Chapter 465. Social Death: Gahamama and Horikita Suzune (Part 2)
Hikigaya Hachiman's single line, "I have never liked Yuigahama," turned Yuigahama Yui into the global synonym for a "loser dog" (rejected heroine).
With that practical case as a precedent, many could already imagine what kind of synonym Horikita Suzune would become once Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's video finished playing.
"If you don't study hard, you'll end up like Horikita Suzune."
"Scoring this low on an exam? Do you want to be a Horikita Suzune!?"
"Zero schemes or strategy—how can someone of this level compete in the government or become an official? Damn it, your ability is as disappointing as Horikita Suzune's!"
"You're a lost cause; with your IQ, you might as well go hang out with Horikita Suzune!"
The methods Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was currently demonstrating were enough to earn him extremely high praise worldwide; thus, his opinions were naturally seen as highly credible benchmarks.
Since he said Horikita Suzune was "disappointingly poor," the public's perception would follow suit.
In other words, from now on, Horikita Suzune would likely become synonymous with "low IQ," "lack of strategy," and "complete incompetence."
This was far more tragic than Yuigahama Yui's situation; this was inherently insulting.
After all, when people talked about Yuigahama, it was mostly teasing and pity. No one truly insulted her—her opponent was a "Genuine Love" of Emilia's caliber; everyone could see she simply stood no chance against such a target.
Even though Horikita Suzune was actually in the top tier of high school students globally—an elite in terms of grades, learning ability, and execution—her "low level" and "incompetence" were only apparent when compared to a monster like Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
However, few people would bother with such nuance. Most would simply follow the trend based on Ayanokouji's objective evaluation, eventually forming a deep-rooted, unshakable stereotype.
Horikita Suzune's life was essentially ruined.
Upon realizing this, many students present felt a wave of sympathy for her.
Following that sympathy, a few others felt surprise, shock, and sheer ecstasy—namely Ryuen and the other top geniuses of Advanced Nurturing High School.
Being mentioned and recognized by the Ayanokouji in the video meant they occupied a position diametrically opposed to Horikita Suzune.
They were now talents recognized by the entire world, granted a shortcut to success. In the future, countless people would flock to them, offering money and power.
Horikita Manabu tremblingly took off his glasses. For a moment, he didn't know whether to feel sorrow for his sister or joy for himself.
Horikita Suzune, feeling backstabbed and repaid with ingratitude, wasn't thinking quite so far ahead yet. Right now, she was simply in a fit of rage—just like Ram, she was utterly fed up with Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
...The difference in timing between her thoughts and those of the deep-thinking Sakayanagi Arisu just proved that Ayanokouji's evaluation was incredibly objective.
Suzune's current capabilities were indeed far behind those of Ryuen and the others.
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At the same time, in a meeting room far from Advanced Nurturing High School, Hikigaya Hachiman was thinking even more comprehensively.
He was already mentally drafting how to write news articles and reports to minimize the damage and impact on Horikita Suzune as much as possible.
"You've done the most work in arranging the buyouts of Earth's capital groups, involving all walks of life. Your subsidiary companies should have all sorts of information on Horikita Suzune, right?"
Halfway through the video, Hikigaya Hachiman turned to discuss business with Anastasia. "Have someone collect and integrate that information. I'll take a look. If there are no issues with her character, I can start preparing to wash away the malicious evaluation Ayanokouji added to her."
Having already caused the Yuigahama Yui accident through an unintentional slip, he did not want a second victim of this kind.
He was willing to clean up the mess left by Ayanokouji, the "Sham."
"Mm, I'll get right on it then, yeah!"
Anastasia's promptness was surprising... actually, she didn't want to leave her Prime Minister's side for business, but she had no choice. She had to touch base with Komachi to ensure everything was handled properly, lest they draw the ire of Crusch or Priscilla.
Pulling Horikita Suzune's files was just a side task. Of course, since it was a request from her Prime Minister, no matter how secondary it was, she would complete it with total seriousness.
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「While Ayanokouji Kiyotaka made his loyalists even more devoted, he was also operating on multiple threads.」
「He imprisoned all the nobles in the city, ordering his subordinates to study and forge their handwriting and writing habits. Once they had learned, the nobles were slaughtered.」
「Whenever relatives or friends of these nobles from other cities sent letters, he had his subordinates forge replies using that noble's handwriting and style.」
「This method couldn't last forever, but it was easy enough to keep it from being discovered for a year or so. And Ayanokouji Kiyotaka only needed that year; he was confident that with his methods of expansion, he would no longer need to hide a year from now.」
「"Why go to so much trouble? Wouldn't it be easier just to make the nobles obey? They wouldn't dare refuse to write back according to your wishes in this situation, would they?"」
「Ayanokouji Kiyotaka did not answer such a naive question from Keyaru's sister, as explaining it would be a waste of time.」
「Setting everything else aside, the most important point was that the nobles of this world were all the type to look down on others. They only respected fellow nobles; even if they submitted on the surface, they would never truly revere Ayanokouji Kiyotaka—an Earth Emperor who rose from the ranks of the commoners.」
「In their hearts, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who was not a noble, was a damn pariah! No matter how powerful he was, it couldn't change the 'fact' that he was a commoner!」
「Keeping these people around, who were incapable of true reverence, would only delay the progress of 'Strongman Politics.' Therefore, these people had to die—the sooner, the better—otherwise, they would be the black sheep of the flock.」
「The City Lord was actually the same, but he was currently useful, so his death would simply come a bit later.」
「In the end, all the old nobles of this world who did not understand how to revere Ayanokouji Kiyotaka would be wiped out. The loyalists devoted to Ayanokouji would replace them all, becoming the new upper class.」
"Curse him! Curse him, curse him! This damned pariah!!"
Terrified, the nobles across the world began to panic. They cursed as they rushed toward the Royal Capital to seek help from the King and the two Princesses, wanting Ayanokouji Kiyotaka to be reduced to ash the moment he set foot in their world.
Previously, they weren't so agitated because it was only the First Princess Flare who was humiliated; only the Royal Family was being subverted, which had nothing to do with them.
But now, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had exposed his wolf-like ambition—he intended to kill all the old nobles. How could such a thing be allowed?
Now that the fire had reached their own doorsteps, the nobles finally took it seriously. Each one spurred their horses, racing toward the Royal Capital for an emergency meeting.
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