Hachiman’s Classroom of Strength’s Supremacy

Chapter 031: Hachiman: Horikita, You Want to Reach Class A, Right? Horikita: Isn’t That Your Ambition?

Meanwhile—

Damn it, Hikigaya Hachiman had already finished his meal.

Horikita had ordered a modest 400-point set meal.

And hers was exactly the same.

Two dishes and a soup.

Hachiman wasn’t picky about food—his mother had told him never to be.

And while the meal was simple, the fact that he was eating with the top-tier beauty of the school made it feel… oddly more enjoyable.

The two of them didn’t linger in the cafeteria.

They walked together toward the student dormitories, passing by a vending machine along the way.

Ah.

That vending machine was a place of trauma for Horikita Suzune.

Yesterday, it was here that she had encountered her brother. He had demanded that she drop out. Even though she hadn’t been expelled in the end, she had still been dismissed as worthless. And on top of that, she had been tasked with finding Hikigaya Hachiman’s weaknesses.

But Hachiman didn’t bring up the topic—he spared her some dignity.

At this hour, no one else was around.

Not that this area ever had much foot traffic to begin with.

“This is the information I gathered today,” Hachiman said, taking a seat on a nearby bench.

He pulled out his phone and opened his notes. “Class A has already obtained this information. They paid a price of two million points, split evenly among the whole class.”

“Two million?!” Even Horikita Suzune was shocked.

She had already confirmed that the points on a student’s ID card were as good as real money—there was no inflation, and the prices were almost identical to those outside the school.

In other words—

“And your brother also mentioned that when he told you that being assigned to Class D meant you were trash, that piece of information alone cost him one million points.”

“So for Class A students to obtain more detailed information, it makes sense that they would have to pay an even higher price. Two million is a reasonable number.”

Horikita had nothing to say in response to that.

“Then… does that still make me a worthless little sister?”

“My brother spent a whole million on me for nothing…” Now that she realized just how valuable points were, she seemed a little shaken.

This side of her was similar to the timid little sister from last night.

“Maybe so,” Hachiman replied.

“Ugh…”

It seemed like he had hit a nerve. The moment her brother was mentioned, Horikita deflated like a punctured balloon.

She stared at the phone in Hachiman’s hand.

“Please let me see.” Her tone had even become polite.

And so, she leaned in.

Since Hachiman had recorded the information in his phone’s notebook app, he was sitting there holding it. That meant Horikita had no choice but to move closer.

After all, once she confirmed that this information was worth two million points, she suddenly became a little more submissive.

Instead of trying to take the phone from Hachiman, she sat down beside him to read.

Focused as she was, Horikita didn’t notice that her straight hair had fallen across Hachiman’s hand.

Her hair was silky and smelled nice.

Maybe it was just the angle, but her left hand ended up resting on the back of his.

Her fingers were soft, slender, and slightly warm.

And—Hachiman realized with alarm—his arm… his arm seemed to be… touching something.

Hey!

Horikita, do you even realize what you’re doing?!

But for Hachiman, this was the first time a girl had ever gotten this close to him (Kushida didn’t count. His little sister didn’t count.).

To say he wanted to pull away immediately would be a lie.

But Horikita probably wasn’t thinking about any of that.

And now, pulling his hand away would just make things weirder.

So all Hachiman could do was sit there and wait for her to finish reading the information.

The Rules of the School

The school operates on a system where classes compete against each other.

The so-called high university acceptance rate and employment rate are a deception—only students from Class A officially represent the school upon graduation. Students from other classes will be reassigned to different schools when they graduate.

At the very beginning, every student is evaluated using a standardized system called the S System.

Based on their evaluation, students are divided into Classes A, B, C, and D.

Class A represents excellence.

Class D, on the other hand, is considered the lowest tier.

However, the school does provide students with opportunities. Since it’s a competition, everyone starts on an equal footing—with the same baseline of 1,000 points.

And from the very first day of enrollment, a hidden evaluation has already begun, assessing whether new students meet the qualities expected of excellent students at this institution.

In other words, the details that Horikita failed to explain yesterday had now been fully supplemented.

“So… I really am just worthless?”

Last night, she had insisted that she was no longer the weakling her brother knew.

But now, Horikita Suzune was deeply shaken.

Not just because she had been placed in Class D.

But also because she had unknowingly cost her brother a million private points.

Based on the prices at the campus stores, that amount could have bought dozens of computers.

“That’s not necessarily true,” Hachiman said. He hadn’t brought Horikita out here just to discourage her.

He intended to use this information as leverage in a negotiation with Chabashira-sensei.

So—

“There has never been a case where Class D has surpassed Class A and been promoted to Class A. Similarly, no student has ever accumulated 20 million private points.”

“But if you manage to do that, what do you think your brother will think of you?”

“Or rather—how will others view your brother?”

“A so-called failure from Class D… rising to the top.”

“And what would that signify?” Hachiman continued. “For your brother, it would be nothing short of an honor. I’d imagine it would be enough to make him acknowledge you.”

“Unbelievable…” Horikita Suzune started seriously considering the possibility.

“If you’re already here, benefiting from what this school offers, wouldn’t it make sense to use its rules to climb higher?” Hachiman said.

His words were like the whispers of a devil.

They made Horikita Suzune fall into deep thought once again.

Yes.

She had come here following in her brother’s footsteps to prove that she wasn’t worthless.

But things had gone poorly from the start, and she had even caused her brother to lose a massive sum of points.

It was as if her brother had wasted a million points just because of his foolish little sister.

That was a bitter pill to swallow.

But what if she could make up for that loss… and prove her abilities in the process?

“……” Horikita Suzune fell silent.

Hachiman glanced at the black-haired girl beside him.

His gaze lowered, unintentionally falling on her thigh-high stockings.

Since they were sitting so close, if he looked directly at her, his line of sight would land somewhere between her neck and her abdomen—which would not be appropriate.

So, he quickly averted his eyes.

But he could sense it—Horikita Suzune was clearly moved by his words.

And now—

“Well then…”

Horikita finally shifted her posture.

She turned slightly, her left hand loosely curled into a small fist.

“If I were to say that I want to climb to the top…” She had made her stance clear.

“That’s a good thing,” Hachiman nodded. “If you rise to the top, you benefit, I benefit, everyone benefits.”

“And your brother would have no choice but to acknowledge you. After all, you’d be using this school’s system to climb up.”

But then—

Horikita tilted her head slightly, her eyes filled with suspicion.

“This idea of yours… is quite surprising, and I must admit, it’s very tempting.”

“I don’t want to be expelled.”

“I followed my brother here, determined not to stop partway through. I don’t want to disgrace him, either.”

But—

She stared straight at him, her gaze unwavering.

“So, after uncovering the truth about this school… isn’t it you who wants to reach Class A, Hikigaya-kun?”

…Huh.

Did he want to reach Class A?

Would he ever want to reach Class A?

It seemed she wasn’t so easily fooled.

She had caught on.

If Hachiman was offering such valuable information for free, just in exchange for her getting him a meal—it was too cheap of a deal.

Yet, at the same time, he was pushing her toward climbing higher.

So now, she was suspecting that he was the one with ambition.

But Horikita, you might be mistaken.

Because—

The real person who wants to reach Class A… is Chabashira-sensei.

All Hachiman wanted was a bargaining chip to negotiate with that wicked woman.

And that bargaining chip—was her.