Hachiman’s Classroom of Strength’s Supremacy

Chapter 173: Horikita’s Brother’s Teachings

Hikigaya and Karuizawa left the team training on the playground.

The two did not head to the cafeteria but instead walked toward the shopping street.

“So, what do you want to do by asking me out?” Karuizawa asked.

The two were now on a busy street, having just come out of a steakhouse.

In his left hand, Hikigaya was holding a free drink from the store.

They had dinner together, and Hikigaya Hachiman paid the bill.

This made her feel a little flattered.

“I told you before that I would protect you, but I didn’t do it today,” Hikigaya said. “After training, I saw you and Horikita doing a three-legged race, and then you stood there for ten minutes.”

“…” Karuizawa.

Good job.

“So, you actually saw it from the beginning?” Karuizawa said sarcastically. “And then left me alone to work myself to death.”

“Horikita is so fast, and I only have average stamina. How can I keep up?”

“Horikita has changed compared to before,” Hachiman said. “But she is still quite stiff when it comes to getting along with others.”

“…” Karuizawa.

She probably knew what the change in Horikita Suzune that Hikigaya was talking about was, which was that before the uninhabited island exam, Horikita Suzune suddenly started making lunchboxes for Hikigaya Hachiman.

Then it caused misunderstandings among everyone.

I wonder if these two are dating.

But now it seems that it was just Horikita Suzune’s unique way of behaving towards Hikigaya.

“If you can gain Horikita’s approval, then she might treat you differently,” Hachiman said.

“…” Karuizawa.

That’s it.

Although they didn’t have much contact time, Karuizawa didn’t think it would be easy to get Horikita Suzune’s approval.

And.

She has the image of a gyaru in the class, and it would be troublesome if she got too close to Horikita Suzune.

“Come to think of it.” Karuizawa thought Hikigaya’s invitation was probably just out of guilt for her, so she started the topic herself. “At the opening ceremony of the sports meet in the gymnasium, is Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A going to be the next student council president?”

Although she is only a discipline committee member in name only, she is in a slacking-off state.

I don’t have many opportunities to go to the student union.

But after all, I am a member of the Student Union, so I know the importance of the position of Student Union President.

“It’s possible,” Hachiman said. “But this is after our class is promoted to Class A. And, if we are lucky enough, we will be Class A after this sports meet.”

“…” Karuizawa.

Although it was a date in name only, Karuizawa didn’t think it was necessary to discuss the promotion at this time.

“I mean, do you like her?” Karuizawa said. “I saw her eating with you often before, and now she can get a candidate position in the student council. I think you may have contributed to it.”

Then you have strong insight.

Do you want to be a human observer too?

Hachiman’s opinion of Karuizawa slightly increased.

But.

He shook his head slightly.

“I can’t possibly like Sakayanagi Arisu,” he said. “She’s the type who would definitely force people to work. I can’t accept that.”

Okay.

Karuizawa thought it was a waste of time to ask.

Because there is no point in asking him if he likes her or not.

After returning to school, Hikigaya, who had a huge amount of points, stared at the girls in his class in a daze.

He thought that if there was an ambitious girl willing to work and support him in the future, he would be willing to pay her the 20 million points required to be promoted to Class A.

But to sum it up… this guy probably hopes that the woman will support him in his future life.

“So, now that there’s still some time, do you want to go for a walk?” After finishing dinner and asking the questions, Karuizawa glanced at the time.

Perhaps because of the upcoming sports meet, there weren’t many students on the shopping street.

So, they didn’t see any familiar faces, and she thought it wouldn’t be bad to spend some time with Hikigaya.

“A walk?” Hikigaya didn’t immediately agree. “I don’t have any daily supplies I need to buy these days.”

Karuizawa almost wanted to give him a high five.

Because when you’re out with a girl, is the goal really to buy daily supplies?

Such a typical straight guy.

You’re always seen hanging out with Kushida, don’t you think she should teach you these things?

Wait a minute.

Karuizawa suddenly thought.

Does this mean that Hikigaya doesn’t really have many chances to go shopping with girls?

“Don’t you think your eyes look really fierce?” Karuizawa said. “You treated me to dinner earlier, right? I don’t like taking advantage of others.”

“So how about we cancel it out?” she suggested. “Let’s go to an optical shop and get you a pair of plain glasses. They’ll help cover up those fierce eyes. Based on my judgment, this could improve your popularity.”

“…” Hikigaya.

He already had a pair of plain glasses, recommended by Sakura.

However, since they were a freebie, there was no reason to refuse.

His mother had taught him not to be picky.

…

Meanwhile,

In Class B, it wasn’t just Koenji who skipped training. It wasn’t just Hikigaya and Karuizawa, even Horikita Suzune skipped as well.

Of course,

Horikita wasn’t skipping out of desire, but because Hikigaya had assigned her a task.

She needed to reflect on her shortcomings.

The task Hikigaya gave her was to learn how to cooperate with others.

As expected,

She still couldn’t figure it out.

“Did something happen?” At that moment, a voice was heard.

As soon as Horikita Suzune heard the voice, her body instinctively reacted.

She looked over, slightly surprised.

It was the student council president, Horikita Manabu, who had arrived here.

However, Horikita wasn’t alone. He was probably patrolling with the secretary, Tachibana Akane.

Tachibana remained where she was, and Horikita Manabu walked over alone.

He gently pushed his glasses up.

“Big brother…”

Horikita Suzune looked up.

“I actually ran into some trouble during the three-legged race,” Horikita Suzune thought for a moment and said. “The student I was paired with is slower than me, and I wanted them to speed up to catch up to me.”

“Hikigaya told me to learn how to cooperate with others.”

“But cooperating with others means I have to slow down, so we’ll be moving at their pace, and our combined performance would be reduced. For example, my speed wouldn’t be fully utilized.”

“…” Horikita Manabu.

Hearing his sister describe the issue, Horikita Manabu seemed to be silent for a moment.

But Tachibana Akane, who had come along with Horikita Manabu, felt that no one would be more suited to answer Horikita Suzune’s question than Horikita Manabu.

Because,

Horikita Manabu was excellent, but the classmates around him were holding him back.

Many times, when there were opportunities to earn a lot of points and scores, they had to watch those chances slip away.

And the advantage in the current class evaluation scores had been compressed.

3rd Year Class A: 2154 points
3rd Year Class B: 1530 points
3rd Year Class C: 310 points
3rd Year Class D: 255 points

This upcoming sports meet would also put some pressure on the 3rd-year students.

Because the gap could widen by as much as 800 points.

Of course,

Since Class A had the most students—40 in total—compared to other classes with dropouts and the 9 required events they had to participate in, they could ensure an advantage in those scores.

And with the student council president, Horikita Manabu, leading them, their class’s score wouldn’t lose.

The Red-White match would add another 200 points.

So the class was still in a stable position.

However,

While Horikita Manabu was excellent, the classmates around him were indeed dragging him down.

And Horikita Manabu hadn’t given up on any of his classmates.

So, this topic was definitely best answered by Horikita Manabu.

Because while Horikita Manabu was exceptional, the classmates around him were average.

“Simply put, in the case of a three-legged race,” Horikita Manabu said. “There will definitely be situations where one person is faster, and their partner is slower. First of all, it’s impossible to have the slower person cooperate with the faster one because it won’t work.”

“Every person’s potential has its limits.”

Uh.

Horikita Suzune was the first to take a hit.

However, she had already been lectured by Hikigaya, so Horikita Suzune continued to listen.

“And it’s easiest to have the faster person cooperate with the slower one,” Manabu said.

“But this also brings a problem: when two people are tied together, if the slower one leads, then the entire race will probably result in a bad ranking,” Horikita Manabu continued. “But if the two can cooperate well, even a slower pace might not necessarily lead to losing.”

“Because in a three-legged race, aside from physical strength, the key is cooperation.”

“I see,” Horikita Suzune nodded.

Her brother really was her brother, after all.

However.

Seeing that her brother seemed like he was about to leave with Tachibana Akane, Suzune quickly asked.

“Brother, can you answer another question for me?”

“Hmm?” Horikita Manabu turned his head.

“Hikigaya is apparently planning to leave the class once he gathers 20 million points,” Suzune said.

“…” Horikita Manabu.

20 million, huh.

As the student council president, he knew that Sakayanagi Arisu had already reached that requirement.

And Hikigaya Hachiman,

Had a considerable amount of points as well.

It was very likely that Hikigaya could gather the 20 million points required to move up to a different class.

“Are you telling me this to inform me of something?” Horikita Manabu looked at his sister.

His sister had previously told him that she wouldn’t keep chasing after his back.

She seemed to have understood that.

But now, she seemed lost.

“Suzune,” Horikita Manabu said. “You said that Hikigaya plans to leave the class after gathering 20 million points, but what you really want to ask is whether Hikigaya is abandoning you, isn’t it?”

Horikita Suzune and Hikigaya were in the same class, and if Hikigaya moved to a different class, it could be seen as him abandoning Suzune.

“…” Horikita Suzune.

This made Suzune lift her head.

Her eyes, once full of clarity, now seemed a little confused.

“You rely on him too much,” Horikita Manabu said. “So you can’t accept that he might leave and abandon you.”

“But it’s not without a solution,” Horikita Manabu continued. “If he leaves, and you grow to become someone he can’t ignore, then he will not be able to ignore you.”

“Someone he can’t ignore?” Suzune seemed to feel the pressure of those words.

“Yes,” Horikita Manabu said. “And if he doesn’t recognize your worth, but you can still understand him and catch up to him, then you will have grown.”

After finishing his words, he left with Tachibana Akane, leaving Suzune behind, thinking deeply about his words.

As Tachibana Akane caught up to Horikita Manabu’s pace, she seemed a little curious.

“Is she Horikita’s sister?” Tachibana Akane asked.

Horikita Suzune and Horikita Manabu shared some resemblance, both having black hair and similar eye color.

Tachibana Akane, although the secretary for Horikita Manabu, was also in the same class.

She was one of the few people who could help him.

“Yes,” Horikita Manabu nodded. “She followed me here. She had said she didn’t want to chase after my back anymore, but it seems she hasn’t realized yet. Now, she’s chasing after Hikigaya’s back.”

“And I’ll be graduating this year.”

“A bit of a headache—”

“My sister has mostly been alone, and she only knows familial love. She used to rely on me, but now she’s started to depend on Hikigaya. So, when she realized he might leave, she became confused.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Tachibana Akane quickly asked.

Because it was like falling for someone without even realizing it.

“Maybe,” Horikita Manabu replied. “But Hikigaya isn’t a bad person, and he knows his limits. So, nothing bad should happen.”

Then, the Hikigaya who had received Horikita Manabu’s approval went to Horikita Manabu’s sister’s room.

“If your brother is saying that, then your brother is going to suffer sooner or later,” Hikigaya said.

Hikigaya had told Horikita Suzune to figure out how to cooperate with others.

But Horikita Suzune had provided an answer that Horikita Manabu gave her.

He didn’t agree with that approach.

Because it was just a method born out of having no other choice.

In a three-legged race, cooperation is necessary, but what’s most important is the strength of yourself and your partner.

If you’re strong enough, you can carry your partner forward. But if your partner can’t cooperate, you don’t just adjust to their slower pace. Instead, you find a faster partner.

This meant that even though Horikita Manabu was the student council president and the representative of Class 3-A, he wasn’t like Sakayanagi Arisu, who could decisively cut off ties with others.

It’s an enhanced version of Ichinose.

Extremely excellent in every way, as if they have hacked the system, but the essence remains unchanged.

That is the “Saint Mary” nature.

Everyone around them is inferior, yet they do not abandon any of them, accommodating everyone.

This kind of behavior can win people’s hearts, but it’s also the weakest.

This is why Hikigaya set his sights on Class A and, in agreement with Sakayanagi, completely ignored Class B.

Because it’s hard for a Saint Mary to win. Not abandoning any student is an obstacle to their progress.

Even though Horikita Manabu’s class still holds an advantage, the idea of not giving up on any student will eventually become a poison hindering the class’s success.

But…

Ding ding ding—

At this moment, the doorbell to Horikita’s room rang.

Currently, both Hikigaya and Horikita were in Horikita Suzune’s room.

Hikigaya had been here before, as had Kushida, and Karuizawa as well. It had become a designated discussion base.

And this time, it was Kushida who had arrived.

As a small spy for this sports festival, she brought some news.

“Ryuen has already made his plans for this sports festival.”

“He will target Sudo.”

Hmm.

This wasn’t surprising.

After Koenji’s withdrawal, Sudo became the strongest player in Class B.

In a normal competition, Ryuen’s class wouldn’t have anyone who could beat Sudo, so they definitely had to make some moves.

“And he’s also going to target Horikita,” IKushida continued. “He arranged for a seeded athlete to compete in the same event as Horikita, and he plans to purposely have one of his class’s athletes injure Horikita to frame Horikita Suzune.”

Oh?