Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Growing Stronger [Desire]
"Who's that?"
Hayama Hayato's eyes fell on Hayashizaki, who was standing next to Yukinoshita Yukino.
Don't ask me… Why are you acting like we're close or something?
Hikigaya Hachiman's eye twitched slightly. Though he was inwardly complaining, he instinctively answered Hayama's question, "Oh, that's Yukinoshita's friend. She probably called him to help."
By the time he realized what he had said, the words were already out.
Looks like even though I've gotten stronger physically, I still can't change my weak social standing.
As the two talked, Hayashizaki walked over, patted Hikigaya on the shoulder, and Hikigaya immediately flinched before quietly stepping aside to stand behind Hayashizaki.
Even though he didn't understand why Hikigaya seemed so intimidated by the dark-haired young man, Hayama still smiled and extended his hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Hayama Hayato, from the same class as Hikigaya"
"I'm Hayashizaki. I don't go to School"
Hayashizaki also smiled as he shook hands with the blond boy.
"Mind if I call you Hayashizaki-kun?"
"Of course, that's fine."
Hayashizaki didn't seem as hard to talk to as Hikigaya… or so Hayama thought. Huh? Why is his grip getting tighter?
Feeling the pressure in Hayashizaki's handshake increasing, Hayama's hand felt like it was caught in a vice. His smile stiffened more and more. "...Hayashizaki-kun?"
"Oh, sorry."
Hayashizaki suddenly loosened his grip, his face showing no sign of apology. "I zoned out for a second."
"...It's fine."
Hayama quickly pulled his hand back and hid it behind him, trying to ease the pain in his fingers.
After saying that, Hayashizaki gave him a pat on the shoulder and went back to the van to help with the luggage.
"What's up, Hayato?"
Miura Yumiko seemed to notice something off about Hayama and walked over to ask.
He shook his head and smiled. "It's nothing…"
"Okay, if you say so."
The blonde girl followed Hayama's gaze toward Hayashizaki. "He's kind of handsome, but he's not from our school, right?"
"Yeah, he's Yukinoshita's friend."
A hint of confusion flickered in Hayama's eyes.
Did I do something to upset him?
Hayashizaki walked over to Yukinoshita Yukino and took the luggage from her hands. The two of them then headed toward the lodging area together.
"What did you say to Hayama?"
The black-haired girl asked curiously.
"Nothing, just a friendly greeting."
Hayashizaki smiled.
"What scheme are you cooking up in that head of yours?"
Yukinoshita looked at him suspiciously, clearly not believing a word he said.
"Really, nothing."
Hayashizaki looked innocent.
After everyone finished unloading their luggage, Hiratsuka Shizuka completed the handover with the summer camp coordinator. She led both groups over to a crowd of elementary school students carrying backpacks.
"Alright, everyone, let's say hello to the big brothers and sisters who are here to help."
Once the camp coordinator finished announcing all the important rules and safety guidelines, he handed the loudspeaker to Hayama Hayato, who had stepped forward.
"If anything happens, don't hesitate to tell us. Let's make some wonderful memories at this forest camp and get along well."
Hayama spoke in a gentle tone, his sunny smile adding to his charm. With his almost top-tier looks, second only to Hayashizaki, he quickly won over the elementary school girls.
Taking advantage of the moment, Yukinoshita Yukino turned to Hiratsuka Shizuka and asked,
"Hiratsuka-sensei, why are Hayama and the others here too?"
"Because we're short on staff," Hiratsuka explained. "So, I used the promise of bonus recommendation points to recruit them."
"It's a good opportunity. It's about time you all learned how to interact with other social circles."
Hearing this, Hikigaya Hachiman couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth and silently complain in his mind.
A social circle that could get along with us would have to be stronger than Hayama's group. Maybe even have a panda or something.
"Getting along with them is impossible," he said flatly, knowing that the two groups lived in completely different worlds.
"I'm not asking you to become friends," Hiratsuka said, hands on her hips. "I'm asking you to learn how to *get along*. Learn how to neither antagonize nor ignore others, but coexist peacefully. That's what it means to adapt to society."
"Unless you're strong enough."
Just as Hiratsuka was feeling proud of her life lesson, an unfamiliar voice cut in. Instinctively, she turned to look.
Hayashizaki stood between Hiratsuka Shizuka and Yukinoshita Yukino, hands in his pockets, with a carefree attitude.
"If you're strong enough, you don't have to adapt to survive. Society will bend to your rules, paving the way for you. Power, money…"
Hayashizaki smiled slightly. "And of course, violence."
"It seems we have different views on what *society* means," Hiratsuka said, frowning slightly. She didn't appreciate someone interrupting her teaching moment and promoting a survival-of-the-fittest mindset. "Is this what your teacher taught you, Hayashizaki?"
"Isn't it just the truth?" Hayashizaki shrugged.
"Take a simple example: to start a club, the school requires you to meet the minimum member requirement, right? But when Yukinoshita first wanted to start the Service Club, she was the only member. As her supervising teacher, why did you allow her to form a club and even approve a dedicated room for her activities?"
"That's because I believed in Yukinoshita's club idea. I wanted to use the club activities as a way to help her change her solitary lifestyle, so I agreed."
Hiratsuka crossed her arms, looking like she was ready for a proper debate with Hayashizaki.
"That's because you're a good teacher."
Hiratsuka froze for a moment, caught off guard by the unexpected compliment.
"But if it had been a different teacher, do you think they would have approved Yukinoshita's request?" Hayashizaki didn't wait for her to respond and continued,
"Of course they would. It's just a slightly non-compliant club—there's no need to offend the Yukinoshita family, one of Chiba's most prominent landlords, over something so trivial."
The example given was simple, easy to understand, and quite effective. After thinking it over, Hiratsuka Shizuka had to admit that most teachers would make the choice Hayashizaki described in such a situation.
Out of habit, she glanced at the black-haired girl nearby, worried that Hayashizaki's blunt words might upset her.
But to her surprise, the girl just stood quietly beside Hayashizaki, listening without any visible reaction on her face.
Even beyond Yukinoshita Yukino, both Hikigaya Hachiman and his sister Komachi were paying close attention to what Hayashizaki was saying, with serious expressions.
They knew that what Hayashizaki was teaching went beyond the surface level.
"I suppose what you said makes sense, but this isn't something that should be taught to students."
Hiratsuka Shizuka sighed helplessly. She wasn't the type of teacher who would stubbornly refuse to admit when she was wrong.
"On the contrary, I think this is exactly what they need to be taught," Hayashizaki said with a shake of his head.
"People are driven by desires—power, wealth. The reason these things attract people so much is that deep down, they understand that having them can improve their own lives, their families' lives, and even the lives of the next generation."
"I don't want my students to go into society only to become people who meekly beg for scraps under someone else's roof and feel satisfied with that. They can endure for a while if needed, but they must never lose the desire to improve themselves or be content with staying where they are."
As he spoke, Hayashizaki suddenly glanced at Hikigaya Hachiman, who shuddered slightly and gave an awkward smile.
"So I want to teach them this hunger for strength."
His serious tone suddenly lightened, and Hayashizaki smiled again. "Got it, you two?"
"Yes."
"Y-Yeah, I get it…"
Both Yukinoshita Yukino and Hikigaya Hachiman nodded.
"Your students?" Hiratsuka Shizuka asked, puzzled as she looked at the black-haired young man.
"To be honest, I'm a teacher myself," Hayashizaki said, smiling as he pulled out his ID from Jujutsu High and handed it to Hiratsuka Shizuka.
"Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu High? A religious school?" Hiratsuka Shizuka frowned as she looked at the unfamiliar school name. "So you're not a student?"
Judging by Hayashizaki's youthful and handsome appearance, Hiratsuka Shizuka had assumed he was a college student, like Haruno. She hadn't expected that he was already a teacher.
When she noticed the line showing his age, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Twenty-one?"
So he's only a year older than Haruno!?
Did he become a teacher before even finishing college?
Before she could start questioning the credibility of his teaching position, something else suddenly occurred to her. "Yukinoshita, are you thinking of transferring schools?"
"Huh? No, why would you think that, Hiratsuka-sensei?" Yukinoshita Yukino was stunned, unable to understand why Hiratsuka Shizuka had suddenly turned the conversation to her and raised such a strange question.
"But didn't Hayashizaki say he's your teacher?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka was confused. If Hayashizaki was her sensei, then what did that make her?
"Well, sort of," Yukinoshita Yukino nodded.
"You could say he's a private tutor."
Hayashizaki explained, "I have no intention of letting her transfer to that school."
"Why? Is your school not good enough?"
"No, it's just that I don't like the idea of her transferring there."
Hayashizaki had a habit of speaking vaguely, and the more he explained, the more confused Hiratsuka Shizuka became. In the end, it was Yukinoshita Yukino who firmly cut off the topic.
"Alright, stop dwelling on this. I'm not transferring schools."
"Transferring schools?"
Yuigahama Yui and Totsuka Saika leaned in curiously.
"What transfer?"
The elementary school students had finished gathering and were about to begin the first activity of their camp.
"It's nothing."
Yukinoshita Yukino shook her head. There was no need to tell Yuigahama about this.
"Huh?"
The girl with the bun hairstyle tilted her head adorably, feeling like they were hiding something from her.
The camp leader, standing on the platform, raised a loudspeaker and announced, "Alright, the first activity, orienteering, starts now!"
The elementary school students cheered and quickly grouped up in threes and fours, heading toward the destination at the top of the hill.
Hiratsuka Shizuka temporarily set aside her curiosity about Hayashizaki and Yukinoshita's situation and got back on topic.
"Okay, your first job is to support the orienteering activity. Stay with the kids, keep an eye on them, and make sure nothing goes wrong."
Orienteering involves using a map and compass to reach various checkpoints in order as quickly as possible. For these elementary school students, they just needed to follow the cleared trail, walk ahead, and find the checkpoints near the trees or under piles of stones along the way. It wasn't competitive—just a fun, relaxing activity.
Hayama Hayato's group stayed in the middle of the students, and soon several little girls came over to the friendly blond boy to ask for directions. In no time, the four of them blended right in with the kids.
"Compared to these kids, we're already like old men, aren't we?"
"Hey! Don't make it sound like we're ancient!"
Tobe Kakeru and Miura Yumiko's loud voices could be heard all the way from the middle of the group to the back.
In contrast, Hayashizaki's group, trailing at the end of the line, was much quieter. No kids came to ask for help. The only two little girls who had thought about approaching, blushing slightly after seeing Hayashizaki's good looks, were scared off by Hikigaya Hachiman's lifeless eyes.
"…Why are you so sure it was me who scared them off?"
Hikigaya Hachiman protested unhappily. He was convinced he had been unfairly blamed. Probably.
"The moment they saw your face, they froze, then turned and ran. If it wasn't because of you, who else would it be?"
Hayashizaki shot back.
Hikigaya Hachiman stayed silent. He didn't dare respond to that.
"Hayashizaki's appearance can really be deceiving," Yukinoshita Yukino said, nodding in agreement. "But Hikigaya looks like a complete beast."
"Big brother does give off that gloomy shut-in vibe."
"Exactly, exactly! He never talks to anyone in class and always sits alone, sometimes even chuckling to himself."
"Ahaha…"
Yuigahama Yui and Komachi both chimed in with agreement. Even the kind-hearted Totsuka Saika couldn't bring himself to defend Hikigaya this time.
After all, the truth was right in front of them—there was no way to argue against it.
"It's not my fault I have these eyes. Blame my parents. Blame the world!"
Hikigaya Hachiman struggled to come up with a weak excuse.
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