16: I Got My Confession Rejected by Yukinoshita Right Out of the Gate!
[16] 16: I Got My Confession Rejected by Yukinoshita Right Out of the Gate!
[16] “I don’t think my method is especially perfect or authoritative either, but compared to yours, I do have more confidence in mine.” Hearing that, Hikigaya fell silent.
It was obvious Tadayana had already made up her own mind.
Besides, if someone else was going to figure out how to handle this request, not having to think about it himself suited him just fine.
At most, it just meant spending a little more time on club activities.
After saying that, Tadayana stopped looking at Hikigaya and turned her gaze to everyone present instead.
“Instead of resolving the conflict that’s already there, you create a new one to cover up the old one.
That kind of approach is wrong, without question.
At best, it only works in the short term, and the price is hurting other people while gaining nothing yourself.” “That kind of approach doesn’t take the club members themselves into account at all, so naturally no one gets the best possible result.
You’re a club that exists to help people.
I don’t want you to end up taking detours—or worse, heading down the wrong road—just because your grasp of theory isn’t solid enough and life has beaten your way of thinking into something rigid.” “If that’s the only way you can fulfill a request, then you’d be better off not helping at all.” When Tadayana finished, Hikigaya felt as if a thorn had caught in his throat.
He wanted to argue back, but everything she had said was too correct for him to open his mouth.
He didn’t think there was anything wrong with the way he thought.
It was just that Tadayana had pointed out, from an objective angle, something he himself had never been able to see.
“On that point, the thinking of one of our club members really is flawed.
As I said before, Hachiman Hikigaya is someone whose way of thinking needs to be corrected.” Seeing the atmosphere turning bad, Yukino Yukinoshita quickly stood up to steady things.
Hachiman Hikigaya was her club member, yes, but that didn’t mean she would cover for him.
Wrong was wrong.
And no one should shield someone who had done something wrong.
Yukinoshita was simply that kind of frank and principled person.
“…I can’t really blame the gloomy guy for thinking that way.
It’s because of what he’s been through.
But I hope that, as a club that helps other people, before you do anything, you first carry out an on-site investigation after identifying who the actual parties to the conflict are.” “No investigation, no right to speak.” “You haven’t even met those people, and you’re already that sure your method will work on them?
Where did that confidence come from?” “And on top of that, you were going to drag a new conflict onto yourself.
Aren’t you worried you’ll get beaten up?” “And you need to understand this: your club exists to help people.
Then your thinking should be aimed toward the group, toward ordinary people.
You should genuinely want to bring them together and make things better.
How can you go against that principle just because you’re chasing some kind of efficiency? Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
If that’s what you’re doing, then what kind of Service Club is this anymore?
Wouldn’t it just turn into the ‘Do-Whatever-We-Want-Just-to-Get-It-Over-With Club’?” Tadayana’s words made Hikigaya suck in a sharp breath.
He felt like he was being dressed down by a former superior.
Yuigahama, too, was so overwhelmed by the stiffness in the air that she barely dared breathe.
What is going on?!
Can somebody please tell me what is going on?
Weren’t we all just chatting happily a second ago?
How did this turn into a one-man criticism session for Hikki?
“Still, thank you for pointing out the mistakes in our club member’s thinking.
It’s true that if Hachiman Hikigaya really wanted to do it that way, we wouldn’t have agreed.
It’s better that he realizes his mistake before we actually act.
Also, what exactly is your theoretical framework?
How is it so complete?
Could you explain it to me in detail?” By the time she finished, Yukinoshita had already turned into a bundle of curiosity.
She had always admired people who could make the right decisions and choose the right direction.
“Simple.
Dialectical materialism.
Study it and you’ll understand.” “I see.
Understood.
I’ll look into it properly later.” “Okay, okay—why make things this tense~ Relax a little relax~” Seeing that Tadayana had already made things about as tense as they could get, and that she was finished talking, Isshiki spoke up to smooth things over.
“Tadayana just gets serious about this kind of thing.
Sorry.
But she really is a very, very, very good person.
So please don’t hate her over this, and keep being friends with her, okay~” “Sorry…
I really was in the wrong here…
Please forgive me.” Hikigaya walked over to Tadayana, who had gone quiet and sat off to the side in a sulk, then bent into a bow.
“It’s fine…
I’ve mostly cooled off too, and I did go a little too far just now…
Honestly, your attitude is actually a pretty good one for people in the workforce.
Most people don’t have any right to participate in decision-making, after all.
If you’d come here because you personally wanted to do this kind of thing, maybe it wouldn’t be like this.
I should be the one apologizing to you.” After hearing that, Hikigaya’s whole impression of her changed completely.
In the span of just a few minutes, she had completely rewritten the way he saw her.
For the first time, he felt that there was someone perfect in this world besides Yukino Yukinoshita.
“There’s one thing I still want to confirm.” “What is it?” Hearing that exchange, the others in the Service Club quietly pricked up their ears as well.
“Could you tell me why you care so much about ordinary people?
I don’t mean why you want to help others or anything like that.
I mean…
how can you be so positive?
You could’ve just not argued with me and gone along with what I’d laid out to save yourself the effort, but instead you thought through all of that just to refute me completely.
I want to know the reason.” Hikigaya asked with serious sincerity.
His eyes were full of hunger for the reason behind Tadayana’s actions.
Because that might be exactly what he needed—or at least something he could use as a reference to correct himself.
“…It’s not like I’m always worrying about things like this.
It’s just that this is high school.
Everyone here is still young; they haven’t completely lost heart yet just because their futures seem already decided.
Maybe later, once you enter society, you’ll lose heart too.
But I hope that before that happens, everyone can shine a little and do their part.
Then pass that energy on.
If that happens, then maybe society really can change because of it in a few decades…
or a few centuries.” Hearing Tadayana say that, Hikigaya turned her words over carefully in his mind.
Then he bowed again and looked once more at the beautiful white-haired girl before him.
The shallow condescension of giving her extra credit just because she was pretty was gone from his eyes.
What was there now was something like respect.
The other girls were all stunned by Tadayana’s words as well.
Yukinoshita especially etched the sight of Tadayana at that moment deep into her mind.
The ideals this girl possessed were far greater than hers, and she was looking far farther ahead.