Pirate's Freedom

After speaking, Porusalino didn't say much.

After a burst of "Zhis" sound similar to a radio malfunction, a synthesized melody sounded, and the school bell echoed in the campus.

For this reason, Yukinoshita reluctantly agreed and would discuss it in detail again after meeting the next day.

……

The next afternoon, after the sixth period, Porusalino counted the time and got up in the staff office.

"Teacher Hiratsuka, I have to go to the [Service Club] again today."

"I'm going to capture Hikigaya now."

Hiratsuka Shizuka is eager to try.

"Would you like to give it a try, Mr. Hiratsuka, Hikigaya might be able to go there on his own."

"Instead of letting him run away and regret it later, it would be less psychologically burdensome for me to drag him away with a tow truck."

With just a little familiarity, Hiratsuka Shizuka immediately revealed her handling style.

"Then I'll go there first, Mr. Hiratsuka."

After tidying up the desk surface and walking to the door, Porusalino suddenly asked.

"Teacher Hiratsuka, why do you like reading comics?"

"People who don't like reading comics are weird!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka answered immediately without thinking.

"But since you asked so seriously, I have to answer you properly."

"Everyone has once imagined that there is a power beyond reality that can drag them out of an unchanging life and change their destiny at a glance."

"so--"

He looks very happy with a big smile.

"Isn't it normal to yearn for a different version of yourself?"

"Well said."

After bending slightly and stepping out of the door, Porusalino's voice continued to come from outside the door.

"Teacher Hiratsuka, maybe the people in the manga think so too."

……

This corner of the special building is quite quiet, exuding a strangely cold atmosphere.

"Although it's strange for me to say it myself, I'm quite good. In the mock test of the school's literature group, my Chinese score was No. 3 in the whole grade! I also look pretty good! Apart from having no friends, I'm basically the best. I am an outstanding person!"

In an unlisted mystical club, Hikigaya is maintaining his last bit of dignity.

"Thank you for being able to speak so confidently... let's not mention the last fatal question."

"Being complacent after getting No. 3 shows how incompetent you are. You want to prove that you are smart just by relying on one subject. People who think like this are simply ignorant."

Yukinoshita has been firmly ranked first in the grade since she entered school. Yukinoshita does have the confidence to say such a thing.

"In short, I don't appreciate you relying on appearances such as grades and looks to gain confidence. No matter what you look like, as long as you continue to have those dead fish eyes, you won't give people a good impression."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Hikigaya suddenly asked.

"Do you have friends?"

"This is..."

Yukinoshita rarely looked away.

"Can you please first define what is considered a friend?"

"Ah, there's no need for that. Anyone who says such things is a friendless person."

In general, the conversation between the two could be considered as a smooth exchange, and they even found a resonance point in a subtle place.

"I understand what you mean. After all, you can live happily alone. The idea of ​​having to be with others is a bad idea."

Hikigaya said.

"You obviously like to be alone, but others sympathize with you without permission. It's a very annoying feeling. I understand, I understand."

"Although you and I are very different in level, we are somewhat similar in that we like to be alone."

Showing a somewhat gloomy but calm self-deprecating face, Yukinoshita added.

"It makes me a little reluctant."

"Teacher, I also like to be alone. Seriously, I don't have any friends."

A leisurely voice came from a corner of the classroom.

"But the strange thing is-"

Next to the tables and chairs piled up in the corner, on a chair that was moved down, Porusalino shook the newspaper and sipped the brown rice tea in the cup and said.

"Teacher, I have never been pitied by anyone."

"Mr. Porusalino."

While Hikigaya's face was full of shock: "Is there someone else here?" Yukinoshita spoke in an unsurprised tone.

"It seems to me that you don't care at all about your commission."

Yukinoshita sighed and continued.

"By the way, Hikigaya, if I want to win, you must be admitted to Tokyo University. Just thinking about this is very unpleasant."

"...?!"

As soon as he recovered from some subtle frustration, Hikigaya immediately turned his stunned eyes towards Porusalino.

"Oh, haven't I told you yet? The teacher sincerely hopes that all the students in Class F of the second year will have a bright future."

Porusalino said seriously.

"Hikigaya, can you grant the teacher's wish?"

"Uh...that...actually..."

Hikigaya, who kept an expression of unwillingness and nothing to say on his face and was speechless for a long time, suddenly remembered something.

"Speaking of which, the teacher never left any homework, and he never asked for preview or review. Why..."

"If you can understand it in preview, there is no need to go to class. There is no need for people who have taken class and still don't understand. The same goes for review."

Porosalino said while pouting and blowing on the brown rice floating on the surface of the tea.

"I am adhering to this educational policy for the time being."

"How much do you underestimate Todai! Mr. Porusalino!"

Hikigaya's voice was very intense.

"Although I can understand your educational policy from a personal point of view, Hikigaya's words make sense this time."

Yukinoshita rarely stood with Hikigaya.

"Mr. Porusalino, your requirements for the quality of your students are too high."

"Really, since you all say so, maybe I want to reflect on this."

Porusalino followed his advice fluently and continued to drink tea and read the newspaper after finishing his words.

……

“What does it mean to be popular?”

After a while, the conversation on the other side continued.

"It might be a little jarring for you who've never been popular."

"...Don't worry, it's already very harsh."

then--

After taking a deep breath, Yukinoshita said.

"I have been very cute since I was a child, and all the boys around me have a crush on me. It probably started in the senior grade of elementary school, and it has always been like this since then..."

"Oh, is that so?"

Porusalino in the corner suddenly spoke up, but even Hikigaya looked at him with a "what's so surprising" look.

"Sorry, I'm not very sensitive about this."

Considering the average appearance of female officers in the Navy, it is understandable that Porusalino said this.

“In elementary school, my indoor shoes were hidden almost sixty times, fifty of which were done by girls in my class.”

Yukinoshita ignored Porusalino and continued talking on his own.

"What about the remaining ten times?"

Hikigaya asked her.

"The boys hid it three times, the teacher bought it twice, and the other five times it was hidden by dogs."

"The dog has been hiding too many times!"

"Because of this, I have to take my indoor shoes and recorder with me every day."

"...It's so pitiful."

Hikigaya looked sympathetic.

"Yes, they can only confirm the meaning of their existence through this sad way. They are really pitiful."

Yukinoshita's serious eyes were cold.

"But there's nothing you can do about it. After all, no one is perfect. People are weak and ugly at heart. It's easy to kick people away because of jealousy. The strange thing is that the better people live, the more miserable they are. Isn't this ironic? ? So I want to change humans and the world."

"You seem to be working in the wrong direction..."

Hikigaya opened his mouth and said hesitantly.

"Really? But this is much better than your attitude of waiting to die. I... hate the idea of ​​you accepting your own weakness."

After finishing speaking, Yukinoshita's eyes moved toward the window.

Hikigaya just looked at her, and as Yukinoshita picked up the library book again, a very comfortable atmosphere of silence rippled in the air...

But at this moment——

"Hikigaya, Yukinoshita, do you want to hear your teacher's story?"

Porusalino suddenly spoke, and without waiting for the two of them to reply, he continued talking to himself.

"When I was a student, I had a bad relationship with my teacher. It should be said that I was a problem student."

"..."

Hikigaya turned his head and Yukinoshita perked up his ears.

"I remember, one day the teacher told me, if you continue like this, you don't have to come to class anymore."

"This is no longer as simple as a bad relationship!"

Although he couldn't help but complain, Hikigaya still asked curiously.

"and after?"

"Later."

Porusalino's voice was leisurely.

"Later, I sent most of my classmates to the hospital, and the school was immediately suspended."

"What kind of problem student is this! The school will call the police directly!"

"Teacher Porusalino, are you not expelled from school?"

Yukinoshita's calm voice pointed to the crux of the problem.

"No, I graduated early."

"Is this a school run by the Italian Mafia?! What on earth does it teach!"

"Since then, the teacher and I have completely fallen out and have not contacted each other for so many years."

Porusalino looked very sad.

"Perhaps we just lack an open-hearted conversation to give each other a step forward."

[No, Mr. Porusalino, I think your teacher never wants to see you again]

The speechless Hikigaya said silently in his heart.

But no matter how absurd the story was, in any case, he felt a little more joy in being recognized as one of the same kind.

"Thank you very much for telling us stories about the past, but Mr. Porusalino..."

Adjust your breathing, Yukinoshita said.

"Your example is a bit special, I'm afraid there is no way to refer to it."

"You are wrong, Yukinoshita, and Hikigaya. The teacher just wants to tell you a simple truth."

Porusalino's turn was unexpected.

"It takes strength to follow your own path and always do what you think is right."

Looking down slightly, he glanced at the two people and said.

"You are all excellent, but obviously, you are not good enough to stand up for yourself in the face of reality."