Chapter 087: If a guy is too gentle, he might be misunderstood by girls!
"During lunch break, you should actually go to eat,"
Hachiman was stopped on his way back to the classroom from the cafeteria by a cute girl with beautiful golden hair tied into a ponytail.
This person wasn't a stranger, though. She was the leader of the "gyaru" group in his class, Karuizawa Kei.
If Hachiman hadn't known Sakayanagi Arisu, he might have thought she was the cutest girl in the school based purely on looks.
However, because of Sakayanagi's presence, she could only be second.
But,
He also knew that Karuizawa had been bullied by girls in the past, and one possible reason might have been her too-cute appearance, which led to jealousy from other girls.
Of course, this wasn't implying the victim was at fault.
It was just that people who intended to cause harm should never be excused.
And now,
It seemed like Karuizawa was questioning him.
Was she?
Hmm.
Hachiman had sent her a message, requesting that she go to the quiet area by the railing to retrieve something during lunch break.
Did he just go ahead and eat lunch himself?
This kind of situation...
"I have other things to take care of," Hachiman said.
"But I know that as soon as lunch break started, you went to the cafeteria and ordered a pretty expensive set meal!" Karuizawa said.
Is that so?
Hachiman couldn't help but wonder why other girls were keeping an eye on him.
Also, he didn't think his lunch was particularly expensive, only 1900 points. Normally, Sakayanagi would allocate around 2500 points for meals.
So, without realizing it… had he changed his spending habits?
That was quite a mistake.
But,
Now, Karuizawa's expression was a bit awkward.
It seemed like she was thinking, "You're making me do the work while you enjoy yourself."
Although, realistically, that was the case. Hachiman had indeed neglected to let her eat first before sending her out.
"So, did you get the item?" Hachiman asked.
He had noticed before that Karuizawa seemed to be very diligent when it came to carrying out tasks.
Now that things had already happened, it seemed like a good idea to praise her for her effort in another aspect.
"I got it," Karuizawa handed over a folder. "But why did you specifically ask me to go to such a hidden spot to get it?"
"And the girl who gave me the item looked kind of fierce," she added.
"That's Kamuro from Class A," Hachiman explained. "Though she looks fierce, she's harmless."
Oh.
I see.
Karuizawa had assumed the person looked impatient and might be difficult to handle.
She nodded in understanding.
"So, what's this?" Karuizawa asked, curious.
"It's a backup exam paper for this round of tests," Hachiman replied.
"Oh... wait!" Karuizawa was startled. "A backup paper? Does that mean it was stolen…?"
This was a bit confusing for her.
She had just heard this morning that Ryuen's class had stolen exam papers and got reported, resulting in the school deciding not to use the old questions.
But now,
Hachiman was holding the very exam questions for this round.
So, was this what truly constituted stealing the exam paper?
"This isn't stealing," Hachiman clarified. "Someone from Class A compiled the questions in advance. With only three days left before the exam and no delay from the school, they couldn't have prepared a new set of questions in time."
"So, buying the ready-made exam papers was the most practical option."
"Oh."
Karuizawa was still processing it, but it seemed that this meant their class would still be able to pass the exam after all.
"And I said before, right? I'll make sure you pass this exam," Hachiman added.
"Oh."
Karuizawa nodded.
He had indeed promised that. And with the student council's notice that they would be using the B exam paper, she had planned to hit the books seriously after school.
But now, it seemed like Hikigaya-kun was super reliable, wasn't he?
Hachiman continued,
"Anyway, you keep the exam paper for now, then take a picture with your phone. Afterward, find a chance to send the picture to Kushida"
"Then, you two can go print it out."
"Just say that, as a student council member, you did it to prevent the class from failing and made an improper move to help."
"Eh!"
If the previous words didn't make sense, Karuizawa understood now.
It seemed like Hikigaya-kun planned to share the exam paper with the class, but he would use Karuizawa's name as the one who secretly took the paper from the student council.
Just like Ryuen's class was caught stealing the exam papers, now Karuizawa might be involved in a similar situation. If exposed...
"Oh, that could actually work!" Karuizawa quickly realized.
So,
Although she wasn't part of the student council and hadn't actually stolen any exam papers,
Even if there was an investigation, she could have an alibi.
"This is just a proposal," Hachiman said. "I could give the exam paper to Kushida, but if you do it in your name, it could really boost your popularity."
"As a student council member, it makes sense that you'd be the one to get the screenshot of the paper."
"Then,"
"Although you're breaking the rules, you'll be a hero in the class for doing it for everyone's benefit." Hachiman added. "And since no one actually stole the paper, and the student council didn't have any copies, even if something goes wrong, you could easily shift the blame."
So, he had thought of everything, huh?
All for her benefit.
But,
Karuizawa looked at Hachiman with clear eyes.
"Hikigaya... you wouldn't—" Karuizawa seemed a bit awkward.
Because he had been so considerate, she momentarily wondered if he was interested in her.
After all,
Karuizawa knew she was quite cute.
And back in middle school, she had been bullied by girls because they were jealous of her looks.
"What?" Hachiman looked at her. "And by doing this, your popularity will rise. So, if there's a disagreement in the class later, you can follow my instructions and gain more support."
"..." Karuizawa.
Karuizawa only saw the sincerity in Hachiman's eyes.
In the end, it seemed like he was just using her as a tool to help him move up to Class A.
With that,
Hachiman and Karuizawa returned to the dorm.
Otherwise, carrying the paper into the class openly would be too conspicuous.
Hachiman was a cautious person and didn't like to take risks.
At the same time, Karuizawa took a picture of the exam paper with her phone.
Yes.
To make it realistic, they couldn't just hand over the exam paper; she had to take a photo.
Then they would wait until evening, and Karuizawa would use her acting skills to persuade Kushida, pretending that she had secretly taken the exam paper from the student council, feeling guilty but wanting to help everyone.
This was part of creating the narrative.
However,
At this time, there was someone else returning to the dorms.
A silver-haired girl was also coming back.
And in her dorm room, a tall girl with purple hair had been waiting for some time.
It was Sakayanagi Arisu and Kamuro Masumi.
"The item has been delivered," Kamuro said. "But why give it to Hikigaya from Class C for free?"
"If he didn't have the paper, I think some students of his class would fail in this exam," Kamuro continued.
"After all, it was his suggestion," Sakayanagi said.
I see.
But Kamuro wasn't happy inside.
She realized she had been tricked by Hikigaya.
Because,
He had sold her the old exam papers for a high price, but... after the deal, he flipped the table.
By collaborating with Sakayanagi Arisu, the old exam questions were no longer being used.
Did that mean she had been played for a fool?
This was ridiculous.
So, Kamuro decided to hold a grudge for now.
However, Sakayanagi was just as cunning.
She had painstakingly created this exam paper, only to give it away to Hachiman for free, essentially allowing Class C to pass the exam without difficulty.
"Hikigaya-kun is an interesting person, though I do have my reservations about him," Sakayanagi said.
"But I can't deny that I want to see how far he can lead Class C."
"To see whether he's qualified to stand before me," she added.
Alright.
Kamuro understood now.
Sakayanagi Arisu was raising a competitor, just like a battle of venomous insects.
At some point, she was bound to get burned.
Kamuro Masumi thought to herself.
For now, though, she still needed to rely on Sakayanagi. Otherwise, if Sakayanagi and Hikigaya decided to shake things up again and make future written exams absurdly difficult, she wouldn't be able to handle it.
Even though she understood how this school truly operated, Kamuro didn't think she had what it took to secure a spot in Class A.
After all, her academic ability was actually quite weak.
She could likely ensure passing grades, but anything beyond that would be a struggle.
And with all the top students around, the average score would naturally rise, making things even harder.
Not wanting to dwell on academics, Kamuro changed the topic.
"By the way, selling the exam paper to the student council only got you 100 votes from third-year students."
"I heard from Hashimoto that you turned down the 1,000,000 points that the student council president offered as compensation," Kamuro said.
"What could I possibly do with a mere 1,000,000 points?" Sakayanagi scoffed. "What I want is the right to run for the next student council president."
"That alone is worth ten times that amount."
I see.
Kamuro had already noticed that Sakayanagi Arisu likely came from a very wealthy family. Her taste and attitude toward money were entirely different from those of ordinary students.
And now…
She was proving it once again.
Her personal allowance or the money she received from her parents for New Year's was probably well over a million points.
She didn't even care about it.
"But isn't 100 votes from upperclassmen still not enough?" Kamuro continued. "There are a total of 424 students in the school."
"Even if every student in Class A votes for you, you still won't have the advantage in the final tally."
"If that's how you're calculating things, you need to reconsider your approach," Sakayanagi said. "I was never aiming for the second-year votes in the first place."
"Class rankings show that the second-years are already under Nagumo-senpai's control, so whether I get their votes or not is irrelevant."
"Besides, he seems the type that tends to go back on his word."
"But the third-year votes are different."
"I secured them through Horikita-senpai. In other words, as long as he remains in power, I can count on those 100 votes. What I've gained is Horikita-senpai's credibility."
"So, that's 100 votes."
"And, of course, our class will vote for me as well. Now, because we gave Hikigaya's class the exam paper…"
"That means he owes me a favor. Since he wants to reach Class A, he'll need to become the representative of Class C. By securing his gratitude, I can also secure the votes of his class, bringing my total to nearly 180 votes."
"Then."
"There's no need to worry about Class B. However, since the exam paper is suddenly changing, Ryuen's class will be in chaos."
"And at that moment, if I offer to sell him the exam paper—for just two or three million points—while also asking for his support in the student council election, do you think he'd refuse?"
So that was the plan.
With this move, Sakayanagi could secure 100 + 39 + 40 + 40 = 219 votes.
That was already half the school's votes.
In other words, this girl was extremely dangerous.
The fact that she used a single exam leak to obtain a ticket to the student council president's seat was downright terrifying.
On the other side,
Because the exam would use the B paper, after the students in Hachiman's class confirmed this, they all attended the evening study session.
However, this was just a drop in the bucket, a last-minute effort.
So, not only was it unlikely they would gain any significant class evaluation points, but there was also a chance that some students would still fail.
But,
This anxious state was broken during the next day's lunch break by someone.
After the lunch break, once the teacher left the room,
Hachiman, who had promised to share the old exam papers with everyone in the last three days, stood at the podium.
At this moment, Kushida, who had been waiting for this opportunity, made her move.
In fact, when Kushida entered the classroom that day, everyone noticed that her bag was bulging, as if it contained something heavy.
And now,
The cute Kushida, from first-year Class C, walked up with a large pile of [study materials] at Hachiman's signal.
"Everyone, in order to prepare for this exam, our class is saved," Kushida announced.
Because she was sitting in the front, Wang Meiyu noticed the contents.
It seemed like exam papers.
"What's this?"
Wang Meiyu froze for a moment. Even as Kushida's close friend, she didn't know what Kushida was planning to do.
"Could it be…?"
The top students were curious, while the struggling students suddenly became excited.
Because they had already realized what this was.
"Quick, Sudo, and Sato, close the door!"
Sudo's seat was near the back door, and Sato was by the front door.
Both of them were not very good at studying, but at this moment, they realized what was going on. They quickly rushed to the doors, peeked outside to check if anyone was there, and then swiftly locked the doors.