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Inside the Wool Department, the tutoring session had temporarily come to a halt after Menlai and Juke arrived.
Okakura Asako and Kobashi Yume kept chatting nonstop, with Himenoyuki occasionally joining the conversation.
Seriously, if they’re going to chat so much, can’t they just go somewhere else?
But then again, it’s kind of fun and relaxing.
Hikigaya put on his headphones, plugged them into his phone, and played some music. He planned to study alone. After all, he was more efficient that way. And if his math scores kept dropping, he’d be in serious trouble.
"Hikigaya-kun."
Kobashi Yume waved her hand in front of his face, making him take off his headphones.
"Listening to music helps me concentrate. When I stop paying attention to the music, it means I’m super focused." Hikigaya explained helplessly.
It’s not like they needed tutoring in liberal arts anyway.
"Is that so?" Menlai tilted her head in confusion. "But I feel like that’s more distracting."
"But..." Okakura Asako chimed in. "I remember Hanbo also liked listening to music while studying alone. Maybe smart people have that habit?"
Oh! I see.
Hikigaya suddenly felt that his love for headphones wasn’t just to block out noise but rather because he was a genius.
Looking at the slight smirk on Hikigaya’s face, Himenoyuki knew he was feeling smug thanks to Okakura Asako’s comment.
"But Hikigaya-kun’s grades aren’t exactly amazing, right?" Juke said innocently, tilting her head.
Ouch. Hikigaya was certain that Himenoyuki, the woman with the bad personality, was deliberately mocking him.
"Yeah... true." Menlai nodded thoughtfully. His grades were only average, not exactly genius-level.
"Well, academics aren’t the only measure of intelligence, right?" Okakura Asako observed Hikigaya with a gentle smile. "He’s contributed a lot during the special exams. He must be smart."
Yes, exactly!
Hikigaya nodded in agreement. Despite not getting along well with Okakura Asako, he respected her for recognizing his strengths.
Juke glanced at the two of them, feeling a little suspicious. Why did Okakura Asako keep defending Hikigaya? Were they even that close?
The thought made Juke feel uncomfortable, but her naturally gentle and quiet personality held her back from asking directly.
Even so, the unsettling feeling continued to grow. She needed to know.
"Um... maybe Okakura-san likes Hikigaya-kun?" Juke said shyly, her voice barely above a whisper.
It wasn’t like her to be so forward, but her frustration pushed her to ask.
"Of course not," Okakura Asako laughed and waved her hand dismissively. "I just think Hikigaya is mature, like an adult. I’m just stating the truth, nothing more."
Hikigaya almost choked. Couldn’t she stop joking in front of him? He appreciated her kindness, but the way she phrased it translated to: "How could I possibly like this old man?"
"That’s right~" Himenoyuki agreed with a smirk. "No one else would like someone with a twisted personality like Hikigaya."
Menlai looked deep in thought. She had noticed something off about Juke earlier at the library. So, this was the reason? Interesting...
Seeing the conversation getting derailed again, Hikigaya put his headphones back on. But Kobashi Yume waved her hand in front of him again.
"Hikigaya-kun, it’s okay to listen to music when you’re alone, but during study sessions, it’s better not to wear headphones."
"Why?" Hikigaya asked. So far, this wasn’t a study session. It was just endless chatting.
"Because you can ask questions anytime you don’t understand something, and someone can help answer. It’s more efficient that way, right?"
"I’m fine studying alone..." Hikigaya replied out of habit.
"Then, Hikigaya-kun, are you saying you have no issues with science?" Kobashi Yume pressed.
"Uh... That’s a good point..." Hikigaya went silent. As expected from Ichinose’s best friend, her argument was flawless.
"Well, shall we start?" Hikigaya tried.
"Yes! Let’s begin!" Menlai said cheerfully, resting her chin on her hand.
"By the way, Hikigaya-kun, you always rank second in Mandarin and even beat Honami-chan for first place occasionally. Your English and History scores are usually in the top five. Do you have some special learning method?"
"Uh... rote memorization?" Hikigaya said hesitantly.
When it came to liberal arts, you just had to memorize things. At least, that’s how he did it.
"Eh?" Okakura Asako sighed. "I work hard every day, but my grades just stay the same. And memorizing everything is such a waste of time."
"Yeah..." Menlai added. "Isn’t there a more efficient way? Some kind of trick?"
Hikigaya felt a bit embarrassed. "Well, since you’re close with Ichinose, she must have told you her methods, right?"
Juke sighed. "She did. She told us to increase our reading for Mandarin, memorize English by heart, practice dictation regularly, and communicate more in English. For history, she suggested memorizing based on cause and effect. But it’s hard to understand what that even means."
"Maybe it’s just a talent gap," Hikigaya admitted, shrugging.
"So, what does ’memorizing based on cause and effect’ even mean?" Okakura Asako asked, looking genuinely curious.
"It’s hard to explain," Hikigaya admitted. "But maybe an example would help."
"Like a long time ago, there was Xiao Su and Xiao Mei. Xiao Su was a calm, beautiful schemer, and Xiao Mei was a cheerful, cute schemer."
"Schemer?"
The girls looked disgusted, and Juke kicked Hikigaya’s leg under the table.
"Uh... It’s just an example." Hikigaya scratched his head awkwardly.
"The point is, they were in the same class, constantly competing to be the most popular. Their rivalry was like a Cold War, where both sides couldn’t openly attack each other because of the mutual destruction it would cause."
"So... you’re saying their secret weapons were like nuclear bombs?" Menlai asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"Exactly! If one of them used their secret, the other would retaliate, causing both to lose everything. That’s how you should remember history—by understanding the causes and effects, like two countries constantly in conflict but afraid to launch an all-out attack."
After a moment of thought, Menlai’s eyes lit up. "Oh! Now I get it! Thanks, Hikigaya-kun!"
"Yeah... that actually makes sense," Okakura Asako admitted, nodding.
"Hmm... Hikigaya-kun, you really are reliable," Menlai said, giving him a sincere smile.
Hikigaya blushed slightly, feeling both embarrassed and proud.
But at the same time, he couldn’t help but think: Studying with these girls is way too difficult.