COTE : There is Something Wrong With Hikigaya-Chapter 156: The Three Who Got Blamed

A week passed in the blink of an eye, and both Horikita and Ayanokouji returned to the classroom.

Horikita was as cold and indifferent as ever, showing no signs of avoiding her classmates out of guilt for her suspension. In fact, the way the class acted was beyond her expectations—it was as if nothing had happened.

During the three days she spent reflecting in her dorm, Horikita thought a lot. The more she thought, the more she realized how flawed her surveillance plan had been. Just like Hikigaya had warned her before, she had been too naive and emotional about it.

Thinking of this, Horikita subconsciously glanced at Hikigaya. Then her eyes widened—wait, did volume four of this light novel come out already?!

"Is something wrong?"

Hikigaya was enjoying his book *My Little Sister Can't Be My Girlfriend* when he suddenly noticed an intense stare from the side.

"N-No, nothing!"

Horikita quickly straightened her face and busied herself arranging her books to shift her focus.

On the other side, Ayanokouji could feel a clear change in the class atmosphere the moment he returned. It was like everyone's attention was suddenly on him. Not just in the classroom—walking around campus, he could sense that students from other classes were also watching him.

Before his suspension, he had been just another unnoticed student. But now, it was like he had suddenly become famous. Eventually, he figured out the reason.

Ayanokouji, along with Ike and Yamauchi, had been labeled as the main culprits who "betrayed" Class B. This rumor had already spread throughout the entire first-year students, with Ayanokouji as the mastermind and Ike and Yamauchi as accomplices.

No wonder the students from Class B were hostile toward him. Even his own classmates blamed the three of them for dragging the class into trouble.

In short, Ayanokouji, Ike, and Yamauchi had become the most hated students in the entire first year.

Hirata had even privately apologized to Ayanokouji. He knew the real truth, but he couldn't reveal it to the class. If the truth got out, it would turn into a major crime—deceiving both the school and the student council. The consequences would be much worse. So, Ayanokouji and the others had to take the blame.

Ichinose was in a similar position. She couldn't tell her classmates the truth either, so she had Kanzaki help control the situation as much as possible.

To make up for it, Hirata transferred his private points to Ayanokouji and did everything he could to ease the class's hostility toward him.

Otherwise, Ayanokouji's first day back would have been filled with verbal attacks from every direction.

But in the end, Ayanokouji had no choice but to accept it. Not that it bothered him much—he never cared about how others saw him, as long as it didn't touch the real issue.

However, just because Ayanokouji didn't care didn't mean the two "innocent" idiots felt the same way.

Two weeks later, Ike and Yamauchi returned to the classroom. Although most of the anger had died down, the resentment in everyone's eyes and the lingering hostility around them made the two break down almost immediately.

"We're innocent! It was all Ayanokouji's fault!" they shouted desperately.

Unfortunately for them, their outburst only reignited the class's anger, which Hirata had just barely managed to suppress.

Led by Shinohara and Yukimura, the class quickly turned on Ike and Yamauchi, scolding and cursing them. Ayanokouji, caught in the crossfire, was also blamed, though he handled it differently. Unlike the two, he didn't argue back or resist. He simply stayed silent, expressionless as ever.

Over time, people lost interest in yelling at him.

But Ike and Yamauchi were different. They didn't know when to shut up. They kept trying to defend themselves and shouting back, which only made them the perfect targets for everyone's frustration.

They had no chance to fight back.

"Hey, Ken! Say something for us!"

Ike suddenly turned to Sudou, shouting in frustration.

"Yeah! We got into this mess because we were trying to help you!"

Yamauchi joined in, clearly upset with Sudou's silence.

"Uh, I... I..."

Caught off guard, Sudou hesitated, a rare look of panic appearing on his face. It was an expression no one had ever seen on the red-haired boy before.

Ever since Sudou returned from his suspension, he had become unusually quiet. More accurately, he no longer gave off that aggressive vibe he used to have. Instead, he seemed cautious and hesitant. When it came to meals, he either bought a bento from the convenience store and ate in his dorm or waited until the cafeteria was nearly empty before going.

People who knew Sudou well found this strange. Had he really changed because of what happened?

In the end, it was Hirata who managed to calm everyone down, using "final exams" as an excuse.

Unlike the midterms, this time there were no leaked past exam questions, and Class D's true abilities were fully exposed. Fortunately, the study sessions that Hirata had insisted on since the midterms had finally paid off. Every student in Class D passed, with no one failing.

After announcing the final exam results, Chabashira-sensei also revealed last month's class points, since summer vacation was starting the next day. As expected, the points had dropped back to zero. Even though everyone had mentally prepared for it, they still couldn't help but vent their frustration at the three main culprits.

Once again, Ayanokouji, Ike, and Yamauchi became the targets of everyone's anger. Especially the two idiots—their apology letters were still posted on the school's bulletin board, turning them into a laughingstock and an easy target for mockery.

In the end, it was Chabashira-sensei who shifted everyone's attention by bringing up the upcoming summer vacation on a private island. Words like "island," "cruise," and "vacation" instantly sparked excitement among Class D. After going over the necessary preparations, meeting times, and locations, the final homeroom of their first semester came to an end.

"Oh, right. Ayanokouji, come to the teacher's office after school."

Chabashira-sensei dropped this statement before leaving, not giving Ayanokouji any chance to refuse.

After packing up his things, Hikigaya glanced at Sakura. She had mentioned earlier that she would be going shopping for vacation supplies with Hiyori after school. Since it was the last day, there was also no student council duty.

Since this was a school-organized trip, all club activities had been handed over to Handa-senpai. For once, Hikigaya found himself with nothing to do.

As his busy routine suddenly came to a stop, he realized he had nowhere in particular to go. After thinking for a moment, he decided to head toward the student guidance office.

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