COTE : There is Something Wrong With Hikigaya-Chapter 194: Katsuragi’s Weakness?

"That laugh was disgusting."

Hikigaya's smile froze for a second—he had completely forgotten about Kamuro. She took back her phone with a look of pure disdain.

"I'm still annoyed, but seeing Sakayanagi get shut down like that was pretty satisfying."

Hikigaya didn't mind. After interacting with Kamuro a few times, he had come to understand this purple-haired girl's personality—she never said what she actually felt.

"Anyway, thanks for your help. Things wouldn't have gone so smoothly without you."

"Hah! You've got some nerve saying that!"

Kamuro looked even more frustrated at his words. "Back on the uninhabited island, you told me to persuade Hashimoto to deduct more points. I figured since Class A was earning over 400 points, losing a few wouldn't matter, and it'd give Katsuragi a headache. But who knew you were this ruthless? Now Hashimoto is in a mess because of it!"

Hikigaya shrugged. "Even without me or your persuasion, Hashimoto would've done something similar anyway. All I did was give him a little push. I just didn't expect him to have the guts to make his class lose a full 50 points."

In Hikigaya's calculations, Class A shouldn't have ended up with zero points in this special exam. The base score was 270 points. After deducting 150 points for being identified by three classes and another 100 points for wrongly guessing the leaders of Class B and Class D, they should still have around 20 points left.

Hashimoto really went all out. The 50 points he deducted wiped out almost all of Class A's remaining points, leaving them with a humiliating "big zero."

"If Hashimoto had known about your plan, he would never have made such a stupid move. He thought you were after private points, but he had no idea that was just a distraction."

Kamuro gave Hikigaya a deep look.

Going over everything that had happened on the island, Kamuro finally understood Hikigaya's plan. Getting Katsuragi and Totsuka to fall into his trap and extorting a huge amount of private points from Class A—these were just diversions. His real target had always been Class A's class points, slowly forcing Katsuragi into a dead end.

The real reason Class A suffered such a crushing defeat wasn't because the other three classes figured out their leader. It was because Katsuragi guessed wrong about the leaders of Class B and Class D.

From what Kamuro knew of Katsuragi, he was someone cautious and steady, not the type to take risks. But this time, he had chosen to gamble on guessing the leaders of the other classes.

And the reason for his change? The boy standing in front of her had been pushing him step by step, like an invisible hand forcing Katsuragi toward the edge of a cliff.

"But I am curious—how did you know Totsuka was the leader? As far as I know, Hashimoto only told one person that secret, and I'm sure that person wasn't you."

Kamuro suddenly asked.

Hikigaya glanced at her in surprise. It seemed she knew quite a lot—or rather, she had been aware of many things all along but had simply kept quiet.

Just like how Hashimoto thought he could secretly make deals with Ryuen without Kamuro knowing. But in reality, she was fully aware—she just hadn't bothered to expose him.

"It was pure luck..."

Hikigaya briefly explained what had happened at the beach hut that day.

Kamuro was momentarily stunned, then let out a mocking laugh. "Looks like even fate wanted Katsuragi to fail."

"It's not fate working against him. It's just that he has an unlucky idiot following him, so they both ended up unlucky."

Hikigaya couldn't help but think back to what had happened at the library before the midterms. Even then, Totsuka's stupidity had been obvious.

"Being dumb isn't the scary part. The scary part is being dumb and not realizing it."

Hikigaya sighed. "To be honest, if I were only up against Katsuragi, it would've been tough. He's like a stone wall—breaking through would be really difficult. His cautious way of doing things makes him the perfect leader for a leading class like Class A.

"But with Totsuka as his weak spot, he became a burden instead. I really don't understand why Katsuragi insists on keeping around such an oblivious idiot. If he doesn't cut him off, he's only asking for trouble."

For some reason, Kamuro's expression turned a little cold. "So you're saying useless people should be abandoned? That dumb people should just be thrown away?"

"Huh? Kamuro, why do you sound kind of mad?"

"I'm not mad!"

"You're misunderstanding me. Having flaws or lacking ability isn't the issue. What I can't stand are people who think they know everything when they actually don't. And in my eyes, Totsuka is exactly that kind of arrogant fool.

"As long as Katsuragi continues to protect him, he's exposing his own weakness. That's why Katsuragi will never be a real threat."

To Hikigaya, Totsuka's existence was actually a good thing for Sakayanagi. As long as Katsuragi refused to cut ties with him, Sakayanagi would always hold the advantage.

Kamuro's expression softened a little. She somewhat agreed with Hikigaya's view of Totsuka, but unlike him, she simply found Totsuka annoying—she hadn't thought about it as deeply.

"To be honest, sometimes I think you're a lot like Sakayanagi."

A complicated look flashed in Kamuro's eyes.

"Huh? Me, like her?"

Hikigaya was startled, then let out a self-deprecating laugh. "In what way? Sakayanagi never takes anyone seriously. To her, I'm probably nothing more than a plaything to pass the time."

Kamuro simply gave Hikigaya a deep look but didn't respond. After a brief silence, she turned and walked away.

"What a strange girl."

Hikigaya watched Kamuro's back as she left and shook his head slightly. He was actually a little curious why such a strong-willed girl was willing to be Sakayanagi's subordinate.

Some people, the first time you meet them, you can get a sense of their true nature.

Take Hashimoto, for example. Even though Hikigaya hadn't interacted with him much, it was easy to see what kind of person he was. That seemingly easygoing attitude was just a mask for his selfishness.

But with Kamuro, Hikigaya still couldn't quite figure out what she was really after.

"Forget it. I should just rest for a bit."

He stretched. The past seven days on the uninhabited island had been exhausting, both physically and mentally. And even though they were supposed to be on a luxury cruise, he had barely been able to enjoy it before getting thrown onto the island.

"Anyway, time for a nice bath."

The best way to relieve fatigue is taking a bath. Hikigaya went to the luxury bathhouse on the cruise ship. Luckily, he was the only one there. About thirty minutes later, he stepped out of the bathhouse—only to run into someone unexpected.

Yukinoshita Haruno!

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