Hachiman’s Classroom of Strength’s Supremacy

Chapter 013:

Hachiman: A Joke—Oh No, Stepping on Landmines is My Specialty!

At the stairwell.

Just like the dormitory, where an entire building was allocated to first-year students, the school building was also structured in the same way—one whole building per grade level.

Hachiman’s school building had a total of seven floors.

Among them:

• The first floor housed Class 1-C.
• The second floor was where Hachiman’s Class 1-D was located.
• However, the third and fourth floors were dedicated to science laboratories.
• Only on the fifth and sixth floors were Class 1-B and Class 1-A located.
The layout seemed a bit strange—just four classes for an entire grade, yet the science labs were positioned in between them.

But after understanding the school’s incentive system, this arrangement made more sense.

Most likely, the school administration didn’t want students from Class A and Class B to be disturbed.

In other words, from the very beginning, Class D was designated as the bottom 40 students out of the 160 newly admitted first-years.

With the school operating on a class-based competition system, was there any hope for them?

The outcome was obvious.

Unless some extraordinary figure miraculously appeared, there was no way to turn things around.

But none of this concerned Hachiman.

Because he had his own ways to obtain private points.

At the very least, he had already secured 200,000 points from Kushida, though the 200,000 points from Horikita were still out of reach.

And since Kushida was a social butterfly radiating a warm and friendly aura, perhaps he could gather some useful information about Horikita from her.

So, the two of them walked together to the stairwell and went up a landing.

Kushida seemed to be gathering her thoughts before speaking.

Then she said, “Hikigaya-kun, you seem to be just like the other boys in our class—you really like Horikita-san, don’t you?”

“Eh?”

Hachiman was momentarily stunned.

What kind of statement was that?

“You were also distracted during class, glancing at Horikita-san, weren’t you?” Kushida continued. “I noticed it during the second period—you looked at Horikita-san five times within forty minutes.”

Oh.

So, she caught that.

Well, in that case, there was no way to deny it… or was there?!

Kushida, do you realize that, based on what you just said, you are actually the scary one here?

For you to notice his actions, wouldn’t that mean you were watching Horikita the entire time, which is why you caught him looking at her?

Kushida…

Was it because Horikita brushed you off when you tried to talk to her this morning?

Did you feel embarrassed and hold a grudge?

At this moment, Hachiman neither denied nor admitted to looking at Horikita during class.

Because he knew that wasn’t what Kushida was really concerned about.

She clearly had something else she wanted to say.

And sure enough—

“Actually, I already greeted Horikita-san yesterday,” Kushida began as if confiding in him. “I also ran into her at the shopping district, but she barely acknowledged me.”

“And today, I started wondering if she dislikes me.” Kushida sighed. “But Hikigaya-kun, you sit next to Horikita-san, so compared to me, it should be easier for you to talk to her, right?”

So, she wanted him to test the waters and find out how Horikita felt about her?

That aligned with her self-introduction—her goal of becoming friends with everyone.

Since Horikita was a classmate, she naturally fell within the scope of “everyone” that Kushida wanted to befriend.

But—

Kushida, I think you should give up on this “I want to be friends with everyone” idea.

Because some people are just terrible and not worth your attention.

Still, Kushida was a potential landmine, and Hachiman had no intention of poking it and blowing himself up.

“What exactly do you want me to do?” Hachiman asked. “No need to beat around the bush.”

“Hmm… That’s right, I hope—eh?”

Kushida nodded slightly, but then suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

She lifted her head and looked at him with an adorably pitiful expression.

Then—

She took his left hand.

Held it gently.

The warmth of a girl’s touch immediately transferred to him.

And Kushida continued her cuteness assault—

“Hikigaya-kun, you’re so mean~ Your way of thinking is too mature. What do you mean by ‘beating around the bush’? I wasn’t trying to use you~”

But the way you’re speaking now makes it sound like, even though I caught you, you still want to use me.

And you’re not even trying to hide it—you’ve already taken direct action.

Even though that’s what he was thinking, Hachiman found himself unable to deny it.

Kushida was indeed very cute.

And whatever type of shampoo she used had a pleasant fragrance.

Of course, it could also be perfume.

Girls were truly something else.

This made Hachiman unconsciously recall the last time a girl had held his hand like this… Hmm, the last time was also Kushida.

The boys in class were restless, driven by their teenage hormones, because so many beautiful girls had appeared around them.

And now, Hachiman realized that maybe he was just as ordinary as the rest of them.

His heartbeat was speeding up.

After all, some girls were simply raised on pure cuteness.

Just like the silver-haired, timid-looking loli he had seen at Keyaki Mall yesterday.

Her delicate features, paired with that weak and shy aura, yet somehow exuding the presence of someone above others—

That kind of girl was undeniably adorable.

And yet.

Here he was, having his hand held by the class’s little angel, Kushida Kikyo, and he was still being rude enough to think about another girl.

“Then, what do you know about Horikita Suzune?” Hachiman started gathering intel.

He pulled his hand back.

Kushida also took out her phone.

Hachiman spoke honestly, “My relationship with her is distant. Actually, we haven’t even really talked—we’re just seat neighbors, that’s all.”

“So,” he continued, “if you have any information—like maybe you went to the same middle school or something—that would be helpful…”

“Ah… Clatter!”

But at that moment—

Kushida’s phone, held in her left hand, suddenly slipped and fell to the floor with a loud noise.

She seemed frozen for a moment before quickly squatting down to pick it up.

“……”

Hachiman.

As someone with keen observational skills, this was the first time he had ever seen Kushida so visibly shaken.

Even just now, when she outright revealed that she wanted to use him, she wasn’t this flustered.

Which meant—

Wait!?

Did I just accidentally step on a landmine of hers?