spoke, I gestured to the students in Class A who were waiting in the corridor. After seeing my gesture, they also slightly showed their gestures of "faster, faster".

"I'm sorry to have taken up your time, but that's all I wanted to talk about."

Horikita nodded in thanks.

"No, it's okay. See you tomorrow then."

Ichinose responded hastily, then pulled my arm as if running away and left the study session area.

It was not until he reached the center of the library that he slowly regained his breath, but the strength in his hands still did not relax.

"Are you okay?"

It was just a simple expression of concern, but Ichinose acted extremely flustered.

"Um, what's the matter? Of course I'm fine."

"Is there really no problem?"

"Of course. Let's go quickly, Chihiro and the others are still waiting for us."

"Ichinose."

"What, what's wrong?"