Hachiman’s Classroom of Strength’s Supremacy

Chapter 003: Ryuen: Everyone Thinks I’m the Villain!

After realizing that he was in danger, Hachiman headed over to the girls’ side.

He could see Horikita with her long black hair, her face expressionless.

The seating on the bus was assigned according to students’ ID numbers, and Kushida and Horikita were seated next to each other, so they were sitting together. Kushida kept trying to be friendly toward Horikita.

This behavior made Horikita feel quite disgusted.

Because Kushida was the type of person who, in front of others, acted as though they were good friends.

But then, she would use things like bets to pressure her into doing things.

Horikita felt that Kushida was being two-faced.

However, Hachiman believed Horikita didn’t have the right to be angry.

Because after entering school, Horikita treated Kushida in the same way.

If Hachiman hadn’t intervened, Horikita would have simply used Kushida and then kicked her out.

It was a very emotionless approach.

But because of the pairing test, the two had already settled their bet: Kushida didn’t have to drop out, and Horikita became Kushida’s protector.

And since Horikita was the type of person who kept her promises, there was no need to worry about the two of them becoming closer or growing apart.

Hachiman then stopped Kushida, who was trying to look considerate by offering to switch seats, and patted Horikita on the shoulder.

“Both of you,” Hachiman said. “Combine your 3 million points and lend them to me. I’ll pay you back soon.”

“Lend you money?” Both Kushida and Horikita turned to look at him, curious.

Both of them knew that Hachiman had a large amount of points, so they were confused as to why he still needed to borrow money.

In fact, Hachiman’s points had been enough initially. He had earned them from the school, and with the 10 million points given by Chabashira, he had enough to avoid the punishment of expulsion. However, he had used 10 million points to exchange for cash.

So even after scanning the points card given by Chabashira, his current balance was only 17 million points.

It was still short of 20 million.

Though he could borrow money from Sakayanagi.

But Sakayanagi was difficult to deal with, and borrowing money from her would require a personal favor.

Therefore, Hachiman felt it would be safer to borrow from Kushida and Horikita, who were closer to him.

“Are you really saying you want… to take on the punishment of someone’s expulsion from the class yourself?”

But both of them quickly dismissed this thought.

Because they had spent enough time with Hachiman, they knew that the only reason he would be willing to spend 20 million points was in one situation:

That was, if he found a girl who couldn’t get into Class A and wanted to help her get there, but at a high cost — she would have to marry him and support him.

So Hachiman considered the 20 million points as a long-term investment in his future, not something he would casually give to a classmate.

“This exam, I’m actually in danger,” Hachiman said. “If Ryuen insists on targeting me, the cost I’ll have to pay is pretty big. So I have to dispel that idea from his mind first.”

Saying this, his account received a total of 3 million points from Horikita and Kushida.

He then took a screenshot of his account balance and sent it to Ryuen via messaging software.

Soon,

Ding!

His phone received a message.

It was from Ryuen.

[……]

There were no words, but since it was from Ryuen, it meant he knew about the situation. If Ryuen wanted to target him in this exam, it wouldn’t work.

Then Hachiman returned the points to Horikita and Kushida.

Meanwhile, on Ryuen’s side,

The red-haired man with a middle-part hairstyle was holding his phone, seemingly concentrating.

“Ryuen, are you contacting people from other classes, planning to intervene in this exam?” Ishizaki Daichi, sitting next to Ryuen, noticed that Ryuen, who had been resting with his eyes closed, was now looking at his phone.

“No,” Ryuen said.

Because first-year points weren’t easy to come by.

He had just been thinking about how to properly utilize the expulsion binding rule to extract some points, but then Hachiman sent a message.

And it wasn’t just Hachiman.

Sakayanagi also sent a message.

And it seemed like these two had a telepathic connection.

Ryuen looked at the message from Sakayanagi.

[I made an agreement with Hachiman for a fair and square showdown. I’m a person who keeps promises, so I advise you not to meddle in this matter.] by Sakayanagi.

Although Sakayanagi’s tone seemed polite, Ryuen had a different interpretation.

[Hachiman is my opponent, if you target him, don’t blame me for attacking you.] Something along those lines.

Was he saying that only she could attack Hachiman, and nobody else could?

How domineering.

So, after receiving Ryuen’s indifferent response, the morale of Class D continued to decline.

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On Hachiman’s side, after receiving Ryuen’s reply, he didn’t immediately leave the girls’ side of the bus.

Since he had come specifically to borrow money, he also felt that his points were too few.

150 million points a month still wasn’t enough.

So,

Maybe he could make some money in this exam.

If his guess was correct, this exam was a crucial assessment for the third-year students, similar to the voting expulsion exam that Chabashira had previously conducted for that class.

So the scores were likely to fluctuate.

Also, Horikita had entrusted him to help when necessary.

Since he had been cared for by Horikita’s younger sister in terms of meals, Hachiman was still willing to help.

However, his philosophy differed slightly from Horikita’s.

Although Horikita Manabu was genuinely excellent, he didn’t think it was a given that someone should work hard and graduate.

So,

He could refuse Horikita’s older brother’s money, but for others, that wasn’t necessarily the case.

Thus, Hachiman said to Horikita, “Do you have the record of your brother’s class evaluation scores? Tell me their scores.”

Today was November 2nd.

In March, the senior students would graduate, but only Class A’s graduation would be acknowledged and receive all the benefits.

However, the Class A of the school was fluid — as long as the class evaluation scores increased, even on the last day, they could still bring down Class A.

As the younger sister, Horikita Suzune was very concerned about her brother’s situation, meaning that every month, when the class evaluation scores fluctuated, she would record the rankings of the third-year class evaluation scores.

“This is the value.”

Horikita Suzune handed over a small notebook to Hachiman.

She really had made a record.

Hachiman looked through it, noting that Horikita’s handwriting was elegant.

Third-year Class A: 2254 points
Third-year Class B: 1830 points
Third-year Class C: 310 points
Third-year Class D: 0 points

Well, compared to when they first enrolled, a semester had passed, and it seemed that the third-year classes had undergone intense grading exams. At least Hachiman noticed that the evaluation scores for all four classes had dropped.

Hmm.

Class C and Class D could be ignored, as it was certain that Sakayanagi had intervened.

As for third-year Class B, Nagumo had paid a heavy price during the sports festival to raise Class B’s standing.

Class A and Class B were 400 points apart.

But in this exam, considering the maximum scores that could be gained and the possible deductions, the score difference might end up being not just 400, but around 500-600 points.

So, this exam’s breakthrough point was here.

This exam would determine the final class evaluation score for the third years. If Class A managed to maintain their position and gained a strong advantage in this exam, their Class A status would be solidified until graduation in three months.

On the contrary, if they failed here, it would be uncertain whether Horikita Manabu would graduate as part of Class A.

This was the competition between Class A and Class B, and whichever class managed to climb up would be recognized by the school.

This was very different from the situation in Chabashira’s year.

[This special exam is designed primarily for growth on a mental level during the camp. Therefore, you will focus on building relationships with people you don’t normally interact with, while confirming whether you can survive in society.]

Chabashira sensei had said this, so let’s examine her words.

[Survive in society.]

In other words, this exam was quite important. And would ordinary students need to test their survival skills?

After considering everything, Hachiman came to a conclusion.

Simply put, the school was giving third-year Class B one last chance.

That was the point of this exam.

Would Class A defend their position, or would they be overtaken?

But digging deeper into the scale of the exam, it also involved the first and second-year students.

Therefore, it was impossible to win without spending money to buy people off. This was something third-year students needed to understand. They needed to deal with enemies more tactfully and figure out how to gain support from their own allies.

Because in society, things could be much harsher than this situation.

This meant that passing the exam might also involve money.

So, Hachiman thought that trying to make a little money while riding this wave wasn’t a bad idea.

“This means,” Hachiman said, “the more important the exam, the more opportunities you have to make a lot of money. So, you two, get ready and work quickly!”

“This class has no chance of graduating as Class A, so I suggest you two gather 20 million points and go solo.”

“Who are you calling ‘you two’?” Kushida glared at him.

And she wasn’t trusting him at all.

Hachiman had said that she would graduate as part of Class A, so she had to fulfill her promise.

However, to graduate as part of Class A, it meant following the class’s position, but this was difficult. So, Hachiman would give her the 20 million points she needed for promotion when the time came.

But now,

If she managed to accumulate 20 million points on her own and graduate as part of Class A, wouldn’t that still mean fulfilling the agreement of marrying him upon graduation from Class A?

So,

Hachiman was thinking of marrying her and letting her handle everything without contributing a cent?

What a scumbag!

Still, since Hachiman was willing to help her make money, she was somewhat willing to wait and see.

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After the teacher’s 40-minute explanation, time quickly passed. With the bus’s braking vibrations, the students lined up and got off the bus.

Outside the bus, the students gathered together, but the teacher instructed everyone to grab their bags, and it seemed the boys and girls were going to be separated immediately after getting off.

The only opportunity for them to meet again would be during the one-hour lunch break at noon.

Breakfast and dinner were to be handled by the students at their accommodations, with the school providing the ingredients.

“Now, if all personal items have been confirmed to be taken off the bus, please turn off your phones and hand them over.”

Chabashira sensei stood at the front of the bus, with a bag at her feet and a stack of note cards in her hand. “Now, according to the names, hand over your phones. The first one, Hikigaya Hachiman.”

The tags with student names were likely prepared in advance, used to label phones for easy return after the exam.

This was something all students had to submit, and Hachiman had no objections to this.

“Next, Hirata Yousuke.”

After sticking the name tag on his phone, the teacher placed it in the bag and began calling the names of the other students.

[Please, all students, boys head to the gym, and girls gather at the fountain in the back yard. You have 15 minutes.]

The announcement over the school’s PA system instructed the boys to head to the gym, while the girls were to gather at the fountain in the back yard.

Due to time constraints, even though Hirata wanted to offer some advice to the girls, there was no opportunity for that.

They passively arrived at the gymnasium.

Unlike Advanced Nurturing High School, the facilities here seemed to lack funds. All the equipment and buildings appeared to be somewhat old.

Even the gymnasium gave off an ancient vibe.

“It looks like the upperclassmen have already arrived,” Hachiman suddenly said as they were about to enter the gym.

“Why do you say that?” Sudo asked, standing next to him.

“Because of the atmosphere,” Hachiman replied. “Look in that direction; Katsuragi’s bald head is easy to spot. The boys from Class C are over there. Although they tend to be very self-reliant, the fact that they are staying silent most likely means upperclassmen are around.”

“So, it’s kind of like they’re afraid of confrontation?” Sudo added, already stepping into the gym and suddenly gasping in surprise.

He was shocked.

The announcement only instructed students to gather in the gym by their class, but Class B, for example, was in complete disarray. Although Hirata was leading them here, they were all huddled together, looking rather laid-back.

This contrasted sharply with the upperclassmen.

Despite being in a new place, the upperclassmen had naturally formed organized lines, looking neat and orderly. It was worth noting that there wasn’t a single teacher present at the scene!

The level of discipline was astonishing.

The school expected them to arrive at the gym and form groups within the hour.

First, they would discuss and assign groups with students from the same year, then form teams with upperclassmen.

The basic rules were as follows.

Although the first-year students were stunned by the upperclassmen’s level of discipline, they quickly realized what they needed to do.

Much like how failing to elect a leader would result in being expelled, if they didn’t form teams within the allotted time, they would also be forced to leave.

Among the first-year students, the most outstanding class was Class A.

Or rather, it was the former Class A, now part of Class C.

Since the boys and girls were separated, Katsuragi took charge for the boys in Class C.

They had formed a team of 14 people and then reached out to the B, C, and D classes, offering to recruit anyone willing to join from other classes.

This move was a bit surprising.

Because first-year students had been forming teams of 10-15 people, and Katsuragi’s arrangement meant that other classes could only send one additional member.

But this meant that the reward multiplier would be lower since the more classes involved, the higher the multiplier. With Katsuragi’s setup, they could only get a maximum of 2x.

This meant the score wouldn’t increase by much.

“Not only that,” Katsuragi continued, “The remaining 6 students from my class will follow your instructions. You can assign them to any team you wish, but they have to form a team of six.”

“…”

Katsuragi’s move was somewhat tempting. It was undoubtedly aimed at ensuring stability.

He had intentionally split the 20 boys in Class A into two groups, one with 14 and one with 6. The 14-member team included him and top students, so adding a weaker student from another class wouldn’t be a problem.

As for the remaining 6, since they were still from Class A, they were all excellent and could easily boost any team’s score.

This move was very beneficial for the weaker B and D classes.

“So that’s the plan,” Sudo said, as realization dawned.

The D class had arrived as well, with Kaneda leading them, wearing glasses, followed by Albert.

The speaker was Kaneda from Class D, with Ryuen at the very back. He appeared to be passively involved, looking like he had lost his drive.

“Hachiman, what does this mean?” Sudo, who was further ahead, looked puzzled as he saw Kaneda adjusting his glasses, looking smart.

“This is Class C’s survival strategy,” Hachiman explained. “In this exam, the more students from the same year involved in a team, the higher the multiplier for the score. By splitting their class into two groups, Katsuragi has minimized the chance for a large multiplier, meaning if another class wins the overall group, Class C can maintain their current score gap.”

“So, the girls probably have the same arrangement,” Hachiman added.

“Heh.”

Although his plan had been exposed, Katsuragi didn’t seem to mind at all. “So, you all decide. At least, the terms I’m offering are quite reasonable.”

However, Katsuragi, your plan is flawed.

Because your class is very strong, but it’s still just one class. It will be tough to shift a large group.

Hachiman thought to himself.

At the same time, it seemed Sakayanagi hadn’t bothered to tell Katsuragi that this exam wasn’t for the first-year students but rather a trial for the third-years.

Sakayanagi clearly wasn’t interested in this exam.

“Okay, we agree,” Kaneda said, adjusting his glasses. “We’ll be in contact with Class C.”

“Is that so? Does Ryuen also agree with this?” Because he had been betrayed by Ryuen on the deserted island, Katsuragi immediately turned his gaze toward the back of the D-class group, where Ryuen was standing.

“Don’t ask me about such trivial matters. I’m no longer involved in the leadership,” Ryuen said. “If you want to spend time keeping an eye on me, feel free, or you can just add me to your 14-member team. I can even become the leader of your group.”

“…” Katsuragi didn’t respond immediately but silently acknowledged that something was definitely off with Ryuen.

What happened to make this arrogant guy change so much?

Previously, during the sports festival, Ryuen had directly opposed their class and wanted to leave the gym, acting very uncooperative.

But now…

Not only was he directly responding to him, he was even willing to take on the risky responsibility of being a leader.

Katsuragi couldn’t help but frown.

“It’s exactly as I just said,” Kaneda adjusted his glasses and said. “Your Class C doesn’t want to let other classes earn a large number of points and widen the gap, right?”

“And actually, you’re not confident either, are you?”

“After all, the schedule at the forest school involves things like meditation, cleaning, and projects, which don’t seem like normal classes. So the students in your class might not be able to leverage their advantages.”

“Therefore, the final evaluation criteria are uncertain,” Kaneda continued. “So it’s necessary to prepare in advance for someone to take on the greatest responsibility and be sacrificed.”

“First of all, because we have to form teams, our first-year class will also have a person who ranks last.”

“And this last-place person won’t just have points deducted—they’ll even be expelled.”

“Are you willing to bear this risk?”

“So, this time, our Class D will take responsibility,” Kaneda pushed his glasses up.

“One class, 4 million points,” Kaneda said. “Each person will spend 100,000 points, and that ensures safety.”

“My class’s students will take on the responsibility of leading the 6 male and 6 female groups. The last-place person will be from us, and we’ll handle the expulsion as well.”

Instantly, the first-year students fell silent.