If you had told me a year ago that I would join the student council—and on top of that, actually start studying seriously for a math exam—I would have probably ignored you. Who would believe that someone could predict the future? I don't even care about anything beyond compulsory education, and the only club I ever joined was under pressure from my teacher.
And yet, here I am now, sitting in the student council room, and on top of that, studying math. At the moment, there isn't any important work for the student council—just some routine procedures that Tachibana-senpai is handling. So I decided to make use of the time and solve some of the equations Yukinoshita assigned me. She said they were just basics and should be easy, even for me.
The only easy thing right now is flipping through the pages of the notebook she gave me. It's honestly impressive how it's more organized than my main school notebook.
Originally, we planned to study together today, but because of my commitment to the student council, we postponed the study session until tomorrow.
Still, what surprises me is the absence of members. There's no one here except me, the president, and Tachibana-senpai. Could it be that there's really no one else? Or did the previous members withdraw because of how the president treated them? That actually works in my favor—I might use it as an excuse in the future if I want to quit.
For now, though, I need to focus on these papers. Any carelessness could mean expulsion.
For any student in any school, expulsion would be an excessive punishment. But given this school's system, I expect it to be something normal here. Maybe they're used to expelling a number of students every year.
However, if my understanding of the rules is correct, you can pay personal points to avoid expulsion. It's like buying yourself another chance—but how much would it cost?
I scratched my scalp with the edge of my mechanical pencil as I stared at the equations in front of me. I still find them hard to grasp, but I need to find answers to my questions first.
There's no harm in asking someone more experienced.
"President… how much does a student need to pay to avoid expulsion?"
My eyes never left the notebook as I waited for an answer from the president, who was also busy handling some paperwork.
I waited for the silence to break after my question, but I heard nothing except the sound of my own breathing.
Did they not hear me, or are they just ignoring me?
I raised my head from the notebook to look at the president, who had set everything in his hands aside and was now staring at me with his mouth half open. I then turned toward Tachibana-senpai, who was sitting quietly, also staring at me.
Did I say something wrong?
"Hmm… what?"
It's embarrassing when people keep staring at you—you start recalling every mistake you've made, trying to figure out the reason behind their reaction. Well, I haven't done anything recently—no ridiculous pranks, no trouble with other students. Nothing that would cause panic.
The president slowly shook his head. "No, it's nothing. It's just… students at your level rarely ask a question like that."
I kept staring at him with a blank expression. I don't understand what's so rare about it. Wouldn't everyone try to find a loophole to protect themselves from expulsion?
I glanced at Tachibana-senpai, and she nodded in agreement.
Maybe most students believe that studying seriously is the way to avoid punishment.
"…You need 20 million personal points."
President Horikita stated before returning his attention to the papers in his hands.
20 million personal points… I expected something like this. If getting into this school is already difficult, then coming back from expulsion must require a huge amount.
It's impossible for me to gather that amount right now. The best option for me at the moment is to study.
I nodded to myself again. There's no other choice.
I went back to flipping through the pages in front of me, but it seemed the president still had more to say.
"With 20 million personal points, you can also transfer between classes…"
He didn't hesitate to give me more information.
I had thought about the cost of transferring between classes before. I assumed that moving to a higher class would cost more, while moving to a lower one would cost less.
But it seems the school treats all classes equally.
20 million personal points would be enough to secure graduation from Class A… maybe 40 million? No, that number is impossible.
"Just so you know, no one has ever managed to transfer between classes before."
Tachibana-senpai added without hesitation.
That makes sense. Gathering 20 million personal points would take more than three years. Most students would prefer to cooperate with their classmates and try to climb up together.
Even if someone had that amount, transferring would probably be difficult—it would be considered a betrayal.
I don't know…
I think things like expulsion and betrayal are fundamental in this school. I need to get used to them before facing them.
Expulsion might be the hardest—it's essentially the end of the road for the person who gets expelled. It could spread fear among the students. Anyone could be the next victim.
Maybe that fear will become a proper motivation for them to strive harder and win.
But completely avoiding it is difficult.
It seems there are many unspoken rules.
I placed the pen on the table beside my notebook and tried to stretch a little.
"…President, have students from your class ever been expelled?"
His fingers suddenly stopped moving across the papers after hearing my words.
Hesitation was clear on his face, which is usually filled with confidence and firmness.
"…Yes."
Perhaps the president is the person I know who feels the weight of this punishment the most. Maintaining his position in Class A will require more than just effort. Losing one or two people along the way might be unavoidable.
But in what situations would expulsion be necessary? Failing alone wouldn't be enough.
Maybe it could be a punishment in certain tests. I think there are exams other than the regular ones that add points to the winning class and deduct from the losing one, but perhaps there are other penalties beyond just point deductions.
I don't know much about these tests. Everything I'm thinking of right now is just speculation.
"Will we face many tests?"
Maybe the president has gone through a lot of them, so he would know.
The president once again put everything he was holding aside and stared at me.
What is this? A test to see how uncomfortable I get under people's gazes? Well, I've already gotten used to it. The solution is simply to ignore it.
"How did you know about the tests?"
The president tried to adjust his glasses to hide his surprise.
"Ah… just a guess."
My eyes quickly shifted between him and Tachibana-senpai, who was also staring at me now.
The human mind always tries to avoid prolonged focus and starts drifting among thoughts. That's exactly what my mind is doing right now—thinking about anything other than studying.
"Even if your guess is correct, we can't disclose much information… you'll find out yourself. They're called special exams."
The president returned to his work after refusing to reveal any details.
It's only natural for the school to keep future-related information secret. Maybe they enjoy seeing the shock on the students' faces.
Special exams, huh… From the name alone, you can tell they're more than just studying and written tests. Perhaps they'll test us in several areas beyond academics.
Maybe each special exam will have its own rules, regulations, rewards, and even penalties that could reach expulsion.
This is tough…
I started tapping the pen against the table in a steady rhythm. For now, it's better to stop thinking about this and focus on studying.
I raised my eyes toward Tachibana-senpai. She was still watching me from behind the stack of papers in front of her. Even though her violet eyes usually seem calm, I feel like they're strangely intimidating.
I returned to trying to understand the scattered numbers in front of me and find solutions to these equations. Maybe Max Coffee will help me focus.
I took my phone out of my jacket pocket to check the time, but it seemed that it was still too early to leave.
"Hikigaya, if you want to study seriously, you can leave… there isn't much work right now anyway."
The president didn't lift his gaze from what he was doing as he spoke to me.
Is he allowing me to leave? What a kind president…
I didn't hesitate to quickly gather my things from the table, put them into my bag, and say a quick goodbye before leaving.
I might have just become the fastest person alive at that moment. I don't want to be late—he might take his words back.
I stood in front of the student council room, looking at Yukinoshita's notebook before carefully putting it back into my bag.
It's time for coffee.
I hurried toward the stairs to leave, but the moment I turned to go down, I felt something slam hard into my chest.
There was another person—she staggered backward from the impact and was about to fall from the top of the stairs.
I quickly pulled my hand out of my pocket and reached forward, grabbing the girl's wrist. It was so small that I could have sworn she was an elementary school student. She was on the verge of falling backward and tumbling down the stairs if I hadn't caught her.
I heard a sharp sound of something falling down the steps.
That was close.
I tried to pull her up slowly. Her body felt fragile—if I applied too much force, I might hurt her.
She managed to stand on her feet, but she couldn't keep her balance. Does she have a problem with balance?
I didn't let go of her so she wouldn't fall.
"My… cane…" the girl muttered in a quiet, barely audible voice.
I looked down the stairs and saw a small cane lying on the ground.
So that was what fell earlier.
"Can you stand? I'll get it for you."
She nodded slowly and held onto the wall to steady herself.
I gently released her arm and quickly went down the stairs to pick up the cane. I examined it carefully—it might have been broken.
I started to feel a bit uneasy. What if she got hurt because of me? Even her body looks extremely weak.
I raised my head to tell her that the cane was fine, but the shock had tied my tongue. I hadn't properly looked at the girl until now.
She had white hair with a gray tint, and a white hat that suited her small figure.
I remember this girl well—I've seen her before. Isn't she… the chairman's daughter?
I hurried back to her since she was struggling to stand even with the wall's support.
"Here…"
I held out the cane, and she grabbed it quickly, as if she had just regained a part of her body that she had lost moments ago. She steadied her small hands on it and slowly stood up, regaining her balance.
"Thank you very much…"
She slightly lowered her head in a polite bow to thank me.
"No, you almost got hurt because of me. Are you okay? Do you want to go to the nurse?"
Her fragile body might not endure even minor impacts—I might have caused her harm.
"No, I'm perfectly fine… this is nothing. I've fallen many times before… but there wasn't anyone to catch me like you did."
A faint trace of sadness appeared in her eyes.
"Anyway, don't worry about it… I'm Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A."
The girl lightly held the edge of her skirt and bowed again, introducing herself like a noble.
As I expected, she's Sakayanagi's daughter. She really does resemble him.
"Hikigaya Hachiman from Class C."
I introduced myself as well. It's only natural to do so when the other person introduces themselves.
"Class C?"
Her eyes seemed to gleam slightly.
Even though her body is very weak, her eyes feel strangely powerful… enough to give me an odd feeling. Is it fear?
"Yes?"
I didn't understand why she was surprised by my class. Isn't she in the best class of the year?
"Hikigaya-kun, if you're free, would you like to have some coffee with me?"
Even her way of inviting me felt noble.
It's clear that she comes from a refined family.
Normally, I would instinctively refuse any invitation, but a strange sense of guilt crept into me and broke down all the words of refusal inside.
She was close to getting seriously hurt because of me. It's only right that I make sure she's okay first.
There's no harm in agreeing.
Right?
…This is going to be troublesome.