Chapter 343 Hachiman Leads the Girls of Class B
"Hachiman, take Hiyori to the infirmary.
You're not thinking of doing something lewd, are you?" Ibuki Mio stared at him with suspicious eyes.
"Hey now, when have I ever done something like that?" Hachiman protested.
"What do you mean, 'when'? Clearly, last time in the infirmary, you did... to me..." Ibuki stopped mid-sentence, her hesitant manner leaving much more to the imagination.
"Keep going! What are you so embarrassed about? I just massaged your foot back then, how is that lewd!" Hachiman emphasized with righteous indignation.
"Hmph~ Foot-fetish pervert!" Leaving behind that remark, Ibuki's cheeks flushed red, and she turned away in a huff.
"Tsunderes are so outdated, honestly," Hachiman muttered, exasperated, as he watched her walk away.
"Hachiman-kun's hobbies..." Shiina Hiyori, possessing an elegant temperament, found it difficult to say anything scandalous. "Well~ it's not entirely incomprehensible."
The two soon arrived at the school infirmary, which was empty. Hoshinomiya-sensei, who was in charge of health services, had slipped off somewhere again to slack off.
Hachiman had no choice but to help Hiyori onto the examination bed and skillfully drew the privacy curtain. "I'll go grab some ice packs and muscle oil."
"I'll leave it to you then, Hachiman-kun~" Hiyori tried to move her limbs slightly, and soreness immediately radiated through her. She sighed inwardly: Indeed, physical exercise is still a long and difficult road.
"Hiyori, I'm taking them off then. It's just to ice your calves..."
"No need to explain, Hachiman-kun. I'm placing my body in your hands." Hiyori cooperated fully and lifted her legs.
Seeing this, Hachiman didn't stand on ceremony anymore. He slowly pulled down her grey stockings, revealing pale and delicate calves.
The moment the ice touched her skin, Hiyori reflexively jerked her foot, but Hachiman held it firmly.
"Bear with it, it'll be over soon." While applying the ice, Hachiman used his fingers to knead the area, relieving her tight muscles.
"Mm-hu~" Hiyori's soft hum carried a hint of languor, and her furrowed brows gradually relaxed.
"How is it? My technique isn't bad, right?" Hachiman chuckled.
"It's great~ I'm suddenly a bit jealous of Mio-chan. She got to enjoy Master Hachiman's service so long ago." Hiyori crinkled her eyes playfully.
"It's not too late to enjoy it now." Hachiman was enjoying himself too. Massaging a beautiful girl was something he couldn't have even imagined in the past. Who would have thought that after entering this school, opportunities would be so plentiful?
Does this mean Advanced Nurturing is actually heaven?
However, just as the two were enjoying their sweet private time, a commotion came from outside the infirmary.
"Komiya, you...!"
"Sorry, Sudo. I didn't want to do this either, please forgive me!"
"It hurts... Let go of me! You traitor!!"
"Wait, at least let me apply some medicine and treat the wound."
"Get lost!!!"
The two made a huge racket. Inside the curtain, Hachiman and Hiyori looked at each other.
"Komiya Kyogo. He's a student in our class, a member of the basketball club," Hiyori explained in a whisper.
"I see." Hachiman's eyes darkened slightly; he guessed the situation instantly. It was undoubtedly Ryuen Kakeru's order for Komiya to use the basketball club's training as a cover to sabotage Sudo Ken, ensuring he couldn't play in the upcoming exam.
"I'm sorry, Hachiman-kun..." Hiyori looked helpless. "Ryuen is using these despicable methods again."
"This has nothing to do with you, Hiyori. The clash between the commanders has already begun. By the way, the commander on our side will likely resort to non-traditional methods as well."
Hachiman was almost certain that under the threat of expulsion, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka would inevitably play dirty. In any case, this exam would be Ayanokouji and Ryuen backstabbing each other to see who could be more sinister!
.
.
.
"Sudo is injured?"
"How did this happen!"
"Of all times... what was that guy thinking?"
Upon learning that Sudo Ken was injured and couldn't participate in strenuous exercise for a short period, the members of Class D voiced their dissatisfaction, and complaints broke out everywhere.
"It was someone from Class C who played dirty, how can everyone blame Sudo-kun?" Onodera Kayano immediately stood up to defend him, then shifted the focus: "We should be holding the perpetrator accountable!"
Yosuke Hirata's expression was grim. "The one who did it was Class C's Komiya Kyogo, but after the Student Council checked the surveillance, the incident was categorized as an accident during club training. The final punishment is just for Komiya to write a reflection and make a public apology..."
Horikita Suzune's gaze turned to Hachiman, clearly seeking an answer from him.
Hachiman understood her thoughts and spoke first: "That decision was personally finalized by President Nagumo. Besides, the opponent's angle was tricky; the cameras didn't capture the details of intentional harm. Even if we appeal to the school, it'll be hard to overturn."
Of course, the most important point was that Nagumo was deliberately targeting Class D, clearly under instructions from Acting Chairman Tsukishiro. It was a case of "the referee and the linesmen are all my people, how can you fight me"!
However, in Hachiman's view, Tsukishiro hadn't gone far enough. With the power of a Chairman, there were a hundred ways to crush Ayanokouji. Was he holding back because he felt it wasn't necessary, or was he intentionally showing mercy? These so-called "important figures" always loved these incomprehensible maneuvers.
"Given Sudo's condition, I'm afraid he won't be able to participate in the basketball event as planned.
Fortunately, we can still modify five of the specific events until the day of the exam." Horikita frowned and turned the topic to a certain someone: "Ayanokouji, as the commander, do you have a counter-strategy?"
"At this point, we can only remove the basketball event and replace it with something else." Ayanokouji said a piece of useless information with a straight face.
Who didn't know that? The students of Class D couldn't help but roll their eyes.
See? He refused to put a countermeasure out in the open, which meant Ayanokouji planned to play dirty! Hachiman had expected this long ago.
After school, Ayanokouji sought out Yosuke Hirata.
"Hirata, have you ever received love letters from girls?"
"I have... why?"
"Can I borrow them to take a look?"
"Eh!?" Hirata was completely bewildered by Ayanokouji's sudden, bizarre request.
"I just want to use them as a reference."
"Then, how many do you want?"
"The more the better."
When Hirata produced over twenty love letters, a twitch that was hard to suppress appeared on Ayanokouji's expressionless face.
This was what Hachiman meant by "Explode, normies!"
Of course, the person who should "explode" the most right now was Hachiman himself. Ayanokouji was busy every day dealing with special exams until his head spun, while Hachiman was doing just fine, going on dates with different girls every day.
The contrast was enough to make anyone fume!
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At the school cafeteria.
"Hachiman-kun~ what a coincidence."
"It's not really a coincidence; I saw Honami and came over specifically." Hachiman felt a pang of heartache seeing Ichinose Honami preparing to line up for the free wild vegetable set meal, and he couldn't help but strike up a conversation.
"I'm already very happy that Hachiman-kun is willing to take the initiative to find me!" Honami's eyes crinkled into a smile as bright as honey.
"Eating this every day, you won't get enough nutrition." Hachiman was full of worry.
During the previous "Class Poll" exam, Class B had spent all their points to protect their classmates from expulsion. Now, the whole class, including Honami herself, was living through a period of hardship.
"It's okay. When my family was at its poorest, what we ate was even worse than this." Honami spoke calmly, as if telling someone else's story.
Her parents had divorced when she was young, and her mother had raised two children alone, living a very tight life. A large part of the reason Honami chose to enter Advanced Nurturing was the attraction of free tuition and covered living expenses.
'This kid is so sensible it hurts...'
"Come with me." Hachiman grabbed Honami's hand and firmly pulled her out of the line.
"Ah..." Shiranami Chihiro looked unwilling, but thinking of her own inability to provide good food for Honami, she couldn't find the words to ask her to stay.
"Wait a moment, Hachiman-kun... I appreciate your kindness." Honami looked at her Class B classmates in the queue behind her and spoke with a determined tone: "I want to share the joys and sorrows with my class."
"Honami-chan, you don't need to worry about us."
"Exactly, go on a date with Hikigaya-kun already."
The students of Class B weren't jealous; instead, they were unanimous in their support for Honami. The atmosphere of this class was truly good.
"But..." Honami shook her head firmly in refusal. "Everyone is suffering and enduring, how can I enjoy myself alone?"
"How about this. I'll treat all of you to a meal, is that okay?" Hachiman proposed a solution.
"Eh!?"
"Is that really okay?" Amikura Mako's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but drool. Being in the tennis club, her physical exertion was high, and she hadn't eaten meat in a long time!
"This... isn't very good, is it? To let Hikigaya-kun spend so much alone." Kobashi Yumeko felt embarrassed. Truly kind girls don't feel comfortable emptying a man's wallet.
"It's fine. My personal savings are quite substantial." This wasn't a boast; by now, Hachiman's personal point savings exceeded 20 million.
Hachiman changed his tone, deliberately putting on a frivolous expression: "Besides, treating multiple girls to dinner is quite a face-boosting thing!"
"Pffft~"
"So that's how it is."
The Class B students smiled. They weren't fools; they could hear that Hachiman was giving them an "out" on purpose.
"Tch~ clearly helping others, yet using such twisted rhetoric." Himeno Yuki clicked her tongue and gave a sharp critique.
"Himeno-san is so poor she can't even afford a lollipop, so stop criticizing." Hachiman took a chocolate lollipop—sent by who-knows-who on Valentine's Day—from his pocket and stuffed it directly into Himeno's mouth. In his memory, every time he saw Himeno, she had a lollipop in her mouth; it was essentially her "character design."
"You... what an impertinent guy!" Himeno looked annoyed, but her teeth clamped down firmly on the lollipop. She hadn't eaten one in half a month!
Seeing Himeno, who usually kept to herself and didn't mingle much, interacting so actively with Hachiman, the Class B students found it incredible.
"Hey! Hachiman-kun, I want a treat too!" Honami puffed out her cheeks, a small hint of grievance in her eyes.
"Sorry, I'm out."
"Eh?"
"If you want to eat, then come with me."
"Wuu~" Honami was instantly caught and finally chose to compromise.
Amikura Mako and Kobashi Yumeko exchanged a glance. To support Honami, they also accepted Hachiman's invitation.
"You guys go ahead, I have other things to do." Kanzaki Ryuji declined the invitation. As the second-in-command of Class B, he had to maintain vigilance toward outsiders. It wasn't that he thought Hachiman had ulterior motives, just that he felt one should always be cautious. In the environment of class competition, the Class B students, including Honami, were too naive; someone needed to shoulder the responsibility of being a guardian!
The boys of Class B supported Kanzaki on one hand, and on the other, they were thin-skinned and felt embarrassed about letting Hachiman treat them for no reason, so they likewise declined.
'Wait, brothers? Why are you being so polite?' Hachiman was dumbfounded.
In the end, Hachiman, as the lone male, led over a dozen Class B girls—including Ichinose Honami, Shiranami Chihiro, Himeno Yuki, Amikura Mako, and Kobashi Yumeko—in a grand procession toward a certain yakiniku restaurant.
Along the way, they drew astonished gazes from everyone in the school.
"Whoa? Am I seeing things?"
"Hikigaya is by himself, with all those girls following behind him?"
"Damn it... is this the legendary Great Demon King and his harem?"
"Isn't he from Class D? Why is he hanging out with the girls from Class B?"
"Could it be that Class D and Class B have already joined forces!"
"This must be reported to the Princess immediately!"
"Crap! I have to tell Boss Ryuen about this right away!"
The procession of Hachiman and the Class B girls shocked countless people along the way. Various pieces of news were sent back to different classes, causing a massive uproar! Every faction was secretly guessing: what exactly was Hachiman planning by parading around so flamboyantly?
If Hachiman knew their thought processes, he would surely complain: 'Can't I just say I just wanted to take Honami out for a meal?'
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