Hachiman’s Classroom of Strength’s Supremacy

Chapter 165



Chapter 165: Nagumo-senpai, Don’t You Know You’re the Weakest?

The school cafeteria.

Third floor.

Sakayanagi Arisu’s private room.

Since Sakayanagi was treating, Hikigaya was more than happy to accept the invitation.

After all, Sakayanagi was willing to spend money, so eating at her place would naturally mean better food.

At the same time, Horikita was still struggling with the fact that she had to compete against her older brother, and she was basically broken, so Hikigaya decided to go find Sakayanagi Arisu instead.

Arriving at the familiar private room, he confirmed that the ultra-cute silver-haired girl with snow-white skin was already seated, so he took the seat across from her.

At the moment, there were only two freshly poured glasses of barley tea on the table.

Meanwhile, Kamuro was still busy at the food counter.

“Kamuro-san seems to be in a good mood,” Hikigaya commented.

Although Kamuro Masumi always wore a sullen expression and followed orders reluctantly, he could tell that she was in a good mood today.

“Well, this exam is her stage, after all.”

Kamuro Masumi was Sakayanagi’s loyal subordinate, someone who had succumbed to the power of money. However, there was no denying that her legs were long and strong, making her seem particularly adept at sports competitions.

So for Kamuro, a sports festival was no big deal. In fact, she might even be one of the top female athletes in her class.

“And then—”

Sakayanagi Arisu seemed a bit regretful. “I won’t be able to participate in this exam.”

As she spoke, she placed her left hand on her thigh, which was covered by white over-the-knee socks.

Hikigaya’s gaze naturally followed.

But it felt impolite, so he quickly looked away.

Now that he thought about it, it was strange—

Sakayanagi Arisu’s thighs were soft and plump, but instead of being off-putting, they actually seemed quite cute.

He even found himself fantasizing about touching them.

“How is your class doing right now?” Hikigaya changed the subject.

“A-Class has barely managed to hold its position, but even Katsuragi sees this exam as a major threat,” Sakayanagi Arisu replied.

She had a look of helplessness.

But don’t be fooled. During the Special Exam for the VIPs, it was actually Sakayanagi who had instructed Ryuen to immediately eliminate A-Class’s three VIPs by answering the questions.

As a result, A-Class took an instant -150 points.

And this move had three advantages:

1. Similar to Hikigaya’s own strategy, once it became clear that every student in the class could be manipulated, rather than risking some incompetent teammate making a mistake and losing points, it was better to just erase the points outright.
2.
3. The exam’s rules included a penalty for missing group meetings. She had already been penalized once during the uninhabited island exam, and if it happened again, some idiots might start questioning her.
4.
And the third point—

With A-Class in a precarious and delicate situation, if Katsuragi failed to recover their advantage, he would automatically be removed from his role as the class representative.

In other words, she was planning to seize full control of A-Class without shedding a drop of blood.

This girl specialized in psychological warfare.

Just like earlier—

Hikigaya had assumed she was referring to her weak heart, which prohibited her from participating in any intense physical activities, but instead, she deliberately touched her own thigh, nearly causing him to waver.

Was she trying to get him to leak information?

Did she think he’d fall for that?

“My class won’t be targeting A-Class this time,” Hikigaya said honestly.

“Oh?”

Sakayanagi Arisu pouted slightly.

Hikigaya was now a student of B-Class—a very delicate position. If B-Class made a strong push, they could potentially rise to the top, meaning a fierce showdown between A and B-Class wasn’t far off.

And yet, with the goal right in front of him, Hikigaya wasn’t going for it?

Even when given the opportunity, he wasn’t making a move.

Ah.

Wait a moment—

Sakayanagi suddenly realized something.

If his target wasn’t A-Class, then… was it C-Class?

C-Class was led by Ichinose, and Hikigaya had once formed an alliance with her. It wouldn’t be impossible for him to turn around and stab his ally in the back. After all, things like friendship weren’t reliable—only interests were.

So, was he planning to push Ichinose’s class down?

No.

Ichinose’s class was practically harmless. Hikigaya wouldn’t waste his time dealing with the weakest existence first.

That meant—he was going after Ryuen’s class.

Indeed.

In the class competition, Ryuen’s class was a significant threat. Eliminating him first made sense.

In that instant, Sakayanagi felt like she had grasped Hikigaya’s intent.

And if she had figured it out, then as a member of a rival class, wasn’t it only fair for her to interfere a little?

Just as she was thinking that, she heard Hikigaya’s voice.

“By the way, does your class have anyone with better physical ability than Sudo or Koenji?” Hikigaya asked.

“……”

Sakayanagi’s desire to meddle instantly dropped by half.

Because in this exam, she didn’t have much confidence.

At present, A-Class had no weapon that could stand against Hikigaya’s class’s monsters.

Someone of Sudo’s caliber was already among the best in A-Class.

And Koenji? Other than the student council president, there was probably no one who could stop him.

In this exam’s rules, the scoring system allowed individuals to earn or lose significant points through their chosen events.

It was easy to imagine—if Sudo or Koenji participated in the three-legged race, for example, and if there were no rules limiting the number of times someone could participate, they could exploit that loophole to rack up points at an insane rate, leaving other classes completely powerless to stop them.

Their chances of winning had just plummeted.

With an exam they were likely to lose, Sakayanagi naturally lost interest.

“And,” Hikigaya continued, “I recently noticed a student named Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. He’s been hiding his true strength all this time.”

Oh.

Really now.

Sakayanagi Arisu completely lost all interest in participating.

As the daughter of the chairman, she knew that Hikigaya’s class had a monster.

And that monster wasn’t someone ordinary people could defeat.

Just like that—

The advantage of timing and terrain was completely gone.

As long as Hikigaya could secure the “human factor,” the first-place winner of this Sports Festival was already decided.

So, before the exam had even begun, it was already over.

Sakayanagi Arisu quickly lost interest.

Observing her expression, Hikigaya gathered his own intel.

Just as Chabashira-sensei had said, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was a complete cheat code. If he could be controlled, everything would be easy. But Hikigaya didn’t believe such a cheat-level person could be easily recruited.

Besides—

His father held considerable influence. Even the chairman might not be able to stand against him.

His position was too high.

That’s why someone like Sakayanagi Arisu, at this level, was much easier to interact with.

As the two talked, they noticed a girl with long purple hair—Kamuro Masumi—returning.

But her face was tense.

At the same time, both Sakayanagi and Hikigaya glanced toward the entrance of the private dining room.

A young man with short golden hair, exuding a bright and sunny aura, had arrived.

“I originally just heard some classmates say they saw a silver-haired girl having lunch with a dead-fish-eyed boy, so I figured it might be you two.”

“And sure enough,” the newcomer said, “you two seem to have a pretty good relationship.”

“This isn’t something you need to concern yourself with, Nagumo-senpai.” Sakayanagi gently pinched the silver strands near her ear. “But, senpai, is it really okay for you to be so relaxed?”

“Hmm?” Nagumo looked confused.

In truth, he had already marked Sakayanagi Arisu as a dangerous individual.

She was someone competing with him for the position of the next student council president.

And her chances of winning weren’t low.

Not to mention, she had outright rejected his offer of 15 million yen.

So, when he heard that A-Class’s ranking was at risk of being overtaken by B and C-Class, he had specifically come here to mock her.

Yet, Sakayanagi could still smile?

But then Hikigaya spoke.

“Every month, the school holds a special exam, but some of these exams follow a relatively fixed pattern.”

“For example, around this time next year, there’s a high chance that another school-wide Sports Festival will take place.”

“Although the general structure might remain the same, the exam rules could change. This year, for example, it’s a large-scale red-and-white team battle across all grade levels.”

“But next year, it’s possible that the competition will be divided strictly by grade level, with rankings based on each grade’s total points.”

“In that case, since your second-year grade has the lowest number of students, Nagumo-senpai, wouldn’t you be guaranteed to lose points?” Hikigaya asked.

“……”

Nagumo fell silent.

Currently, there were 122 second-year students.

Meanwhile, the third-years had 137.

Since participation in the Sports Festival was mandatory for all students, his second-year group, having the fewest members, would automatically suffer a major points loss.

Even if he could manipulate the second-year students’ performances, the gap between grade levels was too significant. Statistically, the probability of losing the overall score was 90%.

“You guys sure know how to kill the mood.” Nagumo sighed. “But Hikigaya, are you really okay being this friendly with Sakayanagi Arisu?”

“After all, you’re in B-Class now. That means you’re part of the White Team.”

“So, your class is definitely going to lose 200 points!” Nagumo declared.

That’s right.

Hikigaya had to consider this issue too.

In this red-and-white team battle, as a B-Class student, he had been placed in the White Team.

Across all three grades, the B and C-Classes belonged to the White Team.

Meanwhile, the A and D-Classes were grouped into the Red Team.

Historically, cases of a lower-ranked class overtaking the upper classes were rare, meaning A-Class still held a significant advantage.

And with Nagumo being the type to manipulate people, controlling the second-years, he wouldn’t let his Red Team lose.

He could easily stage matches to ensure the Red Team gained extra points.

With that in mind—

The White Team, which Hikigaya was part of, had a 99% chance of losing.

So, before the exam had even begun, his class was already set to lose 200 points.

However—

This idea of match-fixing was worth investigating.

Hikigaya made a mental note of it.

After lunch with Sakayanagi, Hikigaya returned to the classroom.

The afternoon classes had been canceled, with the first period allocated for students to digest the details of the Sports Festival.

Then, during the second period, they would all head to the gymnasium—the same place where the entrance ceremony had been held—for the official Sports Festival briefing.

In other words, it would be the first time all students across all grades gathered in one place.

And now—

As the rules were explained by “Mama” Hirata, the classroom atmosphere was fairly positive.

In fact, there was even a hint of excitement.

For instance—

“It’s fine! This time, B-Class has a really high chance of winning!”

Sudo Ken declared confidently. “As long as I participate in every event, even if I can’t win first place in all of them, our total points will definitely be high!”

Sudo was extremely confident in his athletic ability.

While he wasn’t arrogant enough to believe there was no one in the school stronger than him—

If he participated in every event, he certainly had a good chance of racking up a ton of points.

After all, his exceptional physical abilities were well known.

And this time, during the Sports Festival, he might even have a chance to completely change how others viewed him.

“No way!”

A male student suddenly shouted, “This kind of competition is supposed to be a team effort! How can we let you, Sudo Ken, participate in everything by yourself?”

“So, even if we lose because of that, it’s fine?”

Sudo glared at him.

This time, he was genuinely thinking about the class. He truly wanted to win.

Because even he wanted to change the way others saw him.

“But this is a team event. If we let you do everything alone, our B-Class will be a laughingstock.”

“That’s right.”

More and more male students agreed. They all wanted to participate.

As for their real reasons…

“Hah, aren’t you guys just after the top-three ranking bonus points?”

Karuizawa mocked them mercilessly. “You’re afraid of ending up in last place and losing ten points. You just want to get a better placement and earn extra points, even if it means sacrificing B-Class’s overall score, right?”

“Karuizawa, how could you say that?!”

“That’s too much, Karuizawa!”

“I actually thought you were okay before, but now you think of us like that?!”

The boys’ faces turned red with anger, clearly embarrassed.

Which only proved that Karuizawa had hit them right where it hurt.

“Is that really the case?”

Even Sudo Ken’s face turned red.

Because, honestly, he had similar thoughts.

If he won first place in every event, he could gain over forty points!

That meant that even if he scored a zero on an exam, he could still pass.

“Alright, alright, everyone calm down. This Sports Festival is a chance for all of us to showcase our abilities.”

“Mama” Hirata and “Angel” Kushida stepped in, smoothing things over and easing the tension in the class.

Hmm.

See?

Hikigaya remained silent.

During his lunch with Sakayanagi, he had deliberately brought up his class’s overpowered competitor to make A-Class’s Sakayanagi wary.

He had even managed to trick her into staying out of this exam.

After all, Hikigaya’s goal was to swindle Ryuen out of the 300-class-point deal he had with A-Class.

He only needed to fool Ryuen.

If Sakayanagi got involved, things would get complicated, and he might even have to split the profits with her.

During the VIP exam, he had already given her the bigger share. This time, he wouldn’t.

However—

Looking at the current situation, he could kind of understand why Ayanokouji, despite having the skills of a genius, acted like a slacker and pretended to be ordinary.

Because—

It was impossible to carry this team.

They were B-Class students in name, but they weren’t acting like B-Class students at all.

 


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