Hikigaya doesn't want to be a force of strength

"Negative punishment? This is my unilateral request, so there won't be any punishment."

Sakayanagi Arisu responded to Hikigaya's question with a smile, "After all, Hikigaya-kun is my friend, and I will treat my friends equally. Of course, if Hikigaya-kun ever plans to join Class A and become my subordinate, that will be another matter."

It is indeed a trap.

Although he had expected it, when he heard Sakayanagi say it, Hikigaya still felt the tormenting attitude of this little devil.

He seemed to be able to imagine what kind of situation he would be in now if he had not controlled himself and joined Class A.

Next, Sakayanagi seemed to stop talking about serious things and started talking about some light-hearted topics. Hashimoto Masayoshi next to him actively livened up the atmosphere and did not let the scene become dull.

When the time was almost up, Hikigaya took the initiative to leave.

"Then I'll go first."

"Well, we won't be able to see each other for a long time. It's really lonely."

"..."

Not knowing whether Sakayanagi was telling the truth or just teasing him, Hikigaya treated it as a joke and left without hesitation.

This time he took on Sakayanagi's commission.

Firstly, he was indeed interested and hoped to use Sakayanagi's power to get a chance to leave the school. Secondly, Sakayanagi's commission did not conflict with his goal itself.

Hikigaya had no interest in class struggles from the beginning. He only intervened in conflicts based on his own goals.

Therefore, although the exam on the uninhabited island is important, Hikigaya doesn't care who wins or loses. Now he just has an additional goal of not letting Katsuragi win.

Besides, Sakayanagi also said there would be no punishment if he couldn't do it, so it didn't matter if he gave up halfway.

The only problem is Shiina. Although the scene was very chaotic before, Hikigaya heard Shiina Hiyori say that he planned to intervene in the class fight.

Is the child really okay?

I'm a little worried for some reason...

Recalling the shy look on Shiina Hiyori's face when she left, Hikigaya felt inexplicably upset, as if he had done something wrong again.

But at this point, he was destined to have no chance to regret and could only watch everything roll away in the predetermined direction like a falling stone.

……

The short time flies by quickly.

The July sunshine shines on the earth.

As the buses stopped at the port one by one, the first-year students screamed in disbelief at the scene before them.

“Is this true or not!?”

"Ferry, is this the legendary ferry? The Titanic!!"

“I’ve only seen it in movies!”

"..."

The students' exclamations rang out one after another.

Class D was the most lively and chaotic place. No one could control the expressions on their faces and they were drowned in surprise and screams.

Hikigaya blended into the crowd and chose an inconspicuous position as much as possible.

Although he had expected the uninhabited island test, when he saw such a large ship docked at the port, he still couldn't help but be shocked by Gao Yu's terrifying financial resources.

Is this the power of having the support of the country?

I also want to be a tax thief like this!

Just as Hikigaya was gazing at the sea and the ship, imagining the beautiful scene that would follow, he suddenly felt several pairs of eyes looking at him from different classes.

Whether it's Masumi Kamuro and the others from Class A, Ichinose from Class B, or Ryuen and Shiina from Class C, these guys are not appreciating the beautiful sea, but are secretly observing themselves.

Fuck it!

I'm not a beautiful succubus, I'm not that attractive!

Chapter 224: Hikigaya on the Cruise Ship

In early July, all first-year students at Tokyo Metropolitan High School were asked to gather at the port for a summer training camp that would last nearly a month.

It’s called a training camp, but in terms of content, it’s more like a vacation.

Because in the next half month, the students will take a luxury cruise ship to an uninhabited island chartered by the school for a week of outdoor camping. After that, all the students will return to the cruise ship and experience another week of cruise vacation before finally returning to the ground.

After knowing this, not only the students in Class D, but also the students in other classes couldn't help but feel inexplicably excited.

After all, after enduring the difficult midterm and final exams, the students finally welcomed the summer vacation, which was a two-week luxurious trip prepared by Highly Cultivated High School.

Moreover, the cruise ship that the students took was not only beautiful in appearance, but also well-equipped, from first-class famous restaurants to theaters where they could enjoy dramas and high-end SPAs.

Most importantly, all facilities on the ship can be used free of charge.

Even if you are a penniless pauper, you can enjoy all the services on this cruise ship.

Such an extremely luxurious trip is an unimaginable paradise for every student.

For Class D, which had almost no points left, it was a wonderful state that seemed like a dream.

This is a cruise on a luxury cruise ship, but it is also a reward after hard life and study. Every student would instinctively think so.

At around eight o'clock in the morning, all the first-year students successfully boarded the cruise ship and were free to move around and do as they pleased on the ship.

"Uoooohhh!"

“That’s awesome aa ...

As soon as they boarded the cruise ship, the two lively guys from Class D, Haruki Yamauchi and Kanji Ike, started to act crazy as usual.

The two men raised their hands on the deck of the luxury cruise ship, and their shouts echoed all around.

If it were a normal day, there would probably be a complaint of "it's too noisy" coming from somewhere, but today no one made such an opinion.

Everyone was enjoying this extremely happy moment, and the view from the deck, which was arguably the best spot in the special seats, looked particularly special.

“This scenery is really nice.”

Standing on the deck, even Hikigaya felt relaxed and happy.

Of course, it would be better if those looks from other classes could just disappear.

Since this was a rare occasion where the four classes were acting together and were no longer confined to a single classroom, Hikigaya discovered that he seemed to have quite a bit of fame in other classes.

At least the people in Class A, Class B, and Class C would look at him from time to time.

It is easy to understand why the people in Class C would do this. After all, they had severely deceived Daichi Ishizaki and the others before. In order to make an example of them, Ryuen Sho would definitely tell the whole thing to everyone in the class.

This can be seen from the fearful looks that the students in Class C occasionally show when they see him.

In contrast, Class A's strange attitude towards him seemed to stem from the student council election a long time ago.

At that time, Class A was determined to get a seat in the Student Union. They did not believe that anyone from other classes could take away their seat in the Student Union.

However, the person who finally entered the student union was not from Class A, or even Class B, but a guy from Class D whose origins were unknown.

This could not help but make the arrogant students in Class A feel dissatisfied.

If it wasn't because we were in public, someone from Class A would have come to cause trouble for me... Could this be the main reason why Sakayanagi was talking about 'someone would come to cause trouble for me'?

In addition to these two classes, Class B's attitude towards him was particularly strange.

Hikigaya had previously realized that Ichinose Honami seemed to have made some very unrealistic propaganda about herself in the class, causing the students in Class B to seem to have a certain level of misunderstanding about herself.

As it turned out, it was indeed a reality. When I met many students from Class B on the road, they would always look at me with some strange and enthusiastic eyes.

Some guys will even greet themselves enthusiastically.

Is the level of friendliness a bit too high?

Ichinose-san's charm is truly terrifying...

In contrast, the people in Class D remained the same, or even exactly the same as in the past, which made Hikigaya feel a little relieved.

"What a great view! I'm really moved!" Suddenly, a girl group led by Karuizawa appeared from the ship.

They smiled broadly and pointed toward the sea.

During the process, Karuizawa seemed to look at him deliberately, as if he wanted to say something, but soon he shrank back due to the atmosphere.

When Hikigaya was feeling happy that Karuizawa-san was sensible, a voice suddenly sounded in his ears.

“The view is really great…!”

The most popular girl in Class D, Kushida Kikyo, came to Hikigaya's side at some point and gazed at the sea with ecstatic admiration.

When he is outside, Kushida always acts gentle and cute, and never reveals his inherent bad character.

"Yeah." Hikigaya then calmly replied, "I never dreamed that a high school student could have such a luxurious trip. If my parents and sister knew about this, they would be so envious that they would be speechless, and then the dinner they prepared for me for the next three days would be all rice with glass shards."

"Is your family's situation so extreme..."

It seemed that Kushida was not used to Hikigaya's jokes and was too embarrassed to respond for a moment.

This made Hikigaya feel very subtle.

He didn't show it on the surface, but deep down he always felt that this shouldn't be the result.

Under normal circumstances, I would have heard more pointed words...

"Wait, where is Horikita?"

Yes, Hikigaya noticed that something was wrong.

Horikita Suzune, who was supposed to be on the cruise ship as well, didn't seem to be on the deck. If she were here, she would probably mock him on the spot as usual.

"Do you care about Horikita?"

In response to Hikigaya's question, Kushida's reaction was a little strange.

The atmosphere inexplicably felt colder...

"No, I was just asking." Hikigaya sensed something was wrong and quickly denied it. "Normally, she would always go to a remote place with few people like me. She was confused because she didn't see me this time."

"That's it."

Kushida Kikyo nodded, accepting Hikigaya's acceptance.

Then she spoke to herself, "I haven't seen her since I got on the ship. Horikita-san doesn't seem to be the type to enjoy the trip to the fullest. She should be staying in the room, right?"

"probably."

Hikigaya nodded.

He knew very well that Horikita Suzune was a social rejecter who was even more autistic than he was. She probably couldn't adapt to such a lively environment and chose to be alone early on.

So, Hikigaya and Kushida stared at the sea together.

"As expected, we are going to take the exam on an uninhabited island this time." Kushida Kikyo suddenly spoke up with a complicated expression, "Thanks to your advice, Hikigaya-san, I learned a lot about how to survive on an uninhabited island in advance, and I also pre-ordered a lot of equipment that can help with survival in the wild."

"Well, as long as you are prepared."

As for Kushida Kikyo, Hikigaya doesn't care whether she can further improve her status in the class in this exam.

The reason he helped the other person was purely because he wanted to stabilize this girl who seemed gentle on the surface but was actually cold and paranoid.

At least I can't let the other party continue to bother me.

As for what Kushida himself would think, that has nothing to do with him...

"By the way, Hikigaya-san."

Just when Hikigaya was thinking about all sorts of things and was planning to just sit there in a daze and spend some quiet time alone, Kushida Kikyo suddenly smiled and said, "Would you like to go to the swimming pool with me?"

"???"

It felt like the other person said something extraordinary in an instant.

Is it my own illusion?

"Come to think of it, I haven't picked out a swimsuit yet, Hikigaya-san, can you help me choose? Come on, come on, I'm really looking forward to it!"