Bottom half of the seventh inning, it was Class C's turn to attack.
8:5.
1 out; runners on first and second.
The first batter, Class C's fourth batter, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
It was the same situation as before. Hirata and Miyake Akito's hitting abilities weren't weak either.
It was worth mentioning.
The two of them had already used up their ten proxy answering opportunities.
At this level, an average person indeed couldn't manage both the game and answering questions.
Class B was naturally the same.
And since they reached base more often, they had already spent three hundred thousand to buy proxy answering turns.
"3 strikes, batter is out!"
Watching Ayanokouji Kiyotaka walk off the batter's box, Sumida on the pitcher's mound finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Having played until now.
He finally put Ayanokouji out once.
Hikigaya instead frowned.
Strictly speaking.
It was two foul balls, two balls, and finally an inside corner changeup strike that put Ayanokouji out; Sumida's pitching also had no problem.
He just couldn't say where something felt slightly wrong; this game just made people feel somewhat subtle.
Actually.
According to Hikigaya's expectations.
Dealing with Class C logically shouldn't be very difficult.
In a baseball game that extremely tested unity, Horikita Suzune couldn't play a role.
Although Sudo was very strong, his weaknesses were also very obvious.
As expected, the problem still lay with Ayanokouji and Koenji; he didn't expect that just the performance of the two of them would make the game so difficult.
Although they only needed a two-point lead to end the game.
They were consistently unable to expand the score gap.
It wasn't that Hikigaya was greedy for more rewards, but that if it continued like this, the risk of being overtaken was very high, so he naturally had to try his best to score.
It was precisely knowing the opponent wasn't strong.
Yet somehow it felt very difficult, which was indeed a bit confusing.
The proof was.
Sudo's pitch count had reached 107, and the ball speed was around 148KM; it hadn't gone above 150 for a long time.
While Sumida only had 86 pitches.
This showed that Class B's advantage was indeed very large, but the result mysteriously wasn't as satisfactory.
Forget it.
He could only do his best and try to expand the advantage.
2 outs; two runners on base.
The next batter, Ike Kanji.
The corners of Hikigaya's mouth curled up slightly.
If one asked.
With what kind of mood did Ike Kanji participate in the match?
Class C indeed had many capable people.
Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyou, Hirata Yousuke, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Koenji Rokusuke, Sudo Ken, Yukimura, Wang Mei-Yu, Matsushita Chiaki.
Regardless of their personalities.
These people's strengths were all real.
The average value of the others was below Class B; judging solely by physical ability, Ike Kanji was already among the best of them.
Plus luck, it made one hopeful.
Unfortunately.
A baseball game.
Wasn't a sport where results could be obtained solely by luck.
Ike Kanji must have also trained for a period of time, but his talent was even below Hikigaya's.
To put it simply.
In this match, Ike Kanji's ability was mediocre.
Even if he wanted to contribute, it was basically impossible to achieve.
Therefore.
Ike Kanji's performance was average.
Even if he were angry and helpless.
Watching Ike Kanji approach, Hikigaya once again showed a smile of relief, as if telling him the offensive ended here.
Seeing this.
Ike Kanji was simply fuming with rage, and his heart was even more unwilling.
But even if he were unhappy, he ultimately didn't say much.
After all.
His personality was inherently not as irritable as Sudo's, and what Hikigaya expressed was also a fact.
Just like Hikigaya.
No matter how much one trained, things that couldn't be seen clearly still couldn't be seen, and feet that couldn't run fast still couldn't run fast.
What pressed down on him was the talent that made one helpless.
He was just a common ordinary person.
He had an ordinary person's unwillingness, an ordinary person's temper, and naturally, an ordinary person's desires.
Did he not want to perform, not want to be praised by everyone, and not want to receive the admiring gaze of a girlfriend?
Naturally not; on the contrary, he very much wanted to show his outstanding side.
Only, it was truly unachievable.
Things that Koenji could master within a day required both him and Hikigaya several months.
However.
The world was never truly about ability-supremacy.
At least not the ability this school thought of.
Otherwise.
How could Hikigaya have been continuously ostracized in the past? He was at least stronger than an ordinary person.
"Speaking of which, Ike, what do you plan to do in the future?"
Hikigaya set his glove, chatting in a casual tone, showing how little he thought of Ike Kanji.
Inside corner, curveball.
"Strike!"
"..."
Ike Kanji looked back, pursing his lips with some unwillingness.
Facing that ball that seemed as if it were going to hit him, he inevitably had a kind of fear in his heart; even his swing timing was always wrong.
"What do you mean, what about it?"
Ike Kanji also knew it himself.
The offensive would end with him; he had no obsession, just doing his best was enough.
This was also the class's expectation of him.
Expecting that with his luck, there could be a few base hits or even a home run.
But now.
Several innings in a row.
He had been easily struck out.
Presumably, such expectations had also disappeared, right? The proof was that no cheering could be heard from the dugout at all.
"It's not..."
Hikigaya's tone was somewhat confused as he said: "Doesn't your Class C use OAA to rank people's value? I remember you are currently at the bottom of the OAA, aren't you?"
"That really is unfair. Clearly, besides academic and physical ability, there are so many merits that OAA cannot judge."
"Just like now, isn't the one participating in the match also you, Ike?"
"Strike!"
2 strikes: 0 balls.
"However."
Hikigaya laughed with some schadenfreude.
"With your performance in this match, the next expellee will likely be you, Ike."
"Impossible. Last time was just because there was no choice. Horikita and the others aren't people who would abandon their comrades."
Ike Kanji retorted without thinking, but his tone couldn't help but tremble slightly, as if he were trying to convince himself.
Yes.
There was no choice.
If there had been a choice.
Horikita Suzune naturally wouldn't have cut off a classmate.
But.
Next time there was no choice, the one who would be expelled would be him, Ike Kanji!
Seeing this.
Hikigaya curled his lip in disdain.
Past experiences had taught him how to speak to make people even angrier.
"Isn't that just pure luck? Do you still believe in your luck that much?"
Hikigaya chuckled, laughing somewhat gleefully.
"Even if you rely on luck, you should consider things for the future, right?"
"Don't be so stingy, just tell me. What do you plan to do after leaving the school?"
"Will you be a store clerk at some convenience store? or make an internet cafe your sleeping place?"
"Speaking of which, you seem to have a girlfriend, don't you?"
"Wouldn't that mean you'd have to break up too? Her name is Shinohara, right? In over a year, she doesn't seem like the type of person who would wait for you."
"Hey, anyway you can't hit it, just take it as small talk and tell me."
"Hikigaya."
He was reminded by Mashima-sensei again, whose gaze toward him was somewhat unfriendly.
Although he hadn't broken any rules.
It was simply too rude.
Specially poking at people's pain and even rubbing salt into the wound.
And he hit the mark every time.
Ike Kanji didn't respond, but his heart was somewhat shaken.
Precisely because he knew everything Hikigaya said was the truth, he was so shaken.
Furthermore.
His performance in this match was also so pathetic; it wouldn't be strange to say he was useless.
It was fine if nothing happened.
If something did, the one to be expelled would definitely be him.
The bottom-out system.
Wasn't something that could be played around with so easily.