Inside the classroom.
The eighteenth vote: whether to agree to Horikita Suzune's expulsion.
Agree: 28 votes; Oppose: 9 votes.
Horikita Suzune sat in her seat.
The bickering in the classroom was endless.
Hearing Ike Kanji and the others wanting her to be expelled, Horikita Suzune couldn't help but feel a trace of fear and sorrow.
Having given so much, only to get such a result in the end.
Feeling sorrowful was inevitable.
But it wasn't fear of the possibility of expulsion.
As early as the last exam.
Horikita Suzune had already made up her mind; being hated was inevitable.
Rather...
Horikita Suzune felt a trace of fear toward herself...
Even at this time, the first thought that arose in her mind was still how to reach Class A...
Horikita Suzune felt an unspeakable fear regarding this.
While her mouth spoke of reaching Class A for everyone's sake.
But the "everyone" she spoke of now wanted her to be expelled.
Even if they don't reach Class A, it doesn't matter anymore.
Then.
If it's truly for everyone's sake, and now everyone wants her to be expelled, shouldn't she then be expelled?
However.
Horikita Suzune was stunned to find that she still wanted to move up.
Not for others, but for herself.
Hikigaya had seen through her long ago.
While she spoke of everyone moving up together, when she encountered a problem, she directly cut off the person in the last place, completely lacking the courage to face failure.
The so-called companions are also just existences that can be discarded at any time.
Just cutting off the person in the last place.
Such a simple thing, anyone could do it.
In comparison.
Even as graduation approached.
Facing the risk of possibly falling out of Class A.
Horikita Manabu still had no fear, and unhesitatingly used individual points to save a companion.
Horikita Suzune and Horikita Manabu were... far apart.
She should have changed.
The past her only focused on herself, regarding everything around her as nothing, then she started to pay attention to the people around her.
She gained trustworthy companions...
It should have been like this.
Now, she was being abandoned by the majority of the class.
The thought of moving up to Class A with everyone shouldn't have been fake.
But when exactly did she...
Become such a person...
Was what she did truly correct?
Horikita Suzune couldn't help but doubt herself.
There was no need to question it.
That Class D became like this was 100% Hikigaya's doing.
However.
Hikigaya merely publicized some facts and turned Class D into this current state, which undoubtedly points to the problem.
Horikita Suzune couldn't help but look up at the class.
Ike Kanji and Yukimura and the others were arguing until their faces were red, and Wang Mei-Yu also looked pained.
"Do you... hate me that much..."
Horikita Suzune spoke with a complicated tone.
"Hmm?"
Hearing this, Ike Kanji and the others reacted instantly.
"Yeah, I've hated you for a long time, always wearing that expression of looking down on others."
"You said you'd lead everyone to Class A, but it turns out you just keep kicking people out."
"What 'firmly believing one's choice is correct,' is correctness defined by you?"
"This is correct, that's wrong?"
"Who do you think you are, a god?"
"If you know what's good for you, expel yourself; this class doesn't need someone like you!"
"I..."
Horikita Suzune's face was pale, and she didn't know what to say.
After all.
Even she herself hadn't thought it through.
To say it's for the sake of the class now would truly be somewhat impossible to say.
Most of the class.
Already felt they no longer needed a leader like her.
Before, she felt she didn't need to socialize; now, she was being ostracized, and moreover, being ostracized by her own classmates and companions.
Naturally, the mindset was different.
If it were just ostracization in the school, Horikita Suzune could still ignore it.
But hostility from companions.
Truly made Horikita Suzune feel a trace of sorrow...
She didn't want to be ostracized by companions; she similarly wanted to gain the class's recognition.
There was only one method now.
That was to continue arguing like this until the exam failed.
However.
On the other hand.
Horikita Suzune also didn't want to be expelled; she still wanted to move up to Class A.
Unfortunately, she couldn't do it.
It wasn't a lack of strength.
But that she had developed doubts about her own methods.
Hikigaya merely publicized some facts.
The methods she considered correct had caused internal strife in the class just like that.
Ike Kanji's words also made Horikita Suzune more shaken.
Were her methods truly correct?
Did she really have the qualification to define what is correct and what is wrong?
Therefore.
Horikita Suzune kept her head lowered, completely unsure of how to respond.
Seeing this.
Sudo suddenly felt somewhat uneasy...
"Ike, just how much has Suzune sacrificed for the class? From the start of school until now, she's always held study sessions to tutor us; saying that is a bit too much, isn't it?"
"Noisy, wasn't she just doing it so she could move up to Class A? When she runs into trouble, she discards her companions, why should I still listen to her?"
"Everyone stop arguing... I hate this so much, Hirata-kun, can't you think of something..."
Both sides fell into bickering again, and Wang Mei-Yu covered her face and sobbed.
At the back of the classroom.
Ayanokouji watched Horikita Suzune expressionlessly.
Although now was indeed not yet the optimal time, given Horikita Suzune's position, she should at least have started taking action.
He didn't expect.
That Horikita Suzune still hadn't taken action even now, but instead sat in her seat with a pale face, completely indifferent.
Did she fail...
Ayanokouji's gaze was flat.
As if he were looking at a long-awaited piece of work.
Ike Kanji and the others giving up on moving to A and executing their own class leader was indeed surprising.
But.
This wasn't something that couldn't be dealt with either.
From the start.
The number of times Shinohara and the others spoke was not many, almost zero.
They just went along with the voting.
One could indeed see their dissatisfaction with Horikita Suzune, but they were also just being swayed by what Ike Kanji said.
But now.
The frequency of Sotamura and the others speaking was gradually decreasing, and the cold sweat on their foreheads all indicated the tension in their hearts at this moment.
Horikita Suzune's strength was not weak.
The possibility that she hadn't noticed this was very low.
Most likely, her heart was shaken, making her unable to take action.
Is she finished here?
Ayanokouji felt it was a bit of a pity; he originally thought Horikita Suzune possessed the talent to compete with him.
To think she would be shaken by such a small matter.
Now it seems.
He had slightly overestimated Horikita Suzune's strength.
Continuing would only lead to exam failure.
Ike Kanji and the others did indeed hold a numerical advantage.
But.
Losing Horikita Suzune would significantly reduce Class D's combat power and decrease the possibility of reaching Class A.
Yukimura and the others were very clear about Horikita Suzune's importance.
And Sudo.
They would definitely vote "oppose," not agreeing to Horikita Suzune's expulsion.
The mental fortitude of those two was much firmer than Ike Kanji's!
However, now was not the optimal time.
Ayanokouji still kept a tiny bit of expectation in his heart, hoping Horikita Suzune could pull herself together and show a performance that met his expectations!