Chapter 075 Class Points, Public Flirting
"Yes. Compared to the indecisive Hirata, Horikita's personality is more suited to be the leader of Class D." Hikigaya answered her question seriously.
"I don't agree! Hikigaya, didn't you say before that you weren't interested in class affairs?
Why do you want me to nominate that woman Horikita as the leader of Class D?" Kushida Kikyo's gaze was sharp, as if trying to see through his true intentions.
"I am not interested in class affairs.
But I am in this classroom after all. Watching this group of giant babies crying all day long gets tiring eventually."
Hikigaya didn't hide his thoughts. Supporting Horikita Suzune to become the leader of Class D was for the sole purpose of having her properly suppress those idiots.
"I won't do it!
Absolutely not!
Letting that bitch Horikita ride over my head!" Kushida Kikyo's eyes were cold, showing extreme resistance.
She even used the term "bitch," her words dripping with intense loathing.
"Sigh~ I have to ask, what kind of grudge do you two even have?" Hikigaya sighed helplessly. If it was just because of something in middle school, it was completely unnecessary. In any case, he couldn't understand the way girls think.
"She and I are lifelong enemies!" Kushida Kikyo's stance was firm.
"Fine then, forget I said anything." Without the support of Kushida Kikyo's network, it was virtually impossible for someone with Horikita Suzune's isolated and aloof personality to obtain the status of Class D leader.
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The second half of June ended in relative calm. On July 1st, the updated class points were announced:
Class A: 995 points (-150) Class B: 870 points (-200) Class C: 670 points (-250) Class D: 0 points (-300)
Class C had bribed Class D while simultaneously harassing Class A and Class B, causing varying degrees of point deductions for both classes. If it weren't for the heavy deduction they faced after failing to frame Class B, Class C would have been the sole winner of this month's class rivalry!
"0 points! We have no points to use again this month!!"
"It's all Yamauchi and Ike's fault! They made us lose all our points."
The students of Class D wailed in unison, while focusing their resentful glares on Yamauchi's gang.
"Wh-what's the big deal?"
"Our class points weren't that high anyway. Isn't it a good thing we managed to pull down the points of Classes A, B, and C?" Yamauchi Haruki stiffened his neck and tried to argue.
"It's not like we can go into negative points anyway."
It's just like what Ayanokouji said... Right, it's called the 'Zero Point Strategy'!" Ike Kanji shifted the blame with practiced ease.
"Tch..." Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's expressionless face twitched slightly.
"So it was Ayanokouji giving them advice."
"Tch! What a gloomy guy!"
The crowd's anger now included Ayanokouji Kiyotaka as well.
Hikigaya gave Ayanokouji a meaningful look. The "Zero Point Strategy" was indeed the most efficient way to drag down opponents' scores.
However, applying this strategy required absolute control over the entire class—much like how Ryuen Kakeru dominated Class C through force.
The reason Ryuen Kakeru didn't adopt the Zero Point Strategy himself was likely because Class C's points were too high in the first month; the cost of him personally entering that gamble was too great.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had no control over Class D, so he could only influence those around him.
To summarize: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka has the ambition to move up classes, but he doesn't want to step into the spotlight. He only wants to hide behind the scenes and manipulate others.
"Is this guy cosplaying as 'The Eminence in Shadow'?" Hikigaya couldn't help but roast him internally.
"What do you mean by 'The Eminence in Shadow'?" Horikita Suzune cast a curious glance his way.
"You can think of it as chuunibyou," Hikigaya explained.
Horikita Suzune wanted to keep asking what chuunibyou was, but considering that asking about every little thing might make her look stupid, she chose silence.
Hikigaya glanced at her from the corner of his eye and thought: 'Even though you didn't say it, the answer is written all over your face. Horikita, oh Horikita, you've fallen! You weren't like this before... You used to be a 100% purebred "iron-straight girl" who said what was on her mind and never cared about others' opinions. Now you actually care about my evaluation; you've become impure.'
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Horikita Suzune felt a bit uncomfortable under Hikigaya's gaze.
"Nothing. I just think you're cute." Hikigaya propped his cheek on his hand and brushed her off casually.
'Normally, with Horikita's personality, she'd say something like: "You don't need to tell me, I've been cute since I was a kid..." right?'
"Thank you." Horikita Suzune raised her hand and tucked a strand of hair from her forehead behind her ear.
'Wait, what? What is that expression?!'
Hikigaya did a "tactical lean-back" in shock and tested the waters: "No way... are you actually blushing?"
"Who's blushing?!
Baka!" Horikita Suzune was instantly infuriated. She instinctively reached for a book to throw at him.
Hikigaya saw that the book she grabbed was Dazai Osamu's No Longer Human.
That book was very thin; getting hit by it wouldn't hurt at all. The question then was: was Horikita Suzune doing it on purpose or by accident?
Facing another zero-point month, the mood in Class D was originally very oppressive. However, seeing Hikigaya and Horikita in what looked like a squabble but lacked any real hostility, it was easy for people to suspect the two were "flirting in public."
In an instant, the members of Class D suffered a massive mental critical hit!!
"...Do you think Hachiman likes the type that bullies him?" Sakura Airi stared at him with somber eyes.
"Uh, Airi, have you awakened some strange fetish?" Hasabe Haruka felt a cold sweat.
She then turned her gaze toward the two as well, her eyes narrowing slightly: "But the relationship between Hachiman and Horikita is indeed a bit too close."
"Who Hachiman is close with is his freedom." Sakura Airi pursed her lips, her hands hidden in her sleeves clenching tightly.
"Airi, are you giving up already?" Hasabe Haruka widened her eyes at this.
"...Hachiman and I... weren't in that kind of relationship to begin with." Sakura Airi's gaze drifted, her finger tracing small circles on the desk.
"Sigh~ Airi, your passive attitude is really frustrating to watch!" Hasabe Haruka looked at her with a "disappointed in your lack of effort" face.
Then, as if possessed, she blurted out: "If you don't snatch Hachiman soon, I won't be able to stop myself from making a move!"
"Ka-ka...?!" Sakura Airi looked at her with an unreadable expression: "Ka-ka, you're joking, right?"
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