Chapter 33: The Value of Css D

  After a brief moment of silence, Horikita Manabu spoke first.

  "Not bad. It seems you’ve indeed understood the essence of this school. You're not the first student to notice the uniqueness of the student council. Among the four students who interviewed before you, except for the first one, the other three have more or less realized the importance of the student council to the future development of the csses."

  At this point, Horikita paused for a moment, and his tone unexpectedly carried a bit of fluctuation. "Students with exceptional individual abilities can indeed py a key role; that is undeniable. However..."

  Horikita pushed up his gsses and continued, "Sometimes, collective power is also an indispensable element. Unity is also a form of strength."

  The power of the collective and unity?

  Hikigaya was surprised to hear these words from the student council president. He had always thought that the student council, which represented 90% of the school’s will, was an institution that revered personal strength above all else, much like the essence of the school itself. But unexpectedly, the student council president was a collectivist?

  Was Horikita one of those cold on the outside but warm on the inside types?

  Hikigaya’s and Horikita's gazes intersected, and in that instant, Hikigaya suddenly understood the true meaning behind Horikita's words. The perspective and vision that Horikita had were higher than anyone else’s!

  Hikigaya had to admire the "maturity" of the student council president. In fact, many adults were far less impressive than the Horikita in front of him.

  A person's way of thinking and vision determined their height. From Hikigaya’s perspective, Horikita had already stopped focusing on just the confines of the school. His gaze had already reached further into the world.

  "Now, the next question is the final one, and only students from Css D can answer this one." Horikita's eyes instantly became sharp.

  Horikita stared directly at Hikigaya, as if he were being scanned by a machine with gsses. Every fw on his body would be captured with pinpoint accuracy.

  Hikigaya sat up straight. If the previous topics were just warm-up, then the next question would be the decisive opportunity.

  "Since you’ve already understood the importance and value of the student council, then what value do you, as a student from Css D, hold?" Horikita crossed his arms, staring coldly at Hikigaya like an ‘Commander Ikari’-type figure.

  As expected, Horikita’s question was very sharp, even targeted. It was precisely because he understood the nature of this school that he knew the true meaning behind the name "Css D."

  No wonder only students from Css D had the "privilege" of answering.

  "The value of Css D?"

  Hikigaya murmured, feeling a bit disoriented.

  To be honest, the only value Hikigaya had felt in Css D over the past time was 'species diversity' and 'how humanity devolved into monkeys.' In a school that encourages competition and values strength, what exactly did the students in Css D represent?

  "At the start of the school year, I accidentally overheard people’s comments about Css D—‘defective products,’ ‘fwed items.’ Over time, I began to understand what they meant." Hikigaya spoke in a calm tone. "Sometimes I think, even if something is defective or fwed, it’s not completely useless, right? There are plenty of examples in life—like clearance sale items, discounted bento, second-hand stores. Though not perfect, a rge part of the audience still finds value in them."

  "But can people really be compared to goods, pced on the same equal footing?"

  "Obviously, that's not possible."

  Hikigaya seemed to be asking and answering himself, but neither Tachibana, Horikita, nor Haruno interrupted. Each of them quietly listened.

  "So, what is the difference between the two?"

  "Lessons and experience."

  Hikigaya sighed, "Though the only lesson humanity learns from history is that humanity never learns any lessons from history, that in itself is an experience. It cannot be denied that, whether right or wrong, humanity gradually grows through lessons and experiences, and society keeps moving forward."

  "So, mistakes and fws themselves are a form of value."

  Hikigaya paused for a moment, looking around the room at everyone, before finally locking eyes with Horikita.

  "In this school, where students are measured by strength, those of you who managed to get in already have corresponding value and potential. This is something our homeroom teacher said at the beginning of the school year, signifying that the school acknowledges that students from Css D hold the same value as 100,000 personal points."

  Many in Css D bought into this notion, but up until today, Hikigaya still had his doubts. The poor performance of Css D students afterward only confirmed his suspicions—they didn’t deserve that value.

  At this point, Hikigaya suddenly smiled.

  "So, what value does a student from Css D like me have?"

  Tachibana furrowed her brows, seemingly about to speak, but at this moment, Horikita raised his hand, stopping Tachibana and signaling for Hikigaya to continue.

  Haruno, too, was eagerly waiting for the next part of Hikigaya’s response, her lips curling into a subtle smile and her eyes fshing with a strange sense of excitement.

  "If we were to assert that Css D’s mistakes and fws make them worthless, then what significance would this school, which boasts a 100% employment and advancement rate, have? Even B Css and C Css are the same—if the school could directly recruit the best students from schools nationwide, wouldn’t that be simpler and more efficient?"

  "Gather the best students and invest the most resources in cultivating them. So why bother recruiting students like those in Css D, who are obviously fwed?"

  As Hikigaya said this, Haruno's eyes brightened even more, and a fsh of surprise crossed Horikita’s gaze as well.

  "Excellent students will compete with each other, and healthy competition can nurture even better students. But a school like this, where competition based on societal rules is the core, clearly wants students who can adapt to a more brutal and malicious competitive environment!"

  "If Css A represents the best students the school recognizes, can we then assume that the existence of other csses, including Css D, is to push and temper these best students?"

  Hikigaya stared calmly at Horikita.

  "In other words, the value of us fwed products is to become stepping stones and whetstones for excellent students!"

  "Then can we also say that, in the school’s subconscious, Css D has the potential to threaten Css A?"

  At this point, Hikigaya took a deep breath and slowly said, "So, as a student from Css D, with this ‘potential to threaten Css A,’ do you think that value is... enough, Horikita-senpai?"