Hachiman’s Classroom of Strength’s Supremacy

Chapter 194: Your Provocation, I Accept It!

According to the intelligence gathered through Kushida’s investigation, it was revealed that the entire school was undergoing written exams this month.

However, the scoring system was somewhat different.

For first-year students, the winning class would take 200 class evaluation points from the losing class.

For second-year students, the difference was only 50 points, while for third-year students, it was 100 points.

This meant that since the whole school was engaged in written exams, places like the library and cafés were packed with students.

Everyone was studying.

However, since classrooms were still available, it wasn’t too inconvenient.

Even though Hikigaya didn’t take charge, Hirata was trying his best to turn things around. He organized a group including himself, Kushida, Matsuhita, Horikita, and Yukimura to create test questions.

Each person was responsible for one or two subjects.

After drafting the questions, they submitted them to Horikita Suzune, intending to finalize and submit them on the 21st.

This was something Hachiman had specifically requested.

At the moment, because he was assigned to a study group, Hachiman had to study with his group members in the evenings, even participating in study sessions.

With school during the day and additional studying at night, weekends were also occupied.

Yukimura believed that even two months wouldn’t be enough for the academically weaker students to catch up, so weekends were naturally scheduled for study as well.

By now, it was already the 13th.

This meant that they had been studying for about two weeks.

The sense of unfamiliarity among the group members had diminished significantly.

At first, Sakura had been timid and uneasy about joining the group, resembling a small squirrel.

However, she seemed to have changed her mind.

She now felt that Karuizawa wasn’t such a bad person after all.

Hikigaya had known this about Karuizawa for a long time.

After all, she even gave him gifts.

After finishing their study session, the group took a break at a café, as usual. Since they had points to spare, the students from Class A didn’t hesitate to spend money.

These study sessions had their benefits—sometimes they even reviewed study methods.

However, when Hachiman returned from the restroom, he found that his group members were surrounded.

“You guys are the real trash. Even though you’ve moved up to Class A, in less than a month, you’ll drop right back down!”

It seemed that students from the current Class D were causing trouble.

Miyake’s face turned red with anger, though he remained more composed than the more hot-tempered Sudo.

Hasebe immediately stood up, but not to break up the fight.

“Hey, don’t you think you’re going too far? Besides, we’re Class A now, while you’re still stuck in Class D!”

From a distance, Hachiman immediately recognized the troublemakers.

They were Komiya and Ishizaki from Ryuen’s group.

However, Ryuen himself was absent.

Hachiman quickly understood the reason for Hasebe’s anger—her coffee had been knocked over by Ishizaki, who then stomped on the paper cup.

“Looks like things got a little out of hand.”

Yet, as soon as Ishizaki and his group saw Hachiman return, they quickly left.

“It’s just Ishizaki and his crew being jealous of us!” Miyake commented.

He was athletic, part of the archery club, and had some advantage in fights. However, with girls present, he had to be more cautious, and Yukimura wasn’t much of a fighter, while Ike couldn’t fight at all.

“Moving up to a higher class isn’t all smooth sailing, huh?” Sato added. “It just makes you a target for jealousy.”

“Guess I’ll have to get another coffee,” Hasebe said, unfazed.

She had already seen through Ishizaki’s act—they were just posturing and had no intention of actually fighting in public. After all, there had only been three guys on their side (Yukimura, Miyake, and Ike), while the other group had five. But now that Hachiman was back, their side had four guys.

“I’ll order it for you,” Hachiman offered, feeling slightly guilty for disappearing at an inconvenient moment. “Besides, they were probably targeting me. Ryuen doesn’t like me very much.”

“Because of that cavalry battle?”

Miyake joined the conversation.

During the sports festival, Miyake and Sudo had been in the same team for the cavalry battle. Originally, Miyake was supposed to be the rider, but Sudo got too fired up and made himself the “horse” instead. In the end, Sudo had his headband snatched by Ryuen.

After that, Miyake remembered that Hachiman had immediately reported Ryuen.

“Well, Ryuen was the one breaking the rules,” Yukimura said, adjusting his glasses.

Although he lacked physical strength and his team had lost early on, Yukimura had still witnessed Ryuen’s cheating—he had coated his headband with wax.

“Some people just won’t admit it,” Hasebe remarked.

It was obvious that she had a strong dislike for Class D.

However, they had all misunderstood the real reason why Ryuen hated Hachiman.

It wasn’t just because he had been reported.

It was because Hachiman had schemed against him multiple times, causing him to lose a huge amount of private points and leaving him in debt.

“Hikigaya, if Ryuen causes trouble for you again, you should get Miyake to help you. Or better yet, just stick with him for a while,” Hasebe suggested.

“That works for me,” Miyake agreed.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Hachiman chuckled.

He didn’t believe that Ryuen would resort to something as crude as a direct brawl. That would be too low for him.

At the same time—

Hachiman had received some intel from Shiina Hiyori.

Apparently, Ryuen had already stepped down from his position as the tyrant of Class D.

So, even if he wanted to rally the class again, it wouldn’t be easy.

“Um—”

At that moment, someone bent down to pick up Hasebe’s crushed paper cup.

The moment Hachiman saw the person, his eyes showed a flicker of surprise.

Meanwhile, Hasebe and the others were visibly impressed.

She was an incredibly beautiful girl.

Even though their class already had Horikita Suzune as a beauty, this girl wasn’t any less striking.

She had silver hair and violet eyes, with delicate features.

Her silver hair flowed elegantly.

Her skin was pale and flawless.

Her beauty was truly outstanding.

“……”

Hachiman remained silent because this sudden arrival wasn’t just anyone—it was the very person they had just mentioned: Shiina Hiyori.

He hadn’t noticed earlier, but she had also been present.

“I apologize for Ishizaki’s behavior just now. May I get you another coffee, exactly the same as before?” Hiyori said with a hint of regret.

“And you are—?” Hasebe asked, not recognizing her.

“I’m Shiina Hiyori from Class D,” Hiyori introduced herself.

“Ishizaki is my classmate. The boys can be rather aggressive, so I’m sorry that your coffee ended up like this.”

“Ishizaki and the others are just trying to stir up trouble,” she continued. “They hope that by making a scene, Ryuen will be forced to come back and take control again—so they can regain their former strength.”

Hiyori’s voice was very pleasant to hear.

At the same time, her attitude was also sincere.

Hasebe did not dwell too much on the conversation, but she felt that she had heard something interesting.

“You hope Ryuen can make a comeback?”

“Yes,” Hiyori said. “Because after the last sports festival, Ryuen resigned as our class representative. And now, with a new exam coming up, everyone can only focus on studying hard. But they’re all worried about failing. So, this time, someone from our class might end up being expelled.”

“Some students feel that things can’t go on like this, but Ryuen is no longer taking charge.”

I see.

That really is unfortunate.

Speaking of Ryuen…

“Previously, Ryuen arranged for Ibuki to infiltrate our class, right?” the honor student Yukimura said.

“That part is true, but I wasn’t involved,” Shiina replied.

Then, she walked over to the staff counter, took a cup of coffee, handed it to Hasebe as compensation, gave everyone an apologetic look, and left.

“……”

Although Hiyori had left, the group members did not stop discussing.

“From a certain perspective, Ryuen is nothing but a tumor in this school. It’s just an exam, yet he even used spies.”

“And Ibuki’s injuries were really caused by Ryuen, right?”

Everyone still had lingering fears.

“So, has this kind of person really resigned?”

“It’s possible. After all, Class D’s evaluation score dropped to zero, didn’t it? After Ryuen took over, Class D didn’t gain any advantages,” Hasebe said. “So, if he had no way to act, resigning would make sense.”

“I also noticed that after school, the students from Ryuen’s class didn’t leave their classroom. They were all studying together,” Yukimura added.

“It seems like Class D has started to take studying seriously,” Miyake remarked.

“Then…” Hasebe seemed curious. “Since Ryuen was once so dominant and aggressive, but now he’s no longer in control, will he end up dropping out?”

Ryuen… dropping out?

That kind of thing—

Hachiman found it impossible.

Because—

If Ryuen really wanted to drop out, he wouldn’t still be at the school now.

Besides—

Ryuen still owed him 8 million yen.

There was no way he’d let him leave without paying up.

…

Thus, most students at the school were now fully immersed in studying.

Finally—

The 21st arrived.

The exam would take place on the 24th, and on the 21st, students could submit the test papers for the rival class throughout the entire day. The deadline was 5 PM.

Horikita’s class was paired against Sakayanagi’s class.

It was a matchup they couldn’t refuse.

Because they had lost the initiative and were challenged by Sakayanagi’s class first.

But this was no ordinary exam—it was also tied to a bet between Horikita and Kushida.

Perhaps Kushida finally realized that she had been tricked by Sakayanagi, so to protect herself, she started behaving obediently.

She smiled when she needed to, acted like an angel when necessary, and went to gather intel from upperclassmen when required.

She was extremely well-behaved.

However, in order to ultimately deceive Sakayanagi and obtain the real test questions, Hachiman instructed her to pretend to know nothing and continue following Sakayanagi’s orders.

And today—

Horikita was going to submit the test questions.

Before morning classes even started, she headed to the staff office to submit them to Chabashira Sae.

The submission deadline was 5 PM, yet she acted so quickly, which showed that she was worried Kushida might interfere.

She was still holding a grudge over the rumors Kushida had spread before.

So she needed to submit the test before Kushida could make another move.

For this paired exam, both classes were responsible for setting each other’s questions. A representative could compile the questions, or each student could contribute one or more. However, regardless of the method, the test paper had to pass the school’s review.

In this case, “the school” specifically referred to the homeroom teachers of each class.

The teachers would check if the questions were too difficult. If they were, they would be sent back for revision. If the class refused to revise them, the school would instead issue an extremely simple test that even an idiot could solve.

And that test wouldn’t be given to their own class—it would be sent to the rival class.

So, no one wanted the school to “help” with the questions.

Since Horikita had made a bet with Kushida, she naturally wanted the test questions to be fair.

That was why she came to submit them.

She had already gotten approval from the whole class.

The timing was excellent.

Because when they arrived, they encountered an unexpected person.

Sakayanagi and Kamuro.

The two of them were standing in front of Teacher Mashima—the homeroom teacher of Class A… no, now Class C.

In their hands was a brown envelope.

Inside it—

Must have been the test questions.

Since their class was paired against Hachiman’s class, that meant—

The exam questions were right there.

Likewise.

Horikita Suzune also brought the test paper.

Chabashira-sensei was not in the office. However, within two minutes, she appeared.

“I can process this test paper, correct?” Chabashira Sae asked, sounding completely official and businesslike.

“Yes, I’ll leave it in your care,” Horikita nodded.

Even though Sakayanagi, the leader of Class C, was in the staff room, Horikita completely ignored them and formally handled the submission with Chabashira.

She handed the brown envelope to Chabashira.

However, submitting the test paper was not the end. As mentioned earlier, the test paper needed to go through a review to check if it exceeded the curriculum scope.

“Reviewing the test paper will take some time,” Chabashira said as she sat down, preparing to examine it.

Although Sakayanagi was also in the staff room, her position was far enough from Chabashira that while she could hear voices, she wouldn’t be able to see the contents of the test paper in Chabashira’s hands.

“Hehe—”

It seemed that Sakayanagi had already finished submitting her test paper, but she didn’t leave immediately, staying behind as if interested in the situation.

Sakayanagi was someone who put pressure on others.

Karuizawa Kei had realized this long ago.

But Horikita remained unfazed.

This made Hikigaya, who had accompanied her, ponder.

Last night, he had reminded Horikita to be mindful of this exam.

He had already helped her deal with the rumor issue, so she needed to handle everything else on her own.

Horikita’s response was that she understood and would do well. She had also given the matter some thought.

In other words, even someone as straightforward as Horikita had finally realized that if Kushida dared to make a bet with her, it must be because she had already sided with Sakayanagi.

If Sakayanagi and Kushida were working together, Sakayanagi could provide Kushida with the test paper, which meant Horikita Suzune could lose.

She had to prevent that from happening.

And what would Kushida give Sakayanagi in return for the favor?

The answer was simple—the test paper for this exam.

That way, Class C could completely crush Class A.

And secure those 200 points.

So, Sakayanagi might have prepared a test paper written by Class C students for Kushida to submit as the exam questions.

Horikita had to guard against this.

Seeing the teacher start reviewing the test, Horikita suddenly spoke up, “I’d like to ask something. Do you have a moment?”

“Hmm?” Chabashira, despite her high academic ability, swiftly scanned the test paper for any curriculum violations while still being able to carry on a conversation with Horikita.

“This test paper and its answers are crucial to Class A’s success. We must prevent any risk of information leakage. Even if someone later requests to see this document, could you refuse them outright? That includes me—I don’t want anyone to be able to access it.”

“……”

Hearing this, Chabashira put down the test paper.

Horikita’s approach was indeed ruthless.

By forbidding anyone from viewing the test paper after submission, she was completely blocking any potential plans for classmates to inspect it.

This was based on a past lesson—during the sports festival, their class roster had been leaked. While part of it was intentionally revealed to Ryuen, there were also issues with how Katsuragi’s class had arranged its students against theirs. For example, when Sudou was on the field, the original Class A wouldn’t send out their top competitors.

In other words—

There was a spy within their class.

So, the possibility of someone selling out their class again—this time to the former Class A, now Class C—was not impossible.

And right now, Horikita was in the middle of an important bet with Kushida.

As a classmate, Kushida also had the authority to submit test questions. If she insisted on reviewing the test paper, it would be entirely justified.

That meant Kushida was likely the biggest spy in this exam.

Horikita now hoped Chabashira would agree to block Kushida.

However—

Chabashira was a teacher.

Horikita’s concerns were valid, but as a teacher, Chabashira couldn’t allow such actions.

A teacher was expected to be fair and just.

“You want to refuse public access?” Chabashira asked, immediately making it clear that, in principle, the test paper was something any classmate had the right to view.

“Is it difficult to do?” Horikita tried to appeal emotionally.

“There’s no such thing,” Chabashira shook her head slightly. “I understand your fear of the test leaking. The school also has no right to refuse such a request. However, there is a condition. Is this the collective decision of your entire Class A? If it is the will of the entire class, then I will agree.”

“……”

The entire class—meaning the decision had to come from all students.

On the 12th, after Hirata, Kushida, Matsuhita, and Yukimura finished compiling the test paper, Horikita Suzune had been instructed by Hikigaya to inform the class that she would be gathering the test questions, making certain difficulty adjustments, and then submitting the final version.

In this sense, she had already acted as the representative for setting the test questions.

However—

Although Horikita was representing the class, this was only the will of the majority, not the entire class.

“Yes, they agreed,” Horikita took out a document. It was a consent form, and at the bottom was a list of student signatures.

“I, Hikigaya, Hirata… Kushida—A total of 40 student signatures,” Horikita stated. “I have obtained authorization from all classmates.”

“Hmm…” Chabashira was slightly surprised that Horikita had gone this far, but she still accepted the document. “Since you’ve done this much, I have no reason to stop you.”

“However, I must add something,” Chabashira interjected. “Sealing the test like this is not ideal. It’s also evidence that your class lacks unity.”

This was a sharp observation.

Because if they were truly united, why would they need to guard against their own classmates? Why would they need to sign such an agreement instead of just trusting each other?

It showed that the class was not as harmonious as it seemed.

Horikita had grown.

Even though she was momentarily speechless, Chabashira still felt that she had matured compared to the start of the school year.

She nodded and added, “I have indeed accepted your request. However, based on the requirements, there may be situations where I agree to disclose the test paper. So, I’d like to ask for permission to add something to our discussion just now. If, after your approval, someone requests to see the questions and answers, I will agree to make the test public. Is that acceptable? If I were to make an absolute statement that no one would ever be allowed to see it, that would also be a risk for you, wouldn’t it?”

Should I say, “As expected of Chabashira-sensei”?

She left no room for mistakes in her words.

If Horikita explicitly forbade anyone from seeing the test, and then a leak happened, wouldn’t the blame fall on Chabashira?

She had already taken the fall for carrying around Hachiman’s bag full of girls’ underwear—she didn’t want to take responsibility for any other scandals.

So—

She had no intention of getting involved in something as foolish as a leak. Nor did she want to suddenly be suspected as a teacher.

“Then, can you accept my test paper now?” Horikita noticed that Chabashira had already put the test paper down.

Click.

Chabashira-sensei pulled out a cigarette and put it between her lips. “At the moment, my review isn’t finished. We need to follow the proper procedures—only after I confirm there are no issues can I officially accept it.”

“……” Horikita closed her eyes briefly. “Then let me ask in another way—before we brought this test paper here, had you already accepted another test paper?”

“Hah, I can’t answer that about everything, but I can tell you this—Class A’s test submission has already been fully accepted. The process is complete, so no further test papers will be accepted afterward,” Chabashira replied. “Your approach and reasoning are both well thought out.”

“But.” Chabashira looked at her with a regretful expression. “You’re one step too late.”

There was no doubt—this was a clear notification to Horikita that Kushida had already submitted her test paper.

Hachiman glanced at Sakayanagi.

Sakayanagi returned his gaze with a smile.

Then Hachiman looked over at Kamuro.

However, Kamuro remained expressionless.

“Please cancel the submitted test paper immediately—the real test is this one. That test paper isn’t the real one!”

Horikita was still struggling over the test, but Chabashira had already returned it to her.

“What counts as reasonable is not for you to decide—it’s determined by the school,” Chabashira said. “After evaluation, Kushida’s test paper was neither beyond the syllabus nor excessively simple. It was deemed entirely reasonable. Moreover, even if you request a replacement, she has already made a similar request to yours.”

“When a request for confirmation is needed, she must be present in person. However—” Chabashira pulled out her phone and showed them a message.

“Kushida requested a leave of absence this morning. She has already returned to her dormitory to rest.”

“What?!” x2

Not only Horikita but even Hachiman was shocked. “Wasn’t she acting completely normal in class?”

“She was holding on,” Chabashira explained. “After measuring her temperature, it was confirmed that she had a fever and a cold. For her health, her leave request was approved. She won’t be coming to school for the rest of today or tomorrow.”

“……”

“……”

Kushida really was ruthless. And incredibly clever.

No wonder she didn’t make any major moves during class—she had been enduring her illness.

But who would believe that she just happened to catch a cold?

She most likely did something like soaking herself in water overnight to make herself sick.

Yes.

Kushida had the right to submit a test paper, just like Horikita did. So she cleverly used this trick—making it a requirement that she had to be present for any test replacements, then deliberately making herself too sick to come to school.

She completely blocked Horikita’s ability to take action.

Horikita had originally planned to block Kushida’s moves, but Kushida saw through it and reversed the situation, sealing Horikita instead.

“……” Horikita bit her lip.

This was a complete defeat.

She had been thoroughly outmaneuvered.

Sakayanagi watched the spectacle unfold with a smile, then turned to leave.

However, just as she was about to step away—

“Horikita, it’s time to use your backup plan,” Hachiman said.

Hmm?

Class C’s homeroom teacher, Mashima, along with Sakayanagi and Kamuro, all looked over.

Meanwhile, Chabashira turned to Horikita and said, “Then, hand me the test paper for review.”

“I understand.”

Horikita handed the previously rejected test paper back to Chabashira.

Chabashira put out her cigarette and sat down to examine it.

What What What???

Sakayanagi and Kamuro stared in confusion.

Horikita spoke.

“I really appreciate the teacher’s willingness to cooperate in this performance.” She lifted her head and explained, “To prevent a repeat of the sports festival information leaks, when I made my bet with Kushida about this exam, I had already made a request to Chabashira-sensei—to only accept my test paper.”

“So when Kushida said that the submitted test paper could be replaced if someone else submitted one afterward, the teacher pretended to accept it. That’s where I was one step ahead of Kushida Kikyo.”

“……” Mashima-sensei.

Mashima-sensei, watching from the side, now understood everything.

Class A has a spy among the students.

And the spy and the student who submitted the test paper had an intense back-and-forth.

However, Sakayanagi understood that Kushida had been tricked by Horikita Suzune. The test paper Kushida obtained from her wasn’t accepted.

It had been intercepted.

“The test paper is fine,” Chabashira said. “It has been accepted.”

Thus, the four students, all with completely different moods, left the office together.

“Hikigaya-san, you really took action after all,” Sakayanagi commented, her left hand gripping her cane.

“This was Horikita’s move,” Hachiman said. “I just made her increase the difficulty of the test a bit.”

“……” Kamuro followed Sakayanagi, watching her leave, and she left as well.

…

With the test submission completed, Horikita Suzune’s role was fulfilled.

As for Kushida, she had faithfully carried out Sakayanagi’s plan, so now she was “sick” with a cold, and her seat was naturally empty.

At around 5:00 PM—Hachiman noted this was the deadline for submitting test papers—he knew he had to take action.

First, he sent a text message. Then, he headed to the fourth floor of the school building, where Class 1-C, formerly Class 1-A, was located.

Despite their demotion, the students of this class still maintained a high level of discipline. It was already after school hours, but many students remained in the classroom.

As top students, most of them participated in club activities, which meant they typically left school immediately after class.

However, today was different. Since the test submission deadline was at 5:00 PM, students who were concerned about the situation stayed behind.

Such was the case with Class C.

Even though Katsuragi had stepped back from leadership, he still wanted to contribute to the class. He suggested that everyone stay in the classroom until the test submission deadline passed to prevent any potential betrayals.

This exam was crucial. If a traitor leaked the test questions to Class A, their class would lose a vital opportunity to rise in the rankings.

No one objected to his suggestion.

“Alright.”

Watching the classroom’s clock, Katsuragi let out a breath. “Everyone is free to go now.”

With that, some students left the classroom, as club activities ran from 4:15 to 6:00 PM. Since it was only 5:00 PM, they could still join the latter half of their activities.

But as students walked out, they suddenly turned back—

An outsider had entered their classroom.

At school, students rarely visited other classes, and similarly, outsiders were seldom seen in their class. So when someone from another class appeared, it immediately drew attention.

“Sakayanagi—”

Kamuro, seated just behind Sakayanagi Arisu, instantly recognized the visitor.

It was the guy who had once gotten her birthday wrong.

Hikigaya Hachiman.

“……”

Sakayanagi sat at her desk, her cane resting beside her. She sat upright, appearing indifferent to everything around her.

She only turned around when Kamuro addressed her.

However, she did nothing. As the boss figure, normally she had to pay for Hikigaya’s services, and standing up for him now would be beneath her.

Handling this situation was something Katsuragi could take care of.

“Hikigaya!”

Katsuragi, immediately on alert, stared at him. Hachiman held a stack of papers in his left hand and a bottle of chocolate-flavored Milk in his right.

“Why are you here?” asked Katsuragi’s follower, Hozuka Yahiko.

He knew that Katsuragi had suffered multiple setbacks because of this person.

“Me?”

Hachiman walked straight into the classroom from the back door.

Sakayanagi Arisu’s desk was in the third row of the fourth column, so as Hachiman entered from the back, he naturally passed by her desk. Holding the Milk in his left hand, he seemed to be walking forward with the intention of giving it to someone.

Thud.

But then, he suddenly stopped behind Sakayanagi—only to take a step back and place the Milk on Kamuro’s desk instead.

“……”

Kamuro was utterly confused by his actions.

The rest of the class also had no idea what he was doing.

Why would he enter their classroom, only to suddenly place a bottle of chocolate-flavored Milk on a girl’s desk?

What was he trying to do?

Hachiman, however, simply continued walking toward the podium before answering Yahiko’s question.

“Why am I here?”

“Simple.”

He paused mid-sentence and turned to the students in the front rows.

“Help me distribute these papers.”

“……”

The front-row students were not fond of Hachiman. They looked back at Katsuragi and Sakayanagi for guidance.

Sakayanagi remained expressionless and nodded. Katsuragi, unsure of Hachiman’s intentions, also nodded hesitantly.

Seeing this, the front-row students began passing out the papers.

The students who had left earlier also returned to their seats.

Before long, everyone had a copy of the documents Hachiman had brought.

“Test papers?”

Someone murmured.

“Yes.”

Hachiman stood at the podium.

“These are test papers. They are part of the upcoming paired final exam.”

“They were created by my class’s students. Go ahead and see how many points you can score.”

Score?

Of course, 100 points.

Sakayanagi glanced at the test paper and immediately made her judgment.

85 points.

Katsuragi looked at the questions and found them somewhat difficult.

77 points.

80 points.

75 points.

74 points.

Although this test was challenging, it wasn’t at a level that would terrify anyone.

“Hikigaya, what exactly are you trying to do?” Katsuragi finally confronted Hachiman directly.

“I’m here to declare war!” Hachiman finally revealed his intention. “My class has climbed up from the bottom, and everything we suffered from your bullying at the beginning of the school year will be returned in full!”

“If you think our academic ability is poor and that you can drag us down, you are gravely mistaken!”

“And this time, your class made a move against ours, didn’t you? Hmph.”

“Our class can also create test papers that will make you suffer!”

With that, Hachiman turned and left—this time, walking out through the front door.

What the hell?

Everyone was still confused.

“So what exactly was Hikigaya Hachiman trying to do?”

Totsuka Yahiko was utterly baffled.

“Was he trying to declare war on us?”

“It shouldn’t be that simple, right?”

“But this test paper does seem quite difficult. Their class must have some academically strong students as well.”

The students began discussing among themselves.

“Sakayanagi, what do you think?” The class started speculating, and Katsuragi turned to his deskmate.

“How should I know?” Sakayanagi rested her elbow on the table with one hand. “But I don’t think it was a declaration of war.”

She picked up the thermos at the corner of her desk, but it was empty.

“Here, take this.”

Kamuro quickly handed her the bottle of Milk.

“Are you trying to poison me?” Sakayanagi asked.

“I have no idea why he gave it to me,” Kamuro replied.

“Could it be because he thinks you’re pretty?” Sakayanagi speculated. “Hikigaya wants to know your birthday.”

“……” Kamuro remained silent. “He got it completely wrong. If he really cared, he wouldn’t have messed it up.”

“Is that so?” Sakayanagi seemed to lose interest.

After that, they completely dropped the topic.

Even Katsuragi himself didn’t know what Hachiman was trying to do.

It was utterly baffling.

At the same time, Kushida was having the same question.

—Right now, in Kushida’s room.

Due to her cold, she had to stay in her room, and this wasn’t an act.

“So, did you manage to get Class A’s test paper?” Kushida asked.

She had learned from Hachiman that Sakayanagi might have deceived her.

It was even possible that she wouldn’t receive the real Class A test paper at all.

Hachiman had promised to help her obtain the actual Class A test paper, allowing her to win her bet against Horikita Suzune.

Otherwise, she would be expelled.

She didn’t want to be expelled for nothing.

“It’s still in progress,” Hachiman replied.

“But how are you going to do it? The security around Sakayanagi’s class test papers is tight,” Kushida said. “And are you sure your plan will work?”

Kushida was somewhat panicked when Hachiman told her she had been deceived.

So, she pleaded with him to help her.

She was willing to pay any price for it.

Hikigaya agreed on the spot, but his actual plan was quite simple—he went to Class B’s Ichinose and had her team up with Horikita Suzune to create a difficult multiple-choice test with 50 questions.

And today, all he did was distribute that rigorous test paper, claiming it was made by his class.

“It’s already in motion,” Hachiman said. “I distributed the test paper and told them it was from our class. If anyone truly cares about this exam, they’ll start worrying—worrying that the test paper you guys made might be just as difficult.”

“There are weak students in Class A too?” Kushida finally caught on.

Hachiman had used a difficult test as a diversion.

By deliberately presenting a challenging test, he made the weaker students in Class A feel anxious.

“There probably are,” Hachiman said. “Because they’re weaker students, they tend to overthink things. Also, in this paired exam, Class A didn’t get to choose their partners freely—they were assigned by the teacher. So the weaker students must be feeling pretty anxious. They might be thinking, ‘If a class with such poor academic ability made a test this difficult, then how hard will the test from a class at our level be?'”

“Will… will it really go that smoothly?” Kushida still felt uneasy.

Just as she spoke, Hachiman’s phone vibrated.

“Oh, look—one of the struggling students just contacted me,” Hachiman said. “Looks like I’ve got Class A’s test paper. Kushida, you need to understand—every class has its own oddballs.”

“……” Kushida was speechless.

“But actually, even if we don’t get the math test from Class A, you could still beat Horikita,” Hachiman continued. “For example, you could be honest with Horikita Suzune and have her intentionally score low—say, around 50 points. As long as you score higher than that, you’d win. That would fulfill the terms of your bet.”

“I refuse!” Kushida immediately rejected the idea. With a firm attitude, she declared, “I hate her. I will never bow to her!”

Oh?

But don’t you hate me too?

Then why are you willing to bow to me?

Hikigaya Hachiman realized that, despite having interacted with quite a few girls, he still didn’t understand them.

That said, securing a potential long-term “meal ticket” wasn’t a bad deal. He felt pretty satisfied with that.