Chapter 011: Horikita: You Called Me a Pig?
Horikita Suzune's gaze was piercing, her eyes burning with intensity. Her face carried a look of dissatisfaction from being offended.
However...
Hachiman: "..."
Hachiman began to ponder the meaning behind Horikita's words.
He knew that Horikita Suzune was bad at getting along with people, and even her attempts at conversation were "awkward chats".
This awkwardness usually manifested as her partners feeling uncomfortable while Horikita, at the slightest disagreement, would drop an extremely obscure remark and shut the topic down entirely.
But...
Since he had transmigrated, this was indeed the first time he had met Horikita Suzune and spoken to her face-to-face.
So...
What had he said to her?
Altogether, it was only three sentences: "If you're looking for Chabashira-sensei, you probably don't need to go in."
"She's not inside."
"She went up to the rooftop. Probably to smoke."
How could these three sentences be interpreted as calling her a pig?
Even if one drew an exaggerated connection—like Chabashira being a "grown-up" version of Horikita—the most he had done was point out that Chabashira-sensei went to the roof to smoke; at worst, it was just mentioning a habit that people generally dislike.
But there was no way to link that to Horikita Suzune herself.
"Shall we change locations to talk?" Hachiman, meanwhile, remembered that he had come specifically to find Horikita Suzune.
On one hand, it was to fulfill the request of "B-sensei" from his own class; on the other, he wanted Horikita Manabu's help. It was hard to control a powerful Student Council President, but controlling a brother with a "Siscon" was very simple—you just had to target his "weakling" of a sister.
If he just threw a bunch of photos of Suzune at him, then Horikita Manabu—no, "Brother Horikita"—should be willing to help him search the school registry to see if there was any information on his own little sister.
Only after confirming whether his sister, Komachi, was also at Advanced Nurturing High could Hachiman operate with peace of mind.
Since Horikita Suzune was here and had even proactively started a conversation, he wouldn't need to use awkward small talk to get her photo. Instead, he could perhaps obtain it legitimately through a transaction.
What a "free gift" of a Horikita Suzune.
Horikita: "..."
Regarding changing locations, Horikita was somewhat reluctant because she felt she had merely been insulted just now.
However...
She had now confirmed that it wasn't an auditory hallucination. She really could hear this boy's voice... no, rather, he hadn't opened his mouth at all, so what she heard must be his inner thoughts.
If she could hear them and wasn't delusional, then it meant she hadn't suddenly developed a mental illness, but rather, she had stumbled into a supernatural phenomenon?
Being in Class D, which was full of all sorts of students—and although she didn't interact much with them—as long as she stayed in class, she was forced to passively accept the "information dumping" of the surrounding students. Some of that info was related to manga and light novels, which featured themes like "inner voices."
She made the connection instantly.
But how could such a thing appear in the real world? Could it be that she was the chosen heroine?
At this moment, even for the cold Horikita Suzune, who usually ignored the outside world and focused only on grades, her heart couldn't help but waver.
"Where to?" Horikita asked.
This meant she had decided to talk with him.
"The rooftop," Hachiman said.
Although Chabashira might be there, it was indeed a place where they could converse.
"But Chabashira-sensei probably went there to smoke just now—" Hachiman added.
"I'll knock on the door and have her give us the space first," Horikita said.
"?"No. Wait.
Hearing this made even Hikigaya-kun's eyes widen.
Horikita really was quite something.
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Five minutes later.
Hachiman and Horikita Suzune arrived together at the rooftop of the teaching building.
Chabashira was indeed there, smoking in frustration. She had barely taken two puffs when she heard a knock on the door—even though the rooftop door wasn't actually closed.
"Chabashira-sensei." Horikita also noticed her.
Chabashira "..."
She didn't speak.
"Could you go down first? I have a few words to say to him," Horikita Suzune said.
Chabashira "..."
Chabashira looked at Horikita Suzune with a strange gaze. Horikita possessed an aura similar to her own during her youth: excellent, cold, and stubborn.
Occasionally, it even made Chabashira feel like she was looking at her younger self.
However... her younger self was never this lacking in social awareness.
"It's fine if Chabashira-sensei stays here," Hachiman said.
'If I take Horikita's photo here while Chabashira is present, I can take it back to Hoshinomiya-sensei as proof.
I can say my mission failed and was even discovered by Chabashira. Then Hoshinomiya-sensei won't be able to keep forcing me to approach Horikita. That would "kill" the mission.'
Hachiman mentally clapped.
But...
Horikita "..."
Proof for Hoshinomiya-sensei?
Horikita heard the name of a teacher she didn't know.
However...
To her, what was more important was that just now, this person had said in his heart: "It's been ten days since enrollment; even a pig should have known the school's true nature by now."
Since she hadn't noticed, did that mean... she was a pig?
Horikita did not accept this.
She had come to this school precisely to prove to her brother that she wasn't useless.
"I have some questions to ask you," Horikita Suzune said.
"And in exchange, I will grant you one request."
Horikita felt that hearing those inner thoughts was beneficial after all, because she already knew this boy's goal was to take her photo.
By proactively offering a request, she could reach a deal with him.
"Is that so? Then one question is worth at least 200,000 points. Are you sure you want to proceed?" Hachiman said immediately.
?
Horikita looked at him with an indescribable gaze.
Didn't you want to take my photo? Why did you immediately switch to points, and such an... exorbitant amount?
Horikita felt she should just give up.
Although she also felt that the school seemed a bit too generous toward the students—not only were the classes very loose, but they also didn't care at all about students leaving early, taking leave, skipping class, using phones, reading manga, or reading novels.
The teachers wouldn't even punish them if they saw it.
And the cafeteria had a free meal window for students who ran out of points, and the convenience store had near-expiry free daily necessities and so on.
These things were far too lenient toward the students.
It made her feel very uncomfortable, especially noticing her classmates shamelessly abusing and overusing these overly generous school benefits.
But that was mostly the school's problem. Over-indulgence and generosity... as an ordinary student, she didn't need to worry about whether the school was wasting its money.
"Earlier, your class teacher probably said that the points in the ID cards in our phones can be used as money, and that in this school, anything can be bought with points. That also means everything can be measured in points," Hachiman said.
The Class D teacher, Chabashira: "..."
Chabashira had, of course, said those words.
"So, the answers to questions have value as well. Since your class teacher is here, she can act as an appraiser for the price of my answers," Hachiman said.
Chabashira "..."
So that's why Horikita wanted to drive her away, but this Class B student wouldn't let her leave?
He was worried the answers he sold would be too cheap, so he was using her as a price-judgment tool.
But before Chabashira could speak, the Class B student across from her had already opened his mouth and thrown out a question Horikita Suzune couldn't refuse.