There is something wrong with Hikigaya’s classroom of the Elite, as expected

Chapter 19: The Label on Everyone

Haruno’s cold reaction and expression—Hikiya had mentally prepared for this. But when facing it in reality, he couldn’t help but feel a bit lonely.

Yukinoshita proactively pulled away from the distance between her and Hachiman, and her voice became a little colder: “Regarding that car accident, let me clarify something beforehand. I never had any feelings of guilt or a desire to compensate, so you don’t have to worry about that. However, after learning that you are the ‘troublesome little virgin’ that Shizune frequently mentions, it piqued my interest.”

“That’s good to hear.” Hachiman ignored the awkward nickname and nodded, saying, “I still have things to do, so I’ll excuse myself.”

But just as Hachiman was about to turn and leave, Yukinoshita suddenly spoke up: “Hachiman-kun, you should have realized the truth about this school.”

“The truth about the school? I’m not sure what you’re referring to. I still have…”

“Is that so? I thought you would ask Shizune.” Yukinoshita smiled meaningfully. “So, Shizune didn’t tell you? Or is it that for some reason, they can’t ‘inform’ the students?”

Hachiman didn’t expect that Yukinoshita would guess so accurately—could it be that…?

“I don’t have the bad habit of eavesdropping, you know~” Yukinoshita seemed to have seen right through what Hachiman was thinking.

“Ugh, Yukinoshita, why are you so obsessed with me?” Hachiman was very confused by Yukinoshita’s “obsession.” He couldn’t believe that the reason she was so focused on him was because of some absurd idea that he had some kind of charm. Furthermore, in this world line, his relationship with Yukinoshita wasn’t at the level where this could make any sense!

To put it bluntly, their relationship wasn’t even that of friends—it was more like that of distant schoolmates, or rather, two strangers with brief, shallow connections.

“Because Hachiman-kun has a misunderstanding of his abilities and self-evaluation,” Yukinoshita replied.

“Misunderstanding? It’s you, Yukinoshita, who’s overestimating me,” Hachiman said with self-deprecation. If he had any ability, he wouldn’t have been placed in class D, he wouldn’t have been ostracized as the lowest of the low, and he wouldn’t have failed to protect the people he wanted to protect!

The “dead fish-eye” boy could only helplessly say, “I admit it. From what I saw in the gym earlier, I could clearly sense that the student council in this school is special. The student council president looks like someone very strict, and because of that, the threshold for joining the student council must be very high. So it makes sense that students from class D wouldn’t be recruited, and that students from class A, like you, would have a better chance…”

Suddenly, Hachiman stopped mid-sentence, a cold sweat slowly running down his forehead.

“Hmm? Why did you stop, Hachiman-kun? I was listening carefully~~” Yukinoshita said, crossing her arms and smiling at him.

“I-I mean…” Hachiman said, his face showing signs of panic.

But Yukinoshita didn’t give him any chance to explain. She extended two fingers and looked at him with a half-smile: “This is already the second time, you know? From what happened earlier in the gym until now, Hachiman-kun has constantly emphasized ‘being from class D, so I’m not valuable.’ How strange~”

“I think I can still explain…”

“You don’t need to think, you just need to feel what I think.”

“…”

Finally, Hachiman realized where his mistake had been. Indeed, Yukinoshita’s observational ability was incredibly sharp! With just the slightest lapse in attention, she was able to catch him in his lie. It was also Hachiman’s own carelessness.

Seeing that Hachiman had no response, Yukinoshita revealed a smug smile and continued, “Do you remember what the student council president said on stage? The school has given us, the student council, the right and mission to change the rules and regulations.”

That was a line spoken by the student council president on stage, and of course, Hachiman remembered it clearly.

At first glance, it seemed like a very formal speech. However, if you understood the truth about this school, there was a lot of hidden meaning behind those words. Hachiman couldn’t help but recall how the senior students in the gym treated the student council president—there was something interesting there.

But…

Since he had been caught, Hachiman decided to stop pretending.

“As the student council has been given the power to change the rules and regulations, the threshold for entering the student council must be higher, not lower, right? Between class A and class D, which one do you think the student council would prefer? Or, which one do you think has more qualifications and value to join the student council?”

“That brings us back to the initial question: does my own ability and value really matter? Clearly, the focus isn’t on me, but on the ‘class D’ label I carry.”

“It’s like being the son of a congressman, or the son of a banker, or a member of a prominent faction—it’s the same; the faction will choose members of its own.”

“Since you already know about that scandal from middle school, you should understand that someone like ‘Hikigaya Hachiman ‘ isn’t suitable to join any group organization.”

Ever since Hachiman discovered the true meaning of class A and class D, he had already come to accept a cruel reality: students from class D were at the “bottom” of the school’s social hierarchy.

The student council, on the other hand, was at the top. Would the elites of the school want to sit at the same table as those from the bottom?

So the answer was already clear.

This wasn’t some self-deprecating or baseless thought—it was a cruel reality that had to be acknowledged. Instead of fantasizing about rising to the top and being strung along by others without realizing it, it was better to take one step at a time and ground himself.

Of course, Hachiman also didn’t want to get involved in whatever trap Yukinoshita had set, which hadn’t yet been revealed. His lone wolf instincts told him that there was something very suspicious about all this.

The best thing to do was to refuse and not agree to anything.

“What if there’s a way to temporarily leave the school?” Yukinoshita’s smile curled up slightly, and she changed the topic.

Hachiman instinctively responded: “Didn’t the school rules say that students aren’t allowed to leave the campus grounds? How could that be possible…”

Suddenly, Hachiman froze, as if remembering something. He looked at Yukinoshita: “You mean… the sports competitions that students can participate in?!”

The gym, club recruitment, student council… everything clicked, and Hachiman finally understood Yukinoshita’s real intention.

“Right now, on the bulletin board in the academic building, you should still see several sports clubs’ achievements from last year’s IH tournament, with student council members involved as support and supervision.”

So, Yukinoshita joined the student council with this in mind?!

The ability to find hidden information in small, easily overlooked places—Yukinoshita’s skill was truly impressive.