There is something wrong with Hikigaya’s classroom of the Elite, as expected

Chapter 16: The Flower of Sobu

“Such a disgusting siscon!”
“Thank you, that’s the best compliment I’ve received.”
“…..”

Yukinoshita fell silent for a moment. It seemed like she had never encountered anyone like Hachiman before—someone who could be so shameless and not at all afraid of social death. How could this guy’s skin be so thick?!

This is the mental wall of a lone wolf, Hachiman thought to himself.

“As expected… Hachiman-kun, you’re really interesting! You really make me happy~” Yukinoshita’s lips curled slightly, as if she had unexpectedly found a new toy.

Hachiman initially thought his “misdeeds” would make Yukinoshita back off, but he had underestimated her—or perhaps he simply couldn’t figure her out. At the same time, a vague sense of unease gnawed at him. He couldn’t let himself be led around by her anymore!

Suddenly, Hachiman distanced himself from Yukinoshita and said stiffly, “Yukinoshita-san, our relationship shouldn’t be that close yet.”

This was something Hachiman had been confused about from the beginning. In this worldline, Yukinoshita should be meeting him for the first time, and to her, he should be nothing more than a “stranger” they had only met a few times.

“Isn’t it something to be happy about, running into an old middle school classmate in a strange place? It’s normal for alumni to look out for each other and offer help,” Yukinoshita answered matter-of-factly.

Indeed, in certain circumstances—like coming from the same school or place—people tend to help one another, even in society. Furthermore, factions within schools also operate on this principle, don’t they?

“With Yukinoshita-san’s abilities, you don’t need help from someone as useless as me. In fact, I’m more of a troublemaker who would only hold you back,” Hachiman said.

“Eh? Hachiman-kun, your self-assessment is way too low. Do you really think I’m such an exceptional and unattainable person? Is it because I was the student council president in middle school that you’ve formed this mistaken preconception? In reality, I’m just a normal little girl~” Yukinoshita complained in a mocking tone, but Hachiman wasn’t fooled.

“If being elected student council president by unanimous vote as a second-year student, receiving consistent recognition from other schools, holding the title of ‘Most Popular Student’ for three years, organizing a joint charity event with multiple schools that even made it to Chiba’s evening news, and being crowned ‘The High Flower of Sobu’ is not considered exceptional, then I have nothing more to say,” Hachiman said, his face expressionless, but the sarcasm was evident in his tone.

“What? It turns out Hachiman-kun knows quite a lot,” Yukinoshita said with a narrowed smile.

“Thank you for the compliment. This should be considered common knowledge for students of Sobu Middle School.”

“However, I must correct one mistake.”

Yukino’s smile faded, and her expression became unexpectedly serious. “A person’s strength is limited. Many times, the power that seems so strong on the surface is the result of many people’s silent hard work. If you only view ‘Yukinoshita Haruno’ as someone exceptional based on that, it would be unfair to them.”

While her words were true, as a leader, Haruno’s contributions and excellence were indeed necessary. But Hachiman believed she was deliberately downplaying things and changing the topic, which was a tactic she liked to use.

One could easily get caught up in Haruno’s rhythm of conversation, so Hachiman decided… escaping was the best choice.

However, just as he decided that, Yukinoshita suddenly stepped forward and grabbed his wrist.

“Actually, I’m here to apologize for what happened yesterday.”

“Yesterday was just a little accident, and no one was hurt. So, let’s not get too—”

“You might be misunderstanding,” Yukinoshita shook her head gently, a complex look flashing in her eyes. She sighed softly. “I’m apologizing for forgetting about you, Hachiman.”

“Wh… what?”

Hachiman’s heart skipped a beat, the fleeting hope he had kindling for a moment, only to be immediately snuffed out.

“Three years ago, on the first day of school at Sobu Middle School, you got into a car accident, right?”

As expected, Yukinoshita didn’t have that “memory.”

Hachiman felt like all the strength had been drained from his body, and his expression slumped.

The most crushing thing was when hope flared up only to be extinguished ruthlessly the next moment.

After a short silence, Hachiman finally spoke, his voice low, “Yukinoshita-san, you… already knew about that incident?”

Yukinoshita nodded. When she saw that Hachiman had acknowledged it, she was unexpectedly relieved. “When we first met yesterday, there was a feeling of familiarity, like I had seen you before. At first, I thought our first meeting was at the Bridge, but later I realized our ‘first encounter’ was much earlier than that.”

In this worldline, Hachiman had been in a car accident on the first day of middle school, but instead of Yukino, it was… Yukino’s sister, the one standing in front of him, who was in the car!

Hachiman couldn’t make sense of this “fateful connection”—until now, both of his car accidents had been caused by the Yukinoshita sisters!

Due to the need for protection, Haruno, who had just entered middle school, was kept unaware of the full details of the incident, which was managed by the driver at fault, Haruno’s parents, and Hachiman’s parents, who discussed the compensation privately.

As the central figures, Hachiman and Yukinoshita had no knowledge of what had actually happened. They had attended the same school and the same grade, yet they never knew each other. This was almost identical to the situation between Hachiman and Yukino in high school!

From the perspective of everyone except Hachiman, they should be complete strangers, but Hachiman himself knew everything clearly.

But judging from Haruno’s attitude and reaction yesterday, it was clear that she didn’t recognize him, and three years had passed. Could she really have remembered everything and pieced it all together after just one night?

It was as if Yukinoshita had guessed Hachiman’s thoughts. A mischievous smile appeared on her face. “After all, it’s only the first day of school. There are always loopholes to exploit. Heh heh, I just used a few little tricks that aren’t very proper, but it’s just this once.”

Alright, Hachiman decided not to dwell on what Yukino’s “little tricks” were, but it felt like there was a trap waiting for him.

“I didn’t expect that there’s this kind of connection between me and Hachiman-kun. The world is really small.”

“Cough, cough, just to remind you, ‘fate’ should describe good things. ‘Ill-fated connection’ would be more accurate,” Hachiman said.

Yukinoshita froze for a second before she couldn’t help but laugh. “Haha~ Hachiman-kun, has anyone ever told you that you have a talent for humor? So, yesterday, you actually recognized me but deliberately misled me, right?”

As she spoke, Haruno’s previously melancholic tone turned cold, and her gaze grew frosty as she looked at Hachiman.