Akane wished Himari would stop glancing her way. Now wasn’t the time for her to jump in and help—if Saito figured out Akane had been gathering info on him for Himari’s sake, Saito might discover the extent of Himari’s interest on him. That would be a disaster.
“Interesting in the contrary kind of sense…?” Saito echoed suspiciously.
Himari leaned forward, hands on his desk. “Um, anyway! What does ‘ressentiment’ mean?” she asked brightly.
“Look it up in a dictionary,” said Saito nonchalantly, returning to his book—effortlessly shutting down the class’s most sociable girl.
What’s with Saito’s attitude?! Akane wanted to scold Saito, but if she stepped in and made things awkward, it’d defeat the whole point.
“I did look it up! I was reading definitions for like an hour. But my online research didn’t really help. It just felt like I was reading in a foreign language.” Himari giggled sheepishly.
Saito finally glanced up from his book. “You looked for an hour? Good effort.”
“What was that thing they wrote about—something-something ‘a bitter emotion the weak feel toward the strong’? But who counts as strong? Like, someone good at fighting? What does ‘ressentiment’ mean, anyway?”
“They were talking about holding a grudge,” said Saito.
Himari blinked. “What about my pudge?”
“No, we’re not talking about body composition.”
“There’s a body competition? So they are good at fighting!”
“Swing and a miss.” Saito sighed deeply—but he looked amused. He closed his book, turned to her, and started explaining. “Okay, so imagine there’s a student who’s not very smart.”
“So, me.”
“Doesn’t necessarily have to be you. Whoever they are, they get angry at a student who is smarter, saying: ‘Why is that person always so good at everything? Were they born with talent? It’s so unfair. The reason I get yelled at for my bad grades is only because geniuses like that exist. It’s not because I don’t study. They’re the villain here. They should all be punished.’”
“So unfair!” exclaimed Himari.
“That’s ‘ressentiment.’ Instead of working hard to surpass the strong, it’s the process of rationalizing their own weakness by turning the strong into villains. In a similar manner, they would say things like ‘The rich are evil’ or ‘Pretty people are cheating,’ for example,” said Saito with a shrug.
Himari beamed with admiration in her eyes. “Ohhh, I get it now! That made it super clear! Saito-kun, you’re really good at explaining things!”
“Well, I am a genius,” said Saito smugly, though his cheeks relaxed in satisfaction.
Ugh, there he goes, getting cocky again… Watching him from a distance, Akane couldn’t help but feel irritated. If she’d been the one over there, they would’ve started arguing in no time. But Himari didn’t mind Saito’s arrogant tone—instead, she kept asking him more questions with a smile, and Saito didn’t seem to hate it either.
“Ooh, she is good, that Himari,” a voice murmured beside Akane. Shisei had appeared next to her before Akane realized it.
“Good at what?”
“At handling Ani-kun. Ani-kun actually loves teaching people. He likes being depended on. He’s been taking care of me since we were kids, you know,” Shisei explained.
“…Is that so?”
“Akane, you could learn from her too.”
“Wh-why is this suddenly about me?!”
“You never ask Ani-kun for help.”
“Of course not!” exclaimed Akane. “My pride wouldn’t allow it. I don’t want him thinking he’s better than me!”
“If you leaned on him once in a while, I think it’d make him happy,” said Shisei softly.
“W-why should I care about making him happy?!”
Shisei tilted her head and asked, “You really don’t know?”
“I don’t!” insisted Akane, flustered. She didn’t know why her face was heating up again either.
“Then never mind. Farewell.” And with that, Shisei vanished—swiftly swallowed up by the gaggle of girls who always clung to her. One of her fans stuffed a steamed meat bun in Shisei’s mouth to keep her from calling for help. It seemed, frankly, criminal.
Lately, the class gyaru had been unusually eager to ask Saito for book explanations. Today, once again, Saito was being peppered with questions from Himari in the hallway and doing his best to explain.
“In short, the Übermensch Nietzsche talks about doesn’t refer to some kind of psychic superhuman, but rather a person who has a clear sense of what they want to do in life and pushes forward with the relentless effort and strength to achieve it.”
“Like Akane?” asked Himari.
“Yeah, I guess so. She could be called an Übermensch.”
After losing to Saito in grades for two years straight since entering high school, most people would have given up trying to beat him. But Akane never gave up. She vowed to one day surpass him, and she had been pushing herself with everything she’d got.
Come to think of it, Akane really is amazing, thought Saito. If he had been in her shoes, he might have given up halfway, justifying it by saying things like “this isn’t efficient” or “the difference in talent is too big.” Akane, who refused to make such excuses for herself, was a genuinely strong person, though her way of life seemed utterly exhausting to Saito.
“Now, I finally get most of what I didn’t understand last night! Thanks so much!”
“Why are you even reading this book? I feel like a picture book would be more appropriate for you.”
Himari puffed out her cheeks. “Hey, you’re making fun of me again!”
“No, I’m just being considerate. Books that are all text are probably tough for you.”
“Not at all! My head starts spinning after five minutes, that’s all!”
“That can’t be healthy,” remarked Saito.