Chapter 094: Ryuen – As the Former Tyrant of Class C, I Declare War on You!
Although it was now clear that Sakayanagi Arisu was a bona fide young lady from an influential family, and that her relative held the highest authority in this school—
Even so, Hachiman remained rational.
Because Sakayanagi was still just Sakayanagi. She wasn't going to provide for him, so the fact that she was wealthy had little to do with him.
As long as she continued to cover his lunch expenses, there was no issue.
With that settled—
Hikigaya's main concern remained class promotion.
As a student, being able to obtain 10 million points from Chabashira was quite an accomplishment.
Moreover, accomplishing this would also help resolve her lingering regrets. She had been trapped in the past, unable to move on.
Even though Hachiman had never read any books on psychology, he could tell that Chabashira had psychological issues.
So, if this endeavor could kill two birds with one stone—
From this perspective, Hachiman was willing to commit to the class promotion plan.
Then—
Sakayanagi's family background was impressive, but given her arrogance, Hachiman didn't believe she would resort to underhanded means.
If she were the type to break the rules, she wouldn't have complained about how boring this school was and expressed her desire for a more interesting life.
After all, she had stood at the pinnacle of the school's authority from the very beginning—if she wanted to manipulate things with power, it would have been effortless.
So perhaps she had never even considered using her father's authority as the school's Chairman.
In fact, her relationship with the Chairman might not be an advantage at all. Instead, it could be a shackle.
Even if she wanted to leverage that power, there would be restrictions.
For example, her current status as a student of Class A.
That's right.
Sakayanagi's physical condition was weak—she needed a cane to move around. That meant she likely had to forfeit any special exams related to physical activities.
So if it were revealed that she was the Chairman's daughter, wouldn't people start suspecting that she had been placed in Class A due to favoritism?
Though, based on what Hachiman had observed, Sakayanagi hadn't actually broken any rules. She had simply been exceptionally outstanding in other areas, which led the examiners to overlook her physical frailty and place her in Class A.
She was probably selected as a representative for cultivation.
After all, representatives often don't need to engage in direct action themselves; their role is to oversee and issue commands.
In other words, Sakayanagi Arisu had been rightfully placed in Class A.
However, the world is full of petty people. If news of her connection to the Chairman spread, it would cause her unnecessary trouble.
Thus—
If she were to wield the Chairman's authority, it could lead to complications.
With her intelligence, she would never use it recklessly.
This also ensured that class competition wouldn't be influenced by external forces. That was somewhat reassuring. Moreover, Hachiman had tricked her into going after the student council, offering her a way to make school life "less boring." For now, she probably wouldn't be paying much attention to class rivalries.
That meant it was a good time to accumulate points.
For the current first-years, the written portion of this month's special exam was fast approaching.
Since they had obtained the test questions, there was no need for pretense—upon returning to his dorm, Hikigaya, like the rest of his classmates, started grinding through practice problems.
Looking at it this way, the situation seemed quite dire.
While doing the practice questions, it was impossible to tell who had created the test. Everything fell perfectly within the scope of what the school would normally produce.
In other words, Sakayanagi Arisu was indeed a genius.
Despite being just a student, she already had the ability to craft exam questions.
A normal person using normal methods would never be able to defeat her.
Perhaps because of all the studying, Hachiman found himself thinking about Sakayanagi Arisu multiple times that night.
The day after tomorrow was the official exam. For first-years, this meant one thing—grinding through as many problems as possible.
But then, the next day—
Kushida brought in an unexpected piece of news.
Even though the exam was right around the corner, students from Class D were inviting her to hang out.
Were they really that relaxed?
In contrast, his own class, after obtaining the exam questions, had almost no time or energy for fun—they were all intensely focused on studying.
That was the typical reaction of struggling students faced with an upcoming test.
So for the students of Ryuen's class to be so laid-back—it was quite surprising.
After all, both Class C and Class D were lower-ranked classes. Though Class D—formerly Ryuen's Class C—had originally been placed higher than Hachiman's class—
They were still filled with underachievers.
Under normal circumstances, obtaining the test questions should have meant grinding non-stop.
Yet instead, they were choosing to play.
Or could it be that they actually hadn't obtained the test papers, so... no matter how they looked at it, it was meaningless?
If that were the case, then Ryuen might be an even more dangerous type than Hachiman had imagined.
Thus—
During lunchtime the next day, Hikigaya went to the third floor of the cafeteria.
However, Sakayanagi did not meet him. Instead, she had Kamuro relay a message.
Something along the lines of:
"Isn't Hikigaya-kun quite popular?"
"So wouldn't it be better to let the girls who admire you treat you to a meal?"
"And unfortunately, I haven't been in the mood to dine in the cafeteria lately."
With that, she rejected him.
Girls' thoughts were truly hard to grasp.
Thus—
The day of the exam arrived. The test was scheduled for the 24th and 25th, spanning two days.
There were a total of five subjects.
Since it was a multiple-choice exam, three subjects were tested on the first day, and the remaining two on the second day.
As students of Class C, everyone remained in their classroom.
All five subjects were invigilated by their homeroom teacher.
Perhaps because she had to supervise the exam, Chabashira had switched from her usual high heels to sneakers.
Hachiman speculated that this was probably because she didn't want the noise of her high heels to distract the students while they were taking the test.
Hence, she changed them.
However—
Chabashira was quite tall, with a well-proportioned figure and a mature charm. Unlike the teacher Hiratsuka, whom Hachiman had met before, she had a distinctly feminine presence.
She usually wore black stockings and high heels, making her quite eye-catching.
So, in terms of attractiveness, Chabashira actually had the upper hand.
When she entered through the back door and walked past Hachiman's seat, he immediately noticed that she had changed her shoes.
Of course, that wasn't the main point.
"Ding ling ling—"
Chabashira walked up to the podium, holding a thick, bulging manila envelope in her left hand.
It was likely filled with test papers.
As the bell rang, she turned to the blackboard and wrote: "Mathematics 8:30 - 9:30."
"Now, the mathematics exam will begin."
"Turn off your phones or switch them to silent mode," Chabashira instructed. "Cheating is strictly prohibited."
She said this with a stern expression.
It almost made the students laugh.
Because... cheating was prohibited?
In reality, the entire class was cheating.
Hachiman, however, remained calm. After all, they had distributed the test papers under the surveillance cameras, and the school had not reacted.
That meant it was permitted to cheat.
Yet now, Chabashira was still emphasizing the prohibition of cheating.
Hmm.
In other words, the school still cared about appearances. This was their bottom line.
"And then!" Chabashira continued. "As you can see, the test papers are still sealed. I will now break the seal."
She performed the task of an invigilator in front of the students.
The students, in turn, sat up straighter, as if only now feeling a hint of nervousness.
Because—
They had spent the past two days relentlessly studying. Even that very morning, some students had reviewed the material again.
But now that the actual test was about to begin, they realized how terrifying this was.
Or rather, what if the test didn't match the one they had prepared for? That would be utterly devastating.
Many students held their breath.
All eyes were fixed on Chabashira as she tore open the manila envelope containing the math exam, then took out the neatly printed test papers.
She handed them to the students seated in the front rows near the podium, instructing them to pass them back.
However—
At that moment—
"Eh—"
A short-haired blonde girl in the front row let out a surprised exclamation.
It was Kushida.
Immediately, the students' attention shifted toward her.
Had something gone wrong?
Was this... not the test they had studied for?
Some students felt their hearts tighten.
"It's fine," Kushida said after a moment, then passed the papers backward.
"Yeah!" A gyaru with orange hair sitting behind her let out a delighted exclamation upon receiving the test paper.
"Sato, do you have any objections?" Chabashira-sensei looked over.
"N-No, nothing at all," Sato quickly responded.
After keeping her own test paper, she passed the rest backward.
"That's great!"
"Phew—"
Following Sato, other students who received their test papers also became more or less excited.
The reason was simple.
There was no risk anymore!
The test questions hadn't changed.
Yeah.
So, Kushida's earlier reaction was simply because she saw that the test paper was exactly the same as the one they had been practicing with and was thrilled.
In other words—
This was all thanks to Karuizawa.
While Horikita believed that Karuizawa had been instructed by Hikigaya to secretly photograph the test papers, the rest of the class assumed that Karuizawa had acted on her own, using her connections with the student council to illegally obtain the test papers because she didn't want anyone to get expelled.
Because of this—
Even the boys who often complained about Karuizawa now saw her as an angel at this moment.
Even if she continued to boss them around, it would be totally fine.
And so—
The written exam began!
Each subject had a time limit of two hours, but since there were only 50 multiple-choice questions per subject, Class C students, having practiced extensively, finished in about 15 to 20 minutes. Even the slower ones didn't take more than 30 minutes.
The exam was easy.
Since they were certain that the questions hadn't changed, their motivation to keep practicing grew even stronger.
After completing the three subjects on the first day, Class C students continued their routine of heading straight to their dorms after school to keep studying.
After all—
For many of them, this might be the first time in their lives they could score a perfect 100.
Even the weaker students wanted to experience it at least once.
And so—
The exams continued.
On the second day, as Chabashira-sensei collected the test papers, the fifth and final subject—English—came to an end.
"The exam results will be announced in two days," Chabashira-sensei said. "Enjoy your break in the meantime."
"Although this exam is over, don't forget that there will be special exams every month from now on."
"Ehhh!"
The students groaned, dragging out their voices, but their moods remained cheerful.
Clearly, they weren't taking Chabashira's words too seriously.
And just like that, the break arrived.
It was Saturday, usually a day off, but it had been taken over by the exam.
Still, since they had gotten through the most difficult written tests, no one really complained.
But after several days of hard work and self-restraint, they now needed to let loose with some serious spending.
Something like this—
"Hey, Kikyo-chan, let's go to the shopping district later~"
As the class's little angel and busybody, Kushida quickly received an invitation.
"Eh? Are you treating me?" The person talking to her was her best friend, Wang Meiyu.
"Mm-hmm."
"Actually, we were thinking of throwing a celebration party!"
"Because, look, our class is definitely going to score really well on this exam—"
The students chatted enthusiastically.
"..."
Horikita Suzune.
Hikigaya noticed that even though the black-haired, fox-eyed girl next to him had just finished the test, she was already—
Flipping through her textbook again.
Scary.
But people like her were just naturally born to study.
"The class seems to be planning a celebration party for tonight or tomorrow," Hikigaya said while checking a message from Hirata on his phone.
[Hikigaya-kun, I want to organize a celebration party to strengthen the bonds between classmates and help those who struggle to integrate socially feel more included.]
[So, could you help invite Horikita-san?]
—By Hirata.
Hirata had a dark past and was unnaturally fixated on the class, almost as if he were trying to atone for something.
But, undeniable as it was, even with that atonement in mind, Hirata was genuinely a good person.
Even now, he was thinking about maintaining harmony among the students.
However—
"I'm not interested in events where a bunch of people gather and talk about meaningless nonsense," Horikita Suzune said.
Is that so?
Horikita really did seem like the type who didn't enjoy socializing with others.
Which was exactly why Hirata had asked him to persuade her.
Unfortunately, Hirata, Hikigaya also didn't like socializing with people...
Because—
He also had no interest in attending such lively gatherings.
As he was thinking this—
Beep beep!
Hikigaya noticed he had received a message.
But it wasn't from Hirata.
It was from an unknown number.
[First-year Class C, clean your necks and wait. I'll be taking my spot back soon! Enjoy your seats while you still can!]
The tone of the message was quite arrogant.
"This message is—" Horikita, who had just been reading seriously, frowned.
She was also looking at her phone.
Hikigaya walked over to check.
What he saw was the same number and... the same message.
Threatening texts.
Which meant that it wasn't just him—Horikita had also received the same message.
"Hikigaya-kun!"
At that moment, Kushida came running over.
"The message!" she said.
Hmm.
So, she had received it as well.
"And the sender is—" Kushida provided some new information. "This number seems to belong to Ryuen from Class D."
Is that so?
Hikigaya understood now.
So this was Ryuen from Class D provoking them.
Wait a second.
Ryuen was starting provocations now?
On what basis?