Chapter 169: She Wants to Climb the Ladder Too! Everyone in Class D is Eager for Progress!
Time passed faster than expected.
The three days of classes flew by in a flash. When the bell rang for the final period on Thursday afternoon, the classroom didn't immediately erupt into chaos as it usually did. Everyone remained in their seats, waiting for their homeroom Sensei, Chie Hoshinomiya, to walk in.
Hoshinomiya stood at the podium holding a folder, that signature breezy smile on her face. She scanned the room and cleared her throat.
"Alright, just a few things."
The classroom fell silent.
"First thing—the semester ends today, and summer vacation starts tomorrow. One month. On the morning of September 1st at 7:30 AM, return to this classroom to resume classes."
After a brief silence, the room exploded.
Some slammed their desks; others raised their hands and cheered. Shibata was laughing and clapping next to them, shouting, "Vacation! Vacation!"
To Hachiman's right, Ichinose's lips curved upward; she didn't say anything, but her eyes brightened noticeably.
After all, students who truly want to be in school are a rare breed.
Hoshinomiya waited for the ruckus to subside slightly before speaking again.
"Second thing—your allowance will still be issued during the break. It will be deposited into your accounts on the 1st of every month, so don't worry about having no money to spend."
"Hell yeah!" someone shouted.
"Third thing." Hoshinomiya's voice rose a bit, her smile deepening. "Tonight, drinks are on me. Congratulations to everyone for promoting to Class A. And—" she deliberately dragged out her tone, "—Sensei is now the homeroom Sensei for Class A. My pay has gone up, so I can afford to treat you to a meal."
The classroom went silent for a single second before completely boiling over.
"Long live Hoshinomiya-sensei!"
"Sensei is the best!"
"I want BBQ!"
"BBQ is too expensive! You'll bankrupt her!"
"Then let's eat something cheaper! It's the thought that counts!"
Laughter and shouting mixed together, echoing through the classroom. Hachiman watched the chestnut-haired woman at the podium being teased and surrounded by her students; the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. Chie Hoshinomiya usually seemed unreliable, but standing there now, surrounded by laughing students, she truly looked like a homeroom Sensei.
And if she proved to be a competent one, she could indeed be a massive help.
He lowered his head and began packing his things. He tucked his textbooks into his desk, put his pens in his pouch, and zipped it up. His movements were steady and unhurried, no different from usual.
Though, during the break, he didn't plan on looking at textbooks.
"Hikigaya-kun." At that moment, Ichinose's voice drifted over from beside him.
Hachiman turned his head.
Ichinose had already finished packing. Her bag was on her lap, hands resting on the straps. She looked at him with a smile.
"You're coming to the dinner tonight, right?"
Hachiman thought for a moment and nodded. "I'm going."
Ichinose's smile became a bit more genuine. "That's good."
The forty students of Class A were buzzing with excitement.
Since Hoshinomiya hadn't decided where to eat yet, some were already debating what to have, others were pulling out phones to check reviews, and some were jumping up to run to neighboring desks to coordinate seating. The whole classroom was like a soda bottle that had been twisted open—bubbles fizzing upward, unstoppable. Hachiman sat there, listening to the noise, neither joining in nor leaving. To him, the start of the holiday meant something else entirely.
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At the same time, in the classroom of Year 1, Class D, the atmosphere was starkly different.
Chabashira Sae stood at the podium. She held no folder, merely crossing her arms in her usual posture. Her expression was cold, her voice maintaining its steady, unhurried pitch.
"One month of vacation. Return for classes on September 1st."
She paused after finishing, as if waiting for something.
Sure enough, a hand went up.
"Sensei, will we still get our allowance during the break?" Ike Kanji's voice came from the back row, carrying an urgent "this is a vital question" tone.
Chabashira glanced at him. "Yes. On the 1st of every month. 7:00 AM."
Ike instantly exhaled in relief, leaning back in his chair. Yamauchi patted him on the shoulder and said something; Ike glared at him but didn't argue.
But soon, someone else spoke up. This time it was a short-haired girl sitting in the middle, named Onodera. She was a member of the swimming club and usually didn't stand out much, but now she had her hand up with a subtle expression on her face.
"Sensei, about the VIP exam... the points the other five groups gave up... once split among everyone, it's just too little. Isn't that a bit unfair?"
The classroom went silent for a heartbeat.
Chabashira watched her without speaking. Onodera felt a bit unnerved by the gaze but pushed through.
"I mean... the groups that ended early got nothing, and while the groups that reached Result 1 got money, the portion they shared isn't much. We're all in the same class, so is this distribution really—" Another boy started to chime in.
However, Horikita Suzune stood up at that moment. "The distribution rules were set before the exam. You didn't object then."
"Everyone, the exam is over, and everyone agreed to the distribution at the time." Hirata also stood up hurriedly. "Right? It's fine, isn't it, Onodera-san? Hondo-kun?"
Onodera opened her mouth but said nothing more. She shrank back into her chair and lowered her head, though her expression remained sour.
Hondo, the boy who had just interjected, also shut his mouth.
In truth, everyone understood. While on the ship, the school covered everything, and they had indeed enjoyed the perks and the points. But now, having been back in classes for three days, the disparity in living standards was becoming apparent.
Specifically, some people only had tens of thousands of points, while others had hundreds of thousands.
Inequality bred instant resentment.
However, such things were not unusual for Class D.
The classroom remained quiet for a few more seconds until someone finally changed the subject.
"By the way, Kushida-san—" A girl in the front row turned around, her eyes landing on Kikyo Kushida. "You've been going to the Student Council every evening lately. Did you join?"
Kushida had been looking down at her phone. Hearing her name, she looked up, a sweet smile immediately surfacing.
"Mhm, yes. Thanks to the President's recognition, I was given the position of accountant." She paused, then added, "I'm currently working under Hikigaya-kun."
The classroom went silent for a moment.
"Hikigaya-kun?" someone repeated the name with a delayed sense of shock. "You mean Hikigaya Hachiman from Class A?"
"Mhm." Kushida nodded, her smile unchanging.
"He's already the Student Council Vice President," another voice cut in, sounding like 'didn't you guys know?'. "I heard the President appointed him personally."
"Vice President? A first-year as Vice President?"
"Didn't he just lead Class B to Class A? With those results, being Vice President seems normal..."
Whispers began to spread through the classroom. Some turned to whisper to their neighbors, others pulled out phones to look things up, and some just sat quietly, their expressions shifting from confusion to surprise, then to a complex sort of bewilderment.
Miyake Akito sat by the window, holding a reference book open halfway. He looked up, his gaze falling on Kushida.
"Kushida-san." His voice wasn't loud, but the room quieted down. "Is Hikigaya-kun... planning to run for the next Student Council President?"
This question plunged the room into total silence. Every eye was fixed on Kushida.
Kushida's finger tapped lightly on the desk. She thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Currently, Hikigaya-kun doesn't have those thoughts. However—" she paused, "—since he has the authority of the Vice President, he'll likely run."
Hasabe Haruka, leaning against her chair, suddenly let out a laugh.
"Isn't that great then?" Her tone was casual, as if stating the obvious. "If Hikigaya-kun becomes President, our Class D votes will actually be useful."
Nene Mori, sitting next to her, glanced over. "You're being a bit too direct."
"What's there to hide?" Hasabe shrugged. "He bought our class's votes before for 500,000 points. Looking back, was that 500,000 worth it? I think it was. And the fact that Class D gets 20,000 points a month now—isn't that thanks to him?"
Chiaki Matsushita, sitting in the front row, turned to look at Hasabe. Her gaze lingered on Hasabe's face for a second before pulling back.
Hasabe Haruka—this girl who usually seemed carefree, cared little for most things, and loved gossip—was actually speaking up for Hikigaya. And she did it so naturally, so matter-of-factly, as if she belonged on that side to begin with.
Matsushita turned the thought over in her mind but didn't speak.
Hasabe continued.
"And think about it, how many times has Hikigaya-kun helped us? If not for him during the Island Exam, where would we get our allowance? If not for him pinning down Classes A and C during the VIP exam, it's hard to say if our groups could have reached Result 1. I think, even without points, I'd still cast a vote for him."
"You sure think far ahead," Shinohara Satsuki said with a laugh. "He hasn't even said he's running."
"It's only a matter of time," Hasabe waved her hand, her tone light.
It was as if she had just finished a simple conversation.
But.
Class D had no shortage of people sensitive to the atmosphere. Kushida, a top performer among them, sat in her seat with her smile still intact, but her gaze lingered on Hasabe for an extra second.
Kushida instinctively felt that Hasabe was... interesting.
Because, the ones who had truly sided with Hikigaya were Horikita, herself, Matsushita, Karuizawa, and Sakura. Yet here was Hasabe, jumping out to do PR for Hachiman.
She had brought up the old news of Hikigaya using 500,000 points to buy Class D's votes—something that could have been used against him—but by bringing it up now, in this timing, she made it so no one could use it as a weapon later.
After all, Hikigaya Hachiman did give them benefits.
So.
Haruka Hasabe was speaking on behalf of Hikigaya Hachiman.
It seemed those who "wanted to progress" weren't limited to their small circle.
Then again, Class D was always full of hidden talents, so she wasn't that surprised.
Kushida withdrew her gaze, her peripheral vision catching Karuizawa's direction.
Karuizawa Kei sat by the window. Her blonde ponytail was tied high, held by a red hair tie she'd switched to yesterday.
At the same time, she wasn't wearing her cardigan around her waist today; she was wearing it properly. She hadn't even painted her nails. She looked much more plain and neat than usual.
Karuizawa was actually looking down at her phone, at a chat box with Hachiman. The last message was "Goodnight" sent by Hachiman last night. She had replied with a period. No new messages.
But since the subject was Hikigaya, she felt used to it.
She pressed the lock screen, put the phone in her pocket, and looked up.
Kushida noticed that her expression was calm. Not a forced calm, but a genuine lack of ripples. She had heard the class discussion; she had heard Hasabe's words. But she just sat there quietly, neither participating nor spacing out.
Kushida looked away, a strange feeling suddenly bubbling up in her heart.
Before, Karuizawa hadn't stood out much in Class D. Though cute, her relationship with the boys was terrible. While she was the leader of the "Gal" group, which sounded impressive, it was really just a small circle of girls. She could only influence the class through them.
But now?
She was a miscellaneous assistant in the Student Council, recommended by Hikigaya Hachiman. And Hikigaya Hachiman was the Class Representative of Class A, the Vice President of the Student Council, the person the entire first-year level was talking about. And she— Karuizawa Kei—was sitting quietly by the window, dating that man.
It was no longer a guess; the past three days of observation had confirmed this as an established fact.
Kushida looked down at the desk in front of her. There was a faint scratch on the surface, left by who knows when. She stared at it for two seconds, then looked away.
After the vacation starts, those two will probably go on dates like crazy. Movies, shopping, dinner—doing all the things normal couples do. And that blockhead Hikigaya Hachiman, who understands nothing, will probably be led by Karuizawa, learning how to interact with girls step by step. And after he learns—
She cut the thought off.
No need to think about that.
She looked up, her smile returning as she joined the small talk of the girls nearby. Her voice was light, her tone natural, just like always.
No one noticed her two-second lapse in concentration.
And on Friday morning, in the Student Council office...
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