Third [Quest]

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[-Continuation-]

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[Hachiman's POV]

"Healthy curiosity is one thing, but to continue spreading slanderous words… unless you eliminate the root cause, there won't be any results. Source: me."(Yukinoshita)

As she expressed her thoughts, her words were like a blazing fire flickering underneath her veneer.

That was a kind of blood-pumping speech, and I could already see its effect on a certain someone.

"So you eliminated them…" Yuigahama said it with a rather strained smile.

Her voice held a mix of admiration and disbelief, clearly affected by Yukinoshita's powerful words.

The weight of Yukinoshita's powerful words lingered in the air, leaving a tense and heavy atmosphere between the three of them.

Unfazed by everything, Yukinoshita continued. "In any case, a person who commits such a despicable deed undoubtedly deserves to be eradicated."

She declared, her voice firm and unwavering. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth - vengeance is my creed."

Hehe, that wraps it up, I suppose. I mused myself.

If this is the conclusion she has reached and she truly believes it's the right way to handle things, then I must admit – I really like your approach, Yukino.

But there's something I would like to throw into the mix.

"Heheeee! Heehe!" Hikigaya Hachiman-Me-who had been quiet until now, laughed as I stood up from my seat.

Strolling towards Yukinoshita in silence, I whispered loudly. "Yukinoshita, you are incorrect."

"?..?!! Huh!" My statement elicited an immediate reaction from Yuigahama - surprise.

Fucking hell! I could not believe I had actually challenged Yukinoshita's resolute stance on vengeance by saying that.

"They say to repay gratitude tenfold and resentment a hundredfold."

I paused, choosing my words carefully. "...So for me -"

"In the realm of justice, let it be a vision for an eye and a hundred teeth for one tooth - vengeance, a symphony masterfully conducted by the dictates of my creed."

I came to a stop and stood beside her, hands in my pockets, as I gazed out the window. "That's how it should be." I concluded confidently. "If you ask me."

".…" - "..." - "..."

…

Silence enveloped the room as everyone processed Hikigaya's statement.

…

After what felt like an eternity, Yukinoshita finally broke the silence with a matching grin. "Hikigaya. You might just have a chance at becoming Vice President of the club. But don't assume I will accept my defeat."

I agreed. "You bet. I wouldn't like it otherwise."

You might say we were both exuding an ominous aura.

Curious, I turned to observe Hayato's expression, which clearly conveyed, 'Did I make a mistake by coming here?' And honestly, he was probably right.

Unfazed by his concerns, I proceeded, turning around. "If the culprit went to the effort of changing their phone address, it was because they didn't want their true identity to be known and were afraid of being found out. In that case, they would probably stop the moment their cover was blown. Basically, finding the culprit was the quickest way of finishing things."

"…uh, you also think so?"(Hayato)

That's the moment it really hit him - He chose the wrong group to ask for help.

"Are they always on the same page like this?" Hayato faintly asked Yuigahama beside him.

"...no, I don't think so. It is kinda the opposite. But whenever they agree with each other….*gulp, they are s-scary!" Yuigahama explained.

Ignoring their mummering, Yukinoshita began. "As Hikigaya said, we will find the one who did this. I believe a single word will stop them. I will let you decide what to do with them after that. Is that alright with you?"

"…uh, that's fine." Hayato said resignedly.

Yukinoshita stared closely at the cell phone that Yuigahama had placed on the desk.

She placed a hand on her chin in contemplation. "When did the messages start circulating?"

"It was last weekend. Wasn't it, Yui?" Hayato answered, and Yuigahama nodded.

…hey now? I know this is out of context, but did Hayato just now casually call Yuigahama by her first name? Like, it's no big deal.

Is it simply one of those popular kids 'habits' of going around and casually calling girls by their first names? ….Or perhaps I stumbled upon a lucky chance.

…I mean, maybe I can intentionally lead them to stumble upon something.

"So it suddenly started last week, I see." Yukinoshita mused.

Then she asked me directly. "Hikigaya. Did something happen in class last week?"

"Last week…." I muttered thoughtfully, trying my best to recall the events.

But like most incidents I have faced until now, my memories are far from perfect. All I remember is something about 'chain messages' and that's about it.

However, luckily, unlike my previous self(:me), I have been more conscious of my surroundings. Wherever I was, for the matter of fact.

...I might even know who the culprit is? But for now, let's not make any assumptions without evidence.

"As far as I could remember, the announcement about -workplace observation- is the major thing that happened." I answered.

As soon as I uttered that, Yuigahama came to an abrupt realization. "Ooooh, that's it. It's because of the groups."

"Huh? Really?" Hayato interjected with a curious look on his face.

"..." Me and Yukinoshita also turned to Yuigahama for further explanation.

Being the main focus, Yuigahama laughed sheepishly. "Er, you see, when you make a group for this kind of event, it affects your relationships afterwards. Some people take it really personally…"

?? With puzzlement, Hayato and Yukinoshita looked at the slightly gloomy Yuigahama.

Hayato had never been excluded, and Yukinoshita had no interest in such things, so neither of them understood.

However, I knew what Yuigahama meant. It was because those words came from Yuigahama, who paid attention to others and accepted them all for their bizarre and complicated ways, that I could believe them.

"...*ahem." Yukinoshita coughed to get the conversation back on track. "Hayato, those messages were written about your friends, you said. Who are you grouping with?"

"Oh, uhhhh… now that you mention it, I haven't decided yet. I guess I will end up going with someone out of those three." Hayato replied in a dumb way.

"I think I know who did it now…" Yuigahama said it with a somewhat dejected expression.

"Mind giving us an explanation?" Yukinoshita asked.

"Mmm, well, you see, basically, someone who's usually in the group is gonna get excluded, y'know? Only one person from a group of four is gonna get left out. And that person is gonna be super bitter about it." Her voice quivered with emotion.

"..." - "..." At that, everyone fell into silence.

I gotta say for Yuigahama to reach this conclusion before Yukinoshita guesses her socialization skills are not completely useless.

If we were going to apprehend the culprit, then first we needed to think about their motive. If we could find out just what would make them resort to such an action, then we could naturally deal with them.

Thinking about it in this case, it was probably so that they wouldn't get left out. In our class, Hayato was part of a group of four boys. Therefore, if they had to make a group of three, someone would miss out.

Not wanting that to happen, they had no choice but to kick someone out. That was probably what the culprit was thinking.

"…so there's no doubt the culprit is among the three of them." Immediately, Yukinoshita stated, reaching the same obvious conclusion.

Hearing it Hayato let out a rare outburst. "H-hang on a sec! I don't want to think the culprit is among them. And don't the texts say bad things about all three of them? It can't be one of them."

I chimed in. "Nope. It is exactly what Yukinoshita and Yuigahama said."

"Hayato. Don't be any more stupid and dumb than you have already been." I responded harshly.

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[To be continued….]

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