Hachiman’s Classroom of Strength’s Supremacy

Chapter 130: Tch, Straight Man!

Hachiman put Ibuki’s small cloth pouch back in place and restored the soil to its original state.

If he wanted to maximize their advantage, he needed Ibuki to relay false information back.

So—

He had to give Ibuki a chance to photograph Koenji’s leader card. In any case, Koenji would choose to retire in the end.

However—

Upon seeing the camera and radio transceiver that Ibuki had buried, Horikita Suzune frowned slightly.

“In order to gain points in the special exam, Ryuen not only used a self-inflicted trick but also planted a spy.”

“Ryuen really is a terrifying person.”

Horikita Suzune placed her left hand on her right elbow and fell into deep thought, realizing just how dangerous Ryuen Kakeru was.

Not only was he using a self-inflicted injury tactic this time, but considering the previous incident with Sudo’s assault, it was clear that Ryuen was completely ruthless.

She even suspected that if it came down to a decisive battle between key players from different classes, Ryuen wouldn’t face it head-on. Instead, he would resort to underhanded methods—perhaps even drugging key players from opposing classes to prevent them from competing.

Just thinking about it made her furrow her brows even deeper.

“Yes,” Hachiman nodded. “That’s why we need to be especially cautious when dealing with him.”

“Ryuen is willing to do anything in these special exams, so we have to guard against his tricks.”

“But we can also use this against him. For example, we could plant a spy in his class, and when the time is right, report him again. He’s already been reported once—if the number of reports increases, there’s a high chance he’ll be expelled,” Hachiman said. “After all, the existence of the points card and the old exam questions shows that the school wants students to be adaptable and resourceful.”

“And inevitably, some students will resort to underhanded means.”

“But on the surface, the school won’t turn a blind eye to certain students’ violations forever.”

“So, as long as the number of reports is high enough, the school might take action,” Hachiman said.

In this case, “reports” referred to complaints about rule violations.

Hachiman figured that just two reports would be enough.

The school was somewhat structured like a simulation of society, which meant students encountered a wide variety of personalities and strategies.

That might also mean encountering some dark tactics.

So the school might turn a blind eye to certain underhanded methods.

But if such methods are used repeatedly, the school will definitely intervene.

Take Ryuen’s “zero-point strategy,” for example. Zero points is a powerful tool—it allows them to attack other classes.

Since their class is already at zero, they won’t go into negative points.

So they could use this opportunity to drag other classes down or even extort points as protection fees.

However—

Hachiman didn’t think this was a sustainable move.

If they used this strategy even just twice, the school would step in and put a stop to it. It was even possible that the school would disqualify any class that remained at zero points indefinitely.

Ryuen was undeniably dangerous—he had manipulated Ibuki, used self-inflicted harm tactics, deployed spies, and even allied with Class A to have them hold onto their initial points.

Hachiman could only hope Ryuen had enough self-awareness. If he continued relying solely on underhanded tactics, the only path left for him might be expulsion.

That thought crossed Hachiman’s mind.

“So you already had a plan,” Horikita Suzune said, feeling somewhat reassured.

Ryuen was ruthless when it came to playing dirty, but she hadn’t forgotten—Class C also had someone who didn’t play by conventional rules: Hikigaya Hachiman.

That meant their class still had hope.

However—

“……” Kushida.

Kushida Kikyo, on the other hand, felt no sense of relief.

She had accompanied them and even guided Hachiman to the right spot, but she had no real interest in advancing their class or excelling in special exams. Her only concern was maintaining her social relationships and making sure Hachiman never exposed her true self.

She also hadn’t forgotten the condition of their agreement—if necessary, she would have to betray their class and act as a spy for another.

And now—

Ryuen had officially been labeled as dangerous.

Did that mean Hachiman was planning to take action against Ryuen?

In other words—

She might be tasked with infiltrating Ryuen’s class as a spy.

Which meant—

She really was going to become a spy.

How annoying.

……

“So, where are we heading next?”

“Horitika-san still hasn’t fully recovered, has she? If we walk too far, it might not be good for her,” Kushida said after adjusting her emotions.

After leaving the small forest where they had found Ibuki’s buried pouch, Hachiman showed no intention of returning to the main base.

Kushida, the so-called “angel” of the class, didn’t particularly like Horikita, but since they were now “friends,” it was only natural to show concern for her.

So, she spoke up on Horikita’s behalf.

“My body still feels a bit weak,” Horikita admitted. “But I am getting better.”

It was already her fourth day of being sick, and she could feel herself recovering.

At the very least, she no longer had the splitting headaches and intense body aches she had at the beginning.

She was just still somewhat fatigued.

“Let’s check in with Ichinose next,” Hachiman said. “For this exam, our initial points have been used up, and our base points are more or less settled. But we can still participate in guessing the leader game. Koenji will eventually change out as the leader at an appropriate time.”

“You can switch leaders?” Horikita asked.

Hachiman had specifically sought out Ibuki and Ryuen’s communication devices to confirm Ibuki’s identity as a spy. Horikita had assumed he would either drive Ibuki away or feed her false leader information.

But now, it seemed like he intended to expose Koenji’s leader status.

And set up a much bigger play.

“Yes. Unjustified leader changes aren’t allowed, but if there’s a valid reason—like an illness, for example—then it is,” Hachiman explained.

“Or,” he added, “like that snake you threw away. If someone gets bitten by a snake, they’d have no choice but to withdraw, right?”

That had been the closest he had come to being eliminated from the exam.

It was also the moment he realized Horikita was actually reliable.

After all, who wouldn’t want someone dependable by their side?

“And Koenji will handle the process himself. So, the leader will change at the last moment. That means our class is safe. Our base points are secure.”

“Plus, we have another objective—figuring out Class A’s leader. Every correct guess costs them 50 points. If we work with Ichinose’s class, we can make Class A lose 100 points.”

“On top of that,” Hachiman continued,

“Class B probably doesn’t have any information on Class A’s leader. If I get that information, I can hand it to Class B. That means they’ll gain 50 points, and at the same time, they’ll narrow their gap with Class A by 100 points.”

“Which means—”

“If I, like Ryuen’s class selling off initial points, demand a fair price, I could ask Class B to pay me 50 class evaluation points as a ‘living expense’ until graduation. That’s reasonable, isn’t it?” Hachiman concluded.

“So in other words…”

Horikita and Kushida’s eyes lit up.

Fifty class evaluation points, spread across forty students in Class B, amounted to an income of 200,000 points per month. Over three years, that would total between five to six million points.

That was not a small amount.

Both Horikita and Kushida came from relatively ordinary financial backgrounds. They hadn’t had much pocket money in the past, and since coming to this school, they had been spending quite a bit.

Of course—

Horikita was frugal, but Kushida had been using her points on socializing. Right now, she had enough for meals, but anything extra was a bit tight.

After all, a single cup of bubble tea cost 300 points, and a bottle of the perfume everyone liked was 2,200 points. It was just too expensive.

“That’s right, let’s go earn some long-term meal tickets. You can’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

Having deepened his understanding of his classmates, Hachiman realized that putting his whole heart into them was pointless. So, he started thinking about how to earn as many points as possible whenever he had the chance.

After all, ideals might betray him, but his past efforts never would.

And Hachiman’s effort was to make money.

To make as much money as possible.

That way, even if he wasn’t lucky enough to be taken care of by a rich woman in the future, he could at least prepare himself to live ten or twenty years without having to work.

…

With that in mind, the three of them headed toward the first-year B-Class area.

Koenji had occupied most of the strongholds, and just like other classes, B-Class was also struggling to find a foothold. However, Ichinose and her group were smart—they could occupy a stronghold up to three times a day, each time for eight hours.

So, they simply waited for an eight-hour session to end before taking over.

That was how they secured a vegetable garden stronghold.

However, even though Hachiman and the others had just arrived, they could immediately tell that compared to other classes, B-Class was much more harmonious.

Under Ichinose’s leadership, the B-Class camp had a great atmosphere—warm and united.

“They’re even more united than I expected. As expected of B-Class.”

Even though their goal was to rise to A-Class, which meant they would eventually have to go up against their ally, B-Class, both Horikita and Hachiman couldn’t help but feel sentimental seeing the atmosphere.

If their class had this kind of cohesion, Hachiman wouldn’t even consider giving up, and Horikita would have full confidence in leading them to A-Class.

Of course, that was just wishful thinking.

C-Class and B-Class might look similar at first glance.

But in reality, B-Class operated like a democratic republic.

Meanwhile, C-Class… if you wanted to be nice, you could call it a multi-party collaboration. If you wanted to be blunt, it was more like a warlord-era battlefield where civilians suffered.

Their classmates needed people like Kikyo and Hirata as glue to hold them together, and only when persuaded by Hachiman and Horikita would they follow some commands.

But the moment their personal interests were threatened, even in the slightest, they could turn on them instantly.

“Hikigaya-kun! Horikita-san! And Kikyo-chan~!”

From a distance, Ichinose noticed the three of them, her face lighting up with a bright smile as she waved and ran over.

She and Kikyo were old friends, so she used an affectionate nickname right away.

Kikyo also put on a (^▽^) expression, preparing to socialize.

Kikyo wanted to be friends with as many people as possible. She had strong social skills and might even achieve that goal. But she was very aware that Ichinose’s charm and ability to connect with others were even stronger than hers.

So, she once thought of her friendliness as a unique advantage.

But after coming here… she realized she had lost.

She had lost to Ichinose.

Seeing Hachiman and the others arrive, besides Ichinose, Kanzaki also approached.

He was usually by Ichinose’s side, looking somewhat reserved but reliable. He was very capable. In the previous exam, when Hachiman’s class needed high-achievers to tutor struggling students, Kanzaki was the one who tutored Sudo.

Teaching academic weaklings was tough.

So, the fact that Kanzaki managed to stick with it and that Sudo actually improved was already impressive.

“I’m really sorry for taking over this vegetable garden stronghold,” Ichinose said apologetically, clasping her hands together. “But we really had nowhere else to go.”

“And this morning, if you hadn’t come, we were actually planning to send some vegetables over to your class later.”

See?

This is how socially adept people talk.

This stronghold was originally farmed by Koenji, and everyone had picked vegetables here before.

But because Ichinose’s group had taken over, the others lost access to it.

Yet, Ichinose was now saying she had planned to send vegetables over herself.

Framing it like that made it impossible to hold anything against her.

“If we could trade some vegetables for our corn, that would be great,” Horikita said.

“Mm-hmm.”

Seeing that the three from C-Class weren’t upset, Ichinose sighed in relief.

After all, her class was allied with Hachiman’s class, so technically, she shouldn’t be taking their resources.

That’s why she felt a little guilty. But luckily, Hachiman and the others didn’t seem to mind.

However—

“Did you come here for something specific?”

Ichinose tilted her head slightly, blinking her big eyes, her hands behind her back as she leaned forward slightly.

“Yeah, there’s something I wanted to do.”

Hachiman nodded lightly and added, “Of course, I also have a secondary mission—to scout and see how much of your initial points you’ve used up.”

“You’re really honest, huh?” Ichinose chuckled, nodding lightly. She didn’t really know how to respond to Hachiman’s bluntness.

Because, wow, that was straightforward.

He outright admitted he was here to investigate their initial points.

But even knowing that, Ichinose didn’t seem too concerned.

After all, when it came to resources, each class had a school-issued booklet. So, as long as someone checked their equipment and supplies, they could estimate their spending based on that booklet.

In other words, there was no way to hide it.

“What kind of things did you guys buy?”

Hachiman glanced around and casually asked.

“……”

Horikita opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Hachiman had already said he was here to milk B-Class for resources and turn them into a long-term meal ticket. The scouting was just an excuse.

But even if he was here to scout, who just directly asks like that?

Seriously, what kind of interrogation style was this?

Did he really think the other side would just answer?

Meanwhile, Kikyo maintained her adorable expression. She was already used to Hachiman’s blunt behavior.

She didn’t even react anymore.

If anything, back when he discovered her true self, if he had been less straightforward and more focused on rising to A-Class, she might’ve ended up in a much worse situation—like something straight out of a certain adult manga.

Kikyo felt like she had dodged a bullet.