Nagumo's approach isn't necessarily wrong in a school that encourages competition. Here, the most capable students benefit the most and hold the most influence.
To put it simply, they are the top predators. In a regular school, they would be the students with the best grades or the best athletic ability. But in this school, their advantages are even more pronounced.
Nagumo wants to bring these students to his side and become part of the ruling class. His plan and actions show just how ambitious and power-hungry he really is.
That's why he's so determined to create a school where strength is the only thing that matters. He wants to use this system to control, exploit, and dominate others, until he alone holds absolute power.
History has seen many cases like this before.
No wonder there's such a big conflict between Horikita Manabu and Nagumo. They are fundamentally different kinds of people.
Horikita Manabu also values strength, but unlike Nagumo, who sees strength as the ultimate goal, Manabu focuses more on the process of improving oneself.
Who's right and who's wrong doesn't really matter. Everything has two sides, just like different leaders have different styles. What truly matters is the impact and results of their approach.
"Nagumo's methods might be more suited to this school in some ways, but that doesn't mean he's guaranteed to succeed."
Hikigaya spoke in a deep voice.
"What do you mean?"
Horikita frowned, not fully understanding what Hikigaya was getting at.
Hikigaya didn't rush to answer. Instead, he pointed at Ayanokouji, who had been pretending to be "invisible" but was clearly listening in.
"Ayanokouji, explain it to Horikita."
Ayanokouji: "..."
Horikita turned to look at Ayanokouji.
"I don't understand either," he said.
"By the way, Ayanokouji, your performance at the sports festival really stood out. People are still talking about you. I even heard some girls added you as a friend?"
Hikigaya glanced at Ayanokouji before continuing.
"Horikita, you know that Ayanokouji has always been hiding his true ability, right? So why do you think he suddenly showed his real strength during the final relay?"
Without waiting for her to answer, Hikigaya spoke again.
"Because he understands that staying low-key all the time isn't a good idea. People adapt to their surroundings. In this school, if you keep your head down too much, others will just step all over you."
Hearing this, Ayanokouji narrowed his eyes and studied Hikigaya, their gazes locking for a moment.
"After the sports festival, Yamauchi, Sudou, and the others started distancing themselves from you. Do you know why? Because people don't like being around someone who's better than them. Or, to put it more bluntly… they're afraid of being seen as the weakest in the group."
Hikigaya's eyes seemed to pierce right through Ayanokouji's thoughts.
"I just thought that, as part of the class, I should contribute," Ayanokouji said expressionlessly.
Hikigaya only smiled but didn't say anything. Everyone knew that was just an excuse, but no one called him out on it.
Hikigaya shifted his attention away from Ayanokouji and back to Horikita, returning to their earlier discussion.
"So, according to you, Nagumo's approach is to gather the elites and create a privileged group. For students who want to graduate from Class A, that's an offer that's hard to resist."
As Hikigaya and Ayanokouji had been talking, Horikita had slowly started to grasp the meaning behind Hikigaya's words.
"Even I felt tempted when I first heard him speak," she admitted.
"That's normal. The ones who feel uneasy are the students who lack confidence or ability," Hikigaya said coldly. "But Nagumo is underestimating people."
The reason Nagumo had been able to make such bold claims during the student council meeting was largely due to his control over the second-year students. Hikigaya had gathered plenty of information on how Nagumo had managed to dominate his grade.
Nagumo had indeed succeeded in ruling over the second-years, which proved his ability. But if he thought he could use the same tactics on the entire school, he was being overconfident.
"Nagumo's approach is just making the gap between students even bigger. He's deliberately creating division to gain more power. Think about it, Horikita—why did his words appeal to you? It's because he made you see 'hope'—the hope of escaping the dead weight in your class and rising to Class A."
Hikigaya's words made Horikita go silent. Because… that was exactly what she had thought, at least in the beginning.
"That's what most people think. A lot of students in Class D feel the same way. 'I'm clearly more capable, so why should I be stuck with a bunch of failures?' 'I might not have been placed in Class A, but I shouldn't have ended up in Class D with these defects.' 'There's no way for me to move up or escape from this mess.'"
Hikigaya's gaze deepened.
"So when someone comes along and says, 'I can help you get rid of those burdens,' the idea naturally sounds tempting. The question is—what price are you willing to pay for it?"
As soon as Hikigaya finished speaking, Horikita felt a chill down her spine. Goosebumps rose on her arms.
Even Ayanokouji's eyes flickered with a sharp, unreadable emotion.
"So this whole speech from the new student council president… was a trap from start to finish?"
Surprisingly, Ayanokouji spoke up at this moment.
Hikigaya gave him a long look before turning away.
"If Nagumo can truly deliver on his promises, then it's not a lie," he said.
But everyone already knew the part he left unsaid.
Horikita clenched her fists slightly. Without Hikigaya guiding the conversation step by step, she wouldn't have even realized what had just happened at the gym.
"So, Hikigaya, you don't think this new student council president is capable?"
Ayanokouji spoke again.
"Think about it this way—if you wanted to completely change the rules of this school, would you announce it in front of all the students and teachers?"
Hikigaya smirked to himself. This wasn't just a trap—it was a blatant, open strategy.
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