Hachiman’s Classroom of Strength’s Supremacy

Chapter 195: The Exam Begins! Eight Subjects—That’s Eight Whole Subjects!

September 24th.

After finishing their morning physical education class, all students began their one-and-a-half-day-long exam.

There were a total of eight subjects, each consisting of 50 multiple-choice questions.

The exam was scheduled over two days, with four subjects per day—two in the morning and two in the afternoon.

Since this was an important examination period, even students who had previously taken leave had all returned to school today.

The class was somewhat restless. After all, they had been studying diligently for almost a month.

As a result, they were caught in a contradictory state of mind—eager for the exam to begin yet also fearing its difficulty.

The only unfortunate matter was that Kushida Kikyo had taken a one-and-a-half-day leave on the 21st due to staying up late studying. This had caused some students to worry about her health. However, seeing her return in good condition today put many at ease.

As always, Kushida Kikyo remained as popular as ever.

With the ringing of the bell, the exam officially began.

The first subject was English. The second was Mathematics.

The test papers were being distributed from the first row to the back.

The papers were prepared by Class C, which was originally Class A.

Since the test was created by top students, it was expected to be quite difficult.

The outstanding students, like Yukimura and Horikita Suzune, remained expressionless. However, their lack of expression was more like a sign of confidence—so long as they had grasped the key points from the syllabus, they could answer any tricky questions with ease.

On the other hand, a large number of students were visibly nervous.

Even though they had done last-minute cramming, reviewed all the key points, and even stayed up until 1 AM in desperate preparation, they couldn’t help but feel anxious now that the actual test had begun.

After all, this was an exam that not only determined their own performance but could also result in their partner’s expulsion if they failed.

However, some students were even more nervous.

That was the case for four students who had ranked in the bottom ten during the recent sports festival and would have ten points deducted from every subject. Oh, but among these four, one exception was Rokusuke Koenji.

Koenji remained excessively arrogant.

There was no sign of anxiety on his face at all.

Instead, his partner, Yamauchi, kept nervously confirming with him, “Koenji, you’re sure I only need to score 10 points, right?”

Hachiman received his test paper and couldn’t help but sigh. Even though the syllabus was fixed, the questions set by Sakayanagi’s class were indeed tricky.

For someone like Sudo, who lacked academic prowess, without any studying, he’d probably score only 10-20 points.

Even with effort, he’d barely reach 30-35 points.

This meant their partners were going to have a tough time.

How pitiful.

Since there was no change in seating arrangements for the test, Hachiman could see the expression of his desk neighbor, Suzune Horikita.

Her brows didn’t move, and her face remained expressionless.

Whenever she read, studied, or took exams, she always wore a stiff expression.

It wasn’t because she was struggling with the questions, but rather because she was fully confident.

Perhaps he should remind her to pay more attention to her usual facial expressions.

While Hachiman’s mind wandered with random thoughts, he remembered that his current exam partner was Ayanokouji.

He had paired with Ayanokouji mainly to avoid being partnered with Sato, which would have been awkward.

But doing absolutely nothing would be a bit too much.

Although Hachiman was certain that Ayanokouji, this hidden boss, would somehow score exactly 88 points in every subject.

And so—

With these thoughts in mind, Hachiman picked up his pen and began answering the questions.

At the front of the class, near the podium, Kushida was answering her test smoothly, showing no signs of distress.

After a ten-minute break, during which students went to the restroom, the second exam began immediately.

Hachiman noticed that Horikita took a deep breath to calm herself. Although she was confident, she knew she had to give her full focus on this subject.

Because the next subject was Mathematics.

The very subject tied to her bet with Kushida.

Kushida had, for some reason, insisted on challenging her. If Horikita won, Kushida would have to leave the school. But if Horikita lost, she would have to protect Kushida.

It was an annoying bet.

However, since the student council president—her older brother—had already approved it, Horikita had no choice but to accept.

So, though she felt a tinge of regret, Horikita thought to herself—

Perhaps this would be the end for Kushida Kikyo.

In other words, Horikita had chosen to have Kushida expelled.

That was the victorious outcome.

As for losing?

Sorry, but she and Hachiman had already put on a performance in front of Sakayanagi, allowing her to confirm the situation. While Sakayanagi had arranged for Kushida to submit the test paper, it was not accepted.

Therefore, Sakayanagi had no reason to give Kushida the answers to the math test.

This meant that the advantage was in Horikita’s hands.

Horikita seemed quite confident.

Swish, swish, swish.

Even while sitting beside her, Hachiman could feel the intense pressure emanating from her.

The math test papers were shown to be unopened by Chabashira-sensei before being distributed by the students in the front row.

But the moment she received her test paper, Kushida let out a startled gasp.

“Huh—”

Though her voice was not loud, in the dead silence of the focused classroom, it was particularly noticeable.

“Is there a problem?” Chabashira asked.

“No.”

Kushida gripped her pen and shook her head, then passed the test paper to the student behind her. However, she did not start answering immediately. Instead, she put down her pen and examined the test paper multiple times, scanning it up and down repeatedly before finally picking up her pen again.

Then, she began answering the questions.

The questions were difficult.

But for someone who already knew the answers, no matter how difficult, they were just meaningless pieces of paper.

Completely insignificant.

Two subjects had now been completed.

“Well then—that concludes the morning exams,” said Chabashira Sae, before leaving the classroom without even glancing at the students’ expressions.

“Kushida-san!”

Kushida’s friend called out to her, noticing that she was sitting there in a daze after the exam.

“Kushida-san?” It wasn’t until her friend called her a second time that she finally responded.

“Oh, Mei-chan. What’s up?”

Kushida still looked as cute as always, but it was clear that her mind was in disarray.

She kept glancing at her phone repeatedly, as if waiting for a response from someone she had messaged.

“Nothing much, I just wanted to ask if you’d like to go to the cafeteria for lunch after the exam,” Wang Mei-yu said.

“Can we talk about this later? I need to meet someone right now,” Kushida replied. Without waiting for her friend’s reaction, she got up and walked straight out of the classroom.

Along the way, people greeted her, but she could only barely respond, struggling to maintain her usual “angelic” persona.

There was only one reason for this.

She had been betrayed by Sakayanagi.

Even though she had been following Sakayanagi’s orders, and Sakayanagi had given her the test answers as promised, the answers… were almost entirely wrong!

So now, she had to go see Sakayanagi.

…

Kushida had been betrayed.

“Sakayanagi-san!”

When Sakayanagi finally replied to her message and told her to meet on the rooftop, Kushida stormed over furiously.

Sakayanagi had treated her as a spy for Class A, controlling her by holding her secret over her head.

And her primary directive was to attack Horikita Suzune.

Following instructions, Kushida had challenged Horikita to a bet, spread rumors, and even taken the test paper that Sakayanagi had given her to Chabashira to submit.

However, the test paper she had submitted to Chabashira was actually just a practice test from Class C.

In other words, as long as she submitted this test paper, Class C would undoubtedly achieve a good score.

So this was essentially giving Class C 200 points for free.

By doing this, Sakayanagi would also provide her with the answers to Class A’s math test.

Kushida was academically capable, but she couldn’t surpass Horikita Suzune.

Winning against Horikita in math was impossible, so she had no choice but to resort to tricks.

And Sakayanagi had given her the perfect opportunity for such trickery.

However—

The answers Sakayanagi had given her were all fake!

Almost all of them were wrong!

Except for the first multiple-choice question, everything else was false. Kushida had seen the draft test paper that Sakayanagi had given her, but the math questions on that draft were completely different from the ones on the actual test distributed today.

Once Sakayanagi submitted the test paper, the contents were supposed to be finalized.

Which meant that the draft test paper she had shown Kushida from the beginning was fake.

She had been betrayed. Betrayed entirely by Sakayanagi Arisu!

Fuming, Kushida stormed up to the rooftop, where she found the silver-haired “little angel” sitting on a lounge chair with her eyes closed, leisurely resting. Standing beside her was her “loyal puppy,” Kamuro.

Sakayanagi maintained an air of elegance.

“Well, if it isn’t Kushida-san.”

Sakayanagi acted as if she hadn’t noticed Kushida’s fury in the slightest. “Are you angry? You shouldn’t be. You lost long ago. Here—this is the test we took this morning.”

Sakayanagi said this as she handed Kushida a piece of paper.

Kushida glanced at it briefly, and her expression became strange.

Because these questions were not the same as the ones Sakayanagi had initially asked her to submit.

“……”

So?

“Your plan was seen through by Horikita and Hikigaya,” Sakayanagi explained. “You followed my instructions and blocked your homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, on the morning of the 21st, making sure you submitted your test before anyone else.

You also set the requirement that the test paper could only be revealed in your presence, then called in sick. However, in the end, the test paper you submitted was not accepted.”

“Why?” Kushida couldn’t understand. She seemed completely unaware of what had happened.

“Because Horikita Suzune is more formidable than you think.”

Sakayanagi continued calmly, “The reason is that Hikigaya Hachiman had already spoken to Chabashira Sae before you did, informing her that Horikita Suzune was in charge of making the test for your class. Additionally, he obtained authorization from ten classmates. With all this preparation, Chabashira believed him.”

“Give me the list of names.” Kushida demanded.

“Do you want revenge? Or do you simply not believe me?” Sakayanagi asked. “Kushida-san, since you were no longer useful, I had no reason to give you the correct answers.”

“……”

That statement left Kushida in stunned silence.

“Aren’t you worried that I’ll be expelled because of this? Horikita Suzune is the type who can score over 90 points even on a difficult test, while I can only manage around 80 or 85 at best,” Kushida argued.

“I have no use for worthless people.” Sakayanagi stated. “So, as unfortunate as it may be, Kushida-san, the brief entertainment you provided me is now coming to an end.”

In other words, Sakayanagi had tacitly acknowledged Kushida’s expulsion.

Kushida had bet against Horikita, and since her real test scores would definitely be lower than Horikita’s, she would have to leave the school.

“……” Kushida clenched her fists. “So you really did intend to get me expelled from the start!”

“This whole thing about me submitting the test paper and getting caught by Hikigaya and Horikita—it was just your excuse.”

“And you, Sakayanagi Arisu—”

Kushida paused for a moment. “You never planned on giving me the real test answers from the very beginning, did you?”

“Oh?”

Sakayanagi glanced at her with mild amusement.

“It seems you’re not entirely stupid,” she remarked.

“Why did you do this!?”

That was the reason Kushida had stormed up here in a rage.

“Don’t you understand?” Sakayanagi said, tilting her head slightly. “Your class is the key to reaching Class A.”

“And this exam—someone who should have taken charge of it didn’t.” Sakayanagi continued.

“What do you mean…?”

“I want to face Hikigaya in battle,” Sakayanagi declared. “But after he moved up, he started avoiding direct confrontations. However, he’s also a responsible weirdo. If I attack the people around him, he just might retaliate.”

So Kushida had been chosen by Sakayanagi simply because she was someone close to Hikigaya?

Just by being associated with him, she had become a target?

What an absurd, undeserved disaster.

“If you get expelled, then Hikigaya-kun will definitely come after me,” Sakayanagi added.

“You’re insane!” Kushida snapped.

“I’m merely adding a little color to school life,” Sakayanagi said elegantly.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she reached for her cane, preparing to stand.

For her, it was time to head to the cafeteria on the third floor for lunch.

As for Kushida—her usefulness had ended. There was no need to keep her around any longer.

After Sakayanagi Arisu left, Kushida also left the rooftop. However, as she was walking down the stairs to the third floor, she encountered Hachiman, who had come to pick her up.

“Have you confirmed that Sakayanagi won’t give you the answers?” Hachiman asked.

“Confirmed.” Kushida nodded.

“In that case, after the exam tomorrow night, let’s buy some things and go to Horikita Suzune’s dorm for a small celebration,” Hachiman said.

“Alright.”

Kushida didn’t refuse.

Because while Sakayanagi hadn’t given her the answers to the math test, Hachiman had.

So while Horikita Suzune could score 98 points on this test, Kushida had gotten a perfect 100.

This time, she hadn’t lost the bet.

________________________________________

The next night.

All the exams had ended.

“Cheers~”

In Horikita Suzune’s room, everyone sat together in a circle.

“Um… is it really appropriate for me to be here?” Ichinose Honami, sitting to the right, looked a little embarrassed.

After all, everyone present was from Hachiman’s class—she was the only outsider.

“It’s fine,” Hachiman said. “Actually, you helped us out this time, Ichinose.”

“Uh—” Ichinose paused.

Helped? She felt like all she did was contribute 50 questions.

But—

“Also, congratulations,” Hachiman continued. “Now that the exams are over, your class is also in Class A.”

Oh.

So they were in Class A now too.

Ichinose’s class hadn’t exactly taken the most honorable path to get there.

Class D’s Shiina had taken over after Ryuen stepped down as the class representative, leaving the students anxious about potential expulsions.

So they sought to make a deal with Ichinose’s Class B.

The deal was simple: both sides would share their test papers, and in return, Class D would deliberately lose to Class B by ensuring their total score was lower.

In other words, they handed over a 200-point advantage.

Of course, there was a price—600,000 points in monthly living expenses, to be paid until graduation.

This agreement was quite similar to the one Class D had made with Class A during the uninhabited island exam, making it seem like they were effectively selling points.

Ultimately, Ichinose’s class accepted the deal.

So, if Hachiman’s class had lost to Sakayanagi’s, then Class B’s score would have skyrocketed—

Which meant they were now Class A.

Even though reaching Class A had been everyone’s goal, achieving it this easily felt a little… anticlimactic.

Still, she was curious.

Because—

This time, Class A hadn’t received the leaked test questions from Class C. At the very least, most of the students hadn’t memorized the exam papers.

So Class A would end up losing this written exam.

Hachiman had already told her this.

But—

“Hachiman, do you guys really not mind us moving up to Class A?” Ichinose hesitated but still asked.

This was Horikita Suzune’s room. Next to her were Horikita, Kushida, and Hachiman.

They were all from the same class, and they were the current Class A.

If Ichinose’s class moved up, that meant Hachiman’s class had dropped down.

“Horikita and I wanted to move up to Class A just to prove our abilities,” Hachiman said. “As you already know, Horikita is the student council president’s younger sister. Since she was placed in Class D, it was an embarrassment. To save face for the student council president, she needed to climb her way up.”

“As for me, you could say my reason is similar.”

“So now that we’ve made it to Class A, neither of us have any reason to keep holding onto it,” Hachiman explained.

I see.

Hachiman wasn’t particularly attached to his class.

So even if they made it to Class A, they were only aiming for a one-time promotion.

It made sense, too.

The students in Hachiman’s class weren’t academically strong, and the more written exams they had, the more points they’d lose.

Their athletic ability was also weak. If there were too many sports-related exams, their points would drop just as quickly.

A battle of endurance was too much for them.

“Besides, Class A is a poisoned chalice,” Hachiman continued. “Take the former Class A, for example—once they dropped, they were desperate.”

“I’ve already been followed by three former Class A students.”

“……”

That was a real headache.

And this had happened just this month. When Hachiman asked Sakayanagi about it, she denied being behind it.

Which meant the former Class A students had acted on their own.

“So, Ichinose, now that you’re in Class A, you’d better be prepared,” Hachiman warned.

“Ugh, meow…” Ichinose, who was always kind to others, suddenly felt pressured.

She also worried about her classmates being targeted.

Just as she was about to say something, her phone vibrated.

“Sorry, sorry—someone’s looking for me.” Ichinose checked her phone and quickly stood up. “Sorry, my classmates need me, so I have to head back.”

“It’s fine.”

Hachiman walked Ichinose to the entrance before turning back.

However, the moment he returned, the angelic expression Kushida had been wearing just moments ago disappeared instantly.

Her face turned cold.

Horikita sat there coolly, sipping her tea alone, while Kushida had been smiling the whole time earlier.

Kushida felt like she had been set up. If it had only been the three of them, she could have dropped her facade and shown her true self. But with Ichinose present, she had no choice but to continue pretending to be the angelic Kushida.

And, in truth, she had already been struggling to keep her emotions in check.

Now that Ichinose had left, she couldn’t hold back anymore.

She glanced at Hachiman.

Hachiman gave her a small nod.

Kushida’s face then broke into a smile again—but it wasn’t her usual pure and innocent expression. It was a cold smirk.

“Well, now we can talk about our business,” Kushida said.

“The test results aren’t out yet, but I’m going to score 100.”

“And here—this is the test paper I filled out in the exam.”

Kushida handed a test paper to Horikita Suzune.

Since the final submission was a separate answer sheet, students still had their question papers with them.

“And this—” Kushida handed Horikita another sheet of paper.

It was a perfectly formatted, official answer key.

In other words, Kushida Kikyou had cheated—she had obtained the answers to the math test in advance.

“How did you do it?” Horikita immediately looked over.

Because with this, it was clear—she had lost.

“Of course, I used other methods,” Kushida said. “Horikita, you’re smart, even meticulous. But I’m not someone you can defeat so easily.”

However—

Despite Kushida’s confident attitude, this was a lie.

Because—

She had actually obtained the answers through Hachiman.

Hachiman had made contact with an underachiever from Class C and acquired the test answers from them.

In exchange, he had provided the answers to the test Horikita had created to that same underachiever in Class C.

So—

No matter how carefully Horikita had planned, no matter how much even Sakayanagi had found this troublesome—

Did she realize?

The enemy was within her own walls.

Hachiman had warned her to be cautious of Kushida, yet she never once considered guarding against Hachiman himself.

The thought made Kushida feel a little smug.

She had been on the losing end for so long, but now she had finally turned the tables.

Though, in the end, the only person she could really toy with was Horikita Suzune.

So she said,

“Now, it’s time to fulfill our bet.”

“……” Horikita.

Horikita Suzune looked at the test papers Kushida handed her several times.

Then, she said,

“A bet is a bet. I’ll accept the loss.”

“Is there a particular problem you need my protection for?”

“……” Kushida gave a small nod. “You only know part of my dark past. But in reality, my past is far worse than what you know.”

“In my third year of middle school, I was the cause of my entire class’s collapse.”

“You see, as you’ve noticed, I can easily get close to people and learn their secrets. If I had only done this with one or two people, it wouldn’t have been a problem. But because my social circle was too large, even though I knew everyone’s secrets and got close to them, the pressure was immense.”

“My way of venting was writing down my thoughts about everyone on my blog. But one day, someone found my blog—and, naturally, it exploded.”

“I was surrounded and attacked by my classmates. In response, I revealed the secrets I hadn’t even written on my blog—secrets that exposed the true sides of my classmates.”

“Pregnancies with teachers, cheating, betrayals, who liked who, who hated who—it all triggered an enormous backlash among the students.

And instead of attacking me—

They turned on each other.

The class fell into complete chaos, and in the end, it led to a mass boycott of school.”

“And this incident was recorded in my file, so as long as someone gets access to my records, I’ll be in danger.”

“There are also people who might attack me because of it. Even worse, when the new students enroll next year, some of them might know about what happened back then,” Kushida said. “And I don’t want my current persona to collapse.”

“So I need someone to protect me,” she added.

So this was the real reason behind her bet?

Horikita Suzune thought to herself.

“Then right now—” Horikita considered another point.

Kushida’s explosion in middle school happened because she had too many friends, learned too many secrets, and the pressure eventually overwhelmed her.

And now…

Horikita suspected that Kushida had once again made a large circle of friends.

So…

“Of course, the pressure is enormous,” Kushida admitted. “But this is proof that I’m doing well, that I’m excelling.”

“That said, I do need a way to vent my stress regularly.”

“And for that, Hikigaya-kun helps me.”

“……” Horikita.

That was something Suzune hadn’t expected.

No wonder during the sports festival exam, Hikigaya had sent Kushida to act as a traitor and play along with Ryuuen—and she agreed.

A normal student wouldn’t have done that just for the sake of the class.

If she had been caught, she could have easily been accused of betraying her classmates.

It was a huge risk.

In the end—

Had these two been close from the very beginning?

And yet, Hikigaya had never once mentioned this to her.

So now—

Even though Kushida was revealing her past—

What Horikita cared about most at this moment wasn’t her story.

It was the feeling that her own teammate had betrayed her.