Chapter 161: Nagumo Miyabi: ? Aren't You in Class A? Hachiman: Yeah, I AM in Class A!
Hachiman placed his phone by his pillow and waited for a moment.
When the screen went dark, he didn't pick it up again. He simply stared blankly at the fluorescent light on the ceiling.
He thought about the message he had just sent to Kushida—telling her he'd found a "job" for her.
Generally speaking, saying something like that probably wouldn't make any girl happy.
He knew, of course, that he was a bit different from ordinary people. Whether it was his way of thinking or his way of expressing himself, he always seemed to veer off track in strange ways. But he felt it was the truth. If one stays busy, they won't think so much; isn't that a simple truth?
Just then, the phone vibrated.
He reached for it, his movements a half-beat slower than before. The screen lit up, Kushida's name popped up, and the message was very short.
[Understood, thank you. I will accept.]
Hachiman stared at those words for two seconds, feeling somewhat surprised. He thought she would send a string of ellipses, a question mark, or simply not reply at all—after all, his message had been quite absurd. But she replied, and she replied quickly, her phrasing very decisive. No interrogation, no complaints, not even an extra character.
Hachiman even tried to imagine Kushida's expression as she typed those words, but he couldn't. Her emotions were always hidden so well—so well that it was impossible to tell which side was real.
But at this moment, he suddenly felt that perhaps every side was real. The side that was willing to help was real, and the side that found it absurd was also real. She was just faster than most people at tidying up those messy emotions and giving a straightforward answer.
Thus he pondered.
Hachiman's finger tapped the screen twice, typing a single word.
[OK.]
After sending it, he felt those two characters were too dismissive. He wanted to add something, but after thinking about it, he didn't know what to add. He put the phone back by his pillow, rolled over, and pulled the blanket over his shoulder.
For the rest of the night, Karuizawa didn't send any other messages.
Time quickly moved to the next day.
.
.
.
Early the next morning, sunlight squeezed through the gaps in the curtains, drawing a thin golden line across the bedsheets.
Hachiman was awakened by the vibration of his phone.
However, it wasn't a call, but messages from the class group chat, popping up one after another, making the pillow shake.
He squinted and reached for the phone, holding it before his eyes. The screen's light made him wince.
But the group chat had already exploded.
The unread messages had turned into 99+.
[Mako Amikura: Good morning everyone! Just a question, are we switching classrooms today?]
[Souta Shibata: Yeah, didn't we promote to Class A? Don't we have to go to the original Class A classroom?]
[Tetsuya Hamaguchi: I was thinking about that too. The original Class A classroom is on the fourth floor; the view is better. You can see the sports field. It's also more convenient to get to the rooftop.]
[Mako Amikura: Then... what about the original Class A people? They're Class B now. Are they moving to our old classroom?]
[Souta Shibata: Wouldn't they have to move a lot of stuff? Desks, chairs, lockers, and the things stuck on the walls—]
[Ryuji Kanzaki: No need to switch.]
When the message appeared, the group went quiet for a moment.
[Ryuji Kanzaki: Everyone just come to the previous classroom for class. However, the class sign has already been changed.]
He sent a picture. The hallway in the picture was still the same one they had walked a thousand times, the walls were the same color, the windows were in the same position, and even the shallow scratch on the doorknob was still there.
But the metal plate above the door frame had been replaced with a brand new one, shimmering in the morning light—1st Year, Class A.
The group was silent for about three seconds, and then it completely erupted.
[Mako Amikura: AAAAAHHHH it really changed!!]
[Souta Shibata: Class A!! We are Class A now!!]
[Tetsuya Hamaguchi: I stared at this picture for ten seconds and it still doesn't feel real.]
[Ryota Beppu: Who doesn't? When I enrolled, I thought it would be good enough just to hold onto Class B, but in the very first semester—]
[Souta Shibata: Did Hikigaya-kun see this!! @Hikigaya Hachiman]
Hachiman didn't reply. Because once he replied now, a lot of people would start talking to him.
After a brief thought, he chose to put down his phone and sit up. He sat on the edge of the bed for a while before standing up to wash.
He thought he had arrived early enough, but when he reached the school building, there were already many people in the hallway.
They were all his classmates.
Some were running, some were laughing, and some stood at the door looking up at the newly changed class sign, staring for a long time without entering.
When Hachiman turned the corner from the stairs, he happened to see Mako Amikura standing at the classroom door. She was looking up, her hands behind her back, standing slightly on her tiptoes as if confirming something very important. The morning light flooded in from the window at the end of the hallway, illuminating her profile brightly. She watched for about five seconds, then turned her head and shouted to another girl in the hallway, "It really is Class A!"
The other girl ran over, and the two stood at the door, heads tilted up, shoulder to shoulder, neither of them entering first.
Hachiman walked past them and pushed the door open.
The desks and chairs in the classroom were still the same, the blackboard was the same blackboard, and the potted green plant someone had placed on the windowsill was still in its old spot, its leaves looking more spirited than yesterday—someone had probably watered it. Everything was exactly the same as before they left school three months ago. But there was something indescribable flowing in the air—not a smell, nor a temperature, but a tangible sense of "it's different," vibrating softly in every corner.
He walked to his seat and sat down, placing his backpack by the desk. He habitually moved the plant on the windowsill slightly inward so it wouldn't be blown off by the wind.
More and more people entered the classroom. When someone pushed the door open, they first looked at the doorplate, then looked again to confirm they hadn't entered the wrong room before stepping inside. Someone started laughing in the hallway—softly, but uncontrollably—and was still laughing after entering the classroom. Someone else stood by their seat, staring blankly at the duty roster on the top-left corner of the blackboard that still said "1st Year, Class B." It had been posted before they left for the exam, but now it seemed... like something nostalgic.
But more than nostalgia, everyone felt excitement.
"We should change it," someone said immediately.
"Mhm, the class sign has changed, so the duty roster must change too," another voice joined in, with a lighthearted tone as if it were only natural. Then, he couldn't help but gently straighten his tie, as if trying to display the demeanor of a Class A student.
Hachiman leaned against the back of his chair, his gaze scanning every face in the classroom.
The students in the class were as lively as ever. Someone was talking to the person next to them, slapping the table in excitement; someone was looking down at their phone, probably checking the photo of the class sign again; someone else stood by the window, hands propped on the sill, staring toward the sports field with the corners of their mouth slightly curled.
He withdrew his gaze and let it fall on the desk. A name tag with his name was stuck to the corner of the desk, and every student's desk had a similar tag.
He remembered that the edges of the old tag had started to peel, but the original tag was gone. It had been replaced by a brand new one, and the new tag read: "1st Year, Class A, Hikigaya Hachiman."
They were Class A now.
He pressed his finger against the tag—the action didn't really have any special meaning; he just suddenly felt like doing it.
More people entered the classroom. The sound of footsteps, laughter, chairs dragging on the floor, and bags being put down mixed together, floating in the morning sunlight. Hachiman sat there, listening to these sounds and looking at these faces, a very quiet thought in his heart—
He had indeed led 1st Year Class B to Class A.
.
.
.
On the other side, the first-year school building seemed exceptionally quiet this morning.
Although the uniforms for first through third-year students were the same, the second-year Nagumo Miyabi, despite wearing the same clothes as the first-year kouhais, gave off a completely different aura.
He could feel the passing students looking at him with curious eyes.
As a senpai, Nagumo didn't care about these things.
However, his gaze swept across the class signs on both sides of the hallway, silently counting in his mind.
First was 1st Year Class D—the sign on the door was still the old one; it hadn't changed.
As he passed the door of Class D, he glanced inside. A few people were scattered about; someone was face-down on their desk catching up on sleep, some were gathered together looking at a phone, and one girl was standing by the window holding a can of coffee, staring blankly outside.
Then he passed 1st Year Class C. At this time, relatively few Class C students had arrived. He withdrew his gaze and continued upward.
When he reached the third floor and turned the corner, his footsteps suddenly slowed.
At the end of the hallway, two girls were walking toward him.
The one in front was not tall, her silver straight hair swaying gently on her shoulders, wearing a black beret. She held a cane in her left hand, the tip making a rhythmic tap-tap on the tiles.
The girl following behind her had long purple hair with three different colored clips in her bangs. She carried a school bag in each hand, maintaining a half-step distance. Her face was expressionless, her gaze falling calmly ahead.
Nagumo stopped and leaned against the windowsill.
"Yo, if it isn't Sakayanagi-kouhai. How's the mood today? Getting used to coming back to school for classes?"
Sakayanagi's footsteps didn't stop. She took two more steps forward before slowly coming to a halt. She tilted her head and glanced at Nagumo, her lips curving into a polite smile.
"Used to it? The essence of a student is to attend class. On the other hand, Nagumo-senpai—taking a stroll in the first-year building so early in the morning, you certainly are leisurely."
It could be said that Sakayanagi was quite aggressive this morning.
But Nagumo didn't get angry. He straightened up from the windowsill and took a half-step forward.
"I heard the first-years had a class promotion. As a senpai, I had to come and offer my congratulations. Although—" He paused, his gaze moving from Sakayanagi's face to Kamuro behind her, and then back. "Sakayanagi-kouhai seems to be in a pretty good mood?"
Sakayanagi's fingers tightened slightly on her cane. She knew exactly why Nagumo was here.
Coming to congratulate was a lie; coming to see a joke was the truth. 1st Year Class A had changed owners, and as the former class representative of Class A, she had offended him before. Naturally, he wouldn't miss this opportunity to kick her while she was down.
She sighed slightly in her heart. At the same time, she was faintly disappointed. If the boss of the second years was only of this level, it was truly a shame. If Kiryuin-senpai were willing to take the lead, what business would Nagumo have here?
"One must accept defeat in a wager." She looked up, her gaze meeting Nagumo's calmly. "Failing an exam and having the class drop down is a very normal occurrence. It has nothing to do with being in a good mood or not."
Nagumo raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. "Sakayanagi-kouhai is certainly open-minded. However—even if it's just a temporary drop, the pressure after falling isn't something to joke about. If you fail the next two or three exams—"
He didn't finish his sentence.
Sakayanagi looked up at Nagumo. The corners of her mouth curved slightly into a polite smile.
"Nagumo-senpai. Although your current class is Class A, you should spend more effort on stabilizing your own position. After all—" Sakayanagi said.
She paused, her gaze moving from Nagumo's face to a notice posted by the Student Council on the hallway wall. The notice had been there for several days; the corners were slightly curled, and the paper was turning yellow.
Then, she said suggestively, "And your class, senpai, was not evaluated by the school as Class A from the beginning. That shows there are still shortcomings. What's important is to improve your own class, rather than—"
She withdrew her gaze and looked back at Nagumo, the curve of her lips deepening, her tone becoming harsher.
"—rather than focusing all your energy on interfering with the first-year exams."
This statement caused the hallway to fall silent for about three seconds.
Kamuro Masumi stood half a step behind Sakayanagi, not saying a word from beginning to end. But when Sakayanagi finished that sentence, her eyelashes flickered slightly. She then stared at Nagumo with piercing eyes.
Clearly, her sense of repulsion toward Nagumo had peaked instantly.
As Sakayanagi's "puppy," she already knew that Nagumo Miyabi had contacted Ryuen before the first-years left for the exam, wanting Ryuen to attack their class fiercely.
So, this was a grudge!
Nagumo's smile froze on his face. His gaze bypassed Sakayanagi and fell on a few former Class A students passing through the hallway.
Those students were just passing by in a hurry. But hearing Sakayanagi's voice, several of them instinctively slowed down, their eyes drifting toward the bulletin board.
That long notice was still posted there. The handwriting was a bit blurred, but the matter of "Nagumo Miyabi interfering in the first-year exams" was written clearly.
Nagumo didn't notice when the first student stopped. He noticed when the second one stopped. The third didn't stop but merely slowed down, their gaze sweeping over him. That gaze held a hint of anger, though they didn't speak.
Then came the fourth, the fifth. No one spoke, no one pointed fingers, but that silent, uniform gaze was more oppressive than any words.
This was a case of inciting public outrage!
Nagumo took a deep breath and pulled back his expression. He looked away from Sakayanagi's face and settled on Masumi Kamuro behind her.
"And who is this—the people around Sakayanagi-kouhai certainly change quickly. Just recently, it was that dead-eyed kouhai working for you, and now he's been replaced?"
Replaced?
Kamuro Masumi's expression didn't change at all. Although she felt Nagumo was talking about her, the phrasing was very strange.
So, she didn't pay him any attention.
Sakayanagi's finger tapped lightly on her cane. She didn't pay him any attention either.
Nagumo waited for two seconds and found he received no response. He raised an eyebrow. "The people around Sakayanagi-kouhai are getting more and more 'individualistic'."
Sakayanagi didn't pick up his thread.
Her mind was turning rapidly—Nagumo said "dead-eyed kouhai," said "working for you."
First of all, there were no dead-eyed boys in the original Class A, and in the entire school, there was only one person who could be described as "dead-eyed," and that was Hikigaya Hachiman. Therefore, Nagumo-senpai was talking about Hikigaya Hachiman. Thinking about the interaction between Nagumo and Hikigaya, Sakayanagi suddenly realized—it seemed Nagumo-senpai still thought Hikigaya Hachiman was one of her people, believing that the dead-eyed kouhai who extorted him during the old-question exam was her subordinate.
Although she had discovered that Hachiman used her name, she had gladly accepted the part of the points Hachiman wanted to extort later.
So, it could be considered a joint attack from the two of them.
However.
Look at what time it is, and Nagumo-senpai still doesn't even know who Hikigaya Hachiman is. So behind the times.
The corners of Sakayanagi's mouth curved slightly.
"Nagumo-senpai." She looked up. "I haven't slighted him. Rather—I prize him more than ever before."
Her cane tapped lightly on the floor.
"If you've come to sabotage the relationship between us, then please step aside, Nagumo-senpai."
Having said that, she didn't wait for Nagumo to react, passing by him with her cane. Masumi Kamuro followed behind, her pace still maintaining that half-step distance. When passing Nagumo, her gaze simply ignored him.
The sound of their footsteps faded into the distance of the hallway.
Nagumo stood in place, watching that direction for several seconds before withdrawing his gaze. He leaned against the windowsill, hands back in his pockets.
Sakayanagi-kouhai was cute, but her personality was far too aggressive. And the purple-haired girl following her was pretty, but too cold.
Sigh.
Thus, he shook his head and turned to walk toward the 1st Year Class B classroom.
Although Class 1-B had successfully promoted, the classroom hadn't changed, though the sign at the door had been changed from "1st Year Class B" to "1st Year Class A."
When Nagumo reached the door, it was open, and many people were already sitting inside. Some were organizing their bags, some were flipping through textbooks, and several others were huddled together talking in low voices, laughing out loud when they got excited.
Nagumo stood at the door and tapped twice on the frame.
The classroom went quiet for a moment, and everyone's eyes turned toward the door.
Nagumo spoke up:
"Excuse me. I am the Vice President of the Student Council, Nagumo Miyabi. I am here to invite your class representative—Hikigaya Hachiman-kun."
The classroom was quiet for about two seconds, and then someone shouted.
"Hikigaya-kun! Someone is looking for you!"
The voice came from the back row. Nagumo looked in the direction of the voice—several boys' seats were empty.
"Hikigaya-kun doesn't seem to be here," said a girl sitting in the front row, turning her head.
Nagumo was about to speak when he caught sight of a figure walking in from the corner of his eye.
He turned his head.
Sunlight flooded in from the hallway window, gilding the person's silhouette with a layer of gold. Her long, gold-pink hair was like a waterfall. She wore a white shirt with the red blazer of the first years over it, her dark pleated skirt a few centimeters above her knees.
Her features were clear and beautiful, her eyes curving slightly, her lips pursed. She held a notebook in one hand and a light-colored canvas bag in the other.
As soon as she appeared, the surrounding students turned their eyes toward her, showing happy and harmonious gazes. "Morning, Ichinose!"
"Ichinose!"
She was quite popular.
And this was only natural, because even Nagumo Miyabi had to admit this girl was quite beautiful.
Wait, was there such a beautiful girl in the first year?
Nagumo's eyes held a hint of admiration.
"Hello." The girl walked to the door and bowed slightly. "I am Ichinose Honami from this class. Are you here to see Hikigaya-kun?"
She also glanced into the classroom and saw that Hachiman's desk was empty.
However, a school bag was already hanging on the edge of the desk.
So, she added, "Vice President Nagumo, Hikigaya-kun has already arrived, but—he probably went to the restroom. If you aren't in a hurry, you can wait for him. Or—you can tell me what it is, and I will relay it for you."
Nagumo looked at her. The way this girl spoke—that sense of proportion, neither humble nor arrogant—wasn't faked. And when she mentioned "Hikigaya-kun," her tone wasn't the casualness of "I'll call someone for you," but a more natural familiarity.
For a beautiful girl, typical boys wouldn't fail to pursue her. Perhaps this Ichinose-kouhai was already dating that Hikigaya-kouhai.
That Hikigaya-kouhai was quite lucky.
Feeling slightly annoyed, Nagumo nevertheless nodded and smiled at Ichinose.
"Then I'll wait a bit. After all, for something the President personally assigned, it's better to speak in person."
Ichinose nodded and stepped aside from the doorway. Nagumo had just taken a half-step when someone in the classroom shouted.
"Hikigaya-kun is coming!"
The voice came from near the window by the hallway. Nagumo looked in that direction—at the other end of the hallway, a few people were walking toward them.
He took two steps forward and stood at the classroom door.
Three boys were walking side by side. The one on the far left had brown hair and a youthful, sunny face. The one in the middle had short black hair, wore thin-framed glasses, and had a hint of excitement on his face.
The one on the far right—
Short black hair, a bit messy, with an ahoge sticking up at his forehead. The top button of his shirt was undone, and his tie was tied loosely. His hands were in his pockets. Most prominent were those eyes—half-lidded, with a deep pupil color, looking like he hadn't woken up.
Dead fish eyes.
The term flashed through Nagumo's mind.
But he knew these dead fish eyes.
Because weren't these the dead fish eyes of the bad kouhai who, representing Sakayanagi-kouhai during the old-question exam, extorted 3 million points from his second-year class, while Sakayanagi herself took 2 million points later?
So, he took two steps toward that direction.
"Did Sakayanagi Arisu specifically arrange for you to come over? Is there something else? Is this an apology for that attitude just now?"
The hallway fell silent for a moment.
The dead-eyed youth paused his footsteps, looked up, and glanced at Nagumo. Those half-lidded eyes held no ripples, looking at him with only a calm, slightly confused gaze.
He didn't speak.
The brown-haired boy looked up, checked Nagumo, then looked at the dead-eyed youth beside him, his face also showing a confused expression. The boy with glasses also slowed down, his gaze scanning back and forth between Nagumo and the dead-eyed youth, seemingly also confused.
In the classroom, people also noticed this. Several students sitting by the window stuck their heads out, looking curiously between Nagumo and the youth.
Whispers began to drift out from the classroom.
"Nagumo-senpai is saying something strange again."
"Why say such mean-spirited things?"
Nagumo's smile was still on his face, but in his heart, he was starting to feel something was wrong. The reaction of this dead-eyed kouhai was completely different from what he had expected. No surprise, no tension, just looking at him calmly, like looking at a stranger who had mistaken him for someone else.
The youth withdrew his gaze, walked past him, and entered the classroom.
Nagumo was stunned for a moment and instinctively followed him.
"Aren't you a student of Class A? Why would you be here? Could it be—" He paused. "You collected 20 million points and transferred classes? No—that's unlikely. Betraying Sakayanagi this early? The current Class A doesn't represent the future Class A..."
But the youth walked to a seat by the window, placed the backpack hanging on the edge of the desk onto the desk, unzipped it, took out a textbook, and placed it on the corner of the desk. His movements were slow and composed.
Then he turned around, looked at Nagumo, and a playful smile appeared on his face. "I am indeed a student of Class A. That's correct."
Nagumo stood in the aisle, looking at the youth. He noticed the name tag stuck to the corner of the desk, the edges slightly peeling. His gaze fell on those words.
"1st Year, Class A, Hikigaya Hachiman."
Class A. Hikigaya Hachiman.
Something in Nagumo's mind went click.
In Nagumo's eyes, the youth reached out and gently pressed down the tag that said "Hikigaya Hachiman" until it was flat. Then he looked up at Nagumo, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.
"I might not have mentioned my name before. But let me introduce myself formally now—"
He withdrew his hand from the tag and put it in his pocket.
"I am Hikigaya Hachiman. A student of 1st Year, Class A. I am not Sakayanagi-san's lackey. Nagumo-senpai, in terms of information gathering, you are actually quite unqualified."
The classroom fell silent.
Nagumo stood in the aisle, looking at the dead-eyed youth before him, his mood becoming entirely complicated.
Because.
This person who could extort points from him, a second-year, by threatening to leak the second-year old questions, and who so thoroughly understood his arrangements for seizing points from the second years—even knowing his plan to use the lottery for class promotion as bait to completely control the second years and maintain his Class A status...
He had given this person a decent evaluation at the time.
As it turns out, this person wasn't a subordinate arranged by Sakayanagi Arisu. But why did that Sakayanagi girl admit this Hikigaya was one of hers?
Wait.
If Hikigaya Hachiman had used Sakayanagi's name to come and trick him out of money, and then Sakayanagi found out, so she came to recover the losses—oh no, to take the remaining money—then there was nothing left to say.
After all, it was 2 million points for free.
Everything seemed to be connected.
Shit.
Nagumo cursed in his heart.
So, in Hikigaya Hachiman's heart, and in Sakayanagi's heart, he was probably a muddlehead who couldn't even get a name right!
Therefore, the expression on his face changed from shock to disbelief, and from disbelief to a complex look that was hard to define as either anger or regret. He opened his mouth, finding he didn't know what to say for a moment.
But Hachiman had already sat down. He flipped open the textbook and looked down at the first page, his expression identical to before.
Nagumo stood in the aisle, looking at his profile. Those dead fish eyes were fixed on the book page, unmoving.
He suddenly remembered what Sakayanagi had said just now—"I prize him more than ever before." Now he understood. It wasn't "prizing" a subordinate, it was "valuing" a rival.
In other words, these two were playing him again!
Shit.
He cursed again in his heart.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting