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★★★
Because the other party was someone he had personally paid 100,000 point to silence, Horikita Manabu still highly recognized Hachiman's insight and keenness.
And he didn't believe the other party would do something so foolish.
"It's not reckless." Hachiman said. "It's an answer I arrived at after careful consideration."
"Because I want to climb up, or more accurately, I want to try to 'porcelain touch' Class A once, so I can't let my Class be completely defeated in this first month."
"And if I broke the camera, I would definitely be punished by the School, right?"
"Compensation is one thing, but what I want to know is whether doing so would implicate the Class. If it could implicate the Class, then I would do it." Hachiman said.
You would do it if it implicated the Class?
Do you have some grudge or resentment against your Class?
To actually drag everyone down.
And you already know your goal is Class A, yet you still want to deduct points from your own Class?
Are you crazy?
Wait a moment.
Dragging the Class down... dragging down, but there has to be something to drag down.
"..." Horikita Manabu.
Horikita Manabu frowned, sitting in his chair, seemingly deep in thought.
He was pondering the reason why Hachiman wanted to rise to Class A yet intentionally caused his Class to lose points.
About a minute passed.
I see.
He pushed up his glasses.
He had misjudged slightly.
"You fellow." Horikita Manabu said, "I take back my previous assessment of you. Your ambition is truly great."
"Do you want to join the Student Council?" He extended an invitation to Hachiman, rather than asking him to submit an application.
"??"
Akane Tachibana, on the side, was somewhat bewildered.
Because why were the President and Hikigaya speaking in a way she couldn't understand again?
Earlier, she hadn't noticed them speaking in code, but now... she completely couldn't understand.
...
And just as the Student Council President extended his invitation.
Katsuragi, accompanied by Yahiko, had already returned to the Class.
Yahiko's full name is Totsuka Yahiko.
He himself was a proud and arrogant type, but upon arriving at this School and meeting Katsuragi, he was immediately convinced by him.
"Katsuragi, Totsuka, you're back."
As soon as the two returned to the Class, a student immediately came over to greet them.
And as Katsuragi's number one henchman, Totsuka also received respect.
The person greeting them was a male student named Hashimoto Masayoshi, who had joined the Katsuragi Faction yesterday.
He was tall and slender, good in all aspects, and handsome.
The students in the Class had already divided into the Katsuragi Faction and the Sakayanagi Faction, with a few still observing from the middle.
Hashimoto was a member of the Katsuragi Faction.
"Have you already submitted the application to join the Student Council?" Hashimoto inquired.
"The Student Council President said he would consider it." Totsuka Yahiko said.
"That's good news. If we can get into the Student Council, then our Class will have another advantage." Hashimoto said in good spirits.
This School values strength above all else.
The School gives students sufficient freedom, and the Student Council has extremely high authority.
So, if one can join the Student Council, whether it's for acquiring information or various other things, it can benefit one's Class.
As a Class A student, he felt reassured.
...And Katsuragi.
Katsuragi didn't speak but watched Yahiko and Hashimoto interact.
The current location of the few people was the Class, and the fact that he went to the Student Council to submit an application was directly announced by Yahiko.
The goal was probably to show off to the other undecided people who hadn't joined the Katsuragi Faction or the Sakayanagi Faction yet.
To tell them that choosing the steady path was the correct one.
Although he wasn't very concerned with these utilitarian matters.
It's just that Katsuragi also believed that although Sakayanagi was very aggressive in all aspects and quite intelligent...
She was indeed too radical.
The Class couldn't let her mess around freely.
For example, when discussing Class countermeasures with her privately, she actually suggested that it was fine even if Class A lost, as the Third Year was long, and they could find another opportunity to climb back up.
But this process could give the Class A students psychological training.
It was a good asset.
However.
What if they fell and couldn't climb back up once, twice, or even three times?
That would be a huge blow.
So he dared not do such a risky thing.
Moreover, from the data obtained and the experiences of his seniors, it was still the best plan for a steady player like him to maintain Class A's advantage and extend it until graduation.
So he also tacitly allowed Yahiko to do these things similar to winning over people's hearts.
...
"However, when we were on our way to the Student Council, we found that Hikigaya Hachiman from Class D of Grade 1 also went to the Student Council." Totsuka Yahiko said.
Class A students would more or less collect information on students from other Classes.
As for Class D of Grade 1, most people didn't interact much with them.
But there was a previous incident where Sakayanagi arranged for Kamuro Masumi to go to Class D of Grade 1 to invite a male student.
Then Sakayanagi Arisu herself even ate with the other party.
Sakayanagi Arisu ate with a male student from Class D of Grade 1.
They seemed to have a good relationship.
But this was just a rumor, but yesterday during lunch break, in the cafeteria, more than one classmate noticed that Sakayanagi Arisu was indeed sitting opposite a male student.
And that male student was none other than Hikigaya.
"However, Hikigaya didn't want to join the Student Council like us. Rather, he not only lacked that awareness..."
"He even treats this School as an ordinary School."
"He went to inquire about what would happen if he accidentally broke the School's camera, such as whether he would be expelled, and about compensation and so on."
Totsuka said, "In other words, Class D is indeed hopeless."
"Yahiko." Katsuragi stopped Yahiko from continuing to spread rumors.
Although it was somewhat regrettable that a considerable portion of the Class still felt that Sakayanagi could lead them, Katsuragi could confirm Sakayanagi's assertiveness and dangerousness.
So he couldn't risk the entire Class.
It's just that Yahiko was going too far now.
Because if he continued, it would lead to questioning Sakayanagi's ability to judge people.
He only hoped that the Class would trust and believe him, and not genuinely split the Class.
So Katsuragi stopped the other party.
It looked like he was making his point and stopping there.
However, in reality, he wasn't.
Because Hashimoto, who joined the Katsuragi Faction yesterday...
He didn't join out of trust in Katsuragi.
He was actually a Sakayanagi Faction member, arranged by Sakayanagi to infiltrate Katsuragi's team as an undercover agent.
After these few days, the students in the Class had already begun to divide into three factions.
One was the steady faction that trusted Katsuragi, one was the faction that firmly believed in the clever Sakayanagi Arisu, and the last was a few scattered individuals who hadn't taken a side yet.
So, after obtaining information from the Katsuragi Faction, Hashimoto immediately turned around and sent the information to Sakayanagi Arisu... well, to Kamuro Masumi, who was by her side.
...
Just like Totsuka Yahiko by Katsuragi's side, Kamuro by Sakayanagi's side also gained the status of a representative or henchman.
Therefore, the people on the Sakayanagi Faction side also greatly respected her, who always followed Sakayanagi.
It wasn't based on strength, but on closeness to Sakayanagi.
So, things like these were also reported to her first.
And Sakayanagi's explanation was, "Kamuro, I value you greatly, so you can handle tasks like contacting and summarizing information, right?"
And then she became a mouthpiece.
However, Kamuro was very clear that this was simply Sakayanagi Arisu's lack of interest.
Because the students in the Class had collectively borne the cost of obtaining the rules and essence of this School from Mashima-sensei.
Everyone contributed 50,000 point.
It seemed quite fair, but it was not without taking away the credit that should have belonged to Sakayanagi Arisu.
Because if Sakayanagi had paid, then all these achievements would have been hers.
And not like now, where it was also divided into the Sakayanagi Faction and the Katsuragi Faction.
And Kamuro did not join Sakayanagi's camp on the day of enrollment, but afterward, she also heard the Sakayanagi Faction students talk about what happened that day.
Sakayanagi took 10 students and directly challenged the Third Year.
Using chess as a wager, she extorted a sum from the Third Year students, giving them a harsh lesson.
So, Sakayanagi is actually a very decisive and aggressive person.
If one were to describe her, it would probably be... a little tyrannosaurus rex.
So, regarding the current Sakayanagi Faction and Katsuragi Faction, Kamuro felt that Sakayanagi didn't care at all.
Therefore.
The information collected by the Sakayanagi Faction and such would be pushed to her.
On the one hand, not receiving it would be equivalent to shirking her own people.
But she also didn't want to be bothered herself.
Thus.
"Kamuro, this important task is entrusted to you."
It turned out like this.
She became Sakayanagi's mouthpiece.
To summarize, Sakayanagi, it seems you're not that concerned about the Class struggle and graduating from Class A.
It's just that she couldn't say such things to her face.
And now.
"Totsuka is talking about Hikigaya and you again." Kamuro said.
"Then he also mentioned that when Katsuragi and the others went to submit their Student Council applications, they ran into Hikigaya consulting with the Student Council President, asking about the punishment for students in his Class who destroy cameras."
"Oh." Sakayanagi Arisu was quite calm.
"It seems Hikigaya is causing trouble."
"Wait, is Hikigaya asking about the punishment for destroying cameras?" Sakayanagi Arisu said.
"You wait a moment, I'll confirm." Kamuro said, then operated her phone to contact Hashimoto.
But very quickly.
"That's right, Katsuragi and Totsuka happened to hear it when they left the Student Council." Kamuro reported.
But then Kamuro noticed Sakayanagi Arisu smiling like a pet ragdoll cat.
"As expected of Hikigaya."
"Being in the same School as him truly makes my heart pound." Sakayanagi said.
"?"
Kamuro looked at her in surprise.
"You said your heart pounds, could it be that you really…?"
?
Sakayanagi Arisu looked over strangely.
"What strange things are you saying? My standards for a partner are very high." Sakayanagi said.
"I don't like the type who is unmotivated and wants to be taken care of, like Hikigaya-kun, not at all."
"Furthermore, my delicate body doesn't allow for feelings like love."
Oh.
Is that so?
For now, she would take it as true.
Because Sakayanagi often goes back on her word.
Kamuro thought to herself.
Although Sakayanagi Arisu often goes back on her word, she is also genuinely useful.
Her mind is extremely intelligent.
According to her, although she cannot have a healthy body like an ordinary person, God closed one door for her and opened a window.
Her intelligence and comprehension abilities far surpass those of ordinary people.
She is what is known as a genius.
She can master anything she learns at an extremely fast pace.
And when it comes to thinking, it's even simpler.
And Kamuro understands this kind of thing.
Because she had been serving her these past few days, she had also gained more information about Sakayanagi Arisu.
For example, she is only in high School now, but she has already self-studied university courses.
That's too much.
"However."
She had just talked about love.
Sakayanagi Arisu grasped her cane and then said,
"Our lives may face challenges next."
"And your choice to bet on me, Kamuro, might be the most correct decision you make in your three years of School life." Sakayanagi said.
"…" Kamuro.
"Are you praising yourself? Oh, right, right, you're stronger than Katsuragi, alright?"
"That's not what I mean, Kamuro." Sakayanagi said.
"I mean, the full-scale Class confrontation war is about to begin."
"And Class A will also be swept into it."
"I'm afraid Class A's plan to gain an advantage in this first month and maintain it will also be terminated."
"So Katsuragi's so-called steady plan has gone bankrupt."
However.
Kamuro stared at her.
Her clear eyes were filled with confusion.
And Sakayanagi had also assessed her intelligence, knowing that Kamuro was physically strong but not very intelligent.
It's just that Kamuro isn't good at thinking, but she can be responsible for that.
Kamuro can just run errands.
Rather, upon arriving at this School, due to her physical condition, she had a slight worry about whether she could adapt to the School life here.
It turned out that Kamuro was truly the best tool given to her by heaven.
Because she was treating her as her tool, Sakayanagi Arisu gave her considerable patience.
"This School is merit-based, and the School hopes students will grow through competition, with the Class As the unit.
And this is already common knowledge."
"And after the new students enrolled, to show fairness, each Class was given the same starting point of 1000 Class evaluation points."
"Then, as standard, the first month is the customary behavior evaluation, assessing whether students meet the standards to become students of Advanced Nurturing High School."
"And if there are inappropriate actions, points will be deducted."
"And all of this is known information."
"But what if, during this process, a problem arises?"
"Leading to the forced early announcement of this month's results, which were supposed to be announced on the 1st of next month?"
Sakayanagi grasped her cane and continued,
"Then the Class evaluation points that ordinary Classes don't know about, and the Class confrontation system, will also be exposed."
"So, it's equivalent to the head start and exam questions we paid 2 million points to get being leaked."
Saying this, Sakayanagi picked up her cane and poked the ground, then continued to explain,
"This is a very terrifying outcome, isn't it?"
"I'm afraid even the ordinary students of Class A will feel panicked."
"That's why during lunch break, I said I accidentally released a demon king. It turns out this demon king is truly aggressive."
"Demon king… Hmm, let's call him Demon King Hachiman." Sakayanagi Arisu said.
She was in a very relaxed mood, even able to give Hikigaya a nickname.
However.
"That's impossible, isn't it? Because the first month of enrollment is the customary behavior examination, and isn't it customary for the results to be announced on the 1st of next month?" Kamuro hurriedly said.
"So why would the School announce it early?"
"Because of an unexpected event, for example, if a camera is destroyed, once such an incident occurs, and a Class evaluation point penalty is imposed, due to their responsibility, the Student Council will have to update it."
"Our School's School is the School, and the Student Council is the Student Council. They are two different systems, but both have great authority."
"Sometimes the Student Council can even interfere with the monthly special exams."
"Especially since President Horikita is also a very upright person who will enforce the law impartially. So when she finds that she needs to enforce the law herself, she will take action. Therefore, it's natural to promptly announce the evaluation points of the four Classes."
"So this is the truth of Hikigaya's visit to the Student Council for consultation."
"He wants to get the point values announced by having points deducted himself. This man is truly fierce."
"It turns out that Katsuragi from our Class didn't pay any attention at all." Sakayanagi Arisu pouted.
She seemed to be starting to doubt her teammate's abilities.
Because if Katsuragi was truly steady enough, upon hearing that Hikigaya was going to do such a bothersome thing, he should have been more careful.
And not let everyone be in a passive situation.
It's just that.
"Ah… So that's how it is… Then what should we do…?"
Kamuro finally reacted, then felt like exploding.
Because she was also an ordinary student of Class A.
"Just let it be." Sakayanagi Arisu said.
"Since things have come to this, there's no other choice but to accept it. Moreover, our Class won't lose, after all, even if they know the exam questions, some people will still fail, won't they?"
"So, what we need to worry about is Class B."
"Their strength is the closest to our Class."
Sakayanagi Arisu seemed to have offered a solution.
But then she suddenly started laughing again.
"If it really turns out this way, then I'm actually interested in the so-called Class confrontation."
"Before, the opponents were too weak, it wasn't satisfying, but now, I'm getting a little excited."
"During lunch break earlier, I wondered what Hikigaya meant by directly declaring war on us, and it turns out this is it…"
"Hikigaya, you have indeed brought surprise to my School life."
"But how will you deal with the remaining 20-plus days of this month?"
"Because, as you said, even if the students in your Class are told it's an open-book exam, some people will still fail."
Thus.
The day after Sakayanagi Arisu and Kamuro's conversation.
During lunch break, a new announcement was posted on the Student Council bulletin board.
At the same time.
The First Years were surprised to find that Student Council members wearing armbands went to their First Year teaching building and wrote some strange words on the small, blank blackboard that had a very low sense of presence.
[Grade 1]
Class A 996 points
Class B 834 points
Class C 611 points
Class D 530 points
...
But very quickly, it was supplemented, and the 530 points for Class D of Grade 1 were crossed out, and "-50 points" was added.
Finally, Class D of Grade 1 was corrected to 480 points.
And on the side, the bulletin board also explained, in the name of the Student Council, the 50-point deduction for Class D of Grade 1.
[Hikigaya Hachiman of Class D of Grade 1, due to damaging a School camera, the Student Council gives Class D of Grade 1 a penalty of 50 points deducted from their Class evaluation points.
We hope this serves as a warning, and that it will not happen again.
Student Council Announcement.]
Then.
The First Years… exploded.